Market North End

When I’ve had a bad experience and say I won’t return, my decision is firmly set in stone. Someone I know who had sworn off the place after a bad experience decided to give them another try with his wife and his in-​laws (who came in from out of town) after writing a bad review on the place on Unilocal.While he was midway through a meal or after drinks or something, a manager came up and told him something to the effect of «delete your Unilocal review or get out.» That shit is not acceptable.

Arrived close to 8 pm on a Wednesday night, told about 45 minutes for a seat so I grab a spot around the bar and settled in to wait. It is a busy place, but the bartenders are quick to get to you, and they have a decent local and international beer selection on tap. I’m not local but I was told it changes with some regularity. My friend and I got our table and we ordered an appetizer of Skordalia, which can be described as potato hummus. I had the ribs, and he ordered the fish special. The ribs were well spiced, grilled wonderfully and came with a healthy side of fries, healthy in the large amount, not in the non-​artery clogging way. In hind site I should of ordered some of the vegetable options for the table I saw some come by my table and they looked good. If I’m in the area in the future I will go back.

Don’t come here if you’re a vegetarian! If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. I’ve come here before with my boyfriend and had killer pizza. We decided to go back on Friday January 22, and I was so excited to try something else on the menu, especially since I saw some vegetarian options. I ordered the pappardelle which had no meat ingredients, as I clarified with our waiter, and after I had eaten half of my meal I noticed something with more of a bite than any vegetable I’ve had. I asked my boyfriend to try it, which he confirmed was definitely chicken. I sifted through my plate to discover more and bigger chunks. I asked our server if there was meat in my dish again to which he said no. I told him there was chicken in my dish, and my boyfriend backed me up. He asked if I would like another dish and I said yes (I really wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt). I was upset I just ate a tiny bit of chicken, but I was willing to move past it as an unintentional mistake, at least now I’m going to get a dish I wanted. The new meal arrived, without the ricotta on it, so I asked for ricotta. The server apologized again, stating something must have happened like the cook using a pan that had chicken in it previously (I’m sorry, but what? You don’t clean your pans and you don’t have some for meat and nonmeat?) and checked on me again. I sifted through the pasta, no identifiable meat. I asked for a to go container and took it home (I did not have an appetite after being upset and disgusted meat had reached my plate and my mouth). I was surprised no manager came over at all during our meal, because in my opinion a vegetarian plate with meat on it is a pretty big deal, and no discount was applied (fair, I got another dish). My final straw was when I got home, one day later, and I decide to eat my leftovers. I heated them up, poured it in a bowl, and just as I’m about to take another bite I notice tiny, bite sized chicken bits in my pasta again! I don’t know if they used a chicken based sauce or if they really did multipurpose a meat pan with a vegetarian dish pan, or what, but this is absolutely inexcusable. I wanted to love this restaurant as much as I did the first time with pizza, but now I never want to return. My vegetarian diet was not taken into consideration and was treated like it was no big deal when I ate meat for the first time in 3 years. I was sick the next day from consuming the chicken. Vegetarianism is not uncommon, today more than ever, especially in a trendy town like Birmingham. I will never be back to this place and I will specifically mention to not come here to my vegetarian friends, as our lifestyle and dietary choices are of little importance.

Very cool place to hangout with a group of friends. The first time I went there I ordered some appetizers and they came out 45 minutes later; surprisingly, I didn’t say anything about it. The waitress came to inform that she forgot to put in the order and provided me with a gift card to the restaurant. The only thing I don’t like about this restaurant is how it can get very packed. You can literally be shoulder to shoulder with people at times. –I like to be able to have my own space. The crowd can range from 18 – 60.

The pizza is so fresh and yummy! The drinks are great and friendly staff! So great — I would def recommend to friends and family!

