Bistro 218

Elegant place, wonderful service. Offered vegetarian alternative. I recommend the Manhattan drink.

Had a wonderful experience. The food was fantastic, as were the drinks. Our service was delightful and charming. LGBT friendly.
Is a little pricey, but is worth the experience though!
My partner and I are glad we got to spend our two year anniversary here for sure.

Great place. Service is there when you need it and not overwhelming.

We had Valentine’s Day Dinner at Bistro 218 this evening. The restaurant is a nice location in a nicely renovated old downtown building with exposed brick walls. It’s not too loud. This is complimentary valet parking.
The menu tonight was Prix Fixe, $ 75pp. We started with the crab cake which were quite good, with plenty of lump crab meat plated on beurre blanc sauce. Next came (for me) a gumbo that was light on rice and very flavorful, not too spicy, quite good. There was far more andouille in the gumbo than crawfish or shrimp, though. My wife had a chopped salad that she liked very much. For entrees we had the NY Strip steaks. Half of my steak was inedible gristle. What remained was tasty, though, and cooked as requested. My wife’s was a better cut and she enjoyed it very much. For dessert we had the molten lava cake which came out cool (not warm) in the center and was a little disappointing.
Service was mixed. Our waitress was also staffing the upper tier upstairs and was less attentive than we’d have hoped, though very friendly/​pleasant, as were all of the staff. We had to ask for our car to be brought up by the valet… something that I think should have been anticipated after we had been given the check.
We had a nice bottle of Jordan Cabernet with the meal that was served a little cool, but a good bottle and priced reasonably (for a restaurant) at around $ 100.
Overall, the experience was good, but not as good as our previous meal here. With all of the competition in town, we won’t be in a hurry to return. Still, worth a shot if you haven’t tried this spot yet. We really liked our last visit, and tonight was hopefully not a sign of a slide in the quality here…

Good food but inconsistent. While I lived in Birmingham, it was a common lunch venue during the work week. Sometimes great. Sometimes just okay.

There are plenty of fine dining options around town, but Bistro 218 is one that really stands out to me. The menu has a good selection, and everything that I have tried is absolutely amazing! Our most recent visit was on New Year’s eve, and everything was perfect, from the atmosphere to the service. The cocktails here are awesome, so we started out with a couple of those. I highly recommend the «absinthe minded martini,» which is very strong but sooo good. We chose a nice bottle of wine (from the good selection, and which was reasonably priced) to go along with dinner. My partner had the pork belly appetizer and a steak for the entrée… and said that both were great. I had the escargot for an appetizer (delicious!) and the pork osso bucco as an entrée (which was delicious too… and a LOT of food!) The molten cake dessert was incredible too, literally melting in my mouth. I definitely can’t wait for us to go back soon!

I was in town on business and looking for some good food. I’m so glad I found Bistro 218!
Food was superb, and the service was utterly charming. They’re in one of the old classic buildings in downtown Birmingham.
Excellent food, ambiance, and service, in a charming and unpretentious setting. I’m a fan!

Excellent French restaurant with nice vibe. My duck confit was fantastic! The shrimp risotto was very awesome.

Delicious food, exceptional & personalized customer service. Would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone planning a special event! Thank you Chef Tom Saab & the Bistro 218 family for making my b-​day celebration so memorable! Cheers!

This place was so underwhelming! I think I fell asleep at the bar upstairs. The food and service lacked creativity and energy. Cute décor in cool location but totally dead on a big Thursday night.

The evening was a success due to Tom Saab personally taking care of our table — recommending the beautiful wine to our delicious entrees. Did I mention the entrees were delicious? Especially the duck! If you’re in the neighborhood — give them a try. It means ALOT when the owner takes the time to personally takes an interest with each table to engage the guests and ensure their satisfaction. I’ll see you next week!

Lacking in ambience, but my friend loved the fresh crab. Salad seemed uninspired. However, they are very nice! Great butter.

