Stopped in here for a late night cocktail and was very impressed. Â This must have been an old government or bank building transformed into a warm contemporary space. Â We only ordered drinks from the bar so can't comment on the food. Â I can't remember the exact name of the cocktail I ordered but it was a strawberry infused drink served in a martini glass. Â Very refreshing and satisfying. Â The bartenders were friendly and on point. Â
The great service, awesome atmosphere and a great cocktail list will bring me back. Â But on the next visit I plan to have lunch or dinner.
Delicious. We went to Bottega Cafe before a concert downtown a few Fridays ago. We were expecting to spend a lot more money that we actually did. For about $50 before tax and tip, we both got exactly what we wanted as our main dish (no skimping for something smaller/cheaper to make the bill less), and appetizer, and I even got a Diet Coke. My husband got a hamburger, which was SO good and came with potato chips and I got the "white pie". I was able to take half of the pizza with me to eat for lunch the next day. I have been craving the "white pie" ever since - especially since I have to drive by Bottega on my way home from work each day.
The staff was great, friendly, and my husband said that our waiter was "a ninja waiter" because he kept refilling our drinks and making sure we had everything we needed without being disruptive to our conversation.
We'll be back!
What a beautiful building! Â That impressed me first off. Â My party and i were a little put off by the fact that Bottega is actually two different restaurants... It seems like there should be two different clearly displayed signs to indicate the two sides of the restaurant, but oh well, i guess if you've been there b4, then you know that... and i'll know that next time, so i'll let that go.
Other than that initial weirdness, we really liked the Bottega Café!  We got two appetizer items.  The first, the funghi (mushroom) pizza was really tasty.  I loved all the different types of mushrooms with their flavors blended together.  Yum.  The other item, the baked feta, to me, was a disappointment.  It was basically marinara sauce, with the flavor of the feta indecipherable from the marinara, so i wondered why it was called baked feta.  A misnomer if i ever tasted one... I didn't enjoy it, but the toast points that came along with the baked marinara were pretty good.
As for my entrée, it was delicious!  The chicken scaloppine was perfectly cooked with the bread coating perfectly done.  The polenta underneath it was creamy and delicious.  My co-diners got two fish entrées and they were oh so right too!  They've got some good chefs in that kitchen i would say. There was only one slight issue i had with the food... there was a little salt shift: the pizza was too salty, while the chicken and one of the fish entrées weren't quite salty enuf, but i forgive them for that.
We informed them that it was our friend's birthday and they graciously and complimentarily brought him a tiramisu dessert. Â It was small, (but then again it was free...). Â However, it was fantastic!... one of the best tiramisus i've ever had. Â And it was a nice touch that the words Happy Birthday were drizzled in chocolate on the plate. Â
Overall, good job Bottega!
You know it's going to be amazing, food wise, because of it's well known owner/chef. Â But wait, there's more... Â
I'm generally turned off a bit by fancy pants restaurants that take themselves too seriously. Â The Cafe meets you right in the middle. Â They cut the prices in half, let the wait staff and bartenders become more relatable, and still give you the award winning food.
While everything on the menu is top notch, I generally stick with the baked feta with focaccia and spicy marinara to dip appetizer (it's hot, melted, and ridiculously delicious) and a chicken Caesar salad with anchovies.
If you add alcohol, you will clearly add to the price. Â If not, you will escape with a meal that's hard to beat, at a price that beats most.
While I have been here for dinner before and enjoyed it, I stopped by this weekend for a mid-afternoon drink and snack on the patio, and I could not have picked a better place. The service was fast and friendly, the patio was inviting, the cocktails were refreshing and the "antipasto platter" was the perfect snack. Light but flavorful. I suggest you spend a spring afternoon on their patio. You won't regret it.
Review Source:Bottega Cafe is a jewel! Â I've been several times and have always received fabulous service and great food & drinks. Â They have a good selection of wine and can make a mean dirty martini! Â You must try a Stitt-restaurant signature drink - Orange Thing! Â Delicioso! Â I'll wager that their hamburger is as good as Chez FonFon's. Â The bun holds up to the juicy beef. Â They'll cook it to perfection (mine is medium rare - pretty red with a nice char) and give you a choice of cheese. Â Add to that carmelized red onions and homemade potato chips . . . what a meal.
