I came here on a Saturday night and it was quite busy…read more There was definitely a lot of football playing on the TVs and they have plenty of them. I got what I've had a few times that I really like the chicken tacos. It comes with some sort of corn slaw and black beans. My date got this steak frites. Both were very delicious. Our server was very attentive. I did not catch his name. He did say that the meatloaf there and his mom's meatloaf for his two favorites but we decided not to get the meatloaf. My boyfriend's son got the fish and chips and he really enjoyed that as well. I did visit the bathroom a few times and it was very clean. They had someone playing music on their guitar and they were really good again didn't catch his name either. It took me a few times to like this place, but I'm really enjoying it now if you're going to come on the weekends again, I suggest making a reservation.

I was excited to try this place out. Its a great place to eat. We had great service and great food…read more It is pricey, but its worth it. I do have to say it's definitely a date night type restaurant, and worth going to. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was the amount of tv's in such a nice, yet expensive restaurant. I guess I wasn't opposed to it, but I was there for a birthday dinner not a tv in my face.

The Essential was such an unexpected find during our trip through Alabama. We weren't expecting to…read morestumble across such an elegant restaurant serving truly elevated food, but it ended up being one of our favorite meals. I ordered the seafood pasta, and you could immediately tell the pasta was homemade. It was fresh, perfectly cooked, and the seafood was beautifully prepared. My daughter had the spaghetti, and my husband ordered the Waldorf salad, which was just as thoughtfully put together. Our waitress also recommended the hummus and house pickles, and I'm so glad we listened. Both were fresh, unique, and the perfect way to start the meal. From the food to the service, everything felt polished without being pretentious. It was one of those meals where every dish was executed with care and attention to detail. Overall, The Essential was such a pleasant surprise and proof that you can find five star dining experiences in the most unexpected places. If you're anywhere near Birmingham, this place is absolutely worth the stop.

Really cool place with a quaint atmosphere and great service. My wife and I split the chicken…read moresandwich, grits and a hash brown. All were really good. We got the sauce on the side for the sandwich just in case, but it was really good. Definitely a place I want to revisit. Saw the smash looking burger and pancakes at tables and they both looked amazing!!

Passed through Birmingham on our way back to Jacksonville and so glad we stopped at Southern for…read morebrunch. The minute we walked in and heard the live music, we knew we were going to have a good time. The food did not disappoint. My mom and daughter both had the pasta--one swapped the crawfish for chicken and the other for shrimp--and both versions were delicious. Hubby had the steak and eggs, and the one bite he was willing to spare was surprisingly delicious too! I went with the fried green tomatoes and Brussels sprouts because I already knew I'd be helping myself to some pasta from their plates. We finished it all off with banana pudding and key lime pie, and both were the perfect ending. Great food, live music, good vibes, friendly server and a fun stop on the road home. Definitely glad we found this place! Also, a great looking bar with lots of TVs so would be great in the evening as well.

I've eaten there several times previously. The place was the least crowded I've ever seen it, we…read morewere there on a Friday evening, but did not appear anything going on at BBJC, so I guess that was why. There was a guy performing live there, and the music was not so overpowering that you were unable to talk across the table. Very pleasant. Service was slow but it appeared they were understaffed. Order bowl of Gumbo for appetizers. We went on and provided our entree orders at that time as well. We waited about 25-30 minutes a different person brought out our order. I ask the server to take the gumbo back, as we had order that as an appetizer. In a few minutes our original server brought the gumbo back to our table. I told her we had ordered that as an appetizers, the server apologized and said it had gotten "Lost in the kitchen, keep it, I'll take care of it". About the food, wife ordered salad with chicken. The salad had 4 large fried chicken tenders on it. I order the sirloin tips over rice. Overall tasty, but gravy was a little salty. Dish included some green beans as well which were tasty. Overall experience was ok, service a little slow which I don't understand with the lower population in the dining room. When I got the check, the gumbo was still on the ticket. Not sure what "I'll take care of it " meant, not what I expected. I paid for it without saying anything else. Actually it was pretty good gumbo. Paid the bill, left a good tip, as the server seemed to be running her legs off. Going back? Probably so, but it'll be a while till I do.

