The J Clyde

As someone who knows very little about beer, they were super helpful in helping me find a super cool and weird brew that I loved. The food is great and the patio is a great hangout. My friends and I love this place as our go-​to!

My first visit and I really had a good time. Seems like a nice place to relax after work and gather with friends on weekends. They have a variety of different craft beers and regular bar options. The have a really stellar menu, which we ordered the the amazing saurkraut balls after doing my research. I’ll most definitely be back!

I have been here a number of times and I REALLY enjoy it. Great beer menu and tasty food. The only problem is the service. It often takes a long time to get a drink and the food is often lukewarm by the time it gets to the table. Since they have the best beer menu in B’ham I deal with it, but if the service were better I would visit much more often. 3 stars due to the service issues, but 5 for the beer if they can work out the service problems.

Decided to go to J Clyde after getting a glowing recommendation from the innkeeper at the Hassinger Daniels Mansion. I got the cherry mead (zombie blood or something along those lines) since my first choice of cider wasn’t available, and I’m glad I did – it was delicious.
I also orders the kebob special that featured fried chicken and pickle skewers with fries. I miss them already. So damn good.
Ambiance seemed cool, a little empty since we were there on a Monday night. Staff looked like they were having a good time, which made it more fun for us!

The J Clyde burger reminds me why people even bother eating meat. Get it with goat cheese — you won’t be disappointed. Also, sweet potato fries are better than the regular fries if you’re into that.

We went for a late night snack after a Barons game. All we ordered were drinks, wings, sauerkraut balls, and French fries. The drinks and French fries were decent; however the wings and sauerkraut balls were exceptional. Our service was terrible though. We were probably there for a good 45 mins longer we should have been. Not sure if our waiter was new or what, but he messed up our tickets multiple times and just took a long time in getting our food and performing every transaction. We may go back, hoping that the service gets better because the atmosphere is near and the food is cheap.

If you love beer, this is the place to go. Their beer menu is very extensive and always changing. The wait staff is great at helping you select something (the menu is a bit overwhelming if you don’t really know what you’d like). They have a seasonal menu and a pub menu. The pub menu serves until 2am I believe. I absolutely love their catfish and grits from the seasonal menu. My favorites from the pub menu are the beer battered fried green tomatoes and the fish and chips.
It’s on a cobblestone street and has a cool vibe to it. Great atmosphere!

Loved pretty much everything about this place, including the fact it was located down a cobblestone alley way. The waiter was awesome. He was very friendly, funny and efficient. The beer selection was very good. The beer cheese soup was very rich. My Reuben was pretty good. Honestly food wasn’t too high on our priority list. Just loved the whole experience.

Taps galore, a considerable bottled selection topped with a knowledgeable wait staff providing information and recommendations based on your likes/​dislikes. I am happiest on the patio area. There is something about sitting outside on Cobb Lane that brightens my mood. Add a juicy cooked to order burger or fried green tomato BLT and an ice cold draft beer I’d never heard of and you have bliss. I like J Clyde at off peak times. A late lunch or early dinner. The place is very small, add the crowds this place draws and that greatly reduces my desire to be there. Burgers and sandwiches are the primary offerings. The beer menu is far more elaborate than the dining menu. Think of J Clyde a great place for a wide variety of beer with a few good sandwiches and burgers.

There’s no downside to this place. I found The J Clyde to be a phenomenal bar/​bistro-​type eatery serving excellent foodie-​peeps delights and a truly impressive beer and ale program, and the knowledgeable staff that sort of thing requires. The atmosphere is old school pub, down to the location, one of the last remaining handlaid brick paved alley. Clark, my son, and I sampled the following: Sauerkraut Balls, Green Tomatoes and Remoulade, the SPECTACULAR Fish and Chips, and their signature burger. You cannot go wrong ordering any or all of those dishes. This is comfort food on a foodie level, with all the right trimmings and trappings, with fast, attentive service from both ends of the house. I’m super-​critical of eateries and I couldn’t find any negatives. None.

wait staff was knowledgeable and convivial. Overall it was an excellent classic pub dining experience!

What can I say? This place is awesome all around. One of the best places to eat, drink and hang with friends. The forest place I eat/​drink when I’m in town

The J. Clyde is one of my mainstays in Bham. I love dark, historic aspects and this place gives me that vibe. I am surprised after a recent visit, though, to find there was no Guinness on draft! I thought that was more important than having running water! Guess they want to give other brews a chance… but I can’t excuse that one.
Most food choices are solid, but Erin’s spaghetti squash dish was sub-​par. It’s the first paleo item I’ve seen, so the kitchen prob just needs some iteration to perfect. If you haven’t had ‘em, sauerkraut balls are a must. That is all.
Oh, and sit outside when you can… it’s nice out there.

Overrated. The ambiance is nice and the waitstaff is friendly, but the food is extremely lackluster. They ran out of the pizza dough so we ordered fish and chips. The tilapia batter was bland, and you can see from my photo that I literally got the dregs of the remaining fries at the bottom of the basket. Literally just small bits and short ends of over fried and many burnt pieces of potato remains. Disappointing.
Their redeeming point is that they have a good selection of microbrewery beers on tap. Lots of local picks.
I would probably only recommend this place for drinks only.

