We have spent our last 3 anniversaries at Oak House. It has never disappoints. Our most recent…read moretrip there might have been the best. This place is tiny. I have never tried to eat there without a reservation. It is always packed. I did not take a single pic but we had the gulf crab claws in lemon butter sauce. These were the most amazing crab claws i have ever had. It came with 2 pieces of bread thank goodness bc i needed it to get all the lemon sauce. Pricey- yes. Worth every penny-yes! We shared an entree short rib entree and added a side of mac and cheese and scalloped potatoes. There was not even a crumb left. I didn't even need a knife for the short ribs. My tip is to go early. I'm sure the other food is good too, but the best stuff sells out.

Boy do I love Oak house. Really. One of the best restaurants in Birmingham. No question. All…read morethree of us got chicken piccata. OUTSTANDING. NOW let's talk about the service. Let me set this up. My wife and I are on the diet shot. We share meals and still can't finish them. Both my wife and I at the beginning of our life together 47 years ago, both worked for restaurants. We know how hard folks in the business work. Even though it would affect his income negatively, our server was a real professional. I notice things like that. I tipped 35%+. WHY, he deserved it and we enjoyed his service. The Ambiance of the restaurant was calm, friendly and inviting. We will absolutely go again. Bravo.

I decided to come here on a Friday afternoon before six to finally catch a happy hour here. They…read morehave happy hour Monday through Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM. They also have some half-price appetizers during that time. We were promptly seated, didn't have a weight. This is my first time at this location. I had been to the one in Alabaster and Hoover location, but not this location. Our server's name is Shellee. She said it was her second shift. I never would've known unless she told me she was extremely attentive and friendly. We both started off with the perfect margarita on the rocks. We each had two of them. They were so delicious. I believe she said the bartender's name was Kasey. She definitely did a great job on those drink. We had a pretzel and beer cheese appetizer to start with which was very delicious and was recommended by the server. For dinner, I have the buffalo chicken wrap and my partner had the ribs. We were both happy with our meals. I did visit the bathroom and it was very clean. It definitely is one of the bigger locations I will definitely be back here again

This place matches the review. Excellent customer service, good food and nice atmosphere. Place can…read morebe for game day or fine dining. My youngest and I ordered the following: Southwest egg rolls: 8/10 very good 6oz sirloin: 8/10 very good Rickhouse Ribeye (cowboy style): 10/10 very good quality steak and flavor. The cowboy still just enhanced things even more. Highly recommend Potato salad: 7/10 not bad at all. My ribeye medium was so good my daughter no longer wants her steaks well done... I almost a shed a tear to this news. Amen.

We stopped by for a bite after work and were early enough to take advantage of their happy hour…read morespecials. We got several "small" plates, most of which were not small. The staff checked on us frequently. We got an order of the pork belly nachos - so much food, but good. A wise choice for a meal or for an appetizer for the table. With our other food, we came close but were unable to finish it! We also got a small charcuterie tray sampler - grilled bread, meat & cheese, nuts, and some grilled asparagus - very tasty. We had ordered the truffle pizza - truly one of the best pizzas I've ever had - but were so full, we ended up getting it to go and ate it the next day. I look forward to coming back soon.

Was in the area because of hubs job. Nice place. We made a reservation and still had to wait to be…read moreseated, lime 15-20 minutes. Once seated, our waitstaff came to take our drink orders. It appears that different restaurants have a different take on a Paloma. I enjoy the one from a restaurant here in MO. This one was pretty much, straight grapefruit juice and alcohol with bitter wine added. I asked for a shot of grenadine to help with the bitterness. Nkt much help but, I drank it. Hubs haf some kind of beer, the kids had lemonade. For meals, I had fish and chips, hubs had the ribs, the teen had pizza, and the toddler had chicken stripe. I have to stop ordering fish and chips from places. I barely ate any (fish seemed not fully cooked). The toddler wasnt feeling well and went to sleep. The teen said his pizza was ok,but he didn't eat it all which is unusual for him. Hubs said the same about his ribs. Once we got back to the hotel, the fish and chips made an appearance, up and out. I really think the fish was undercooked. Maybe it was an off day. When in the area again, I probably won't be back.

