Cleanse your palate. It’s time for the winter 2024 edition of Birmingham Restaurant Week, one of the state’s oldest and most comprehensive celebrations of locally-owned independent restaurants and watering holes.
From February 23 through March 3, more than 50 participating restaurants, food trucks, dessert shops, coffee houses, and bars will offer special menus, sometimes with themed drink options. You’ll find breakfast, lunch, dinner, or multiple meals, priced from $10 to $60.
Birmingham Restaurant Week, now in its 15th year, was created to showcase the city’s award-winning culinary options. Now a 10-day event, BRW has expanded its mission to promote local support of independent restaurants still reeling from the pandemic and its lingering effects. Fan-favorite establishments, based on votes during the event, will be announced afterward.
“The vibrancy of our culinary community depends on our unique restaurants and dining establishments,” says Bill Stoeffhaas, co-founder of BRW and owner of Style Advertising, the event organizer. “So, we are doing what we can to make sure as many people in our community as possible know about all of the great new places to eat and even offer them some deals at places they already frequent.”
Birmingham Restaurant Week also donates to local charities that address hunger and food insecurity, more than $100,000 over its history. After the summer 2023 event, BRW donated $2,500 to The Community Kitchens of Birmingham. Other recent grant recipients include Manna Ministries, FeedBHM, the Grace Klein Community food rescue program, Firehouse Ministries, and The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.
The celebration kicks off with a ticketed preview party on Tuesday, February 22. Up to a dozen restaurants will offer samples of their fare, with drinks from BRW sponsors to wash them down. The party is set for 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at Workplay (23rd Street South at Fifth Avenue). Tickets, $35, are available here.
Both weekends feature a pop-up park downtown for food trucks, located near the CityWalk Bham amphitheater at Ninth Avenue North and 19th Street. They set up from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, February 23 and 24.
Birmingham Restaurant Week’s afterparty, Wineology, is set for Tuesday, March 5, at the Uptown location of Cantina Tortilla Grill (2301 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North). Wine-flight tastings will be paired with bites from the Mexican-Caribbean restaurant. Tickets, $35 in advance, can be purchased here.
Prix-fixe menus and deals by participating establishments are posted on the BRW website, searchable by cuisine, prices, and even dietary preference.
Here is a sample of the restaurants, food trucks, and bars that have confirmed participation in Birmingham Restaurant Week.
Sushi and pan-Asian
Umami Birmingham, Bay Leaf Modern Indian Cuisine and Bar, Nori Thai and Sushi
Sweets
Cookie Fix in Cahaba Heights and Homewood
Mexico/Caribbean/South America
Sol y Luna, Cantina Tortilla Grill, Rojo, Sabor Latino
Food trucks
Pasteles La MoreliAna, Fat Charles BBQ, Stephen’s Hot Dog Wagon, Berries by Crystal, The Lil Bougie Foodie, Nawlins Style Po Boys
Pizza
Slice (Crestline, Lakeview, and Vestavia Hills), Davenport’s Pizza Palace
Upscale
Michael’s Restaurant, Galley and Garden, Tre Luna, OvenBird
Bars serving food
Parkside on Fifth, The Lumbar, The Fennec
Others
Craft’s, Alabama Peanut Company, Zoe’s Home Cooking, American Kolache Birmingham, Dreamland BBQ
