Digbeth Dining Club

We’ve been going to this fantastic, long running street food market for some years since the very beginning, and it’s just gone from strength to strength. It’s in a decent location in Spotlight in Digbeth, but it’s real strength is in the fantastic traders it attracts each week that keep the regulars coming back. As most other reviews have mentioned the queues can be a bit daunting for newcomers, and it’s not unknown to have to wait in excess of 30 minutes or more for some of the most popular traders at peak times (usually the meat heavy hitters — Andy’s Low’n’Slow, Meat Shack, Patty Men etc). However it’s worth the wait and there’s a good reason why some traders have such big queues — namely the food is out of the world and as good as anything you will find in the city.
It does become quite packed fairly quickly but if you can get down before 6pm you can usually walk up to most traders with little to no queue. After that it fills up rapidly so be prepared for some waiting depending on when you arrive, but it’s no great hardship when you’ve got a beer in hand and a decent atmosphere. It’s tempting to go a bit crazy on your first visit but most of the traders return on a regular basis.

This is probably my favorite place to eat in Birmingham.
There are so many options to choose from and it changes from week to week. I’m not a big drinker, but this place is great for me because while my friends are getting new drinks, I can get some extra food instead.
The only problem is that the lines for the food can get long and if you show up late, the vendors start to run out of food. However, if you get there early (around ⁵⁄₆) then this is usually not a problem.
I highly recommend eating here and coming back more than once.

Excellent street food market in Digbeth that happens at Spotlight on Lower Trinity Street. This is honestly the best place to get food that does not need a plate anywhere in the city.
The atmosphere here is as good as the food with people meeting up straight after work on Fridays and staying for most of the night. If you want a table I strongly suggest you get there early as it gets really busy almost from the time it opens!
Watch the website for street closure events that take place from time to time. You will have even more choice of where you can eat and the types of food you can enjoy. The hardest part is making the decision of what to have! At around £6 a portion it’s not the cheapest food you can get in Brum but the quality of what you get speaks volumes. If you haven’t been here yet… why not… do it soon :)

One of the best dining experiences you can get in Brum. Absolutely rammed 90% of the time but almost makes it all that much better.
Depending on who is on show doesn’t really matter as quality of food is always there. A must go place for me!

This place has become a real Birmingham institution and is one of those places that I like to take people to show what the city can do.
The set up is simple, a bunch of great street food vendors in a car park… that’s pretty much it, the cunning bit is the car park is behind a bar so you can grab a drink while you wait, which is handy because that can be a long time.
DDC can get seriously busy so make sure you are happy to hang out in a queue for a while, on the plus side it does mean there is a great atmosphere to the place and, in the winter, it keeps you warm. Don’t worry about getting wet though, DDC is very well organised these days so there is a surprising amount of seating indoors as well as covering over most of the site.
Getting there and back isn’t the nicest, as good as the custard factory is (which DDC is just behind) Digbeth is in serious need of love.
All in all, go down and check it out, some of the regular vendors serve up absolutely stonking food and they change every week so have a look online and see if there is anything you fancy before heading back into the city for a night out, sticking around and staying in Spotlight or heading home for a well earned rest.
Oh and keep an eye out for their occasional street closures where the whole thing goes to another level.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the DDC but had yet to go. The way people described it didn’t make it seem like there was as much going on «its a space around a warehouse where there Is street food». There is so much more going on, I loved the all the spaces they had included so many seated areas. My major annoyance working in Colmore Row is how small the bars are, how small, cramped and pricey. Whilst DDC is spacious, reasonable priced and has an awesome variety of food. I really want to go back and try all the food. Especially the soft shell crab that they had to list how many was left on the board as it was so popular.

Visted digbeth dinning club after being invited to an event hosted by Unilocal.I had previously visited this venue before as a night club, must say how different it looked. Upstairs was a nice area for the Unilocal community decorated in an intriguing manor which I loved.
There was a selection of 5 – 6 different food vans found it hard to choose from so many. Me and my partner decided to share I choose a marinated chicken in a Greek pitta with salad which was really good. The only bit I wasn’t keen on was the tzatziki and Thani sauce which really wasn’t to my taste but my partner liked. He had the special all pig pizza and wow was this special friendly service and fast service. The pizza omg was mouth watering delicious heaven of fast food pizzas, so glad we shared.
Really enjoyed digbeth dinning heard its on most weeks and they change the food stands so can’t wait to go back and try more.