Infinite amount of stars for the food but negative one star for how slow they are. So very hard to…read morerate this place. So here is the downfall. It might have been the slowest dinner I ever had in my life. I had a 7:00 PM reservation and I arrived early and sat down at 6:50. After being greeted and ordering wine I placed an order of the pork belly appetizer at 7:05. The pork belly appetizer came out at 8:00, 55 minutes after ordering. I placed the entree order at 7:30 and it came out at 8:30. There were only 3 other tables in the restaurant. Two three tops and a two top so not even large tables. Why on earth is it taking an hour to get out an order. I have my credit card at 8:50 and got it back at 9:15. 25 minutes to charge a card? I mean I guess you can get busy but the 4 tables here had 3 people helping with them. At no point when the server came by my table did I ever say I needed another minute. So, a 2.5+ hour dinner as a single diner was ridiculous, especially considering they were not busy. The food here was truly incredible, some of the best I've had anywhere I've traveled. I absolutely loved it. You can tell they source fresh, local ingredients daily, and that commitment clearly shines through in the quality of every dish. I started with the pork belly appetizer, which was outstanding. The cut had the perfect balance of meat and fat, expertly cooked with the fat beautifully rendered. The flavors were exceptional as well, finished with a maple glaze and paired with a sweet potato cornbread that was completely unique and memorable. For my main course, I ordered the smoked ribeye, and it was flawless. The quality was top-tier, with gorgeous marbling that truly reflected a prime cut. The smoke flavor was perfectly balanced--present but never overpowering. It had a beautiful crust, was expertly seasoned, and cooked to an ideal temperature. It honestly could not have been better. They also offered a few amuse-bouches that were equally impressive. A single bite of cherry tomato with lamb bacon was one of the best bites I've ever had. To finish, I was served a watermelon and muscadine sorbet with a St-Germain finish, an incredibly thoughtful and skillful dessert. There is an immense amount of talent in this kitchen. You will never be disappointed by the food here. My experience seemed to be overshadowed by the slow service and near the end I was so ready to just leave. However I might consider returning just for the food.

Food first, thoughts after... Ranked as number 3 in top 5 of…read moreBirmingham's most expensive local restaurants. Overall my love and I had a pleasant time here. Bishop was our server and he made the overall experience so much better. Complimentary palate cleanser and opener. Located downtown so street parking or valet. Great atmosphere for date night.

This cute little place was a gem. Great drinks, great service and the French dip sandwich was…read moreincredible. Highly recommend.

I wish I could give The Refinery a proper review, but unfortunately they made that pretty…read moredifficult. When I walked in they handed me the full menu... and then immediately told me I couldn't order from it. Apparently they're running on a very limited menu right now, which consisted of maybe three or four things. Bit of a letdown since I came specifically because I saw pictures of their smash burger and had dreams about it on the drive over. Instead I settled for the tacos, which were actually pretty tasty. No real complaints there. The drinks leaned pretty sweet, which makes me think there's a heavy hand with the syrups. The space itself is very small. It's decorated nicely, but you'll definitely feel like you're accidentally best friends with the people sitting next to you. The staff was fine overall, but very close and boisterous with each other. In a room that small, if one of the servers has the cackle of a woman who skins Dalmatians on the weekends... maybe don't pair her up with the funniest coworkers on the planet. All in all, a fine experience but not ideal. Call ahead if you actually want access to the full menu.

My God, I thought fine dining had finally died, especially after covid. Current Charcoal Grill is…read morethe first restaurant I've been to in years that still understands and executes on everything that makes eating out enjoyable. The service is *excellent* with a capital "E." We ate at the bar, and the staff were friendly, attentive, and extremely knowledgeable about every single aspect of the restaurant. They have tried everything on the menu themselves. They can describe any one of the imported liquors up on the wall. These are real deal professionals who illustrate just how important the people in a restaurant's front truly are. The food? Delicious. It's a wild grab bag of East Asian fare - Chinese, Japanese, Thai - and it's all done extremely well. The portions are small, which is good, since you'll want to try half a dozen things on Current's very deliberately thought-out menu. The Peking Duck is some of the best I've had. The cocktails are also excellent, with my favorite being a delicious, earthy combination of coconut, lime, and pandan. It's like an extremely upscale tiki drink. I cannot recommend this place enough. Absolutely perfect. 5 stars.

