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Birmingham

Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in Birmingham from the En Primeur Club guide.

CountryUnited StatesLocations40Restaurants32Hotels2Bars6Wineries0

Accolades in Birmingham

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Birmingham, United States
Birmingham’s dining scene in our guide includes 27 restaurants and 6 bars. Downtown Birmingham has 6 venues in our guide. French bistro, seafood raw bar, pizza, wood-fired small plates, and Japanese sushi appear among the cuisines. Four venues in our guide hold a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Rêve in Forest Park holds a Michelin Plate and is Birmingham’s first dedicated tasting menu restaurant. La Fête in Downtown and Bayonet in downtown hold Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. Bottega in Southside has an exceptional wine program. Galley & Garden in Highland Park has an exceptional wine program and sommelier-led service. Hot and Hot Fish Club in Southside/Pepper Place has a wine list and sommelier-led service. Armour House in Downtown Birmingham has an extensive wine list. The Essential in Downtown Birmingham serves natural wine and conventional wine alongside house-made pasta and seasonal cocktails.

Wine bars and the strongest lists

Armour House in Downtown Birmingham has an extensive wine list, and it was included in Wine Enthusiast Best Wine Restaurants 2025. The Essential in Downtown Birmingham has a wine list that includes natural wine and conventional wine, and Galley & Garden in Highland Park has an exceptional wine program with over 500 wine varietals.

  • Armour House

    Downtown Birmingham brasserie and raw bar with an extensive wine list. It was included in Wine Enthusiast Best Wine Restaurants 2025, and the beverage focus sits alongside beef, raw bar plates, and a speakeasy-style cocktail bar downstairs.

  • Galley & Garden

    Highland Park restaurant with an exceptional wine program, an extensive wine list, and sommelier-led service. It also holds Wine Spectator’s Two Glass Award of Excellence. The room offers à la carte and prix fixe formats, with over 500 wine varietals.

  • The Essential

    Downtown Birmingham bistro-bar with a wine list that includes natural wine and conventional wine alongside cocktails and beer. The attached bar, Paul & Tina's, sits in the same historic downtown location.

Tasting menus and serious dining rooms

Birmingham has tasting-menu service at Rêve, Hot and Hot Fish Club, and Cafe Dupont.

  • Rêve

    Forest Park restaurant focused on a modern French tasting-menu format, with an à la carte option and a wine list. It is Birmingham’s first dedicated tasting-menu restaurant and holds a 2025 Michelin Plate.

  • Hot and Hot Fish Club

    Southside/Pepper Place seafood restaurant with tasting menu and à la carte formats, plus an extensive wine list and sommelier-led service. The kitchen works with modern Low Country seafood, and the room has a 2025 Michelin Plate and a James Beard Award Best Chefs win from 2012.

  • Cafe Dupont

    North End dining room with tasting-menu and à la carte formats, paired with an extensive wine list, and sommelier-led service. The bistro’s Southern menu changes each day.

Planning FAQ

Which neighbourhoods have the strongest wine and dining scene in Birmingham?

Downtown Birmingham has 6 venues in our guide, and Downtown, Five Points South, Southside, Lakeview, and Homewood each have 3. Those neighbourhoods hold many of the city’s restaurant and bar listings.

How many Michelin-starred restaurants are in Birmingham in our guide?

Birmingham has no Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide. La Fête in Downtown and Bayonet in downtown hold Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. Michelin Plate holders include Rêve, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Bottega, and Chez Fonfon.

Where should I go for tasting menus in Birmingham?

Rêve in Forest Park is Birmingham’s first dedicated tasting menu restaurant, with tasting menu and à la carte formats and a wine list. Hot and Hot Fish Club in Southside/Pepper Place and Cafe Dupont in North End also offer tasting menu and à la carte formats.

Which Birmingham venues hold Wine Spectator awards?

Four venues in our guide hold Wine Spectator recognition. Galley & Garden in Highland Park holds Wine Spectator’s Two Glass Award of Excellence, and its wine list is built around an exceptional program with sommelier-led service and over 500 wine varietals.

By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards

Birmingham

Where to eat in Birmingham

Selected entries from the current guide for Birmingham.

Bayonet restaurant in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Bayonet

Bayonet in Birmingham is a contemporary seafood destination showcasing a raw bar and seasonal Gulf Coast plates. Must-try items include Dauphin Island oysters, a bánh mì stuffed with Gulf shrimp finished with a bold caramel sauce, and the Ora King salmon collar served with an acidic fruit salsa. Chef Rob McDaniel, a James Beard semifinalist, focuses on sustainable sourcing and precise techniques that preserve bright, briny flavors. Opened March 2025 in the historic Berry Building, Bayonet pairs a spirited cocktail program with desserts from pastry chef Candace Foster, from glazed peach hand pies to a watermelon icebox semifreddo. Expect lively service, hand-cut fries with lemon aioli, and menus that rotate with Gulf seasons.

Birmingham, United States
Hot and Hot Fish Club restaurant in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Hot and Hot Fish Club

Hot and Hot Fish Club has held a place at the centre of Birmingham's contemporary American dining scene long enough to watch the city grow around it. A 2025 Michelin Plate recognition reflects consistent kitchen discipline and an approach to Southern-sourced ingredients that keeps the menu grounded in place rather than trend. For visitors tracing Alabama's serious restaurant circuit, this is a reliable reference point on 2nd Avenue South.

Birmingham, United States
Big Bad Breakfast restaurant in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Big Bad Breakfast

Big Bad Breakfast on US-280 puts Birmingham, Alabama's morning dining tradition under a sharper light. The menu reads as a deliberate argument for Southern breakfast done with intention, where the architecture of the plate matters as much as the ingredients on it. For visitors already moving through the city's serious dining circuit, it marks a different register entirely from the dinner-hour ambition of the main restaurant scene.

Birmingham, United States
Golden Temple Cafe restaurant in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Golden Temple Cafe

Golden Temple Cafe sits at 1901 11th Ave S in Birmingham, Alabama, occupying a stretch of 11th Avenue South that has tracked the neighbourhood's shift from working-class corridor to a more eclectic, food-driven strip. The cafe operates within a broader wave of independent dining that has reshaped Birmingham's south side over the past two decades, positioning it alongside a range of neighbourhood-rooted alternatives to the city's more formal dining scene.

Birmingham, United States
Niki's West restaurant in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Niki's West

Niki's West has anchored Birmingham's meat-and-three tradition at its Finley Avenue address for decades, drawing a cross-section of the city that few dining rooms in Alabama can match. The format is direct cafeteria-line service with rotating Southern sides and a no-frills dining room where the ritual of choosing your plate is the whole point. It occupies a distinct place in Birmingham's dining culture, sitting well outside the white-tablecloth tier represented by venues like Opheem or Adam's.

Birmingham, United States

Birmingham

Where to stay in Birmingham

Selected entries from the current guide for Birmingham.

Elyton Hotel hotel in Birmingham

Birmingham, United States

Elyton Hotel

The Elyton Hotel occupies a restored early-twentieth-century building on 1st Avenue North in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, earning Michelin Selected status in 2025. It sits within a small tier of Birmingham hotels that trade on architectural heritage and considered service rather than convention-scale amenity. For travellers who want a historically grounded base in a city whose cultural and culinary identity has shifted considerably in recent years, Elyton is a credible address.

Birmingham, United States

Birmingham

Where to go for a drink in Birmingham

Selected entries from the current guide for Birmingham.

Birmingham

Which wineries to visit in Birmingham

Selected entries from the current guide for Birmingham.

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