chez fon fon

i wish urban spoon had a "love it" button! atmosphere reminded me of being in paris last summer. food was wonderful and the waiter was fantastic! my only regret is that i'm visiting birmingham from virginia and can't easily come back to dine atchezfonfon.

french sophistication with country charm. withchezfon fon, chef stitt manages to succeed where so many others fail. he manages to create wonderfully complex french cuisine without coming off as pompous and frilly. the atmosphere is very lively and inviting and certainly does not feel like it sits in the middle of a major metropolitan area. from the décor, to the bocce ball court in the back this restaurant has the feel of a french countryside restaurant.
it is hard for me not order the trout dish when i visit, but when i manage to do so, everything is delicious and well prepared. all in all,chezfon fon is another hit for stitt, and is one of birmingham's finest culinary treasures.

safety in numbers. with so many reviews ofchezfonfon available, i can only add that the reviews are collectively accurate. the categorization of the restaurant as a $$ romantic place is not. at best one can say it is either cheap, or romantic, but not both. while there are menu items for under $10, these are either petit menu items that are small even by appetizer standards, or grande menu items like a burger or a salad. if you wish to enjoy some of the more romantic-dinner-out selections from the grande menu you are looking at $20 for the highly touted trout with beurre braun. the grilled salmon, pork medallions, and two specials were $22-25. and then add sides and you are looking at $30 for an entree plate. it is unfair to welcome folks into your restaurant expecting applebee's prices only to be left with a choice of making a dinner out of 3 shrimp and a few shreds of lettuce, or breaking the bank. fonfon is a $$$-$$$$. the other less-than-romantic feature is the loudness that is addressed in previous reviews.

with that said, the food is superb. i made a meal of the fruits de mer from the petit menu and the fonfon frisee salad, also from the petit menu. the seafood salad was minuscule, but delicious. the shrimp was cooked to perfection, the mussels small, tender and tasty, and the crab preparation was respectful of the subtle taste on the crab. it was three medium shrimp, 5 dime-size mussels, and a tablespoon of crab, over shredded iceberg lettuce, all of which would have fit comfortably in a tea cup. the salad came dressed, which i usually don't like, but in this case it was perfectly dressed with the most delicious gorgonzola dressing i've ever eaten. the walnuts were lightly salted and perfectly roasted. except for the beets (which i hate, so that's on me) this was perhaps the most delicious salad i have ever enjoyed. my date had the shrimp remoulade salad from the grande menu. it too was delicious. it featured 5 good sized shrimp in a subtle (compared to arnaud's version) remoulade sauce, over iceberg lettuce. add two glasses of wine to the three salads and a cup of seafood and you are looking a $60 before the tip.

as for service, it was polite and attentive. was our guy rocking the "hey man this is an impressive french restaurant attitude" just a bit? sure. but i rocked the "i am not particularly impressed by french restaurants" attitude, and we got along just fine.

in the end we had a great time exploring a new restaurant, enjoying the wonderful tastes, and the lively atmosphere. if you want to bulk up, whisper sweet nothings into your date's ear, or feed a family on a budget, look elsewhere.

terrible service. the good food was over shadowed by the terrible service, which might have been the worst i've ever experienced. our waitress was point blank rude to the point i could feel my heart rate getting higher with every visit she made to our table. by the end of the night when we asked her to describe the desserts, she pointed to the menu we were looking at and said, "they are listed right there", then proceeded to list them verbatim from the menu. out of all of frank stitt's restaurants, this one is my least favorite. there is something off about paying a couple of hundred dollars for dinner alongside paper place mats. the food was good but so many other great restaurants in birmingham, i will make a point not to go back tochezfon fon.

we took my daughter tochezfon fon for dinner the night before we moved her to tuscaloosa for her freshman year of college. it did not disappoint! it's one of our favorite places in birmingham and we were reminded why. the food was excellent and the service couldn't have been better. from the appetizers to our main courses to the desserts, every single dish was amazing.

loved it!chezfon fon has always been a favorite of mine. it is always consistent and always so good. i usually get the crouge madame or the hamburger, but this time i decided to order the omelet. i was wonderful! it was filled with a tomato marmalade that was to die for! it came with a side salad and french fries, which were the perfect match. all in all a great lunch with great service too!

my secondchezfon fon lunch... delicious, again! had heard about the burger from my brother so decided to try it. whoa! perfectly seasoned & cooked (medium rare) & oh so juicy. i think maybe the butter on the bread was also seasoned. enjoyed the thin, crispy pommes frites - only complaint is they were a tad greasy. will certainly go again next opportunity! make sure to get your workout in before enjoying the hamburger fon fon.

chez fon fon has been one of my favorite restaurants for years. it has a quaint and comfortable atmosphere. the acoustics can be a little bad, but it is well worth it because of the high-quality food and service. i have never had bad service or bad food atchezfon fon. they also have some of the best cocktails in birmingham. my favorites are the trout and the french fries, two opposite side of the spectrum, but both are top notch.