We went to Oak House for our 20th anniversary. We were seated by the window in these cute…read morearmchairs. It had a very intimate feeling. We started with the focaccia which was fluffy and flavorful. We also got the ahi tuna which was delicious. I chose the filet with scalloped potatoes and my husband chose the ribeye. There was so much food that we couldn't even finish. We got the bread pudding for dessert though we were sure we couldn't eat another bite. It was absolutely decadent. The service was amazing. Very attentive. The location was pretty and had easy parking. It was a great choice for an anniversary dinner. I will definitely be going back to try the lamb chops next time.

Oak House exceeded my expectations! The food was DELISH. So flavorful and clearly made with…read morehigh-quality ingredients. I notoriously hate mushrooms but I absolutely devoured the crab stuffed mushrooms - 10/10 dish!! The service was excellent, there was plenty of parking, and the ambience is upscale but not stuffy. There is a mocktail menu, which is such a nice touch. The Peach Sunrise was insanely good! I'll definitely be back.

I really enjoyed my experience at Soho Social! It's a very nice, chill spot with a great…read moreatmosphere. Happy hour is from 3-6 PM, although the menu can be a little confusing at first. Thankfully, our server was able to explain everything and made it easy to understand. I ordered the egg rolls, wings, pretzels, bacon Brussels sprouts, and a margarita. The Brussels sprouts weren't pictured, but they were SO good! Everything came out fresh, hot, and surprisingly quick. The drinks were also perfect and came out quickly. The wings were good, just a little on the thicker side, and the ranch was AMAZING! It had a different flavor than your typical ranch, but it was really good. Even though the restaurant was super crowded and busy, our server did a great job making sure both myself and my guest were taken care of. Overall, I had a great experience and would definitely come back!

I was originally planning to go elsewhere for lunch but due to a special event ended up here…read moreinstead. I had been before for lunch awhile back and recalled enjoying it. Seated immediately by the Friendly staff. After a bit of trying to decide, I settled on the Basically Famous Fried Chicken Finger Plate with side of Regular Tots (instead of the Parmesan Truffle) and Street Corn. I had intended to save a couple of the chicken pieces and some of the tots for lunch the next day. But it was so good I ate it all! Even though parking can be a little challenging at the SoHo area, I consistently can find an available space in the underground parking garage. While I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch, they need a lunch menu with smaller portions and pricing for me to come back more often.

The food, drinks, and service were all exceptional. I ordered the black lentil bolognese and it…read morewas magnificent.

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

Both the pork chops and the filet are amazing. We loved the atmosphere and the people were…read moreextremely friendly. We will definitely be back!

Staying in Homewood. Looked around for a low carb option. The Refinery hit the spot. Tuna,…read moresquash medley, and a side salad for the person looking for low carbs. I had a delicious pork chop with black eyed pea, corn, okra, and tomato succotash. A glass of red wine and a bottle of beer. Small dining area with a warm welcoming feel. There are tables outside when the weather cooperates. It was a little warm outside for us. The service was good! Our only issues were rounding the block a few times for find parking and 18% gratuity being included with the bill.

Great service. Great food. Great drinks. The bar is where I always sit. It's faster (in my opinion)…read more Kendall was the bartender on duty during my recent Wednesday evening visit. She's amazing!! I really enjoyed the crab claws app- $23. They are served chilled & steamed. This was the perfect little snack. I also had a nice glass of sparkling wine. It paired well with the crab claw appetizer. I always have a great experience whenever I come here. Current is definitely worth checking out if you are in Birmingham, Al

