Baked in Brick: Birmingham Restaurant Review

Baked in Brick in a nutshell: Evolving from a back-garden pop-up to an internationally award-winning, street-food trader, Baked in Brick is now in its first permanent home in Birmingham’s funky Custard Factory.

Who's cooking?

Lee DeSanges started throwing (pizza) shapes in his garden four years ago. Inviting friends over for the fruits of his hand-built, wood-fired oven, he soon realised he was onto something, and upgraded to a 1964 Mini Cooper (complete with a charcoal fire pit under the bonnet and a wood-fired oven in the boot) so he could sell his creations on the hoof. Fast forward three years and Lee’s creation, Baked in Brick, was named Best Street Food in Europe, and has now formed roots in Digbeth.

What's the vibe?

The new, 60-seater pizzeria, which opened in July (2018), is seriously relaxed with rough-and-ready wooden-clad booths, tables and chairs, exposed industrial ceilings, with looming fans, and a Mini Cooper breaking through the wall.

What's the food like?

There’s charcuterie (learn how to make your own charcuterie here) and cheese, and the odd salad, but obviously the star attraction here is the pizza (discover our best pizza recipes here). The majority are served with mozzarella and San Marzano tomato sauce, which is a good start. Beef shin ragu and wild mushroom calzone won the title of best street food dish at the British and European Street Food Awards, and its meltingly tender meat with rich sauce stands up. The dough, too, is impressive – bouncy, crisp and with plenty of flavour – and works well in another iteration, topped with goat’s cheese, caramelised red onion and grape chutney, with wild rocket and a slick of onyx balsamic.

Pizzas at Baked in Brick, Birmingham — Pizza at Baked in Brick, Birmingham

And the drinks?

We seemingly drank the bar dry of gin but the beer is good, and there are plenty of sterling (and trendy) non-alcoholic options too, including Jarr kombucha.

olive tip: Sharing is caring – so order a couple of pizzas as part of a group and share. That’s a particularly good idea if you like the sound of the blanco pizza, topped with bechamel sauce, oak-smoked chicken and boulangere potato. It’s delicious, but potentially a bit rich after a few slices.

https://bakedinbrick.co.uk

Baked in Brick, Gibb Street, The Custard Factory, Birmingham B9 4AA

Words by Laura Rowe

Photos by Ming Nham