Last night was my first night at Digbeth dining club. I have been meaning to go for a few months now, but never got round to it. Last night was the welcoming of our friend joining the Unilocal team, so me and my boyfriend finally got a reason to go. The food stalls were set up outside with a great selection. I had a steak burger with Stilton and chorizo jam and it was amazing! My boyfriend had a soft shell crab burger and was resisting the urge to go back for more! Really great atmosphere and lovely evening, we will definitely be coming back!

I have visited Digbeth Dining Club quite a bit since it started and I am yet to be disappointed! Tucked away at Spotlight, you’re unlikely to stumble across it unless you know it’s there. There is always a relaxed atmosphere and a great choice of cuisines to choose from. Last night, after much deliberation as there was so much tasty food on offer, I chose a steak burger with blue cheese and chorizo jam from the Flying Cows. It was sublime and just what the doctor ordered on a cold evening!
The area consists of a variety of stalls outside the venue which are sheltered in the winter so come rain or shine, you can come and enjoy the fantastic food and vibes. I would recommend Digbeth Dining to anybody. Great food, drinks, atmosphere and music are a promising way to begin your weekend!

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place. Amazing place, great local food, atmosphere is fab. Really cool! You HAVE to come and check it out

Birmingham has some fantastic street food, and if you want to find then Digbeth Dining Club host a selection of street food sellers every Friday starting at 5:30pm. The club is open to everyone, no entry fee, just turn up. Attached is Spotlight, a bar which has a very backstreet feel to it.
The idea of Digbeth Dining Club is fantastic, however the location is not. Digbeth isn’t really a place to venture to on your own, I recommend going in groups. The area is pretty rough, worn out. I highly warn against taking a car as car crime rate is high, get a taxi from the city centre is need be. So, because of its location I have to deduct a star.

Digbeth is one of the areas of Birmingham driving a revolution of independent thinkers, artists, and merchants that are creating a new image of the second city. This image is sticking to the industrial working class roots of brum while largely free of the cookie cutter experiences found elsewhere. A social nexus of this new Birmingham is the Digbeth Dining Club, a weekly street-​food/​food truck festival. The dining club brings together the best street food vendors from greater Birmingham and the West Midlands, and matches it up with a bar and live music.
In the states, street food and food trucks are an every day occurrence, where restaurants pop-​up on the street, food trucks corral into a rodeo, and roads are shut down for festivals. So it’s nice to see the local purveyors of indie culture concentrated in an easy to access area every Friday evening. Google maps can be a bit difficult (my first trip here took me through the Custard Factory), but the easiest way to get there is to go down Heath Mill Ln from the Digbeth High Street (passing the Old Crown pub), and you’ll see and smell the vendors to your right before you go under the viaduct. There is also another entrance on the other side of the tracks at Lower Trinity St if you are arriving from the north. Doors open at the Spot*light at 5pm and food is served by 5:30. There are table tops outside for a quick bite, but if plan on staying, head inside under the viaduct and grab a plush couch before the place gets packed at 6.
The vendors here vary from week to week (check out the dining club’s website or FB page for up to date listings), but it’s a guarantee that you’ll find at least one vendor serving up a type of cuisine you adore. For people like me, most vendors offer at least one vegetarian specific entrée. On a recent visit, I had the opportunity to choose between pizza, tacos, noodles, and waffles. I’m not willing to divulge how many of those I indulged, but let’s just say I didn’t need to eat again until Sunday. My best advice is to enjoy and pace yourself on your first visit, because many of these vendors will show up at least once a month. You can also catch many of them at Brum Yum Yum in King’s Heath. There are two bars set inside, with a fairly standard selection of beers, and a full liquor bar. I would love to see the club expand the beer selection to include more craft beer/​real ale given the growth of the local beer scene.
At a nascent three years of age, the Digbeth Dining Club has already done some very big things for the quality of life in this city. You can easily start and end your night at the club, or use it as a launching pad to talk football down the street at the Forge or appease your Peaky Blinders fandom across High Street at the Spotted Dog. What better exemplifies the new and the old Birmingham than scarfing down an artery clogging burger with a side of waffles while washing it down with a beer or two?

I’ve been coming to Digbeth Dining for over three years and it just keeps getting better and growing… like my waist line lol
Amazing food, vibes and all round atmosphere that encourages all ages to come together.
Get ya self down there & taste the delights and hear the phat tunes.

One of my most favourite things to do is go to the Digbeth Dining Club. I’ve been there many times with friends and have also introduced a few dates to the wonders of the street food. I like that the vendors change every week so I am able to try new things that I would never try before. I think the favourite vendors have been the vegan grindhouse and the guys who do the waffles. It can get really crowded and the queues can be ridiculous but the atmosphere is lovely and it is well worth a visit.