Review Source:Absolutely delicious food! Â There are a great amount of simple dining options and a nice full service bar. Â I last visited for lunch and had the chicken scallopine which was divine. Â It is chill no frills cafe food with extreme flavor. Â The best part is dessert! At this time of year they no doubt have some sort of pumpkin inspired sweets. Â Go before you get hungry as there is usually a wait............or you could make reservations.
Review Source:During my quick 24 hours in Birmingham I kept hearing about the fabulous food scene. While we didn't have time for many meals (there was work to be done), we were able to fit in a lovely dinner at Bottega Cafe.
Bottega is one restaurant with 2 sides. Apparently one side is very expensive and one is a bit more reasonable. We sat on the "more reasonable" side, which I found to be relatively inexpensive...then again I'm comparing to Chicago prices. Â
We sat on their lovely patio and enjoyed the southern hospitality from our waiter, which even included some ghost stories from his college. I blame him for keeping me up that night, but he also gets credit for stellar service.
I was sold as soon as I saw homemade potoato chips on the menu and they lived up to the hype. So delish. We also ordered the olive delived eggs to start. I found them odd, but really liked them. It may just be me though because one of my dining companions told me she wasn't too impressed. Oh well- more for me!
For my entree my olive deviled egg hating companion and I split the broken fried egg on polenta salad and a grilled chicken with sweet peppers (among other things). Â I loved the salad- apparently I was in a egg mood that evening! The pizza didn't really do it for me so I'd probably skip that next time.
No room for dessert, especially after all those homemade potato chips. Â Our water was nice enough to call us a cab and we were on our way back to the hotel with bellies full of delicious eggs and more.
Good food and great service. I will definitely recommend this place to anyone in town. I was in town for business and yelp'd this place after a recommendation. This place did not disappoint. I had the crab cake special and it was good. Also, shared the 16 layer cake which was amazing. The service is a little slow, but good for a casual dinner.
Review Source:We enjoyed a fantastic lunch here a few weeks back. Â Really nice decor and atmosphere. Â We sat at the bar in order to avoid the wait and I would recommend it for sure. Â Service was great and the food was perfect for a nice lunch.
We enjoyed some Good People beer (which is always 5 stars in my book!) and the delicious goat cheese/marinara appetizer. Â The rate at which we atethe dish was seriously embarrassing. Â The bartender noticed and joked "wow, that must have been terrible" :) Â
The 1/2 pizza and salad lunch special was perfect and absolutely worth the price. Â Toppings were fresh and the salad had some zip to it.
All in all, it was a truly great experience. Â I can't wait to go back and dine on "the other side"!
I'm not sure I understand some of the reviews here...I've gone to Bottega countless times over the years and NEVER had a bad time.
Yes, the wait CAN be longish (it isn't always), for this is a popular place. Â As for whether people are pretentious here, what has that to do with a food review? Â You can find pretentious people in parking lots, churches, snack bars, movie theatres, lines at the zoo...you get the idea.
What counts here is we've always had good service, though we do get the occasional zoned-out waitron.
There are a number of things I love here, but tops is the beef carpaccio. Â Also a fave are the variations on roasted pork loin, sometimes with wilted greens, sometimes (seasonal) with pumpkin. Â Wow. Â I seem to recall getting the "white" pizza with fennel sausage...NO onions...and enjoying it, but that was some time ago, as I'm from out of town.
I've also asked to see the main restaurant's menu, for a few of the different offerings, and succeeded, though they have on occasion seemed taken aback. Â I've enjoyed everything there, although I can't recount each dish. Â But believe me, if I'd felt cheated or if I'd had anything I considered tasteless, I'd have remembered!
I'll give them a try next time I'm in BHM and, if they're up or down, I'll update. Â But I'm rarin' to go back...!
I went there for my birthday a few weeks ago with a group of my friends. We waited for about an hour and half and sat outside with some drinks. The hostess brought us some bread and olive oil which was nice. I love the atmosphere. My friends were not too impressed with the pizza. Mine was okay. I thought it would be better. I got a free delicious dessert because it was my birthday. I will still go back over and over.
