First time, special occasion, high expectations: we were put at a table practically in the kitchen. When we asked for another table, the hostess gave us some attitude and said that their 'regular customers' reserved their tables by number and that, despite reservations, we would have to wait another 45 minutes. escalated two levels, the manager made it right with a good table and server. The food was great. They need to do something about that hostess though. There are several comments about her in these reviews. If you're making reservations, suggest you inquire about location of the table. read more

the place was jam packed the friday night before the Bama-LSU game, for obvious reasons. we snagged two seats at the bar and really enjoyed the service and meal. the bar: cocktail and wine list is great, fun young bartenders added some witty banter to the evening. plenty of room to enjoy a full meal. the food: start with the crab cake appetizer - we only ended up with it because they were out of steak tartar. this was a blessing in disguise as the crabcake was fantastic! our entrees were good as well. i loved the flavor of my scallops, but they were a little gritty. i don't really know if that can be totally prevented, but it did not affect the flavor at all. the fish my fiance had was excellent as well. i'm sure we'll be back at ocean on our next trip to the magic city. read more

Favorite restaurant in birmingham! Outstanding lobster and sushi. Always wonderful service and terrific ambiance.

We've only been here once so I can't give it 5 stars but we had a great experience on our first trip. Our family used to live in Birmingham but not any longer.... Great oysters and seafood. Nice drink selction. High quality all around and very friendly staff. Recommended. read more

Great service, great menu, great ambiance! Love the bar area and it was a popular place to be! We had Greek salad, lobster bisque, filet, fish special and bread pudding. All of it was delicious! Service was attentive, polite and knowledgable. read more

I am a seafood lover, and was definitely not let down with the entrees that I have ordered here before! The sushi here is pretty amazing! I do hate that they closed the adjoining 26 (because they had a great happy hour and it was a lot less expensive.) I hear that they will be re-branding it and opening again soon though. The food that I have eaten here definitely warrants five stars. However, I was not blown away with the atmosphere. I was a bit underwhelmed after having eaten at the fashionable 26 next door. The bar area is beautiful, but the rest of the place is rather bland...especially for such an expensive restaurant. I prefer to eat on the breezeway side, which opens up to the street and feels a lot more elegant than the main dining room. read more

My boyfriend and I very rarely go out to eat, mainly just to save money, but some of the best money we've ever spent on a "fancy" dinner was at Ocean. For being in our mid-twenties, and such a hot-looking couple, I was surprised by how intimidated I felt walking into the cool atmosphere, knowing how much food and drinks would cost -- but our server was wonderful about making us feel at ease and excited about the menu! I'm a seafood fanatic, and the scallops here were truly phenomenal. I don't even remember what Boyfriend had, I think it was the filet mignon, but we both split the Ocean salad (yum) and savored every incredible bite of our entrees... and with a tip spent just over $100, which was awesome for a first-in-forever night out! We left Ocean feeling pleasantly full, and surprisingly richer from a great memory made. read more

The service at Ocean is top notch. Our server was excellent and his wine pairing recommendations were spot on. The seafood tower is a must - everything was fresh and of great quality. I ordered the halibut as an entree and it was cooked perfectly. Overall experience was exceptional. I highly recommend. read more

Excellent food! Really good. In the 5 points area. It's a bit spendy, but great for special occasions. The fire-roasted lobster tails are to die for. Seriously. read more

Patrick is uh-maze-ing. He knows what's up. You are guaranteed a good time with him as your server. Made my moms birthday so special.

My meal was amazing. I was in Birmingham for business and I couldn't find any decent food near my hotel. Thank goodness for Yelp. I found Ocean and decided to take myself out for a good meal. I sat at the bar and received prompt service. The bartender was very friendly and he introduced me to the chef when he popped out of the kitchen. I started with the smoked duck rolls, they were perfectly cooked, crispy and not greasy. My entrée was a grouper special they were featuring that day, it was delicious. I finished with dessert, forget what it's called but it was a sampling of 3 different peach desserts. read more

Ocean invited us (via email) to their 13th anniversary party and we were excited! Usually we order pure fish- it is OCEAN, right? We sat at the bar and the bartender suggested that we order the special throwback dishes. They were mini versions of old favorites. Unfortunately we were not impressed. Should of stayed with the old standard whole fish, which is to DIE for every time. The oysters that we had for an appetizer were the star of the meal! Very fresh. read more

This meal was great. Service was excellent and atmosphere was superior. I would suggest this restaurant for anyone wanting to experience fine dining at its best. read more

I sat at the bar with my friend Rick and we had great sushi and great mussels. It was great food in a great location. The bartender was smart, funny, and knowledgeable without being snooty. 'Go there. read more

Never disappoints! Get the seafood tower! And coffee with dessert is the perfect ending.

I took my sister out for a girl's night. This is an awesome place. The food was divine. The atmosphere is breathtaking. The drinks did the trick. The service was impeccable. The experience was unforgettable. read more

Great food. Great atmosphere. One of my favorite fine dining restaurants in Birmingham!