I always have a good time and enjoy the food here. I come here often just because I know I’m going to enjoy it. There hasn’t been a dish I haven’t enjoyed here. One of my favorite appetizers here is the marinated chicken. The hummus, beets, cheese and pita bread are always delicious. The pizza rolls and chips and salsa are also great. The house bread with lebne and cilantro sauce is also very good. The apple walnut salad has such great flavor and the tiny bit of spice is perfect. The market chopped salad is so simple but it is also delicious. I’ve never had a bad pizza here. All of them are good. Te spaghetti is also very delicious. The red sauce they use seems so fresh and it has very good flavor. The fried chicken dish is my favorite here. It seems so plain and simple but trust me it isn’t! I will definitely continue coming here!

Solid option for a drink with friends. I would say a group of 6 will comfortably fit, but anything more is pretty crammed. The service is great and the drinks are a little above a standard bar. If you are looking for a low key night with great service this is your spot!

When I moved back to Michigan this was the first place I went into for a cocktail at happy hour. The staff is very good and the ambience is quite lovely. I really like the energy of this place and in my estimation the prices are very good with respect to value. Then again, I am coming from Miami where a drink cost $ 20 as well as Rome where the food is impeccable — even at the Autostrada rest stop grill.
The food here? Good by Michigan standards. And a value. The pizza, salad and other dishes fail to offend me. But nothing special. I feel a tinge of sadness because this place has the potential to be much, much more.
Alas, I don’t want it to be much, more because that would mean I couldn’t walk in on Friday and go straight to the bar and find a seat.
But it’s a great spot and I always have a good time there, so four well-​deserved stars!

The house bread is excellent! We came here after a movie one evening, we had a few appetizers, all were tasty. We returned on a Friday night for some drinks, it was very busy, but well worth the wait. The staff is very friendly and does a good job making sure your drinks are full.
I highly recommend Market, it is far from the «stuffy» Birmingham vibe, it is quaint, warm and inviting. The manager Kristen is very friendly and takes the time to talk to the customers and ensure they are satisfied. We will be returning!

The food was good, but it was a little cramped inside. I don’t know if I would go here without being able to sit on the patio. We would go back though!

This hidden gem was amazing! My family loves it and brought me for the first time last week. I can see why it’s their favorite.
I can speak about the house bread and skordalia. It was a perfect appetizer to split and I won’t spoil the surprise about the secret ingredient in the skordalia! The main courses were scallops, fried chicken, ribs and berkshire pork. Each one was amazing, though I think my favorite was the pork. I had a tough time choosing since the menu was not only interesting, but ran anywhere from crazy good looking salads to pizzas to tantalizing veggie sides to a full plate. This place would satisfy any vegetarian/​vegan tastes also. We had to try the olive oil ice cream. Yes … didn’t sound too good to me, but you’d be surprised.
The wait staff was great. And it was a pleasure to meet the owner, Kristen, who took the time to check in with us, give suggestions and make sure we were pleased. She was fabulous. As was the entire experience. When you go, don’t be looking for a big sign on the front. Just put the address in your GPS and go. You’ll be glad you did!

One of my new favorite spots when I’m in Detroit. It seems like it’s become the new place to be seen. But it’s not just about the socializing, the food alone is worth a visit as well. It gets pretty busy in the evenings and you can find yourself trying to force yourself through the crowd mingling in the bar area.
Everything I’ve tried at this place has been on point. You have to order the House Bread and Sweet Corn as a side is also good. Lots of unique item combinations on the menu but they do not disappoint. Will definitely be back to try the rest of the items on the menu!
It’s kind of a hole in the wall as there is no actual business sign outside, at least not one that i’ve been able to spot. If it wasn’t for a friend’s recommendation I would have thought it was just apart of the Law Firm Office.

No clue what the people who made this average a 3.5 are smoking. Great beer and booze selection. Very attractive staff who are super attentive and friendly. Been here four times and everything has been great. Probably the best fish and chips I ever had. I understand some people like extra crunchy fried chicken, but the breeding and seasoning was on point. Even a bigger bonus is the chicken was great quality and did not have that rubber or overly poultry taste. The $ 10 pizza/​salad combo is an amazing deal. Read some reviews complain about waits. You are aware they do everything pretty much fresh? Want the food quicker, get a processed meal that comes with a toy next time. Love this place.

