Island Bar (Closed)

Address: 14-16 Suffolk Street, Birmingham, Birmingham, B1 1LT, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)121 632 5296
Door: Open door
Style: Dive bar

Review

The guys at Island have made a brave attempt at creating a bar which has the feel of a hippy-run, Thai beach shack... only it’s hard to escape the reality that it’s off a main road in central Birmingham.

Still, the hand-painted walls go some way to create a ‘groovy’ chilled-out sort of mood, and the enormous rum selection definitely hints at a good-time beach bar. The cocktails are divided up by base spirits, and take you from a Piña Colada through to a Boston Sour, though the size of the selection doesn’t always translate into consistently good drinks.

That’s not so much of a concern as there’s an impressive beer selection, listed in alphabetic fridge magnets on the wall, and most excitingly, there’s a shelf of house-infused rums on the back bar. Upstairs is a tiki bar which is open one night a week, and is otherwise rented out for private events.

By no way is Island a good place for a sophisticated meeting, or an intimate date, but if you wanted a good time with a load of mates, with freely flowing cocktails, then it’s a great place to be.