It's been a year since the first time I dined at The Gardens Cafe. I've dined here a few times since, but thought I'd add my most recent review via my local food review Instagram account, @eatingwithamybham A $20 fine dining experience. Birmingham Restaurant Week begins today. Local participating restaurants will be offering prix fixe menus thru March 3. I kicked off the week with lunch at one of my favorite participating restaurants, The Gardens Cafe. The Gardens Cafe is located at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens & is owned by local restaurateur royalty Kathy G & Co.. Their menu features elevated seasonal Southern favorites in a fine dining setting. The Gardens Cafe's Restaurant Week menu features a choice of entree & dessert for $20. I went with the Pan Seared Almond Crusted Rainbow Trout served over fontina cheese grits, sautéed green beans & classic picatta sauce with lemon, butter & capers. What a stunning presentation. It absolutely tastes as amazing as it looks! I find that trout has a mild, nutty flavor which paired exquisitely with the almond crust & lemony picatta sauce. The fontina cheese grits are silky & flavorful. A bite of the trout with the grits, sauce & briny capers was heavenly. The green beans were cooked perfectly & still had a nice snap. Dessert was Dark Chocolate Mousse with fresh berries & whipped cream. The mousse is decadent, yet light. Just right after a rich entree. The Gardens Cafe's atmosphere is beautiful. It's elegant, but not stuffy. Service is impeccable. Luther always takes excellent care of us, as does the rest of the staff. James, the chef, even came to say hello & made sure we were enjoying ourselves...& we certainly did! I didn't partake in the drink special today, but they're offering a choice of cocktail for $7. I recommend the French 75 (which I always make a "French 76" by asking that vodka be used in place of gin). I highly recommend adding The Gardens to your Bham Restaurant Week "must dine" list.
Liz Allison
I think this is Birmingham‘s best kept secret. The food is always so wonderful and fresh, and it’s super affordable!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
L T
Our family had a great lunch at the beautiful gardens today. Such prompt service and enjoyed basil tomato soup grilled cheese and fries with the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Annica Snow
Shout-out to Vel, our server! Super sweet, very accommodating, and fast service. The bread was amazing, as well as the carrot ginger soup, chicken salad, tomato basil soup, and fries! Nice high ceilings and clean bathrooms, as well. Delicious, fast, and welcoming! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rusty Sears
I was more than pleasantly surprised with this place. I was expecting tiny portions and huge prices. On the contrary, there was a great selection of amazingly delicious food including children's meals at great prices. Good service and friendly staff in a quiet, well-appointed setting. It's a must have.
Genna Jones
What an amazingly perfect place to grab lunch! I dined here several times and was never disappointed. If you like gardens, or people watching, request an outside table and feast your eyes as you, well, feast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shavette Looney
Really enjoyed my sinuses went through the roof but oh well there is no price for beauty such a beautiful place
susan english
Outside dining is nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Lari Rub
Wonderful service, really nice atmosphere!The food was good and fresh came really fast ! Thank you!
Joy Conrad
Thursday's special is shrimp and grits and it was wonderful.
Brittany is an excellent hostess who helped me plan a delightful luncheon for my friend's birthday.Also, the staff was prompt and on top of it all.We had the Pecan Chicken Salad and the Quiche Lorraine - both exceptional and homemade! Delicious! Compliments to the ones who had a part in making this.Although this was an accidental find our part, we have already determined to come back again. I'm anxious to try the Turkey melt sandwich. ?Thanks to all.
Lari S
Wonderful service, really nice atmosphere!The food was good and fresh came really fast ! Thank you!
F7621IAcolinm
We hadn't had breakfast so we decided to try the garden cafe for an early lunch when we visited the botanical gardens. Boy, am I glad we did. There were already plenty of tables in use when we sat down at 11::30. The cafe space is incredibly handsome, with soaring ceilings, and huge windows looking out on the adjacent patio. There were a couple of private parties being held that morning, so the people watching was fun while their guests arrived. I started my lunch with an order of lobster bisque. Constant companion was a happy camper with the arrival of the warm bread, and declared it some of the best bread ever. My sandwich was a grilled vegetable sandwich on a house-made roll. The flavors were wonderful. All in all, this place is a great value, as the lunch options are generally around $10. My soup was $5. The wait staff are great.
Jose r Perez
Luther is the best . But all the staff is great . Very good quality food at very affordable prices ?