Another favorite to add to the list…read more Loved the space. Loved the concept. Cocktails (specifically Air Tokyo) were outstanding. We went for the "favorites" menu which a $65/person was an absolute steal. You get two starters, dumplings and cured red snapper is what was offered. Two entrees, the bo ssam and banana leaf wrapped redfish, and one dessert, the miso tart. Everything was quite good and more than enough food. The dessert was a real winner. I thought about it days after. Looking forward to going back.

Great little upscale spot in Cahaba Heights. We came in on a Saturday night for dinner, no…read morereservation but they squeezed two of us in after a few minutes. The bar seating was 100% full. This is a spot with a heavy regular rotation. The people of Mountain Brook/Vestavia are here for dinner. It's a specific crowd. Service was great, the waitstaff is very friendly and on top of things. My dad ordered the "Magic City Manhattan" -- I'm not normally a dark liquor person, but I thought this was fantastic. I think it was the pecan liquor which made it so good. We split the muscles appetizer, which was great. The broth was so warm, garlicky, acidic, perfect. Love. And the bread that came with was great, too. If I'm being picky, the bread services' butter could've been more room-temp and easier to spread. But that's me being extremely picky. We ordered the lamb chop entree to split, too. Again, great. This is a fantastic spot if you're not looking to travel downtown for dinner. Easy menu, crowd pleasing. Definitely suited for an older crowd, which can be harder to find in the downtown spots.

Enjoyed another great meal at Foodbar tonight. Great food, thoughtfully prepared, and wonderful…read moreambiance. Always full of customers that (it appears from staff responses) are regulars. My guest tonight is a healthy eater, so the menu was perfect. Lots of farm to table options, vegetarian options, as well as fresh fish and other great proteins. We ended up having the seared tuna with soy pearls, yellow beets, feta and dates, and the spring salad with fried goat cheese, pistachios, apples and raspberries. Everything was fresh, well prepared and delicious. Service is always wonderful. Seating is limited so make reservations as early as possible. Bar seating available first come first served. There's a number of off-menu items so be sure to ask your server! My only complaint is that best tables are held for the "regulars;" so I guess it's time to become a regular at Foodbar.

We stopped by after visiting family…read more Enjoyed scallops. Risotto and asparagus Topped meal off with desserts Great service from server Manager Stephanie stopped by to check on us

Party of 5…read more Restaurant was almost empty when we arrived at 5:30 on a Friday, seemed to pick up when we were leaving around 6:45. Ordered the artichokes and the chipotle shrimp flatbread for the table... artichokes were very leomony and the chipotle flatbread was sweet instead of spicy. The red sangria wasn't special. Perhaps from a bottle but the other drinks were good. The artichoke and chicken soup wasn't special but was 'thin' - mostly clear broth. Everyone's meal was good - rainbow trout, shrimp and grits, halibut special and the 8oz filet... but something is always missing. Maybe it's as simple as needing salt. It was a fine meal - but at $50/person, it wasn't worth the price. Likely won't be back.

This morning, Sunday, February 15, 2026; My wife and I went to "The Essentials" for Sunday, Brunch…read more I have not eaten at "The Essentials" for a few years now. We don't like going out on holidays like Valentines Day so we usually do something the day after. Food: I got the Steak & Eggs. They were great. I did think the "Potato Cake" on the plate was a bit dry but I did eat it all. I was surprised that no Toast was provided for this item. Just an after thought. My wife go the Banana Bread French Toast. She also loved it. Service: This is where "The Essentials" understands what their clients want. Our server was outstanding. I looked around and felt the entire staff really knew how to work with their guests. Refreshing. Ambiance: At first, I thought the restaurant was a bit noisy. Yet my wife and my conversation was not strained. The Ambiance was upscale casual. Value: I thought the prices were a bit high yet the real story was, once I was finished, my mind was asking when the next time I would return. Cost a meal is in direct portion to how much you enjoyed it. I enjoyed my meal very much. Eat well, Drink well and stay healthy.

This is a great spot in Birmingham. The menu was not clear, but the staff worked with us to figure…read moreout what they could make without seed oils and gluten-free options. I ended up with a bunless burger. The Caesar salad with chicken was my first choice, but both the dressing and the chicken had seed oils - not good. Still, the vibe was great, and we made the best of what was available. Thanks to the chef for working with us.

Food, service, and ambiance is unmatched by any restaurant in the Birmingham area. Join The Club…read moreand experience it for yourself or go with a member and enjoy it

This restaurant is equipped with the most gorgeous views of Birmingham. The food was amazing and…read morethe staff was even better.