Big Rock Italian Chophouse

Incredible and beautiful restaurant with great service and nice atmosphere. I liked the oysters and swordfish, steak for my husband and meatballs was also good! But the desserts need some work, for a restaurant of this level they could be tastier)) Anyway, I’m still happy with this place and we are going to come back in a few months.

Fantastic service, even better food. Steak with porcini butter was a phenomenal combination. Butternut squash tortelloni was some of the best pasta we’ve ever had. The lemon cake was incredible. The tiramisu left a little to be desired, but still good. Shoutout to Anthony, our waiter, who was extremely welcoming and accommodating!

Sadly I only took one photo which means it was probably a great dinner :) I went out to celebrate with a friend, we walked in around 8:30 with no reservation and only had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table (I say that’s great for a restaurant that opened less than 2 weeks ago and had a line when we walked in), every member of the staff is AMAZING!! Our server was named Bella and a sever assistant was Asher. Both were absolutely above and beyond. We ate super slow and talked for hours (I think we left around 12-12:30) they never made us feel rushed and paced every course so that we could take our time and talk between each course from apps to our dessert. We sat outside and when it started raining we went and sat at the bar and was served by Maryann, she was amazing too. The food was delicious, we loved our steaks and the creme brûlée was amazing. But I am leaving this 5 star review because of the incredible STAFF!! Every person I spoke to here was above and beyond and extremely kind and patient for working at such a busy, new restaurant. They were the reason we had such a memorable experience. Definitely coming back :)

We were really impressed. The service was amazing, from the accommodating hostess (Mila?) to our server (Jodie) to the managers (Steve and Tiffany?) stopping by multiple times to kindly check on us. The atmosphere was super lively and each room was designed completely different from the rest which was a pleasant surprise while walking through. The apps and drinks were great - specifically tried the loaded focaccia and whipped ricotta. The chicken parm and vodka pasta were good but would have been better if they used a bit more sauce / less salt. Was surprised by the variety of gluten free options too. Dessert tartufo was amazing and unlike anything I have ever tried — basically layers of gelato and chocolate cake. Can’t wait to go back and try more.

Server Marco was excellent. Pricey? Yes but worth it. It’s a chophouse in Birmingham so expected. Food was outstanding. Large seafood tower was great. Steaks were flavorful and cooked to perfection. Will definitely be dining here again. Also, the cigar bar was unbelievable. Cocktails and cigar selection were fantastic!

The service was excellent. Well trained staff and very attentive. Great cocktails The steak cuts were great cuts. Tender and lean. Unfortunately lacked flavor in the side and steak and pasta dish. Maybe some flavor options, more garlic… We would come back again- might not be the first choice for the price and flavor/quality.

Third time to Big Rock. Service was really slow this time. Server was not very thorough or as attentive as our last time, seemed like he had too many tables. Ordered cocktails and they were out of several key ingredients and had to reorder. Pasta was only average this time, wedge salad was great, Branzino was very dry, NY strip was very good, sword fish was also very dry and tasteless! Overall the atmosphere is really nice, service and food based on price fell short this time. L

Great food and service, The standout dishes were the butternut squash tortellini, Bolognese pasta and lamb with mushroom wine reduction pasta. The tuna appetizer was not good at all stay away from that. By the way, they have plenty of street parking very nearby so you don’t have to valet for $12 which in my opinion is way over priced + I don’t like handing the keys of my vehicle to a complete stranger. I had to change my five star review to a one star review after getting food poisoning the very next day from I’m assuming the tuna.

We had a nice dinner at Big Rock. The service was attentive and friendly, and the overall vibe was great--dimly lit and perfect for a relaxed night out. Food-wise, everything was good, but nothing really blew me away. The arancini appetizer was definitely the standout. The Caesar salad was just okay, and the entrees were solid but forgettable. We were excited to try the spicy margaritas, but they missed the mark and we ended up switching to different drinks. Overall, it's a nice spot with good service and ambiance, but I was hoping for a little more flavor or uniqueness from the food. Would still come back, just with slightly different expectations.

Pulled up to the old Big Rock with anticipation of a great experience and meal. The valet from the old restaurant was there and is such an awesome guy, good start. Entered the restaurant and the old bar area was gone, replaced with a sterile dining area...sad. The decor was clean and replaced the old windows of the previous restaurant, a definite upgrade but worthy of 13 million dollars? Maybe. But we are here for the food. Our server was excellent!! So friendly and really the biggest plus of the night. We were there for our son's birthday and they treated us great! We had a 2 year old with us and our waiter was again awesome with him and us. The food however was mediocre. Although the selection of entrees was intriguing, the food itself was disappointing. I had the veal parmigiana which was extremely large in size, but lacking in quality. The meat was poor quality with quite a bit of fat that made portions inedible. It was coated in a crust that was crispy but incapable of hiding the poor meat beneath. I was really looking forward to this dish but was left disappointed. The Caesar salad we had before was bland and also not very good. Our 2 year old loved the focaccia bread. Other entrees we had were also mediocre. As it was our son's birthday we ordered several desserts. They didn't come out for like 40 minutes. They eventually arrived with apologies from the restaurant and were comped. A nice gesture and appreciated. This is a new restaurant and perhaps it was a gaffe that won't happen again as they get rolling, but my beef was with the quality of the food. Not that great. With all the hype of the rebirth of this Birmingham institution I was expecting something special. I didn't get that and probably won't return any time soon.

We had lamb chops and a veal Parmesan. We also had a small seafood tower and meatballs for an appetizer. The meatballs were good, not great. The seafood tower was amazing but pricey for very little food we thought. The lamb chops were great as was the veal Parmesan. The service was outstanding. The ambiance is nice as well.

