al's deli & grill

amazing! great food great price!. if my husband and i lived in birmingham (or near it) we would probably frequent this restaurant. we stopped by here on a weekend trip, and was surprised to see plenty of parking and no wait! this is an order-at-the-counter type of establishment, but the staff were friendly. the menu is so unique and is really affordable, especially since all of the portions are huge! it's safe to say you could easily split any menu item between two people and still have too much food.

i ordered the chicken salad pita roll-up, which was an amazing version of chicken salad with more of a curry flavor than the typical american mayo-flavor. i also ordered a side of mushrooms (which are sauteed to perfection). my husband ordered a bar-b-que gyro baker (ginormous baked potato stuffed with gyro-bbq goodness).

very relaxed atmosphere and niceplaceto hang out and chat. fast service, cheap, and great quality!

college food?. i am currently a uab junior & i personally do not like this place. i keep hearing from friends and other uab students about how thisplaceis the best restaurant to eat at if you're a college student. i think they only believe that because there is only so many times we can eat taco bell and 'diner' food until it gets old. however, their tuna roll sandwiches made me sick three times and their chicken fingers are not as "heavenly" as everyone makes them out to be. if you're drunk at 2am then i guess their food is tolerable. if you're sober and it is 6pm their food is not tolerable. maybe i am missing something, but then again maybe i just have better things to do at 2am....

great food - horrible service. love the food, but the service is always inconsistent. some days i will get great service, others (like this evening) the staff seems to hate being there. i dont know who the old black man at the register is (possibly a manager, i hope not?) but he was a complete jerk to me this evening, simply bc i asked if the gyro usually comes with feta on it (and who doesn't put feta on their standard gyro??...). somehow i was charged $12 for the meal that on the menu started out at around $6.

besides being charged a different price for the same exact meal everytime i've gone, and the horrible customer service, it's a decentplacefor a good gyro. too bad you have to put up with so much before the actual food is served to you.

al's is always delicious! they're open late, and they've got a few really tasty vegan options. i highly recommend the hummus, the falafel wrap (which has hummus in it, too), and the fries. word of warning to vegans, though: the veggie burger has cheese in it. still, a greatplaceto have a quick bite, and there are always lots of interesting people there, since it's so close to uab. it's a major gathering spot for much of birmingham, and really a bit of an institution in this city.

this is the go toplacefor all uab students after sunset. the owner is always so friendly, the food is good and the prices very reasonable. big patio for outside seating. this restaurant became a must visitplacein the area.

thisplaceis awesome. very convenient also that they are always open. the workers are very friendly and cater to diverse crowds. the food never disappoints.

this is theplaceto go after you've been out drinking all night and just want a greasy cheap dish at 3 in the morning. it's pretty standard drunk food. stay away from the blt, though. that was the weirdest 'bacon' i had very seen on an unripe tomato slice with shredded lettuce. yuck! their gyros aren't bad.

best late night. visited birmingham for an arctic monkeys concert and this was the onlyplaceopen late that was appealing. the crowd outside was pretty large, so we decided on it. the kafta burger was very good. it is quick, sports-bar type food that will definitely fill you up.

it's all about the atmosphere. okay, the food here isn't great, but al's is a birmingham staple anyway. why? it's because at any given time, day or night, theplaceis packed with the perfect cross-section of birmingham residents: uab students, on-duty cops, off-duty doctors and nurses, one or two sketchy characters to liven it up a bit, and everyone inbetween.

grab a weld magazine from the rack in the front, get in line, and expect to wait toplaceyour order. i usually get the gyro pronto (pita wrap with freshly sliced gyro, fried egg, and melty "cheese") or a mahi-mahi sandwich (giant portion of mahi served hot on a sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, and special sauce). some people swear by the chicken fingers, but i think that's just out of nostalgia... they're the same flat, dry, frozen chicken tenders you'll find in any high school cafeteria. the other crowd favorite, the loaded bakers, are well worth every penny. share one with a friend and you'll both have to wear your fat pants for the next week and a half.

if you sit inside, you'll get a lovely view of a long line of rear ends at eye level who are all waiting toplacetheir order, and if you sit outside, you'll share your meal with the pigeons, but it's all part of the charm. service is usually quick and friendly, and you really can't beat the prices for the amount of food you get. visitors to birmingham might be a little confused as to why al's rating is so high, but they can go somewhere else... al's is a landmark venue, and no one can call themselves a local unless they've eaten here after midnight!

legend. a meeting place, aplaceto chill after a show or skateboarding, aplaceto go after the bars, or on a weekend afternoon. al's is unlike any other place, as it has been all the aforementioned things to me over years. al himself is a really nice guy. what other 24 hourplacehas this consistency & local flavor? filling & delicious! if the grease smell, pigeons, late night lines or the casual nature of it bother you, good riddance to ya i say.

i have eaten at al's mediterranean since i was a student at uab more than 10 years ago. it has always been a goodplaceto eat and very poplar. they are open 24 hours and the food is just plain old good. theplacelacks refinement and is sometimes a little skeezy but that's only because of the volume of business they do there it's that good. i've always enjoyed the gyro and their chicken fingers and fries. for fellafel stuff i prefer purple onion, that's just me.

love thisplacethey have a little bit of everything american and mediterranean food

bestplaceto cap the night. thisplaceis fantastic to go to late at night before you head home. their chicken fingers are well known, but i always go with their bbq chicken baker which is plenty of food for 2 people, though i've seen some people tackle it on their own.

thisplaceis awesome, consistently great food, always very busy so expect a wait, love that it's always open! it's great for late night munchies!

bakers and gyros "oh my". thisplaceis great right at uab and in soutside, they have bakers for almost anyones fancy, they are fabulous (more or less a meal for two), they have by far the best gyros i have had in birmingham for sometime.