I love Bistro 218! I’ve dined at the restaurant twice in the past few months and have amazing experiences both times so I decided to share my experiences. All of the dishes I’ve had have been exquisite. The ambiance at the restaurant is nice for a date out on the town or a work dinner. The service is memorable. The servers are very knowledgeable about wine and the individual dishes. The chef proprietor, Tom, is personable and ensured that my group had a great dinner! I’d definitely recommend Bistro 218!

A little pricey but you get what you pay for sometimes. I had the none marrow. Excellent. We also had the escargot and they were great. I think chez fon fon does them better but they were great. We had the charcuterie plate which was yummy. The entrees were the soft shell crab which was great and the snapper which I thought was slightly undercooked but my lady loved it.

Food alright. Service… never really feel like the hostess and waitstaff wants us there. We keep trying to make it work but always leave disappointed with the service.
We dropped a pretty penny… treat us like we are paying customers.

Ok food, slow/​uninspired service in a charming downtown location
Ambience/​Service: We came for Valentines Day given all the good reviews on Unilocal.We had our reservation but still had to wait given diners staying longer than expected. Nevertheless, we were given a nice corner area which was intimate. Our waitress was particularly slow and did not really seem to be as attentive as other quality establishments in the area. Drinks, orders, and food took some time to arrive. Solid 2 stars.
Food: I’m usually pretty good about taking pictures of my food but the food simply looked and tasted ok. The look of each plate reminded me of what you’d get at a 3 star hotel restaurant — a bit dated with nothing particularly interesting. I recall getting the fried tomato as an app but to be frank, I can’t even recall my entrée. We ended with beignets (seeing that nearly every table had ordered it) and they were heavy and far too sweet for either of our tastes. My girlfriend also does not recall what she had. Overall the food wasn’t terrible but it was not memorable — at all. 3 stars.
Overall: On the outside, the restaurant looked promising but with 3 star food and 2 star service, I doubt I’ll be back again.

I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to lobster bisque, but they do it right at Bistro 218, complete with a surprising amount of lobster meat.
I had flounder for dinner, and it was completely wonderful. Served over a bed of blue corn grits, with some green beans and a nice lemon sauce, it was quite enjoyable. But my favorite part of the dish were the spears of fried okra. Rare is the cook that can do okra right, but Bistro 218 does it the best!
I tried the vegetable risotto with gulf shrimp, and it was quite nice as well. So was the duroc pork chop I tasted.
The restaurant is very nice, very «classic bistro» in style. The service was good, and the staff was pleasant and very accommodating to our large group.
They make a really nice Manhattan, too!

This jewel of downtown is the perfect location with the perfect vibe and menu for a business lunch or a nice dinner with friends or family. Everything I’ve tried has been fantastic. Love the salads, the fish items have been fresh and well prepared, and service has been spot on. They seem really glad you’re there.
I’m a sucker for the gumbo, a small but luscious cup with big shrimp, spicy sausage, and fried okra. Yummy.
Prices are reasonable for a downtown white table cloth eatery. My only complaint is that they’re closed on Monday’s. Try it, you’ll like it.

Everything is perfect! From the décor, to the menu, to the chef who came to our table to personally apologize for our appetizer taking ‘too long’ to come out (in his opinion). The duck appetizer was TO DIE FOR. One of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had. I would have waited years to eat that, so the chef needn’t worry about us waiting a few extra minutes. I will definitely be going back!
My only tip to patrons would be to make a reservation. The night I dined there it was packed, but, I being the compulsive planner I am, luckily had a reservation :)

Everything about our dining experience was excellent. Nothing but praise, but I am concentrating on the specialty cocktails, they were my favorite part.
First, the Absinthe Minded Martini. This was my first time trying absinthe and I was surprised how smooth it was, because I’ve heard it has quite a strong taste. They did a marvelous job crafting this drink and I highly recommend it.
Next we got the French Martini, which contained Chambord. The flavor was outstanding, and in my opinion has to be in the top 3 best tasting cocktails I’ve ever had. I can’t really describe it, just try it.
And for desert, I ordered the Kaluah Egg Nog and enjoyed every second of it. This is what egg nog should taste like. Stellar job crafting this drink.
And the beignets were great too.