Neighborhood guide
The best of Southside & Five Points South
Five Points South, Lakeview and the UAB area: some of the city's best-known restaurants, nightlife and late-night food.
Top-rated spots in Southside & Five Points South
Dreamland Bar-B-Que
John "Big Daddy" Bishop opened the first Dreamland in Tuscaloosa in 1958, and the Southside spot across from Phelan Park has been Birmingham's rib headquarters for years. It's simple: ribs, a vinegar-forward sauce with some kick, and a stack of white bread to mop it all up. Save room for the banana pudding.
Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q
Jim 'N Nick's started in 1985 in an old pizza place on Clairmont Avenue and has since grown to dozens of locations across the South. The Five Points South restaurant keeps it close to home. Pork and beef get a 12-hour smoke, and the cheese biscuits alone have a cult following.
Automatic Seafood & Oysters
Chef Adam Evans won the 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, and his weekend brunch is the easiest way to get a seat at one of the city's best restaurants. Start with donut holes for the table, then lean into the seafood the place is named for. It's the brunch for an occasion, so reserve on Resy.
Rojo
Rojo has been a Highland Park hangout since 2002, and its weekend brunch is as relaxed as the neighborhood. Grab a patio table overlooking Rushton Park, order a breakfast burrito, and settle in. It's the cheap, easy brunch for when you don't feel like dressing up.
The Red Cat Coffeehouse
Red Cat has been a Birmingham coffee mainstay for years, with coffee roasted in-house at sister bakery Birmingham Breadworks. The Pepper Place shop doubles as a real breakfast-and-lunch stop, so it's where you go when a latte needs to turn into a sandwich.
Filter Coffee Parlor
Filter takes the house-made syrup thing seriously, from Eastaboga honey to cinnamon-toast cereal milk steeped overnight. It sits in the historic Munger Building in Five Points South and is one of the better spots in town to post up with a laptop.
Birmingham District Brewing Co.
If you care about what's actually in the glass, start here. Beer bar pros told VinePair it's one of the 30 best breweries in the country, and the range runs from a clean Birmingham Pilsner to fruited sours and cold IPAs. The mining-themed names nod to the city's history, and Lose Your Way is the hazy that converts people who swear they don't like IPAs.
Monday Night Brewing – Birmingham Social Club
The Atlanta brewery's Birmingham outpost works as a full restaurant and bar, not just a taproom. You get 25-plus taps, from house favorites to rare barrel-aged stuff, along with tacos, cocktails and a patio where dogs can hang out. It's a good choice when part of the crew doesn't drink beer.