My Intent for this review is to give you an honest and detailed breakdown and not intending to nitpick because when you spend over $500 on dinner, you should feel like it was worth it. First off, the valet is a little confusing. There is no self-parking and the valets suggest you park across the street if you don't want to valet. The signs show the fee is $12 but at no time did anyone actual ask to collect the fee at drop off nor pick up, which seemed odd. This means I don't know if I tipped the Valet $5 and paid the $12, or tipped them $17. It is VERY loud inside so it would seem that none of the $13M spent on remodeling went to acoustics. We were seated in the far back room and probably the fist things I noticed was that the tables were very close together and small and the chairs were extremely poor quality resembling something you would see in a waiting room. After a 3.5 hour dinner, I can confirm that they were neither comfortable nor good quality. On the tables are small battery powered lamps and the lighting is very low. The service was pretty good although a little slow and we experienced a few blips. I ordered a bourbon and asked for a couple cherries, when the drink arrived about 15 minutes later, there we no cherries and the server admitted he forgot to order them, then brought them promptly. Not really a big deal. Shortly after, we ordered a bottle of wine for the table and that took about another 15 mins to arrive. 3 appetizers were ordered, they were the Loaded FOCACCIA , WHIPPED RICOTTA and TORO CRUDO. All the apps were delicious, but I noticed they arrived with 2 servings of crackers and the whipped riccota was listed as coming with grilled sourdough. As it turns out, I was correct and our server returned a few minutes later with the sourdough, which was delicious and would have been a bummer to miss out on. I would highly recommend the CREAMY ARTICHOKE soup. It was rich and had a nice punch of lemon. Oddly, they brought out my soup spoon when they cleared the first empty appetizer plates, then before my soup arrived, they cleared my spoon so when the soup came I had to ask for a spoon and wait. We ordered 4 entrees, RIGATONI BOLOGNESE, LAMB PAPPARDELLE, the BRANZINO and the 10 OZ FILET MIGNON. Rigatoni was just ok. The portion was rather small with very little sauce. As for the Pappardelle the lamb was tasty, but the pasta was under cooked and too firm , not what I would expect from a high-end Italian restaurant . The Branzino was a little dry but acceptable, and the potatoes well prepared. Unfortunately, the 10oz Filet was disappointing. It was significantly over seasoned and oddly, though seemingly cooked to a perfect just under medium as ordered it was very dry. Being listed as a steakhouse, this was the biggest disappointment. The server and manager both offered to make another or provide me with something else as well as take the cost off the bill and were VERY apologetic and attentive to the problem, but as our dinner was running pretty long and everyone else was well into their meals by the time I was able to bring my issue to their attention , I didn't want to make everyone wait longer so I opted to just keep it and accept the offer to take it off the bill. We went with the SORBETTO AND GELATO and the LEMON CAKE for desert although as we had a dairy free guest, we doubled the Blood Orange Sorbetto and opted out of the Gelato. The deserts were fantastic. When the bill came, I was disappointed to see that the cost of the Filet was still present, so I had to wait while they reconciled that as promised. In all it was a decent visit but here are some key takeaways. They have some service glitches and attention to details to work out, but the staff was attentive and apologetic and clearly interested in making sure we were happy. There are various rooms in the restaurant, and some areas are more aesthetically pleasing but the room we were in was for sure underwhelming. In my opinion, it was under lit, the table was too small to comfortably manage a dinner for 4 and the small wicker bottom chairs are maybe just a little better than tragic. The pastas are not great, and I don't know if it's just a timing thing or the fact that they seem to focus on most if not all of them being gluten free. And, is there a charge for the valet or not, it would be nice if it was clear. The old Big Rock Chophouse was a favorite of ours, but the jury is out on the new spot so far. Yelp was glitching up so I was unable to post all my pics, sorry.

Started off really bad. 3 of us get there at 830 on a Thursday night. The host said he is not taking anymore walk ins, but yet plenty of empty tables outdoors. He said we can go in and get a drink at the bar. Ran into Paris(bartender) and Angela(server), whom I've known for a few years from previous restaurants. Both are amazing and very accommodating by getting us a table outside. I don't understand the mentality of turning down a table, but a bad look to start off. We got some drinks and the pours were very good. The arancini was also very good. We went back on Saturday night with my wife and another couple. Our reservations were for 830 and we didn't get seated til 9:15. Yes the place was packed this time, but the wait was ridiculous. The raw oysters were just good, chicken parmesan was also just good. I believe in "you get what you pay for", and so far I can't say that. I will still give it a couple more shots and give them the benefit of the doubt. I would really have given it 3 stars if it wasn't for Paris and Angela. Amazing job on the renovation! Great ambience!

The Fritto Misto was salty and below average the whipped ricotta was fantastic. The fettuccine with clams was delicious and the Lamb pappardelle was good but salty for my taste. None of the food left me craving more!! Service was great but very busy for a grand opening! Ambiance was very loud and crowded with employees but it was opening night. The Building is very cool.

The place has good ambiance and we enjoyed being there. The service was perfect with Anthony taking great care of us. He was there when needed and the food service cadence was right on target with a small break between courses. We started with a shrimp cocktail which was very good and then moved onto Caesar salad, also good. For the main, I had veal parm and my wife had swordfish. The veal parm was a veal chop pounded, breaded and fried, then topped with marinara and some fresh mozzarella and a small side of greens. I ordered a side of spaghetti with red sauce because everything is a la carte. You'd think a veal chop would make the ultimate veal parm, but not so much. It lacked any real flavor and the side of pasta was not fresh made. Spaghetti was very soft and it felt like it was put together and held in a steam table for a couple hours. Wife said she would not order the swordfish again so she obviously was not impressed. This place is pricey and that makes expectations high. In my opinion it does not live up to fine dining standards. At around $150 a head I can't recommend it.