I went for £4.50 pizza and a beer in Birmingham 'dive' bar and there was one thing I couldn't order

Kirsty Bosley with a slice of pizza in Deadbeat
-Credit: (Image: Kirsty Bosley)


The problem, when you order a £4.50 slice of pizza in Birmingham, is that you don't know what you're going to get for your money. Down in Stirchley, where we have a Michelin Guide-listed fine dining spot along with some top-rated independent restaurants serving high-quality, locally-sourced grub, I assumed that I'd need to order two if I was going to leave Deadbeat with a full tum. Then I saw the slices.

Deadbeat is a dive bar from the gang that run the famous Bonehead fried chicken spot in the city centre. It opened in the spring of 2023 and since then has played host to a number of food vendor residents, never settling on just one, long-term dining concept.

Stirchley has one of the city's very best pizza joints, Alicia's Micro Bakehouse, but I strolled straight on past to give Deadbeat a go because their music playlist suits me better when it comes to a Friday night on the tiles. They were serving pizza by the slice when I visited, with three options: A margherita, hot pepperoni and a special pineapple and ricotta number.

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At the bar, where the cutest dog you've ever seen was being offered a little treat by staff that are cool and friendly, I'd retrieved a can of Vault City's Chocolate Dipped Strawberries beer from the well-stocked fridge to go with my slices. Deadbeat always has colourful cans in the fridge to go alongside the taps and the spirits on the back bar and I love rooting through them for one that sounds special.

We hadn't long cracked the tins by the time the giant slices got to the table. It was like that time in New York I'd fished four quarters out of the jingling arcade fund in my pocket to buy a piece of pie at some late night hole in the wall - big American slices.

Beer and big slices in Deadbeat
Beer and big slices in Deadbeat -Credit:Kirsty Bosley

There was no sloppy, soggy tip or droopy, drippy toppings. They pizza had been baked a second longer than you might otherwise bake it, making the mozzarella golden and blistered so the whole thing holds its own, just to be drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil so it's not all dried out.

The flavours are really great, the base sauce seasoned perfectly and the mozzarella clearly high quality given it wasn't dripping grease and brine all over the place. One slice was bigger than my head, obscuring the paper plate beneath it like an eclipse.

Sauce, we found, was a must. Fortunately, we'd ordered some garlic and herb along with a pot of Frank's Hot Sauce for crusts. The more I ate, the more I enjoyed it.

The bar at Deadbeat
The bar at Deadbeat -Credit:Kirsty Bosley

We were stuffed to the gills after two slices (Domino's could NEVER) but honestly, I'd never order the pineapple one even if I had room. Another dull debate for another day, I felt far too cool, sipping beautiful strawberry and chocolate beer from the can and trying to pick out bands, gigs and venues from the peeled off, torn posters that cover the walls.

It wasn't my first time at Deadbeat. In the early days, I hadn't warmed to the attempt of making it feel old and lived-in, given I knew it was a new fit out. Now that it's had its fair share of heavy metal nights, spilled beers, raucous conversations, burgers and booze, it's starting to feel the way that it looks.

Deadbeat isn't competing with Alicia's because the food offering is ever-changing, pizza by the slice isn't a permanent fixture so I'd still recommend that spot every time for a sit-down pizza dinner. But for perching on a stool and swilling great beers in a dive bar that feels like it's been transplanted here from some trendy, Pacific North Western corner of America? You cannot Dead-beat this place - just keep an eye on their Instagram to see when pizza is back and what you can eat in the meantime.

Inside Deadbeat
Inside Deadbeat -Credit:Kirsty Bosley

From Deadbeat we went over to Couch for a Koopa Troopa cocktail from their nostalgia menu (rum, madeira and plum) and then up to Ikigai for a nightcap from their Anime-themed menu (the acidic afterbite on the pickled blackberry-laced Vinland Saga drink is a dream). Stirchley nights are always brilliant and Deadbeat is up there among the must-visits!

This review was independent, conducted at random and food and drink was paid for by the reviewer.