Pricey - but very good and wonderful service...GREAT place to go when going with a group and someone is paying!! :) Seafood was all good, everyone in our large group cleaned their plate...that's always a good sign. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal! read more

We thought that Ocean was terrific. The rooms are lovely, the welcome is warm, casual, and sincere . . . and somebody (somebodies) is/are keeping authentic quality front-and-center. The service was perfect: friendly, not corporate-speak, knowledgable, unrushed and timely. And the food was superb. (We had ceviche, the fried-feta salad, pompano, and flounder: found it thrillingly good. It is so much fun to eat fresh, well-prepared whole fishes.) No, it ain't cheap. But unlike so very many well-reviewed restaurants of that cost . . . it's for-real, and completely worth it. We pass through Birmingham on the way to the Gulf about once a year, and going to Ocean is going to be just as much a must-do as is getting Apalachicola oysters in Apalachicola. read more

Greek Fried Feta Cheese Salad! Love in the mouth.

This was my first visit here and it was indeed an experience. The food was delicious..from the appetizer to the entree. Although we did find a bug which they said was a beatle in our food. The Sous Chef came out and apologized and explained that they keep their kitchen very clean and wanted us to know that the beatle came from the fresh produce that they use. Although that made us very cautious of the rest of our food we decided to stay and proceed eating carefully as we examined every bite. If the food was not so tasty we would have definitely left right away . We also received compensation for the incident. The inside dining atmosphere was nice and elegant enough for a romantic date. As more people dined in of course the noise level increased but it was manageable. My only complaints would be the bug in the food. Also our waiter slacked off as more guest arrived and I sat at the table for awhile with an empty cup due to lack of attention from the staff. Also because a portion of the restaurant is open for outdoor dining I had to fight off a fly for a while until it flew on to somewhere else. I give this restaurant a 2 star because of my experience but I give the food alone a 4 star. read more

See all

BAD SERVICE We typically love Ocean, but did not like the unattentive wait staff. It was our 10 yr wedding anniversary and we had made a reservation for 8:00. We arrived 20 min early, so we could grab a cocktail at the bar. It took Carlos over 10 min to acknowledge that we were sitting there. He made eye contact with us, but not once did he speak to us. Once he finally took our drink orders, he was rude and pompous. We finally got seated for our dinner. Our server was superb and our meal was outstanding. My only gripe with Ocean is Carlos and his rude behavior. I doubt that we will be back. read more

Modern restaurant serving fresh seafood in a comfortable environment. I came across Ocean on a recent visit to the Birmingham area. The outside looked interesting and based on the crowd, it seemed like a decent bet so I went in. Due to the crowd and the long wait, I opted for the bar. We were greeted at the bar by a charismatic bartender named Eric. He quickly made us feel welcome and offered several suggestions from their extensive seafood menu. I went with the Red Snapper prepared from one of four ways (wood grilled Greek style,steamed oriental style, pan seared, or fried. I chose Greek off the bartender's recommendation. The meal came with steamed vegetables, today's mashed potatoes and an ocean salad (mixed greens, olives and feta). Despite the large crowd the meal came quickly. The salad was tasty, if not with a lot of olive oil and was accompanied by some fresh crusty bread. The fish arrived with a nice presentation and at the right temperature. The taste of the fish was perfect without a lot of over powering spices. The meat was fresh and separated easily with my fork. Upon finishing, I went with another recommendation, the chocolate toffee bread pudding (dark chocolate, English toffee and frangelico anglaise). I never had bread pudding with toffee and this was a pleasant surprise. The toffee added a buttery taste to an already decedent dessert. I highly recommend it. Overall, the food was great and the waitstaff attentive. The bill came in around $47 with just water and the tip. Pricey, but not too bad based on quality and atmosphere. read more

I was here on business and definitely wasn't disappointed, but it may be because I had a peach cobbler that to this day I tell people was life changing. I would definitely go back! read more

The food wasn't bad, but I expect more for the price. I've had better oysters at Courtyard.

Overrated. Absolutely excellent wait staff, but the food is overpriced for its quality. We had both steak and fish, and they weren't anything to rave over. Nice ambiance, but if mouth watering seafood is what you're looking for, go somewhere else. read more

This restaurant is reservation only on the weekends! We had dinner here on a busy Saturday night and the service was excellent. The menu had a variety of fresh seafood choices. Definitely an above average experience all around! There are definitely a few better seafood values in Birmingham, but for a special night out Ocean is outstanding! Try the baklava ice cream! read more

Went here for our anniversary and everything was delicious. Must try the red snapper dish and the greek salad with fried feta.

