Where to Eat in Alabama
Royal reds and oysters on the coast, white sauce and ribs inland, and a few of the South's best dining rooms.
Food in Alabama splits roughly in two. On the coast, menus are built around Gulf seafood: fried or boiled shrimp, deep-water royal reds, raw and char-grilled oysters, fried crab claws and the Mobile specialty called West Indies salad, a cold dish of lump crab marinated with onion and vinegar. Inland, barbecue rules, with ribs served with a stack of white bread and smoked chicken dipped in the mayonnaise-based white sauce that north Alabama invented.
Birmingham is the state's restaurant capital. Frank Stitt opened Highlands Bar and Grill in 1982 and trained a generation of chefs; Highlands has closed, but his bistro and Italian restaurant are still open, and several of his former cooks run award-winning kitchens of their own. For Huntsville restaurants, see the dining guide on Best in Huntsville.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach
Seafood with a view, from beach bars to marina dining rooms.
A big open-air restaurant and music venue at the end of the main public beach, popular with families.
Lucy Buffett's waterfront restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway, with a sand play area and live music.
An upstairs dining room with refined Gulf seafood and a more casual dockside level below.
A restaurant under the Perdido Pass bridge with water views on three sides.
A colorful spot built from shipping containers beside Perdido Pass, with fish tacos and sunset views.
A long-running local favorite for fried shrimp, gumbo and fried crab claws.
A family restaurant that began as a bait shop, still serving gumbo and stuffed flounder from its early menus.
A sprawling beach bar on the Alabama-Florida line with live music most days and the April Mullet Toss.
Mobile and the Eastern Shore
A Mobile institution since 1938, with oysters fried, stewed or raw and walls covered in signs and sayings.
French Creole and Southern cooking on the 34th floor of the RSA Trustmark Building, with views over the bay.
A neighborhood bar in a 1920s building known for its burgers and live music.
A seafood restaurant on the Mobile Bay causeway with crab dishes and long views of the water.
A cafe in Fairhope's French Quarter courtyard known for its pressed sandwiches and beignets.
Birmingham
Chef-driven dining rooms and classic Southern lunch counters.
Frank Stitt's bistro with steak frites, a well-known burger and a bocce court out back.
Stitt's Italian restaurant and cafe in a limestone building near Five Points.
Chef Chris Hastings' restaurant, famous for its summer tomato salad, now at Pepper Place.
Chef Adam Evans' Gulf seafood restaurant in an old industrial building; Evans won a James Beard Award in 2023.
Small plates cooked over wood and charcoal, inspired by Spain, Portugal and South America.
Smoked chicken with white sauce, pork and greens, and grits in a small neighborhood spot.
A cafeteria-style lunch room near the farmers market, serving vegetables and Greek-Southern dishes since 1957.
Open since 1907 and run by the same family for generations, known for snapper, steaks and Greek-style seafood.
Montgomery and Statewide Barbecue
Wood-fired Southern cooking in an 1890s warehouse on Coosa Street.
Open since 1917 a few blocks from the capitol, serving hot dogs with its own chili sauce.
A neighborhood dining room with seasonal plates and a wine list, in the Old Cloverdale district.
Ribs, sauce and white bread from a business that started in Tuscaloosa in 1958 and now has several Alabama locations.
Restaurants change hours, menus and ownership often — check with the restaurant before you go. Listings are editorial picks, not paid placements.
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Get free trip quotes »Alabama Dining — FAQ
What food is Alabama known for?
Gulf shrimp and oysters, West Indies salad in Mobile, barbecue ribs and white barbecue sauce, fried green tomatoes and meat-and-three lunches.
What is Alabama white sauce?
A tangy barbecue sauce made with mayonnaise, vinegar and pepper, created in Decatur in north Alabama and served mostly on smoked chicken.
Where is the best seafood on the Alabama coast?
Look to the marinas and waterfront in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores and the oyster bars of downtown Mobile; the restaurants above are a good start.