Automatic Seafood and Oysters
- ★ 4.8
- Lowcountry
- $$$$
- Lakeview
Automatic Seafood and Oysters in Lakeview Birmingham won Adam Evans the 2022 James Beard Best Chef South, with a Gulf-anchored menu and a half-shell raw bar.
9 splurge places in Birmingham, editor-picked. Tasting menus and the full big-night-out treatment in Birmingham. All Birmingham food.
The splurge list
9 places
Bottega Restaurant
- ★ 4.7
- Italian
- $$$$
- Highland Park
Bottega Restaurant on Highland Avenue is Frank Stitt's 1988 Italian sibling to Highlands, in a Highland Park mansion with a wood-fired oven.
Hot and Hot Fish Club
- ★ 4.7
- New American
- $$$$
- Pepper Place
Hot and Hot Fish Club at Pepper Place in Birmingham is the Chris Hastings flagship since 1995, with the chef-counter tomato salad and 2012 James Beard.
Book food experiences in Birmingham
Helen
- ★ 4.7
- New American
- $$$$
- Downtown Birmingham
Helen on 2nd Avenue North downtown Birmingham runs Rob McDaniel's hardwood-coal Southern grill, Michelin Recommended since 2025 and a Beard semifinalist.
Bayonet
- ★ 4.7
- Lowcountry
- $$$$
- Downtown Birmingham
Bayonet on 2nd Avenue North in Birmingham is Rob and Emily McDaniel's spring 2025 seafood and raw bar sibling to Helen, in the NYT 50 Best Restaurants 2025.
Cafe Dupont
- ★ 4.5
- New American
- $$$$
- Downtown Birmingham
Cafe Dupont on 20th Street North Birmingham runs Chris Dupont's French-Southern menu out of an 1870s downtown storefront with a strong plate-craft reputation.
Galley and Garden
- ★ 4.4
- New American
- $$$$
- Highland Park
Galley and Garden on Highland Avenue Birmingham runs a New American tasting menu out of the 1908 Merritt House near the Stitt Highland Park rooms.
OvenBird
- ★ 4.3
- Portuguese
- $$$$
- Pepper Place
OvenBird at Pepper Place Birmingham is Chris Hastings's live-fire sibling concept to Hot and Hot, with Spanish, Portuguese, Uruguayan and Argentine grills.
Chez Fonfon
- ★ 4.1
- French fine dining
- $$$$
- Five Points South
Chez Fonfon on 11th Avenue South Birmingham is Frank Stitt's casual French bistro sibling to Highlands, with steak frites and a Five Points South patio.
Nothing matches.