Sinclair’s

I have always loved Sinclair’s in old Cloverdale. The food has always been great. The atmosphere, menu, and usually service have been good.
My wife moved to Alabama over 21 years ago in March 1994 from Chicago. We ate outside at this Sinclair’s and she thought she had died and gone to heaven.
Today my wife and I went to Sinclair’s for Sunday Brunch. We got there about 1:20 and asked for an outside table. The outside tables are in a little courtyard with an umbrella over each table. As you can imagine a sunny day in early March leads to a large number of request for outside seating.
The hostess told us there were 3 parties in front of us and it might be a long wait. We told her we were willing to wait and would wait at the bar. We did wait at the bar for 30 minutes. My wife went back to the hostess because it appeared that they had set a 4^th party. We weren’t sure but did want to remind the hostess that we were still waiting at the bar. She told us that they were clearing a table and would seat us soon as it was cleared.
As we watched from the bar a young woman came through the outside gate and set at the table we were supposed to be seated at. My wife went to the hostess and pointed out that was the table we were waiting for.
The hostess told the manager what had happened and asked him to ask her to move. The young lady at our table had entered through a gate that had a sign which said «check with hostess for patio seating». Obviously she doesn’t follow instructions.
Any manager with a grain of intelligence would have asked the person who set down at the table without checking with the hostess to move.
The Manager’s solution was to set another very small table in the middle of the traffic pattern with no umbrella, in the bright sunlight, and tell us that was our table. Obviously that was no solution. We left and went to another restaurant we like to visit on the weekends, Capital Oyster Bar.
Bottom line is Sinclair’s, where I love the food and ambiance, just lost a customer who spends $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 per year there who will now transfer these meals to the rest of Montgomery.
POOR MANAGEMENT DECISIONS TRUMP EVERYTHING ELSE.

Incredible brunch! Get the Fairview Eggs. Cute location, good service, and good food. Great for a vegetarian but vegans might want to steer away due to all the eggs. Their brunch menu is a listing of eggs Benedict in a variety of ways. The only issue I have is that it appears that they have some sort of eggs poacher. It doesn’t seem that they actually poach them the way they’re supposed to. Otherwise, amazing place!

Leaves room for potential. We had brunch. I think I would stick to burgers and sandwiches here. I had the Eggs Fairview with country potatoes. The «medium» poached eggs were hard, the tomatoes they used were terrible (white and grainy), they did not have enough Parmesan crust. The bacon had a really nice flavor but needs to either be cooked longer at a higher heat to crisp it or cooked less. It was impossible to cut or chew. The hollandaise sauce had zero flavor-​comparable to water. The country potatoes had zero seasoning. Even some paprika could have been a step in the right direction. Save yourself the trouble and stick to lunch here or go to Shashy’s or A&P Social– those places have an amazing brunch.

Christina is a super server, very nice, personable, and just plain great — ask for her. Inviting curb appeal nestled in Cloverdale, sit outside on a nice day, inside needs a remodel. Margaritas and Bloody Mary’s are top notch. Food was good, had the fish and chips, not bad, average. Took a bite of my wife’s BLT, and it was awesome!

Pretty expensive for the food. A beer and 2 appetizers cost me 25 bucks. Only 3 beers on tap. The outdoor seating was nice.

The BEST & only spot for brunch in this slow boring city. Trust me. I always get a spinach salad & fried or blackened fish & grits. It is always amazing! You even get a complimentary Mimosa with certain brunch entrees! I’m telling you… it’s good food with a good price! If I’m in town. I’m here for brunch!

The service is good, the food came out in great time. The place was clean. I really enjoyed my food and the flavor was on point! Kudos to the chef!!!

Charming restaurant in a cut little area of Montgomery. The fried Brie cheese makes a visit here well worth the effort! Pasta dishes are out of this world and the waiters know their food well!

The food is ok, not the best, not the worst. It is a little expensive for what you get. It is in the «hip» neighborhood where 20−30ish somethings can live on the edge just a few streets from crack dealer shootouts that occur daily. The old folks entrenched within their fortifications like it because it is so near… I guess since The Sahara folded they really have no other choice. For visitors, know this, it’s really quite dangerous. I recommend The Pub, safer environment and much better food.

I came here just for a drink at the bar waiting for Tomatinos to open for dinner. It is conveniently located in Old Cloverdale, so you can walk over to other restaurants, shops, and cafes. Friendly staff and a quiet, slow place during the day. I like the vibe, so it made me stay for a couple more drinks before heading over for dinner. Nice spot!

Good food and basic atmosphere. We went later In the evening close to closing time, the staff still made sure we had what we needed and that our food was to our liking. Did feel a tiny bit rushed, and there were folks at the bar and they didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.

Good spot. Had the seafood tomato stack, which was served over parmesan crusted tomatoes… it was tasty. Lots of seafood and the tomatoes were amazing. I recommend this place.

Great location and great potential. Unfortunately brunch was a disaster. After sending back both of our eggs Benedict dishes once they were yet again over cooked to the point of hard boiled eggs. For 25 dollars the sirloin Eggs Benedict is a sad dish and not at all worth the price. I am pretty certain one can get a grade A sirloin for about that price at a steak house. Unfortunately the same could be said for the salmon Eggs Benedict. The salmon was crumbled and also over cooked. Both dishes seemed as if they had sat under heat lamps for hours.
The only upside was that through this «brunch» experience we were pleasantly enjoying mimosas. Those are made quite strong. I’m sure to disguise the high price and poor execution of the food.

Don’t know what happened to this place. Watered-​down salad dressing, tasteless onion rings, and somehow my favorite meal of Uncle Bucks Shrimp was even ruined. Not the same place it used to be.

