The Alchemist is a cocktail bar on Birmingham's Colmore Row, set inside the Grand Hotel - one of Birmingham's best-known landmarks. And what better venue for cocktails with a bit of theatre and mystery?
Head down the stairs and you'll find this moody drinking den among the hotel's vaulted basement. The glow of fickle lighting casts long, sinister shadows across the room, and flickers over sinister taxidermy and devilish artwork on the walls. The Alchemist is not your average cocktail bar - it's a full-on immersive experience that transports you away from the world above.
The Grand Hotel basement is over a century old, and it provides the perfect laboratory for cocktail experimentation. The Alchemist specialises in things out of the ordinary - so come ready for fire, smoke, liquid nitrogen and everything in between. A margarita at The Alchemist becomes a margarit-air, with a bubble of sherbet air gently balanced in the glass. A vodka and briottet apple cocktail performs a magic trick of it's own by changing colour. There's something for everything on the menu, from reinvented classics to mind-bending creations, and even a nitrogen-infused negroni tap. If you're here for the vibe but not for the cocktails, you'll find beer, cider, wine, fizz and alcohol-free options on the menu too.
Naturally, where there's drink there is also food, and The Alchemist has a menu of bar snacks and nibbles to keep you going. The food takes inspiration from all over the world, with snacks ranging from crispy bao buns, gyozas and duck spring rolls to popcorn chicken and tacos. Not to mention, there's a cracking weekend breakfast and brunch offering too, with full English breakfasts galore alongside chicken and waffles, pancake stacks and breakfast burritos.