chez fon fon

french sophistication with country charm. with chez fon fon, chef stitt manages to succeed where so many others fail. he manages to create wonderfully complexfrenchcuisine 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 afrenchcountryside 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, chez fon fon is another hit for stitt, and is one of birmingham's finest culinary treasures.

great restaurant withfrenchcountry flair. we ate lunch here for the first time. we both had the crab cake special and it was a complete lunch. what great food. what great service. what a great room with just the rightfrenchshade of yellow. the bill came to around $65.00 with tip. i would go here anytime. but do go on thursday for the crab cakes and you will have a great time.

good. i've only eaten here once, but it was successful. the service was great, the food was above average for a brasserie, and there was a nice selection or provincialfrenchfood on the menu.

this isn't a fine dining restaurant, nor does it try to be. it's a typical brasserie. a place where you stop by after work for a bite and a drink. you can't even make a reservation here, so that should tell you something.

it brings an element to birmingham that's missing and certainly welcome it to the list.

safety in numbers. with so many reviews of chez fonfon 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 impressivefrenchrestaurant attitude" just a bit? sure. but i rocked the "i am not particularly impressed byfrenchrestaurants" 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.

awesome. this is such an awesome place. get here early. i understand it is afrenchrestaurant but do try the hamburger. of all my travels i have yet to have a hamburger and fries that can beat this one.

if you're looking for the best burger you'll have in your life, here's the place to get it! frank stitt is one of the best chefs so it's a treat to go to thisfrenchinspired restaurant. get there early though as they don't take reservations and the restaurant fills up fast! great wine selection too and excellent service! hands down one of the best in birmingham!

loved it! chez fon 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 andfrenchfries, which were the perfect match. all in all a great lunch with great service too!

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 at chez fon fon. they also have some of the best cocktails in birmingham. my favorites are the trout and thefrenchfries, two opposite side of the spectrum, but both are top notch.

voila, compliments to the chef. i thought this would be a stuffyfrenchfarts place but the place is pretty causal. as a chef i want intriguing food and this fits the bill. ask a waiter to explain what's on the menu or you'll never get the whole experience. everything ordered was well presented and tasty. the hamburger was fantastic with the appropriate condiments. fries were crunchy with a good crisp. the salmon serving size was large, cooked to perfection and served with a delicious vegetable medley. the deserts, carrot cake and caramel cream, were not great but will be back to try more! cia

i, sarah elizabeth, was very excited to have chez fonfon on our list because i lovefrenchfood, 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...

fabulous. 2nd time i've eaten here. both times were very good. it has a truefrenchfeel to it and they backs it it up with truefrenchcuisine. next time i'm visiting birmingham i will definitely eat here again.

great food. went with a group from work and had an enjoyable meal. i had the salade fonfon and pork simmered in red wine and both were excellent. planning to bring my wife here for dinner because she lovesfrenchfood.

hamburger fonfon. i cannot rave enough about this burger. i would say it rivals the burger at ollie irene (one of my absolute favorites).
the thing that makes the fonfon burger great is the great quality of meat and the sauces used when cooking the meat or preparing it. it has a great flavor.
the bread served before the meal was sub-par and i expected more variety with such a high-end trio of restaurants fonfon is involved in.
the fries had the perfect amount of salt and seasonings.
for desert i split the chocolate caramel nut tart. this desert was great and had the perfect combination of flavors, although it did not taste as fresh as i would have liked.
all in all the burger is great, the atmosphere reminds me of afrenchquarter restaurant in new orleans or afrenchcafe.
well priced, with a decent variety.

great atmosphere. it truly does give you afrenchfeeling in the restaurant! the food was wonderful- just what you would expect from frank stitt!

overpriced but good.. i went with the little lady to have a nice anniversary dinner. got there around 7 pm on a saturday and it was packed. had an hour and a half wait time. didnt really matter to us as we really wanted to try the food here so we walked around 5 points and had some drinks. returned and was seated immediatly after entering. decided to start out with the escargot and the cheese tray. the cheeses were good, especially the creamy sheeps cheese but for the portion size we both felt $11 was a little high. the escargot we both agreed was good and we kind of wish we had gotten a second order of it instead of the cheese. i had the steak pomm frites which was cooked rare how i like it and was good. my girl said her sword fish was good but nothing spectacular. for dessert we had the blueberry cheese cake which was pretty good. it was served as a round piece vs a slice with blueberrys baked in and a blueberry sauce on the side. overall the bill came out to about $100 for the food and a glass of wine. is itfrenchcooking? maybe we got the wrong items but id say no.