satterfield's

wow, wow, wow... definitely one of the best in town. satterfield's is one of birmingham's best finediningestablishments, and i'm tired of it continuing to be a secret. their food, service, and atmosphere rivals that of any stitt, dupont, or hastings restaurant in town.

my wife and i happened to look at the online daily menu, simply perused the appetizers, alone, and immediately decided that satterfield's is where we would dine that evening. we ended up doing several small plates and splitting an entree...

the foie gras with french toast is probably the most flavored and complex dish i've ever put in my mouth. the sweetbreads were phenomenal, as well as the homemade andouille sausage and head-cheese app plate. the beef, pork, duck bolognese with bucatini pasta entree was killer as well.

these guys put so much effort into planning out all the intricacies and nuances to enhance your culinary experience; it's crazy... this is arguably the best finediningbirmingham has to offer. everything on menu is over-the-top, and so well thought-out. also, be sure to sit at the chef's table if you can.

congrats satterfield's... keep it up!


-----14 jan, 2012-----

one of bhm's best finediningestablishments.... my wife and i dined at satterfield's for the first time the other night... our experience rivaled that of highland's and cafe dupont. the service was top-notch and food was excellent.

appetizer - "biscuits and gravy" - the seared veal sweetbreads, sandwiched between a handmade breakfast biscuit, smothered with andouille sausage sawmill gravy, was to die for... i compare the texture and flavor of the sweetbreads to a heavily marbled, a5, kobe beef tenderloin. the taste was phenomenal.

entree 1 - the "house smoked sonoma county duck breast" was cooked to perfection... it was medium-rare, well seasoned, and melted in my mouth. one of the best duck breasts i've ever eaten in my life.

entree 2 - the "white wine braised mississippi rabbit" dish was the real star of the show that evening. the braised rabbit was topped on a bed of homemade ravioli and surrounded by a flavorful sage sauce. the dish was very similar to a stew, but almost gave you the sense that you were about to take a bite of comforting, stick-to-your-ribs "turkey dressing", right before the fork hits your mouth. i was so blown away by the flavors, i think i will work to perfect the dish at home and make it as a substitute for turkey dressing at thanksgiving or christmas this year.

also, the appetizer and entrees all paired exceptionally well with a bottle of côtes du rhône e. guigal '07

overall, satterfield's is one of the best finediningexperiences i've ever had. this place is a must-go if you are in birmingham.

one of the best finediningrestaurants in b'ham. satterfield’s is out of another time. they seem perfectly content with 1 seating per night. i went recently with a group of about 12, and we held our table until close to 9 pm, as did almost all every other table that evening (a weeknight). let me be clear: full house, 1 seating. that's confidence. everything was delicious from the range of appetizers we tried to entrees and desert. (well, i take that back. i wasn't crazy about my gelato, but it was good). the clientele does appear to be older, but i found the same to be true at hot and hot. this is event dining. the point is to eat. this is not let's-grab-a-bite-before-catching-the-movie-at-the-summit-or-clubing kind of place. this is for a leisurely paced meal with people you actually want to talk to. it's a glorious anachronism.

just my luck, my pig was on a diet. this is my 60th review on urban spoon. in the first 59 reviews i never mentioned anything said by another reviewer. i figure everyone goes to a restaurant with their own expectations and while they're there they have their own experiences--who am i to judge their opinion of those experiences? this is the one and only time i will break the hungry hungry hippo prime directive. whenever i select a restaurant i check their website. i'm looking for their current menu (hopefully with prices, which not all restaurants include) and a link to make reservations. if they have one, i use it. if they don't have one, i figure none are needed. so i'm surprised to read a review of an upscale joint like satterfield's in which the diner is surprised that a lack of reservations is met with dismay (but their party was seated anyway), they were surprised at the amount of the bill (did they not check out the place at all?) and my favorite part: the rabbit was delicious, but it looked too much like a rabbit so the reviewer couldn't eat it and therefore was hungry when she left the restaurant. what did she think it would look like--a rutabaga?

anyway, i went to satterfields (after making reservations) last friday night with 4 other folks. i ordered the appetizer i always order at any restaurant that serves it: the pork belly. in this case it was braised and served with greens and butternut squash. the greens and squash were both good. in fact it was the first time i've ever had butternut squash if you can believe it. i am tempted to add that it was delicious, but it looked too much like a butternut squash and therefore i couldn't eat it, but the truth is i ate every bite. i am now a fan of the stuff and can't wait to try some soup made of it. alas, the pork belly, one of my favorite dishes in the world, was only so-so. i know i shouldn't eat pork belly at all--it's bad for my heart, it clogs my arteries, it's got too much fat (one of my regulardiningcompanions is grossed out by the amount of fat on pork belly but it's my favorite part) but darn it, when something tastes this good how can you not order it?