i might think i'm a tiny bit biased to this place since my fiancé took me here to celebrate right after our engagement if it were not for the chicken liver mousse! it is phenomenal! i can't wait to go back just for a plate of that & a drink in their cute little patio with a splendid view of five points. i also had their trout almondine. though the bright star is my absolute favorite restaurant, i dare saychezfon fon's version of this gave the bright star's quite the run for their money!
see you again soon soon, fon fon!

every time i go tochezi leave happier than when i came. atmosphere is fun, casual, yet elegant enough to accommodate any group. business suits to jeans, this place has a great crowd. and the food? i don't feel like typing for the next hour about how great everything is so i'll stick to the basic. if you haven't tried the steak tartare special, you're missing out. a decent sized portion of their always delicious steak tartare (best in town) and a glass of pinot noir for $12. it's only between 9-10pm but definitely worth having a late dinner... i'll see you at chez!!

i, sarah elizabeth, was very excited to havechezfonfon on our list because i love french food, and more specifically, escargot. so obviously we ordered that as an appetizer, as well as, the smoked trout with watercress, carrots, and dill. the escargot was absolutely delicious, but i feel like the trout dish would have been a little bit better if they had used salmon instead. sydney and amy thoroughly enjoyed it though...

good food; good atmosphere. went tochezfonfon with my fiancée on a saturday shortly after they opened their doors. they were already busy at opening. i had the "steak frites" and it was delicious. the atmosphere was enjoyable. the service was prompt and friendly. i will definitely go back again and try their famed hamburger.

a memorable lunch atchezfon fon.
our waiter offered delightful descriptions of menu items. the grilled trout and shrimp with avocado salad were both splendid. our service was notable. the lemon torte with meringue torched and the dark chocolate pudding completed a great meal. we will come again soon.

great lunch. we had a wonderful lunch today. my husband had the hamburger and frittes, my son had the ham blt on sour dough, my mother-in-law had the pompano, my father-in-law had the crabcake and i had the shrimp and avocado salad. everyone raved about their food! their prices are higher than they used to be, and the service we had was very attentive. i have read many reviews of food was fair, service ok or bad. i am assuming that someone had paid attention and things have gotten much better. i know from my own experience in business, that one cannot become lazy and complacent. there is always someone in the wings waiting to become the next best thing. frank stitt has been an incredible influence on this community and i am more than pleased to say these positive things about hischezfon fon.

perfect dinner for two - split the charcuterie and hamburger fonfon. just do it, with a recommended glass of wine. plenty of food for two people.chezfonfon is one of birmingham's most well-executed restaurants.


-----01 sep, 2012-----

always impressive.... although it is difficult to pass on the hamburger fonfon or steak frites, you will never be disappointed when venturing out and ordering other dishes on the menu. the moules marinieres frites and scamp ratatouille are some other rock-star entrees to try, when they're available. as far as appetizers are concerned, definitely go with the steak tartar, as well as the snails... the escargot is cooked, in garlic butter, to perfection, and topped with a small crouton. the flavor and the texture resembles that of a perfectly cooked, extremely tender, mild, and delicate shrimp or scallop.

the sophisticated staff atchezfonfon is as polished and accommodating as they come, constantly paying close attention to the details of your experience and tweaking every tweak-able nuance, in order guarantee you an enjoyable and satisfying visit. consistency and execution are, obviously, the high-priority goals the staff strives to meet, here, daily.

to other restaurants out there, if you didn't already know, this is how you do it. at the time this review is submitted, 92% of 1038 people "like" this place... that should tell you something.

well done,chezfonfon

.


-----06 aug, 2011-----

get the burger, get the steak. my wife and i just ate at fonfon for the first time, after receiving numerous recommendations from people that share our tastes and appreciation for great food. i can't believe we waited so long to try it...

we started out with an appetizer and shared the baked mussels, which were perfectly cooked. i ordered the hamburger and she ordered the hanger steak... wow!!!

the hamburger comes out medium, if you order it to the chef's taste. it's simple, but incredibly delicious, setting the bar for other burgers. the hamburger fonfon is quite possibly the best hamburger i've ever ate.

the hanger steak was an excellent cut of beef and seasoned to perfection... definitely one of the best (if not the best) steaks in birmingham.

pommes frites were served with each dish... they were prepared correctly and were unbelievably tasty. we could have eaten the pom frites, only, and been 100% satisfied.

in summary,chezfonfon is one of our top, go-to restaurants. the price is very reasonable, compared to stitt's other establishments; so reasonable that would we would have happily paid more for our dinner. i feel comfortable recommending this restaurant to anyone. it's phenomenally well done, in my opinion.