Review Source:We travel to Birmingham for work annually, and were really happy to randomly find this place in 2010. Great building, cozy atmosphere, friendly staff, great food and drinks, etc., so naturally we headed straight back a year later, and were even looking forward to it.
Enter 2011, and suddenly the place is swarming with the most obnoxious clientele imaginable--seriously, you could not have crammed one more shrieking woman in a high-waisted satin minidress and 4-inch heels through the door. (I happen to own a couple pairs of 4-inch heels, but I can't condone them when they allow a mass of shriekers to shriek from higher in the atmosphere.) Even if that was somehow just a bad night to be there, the lousy staff (not so much rude as glassy-eyed/not-so-smart or just inattentive, aside from our very earnest waiter) and totally mediocre food made it clear Bottega has slid. We ordered four different items and two signature drinks (both genuinely icky; BF couldn't even finish his, though I soldiered through in a misguided attempt to get my money's worth and dull the aforementioned shrieking), and the best thing we ate was the side of potato chips served with spinach/artichoke dip, which were clearly straight out of a bag.
In short, really obnoxious atmosphere, and anyone who thinks the food is amazing honestly just hasn't traveled enough.
I prefer the laid-back atmosphere of Frank Stitt's cafes. You still get great food but in a more comfortable setting. The breads they serve here and the olive oil are delicious, and I love the pizza with the smoked salmon and capers. Also, Frank Stitt's burgers are the best in town. Awesome crab cakes and fish selections too. Â Don't forget to order an "orange thing" while you're there!!! So yummy.
Review Source:What is the difference between this place and the High Land Bar and Grill?
I know that it's supposed to be an Italian restaurant but the menu is almost identical to its sister's restaurant (Highland).
I am a frequenter of the Highland so I thought I would give Bottega a try. The food was excellent - very much like the Highland. The reason why I gave it a three star is the poor service and the attitude that my party received from the Front of The House.
We waited forever for our table even though we had a reservation. There were many empty tables but they didn't seat us until 15 minutes after our reservation. Worst is that they didn't feel apologetic for it. Just a bad impression overall.
Why would I come back here when I can go to the Highland and eat the same caliber of food but with a more hospitable environment.
This was a cute place..loved the architectural design of the building. Â Perhaps, it was that I was so excited and overjoyed to see my date...but I found myself not paying much attention to the food. Â I'd rate the food at about average. Â I had the salmon which was very good, no complaints, but the bread was disappointing and why on earth do people insist on refrigerating red wine! Â Ugh! Â The wait staff was great, paid attention and serviced us frequently! Â Did this place stand out to me as a place that I'd die to go back to? Â nah. Â But I'd be up for trying the Bottega Italian Restaurant next door.
Review Source:Perhaps it was the tornado sirens in the air, perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or perhaps it was simply a great time with a group of friends but Bottega Cafe was truly enjoyable dining experience.
Since they don't take reservations you can expect a bit of a wait (45min for us) but this is fine as long as you don't mind $6-8 beers, ouch!
The food menu is the opposite of the drink menu, straight forward, unpretentious, and reasonably priced. Â
A great place with good food and good prices!
Ok - so I'm going to come across as a California snob -- but then again, I travel alot for work and have a pretty open mind for the local fare wherever I go. That being said, this place was fantastically uninspiring:
** The calamari was bland and rubbery -- and cold too.
** Mussels tasted wonderfully like --- nothing, except salt -- lots of salt. So I guess that's good if you're into that sort of thing.
** Pasta was like eating warmed hay.
** Waitress was spacey and I think checked on us twice during the 2 hours we were there.
** And what's with all the 20 year olds pretending they're in Beverly Hills?
There are better places in the area (e.g. Avo/Dram). Go there instead --better food, better staff.
Much like Frank Stitt's Chez Fon Fon, Bottega Cafe is a wonderfully accessible and extremely appetizing restaurant. The quality of the food is nearly unmatched by any other in this price point in the Birmingham area. This is a perfect spot for lunch or a casual dinner. There is something magical about their olive oil. It is out of this world. And if you want some to take home they even sell bottles of the stuff.
