Daniel George

Daniel George is one of the best kept secret’s for lunch in the Brook, Great service and an inventive menu, desserts are great too!

Although I didn’t like my meal, the rest of my party was pleased so I am giving this restaurant three stars. The ambiance was nice and the wait staff was attentive.

Daniel George is a great place for a business dinner, or a nice meal with someone special. The space is quiet and low-​key — it’s nice but not stuffy if that makes sense.
In terms of menu, I’d call it «eclectic». They’re doing something I’ve never seen before and I love it — for entrees there are options for full or half portions and they are happy to use any preparation or «set» on any dish. Let’s say for example that you can’t decide between the snapper and the veal — get ½ portions of both! Or let’s say you love red snapper but you like all the stuff the scallops come with –they’ll make it that way for you. The menu isn’t huge but when you add in this flexibility, it gives a diner a ton of options.
Starters: we started with the crab cake (light, full of crab and not breading) and it was above average. We also went with the tempura cauliflower which was possibly the favorite dish of the night — light breading, not greasy and served with a delicious sweet/​spicy chili sauce. The portion on this was huge — easily splittable between 3 – 4 people.
For an entrée, I went with veal piccata which was again, a very large portion (2 cutlets) and served with fingerling potatoes and broccolini. It was well cooked and very tasty. Others went with salmon, snapper and steak and everyone was happy. There’s a good wine list with a decent number of by the glass options.
Our service was excellent — she knew the menu, gave really good recommendations and seemed passionate about the food they’re delivering. She was also great at letting us linger a bit to finish up some business and managed to be attentive without being intrusive.
The prices are on the higher side, but it is Mountain Brook right? That said, the ½ portion sizes on things were pretty generous so you can save some cash and get an app and a ½ sized entrée and still be plenty full.

Honestly, I have noticed the chef or kitchen staff has changed in the last year or so. It was evident in my grilled beef tenderloin… the sauce on top of it was SO salty I couldn’t even swallow it. At such a fine establishment I would expect everything to be close to perfect! My date and I sent ours both back and it came out within a few minutes and was perfect!!! We also got the fried okra as an appetizer and it was wonderful. The wine selection was very much up to par too.
What really made our experience 4 stars was the amazing server. He was so funny and very very attentive!!! That’s enough to make me return :)

I came here for a work dinner with a large party. The restaurant is an elegant and cozy establishment – perfect for this kind of event. Staff were attentive, and frequently stopped by our table to refill our waters, etc.
It was my first time trying fried green tomatoes, and they were delicious! I especially appreciated how I could still taste the juiciness of the tomato without it being overpowered by the taste of batter. The bacon and shrimp aioli gave the dish some added texture and kick. The lobster ravioli is another good choice. If you’re not too hungry (I wasn’t), I suggest pairing an appetizer (like fried green tomatoes) with one of the smaller dishes, like the ravioli. The ravioli is also available in a larger size– the smaller size comes with ~4 pieces, so it is more like an appetizer than an entrée.
For dessert, my friend and I split the lava cake. Served with fresh strawberries and cream, it was oh so yummy. My coworkers also seemed to enjoyed the peach cobbler!

Wow. Excellent meal. I encourage all to sit at the bar if in a small group. Bartender is amazing and always prepared every time I go there. One of the best small spots.

Great fried oysters and slaw. Fried chicken at lunch is fabulous. Nice to sit in the bar for a little more quite.

We were taken to this restaurant last night. The atmosphere in the restaurant is a little dark, with white tablecloths. Everyone was well dressed that worked there, I had high expectations.
Unfortunately the menu was one short page, with maybe 7 dinner choices, two salads, and 6 appetizers. No worries, I’ll find something…
In my opinion the menu is offering dishes that most folks won’t like. I decided on the «spicy» gumbo, and the filet beef tenderloins with asparagus and mashed potatoes.
The gumbo was bland. So bland I could picture it served in a geriatric unit. The rice was under cooked.
The drinks were weak.
The filet beef tenderloins was excellent, as was the asparagus and potatoes.
If you are looking for a high end meal that includes some staples to choose from, this is not your place. If you are trendy to the point of being painful, buck up $ 80 a person and belly up.