The food at Ocean was delicious. My girlfriend had a surf and turf dish and we both agreed that the New Bedford scallops were the best either of us had ever tasted. I had the nori encrusted tuna that was fabulous. I would have given Ocean five stars if not for the waiter. He was a real salesman in the negative sense - to the point that we almost asked for someone else to take over. He was definitely trying to run up the bill at every turn. I would not go back without "interviewing" the waiter first. It almost ruined what otherwise was a wonderful evening. read more

Simply amazing. The food and service were outstanding. Great evening. read more

Ocean is our favorite seafood restaurant in Birmingham (also holds its own against any seafood restaurant in the country). Ocean absolutely deserves all of the awards it has received. FRESH fish and oysters prepared perfectly! Arguably, the best sushi in town. Yes, their seafood is to-die-for, but their steaks are also outstanding... melt in your mouth filets. In fact, when my husband is in the mood for a steak, we make a reservation at Ocean. Cool environment. Great wine list. Very professional waitstaff. read more

My husband I went to Ocean last night for our 31st wedding anniversary. We had never been there before and I have to say it was wonderful! Our waiter Matt, made excellent recommendations and the food was delicious. We both had grouper and it was superbly cooked. We also had the fried green tomato appetizer that was wonderful. A good restuarant, in my opinion, offers both good food and good service and this one definitely had both. We loved loved loved it and will be back soon! read more

Expensive but an incredible choice of seafood specialties...the "garden room" is a little like sitting in an alley so just make sure you reserve seating in the main dining rooms which are spacious and handsome. read more

Very fresh seafood and nice atmosphere. The fish cooked whole were absolutely amazing ! Also had oysters rockefeller and they were really not special at all - not really up to par with other OR I've had. But everything else was a "exceed expectation" experience. read more

We loved the food at Ocean. Everything was fabulous from the appetizer to the dessert. Our waiter was wonderful as well. The only thing we weren't impressed with was the seating. We were there for our anniversary and were so close to the people beside us we could hear everything they were saying. It wouldn't have been so bad if these people weren't extremely annoying. Talking about how much money they had and yelling profanities. Other than that we loved it and will probably go back. read more

Awesome fish. Everything was delicious. Excellent service. We were in Birmingham for five nights. This was easily our best meal. The fish was great. Also recommend the sushi. Great drink list as well. read more

We love Ocean. We've been here several times and have always had delightful meals. We went this past weekend to celebrate my husband's 30th birthday and it was a regrettable experience. We might have seen our waiter a total of five times the entire night. He forgot to put in oyster orders but blamed it on a backup (How do we know he forgot, you ask? When he finally delivered the oysters the time-stamped ticket was on the platter...) And speaking of, the oysters were brought to us on a bed of melted ice so they were fully submerged in water. All of the delicious brine was washed away and they were mushy. We would have sent them back but the oysters were brought in a drop-and-dash fashion. A fellow diner's oysters were delayed so long he asked them to just be brought as his entree. Our entrees were also dropped and dashed by our server and he didn't return the rest of the meal to check in. I brought a cake for our table and the waiter asked a guest at the other end of the table if it should be brought out. The guest gestured to me and said I would be able to answer that but our server decided to ignore this suggestion and simply walked away. We were a party of seven and were at Ocean for over THREE hours. I enjoy a paced meal but this experience felt more like neglect than a stroll. We'll probably be back because we love the restaurant too much, but we sure were disappointed in Ocean's delivery on such a special night. read more

Visited Ocean on Valentines Day 2017. What a First Class experience it was! The service was impeccable. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and made some wonderful recommendations. We started with the Blue Crab Cakes and the Spicy Crab Salad Fried Rice Cake Sushi. Both were delicious and tasted so fresh! For entrees my girlfriend had the Gulf Coast Grouper and I had the Filet on the recommendation of our server. The grouper was cooked to perfection and my girlfriend really enjoyed it! We both agreed though that the Filet was the star of the show. Ocean may be primarily a seafood restaurant but they have one of the best steaks I've had in recent memory! The green bean and potato salad was a great pairing with the steak as well. We finished the meal off with a slice of Chocolate Cheesecake. It is served with toasted marshmallow on top which I thought was a nice touch. The cake may look small when it arrives at your table but it's so rich and dense that it easily satisfies two people! Overall we had a wonderful time and I couldn't recommend Ocean more. Truly one of Birmingham's finest dining experiences. read more

Wow. I'm really in awe about what just happened. My husband and I had an 8:00 reservation. Upon arriving at 8:00, we were told our table wasn't ready. We then waited 10 minutes while we stared at multiple empty tables not being set up. Finally, a water boy comes up and says he will take us to our table. He then immediately halts himself and says it's not ready and there has been a confusion. Finally, we are taken to our table. We remained polite through the entire process. My husband proceeded to sit down at our cramped corner table when the waiter came up and curtly asked him to move. My husband asked why he needed to do that and the waiter said (with an attitude) that he had only set two place settings and my husband needed to move to the other place setting. My husband stated that he did not want to move to a corner seat that he could barely access. At that point, we left. I have never seen such ridiculous and controlling behavior from a restaurant that tries so hard to parade as "fine dining". read more

My husband and I went for our first time to Ocean last night. It was my birthday, and since Larry called that afternoon to confirm, he found that out. I was treated like a Queen by Larry and William! I felt so special! The food was outstanding! William suggested the butter poached lobster for my birthday dinner. I got it and it was succulent and delicious! My husband wanted the crispy snapper, but they were out so he got the filet and was delighted. Everything we had was brought in a timely manner, was well presented, and tasted fresh and delicious. Great evening! read more