my anti-pork belly pal would be able to eat this with no problem. jack sprat could eat this thing with no problem. it tasted okay i guess, but where was that delicious, deadly fat? it was a nice tasting piece of pork, but i have to take their word for it that it came from the pig's belly.

the rest of my party ordered salads, soup and and fried oysters. i think it was oysters. it was something fishy so i gave it only a cursory glance. whatever it was, he ate it all and made mmmm mmmm noises while he did it so i'm guessing he liked it. likewise the soups and salads got high marks. i was the only one less than satisfied with the first course.

we all gave a thumbs up to the entrees. two of us got the filet. i have to say it was one of the best i've ever had. lots of places describe their steaks as "hickory grilled" but this really did taste like it was grilled over a hickory wood flame instead of cooked in a skillet or under a broiler. the blue cheese mashed potatoes were killer. two folks got the snapper and loved it and one of us got the venison osso bucco. he said it was very good, but a little dry.

everyone but me got a dessert. the almond butter cake was hands down the big winner but the beignets also got high praise. instead of dessert i ordered a dessert wine. i have never ordered any kind of wine with dinner in my life. this was the fonseca bin no. 27 finest reserve port. it came in a cute little glass well before everyone else's desserts came out. i took baby sips so that i'd still have something left when the rest got their sweets. i'm not a big fan of wine but this was some good stuff. as small as the glass was, i had to push it away after drinking only half of it as i was halfway to feeling loopy. i don't know if it was really that strong or if it was just because it's been so long since i've had anything alcoholic to drink or what. i wrote down the name of it and i'm gonna keep an eye out for it whenever i'm any place where wine is sold by the bottle. i'm allowed to get loopy when i'm at home, after all.

the dinner was good. but that no-fat pork belly was a disappointment. i hope it was just a fluke. one final note, our server tabitha was very good. i freely admit that i'm a high maintenance diner on occasion and friday night i was worse than usual--changing my drink from tea to soda, making her do too much work when i placed my order--and she was friendly and helpful throughout. i wouldn't blame her for calling me names when she was in the kitchen but when she was in thediningroom she was a pro.

wow!! amazing food, cozy and clean environment and excellent wait staff! five stars*****. i had the best experience with satterfields this week. we picked it for our weekly ladies night and i must say it was incredible and we'll be back. the service was on point and our waitress was very polite and professional and personable. we started with a mixture of malpeque oysters that were small, fresh and full of flavor. my dinner was beyond my expectations and so good that i personally called the chef out to shake his hand. it truly was the best chicken dish i've had out of all of the finediningrestaurants in birmingham. i enjoyed the oven roasted tanglewood farms chicken breast and farmer’s market succotash with lady peas, heirloom tomatoes, okra, sweet corn, basil, and citrus-foie gras butter and as an extra little surprise the chef added a few fried okra's. ahh so good!! it was top notch and full of flavor and the chicken was extremely juicey. i could not stop going on and on about how good it was. on top of the tastinss, the presentation was spectacular. all together from start to end it was an incrediblediningexperience and i will be going back very very soon.

finally, a restaurant deserving.... satterfield's is all it claims to be and more. we moved down from nyc two years ago and, have often lamented not having gooddiningchoices. then we discovered satterfield's. in our opinions it deserves to be birmingham's best. the food is creative and fresh, as well as absolutely delicious. the service is good, though we were there on a very busy night during the holidays. the one thing i would suggest improving is the location. i think the restaurant has outgrown its current location and is in dire need of more space and more convenient 'evening' parking.. otherwise, our hats are off to the creative owners and chefs.

my favorite!. i love satterfields!!! great food, wonderful people. i think that satterfields' is a hidden gem in birmingham'sdiningscene. located behind the summit and just minutes from i-459 it's a great location - easily accessible from southside, homewood, or inverness.

the food rocks - i've never been disappointed with the food at satterfields' and i honestly can't think of anywhere else that i can say that about. great finediningwith southern sensibilities.

plus, i also love the bar menu on monday and tuesday nights - it's a great place to meet for a drink and a bite to eat.

can't wait for cooler weather to try out the wonderful new patio addition.

if you haven't tried satterfields' you are missing a real treat!!!!!!

finediningat its best.... wonderful experience at satterfields...sat at the chefs table, which added an element of show to the xperience. wastching all the great dishes being prepared made it difficult to chosse an entree..appetizer of pork shoulder over sweet potato gnochis were a highlight.
among the entrees, the grouper was outstanding, as were the bacon wrapped scallops...

nice , well priced wine list ...outstanding desserts as well..the ginger snap ice cream sandwish is addictive..

very good restaurant, id rank it among bhm's top 3...