Island Bar

This place is a bit of a Birmingham institution and used to be one of the only places you go to get yourself a decent cocktail, thankfully that isn’t the case anymore!
Despite a big increase in the amount of competition island bar still holds up pretty well and you’ll probably be happy with the cocktails here, they also have a solid bottled beer selection if that’s more your thing.
The place itself isn’t exactly elegant but it’s serviceable and the slightly sticky floor is testament to the good times and good tunes to be had. There’s also plenty of places to sit if you want to, although it does get busy at the weekend so seats get taken quickly.
If you’re looking to take your night up a notch but don’t want to go to a club then this is the place to go.
Oh and upstairs they have a tiki bar, go and have a flaming (literally) mo and get the night on right.

I’ve been to island bar on a few nights out with the Meetup group in the past, service is always good, they have an extensive varies cocktail list and can always recommend a great drink there.

If you are looking for cocktails in the city centre this is a place I would recommend. I like the very relaxed vibe here and also the good selection of both classic and speciality cocktails.
The downstairs bar has DJ’s on weekends which play a mix of party tunes to a small dance floor while the upstairs of the venue has been designed like a tiki bar and can be booked out for parties or events.
All the drinks here are usually well made and use quality ingredients, the staff are also super friendly and welcoming. Another nice thing here is that the staff seem to know a lot about the drinks they are serving and are not afraid of a bit of blow torch action, flaring or generally a bit of theatre. I have not been here to try the food yet but I hear it is pretty good so expect a review soon.

Island bar has a fantastic selection of cocktails offered to reasonable prices. I like the casual and cool attitude of the staff behind the bar — they know that they serve good cocktails! The combination of a small dance floor and bar area on the ground floor loosens up the atmosphere.
You should definitely go and check it out!

Fantastic cocktail bar!
This has to be one of my favourite places to go for a drink in the city centre, it is in a perfect location just far enough away from broad street for it to not get the wrong reputation but central enough for it to be easy to get too. The drinks are superb, some of the strongest cocktails I have had in the UK made by fantastic barman who are performers in their own right.
Upstairs is a cool club with a hawaiian tiki theme and some fantastic music, this is a bar i take all my friends too on a night out in the city.

I know I’ve already reviewed Island Bar but never mind.
For me, Island Bar is one of the places that started doing something different in Birmingham. Where else could you go for cocktails like these? I tried so many classic and more unusual cocktails for the first time at Island Bar when everyone else was just doing Mojitos, Cosmos and Long Island Ice Teas. The music is great and it generally has a friendly atmosphere– though not always, depending on what night you’re there.
There are two levels– a tiki bar upstairs and a more rock’n’roll bar downstairs. The tiki cocktails are really strong and I love the design. There’s a bit more room up there too for dancing.
I’ve had so many great nights here over the years, including birthdays, New Year, pre-​old Snobs cocktails and just random ‘why not’ nights. The menu changes regularly and the prices are reasonable.
I’ve always found staff friendly but I feel they’ve become friendlier as time has gone on. Service has also got quicker. I still always have a good night at Island Bar, and appreciate what it did for Brum’s cocktail scene.

Of all the Bitters ‘n’ Twisted venues I’ve been to thus far, Island Bar has definitely got the most massive selection of (incredibly reasonably priced) cocktails, so if you’re a cocktail person it’s worth dropping by. Good selection of drinks for £4 during happy hour.
Good music, nice staff… but… to me the main bar area downstairs feels kind of ‘cheap’… the paper tiki banners and picture of a hula girl on the wall just don’t really sell it for me. The sofas and cushioned stools low to the ground feel a bit awkward, like more shisha-​lounge than cocktail bar. The toilets were not well maintained. I just kind of don’t know how to feel about this place. The tiki bar upstairs is much better, but not always open.
Have not been disappointed with a drink yet, though, which I guess is the most important part, and there’s outdoor seating (although it’s right along the busy Suffolk Street Queensway, so quite noisy with traffic and much car exhaust).

Great cocktail bar! Dark and exotic themed with good music and good vibes. Cocktails are the main attraction here although there is a good selection of spirits including rum and beers. Prices are slightly expensive however its worth paying for a good atmosphere and rubbing shoulders with the cool and the hipster folk. Very popular on a Saturday night, they were at maximum capacity and the doorman had to turn eager people away. Worth adding to your night out!

Definitely one of the unsung heroes of the independent bar scene in Birmingham, for years it seems to have been on its own next to the Alex theatre with most of the night life either being the Arcadian or broad street, but in the last 5 years maybe with the mailbox really taking off and now John bright street and more bars opening up in the city core The island bar is getting noticed more and more and rightly so.
I don’t know if it’s just me but I prefer these types of bars nowadays, these bars seem to hold their own in Birmingham now and I love that especially the whole cocktail bar scene.
The island bar is located on the Bristol road right next to the Alex theatre in between the Beetham tower and Orion building apartments and a stone throw away from John bright street.
As soon as you walk in it has the snobs feel to it there’s always a funny smell aswell (might be just me who thinks that) but that adds to the character of the place, there’s definitely no uniform to the décor or the staff which really works for the place because the people that use the bar are from all walks of life.
And the reason all these different types of people use this place… the EPIC cocktails the staff make! Been here many a time and never once tried a cocktail and thought they have made it sh! t, the staff are just experts at making the drinks and the whole making of the drinks it’s an art that they have truly mastered aswell… Jedi cocktail masters for sure.
Now I’m living right round the corner from here no doubt my check-​ins will rise and I know I won’t be disappointed every time I go.
Keep up the good work guys

