27 cheap eats places in Birmingham, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Birmingham: the places editors actually return to. All Birmingham food.
Continental Bakery ★ 4.8
mountain-brook · 1909 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223
Continental Bakery in English Village Mountain Brook is Carole Griffin's 1984 European bakery with pastries, sandwiches and Chez Lulu next door.
Saw's BBQ counter ★ 4.8
homewood · 1008 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209
Saw's BBQ counter in Homewood near Birmingham serves the Mike Wilson pulled-pork sandwich with Alabama white sauce slaw out of a residential barbecue shack.
Niki's West ★ 4.8
acipco-finley · 233 Finley Avenue West, Birmingham, AL 35204
Niki's West on Finley Avenue West Birmingham serves the canonical meat-and-three from a steam table since 1957, with most plates landing under $15 per person.
Bandit Patisserie ★ 4.7
downtown · 2323 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Bandit Patisserie on 1st Avenue North downtown Birmingham is the 2013 pastry counter in the Wooster Lofts, with laminated viennoiserie and a coffee bar.
Eagle's Restaurant ★ 4.7
smithfield · 2610 16th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35204
Eagle's Restaurant in Smithfield Birmingham serves Black soul food since 1951 with fried catfish, smothered pork chops and meat-and-three plates around $12.
Continental Bakery ★ 4.6
mountain-brook · 1909 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223
Continental Bakery in English Village Mountain Brook is Carole Griffin's 1984 European bakery, with sourdough loaves, croissants and the Chez Lulu sibling.
Bandit Patisserie ★ 4.6
downtown · 2323 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Bandit Patisserie on 1st Avenue North downtown Birmingham is the 2013 French pastry counter in the Wooster Lofts with viennoiserie, choux buns and a coffee.
Hero Doughnuts and Buns ★ 4.6
homewood · 3027 Central Avenue, Homewood, AL 35209
Hero Doughnuts on Central Avenue Homewood Birmingham runs a brioche doughnut counter with cheeseburgers and the canonical Birmingham doughnut sandwich.
Pepper Place Saturday vendors ★ 4.6
pepper-place · 2829 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233
Pepper Place Saturday vendors on 2nd Avenue South Birmingham serve farm-driven prepared food, baked goods and breakfast tacos through the Saturday market.
Hero Doughnuts and Buns ★ 4.5
homewood · 3027 Central Avenue, Homewood, AL 35209
Hero Doughnuts and Buns on Central Avenue in Homewood Birmingham serves brioche doughnuts and burgers, with a Birmingham branch on 28th Avenue South.
The Essential ★ 4.5
downtown · 2018 Morris Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35203
The Essential on Morris Avenue downtown Birmingham serves coffee, cocktails and a daytime cafe menu out of the Mercantile on Morris, near Founders Station.
Saw's BBQ ★ 4.5
homewood · 1008 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209
Saw's BBQ in Homewood near Birmingham serves the canonical Mike Wilson pulled-pork sandwich with Alabama white sauce slaw under $12 from the 2009 shack.
The Essential ★ 4.4
downtown · 2018 Morris Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35203
The Essential bakery counter on Morris Avenue downtown Birmingham bakes the house sourdough and pastries that anchor Kristen Hall and Victor King's cafe.
Chez Lulu ★ 4.4
mountain-brook · 1911 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223
Chez Lulu on Cahaba Road English Village Mountain Brook bakes bistro tarts and pastries alongside Continental Bakery, both opened by Carole Griffin.
Eli's Jerusalem Grill counter ★ 4.4
highway-280 · 4673 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
Eli's Jerusalem Grill counter on Highway 280 Birmingham serves the canonical falafel sandwich and the vegetarian-vegan plate of hummus, baba and tabouli.
Saw's Soul Kitchen ★ 4.4
avondale · 215 41st Street South, Birmingham, AL 35222
Saw's Soul Kitchen on 41st Street South Avondale Birmingham runs the pork-and-greens plate under $15 with the canonical Saw's banana pudding on the side.
Big Bad Breakfast ★ 4.3
highway-280 · 5361 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
Big Bad Breakfast on Highway 280 Birmingham bakes Southern-style biscuits to anchor the John Currence breakfast plate and the brunch line through Sundays.
Big Bad Breakfast ★ 4.3
highway-280 · 5361 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
Big Bad Breakfast on Highway 280 Birmingham is John Currence's Oxford-Mississippi branch, with Conecuh sausage gravy and a weekend brunch line.
Eli's Jerusalem Grill ★ 4.3
highway-280 · 4673 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
Eli's Jerusalem Grill on Highway 280 Birmingham serves the falafel plate of falafel, hummus, baba and tabouli for $14.50 with the vegan-vegetarian combo.
The Pizitz Food Hall bakery counters ★ 4.2
downtown · 1821 2nd Avenue North Suite 3112, Birmingham, AL 35203
The Pizitz Food Hall on 2nd Avenue North downtown Birmingham hosts a rotating bakery counter alongside the ramen, poke, taco and Ethiopian vendors.
Filter Coffee Parlor ★ 4.2
five-points-south · 1927 11th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35205
Filter Coffee Parlor on 11th Avenue South in Birmingham serves pour-over coffee and pastries out of the 1927 Munger Building in Five Points South.
The Pizitz Food Hall counters ★ 4.2
downtown · 1821 2nd Avenue North Suite 3112, Birmingham, AL 35203
The Pizitz Food Hall counters on 2nd Avenue North downtown serve ramen, poke, Cajun peaux boys, Mediterranean and Ethiopian counters all under one roof.
The Red Cat Coffee House ★ 4.1
pepper-place · 2901 2nd Avenue South Suite 120, Birmingham, AL 35233
The Red Cat Coffee House at Pepper Place Birmingham is the flagship roastery and cafe on the Saturday market grounds, with a second Railroad Park branch.
Demetri's BBQ ★ 4.1
homewood · 1901 28th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35209
Demetri's BBQ on 28th Avenue South Homewood Birmingham runs a Greek-American meat-and-three since 1973 with most lunches landing under $14 per person.
Seeds Coffee Co. ★ 4.0
homewood · 174 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209
Seeds Coffee Co. on Oxmoor Road Homewood Birmingham is the 2013 cafe and roastery, with pour-over service and a packed neighborhood morning crowd.
Avondale Brewing food truck court ★ 4.0
avondale · 201 41st Street South, Birmingham, AL 35222
Avondale Brewing food truck court on 41st Street South Birmingham hosts a rotating roster of local trucks Wednesday through Sunday alongside the taproom row.
The Pizitz Food Hall counters ★ 4.0
downtown · 1821 2nd Avenue North Suite 3112, Birmingham, AL 35203
The Pizitz Food Hall counters on 2nd Avenue North Birmingham serve more than a dozen vendors at $8 to $15 per plate, from ramen to peaux boys to Ethiopian.