A little known fact is that Bottega cafe supplies all the desserts for Frank's other restaurants. Â If you are interested in getting a whole coconut cake from Chez Fon Fon call Bottega Cafe and they'll usually be able to accommodate you given enough notice.
Besides all the consistently wonderful food on the menu you must try the Cellotini. It is a phenomenal limoncello and vodka martini. Â Truly delicious.
not even sure where to begin...after receiving many recommendations for Bottega, we decided to give it a whirl. Â At best, the food was fair and I am being generous. Â A sardine appetizer that could have been plated directly from a can, an unimaginative romaine salad, overcooked farm raised salmon, and a skirt steak that was fatty (not the melt in your mouth fat that is typically characteristic of skirt steak), chewy and very unappetizing.
Sometimes you can give a restaurant another "look" if the food is close, but there was a large gap here. Â I couldn't recommend Bottega nor would I return. Â And considering the price point was fairly high, there's no question about my decision. Â Or maybe it is a pizza and beer cafe?
After reading the reviews below, I was stunned, perhaps we arrived on a bad night. Â Firstly the noise level is unbelievably loud, do not go here if you are intending to have any kind of conversation other than "pick up". Â I think maybe the chef was off and someone had to deputize, this is the only acceptable reason for the recipes being prepared so badly.
Four of us had less than acceptable food.
The lamb kebab appetizer was actually lamb kofte, highly  seasoned but not blended.  It was overcooked.  The house Leaf salads were OK.  The Bruschetta which was not Bruschetta but toast with a bowl of topping which tasted like tomato soup and cheese blended was amateur.
Carbonara - now guys if you are going to try this, look up how to cook it, a carbonara is not an alfredo, there should be no sauce in the dish - it coats the pasta, and its not creamy. Â The pizza was tasty but presentation was abysmal, I thought pizzas were flat....not bowl shaped. Â Maybe its a Birmingham Thang.
The salmon was over cooked and finally I cant even remember what the fourth entree was, it was so unmemorable. Â
On a more boring note yes I have travelled extensively including Italy so perhaps my expectation is high, when the waitress asked me and my husband how wonderful our food was and we said less than adequate she was confused....no reduction in billing was offered.
Cocktails super weak and unimaginative.
Exceptional restaurant by international standards. Had dinner there 8 January 2010 and found service, wine list, bread, selection of ingredients all to be spectacular. Prices reasonable for a Five-Star and though fully booked, when i called at 5pm to ask if they could accommodate a San Diegan and a Londoner for dinner at 6:30 they say 'come on by'. Â Strongly recommended and buy Frank Stitt's latest book when you are there. I brought it home for the wife - BIG hit!
Review Source:Usually when you're from out of town and you ask the front desk at the hotel for a dinner recommendation you get sent to Ruby Tuesday or something along those lines (Nothing against Ruby Tuesday,always a safe, albeit unexciting dining experience). Thankfully that didn't happen this time around as I was told to turn left past the Ruby Tuesday and proceed to Bottega.
I throughly enjoyed the Rustica Pizza (prosciutto, coppacola, provolone and ricotta with caramelized onions) and noted that it was cooked in a wood fired oven (pizza crust perfection). Although initially a little salty for my taste, the server brought some crushed red pepper and a side of marinara sauce which smoothed things out for me. I washed it down with an ice cold draft Guinness (for good health), which complimented the pizza and would have been perfectly content...
It appears however, that I made the same mistake that others have made, and went to the "cafe" side as opposed to the "restaurant" side of Bottega (which apparently has a different menu). Prior to ordering, but after sitting down, I had mentioned to the maître d' that I was really in the mood for ravioli, but he said this was only available on the menu in the formal side. Oh well! I resigned myself to pizza. While I was munching on my pizza, and to my surprise, the maître d' brought out a small plate of ravioli compliments of the chef which was perfectly prepared and extremely tasty! Wow!
I have very rarely experienced this level of service, which in my mind is unsurpassed and for me this small gesture turned an otherwise "four star" rating into a "five star" rating! A nice restaurant with both great food and great service! What a novel concept! This place gets it!