My husband and I ate here for the first time on Friday night and were blown away by the food. We ordered two things: the beet salad and the vegetable plate. The beet salad was incredible; it was composed of red and golden beets, French Swiss cheese, roasted blueberries, and a honey drizzle. The vegetable plate was as bountiful as the beer salad was delicate– it had a wide assortment of the chef’s selection of vegetables. For us, that included broccolini, succotash, vegetable risotto, fried okra, fresh tomatoes, wedge potatoes, pan seared Brussels, and more. We couldn’t finish it together! Paired with the bread and olive oil we were given at the beginning of the meal, it was a perfect dinner full of freshness and flavor.

I had heard mixed reviews for Daniel George, which made me wary. For a dinner at fine dining prices, I’d hate to come away disappointed. So when a Groupon was available, I snatched it up and the husband and I dined there last night.
To start, I gave the server very ambiguous details about what sort of cocktail I’d like (something vodka-​based and with fresh fruit). What I received was a pint glass of deliciousness — lots of muddled fresh strawberries with vodka, raspberry liqueur and simple syrup. We were off to a great start.
As I waited for my husband to arrive, I am a little embarrassed to report that I knocked back a healthy portion of the fresh bread, sopped in olive oil. The attentive staff was quick to refill the bread dish without making me feel judged for my gluttony.
I started my meal with the heirloom salad — a lovely stack of different varieties of heirloom tomatoes with watermelon, feta, balsamic and mint. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and sweet and the flavors were absolutely sensational together. This is a salad I will try to replicate at home, but feel sure I will fall short. The DG heirloom salad would be hard to beat.
My entrée was the half-​portion of the day-​boat scallops. I’m a big eater and was a little disappointed to receive only 3 scallops, but after the bread and the fantastic salad, it was just perfect. I don’t say this lightly, but these were the best scallops I have ever eaten. Cooked and seasoned perfectly, almost melted in my mouth. And it didn’t hurt that they were served atop some of the most mouth-​watering mashed potatoes I’ve had. The plate was completed with some grilled tomatoes and onions, topped with avocado slices. Truly a special meal.
The only reason I gave this restaurant 4 stars rather than 5 was the dessert. We had the «snickers» bar with bruleed bananas. The bananas were fantastic, but the snickers bar was nothing special.
Altogether I am impressed and hope to go back soon.

After being bumped from our reservation at another restaurant, Daniel George was able to open up their private room for 10 people for my bachelorette party at 7pm on a Saturday night. The service was wonderful, food was impeccable, and a wonderful wine list. I will definitely be back soon!

I finally stopped by Daniel George after hearing many great reviews of the restaurant and table service. I recently dropped by for a late mid-​week dinner date with my boyfriend. In a nutshell, I must say that we had a great experience and cannot wait to return!
Our server was such a gem and maintained an outstanding level of customer service throughout the evening. He checked on our table frequently and answered all of my foodie related questions about the restaurant’s food and produce sources. We were seated at a center table in front of the main dining room and enjoyed an expansive view of all of the couples, large groups, and people within the restaurant. I think we came on a night that was a bit more boisterous than usual but the continual chatter did not bother us much.
We ordered the Crispy Calamari appetizer that was plated with delicious cumin scented black bean purée, pineapple salsa, and cilantro crema. It was literally the best calamari dish that I’ve had period (in Alabama or in my travels through the U.S.).
I ordered the Atlantic Salmon entrée that came with jicama slaw, roasted red pepper quinoa, pico de gallo, and orange mango coulis. In addition, I paired my dinner with a lush glass of Pietra Santa Zinfandel ’09. My boyfriend ordered the Filet of Beef Tenderloin along with the mashed potatoes, applewood bacon, scallions, English cheddar, grilled asparagus, and portobello demi-​glacé. Everything was so fresh, delicious, and very filling. I seriously wanted to order something from the dessert menu but was too full to do so. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner date night at Daniel George and I look forward to visiting again. Even if that means only ordering dessert this time!

