Bite Size Birmingham: Our Favorite Date Night Spots

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, I’ve mentioned numerous times about the importance of dating your spouse. Jake and I feel that memories are much more valuable than material things. We are both foodies, and luckily Birmingham’s food scene is incredible. To show you how great the food scene is, one of the restaurants in town won the James Beard award for best restaurant in America 2 years ago, and while it is a pretty good restaurant, it’s honestly not even in our top 10 or maybe even top 15 restaurants in Birmingham alone. I wanted to share our favorite date night spots on this month’s Bite Size Birmingham series.

Favorite Restaurants for Dates:

• Gianmarcos: This is by far our favorite restaurant in town, and honestly is in the running for our favorite restaurant worldwide. It is easily the best Italian food we’ve ever had, and despite being an Italian restaurant, they also have what may very well be the best steak in Birmingham.. This is our go-to for special occasions and it’s always a treat. This is actually where we went to celebrate right after I told Jake I was pregnant. It’s very hard to get a reservation in the main dining room, so we usually do their wine bar that is walk-in only. You can enjoy wine while you wait. Gosh I miss wine! Gianmarco’s used to have our favorite food item in the whole city (mozzarella cheese wrapped in prosciutto and then breaded and fried, served with marinara dipping sauce) but they unfortunately discontinued that item. If you’re reading this, please bring it back!
• Bamboo on 2^nd: This is the first restaurant we tried in Birmingham and it’s always a favorite for dates. They have delicious sushi and a great date night atmosphere. Many of their rolls are unique concoctions with numerous ingredients that combine into a succulent flavor.
• EastWest: Specializing in Asian fusion cuisine, the food and atmosphere are excellent for date nights.
• Blueprint on 3^rd: This restaurant provides a more quaint feel with southern cuisine and is always delicious. They are one of those restaurants that changes their menu every few months, which sometimes is excellent as you get to try new things. However, the downside of that is it also means they routinely are getting rid of old favorites to make room for new items (we miss you, poutine!). You can get a wide variety of Southern staples here, with classics like shrimp and grits, baked pimento, and more unusual but intriguing items such as alligator.
• Bottega: This is one of the nicer restaurants in town and is our favorite Frank Stitt restaurant (he won the James Beard award for best restaurant in America a couple of years ago for another one of his restaurants, Highlands ). Their pasta is incredible, second in town only to Gianmarco’s.
• Chez Fonfon: This is another Frank Stitt restaurant and they have a great burger. The French café vibe is perfect for a date night.
• Freddy’s Wine Bar: They serve delicious food and wine; what more do you need for a date?
•  Fig Tree: Specializing in southern cuisine, this is always a great spot. It’s also very quaint and perfect for dates. Their Hoppin’ John is outstanding. They used to partner with a bakery called Marta’s and offered some of the best dessert we’ve ever had, but unfortunately they partner with another bakery now that, while still good, isn’t the same.

On My List To Try:

• Little Savannah: Although we haven’t been there for dinner (only for brunch), this would be an excellent date night spot. It’s very quaint and they had amazing brunch service.
• Garden and Galley
• Café Dupont: We are trying this for my birthday and I cannot wait.
• Hot and Hot Fish Club
• Ollie Irene
• Perry’s Steak House
•  Satterfield’s

Casual Date Restaurants:

• The Woolworth: This is a newer spot and is the perfect place to hangout all night. They have a rooftop bar, duckpin bowling, tons of games, delicious food and more. It’s a great place to meet a group.
•  Fancy’s on 5th: Located in Avondale, they have the best most creative burgers. If you don’t have a reservation, there is usually a bit of a wait. Marble Ring, which is open upstairs, is perfect for grabbing a drink beforehand. We will miss Hot Diggity Dogs, which was an amazing hot dog restaurant owned by the owner of Fancy’s and was how you entered Marble Ring.
• Babalu: This is a fun and festive spot with excellent drinks and meat-filled queso.
• Pizitz Food Hall: If you cannot agree on one date night spot, this is perfect since it’s a food hall with many options. It seems like every time we go, they’ve opened a new place in there. You can also grab drinks at the Louis Bar.
• Back Forty Beer Company: This is a perfect spot for a group, but it’s also a great casual date night spot. They have delicious beer and their burger is one of the best in town. You have to try the pimento cheese appetizer as well. We always get the burger and pimento, and then smother our burgers with pimento.
• Other good places: (too numerous to write much more about them): El Barrio, Luna, Avondale Common House, Melt, Rougaroux, Carrigan’s, Surin, Bettola, Highlands, Tropicaleo, Post Office Pies, Slice.

Date Ideas

• Watch a Barons baseball game in summer and then grab a beer at Good People Brewery
• See a show at the Lyric Theatre or the Alabama Theatre
• See a concert at the BJCC Center (we watched Backstreet Boys here the night before I found out I was pregnant)
• Walk through the Botanical Gardens (free), then stroll over to the Grand Bohemian’s Habitat Feed and Social for a drink and dinner.
• Birmingham Museum of Art, then eat downtown

If you want to grab a drink before/after your date, make sure to check this post out or if you’d like to grab dessert check out this post. If you’re looking for a brunch date instead, make sure to check this post out.