How do you pick a restaurant when you're in a different place? Do you search "restaurants near me"? Do you read reviews, look at pictures, check out the website?
Maybe you just see the name and location and choose. I'm a little more of the read and discover type. But I try to always take reviews with a grain of salt.
Anyway, this read and discover is what led Hunter and I to our new found love of Birmingham's The Fish Market. Hunter and I were spending the night in Birmingham last week. He had a day of classes, so we decided to head up the night before and have a date night. After we arrived to our hotel, we started looking for dinner options. Our choice did not disappoint.
When we pulled up in the parking lot, we saw some older men in their 60s-70s coming in and out of the restaurant. I told Hunter that that was a good sign we were at a good place. When we walked in, the first thing to hit my nose was the salty smell from the actual fish market in the back. It smelled like fresh fish. A sort of surprise smell from a restaurant a stone's throw away from UAB.
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| Outside of The Fish Market Southside |
The decor makes you think you're at the sea with all of the wood walls, fishing boats and nets, and nautical flags. There were also tons of photos on the walls of different people and places in Greece. That's where the inspiration for so much of the food comes from. George Sarris, the owner, moved here from Greece in 1969. He started working at his uncle's fish market that Sarris later turned into the restaurant that is here today.
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Back side of the menu
Our first and only problem with the restaurant was that we couldn't decide what we wanted. Literally almost everything on the menu looked incredible. And it didn't hurt Hunter's feelings any that the prices were very reasonable. Once we could finally make a decision, we started with an appetizer of the French Mussels. Oh my word! To tell you how good they are, Hunter did his "happy as a clam" moves they were so good. The mussels were cooked in a white wine butter reduction with minced garlic and green onions. We honestly couldn't get enough of it.
The French Mussels |
We were almost full after eating the mussels, but then our main dishes arrived. Hunter chose the Athenian-style grouper with sides of fried okra and Greek-style potatoes. His grouper was covered, and I mean covered with some of the best tasting olives and feta cheese that I have ever tried! These olives are the real deal.
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| Athenian-Style Grouper |
My entree was George's Special Oyster Stew. The same white wine butter reduction that the mussels were cooked in is what the base of the oyster stew is. A handful of oysters are cooked in the sauce with chopped bacon. And our server didn't just serve it to me in a bowl. The oyster stew was brought out in a closed container then poured into my bowl to help keep the heat of the stew in longer. It was simply fantastic. Not to mention the fried pickles and baked potato that I had with it too.
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| George's Special Oyster Stew |
Both Hunter and I took a to-go box with us. We just had way more than we could eat. We were also really surprised at how good everything was. I think we always go into a restaurant for the first time with a little bit of doubt just so we don't get disappointed. But The Fish Market sure proved us wrong. We talked about that place off and on for the next two days- we were really that impressed with it.
The next time you're passing through Birmingham or looking for a different spot, check out The Fish Market. It's totally worth the trip!
Happy Traveling!
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