I recently moved to CA from AL. If there's one thing I miss, it's Bottega Cafe. Frank Stitt is a well known chef in the Birmingham area, and he gives bigger cities a run for their money with his restaurants! This place has great cocktails, wonderful atmosphere, great outdoor dinning, and the chicken scallopinne is to die for! If you are ever visiting from out of the area and looking for a fab place to eat, go here. You won't be sorry.
My 0.02 ... start with beef carpaccio or house salad, then you won't go wrong with anything else. Â Bread pudding is a great treat, too! Â And if you go during the summer, order a strawberry fields cocktail.
I was in town a few months ago visiting a friend in Montgomery, Alabama. We headed up to Birmingham for a night of kicking up our heels, which started here and ended with a performance by the divine Miss Trinity Taylor. Clearly, good times were had by all. None better.
But the restaurant! The restaurant was great. I hate to go around fulfilling stereotypes, but we San Franciscans are indeed restaurant snobs and we tend to think we have all the good ones (allowing that maybe New York does okay, too). This place honestly put to shame anywhere I had been out to eat in San Fran for a while! The food was top-notch. There was gourmet pizza and a nice seafood pasta and a fancy burger, and some excellent mussels in broth and carpaccio, if I am remembering correctly. Something along those lines. And delicious cocktails! Extremely generous and strong, too. Real kick to 'em. They practically give you two drinks, because you get the whole shaker full of extra cocktail.
The service was also ridiculously friendly and warm and fun. Here I go again with the stereotypes, but I really enjoyed the Southernness of it all. And the warm nights! We sat outside until 10 or 11 p.m. with hardly a jacket. You can't do that in San Francisco!
This restaurant is only one of the reasons I'd love to go back to Birmingham, but it's definitely near the top of the list.
There is such a thing as Southern hospitality, and Bottega embodies it. Â The Bottega Cafe (the fancier restaurant is housed in the same building) is a fantastic and decently priced restaurant. Â The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and casual, and the food was creative, well-prepared and served in a timely fashion.
We sat outside on a rather cool but pleasant night, and I enjoyed a salmon special that they served over polenta. Â I sampled a few other items from my friends and everything was outstanding, including a couple of the appetizers that they brought us.
The music that they played was totally entertaining, as we heard things from standard contemporary FM fare to Ween's "Bananas and Blow." Â First time for that one in a restuarant. Â
Not only that, our server came to the concert I was performing that night and GAVE us 5 slices of some killer tiramisu for dessert since we said we didn't have time earlier. Â
When in Birmingham folks, go to Bottega!!!
I went their expecting much more. Â Don't get the main restaraunt confused with the cafe. Â That is what I did. Â The Cafe is to the right of the building and the main dining area is to the left. Â The menu was very minimal and seemed to have reasonable prices for their pizzas. Â Although, I must say, excellent wait staff. Â I would try it again, but next time I'll go for lunch.
Review Source:LOVE the place. Â We had 2 apps and shared a pizza as it was just me and 2 girlfriends catching up. Â Fabulous dirty martini to start - they make it and set the extra in the shaker in front of you instead of dumping it like most bars do - then refill your glass as you sip it down. Â Well worth the $12, as it felt like 3 martini's!!
Food excellent, service excellent, dessert sampler-fabulous!
Great atmosphere, young fun professional crowd! Â Love it, when I'm home for a visit!
Another Frank Stitt creation off of highland ave. Â I could rave all day about the ambiance, drinks, and service, but the food is the best thing about this place. Â
I suggest the chicken scalopinie served over cheese polenta and covered with a lemon bur blanc sauce. Â Grab an orange thing martini and enjoy a wonderful dinner.
If you ever find yourself in Birmingham, I highly recommend this place.
Frank Stitt's cosy creation in the Highlands never fails to dazzle. Â "Its so good its almost a sexual experience," says a friend. Â The pork chops are always cooked to perfection, tender, complex, and golden brown served up with a perfectly paired bed of wilted greens and polenta. Â This will be my meal in heaven. Â The chicken is also exceptional. Â Even friends skeptical of gourmet eating fell in love with the lively neighborhood ambience, mouthwatering entrees and desert, and the friendly knowledgeable wait staff. Â How have you lived this long without trying Bottega? Â Go NOW!
Review Source:
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