Come on they set fire to cocktails!
I’ve been here a few times now (before and after the refurb) and always had a pleasant experience. They have a wonderful selection of cocktails (and the fiery zombie of course), and you can tell the staff are pretty happy with what they do; and talented.
Price wise it’s not too much, they offer a lot of deals and such so it won’t break your budget for fairly decent cocktails… did I mention the fire one?

I can’t believe I have never reviewed this before! I have been going to the Island Bar for years, since it first opened. The staff are really great fun and they ofcourse make awesome cocktails, which is the bars main selling point. The only downside to this is that sometimes service can be a little slow as it takes time to mix up these concoctions.
At the weekend and various nights during the week they have guest DJ’s downstairs so the vibe an change a little depending on the music and how many fans have gone along to support their mates:)
Upstairs is a Tiki bar, so there is a Hawaiian theme, with appropriately themed cocktails.
It’s not somewhere I go every week these days, but seems to have become a place where people go for someone’s Birthday or special meet up.
Definitely worth a visit!

As a good pre night out or post works drinking venue my level of love for the island bar fluctuates by one star each layer deep the queue at the bar is, hence why on average I have to knock one star off this otherwise 5 star spot!
If you get here at early doors for a quick couple after work or for a pre theatre stop off you are certainly in for a winner, situated just outside the core drinking areas of the average brum pubber you can usually be up to the bar, drinks ordered and back to the seat in 5 minutes or less, that is if you can make a choice in that time — you will be spoilt!
Happy hour offers, a full cocktail menu featuring all the major spirits (I often find vodka cocktails are rarer than their gin, rum and whiskey counterparts in some brum venues) and a good selection of draught and bottled ciders and beers all pay dividends to a diverse bar offering a choice for all customers!
If you do drop by here on a Friday or Saturday after about 7pm you will be looking at a bar that is 2 – 3 deep and may take up to half an hour to get served (as is the nature in time taken to mix cocktails) but this does just show again the fact that people are willing to wait for good quality drinks.
As a final tip — zombies are good if you are looking for a quick start to a messy night but if you are looking for something a little more refined the off the menu espresso martini never disappoints!

The Island bar was the first cocktail bar bought to Birmingham by the Bitters’n’Twisted chain. It was a breath of fresh air when it opened it doors, finally making people accept that Birmingham IS actually cool! Showcasing great internal design with flaring and character, it’s no wonder the chain took off so magnificently.
There is a very good selection of cocktails on offer downstairs using all alcohol bases (including a pretty killer Zombie — definitely worth a try). Upstairs is a Tiki themed bar specialising in Rum based cocktails. If you’re not in the mood for a mad one, there is a large selection of import beers on offer to impress even the most discerning hophead.
The Happy Hour is very reasonable, offering a wide range of cocktails for the bargainous price of £4 a pop. There are also different nights on with live music and deejays, covering everything from Riotgrrrl to electro music.
When it’s not Happy hour, drinks are obviously more pricey, but not massively so (ranging from about 5.50 to 7.50). Friday and Saturday nights are very very busy, meaning there is a great atmosphere — but a long wait for drinks!
I would recommend you visit, worth a try if you’ve never been!

Late Afternoon Cocktails at Island bar are always excellent. It’s not too busy at the start of happy hour so gives you chance to speak to the staff and find out what’s new.
It has a real stripped back feel with moulded furniture and cube seats.
Try and plan your session however or you won’t make it to dinner.

Cocktails? Check. Bands? Check. Good location? Works for me, being right by my boyfriend’s flat.
But there’s something missing. Part of the fabulous Bitters ‘n Twisted group, featuring the Jekyll and Hyde, Victoria, Bodega and Harborne-​based New Inn, to me this place just lacks some of the charm of the others.
My favourite part is the upstairs Tiki Tiki bar– part South American (Polynesian) part leather chesterfields, but it isn’t always open. It’s a nice, relaxed area, but if a band’s playing then you have to strain to see them as the stage bizarrely faces the bar.
Downstairs, I don’t really know how to say this, but it has the scent of stale and sickly sweet spilled cocktails. I have been here frequently and this isn’t a one off observation. Could just be my over active sense of smell, of course.
Now, the cocktails are generally good, with an extensive and comprehensive offering of anything you want with a special Tiki Tiki menu and some good offers, though the usual fare is relatively expensive (but not off the scale). If you get the right bar person, it will be very good, and many also offer sound advice and great recommendations. I believe that the bar staff often move across the Bitters ‘n Twisted group, which is a great idea.
Bands regularly play downstairs and entry is free, but again it feels like they’re a bit squashed into a corner. The website also rarely seems to promote what’s on unless it’s a regular band night.