Mountain Brook Village is so fortunate to have DG. DG is a great restaurant! Everyone that works there is very friendly from the bartender to hostess to waiters. DG is a great place to eat if you are a single, couple or a group. My husband & I went this time as a couple using a Groupon. Our service was outstanding! We split an appetizer of fried oysters (Best in Birmingham). And each had a small entry. I had the pork piccata and my husband had the grouper. All was divine. We definitely recommend you give a DG a try!

Much to my stomach’s dismay, I subconsciously avoid fine dining because of the price. When a groupon deal popped up for Daniel George, I grabbed one up and immediately made a reservation.
When the husband and I arrived at Daniel George, it was pretty empty. As the night went on, it filled up more but at first I was a little worried. Our server, Matt, was awesome and very helpful. He suggested the scarlet cosmo for me, which replaced the normal cranberry juice in this cocktail with pomegranate juice and was delectable.
Another reviewer got it right — skip the appetizers and just nosh on the bread. While the fried green tomato appetizer we got was delicious, I just don’t think it was worth what we paid for it.
For my entrée, I got the «half» portion of the salmon, which Matt told me was roughly 3 ounces. When my dish was brought out, I was a little put off at first but by the end of the meal I was very happy I didn’t get the full portion! Bread, appetizer, entrée, and dessert made for a very full stomach, but the full portion of the salmon would’ve been over the top. The husband got the slow braised beef short rib and it was so tender that I definitely had dish envy. The bourbon sweet potatoes it was served with was the perfect compliment to the beef as well.
The chocolate lava cake that my husband and I shared was a nice way to end the meal, but certainly wasn’t extraordinary. I’m glad that we experienced Daniel George, but I probably wouldn’t go back without another discount deal.

This place has delicious food! Luckily they did a Groupon for 2X the purchase price so our trip was a lot more affordable. The price tag is the only thing about this restaurant that would keep me away in the future. The staff was very active and friendly, and the food was perfectly prepared and displayed. I’m normally not one for fine dining, but this was very tasty. I tried both the snapper and the pork dishes, and enjoyed them both very much. We also got the chocolate lava dessert to finish it off, and it did not disappoint at all.
TIP: You do get two types of bread to start your meal off which can help to fill you up a bit before you order the pricey dishes (which are a more affordable and a viable option as the half size plate).

Nice dinner date last Friday. We shared the Calamari appetizer — mmmmm it may be my favorite! We had the Scallops entrée and Grouper with succotash. We both enjoyed the grouper the most :). We enjoy DG, but for the $$ and portion/​flavors, we have other Bham favorite we would rather go to.

Hadn’t been here in quite some time. Should have been back sooner … food was fabulous and service was great. Hope to be back soon!

I hadn’t eaten here in a while and was once again very favorably impressed. This place has reliably great food and service and is a good place for a business dinner as it’s quiet and the lighting is soft. The atmosphere is quietly elegant with the expected clientelle. The offerings are great and I have not had anything on the menu that disappointed, and we’ve had just about everything on the menu. It doesn’t quite make it into the top tier (for example, I specifically asked for the fish to be on the undercooked side and it was well done) and it’s a bit pricy. However its reliability is wonderful and plus they are open on Monday nights.

