Toby Carvery is a chain of carvery restaurants serving delicious breakfasts and carvery meals.

~Toby Carvery Streetly~

Chester Road
Sutton Coldfield
B73 6SP

0121 353 7785

This particular Toby Carvery is adjacent to the Birmingham Streetly Travelodge but is perfect for those who are staying there and also open to others too. There is spacious car park to the front of the restaurant for diners. From the outside, this restaurant is quite pleasant in appearance. There are stairs to gain access to the main entrance though I do believe a ramp is present too and the restaurant is accessible for disabled visitors and those with prams.

The layout of the restaurant is really good. The bar area features various padded seats and sofas as well as some small tables for drinks and light bites to eat as well as a few amusement machines and televisions showing sports or soaps. The other side of the restaurant is more suited to those dining in the restaurant. There are different booths and tables to accommodate different sized parties. This area is next to the carvery deck.

The restaurant is clean throughout and is decorated well with red and creams. I found it to have a homely atomosphere. It is spacious. There are toilets at either end of the restaurants which were adequate and clean. There is also an outside seating area with picnic tables. The restaurant accepts cash and card payments. The restaurant is open from early morning until midnight and children are most welcome until closing time.

~Service~

This Toby Carvery isn't over run with staff constantly but the service isn't overly slow. If you are eating, you will be shown to a table and given the menus where appropriate. Drinks can be purchased at the bar in the evening but are brought to your table if dining at breakfast time. Any staff we encountered were fairly friendly except one who was a little confused as to why one of our party wasn't impressed with her meal. Food was replenished quickly and served without hassle. Bills were also brought when requested. One thing though is that glasses from the previous evening were still sitting out in the back seating area at 5pm the next day so some areas appear to be overlooked.

~Our Toby Carvery Experience~

During our recent trip to Birmingham, we stayed in the Travelodge next door to this Toby Carvery. We had planned on eating here for breakfast but going elsewhere for dinner as my son doesn't like carvery. I was due to meet some friends on the Tuesday evening so it was decided that we would all be eating there. The lady I spoke to said it was ok for my fussy son to bring his meal in with him which was appreciated.

We found the Toby Carvery to be perfect for our needs and it does seem popular with hotel guests and locals. They offer a function room which was used for a funeral party one afternoon and they coped with the extra drinkers well. I will discuss the different ways we experienced the Toby Carvery Streetly below.

~As A Pub~

We had a few drinks in here each evening as we didn't know the area well and it saved on taxi costs! One section of the restaurant is perfect for relaxing with a drink and we were very comfortable. The bar is well stocked with beer, alcopops and lots of spirits and soft drinks. Prices aren't the cheapest - around £3.00 for a Kopperberg and £1.85 for a small bottle of water. I took advantage of the refill glass which entitled me to free refills of Pepsi or Tango from a machine all night for £2.29! This worked out excellent value for money as I had around 8 glasses one evening.

The restaurant has a quiz night on a Monday at 9pm and whilst my fiance and son wanted to go back to our room, I wanted to do the quiz so teamed up with brother in law and his fiancee. The quiz is £1.00 per team member and it did seem popular. There were a few rounds and we came 2nd last but we enjoyed ourselves! I was able to relax with a drink one afternoon and read my magazine - I found the restaurant to be peaceful during the day. When I met up with friends, we had a few drinks outside but found it to be a little noisy with drunk people.

Overall the pub side of this Toby Carvery is good.

~For Breakfast~

We all have big appetites in our family so breakfast was always going to be appreciated. The breakfast is mainly self service as the food is neatly arranged on hot plates in the buffet section (beware it gets roasting hot). There is an all you can eat option for £3.99 (cheaper for a child) as well as smaller options including filled muffins for a few pounds.

The breakfast counter looked delicious each morning and I couldn't wait to tuck in! The website promised fried eggs, beans, grilled tomato, bacon, sausages, potato rosti, potato, gammon and cheese hash and black pudding as much toast as you could handle. We didn't spot any black pudding but breaded mushrooms were present as a replacement. We all thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts. The food was cooked well and was of a high quality. I personally loved the pototo, gammon and cheese hash as it was an unusual yet tasty breakfast addition. The eggs and sausages were tasty too.