It’s not all about the cocktails. Is it? I’ve been to @IslandBar many times before but not being much of drinker, watched everyone else drink pretty cocktails whilst secretly feeling smug that I won’t have a headache in the morning. Plus being much richer for it, they are so expensive! Don’t remember them being this expensive first time around in the late 80s when I did partake.
Now £7 for a drink, one that can be drunk much faster than a beer at half the price seems to be the norm and everyone is going ga-​ga over them. So it’s great that Island Bar, along with several others are catering for this gloriously indulgent market.
I went a few weeks ago for OxJam and so now I know where the live music happens (upstairs in the Tiki bar, part Hawaiian, part African in décor). I’ve just been again for more live music and as the bands were running very late (about 90 minutes as it turned out!) we had plenty of time to wait in line for the cocktails. And that’s the biggest problem, they take longer than coffee to make! I had a simple Scarlet O’Hara drawn in by the 80’s fave Southern Comfort and the BF had a fairly lethal Ain’t No Don which the bar tender (what do they call cocktail specialists?) felt needed explaining/​warning. Both good.
I overheard him say to the people before us that happy hour had just ended 10 minutes ago (we’d been waiting longer than that).
Clearly this is one of Birmingham’s best spots and the staff do most certainly know what they’re talking about and love it!
Go if you love cocktails but try and find the ‘Happy Hours’.

I Iike the tunes in this place but I just can’t warm to the snotty bar staff. Call me old-​fashioned (in fact, just call me old), but having your change thrown back at you doesn’t feel cool, or ironic, or fun — it just winds people up.
I also think the fact it’s a cocktail bar results in some of the beers being an afterthought. For example, they keep the serve-​at-​room-​temperature ales in the fridge !!
The bar staff are mainly male — and more than once I have seen them serve females first, ahead of guys who have been patiently waiting their turn. Pull women on your own time lads, not at work.
Finally (phew, I hear you say) the male toilets are rank. The door into there bumps into people standing at the first urinal. I’m amazed it’s legal, it’s such a tight space.

Central Birmingham has way more than it’s fair share of cheese (and not the tasty mature cheddar kind either). With Broad Street being an absolute write off (first rule of Birmingham nightlife — never ever go to Broad Street, however much it seems like a good idea) and many of the other pubs in the city centre being blander than grey paint drying on a grey wall on a cloudy day, Island Bar does go some way towards upping the ante.
You probably know they have a reputation for being a cocktail bar, and I am happy to say it falls at the less pretentious end of the cocktail bar spectrum. The selection of spirits is particularly impressive, and I’ve never seen that many rums under one roof before. The staff are very good at doing the whole Tom Cruise routine which is always fun to watch.
And here come the «buts»…it’s not cheap in any sense. The upstairs room is available for functions, but the the couple of times I’ve been up there it’s been pretty difficult to get served once the place fills up, one of those situations where however hard the barman works you still end up waiting an unacceptable time for drinks (can we have more bar staff up stairs please?)
Also, even though the cocktails are good, the draft beer and cider can be slightly dodgy.
In conclusion, atmosphere wise it’s one of the best bars in the area, but you might want to consider my criticisms before parting with your cash.

I want to love Island Bar. Everything about it suggests that I should be it’s target demographic — from the cheesy Tiki theme, to the indie music and extensive cocktail menu… but, for no real reason I can put my finger on, I only think it’s ‘ok’.
The cocktails CAN be great, or they can taste like lighter fluid. (I’m happy to report that most of mine have been on the tasty end of the spectrum… though when drink is involved, I’m aware my ability to objectively reflect upon each beverage decreases exponentially with every drink consumed!)
It’s reliably jammed full of people on the weekends, though if the upstairs hasn’t been pre-​booked for a private party you can normally escape up there to get served more quickly, and possibly even nab a seat! (I’m pretty sure I accidentally crashed someone else’s party once as I stumbled tipsily up the stairs and wondered why it wasn’t rock’n’roll blasting, and some other vile pop music. I thought at the time I was getting funny looks because of my inebriated state, though in retrospect I think it may have been because no one knew who I was. Oops!)
Xmas is my favourite time to drink here, as they’ll almost certainly have something hot and mulled and alcoholic on. Perfect!

I once declared this «the happiest place in Birmingham». I may have been a wee bit tipsy at the time, but I will stick with that assessment.
Nestled between The Alexandra Theatre and Chop ‘n’ Wok, Island Bar is a free-​wheeling indie cocktail bar. The downstairs bar may have sticky floors and the toilets might be a tad basic, but who cares when the DJ is blasting classic Brit pop and the bartenders are shamelessly showing off their flaring skills? The drinks are an absolute blast — the menu is organised into themed categories, including the eighties, sweet stuff, tiki and classics. You’ll catch me ordering the Boston Sour with egg white — an amaretto based drink that somehow reminds me of Haribo Tangfastics (yes, my palate is that refined…).
Upstairs you’ll find the tropical Tiki Bar, which regularly hosts cocktail masterclasses, live music and alternative clubnights. The rum selection is excellent and the tiki cocktails are worryingly potent.
This is THE place for a night of unpretentious good fun and rediscovering your inner student.