My husband and I dined here last night and overall had a good experience. The staff were all friendly and courteous. There were some shining moments and some misses, but in the end we left happy and planning to go back.
I’ll start with the bad, then get to the good. First, I order the cheese course that was described as three cheeses with strawberries, blueberry compote and sautéed apples. Part of why I love cheese plates, is seeing how the cheeses are paired with different flavors. The cheese I actually got only had fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries and sliced apples, which wasn’t bad, just not what was described and not what I thought I was getting. I mentioned this to the waiter and he said something that led us to believe that the pastry chef was sick and others were filling in.
I ordered the vegetable tasting, which was a plate of 10 vegetables sides from the entrees on the menu. I was so excited about this, because I love trying lots of things and I love vegetables. The meal was just okay. I kept feeling that with just a LITTLE more «something» it could be ALOT better. The veggies weren’t so simple that they shined and the preparation and seasoning wasn’t anything special. Lots of butter. And the portobello mushrooms were so burnt or bitter or something that they were inedible.
The last oops was handled well and provided my husband and I a good laugh. We ordered the peach cobbler with ginger buttermilk ice cream. (As back story, part of why I chose this restaurant was based on one description I read, calling it «Farm to Fork»). As I got to the bottom of cobbler, I found a bar code sticker that must have come off of a peach. It really took away from the «right from the farm» expectation. At least the sticker said, «southern states» for the origin and not California, since our waiter had said they were Chilton County peaches :). He did take the cobbler off of our bill.
Enough with the bad, here’s the good.
The atmosphere was such a nice change from the loud, bustling restaurants that are all the rage these days. It was so refreshing to be able to have a conversation without straining to hear. It was simple and elegant and really felt like a night out.
The food that was good, was outstanding. My husband had the oyster duo for an appetizer and said they were the best oysters he’s had, both kinds. I’m no oyster connoisseur, but I tried the fried and it was so yummy. He also got the seared scallop entrée and the scallops were amazing. I just had scallops at another restaurant last week and had thought they were really good, but these were SO fabulous. I’ve never had such a sweet scallop.
I will say that on my vegetable plate, the fried green tomato was a stand out and one of the best I’ve had.
Aside from the bar code, the peach cobbler was delicious. It had lots of fruit, which is how I like my cobbler, and the ginger buttermilk ice cream was different and tasty.
If the level of quality of the side dishes went up a notch, this would be a five star restaurant for sure. I would love to see that happen!

Daniel George is a nice place to eat and is worthy of mention as one of the better restaurants in Birmingham. This review is based on my first experience in a party of three diners.
The reason that it does not have many Unilocal reviews should not deter Unilocalers. D.G. is located on a side street in Mountain Brook, the wealthiest old money suburb in Alabama. The clientele is largely local, Mountain Brook folks who like to keep secrets about their restaurants and plenty else.
I found the service a bit slow at first. That being said, bear in mind that the service reflects the community. The wait staff (which was kind and professional) expects to serve locals (Mountain Brook locals) who have come from downtown law firms and businesses to enjoy a meal with friends, family, and clients before retiring to their manse. These folks do not expect or want a waiter at their table every two minutes interrupting the conversation. Outsiders waiting to write a review on Unilocal,might.
The food was very good. One nice feature is that DG offers many of its entrees in half portions to allow you to try different items. I had the Oyster Duo, which featured half raw and half fried Appalachiacola oysters. These were perfectly prepared and the wine sauce for the raw oysters was splendid. I also had the pork shoulder, which was good, but could have been more tender. The other members of my party found the Ahi Tuna and Chicken to be delicious. Of the side items, the asparagus was the crowd favorite. The sweet potatoes were also straightforwardly delectable.
For dessert I enjoyed a Banana Bread Pudding, which was a unique take on bananas foster.
As one who enjoys dining out, I found the prices at Daniel George in line or slightly lower than comparable restaurants.
I chose four stars instead of five for a couple of reasons. First, the food was deliciously straightforward, but could have had more «surprise» to it, like I experienced with the dessert. Second, the wine glasses were spotty. I am not a super wine snob, but all I kept seeing in the candlelit table were those spots!
Daniel George is worth a try. I will definitely go back. While it is dressier than many Birmingham places (most men had on sport coats), Daniel George has a warm, conversation-​friendly atmosphere.