It’s a compact place but the food is great. Staff seems friendly, but they’re very busy, especially on Thursday nights (of course, it’s Birmingham). A lot of people make sure they look really nice before the step inside this place lol! But, hey, who doesn’t like good-​looking people! ;)
I started with some tasty white wine and very fresh special of the evening — the ahi tuna.
Anywho, the bartenders know how to handle a crowd just fine and the crowd is a professional group happy to enjoy the start of the weekend!

Market North End is our Birmingham «go-​to». Its one of the few places where you don’t feel the «Birmingham Stuffiness». Consistently good food, good drinks and service. The outdoor dining area is great. They have a lot of cool menu options — but their pizza is always an easy go-​to dish! I always recommend!

This place was wonderful. The food was excellent and didn’t take long to come out. The staff was friendly and attentive. My friend and I ordered the pizza rolls for an appetizer and they were really yummy. For the main courses we split the lamb burger and the house made fettuccine with red sauce. The only reason this did not get five stars is because the space was super tight. We sat in their outside seating and it was really hard to move around. Definitely won’t stop me from going there again.

Last night was my first visit to Market North End. I went with three of my girlfriends and we split the zucchini, cauliflower and butternut squash for some appetitzers. Love how they have such a variety of good/​healthy veggies to order. All of the veggies were good but cauliflower was by far my favorite.
I had thier roasted garlic chicken for dinner and thought it was very good. Nice portion (not too big, but was very content after). Chicken had great flavor and I loved the peppers and yukons that came with. The yukons were mixed with Kale and it was seriously the most delicious combination.
A little loud inside, so hard to hear our conversation at times, but not really a deal breaker.
Will definitely go back!

Big props to market North End for being able to fit my group of 14 for a Saturday night dinner on short notice. There are not a lot of places in Birmingham that you could say that about.
It was all of our first time there and surprisingly almost all had a great meal and dinner experience. The waitress was honest with her recommendations: get the fried chicken, which really was all that!
I got the Bronzino fish which opposed to the pictures I saw on Unilocal,was missing the head. Deliscious! The beet and arugula salad was just ok though. Nicely dressed but that’s about it.
Overall great place with nicely low light ambience, good staff, and good food! What more could you ask for?

Loved the atmosphere. Loved the food. Loved the service.
We had a waitress who was training a gal and they were both extremely nice and knew the menu and I LOVE that. Especially when there seems to be so many great options. I need some help to narrow it down. Or I’ll get ahead of myself and order everything (which I kind of did). Chicken and lamb for the app, fries, ravioli, garlic soup, chicken noodle soup, otto and due calzones. YUM to it all!
The table was oddly wobbly and it irritated me just a tad. Maybe I’m being too picky, hah!

On my third time visiting the Market North End, it was Friday night of Labor Day weekend and the crowd was lighter than usual as I’m sure many folks were heading out of town. Usually this place is slammin on weekend nights. Not a problem though, since I don’t believe in waiting long for a seat at most restaurants. What I do believe in is solid service and our waitress provided us with that. She wasn’t the friendliest but she did her job well.
We chose the beef and lamb appetizer and it was basically small medallions of what you can get from any middle eastern restaurant in the area. Decent but far from anything I’d order again. I went with the hot pepper thin crust pizza with sausage and my date chose the salmon salad. We both enjoyed our dishes immensely. We also liked the drinks although my first choice for beer was already sold out so I had to go with something else. I’ve previously ordered their fried chicken which is outrageous in a good way.
While some Birmingham restaurants may have a reputation of arrogance, Market North End doesn’t have that vibe at all. Being that they’re further down Old Woodward, much of the rah rah from downtown is lost here making it a much more casual experience. Design wise, it reminds me of a San Francisco seafood pub with their huge wraparound bar, dim lighting and what looks to be an enclosed patio. The crowd and staff are typically very outgoing from what I’ve noticed. The tables are really close together so it’s not the best for an intimate night out but it is a great place to enjoy with family and friends. Make sure to call ahead if you plan on going on a Friday or Saturday night.