Akamba

What an incredible place! I first visited Akamba many years ago when it was a small place with just a few plants. I was looking for a garden centre to visit on my trip to Birmingham and when this popped up on the map, I thought I should definitely give it a second visit. The new site is large and the plants are set out beautifully with wonderful hand made metal animals interspersed. There is an African bird walk, £2 to enter which is brilliant value as we spent a long time marvelling at the beautiful birds and the friendly Plantain Eater called Charlie, who sat on my shoulder as I wandered around! After reluctantly leaving the birds, we realised there was a large eatery and bar, which has an impressive rum selection and cheerful friendly staff. The fruity punch is delicious and sitting drinking it under the palms and umbrellas outside, listening to the birds calling, it felt as though we were on holiday. I can’t wait to visit again, hopefully I will try out the delicious sounding food next time too.

I first went to Akamba in April this year. I’d found it online a few weeks earlier, whilst looking for tribute nights locally, and then a friend mentioned she had a voucher for a meal there, so we gave it a go.
Let’s be honest, eating dinner at a garden centre usually sounds like the sort of things your parents or grandparents (depending on your age!) would do, however, this little slice of African themed heaven is a far cry from what you’d normal expect of such a place!
I’ve not made it to Africa, though have traveled widely in Asia, and the outside felt totally authentic, being similar to bars and restaurants I’ve eaten in abroad. Even outside, you are sheltered from the rain, and inside, where the buffet is served, it’s warm and cosy, with live music of an evening, and the most amazing spread of food.
I’ve been a number of times since that first dinner, having returned in the day with my dog, as it’s dog friendly if you’re happy to sit outside — they even bring a bowl of water for our four legged friends! I’ve had lunch there, and the most fabulous afternoon cream tea, and cake, whilst the choice is limited, what they offer is very tasty (and I’m a fan of cake!)
I loved it that much the first night, that I’ve refused to go there for a meal again, as I’m going for my 40^th, which happens to fall on a Thursday, and looking forward to sharing the experience with close friends.
The service is always friendly. It’s not always super fast, as it runs on Kenyan time, so this isn’t the place to go in a rush. Indeed, why would you? It’s such a delightful experience that it deserves to be cherished.
Oh, and the shop is pretty fab too!
So yes, dog friendly, fab food, great shop and friendly service!

This place is amazing! It actually felt like being in an African jungle! I was amazed at the life size statues of loads of wild African animals and there some live birds and I love the fact you can admire and buy tropical plants. Although they were a slow with getting our drinks and there was some confusion about our meal the service was good. The food and drinks here are excellent; I ordered a hot chocolate and couldn’t have asked for it to be chocolaty and the marshmallows just melted in my mouth. I wanted to indulge in more. My family and I came here for father’s day where and the afternoon couldn’t have gone any better, result. We indulged in their gorgeous two course buffet. I had to try everything and if my belly wasn’t full I’d definitely have indulged in more. For desert they had a choice of cheese cake, fruit salad or chocolate cake. I tried the chocolate cake and it was lovely although a bit too sickly. If you love fruits then try their traditional cocktails.
Whilst we were eating we enjoyed listening to the motown singer who sung all the classics and got my parents, myself and other people involved. It was nice to see my parents dancing away in such a fun yet relaxed environment.

Akamba is one of Birmingham’s bona fide, indisputable gems for me. What an enchanting place, I haven’t visited anywhere else like it.
Essentially Akamba creates with their abundance of beautiful, tropical flowers to towering metal sculptures of gorillas, giraffes, antelope and more what (I imagine) it would be like to be in a lush African wilderness, or as close as you’ll get in England to it anyway. There’s even a ramshackle Land Rover that sits in the visitors car park appearing at though it’s just returned from a trans-​African adventure.
You feel utterly transported when you are nestled amidst the dense flora and there is also outdoor seating tucked away to be well utilised on the few somewhat sweltering days that we have the pleasure of having in England.
After meandering through the gardens, we retired to the enormous eating lodge — a huge wooden cabin where you can find yourself a comfortable corner to spend your day. The furniture was even decorated in traditional Masai cloth, and you can recline whilst having the view of the tropical wilderness outside. There’s a very intimate atmosphere, despite there being a lot of people when I went, it was very private and everyone seemed to be relaxed at their candle-​lit tables.
The staff were lovely and spoke to us at length each time they came over to serve us delicious hot chocolate and, well, slightly disappointing food. I wasn’t expecting such small portions for the price and they were more like chicken dippers than ‘Shetani wings’. However, that was my only issue.
There is a shop selling genuine African crafted goods and they host parties regularly too. Akamba is a wonderful concept and it is certainly worth a visit so that you can experience the magic yourself.

The most unique and unusual garden centre that you’ll ever go to, founder Chris Canaan literally brings a piece of Africa to the not-​so-​exotic city of Birmingham.
If you really want to sit back, relax and be transported into another world, this is exactly the place to be. Upon entering the garden centre, you are immediately greeted by tribal sounds, large metal animal structures (from elephants to gorillas), and plants placed to match a jungle setting. With the sun blaring on a hot summers day and the chairs placed amongst the natural-​replicated landscape, you’ll completely forget that you are in an industrial city. Even more so when a family of peacocks and guinea fowl arrive at your feet, greeting you in hope of some sort of food reward for their bravery.
But of course, Akamba is more than just a garden centre, its replication of Africa is rooted everywhere, from a bar which sells imported alcoholic beverages and herbal tea, to an authentic Caribbean restaurant. One of the most unusual tipples I have tried is called Oude Meester, which is some sort of ginger liquor. Warning, it may leave your throat on fire, but its delicious smooth taste certainly makes up for the potency.
The staff are extremely friendly, and will happily recommend you to plants that suit your personal environment, whether that be indoors or outdoors, they’ll know exactly what you are after. I am now the proud owner of a eucalyptus plant, after sampling their highly flavourable eucalyptus tea.
The centre looks magical at winter time, with all the plants covered in frost, but to get the full Akamba experience, I recommend attending in the summer. I have shivered next to a fern tree too many times over the Christmas period!

Lovely place to have a visit and enjoy a nice coffee. I particularly like the African art especially as it states it is made from sustainable forests. They have a nice range of exotic plants. Reasonably priced, well worth a visit.