Cafe Via

A pricey evening for ordinary food. The atmosphere is nice but the service and food don’t measure up. The manager gave my companion a $ 30 credit for wilted lettuce on her beet salad. That was nice, but won’t lure me back.

Lovely evening ! Great waitress !
Food was wonderful. Never have been disappointed. But, we do miss Carol.

The food is ok and so is the atmosphere.
Good service but the menu was a little disappointing. We decided to all share appetizers between the five of us. The stand outs were the crab cakes, the brussels sprouts, and the Bolognaise. The truffle fries were pretty good but the sliders, calamari, and the house made sausage were ok.
The desserts were sweet and delicious. The Death by Chocolate was very chocolatey and the ice cream was a good addition to lighten it up. I really enjoyed the Mango Coconut dessert. It had bits of cake and chocolate crumbs with raspberries and half discs of mango.
Overall for the prices, I expected more from the food. The food that was good was memorable enough but the other items were not even close to the standards I had going in. Maybe the entrees would have been a better choice.

The herb frites are to die for and the tomato provencale is filling yet refreshing. The prices are out of my student budget but I wouldn’t mind coming once in a while. My only complaint was that the service was slow for a Wednesday afternoon, not terribly slow but enough to notice since there weren’t many people eating there at the time.

Good atmosphere, good service, good food. Our party tried a number of menu items and all were well prepared.

The food was good but not espetacular. My tenderloin was very good but my husband’s seafood pasta was just ok. Atmosphere was nice. We sat in a nice four top under the covered patio. We arrived at 9 and by 11 there was nobody else at the restaurant but us. We were surprised since it was a beautiful Saturday night. We would have stayed longer and ordered more drinks. I guess it was time to go home.

Café Via should read their Unilocal reviews and work on their clear weaknesses. I agree with others that service is sporadic and fluctuates btw negligent and good. Salad was wilted and over-​dressed it Bolognese is excellent as is their tomato soup! This place should work on their consistency and it could be excellent.

Oh, where do I start. Food is mediocre at best. DO NOT get the beignets. Clumps of uncooked dough drenched in powder sugar. Drinks are decent. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Would get a 5 rating if not for the service.
Started out with homemade sausage, brussel spouts and crab cakes. All were pretty good, but crab cakes were exceptional. I had the ravioli, which I liked although it came with a creamy sauce that I thought was a little unusual. Others in the party enjoyed the salmon and trout. Beef tenderloin was very tender with good flavor. One person had the halibut and felt it was flavorless and a little dry.
Sat on the patio where there was a fireplace. Indoors the décor is warm and inviting– great ambiance
Our waitress was nice, however, very slow.

Ok so ATMOSPHERE wonderful, customer service equally fantastic. They asked us to move due to their mis calculation of seating with a larger party but they more than made up for it with offering free alcoholic beverages & every appetizer on the menu for our party of 6! So I hate to give them three stars but thats the only reason why I’m giving the 3 because the food was quite bland. So like i said we had every appetizer & the ones I was able to try (dietary restrictions) i was not impressed… my seafood entrée was bland & a bit overcooked, the pureed veggie which I referred to as baby poo poo all night taste like Gerbers… But hey the drinks were good. If in the neighborhood i would stop by to seat outside or at the bar for a drink & a BASIC no frill appetizer.

Thought I would give it a second try. Had been here before and the food was awesome but the service was so so. Have to say that they really stepped up their game. The service was 5 star, and the food did not disappoint. Went for lunch, loved, loved the patio. We’ll be back!

The chicken paillard is light and delicious, perfect lunch plate. Love the Via (breezeway) especially on Thursdays!

What a find!
A beautiful little Italian restaurant in Birmingham. Soft woods and elegant warm and private.
The seafood pasta was one of he best ever.
Be sure to park behind the restaurant

We have never been disappointed here– the food is always on point and the bartender Jerry is clever and attentive. You simply must try it out!

Grew up in the area, but haven’t been back in 10 years. Met friends and wasn’t impressed. Liked the atmosphere. Service good. Food average. Had a house salad and the Halibut. The fish was overcooked. My friend sent her dish back because it was overcooked. It was also VERY salty. Might go back, but wouldn’t be my first choice.

We didnt enjoy it all. small portions, the food was served cold, and we didnt felt anything special with the food. Not worth the price.

My husband and I were in Birmingham and decided to try this place for brunch. Everything was fantastic! He had the pumpkin waffle and side order of grits. I had the pomegranate French toast. After one bite of the grits and was in heaven! The service was attentive and hospitable. The décor met my expectations and then some. I would definitely take family and friends there for a meal. Make sure to go on an empty stomach as the portions are very generous. Excellent quality food and well worth the price.

Wow. What a disappointment.
Very, very, very slow service. Had a coffee but never got a refill. Wanted a condiment but the server didn’t come back to check on the table until we were 90% finished with the meal.
Someone at our table had to go to the bar to get a refill on her soda!
Food was ok. Nothing worth typing about.
Décor is great but that is about it. Still hungry and spent $ 80 with tip on two entrees (one being a salad) and one drink.

I need to talk about how awesome this place is for a moment.
1. Cool space. I love the outdoors and the fireplace, the inside was great as well. Super comfy chairs at our table inside. Made me not want to move.
2. The food is great. Our table ordered a bit of everything. For apps we ordered the calamari and shrimp, black angus tartar and crab cakes. The tartar came with a delicious kalmata olive spread, minced red onions, egg yolk and horseradish. So good. For entrees we ordered lamb chops, miso marinated cod, ruby trout, and filets. Everything was timed and cooked perfectly. The lamb chops may have been one of the best prepared rare chops I’ve ever had. Dessert we ordered the marscapone cheesecake, «oreo» ice cream cookie, and salted butterscotch pudding. Delicious.
3. Service– impeccable.
4. So why only 4 stars instead of 5. Reason being the bar. The drinks fell short. Our table ordered vodka martinis with bleu cheese olives– the olives tasted as if they have been prepared days before. The negroni was made with cranberry juice. I asked for my Hendricks gimlet to be served with a cucumber and instead after the drink was in front of me did I get a plate of cucumbers. You really need the cucumber to be present in the drink from the get go with Hendricks to bring out the aromatics. My advice– order wine and you’ll be happy. Switched to a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that was delicious.
I will absolutely come back here.

My husband and I recently dined at the restaurant for lunch and we both thought the menu was lackluster. Nothing was really standout and neither was the service.
Since it was lunch during the week it was slow and our waiter was not attentive. We ordered the mussels app and beverages. the waiter had no clue what beers they had, none on tap. He had to check and get back to us. He took our app order and asked if we would like bread. He never came back with the bread. We ordered our meals which arrived in a timely manner. I ordered the pot pie and my husband the chicken paillard. The crust for the pot pie was premade I believe because it was not attached to the pot pie. So it was a crust that I could remove on top then the pot pie filling on the inside of the bowl. My husbands chicken was just blah, nothing over the moon. We had to ask for a water refill. For dessert we ordered the hazelnut cheesecake which took about 15 minutes to cut and present… I mean come on, for a slow lunch during the week?
Underwhelming overall.