Review: The Birdcage

You’ve probably heard me talking about the Birdcage recently, partly because it’s my favourite new find, but mostly because it’s going to be the venue for the South West Bloggers Christmas Party (what a mouthful!).

I’m not really sure how I heard about the Birdcage – the only thing I can remember seeing before I visited was Jo’s blog post about the cafe having vintage copies of Playboy around – but I checked out their website. The concept sounded quite interesting – not just a cafe, but with a vintage shop and bands on in the evenings, so I stored it away in my brain. When Niki came back to Bristol, I thought it would be a nice place to meet, since it is very central. I didn’t realise how perfect a venue for bloggers it was until I got there though!

With the tag line “Yesterday’s clothing, today’s coffee, tomorrow’s music”, I’m not sure I need to explain what it’s all about, but inside the former bank, there is a large seating area, with a little stage at the back of the room for the muscians that perform there, then to the side of the cafe area is a small – but perfectly formed – vintage shop. The Birdcage is managed by a former manager of the Motel Bristol store, so you know the vintage is bound to be a good selection, and not just the musty remaints of a charity shop, with a pricetag thats been inflated.

So, it looks good. That’s not really the important part of a cafe though, is it? Thankfully, the Birdcage doesn’t just look good, it tastes good as well. They’ve got a huge variety of teas available, served in pretty mismatched china, and also do the usual types of coffees and hot chocolates with all the different flavours (I believe they’re doing white hot chocolates at the moment, my favourite!). They have some beautiful (and according to Lyzi, delicious!) cupcakes, but surprisingly, I haven’t tried one yet – I had a toasted salmon and cream cheese bagel when I visited for lunch recently, which was yummy!

I can’t wait for SWBXmas – just a few more days to go!