THE SOUTH

All of the Michelin-Worthy Restaurants in Birmingham

La Fête

April 29, 2025

They say the Michelin Guide is finally coming to Alabama later this year, which means Birmingham’s chefs are wondering if they’ve got an inspector in their dining room tonight.

The rest of us already know the truth: if they hand out stars here, there’s a small list of places that will receive one. Not a participation trophy, not a “good for Birmingham” ribbon — a real star.

So before the Michelin inspectors begin their inspecting, our team scoured the city to find the Birmingham restaurants deserving of a star. Here then are our picks for the Birmingham restaurants that should be in the Michelin Guide. —Eric Barton

Automatic Seafood and Oysters

2824 5th Ave S | Website | Instagram

Chef Adam Evans runs the kind of seafood restaurant that coastal cities would kill for and Birmingham accidentally lucked into. The snapper crudo is so bright, with its cara cara orange and herb oil, that it makes you wonder if you’ve been eating fish wrong your whole life. Michelin loves precision and ingredient worship, and nobody in town does either better than Evans. —Eric Barton

El Barrio

2211 2nd Ave N | Website | Instagram

El Barrio shouldn’t be good enough to merit a Michelin star — it’s loud, it’s chaotic, it has a mural the size of a two-story building inside. But then I tasted taste the slow-simmered chicken escabeche, the deeply flavorful chile relleno, and the crunchy-topped strawberry tres leches and realized the kitchen is playing a different game. Michelin sometimes rewards the unexpected, and if that happens here, they’ll give El Barrio a nod. —Maria Rodriguez

Bayleaf Modern Indian Cuisine

1024 20th St S | Website | Instagram

Bayleaf does something nobody else in Birmingham even attempts: modern Indian that’s plated like a tasting menu and still packs enough heat to matter. Chef Pritam Zarapkar’s lamb chops could easily make it into a Michelin Guide on their own. Michelin loves when you take a centuries-old cuisine and sharpen it into something new, and Bayleaf is doing exactly that. —Rebecca Thompson

Bottega

2240 Highland Ave | Website | Instagram

Frank Stitt’s Bottega doesn’t just coast on its reputation — it keeps tightening the screws. There’s a reason why the house-made pasta comes out in perfect coils and the veal scallopini tastes like it got finished with a prayer. Michelin likes restaurants where nothing is accidental, and Bottega has been that kind of place since before Birmingham even knew what al dente meant. —Eric Barton

Chez Fonfon

2007 11th Ave S | Website | Instagram

There’s nothing showy about Chez Fonfon — which is exactly the point. You sit at a tiny, tilting table, order steak frites and a glass of something French, and then you get walloped by the kind of effortless cooking that Michelin inspectors love. Another Frank Stitt restaurant, Chez Fonfon exists as proof that consistency over decades is its own kind of flex, and there are few things Michelin likes more than a restaurant that consistently nails it. —Rebecca Thompson

Current Charcoal Grill

1625 2nd Ave S | Website | Instagram

I will admit that I might have initially dismissed Current Charcoal Grill as just another place lighting stuff on fire for Instagram likes. But Luke Joseph and Adam Evans are actually doing something better: grilling everything within an inch of its life and still pulling out bright, layered flavors. The Korean short rib bossam tastes like the beef gods finally answered a prayer. Michelin’s always looking for fire control and flavor discipline, and Current’s got both without ever feeling stiff.—Maria Rodriguez

La Fête

2018 Morris Ave | Website | Instagram

La Fête is the wine bar version of that friend who studied abroad in Paris and somehow came back even cooler. Kristen Hall’s small plates — beef cheek au poivre, potato pavé that somehow deserves caviar — are sharp, compact, and almost casually perfect. Michelin loves places that don’t feel like they’re begging for a star, and La Fête is way too self-possessed to even ask.—Maria Rodriguez

Helen

2013 2nd Ave N | Website | Instagram

Rob McDaniel’s Helen is a coal-fired cathedral to Southern cooking, where the lamb porterhouse tastes like it was carved out of the inside of a campfire, in a good way. There’s a confidence to the food that Michelin can’t ignore — the kind of place that bets it all on a blistered crust and still wins. —Eric Barton

Hot and Hot Fish Club

2901 2nd Ave S | Website | Instagram

There’s a version of Birmingham where Hot and Hot Fish Club is the only restaurant that matters. Chris Hastings has been quietly doing Michelin-level cooking for years: tomato salad that tastes like July got bottled, venison tenderloin so delicate you rethink hunting laws. Michelin loves chefs who can be great without being loud about it, and Hastings is basically the definition. —Eric Barton

Little Betty Steak Bar

321 Rele St | Website | Instagram

Most steakhouses think tossing a prime ribeye on a plate and charging $80 is enough. Atlanta native Kyle Biddy, executive chef at Little Betty, actually tries: dry-aged steaks crusted like a geological formation, razor-sharp cocktails, servers who know how to read a table. Michelin’s write-ups might not often mention vibes, but Little Betty’s grown-up swagger would be hard to ignore.—Maria Rodriguez

OvenBird

2810 3rd Ave S | Website | Instagram

At OvenBird, Chris Hastings basically turned live-fire cooking into a personal religion, minus the annoying parts. You get wood-roasted oysters, ember-cooked beef, and vegetables that somehow taste more alive after being charred half to death. Michelin worships technical cooking that doesn’t scream for attention, and OvenBird quietly flexes harder than most places even try. —Eric Barton

Pizza Grace

2212 Morris Ave | Website | Instagram

Pizza usually gets laughed out of the Michelin room unless it’s Neapolitan and served by a third-generation pizzaiolo in a back alley in Naples. Pizza Grace founder and pizza maker Ryan Westover could actually make them rethink that. Every pie here is an argument for well-sourced ingredients and the most cared-for dough, and Michelin, when it’s honest, likes chefs who get out of their own way.—Rebecca Thompson

Rêve

1821 2nd Ave N | Website | Instagram

If you're looking for the place that's quietly making Birmingham into a tasting-menu city, it’s Rêve. Jacob M. Stull runs a six- or 10-course set menu that feels French in spirit but Alabama in soul — coq au vin reimagined, truffle beignets that hit you like a left hook. Michelin loves precision, sure, but it also loves bravery, and Rêve isn't playing it safe. —Eric Barton

Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who splits his time between Asheville and Miami. He’s on a constant hunt for the best pizza, best places to bike, and for his next new favorite destination. Email him here.

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