Had a week of business in Birmingham and pre-​selected my dinner /​drink spots for the most part before the trip began based exclusively on Unilocal reviews.
After arriving in town and getting settled, I stopped in to The J. Clyde, just a short hop from my hotel. This was a Tuesday night, probably about 7:30pm, and J Clyde was not busy. I nosed up to the bar, where ample seating was available. While I did have to tolerate another patron nearby blathering loudly to the two bartenders about who she planned to vote for in her party-of-choice’s presidential primary and why, with comments sometimes bordering on the idiotic (IMHO), I mostly kept my nose in work emails so successfully ignored her. I wish I could remember the name of my bartender, because he was great. Didn’t bother me too much but was always there when I needed something.
I was quite happy with my visit. The place has a great selection of craft brews, many local and regional tastes (something I am always fond of when traveling on business), and a brief but well thought out menu.
On the food side I had the beer cheese spread with pita chips and the J Clyde BLT with mac&cheese. This was way too much food for me but I felt compelled to do both because the beer cheese spread just sounded delicious.
And i’m glad I ordered it because it WAS delicious! Give it a try if you’re sharing an app with a friend or three for sure. Thick & tasty.
The BLT is also quite unique — the T was actually fried green tomatoes LOL. Even though I grew up in the south, I don’t think I have ever had fried green tomatoes before, and the sandwich was a good choice. Thankfully my hotel room had a fridge since it I could only put away half of it. The mac & cheese was mediocre, not memorable in a good or bad way.
I had 3 local /​AL beers — the Cahaba American Blonde (B-​ham), Yellowhammer 1819 (Huntsville) and while I asked for the Back 40 Truck Stop Honey Brown (Gadsden), they were out at the moment so I had the Straight To Ale Rocket City Red instead (Huntsville). While different in their own ways, I thoroughly enjoyed all three and it makes me very happy to see that the place I spent the first 11 years of my life now has such a flourishing craft brew scene!
All told, The J Clyde is a great place to enjoy a craft brew or 5 and a bite to eat — in fact it would be tough to get much better.

I’ve been coming here for a while, and truly love this place. Their beer menu is absolutely amazing. Whatever you want, they will have. The variety is truly unique, especially for a smaller city like Birmingham. The crowd can be kind of obnoxious on football nights, but generally it’s a lot of UAB students and a great place to hang out with friends.
Service was good, especially considering how busy they usually are. No complaints there.

As an avid beer drinker and burger eater, the J Clyde may just become my new favorite place. Although it is crowded and the service can be quite slow, the food, beer selection, and atmosphere more than make up for it. This is just a great, friendly, hometown pub with a friendly staff and delicious all natural, real food. I always love coming during happy hour which is from 2 to 6 I believe. All Alabama brewed beers are ½ price!

Environ. & Décor: Pretty cool. The J. Clyde istucked away on Cobb Lane w/​vines, brick, and wrought iron… it’s like you’re in another country! Ample seating out front and courtyard-​outdoor seating in the back. Moving throughout the restaurant (ample wood and brick) reveals a couple small corridors leading to bathrooms and a second smaller bar area. So if its ever crowded in the front, explore a little more.
Drank;) Pages of beer choices (draught or bottle) and servers know beer. Not everyone is a beer connoisseur and they seem to understand when describing them. They’ll even bring a cold sample if you seem unsure. If they run otta something, they’ll suggest a similar beer. Not a beer drinker… Jameson, Cathead Vodka, Chardonnay, cider or even nonalcoholic choices available. This place shows love to all who are thirsty!
Grub: Fried Green Tomatoes are delicious, cornbread (crispy, crunchy, not greasy) coated, w/​a light aoili squiggle & a healthier slaw in the middle. Burgers are nice! Big, quality beef, out of this world pretzel bun, and add-​ons that make it hard to choose. You can’t lose w/​the fish & chips. Big, rectangular, crispy goodness w/​real French fries to keep the fish company… for a short while:) Don’t forget the malt vinegar to seal the deal!

J Clyde is known for their beer, but what most people don’t realize is that they have a pretty great menu too. I was one of those people. They have grass fed burgers, crawfish pasta, and the most delicious sweet potato fries with cinnamon that you will ever eat. Once you enter, continue walking through to the back to find an enormous outdoor area that is covered and has heaters. I did only see one tv though, so you may want to call ahead to see what they’re showing. Also the day we were there, which was a busy game day, there seemed to only be one guy taking orders for the whole back patio. He was doing the best he could, but beer and food turnaround time could have been better.
I had the crawfish pasta and then the sweet potato fries. The pasta was pretty good but kind of a small portion. The fries however were phenomenal. They are definitely made in house and I highly recommend.
Last thoughts, they have a happy hour during the week where Birmingham brews are half off, so it would be a good place for an after work brew.

I have been coming here for years and have never had a bad experience. The food is so good. I usually order the margherita pizza or the chicken tenders with a side of the ooey gooey Mac and cheese!
Great selection of local beers and good wine and liquor selection as well!
Friendly staff!
5 stars!