The digbeth dining club is my place to go every Friday night after work. Its a great retreat for food lovers like myself. Your bound to get a good foodie treat here by the stall vendors offering delights from Caribbean to indian. From lush waffles to gourmet Burger’s. There is something to suit every pallette.
The music is fairly good and varies from weekly I think they have a guest DJ spinning a few tracks which keeps it fun week after week. They do occasionally have live gigs and soon they will be having an outdoor cinema which launches in June 2015. The music in my opinion is good background music which uplifts the atmosphere especially after a busy Friday day/​or a busy working week.
This place can get pretty busy. But queue’s start dying down around 9pm and I believe around 9.30pm is the best time to queue up for food as vendors are more likely to give u extra freebies. Extra portions and discounts being towards the end of the night. We all love a bargain or FREE food! :)
Drinks from the spotlight bar next door are reasonably priced but can get expensive if ur buying round after round. Its a fairly nice chilled and relaxed atmosphere inside with dim lighting, good music by a live DJ and has comfy sofas but be quick and early to bag one. Otherwise there is plenty of seating next-​door.
DDC is a hidden gem. If you haven’t been tell all your friends and get yourself there its a guaranteed good meal!

DDC has kind of been my obsession since I moved to Birmingham. I go all the time, and I’ve never been disappointed with food from any of the wonderful vendors, and am always eager to try out new ones. I’ve found everything to be incredibly good value for money. There’s always a good range of options– from pizza to burgers to BBQ to Thai to Caribbean, with new businesses popping up regularly.
The music varies from week-​to-​week– usually there are DJ sets and occasionally live music. It can be hit or miss depending on your tastes, but in my opinion the real reason to go to Digbeth Dining Club is for the food!
The only problem with the event is its awkward arrangement across Spotlight & Next Door, which have incredibly limited seating (neat sofas though, if you’re lucky enough to get one). The event gets quite packed, the queues get quite long, and some of the food can be difficult to eat while standing. My advice: get there early! Grab a bite when the queues are short, then head to the bar and stay for the music and ambiance.

Friday Night’s Digbeth Dining Club is the sort of event that people talk about all week.
It was my first EVER visit to Digbeth Dining Club. It’s payday weekend and sheer amount of people meant I had to queue for about 35 – 40 minutes to get a burger which is the only reason it is missing that 5^th star.
I like Digbeth a lot and I’m loving how many 20 – 30 somethings are excited about it too.
From the outside it looks like an industrial unit and if I was visiting from another city I’d probably find it exciting and cool. But this is my home city and I just love that you can get a beer inside the main Spotlight room and then go out and get burgers, waffles or pancakes from outside.
I had my burger from Andy’s Low and Slow. Pulled Pork with a BBQ sauce and dill.
They are doing a bunch of Saturdays too which presumably might be a little quieter but I won’t bank on it.
Got friends coming to Birmingham? Bring them here!

This is such a great concept. I have been meaning to pop along for months and finally did last Friday. Found a buzzing crowd of people surrounded by delicious looking food! We made our way through the crowds into Spotlight bar, which is super cool. I loved the high ceilings, sofas and quick service at the bar! Got a couple of Brothers Toffee Apple ciders and headed back outside.
Everything looked delicious but we decided to go for hot dogs from Big Daddies. They had a crazy selection. The pulled pork coated one looked great but I went for a plain smoked hotdog and Edd chose a beef and pork dog. The queue went down quickly while we drank and chatted. There were a variety of condiments available and we got a discount with my Birmingham Independent card too.
Next we had pudding– delicious waffles from Bournville Waffle Co. Delicious!
Also available were vendors selling pizza, vegan food, Mexican and coffee. The vendors change every week, so I will definitely be back to try different options. A great evening out.

Digbeth Dining Club is the place to be on a Friday night. It’s helped put Digbeth on the map for that after work Friday social, where usually the City Core would reign.
However if you want freshly made, prepared in front of you and unique combinations for food and flavour, why would you go anywhere else?
Every Friday from 5-​late a different selection of street food vendors bring their tasty treats for us to indulge in. A mixture of sweet, savoury, meat and vegetarian there is always usually something for everyone.
Be warned, this place can get extremely busy, especially on payday Friday. Get there early as possible to not be disappointed by long queues and food selling out.
Also, be aware that the drinks here aren’t cheap, but the Digbeth street food experience is worth it. It certainly beats some chain restaurant serving microwave food or a bar full of suits.

Lots of choice!
Such a great vibe down in the heart of Digbeth. Great tunes playing, a bar with a reasonable selection of beers and wines and ofcourse many many food stalls:)
went for the Thais green curry and finished with the banana and chocolate waffles, but could have happily eaten anything for any of the stalls:)I