Faculty/Sixteen Kitchen has long been my go-to option when changing trains at Birmingham’s New Street Station. Located at the bottom of the Piccadilly Arcade, opposite the station’s New Street entrance, it’s a great breakfast/lunch option, courtesy of Sixteen Kitchen, although I’ve tended to call in the afternoon for coffee and cake at Faculty when changing trains, its proximity to the station making it perfect if you have a few minutes between trains.

Like many in the speciality coffee industry, Faculty has been feeling its way back, initially reopening for takeaway only, when it served from the door. Since then, it’s reopened its seating areas and is slowly expanding its opening hours as people return to the city centre. For now, the coffee offering has been reduced slightly, with just one option on espresso and another on pour-over. Similarly, Sixteen Kitchen is offering a cut-down menu, although you can always get cakes and a small selection of toasted sandwiches from Faculty.

The usual COVID-19 precautions are in place, including reduced seating to ensure social distancing, a queuing system at the door and Perspex screens on the counter. One non-COVID change is the appearance of a Modbar espresso system on the counter!

You can see what else has changed after the gallery.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46

Slider Script by WOWSlider.com v4.6

When I first visited Faculty in 2014, it and Sixteen Kitchen felt like separate businesses, even though, back then, they cooperated and shared space. When I returned in 2016, it was much clearer that the two were very closely linked, by then sharing a common entrance and with part of the party wall knocked through. Technically, Faculty is to the right, while Sixteen Kitchen is to the left, but you can sit in either regardless of whether you’ve ordered from kitchen or coffee shop, while in the afternoons, once Sixteen Kitchen has finished serving lunch, the space is used as overflow seating for Faculty.

Like Quarter Horse Coffee, Faculty used the enforced downtime due to COVID-19 undertake some reworking, which has seen the counter replaced in Faculty, in order to accommodate the shiny new Modbar espresso system, its twin group heads slightly masked behind the now near-obligatory Perspex screens. This replaced the old Synesso espresso machine, which was behind the original counter up against the left-hand wall which divided Faculty from Sixteen Kitchen. With the espresso machine gone, a doorway has been knocked through the wall, further cementing the link between the two, with staff now able to walk much more easily between coffee shop and kitchen, further integrating the two businesses.

The other changes are COVID-19 related, starting with a sign in the communal doorway, asking you to wait to be called inside. It also creates a one-way system, with customers going in on the left, and departing on the right. Once inside, there’s another sign, reminding you that you need to wear a mask when entering/ordering, which you do at the till just to your right, which is at the far end of Faculty’s new counter. Whereas you used to be able to order and pay on either side, now everything goes through this one till.

The other changes are to the seating, which has been stripped right back to comply with social distancing rules. Each side now just has three two-person tables, one in each corner of the windows at the front, with the third tucked in by the counter. There’s also a bench up against the counter on the Sixteen Kitchen side and a bench outside in front of the window on the Faculty side.

The good news is that the coffee is just as good as ever, with Faculty continuing as a multi-roaster. When I was there last week, there was a Costa Rican single-origin from Square Mile on espresso, although by now this will have been replaced by something from Round Hill Roastery, which was next up in the rotation. Talking of which, I had a pour-over, also from Round Hill, a washed Kenyan Kii AB, prepared through the V60.

It’s nice to see that standards haven’t slipped, despite COVID-19, with my coffee being served in a carafe, a neat handleless cup on the side, all presented on a tray. The coffee itself was lovely and smooth, with subtle, fruity hints.

I also ran into one of the owners while I was there, who told me that Faculty is slowly increasing its opening hours as people return to the city centre, so do check on social media (rather than the website) for the latest times.

December 2020: Faculty was a runner-up for the 2020 Best Coffee Spot near a Railway Station Award.

If you enjoyed this Coffee Spot, then take a look at the rest of Birmingham’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Birmingham.

You can see what fellow coffee blogger, Bex of Double Skinny Macchiato fame, made of Faculty when she visited in 2021.

If you liked this post, please let me know by clicking the “Like” button. If you have a WordPress account and you don’t mind everyone knowing that you liked this post, you can use the “Like this” button right at the bottom instead. [bawlu_buttons]
Don’t forget that you can share this post with your friends using the buttons below.