This is a great spot if you don’t care about food flavor and quality. Flavorless and dry burgers served cold. The fried items are gross. Every time I give this place a chance I feel stupid for wasting my time. I have sent food back and left without eating. I don’t understand how it stays open. The location is great and the outside dining area is nice to have in the area. I will only patronize Sinclair’s for beers. Jennifer is a good bartender. I wish Sinclair’s had edible food. I live two blocks away and would be there all the time. Gordon Ramsay! Help!

My parents and I went to Sinclair’s around 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, ⁸⁄₂₃. There were about 3 other tables with guests in the restaurant. Why on earth at 4pm we still did not have our food is beyond me.
We spoke with the manager, who ended up comping our meal. Our waitress was very apologetic, and we did tip her for her efforts.
The food was ok. I’m giving this two stars instead of one because I have had MUCH better dining experiences here in the past. But that was many years ago. I just moved back to Alabama after about 13 years away, and thought it’d be great to go to a place with a solid reputation during my day trip to Montgomery. Boy was I wrong.
Based on Saturday’s experience, I will not be going back.

As we were just passing through, my girlfriend was looking to satisfy our diverse crew of seven. And one of us was in need of a seafood fix. The Internet brought us here.
Several reviews mention the hit and miss burgers. As a rule if I am at a restaurant and not craving something in particular I go for a burger.
One, I’m a burger aficionado, two, if a restaurant CANNOT get a burger right how is one to expect anything else to rate even two stars.
Everyone seemed satisfied with their meal, to include Caesar salad w/​chick, Tuna tacos, Philly steak, Portabella Sandwich, Fish and Chips, Fish tacos and finally my Cajun burger.
The Cajun burger was «blackened» with «grilled» onions and bell pepper. I’ll just say not much char on the vegs. But the burger itself was tasty and juicy (served Med). The fries were good.
Overall, the food was good, the portions right sized, and the service fast and friendly. Some others noted the disconnect of the décor and essence. Must agree here. And the bathroom could be spruced up, but that could wait behind other issues.
Prices were pretty reasonable if not appropriate for the quality. It’s located in a neat little neighborhood. And all in all I am happy with having stumbled through here as opposed to an Applebee’s.

We had seen Sinclair’s at Lake Martin but never got to try it before it became Kowaliga (which is pretty awesome) so we were looking forward to it when we came for Sunday brunch.
WOW were our expectations higher than what we got.
The patio out front was a good place to sit on such a nice day. but most of the tables (ours included) were actually in pretty bad repair with either missing or broken sun umbrellas. There was also a corner of the inside stuffed with what looked to be broken tables/​chairs.
I felt slightly bad for our waiter because he was obviously slammed, but there was a significant number of empty tables so it seems likely the problem was under staffing by the management … which would go with state of the place.
Our appetizer took 20 minutes and when it arrived we still had no napkins or silverware. I had to get another waiter to bring that stuff.
Our food came shortly after but was seriously ‘meh’.
I had a crispy scallop ceasar salad and I left most of it even though I was pretty hungry.
The scallops were seriously not tasty.
I’m not a giant fan of deep fried food but it can be good as long as it’s done right. If it’s not the flavor of rancid oil overtakes the food pretty quickly … as was the case here.
It appears a lot of places in the south think that’s OK … as long as you slather it in some sort of mayo/​dressing. At that point you can’t taste the food anyways so why not just eat the mayo/​dressing with deep fried mystery meat?
Needless to say — the salad was swimming in ceaser dressing.
Not insanely expensive but not cheap either.
$ 35 for 2 brunch entrees and 1 appetizer
With all the good reviews I *might give them another shot if I’m in the area — but most likely not.

I have tried and tried to become a fan of grits. I’ve tried them in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, etc., but not one place has made me like them as much as Sinclair’s. The shrimp and grits here on the Sunday brunch menu were delectable!
They serve shrimp and feta over their grits. Mmm. I would love to have this again. The texture was great, not too gritty, buttery, cheesy and the roasted peppers really added to the flavor.
Sinclair’s is located in the old Cloverdale neighborhood. It was a cute little place to be, coffee shops, art studios, I wish I would of had more time to explore. The building used to be a gas station in the 50’s. My waitress was the sweetest thing. Answered all my questions and made sure to tell me that southerners sprinkle a little hot sauce on their grits. There were quite a few people, I assume the after church rush, and already a crowd at the bar drinking mimosas!

The restaurants on the Fairview stretch of Cloverdale seem to all share the patio as a defining aspect of the eating experience, and Sinclair’s seems to be among them. A «little bit of everything» type of restaurant that is there to fill in the holes when you don’t want Tomatino’s pizza or El Rey’s burritos.
A staple of the ‘everything’ restaurant tends to be the burger, so I ordered that. The Front Yard burger comes with béarnaise butter and purple onion, and though I’m not entirely sure what constitutes béarnaise butter because butter is inherently one of the primary ingredients in béarnaise, I do know that my burger contained a heavy helping of butter when it made it to my table. No stranger to the Wisconsin butter burgers, I was in familiar territory. The rest of the burger was a half pound of mediocrity, though, not seasoned enough, chewy, and cooked a little past my requested medium rare. Fries were average.
The burger section of the menu includes a note about adding parmesan tomatoes for a couple of bucks, which I did, but they were served as a side dish, and the lightly crusted broiled tomatoes didn’t really fit with the burger at all. I like tomatoes, though, so I ate them with extreme prejudice.
The end result of my visit to Sinclair’s is a tremendous case of the ‘blahs’ — nothing to seemingly indicate they’re interested on focusing on any specific type of cuisine, nor any indication that they’re particularly exceptional at any of it either. Just a nice place to sit on the patio and eat… something.