My friend, Julia, and I tried current the other night! We walked in and immediately loved the vibes…read moreand upscale, quirky, modern feel of it all. High ceilings and exposed brick are a few of the ways to my heart. If you've seen a post about this place, you've probably seen a picture of the crackly round, artistic dish and wondered what it was. There are dumplings on the underside of it and you break each one off of the crackly part to enjoy. We did enjoy these but I would've loved a soy sauce to dip them in. They came with chili crunch, peanuts, and green onions but I wanted an actual sauce. They were very standard tasting dumplings and there was nothing extraordinary about them unfortunately. As always, we'd looked at the menu beforehand and decided what we wanted. It does state on their website that their menus can change due to freshness and availability. But we'd both decided on an app and entree we wanted only to get there and have none of them on the menu. I do appreciate a rotating menu to accommodate local items, but I would also love for those to be updated on a regular basis. So after rerouting, we decided on the chicken skewers as another app with the dumplings. These were chargrilled, flavorful, and had a nice crust on them. I got shrimp fried rice and Julia got spicy beef noodles. It was fine but I wish the shrimp wouldn't have been cut up. It felt like they chopped them up in order to not put as many in the dish. At $25 for this, I'd like whole shrimp please. There were a few pieces of raw spinach with pepper on the top. I would've loved a sauce of some kind. I would've preferred shrimp hibachi with fried rice from a Japanese place that included vegetables and sauces. This was not *bad* there was just SO much room for improvement. We both agreed that nothing was awful, but for these prices and the hype, we expected more. Our waitress was super friendly. Bonus points because they had match boxes at the host stand! There was a paid parking lot diagonal from the restaurant, so we had to walk through an intersection to get there. There are some spots up front if you can snag one. Overall, we enjoyed our time here but won't be sprinting back.

This place was recommended by a local Birminghammian and it was a good recommendation. Three of us…read morewere working somewhere nearby and we took an Uber here and it was kinda packed. We snagged some seats at the bar and had some drinks and shortly after that, our table was ready. And they were able to keep everything on one check, which was nice. No need to settle the tab and start a new one at the table. And the old fashioned I had was delicious. For food, we started with the Hungarian Hot Stuffed Peppers. These were pretty good and the heat gradually snuck up on you as you ate them. I don't know if it was because the heat was more intense as you worked your way towards the stem or just a gradual burn. Either way, these were good and worth the heartburn later. The thick focaccia helped with the burn a little. Speaking of heartburn, the pepperoni pizza may have contributed a bit to that too, but again, totally worth it. The cup-and-char pepperoni was charred nicely as were the edges and bottom! I love a nice bottom! These were easy to share between two of us. Service was amazing from the bartender to the waiter to the uber driver (who didn't really count, but nice job, man). We felt welcomed and I can see why the place was crowded on a Tuesday evening.

First, know that there is parking behind the building. We didn't know and apparently for the number…read moreof cars trying to squeeze into nonexistent spaces, many others didn't either. We walked up the street with a half dozen other diners. Wooden City is definitely not in the best part of BHM. Walking to the restaurant was a little sketchy, no need for a detailed description. Although we had reservations, the hostess looked at us like we had three eyes. She found a small table for us in the far back of the restaurant. No problem, at least we were seated. Our server greeted us quickly and went over the menu. We ordered drinks, blistered Hungarian peppers and a sausage and mushroom pizza. We told him that we were going to a concert and were on a little bit of a tight schedule. By the time our server checked on our food, the second time, we went from a little bit tight to full "gotta get out of here" mode. I guess the delay in getting our food was to give the kitchen time to burn our pizza. Over half of the thick, chewy crust was inedible. The bottom of the pie didn't fare much better. The peppers, on the other hand, were amazing. (not so much so at 2 am but that's just me!) They are a do not miss. We were at least able to settle our bill quickly and made it to the concert with time to spare. Overall, would we go back? Only if in the area - those peppers were amazing. Still, I definitely would not make a special trip.

I was looking for a place that served broccoli salad and came across several people online…read morerecommending Urban Cookhouse. I decided to give it a try and got my order to go. My visit was pleasant, and the staff was very helpful. I couldn't decide what size broccoli salad to get, so I went with the $5 size, and it ended up being the perfect amount--not too little and not too much. I'm looking forward to coming back and trying some of the other items on the menu. The restaurant itself was clean and looked like it would be a comfortable place to dine in. Overall, I had a great experience and would definitely return!

Thanks, ChatGPT. I put in "help me think of healthy restaurants", and Urban Cookhouse came up. It…read morewas a nice reminder. I went there years ago, but totally forgot about it. Once a drank the strawberry lemonade I remembered how much I liked this place. This time we went for dinner and I was impressed with the number of plates they offered. I ended up choosing The Down Home which comes with smoked turkey and pineapple ham, hot cheddar pasta, broccoli salad, and a warm orange roll. It was really good. It didn't look like a lot on the plate at first, but I ended up having leftovers.