Bottega
Italian restaurant · Birmingham ·
Refined Italian & Southern fare, wood-fired pizzas, cocktails
Refined Italian & Southern fare, wood-fired pizzas, cocktails
"Set in Birmingham, Alabama, I found Bottega to be an elegant, nearly 40‑year‑old institution whose front‑of‑house receives four to six weeks of training so servers—sharply dressed in waistcoats and ties—shadow the kitchen and bar before taking the floor and learn to pace a meal and find creative solutions to tricky requests; Pardis Stitt, co‑owner and head of front‑of‑house operations, says they emphasize “gracious, informed, and efficient hospitality” that feels warm and effortless while being deeply knowledgeable. Winner of this year’s MICHELIN Guide American South Service Award, the restaurant occupies a 1926 stone‑fronted Beaux‑Arts building that once housed a department store, with dramatic tall ceilings and Palladian windows that give the dining rooms a grand air; two distinct sections offer their own menus and styles—a lively, casual Café and a Bottega Dining Room where the pace is tailored to each guest. Dishes like the Dining Room’s yellowfin tuna with fregola sarda blend local ingredients with rustic Italian recipes, reflecting Stitt’s view that the Italian countryside and the American South share heat, sun, fertile soil and respect for the land, and a service ethos that is unhurried, convivial, and rooted in hospitality rather than formality; her husband, celebrated Chef Frank Stitt, is the restaurant’s co‑owner." - The MICHELIN Guide
"Bottega is the best Italian splurge in Birmingham. Plan to get dressed up for this one, because it’s without a doubt a special occasion spot, and what’s happening on your plate here deserves that level of respect. Throughout this two-story neoclassical building, you’ll find people celebrating anniversaries and job promotions over plates of decadent rabbit pappardelle and a yellowtail tuna bolognese that defies everything you thought tuna could be. They sub in fish, curing it for days and then grinding it, which yields a convincing version of spiced ground beef. Capping off the meal: a towering slice of coconut-pecan cake made with an earthy pecan genoise and a housemade limoncello that offers just enough pucker." - jackie gutierrez jones 2
"Bottega is the best Italian splurge in Birmingham. Plan to get dressed up for this one, because it’s, without a doubt, a special occasion spot, and what’s happening on your plate here deserves that level of respect. Throughout this two-story neoclassical building, you’ll find people celebrating anniversaries and job promotions over plates of decadent rabbit pappardelle and a yellowtail tuna bolognese that defies everything you thought tuna could be. They sub in fish, curing it for days and then grinding it, which yields a convincing version of spiced ground beef. Capping off the meal: a towering slice of coconut-pecan cake made with an earthy pecan genoise and a housemade limoncello that offers just enough pucker. photo credit: Kelli Dirks photo credit: Kelli Dirks photo credit: Kelli Dirks photo credit: Kelli Dirks Pause Unmute" - Jackie Gutierrez-Jones
"Located smack dab in the middle of Highland Avenue, Bottega is an iconic Birmingham institution serving sophisticated fare that’s part Italian, part Southern. Both the dining room and cafe, which specializes in wood-fired pizzas and sandwiches, are open. Bottega Cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, making it a great alternative to area lunch spots that close between lunch and dinner service in the late afternoon. The restaurant was nominated in the outstanding hospitality category for the 2023 James Beard Awards." - Sarra Sedghi
"Part of a renowned Birmingham chef’s portfolio, this restaurant is associated with the same influential culinary vision that helped shape the city’s modern food scene and popularized traditional Southern preparations such as rich, ingredient-driven dressings." - Chris Fuhrmeister