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.

I was in town for a concert and came across this restaurant on TikTok, so my daughter and I decided…read moreto give it a try. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the hostess and seated inside. The interior has a nostalgic, warm vibe and would be a great setting for a date night. Our server was awesome! He was friendly, attentive, and recommended some great food and drink options. I also really enjoyed the open-kitchen concept, as I always like being able to see the food being prepared. My only concern was with a couple of things I noticed in the kitchen. Since the kitchen is completely open and visible to guests, I think extra attention should be given to sanitation and overall presentation. I noticed one of the cooks drinking while preparing food, and another wiped his nose with his arm while working. Although he didn't use his hand, it still left me feeling a little uneasy. When guests can see directly into the kitchen, those small details really matter. Aside from that, we enjoyed our experience, and I do think this is a place worth trying at least once. The atmosphere, service, and recommendations from our server were definitely highlights of our visit.

This was my 2nd trip to the view, but my first since becoming a Yelper and a member of The Club…read more Since it was so long ago, I will review from my most recent and memorable trip. With all of my family in town for various reasons, we decided to go ahead and celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday. After finding out our dining options were limited (The Signature is closed on Saturday nights... or at least this one in particular), we decided The View would be a nice option. The service was exceptional. Even though membership is still very recent, that is something that is pretty standard throughout the entire club. They hire amazing staff and train them well. Our table was ready when we got there and the amazing breads were brought quickly. A variety of options were selected around the table and I heard zero complaints from a family that would let you know if something wasn't good. I opted for the beef tenderloin. It was cooked to my rare liking and the potatoes and vegetables it came with were also cooked to my liking. The beef itself was extremely tender and flavorful. Which I don't always find with tenderloin. Only a couple of people got dessert and I tasted one bite. Absolutely fantastic. There were a couple of hiccups. The ramp for my grandparents are on the very far side of the restaurant. And the coffee I ordered came out ice cold. But that was remedied quickly. And those minor things couldn't take away from the overall experience. Which was great.

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

The vibe in this place was so fun. You had a great mix of families and people gathered to watch the…read moregames on the many TVs that they had. Service was amazing. We got seated and our order was taken right away. Food was brought out and it was delicious. The butter chicken was our favorite. It was fried but not greasy. The fried cream tomatoes were also fried perfectly didn't fall apart kept all of its flavor a must try. They did have live entertainment when we walked in, which was really nice. It wasn't too overwhelming where it may distract from the games if that's what you came for. A great place to hang out. Wonderful food. Wonderful vibe. I definite must try.

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.

Excellent cocktail program!! A Gin focused bar, though they do have a small selection of tequila,…read morevodka, whiskey, beer & wine. Food was great, dish & chips was the perfect girl dinner. Fantastic service all around, especially Ginger & Margot. I do wish the bar seats were a little more comfy but that's always a crap shoot with sitting at the bar. There is plenty of dining seats that look more comfy

I met up with some friends here for Sunday brunch. This was my first time here for brunch. When I…read morearrived, my friends were already seated. I was happy because this is a popular spot. It WAS busy! We ordered pretty quickly. I had steak and eggs (medium on both). The temp was perfect on the eggs but the steak was slightly overcooked. I'll go medium rare next time. I did enjoy my choice. I did NOT enjoy having to eat my steak with a butter knife! Haha I also had a $5 mimosa. This price was a pleasant surprise. My friends had the BEC Sammy and steak and eggs. They enjoyed their meals as well. They also had coffee which smelled delicious! Our server did a good job. I forgot how aesthetically beautiful Juniper is....... I'll be back soon just to enjoy the ambiance!

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!

Nice spot to chat for happy hour. Appetizers are half off. Drinks were good.The food was ok to me…read more I had egg rolls which had an interesting taste not bad ! The wings had a nice flavor on the outside I just wish they were seasoned on the inside.They do have indoor & outdoors seating! I may try them out for an actual meal.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We made it to Wooden City for dinner on Thursday night. We made reservations for our party through…read morethe link on the restaurant's website (Resy), and the process was straightforward and easy to modify when our party size and time changed at the last minute. Wooden City is located off Morris Avenue in a shared row of older buildings. There's a private parking lot behind the building, and you can have your parking ticket validated at the restaurant. The location and vibe on Morris Avenue are really neat and uniquely Birmingham. It's a great addition to the city's dining scene. Our party of four started with drinks and shared three appetizers: the Bread and Butter, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Steak Tartare. My favorite was the Bread and Butter. It's house-made focaccia served with a sun-dried tomato spread and an oil dipping sauce. The bread was amazing. For my entrée, I ordered the Peel-and-Eat Shrimp from the appetizer menu. It was fabulous--a generous portion of large shrimp that were perfectly seasoned and grilled. For dessert, we shared the Chocolate Mousse and Blueberry/Blackberry Crisp. The crisp was my favorite. It was served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream--an excellent way to finish the meal. While Wooden City doesn't have a large menu, everything we tried was very well done. I definitely recommend giving it a try, but don't be in a hurry. The service was a little slow during our visit.

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.