Donna King Chambliss
Our party of 9 enjoyed our luncheon so very much. Brittany and the entire staff were amazing and welcoming. The food was all delicious!! Will definitely be back !!
It's been a year since the first time I dined at The Gardens Cafe. I've dined here a few times since, but thought I'd add my most recent review via my local food review Instagram account, @eatingwithamybham A $20 fine dining experience. Birmingham Restaurant Week begins today. Local participating restaurants will be offering prix fixe menus thru March 3. I kicked off the week with lunch at one of my favorite participating restaurants, The Gardens Cafe. The Gardens Cafe is located at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens & is owned by local restaurateur royalty Kathy G & Co.. Their menu features elevated seasonal Southern favorites in a fine dining setting. The Gardens Cafe's Restaurant Week menu features a choice of entree & dessert for $20. I went with the Pan Seared Almond Crusted Rainbow Trout served over fontina cheese grits, sautéed green beans & classic picatta sauce with lemon, butter & capers. What a stunning presentation. It absolutely tastes as amazing as it looks! I find that trout has a mild, nutty flavor which paired exquisitely with the almond crust & lemony picatta sauce. The fontina cheese grits are silky & flavorful. A bite of the trout with the grits, sauce & briny capers was heavenly. The green beans were cooked perfectly & still had a nice snap. Dessert was Dark Chocolate Mousse with fresh berries & whipped cream. The mousse is decadent, yet light. Just right after a rich entree. The Gardens Cafe's atmosphere is beautiful. It's elegant, but not stuffy. Service is impeccable. Luther always takes excellent care of us, as does the rest of the staff. James, the chef, even came to say hello & made sure we were enjoying ourselves...& we certainly did! I didn't partake in the drink special today, but they're offering a choice of cocktail for $7. I recommend the French 75 (which I always make a "French 76" by asking that vodka be used in place of gin). I highly recommend adding The Gardens to your Bham Restaurant Week "must dine" list.
I think this is Birmingham‘s best kept secret. The food is always so wonderful and fresh, and it’s super affordable!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our family had a great lunch at the beautiful gardens today. Such prompt service and enjoyed basil tomato soup grilled cheese and fries with the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shout-out to Vel, our server! Super sweet, very accommodating, and fast service. The bread was amazing, as well as the carrot ginger soup, chicken salad, tomato basil soup, and fries! Nice high ceilings and clean bathrooms, as well. Delicious, fast, and welcoming! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was more than pleasantly surprised with this place. I was expecting tiny portions and huge prices. On the contrary, there was a great selection of amazingly delicious food including children's meals at great prices. Good service and friendly staff in a quiet, well-appointed setting. It's a must have.
What an amazingly perfect place to grab lunch! I dined here several times and was never disappointed. If you like gardens, or people watching, request an outside table and feast your eyes as you, well, feast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really enjoyed my sinuses went through the roof but oh well there is no price for beauty such a beautiful place
Outside dining is nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Wonderful service, really nice atmosphere!The food was good and fresh came really fast ! Thank you!
Thursday's special is shrimp and grits and it was wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Brittany is an excellent hostess who helped me plan a delightful luncheon for my friend's birthday.Also, the staff was prompt and on top of it all.We had the Pecan Chicken Salad and the Quiche Lorraine - both exceptional and homemade! Delicious! Compliments to the ones who had a part in making this.Although this was an accidental find our part, we have already determined to come back again. I'm anxious to try the Turkey melt sandwich. ?Thanks to all.
Wonderful service, really nice atmosphere!The food was good and fresh came really fast ! Thank you!
We hadn't had breakfast so we decided to try the garden cafe for an early lunch when we visited the botanical gardens. Boy, am I glad we did. There were already plenty of tables in use when we sat down at 11::30. The cafe space is incredibly handsome, with soaring ceilings, and huge windows looking out on the adjacent patio. There were a couple of private parties being held that morning, so the people watching was fun while their guests arrived. I started my lunch with an order of lobster bisque. Constant companion was a happy camper with the arrival of the warm bread, and declared it some of the best bread ever. My sandwich was a grilled vegetable sandwich on a house-made roll. The flavors were wonderful. All in all, this place is a great value, as the lunch options are generally around $10. My soup was $5. The wait staff are great.
Luther is the best . But all the staff is great . Very good quality food at very affordable prices ?
Our party of 9 enjoyed our luncheon so very much. Brittany and the entire staff were amazing and welcoming. The food was all delicious!! Will definitely be back !!