My son wasn't keen on the sausages and simply wanted toast each morning. Cereal would be a good addition I feel. There was the option of wholemeal and white bread which had to be put through one of those dodgy toasting machines. I was surprised at the amount of toasting toppings on offer including Nutella, jam, butter, Marmite etc. Everything was fresh and tasty.

We paid around £27 each morning for 4 breakfasts, toast for our son and 5 drinks which is excellent for what we got. The food is filling and satisfying and if I lived local, I would be in here for my brekkie all the time!

~Lunch and Dinner~

Carvery Sandwiches can be purchased during the day for a few pounds. The actual carvery is available from 12pm until late each day and is priced at £5.99 (£9.49 on a Sunday). As you can imagine, the carvery is steered towards meat eaters though Toby do offer a few vegetarians options from a seperate menu including nut roast, lasagne and a spicy vegetable crumble. Children are catered for with smaller portions and dessert/drink meal deals for £5.49. They also have a few carvery alternatives on the main menu but we did not sample these.

The carvery deck looked absolutely amazing each day. The chef would serve you some meat which includes pork, beef, turkey and gammon along with your yorkshire pud - you can upgrade to more of this for £1.50. You can then help yourself to as much vegetables and sides as you want and gravy. Sides include cauliflower, roast potatoes, mash, peas, carrots and more. Stuffing and crackling was also available.

On the evening we dined here, my fiance, brother in law, his fiancee and my son had their dinner a little earlier and really enjoyed the food. I was due to meet two dooyooers (chrisandmark and vampireprincess) for dinner as well as the children. My son joined us too! We were seated in a booth suitable for 6 and ordered our drinks from the bar before proceeding to the carvery deck. It was around 6.30pm and the restaurant wasn't too busy at all.

The food all looked so tempting and two of our party opted for a kingsize meal which was absolutely massive and even I wouldn't have managed! The little lady had a childrens meal which was perfect for her. Lizzie opted for a vegetarian meal and was told they had nut roast and it would be made for her. This took quite a while and wasn't the most appetising in appearance or taste but the waitress was confused as she had never tasted it - no offer of discount etc.

Our carvery meals were top notch though. I opted for some beef and turkey and received a generous portion of succulent, tasty meat freshly carvery in front of me. The yorkshire puddings cannot be described as normal - some were massive and mishaped beyond belief. I found them to be a little too crunchy but they softened with the gravy. I was spoiled for choice with the sides available but piled my plate with carrots, mash and roast potatoes which were all delicious, seasoned well and cooked perfectly. All the food was served warm and fresh and I believe all of our party (minus Lizzie who had the veggie meal) were happy with the food.

We went on to order desserts and can confirm that the dessert menu is very tempting. Prices are from around £2.75 - £3.95 per dessert and the menu is varied for all sweet appetites and includes sundaes, cheesecakes, sponges and simple ice creams with sauces. A £1.00 discount is applied for midweek desserts providing you have ordered a carvery before this.

I opted for the pear and ginger sponge (a soft sponge with Williams pears with a hint of ginger and cinnamon). This was supplied with custard which is replenished however many times you need it to be. I found the portion size to be small but the sponge was delicious and the spices add warmth and flavour without being overpowering. The pear was small but fresh and sweet. The custard was hot and delicious but I only needed half the jug!

Other desserts ordered included the chocolate fudge cake which looked absolutely delicious. The toffee and shortcake cheesecake was served on a huge plate with a sauce of some sorts but looked tiny and almost like a half slice of cheesecake. It was pronounced tasty though. The younger children opted for ice cream which was served in a large glass and looked yummy. The final dessert on our table was chocolate brownie ice cream sundae which was huge and full of sweet chocolate and topped with a piece of brownie. The desserts went down a treat.

We mainly enjoyed our meals and were left full up. We moved outside after our meal. If I remember correctly, the bill came to just short of £45 for a vegetarian meal, two kingsize carvery meals, one regular meal, a childrens meal deal and 5 additional desserts which I believe to be fantastic value for money.

~Conclusion and Recommendation~

Whether you live local and fancy a purse friendly meal or are staying in the local area for a few days, I can recommend a trip to Toby Carvery in Streetly. It is near Sutton Park and can be reached by car or bus perfectly fine. I enjoyed each aspect of this restaurant and cannot hesitate to recommend it. It is family friendly (I spotted high chairs) and provides excellent, tasty grub so I cannot complain. They also offer takeaway and details can be found on their website www.tobycarvery.co.uk.

5 stars

Thanks for reading :)