Trattoria Centrale

I ended up here when visiting a friend in Birmingham because it was one of the few options open for brunch on a Sunday, and boy were we not disappointed. The line wrapped around the entire indoor perimeter of the place, but after all these years of LA and Chicago-​based standards for waiting for a decent brunch, it seemed to zoom by and didn’t bother me in the least. We snagged an outside table in the sunny 45 degree January weather that felt like a perfect 70 coming from not-​so-​sunny Chicago. We got the bacon french toast and farm eggs with polenta with fresh squeezed OJ, all solid 5-​star choices. What a lovely spot in a lovely little city!

Well, they’re VERY serious about their breakfast times… don’t be late. I walked in at 10:04a, while visiting from out of town, with warm frittata still sitting in plain view. But, no «frittata for you»…“sorry, we just can’t keep serving breakfast after 10a”. Oh well, the rosemary & cherry scone and espresso were good… just not what I wandered there for.

I knew it was going to be busy, but Sunday brunch was so crowded. We showed up right when they opened at 11 and the line was already wrapped around the small interior. While the line moved slowly, the food came out quite quickly after we ordered and it was definitely worth the wait. I tried the french toast with marscapone, cinnamon apples, and bacon. I’d highly recommend it!
We noticed that by around 12, the line was significantly shorter and there were plenty of seats open. I don’t know if they run out of food for brunch, but it might be worth going a little later to avoid having people packed around you like sardines.

The food was above average and service was good. Surprised me since it’s sort of tucked away and small. Price was reasonable but definitely not a «deal».

I hate to give Trattoria such a low review (3 stars really is an abomination given how amazing their food is) but the mess that is Sunday brunch taints the memory of this place. Even if you show up right as they’re opening, the line is already the longest in town. Once you get inside, the table situation is dismal and you’re lucky if you get to share a table with strangers.
They’re also not open for dinner, so if you don’t work downtown or want to deal with the Sunday line of doom, you’re out of luck. I can only imagine they make incredible money given how busy they are, so I’m extremely off-​put by how inaccessible (literally, on Sundays) they are.
Regardless, if you can make it here when they’re open and not packed to the brim, do it. Their food is some of the best in the city.

I have tried this restaurant on three separate occasion. I can tell you that each time I was overwhelmed with the perfect seasoning of the food. 1^st Experience– Frittata, fruit, and cheese grits. I am extremely particular about my food, but this serving made me want to come back and try the lunch menu. 2^nd Experience– was three weeks later. I had the Penne Alla’ Arrabbiata. I am not a lover of pasta, however, I have to say that I loved this dish. The combination of fresh tomato sauces and spice was outstanding. I was so impressed that I brought my husband on the 3^rd Experience. Let’s just say we have to go there each time we come in town.

There’s a reason people start lining up an hour or more before brunch begins. You really can’t go wrong with any of the food options, and the staff is surprisingly friendly and efficient given the huge crowd and amount of chaos surrounding them throughout service. Lesser teams crumble under that level of pressure.
I wish they made just a few extra scones a day, but then maybe their scarcity is exactly what drives my craving for them. I’m left with a lot of deep questions about myself and my relation to pastries. Trattoria Centrale truly feeds the body and the mind.

Amazing Sunday Brunch. Visiting from Nash-​Vegas and arrived @10 am, got coffee and poached a seat outside… line started at 10:40…biscuits and chicken gravy, side bacon and scones to go. Massive portions, very (very) friendly staff and patrons. Make the time for this place.

This pizza is so good, and well worth any wait you may have to endure during the busy workday lunch hour. And, it reheats nicely if you have leftovers!
I wish they were open for dinner :(

Thanks to Tanya C. for picking this location for Sunday brunch!
When we got to Trattoria Centrale for brunch it was packed! All the tables were taken and there was a line snaking its way around the tables up to the order counter. Looking at this line three thoughts went through my line 1) I hate lines 2) I hope it moves fast 3) the food must be good. The line was a bit slow, but it didn’t bother me much since I was struggling to decide what to get. The problem I faced is that everything sounded good to me! If I could have ordered the whole menu I would have! I final settled on the French toast and proceeded to wait out till I could order. Now the whole time I waited in line I did notice that when someone got to the front of the line and ordered there wasn’t any significant wait for a table to free up.
Once my group ordered we were able to find a table quickly and waited for our food to come out. The food didn’t take long at all to reach our table. Once we got our food all conversation between my friends and I stopped while we savored our first bites. Then we proceeded to share what each of us had ordered. Turns out, all the dishes were at our table were great!
My French toast was mind blowing! They had actually taken 2 slices of French toast and mascarpone cheese to make a little French toast mascarpone sandwich. Then they poured syrup over the French toast, and sprinkled blue berry over it. Now the dish was amazing and I cleaned my plate, but I do wish there was something more on the dish to cut the sweetness of the French toast and the syrup.
Overall my experience here was good. The food is amazing and I do recommend trying it out for brunch. My only problem was the wait in line. So, 4 stars!

I love everything about Trattoria! Anything you order is going to be amazingly delicious.
My favorite breakfast item during the week is their bagel with salmon and caper cream cheese. I think their pizza is the best in the city. Great fresh toppings and perfect crust. That’s all I ever need! I’d be lying if I said I rarely get their 2 slices with mixed greens, but it’s just so good! That shallot vinaigrette deliciousness they put on the salad is heaven. I really need to start getting extra to put on my pizza.
But, let’s talk about Sunday brunch… hands down the best in Birmingham. They used to serve this ham, arugula, and fontina breakfast roll up concoction that I still dream about. Their French toast is another all time favorite of mine.
Needless to say, I could go on forever. But, definitely stop in!

Went there, had goat cheese and chives omelet. Tasty stuff. Very friendly service too. The grits were slightly heavy but that’s more a personal preference. I’d certainly come back again.

This is a very busy place for brunch and rightfully so. It was amazing. I wanted to order just about everything on the brunch menu because every single menu item looked great! I settled on the spicy sausage gravy and biscuits with mixed greens. The gravy was the perfect consistency and just spicy enough with small chunks of sausage. The mixed greens were dressed with a creamy Italian dressing that surprisingly complimented the gravy biscuits perfectly. We also tried the breakfast pizza with a fried egg that was pretty good and the Caesar salad with shrimp and tortellini was filling and tasted fantastic. The coffee was very good as well; I had my normal vanilla latte and it was really good.
It was packed and you must order before you take a seat, but the regulars were nice enough to eat and move on, which worked perfectly and we did not have to wait for a seat. There is outside eating space, but it was rather cold when we were in town. I really enjoyed this place. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was hip and trendy and the staff was very friendly and efficient. A must for brunch!

Excellent brunch that draws a line out front each and every Sunday
I’ve come here a number of times including my first weekend after moving here. The place reminded me a bit of the trendy café’s in Seattle. The food here is excellent. I’ve had a number of their dishes including veggie frittatas, veggie quiche, and their french toast without bacon (I’m vegetarian). They are always very accommodating, offering me a substitute for meat like fresh fruit or a scone. All of it is great and the espresso/​coffee is also good.
This place always attracts a lot of people as early as 10:15 on Sundays and it deserves it. Definitely have brunch here at least once.

I met a colleague here for a coffee. It is a traditional breakfast spot. This place is packed following church, so get their early on Sunday to get a table. I will be going back sometime soon to try their breakfast food.

Great brunch! The nutella latte is amazing! Based on the other reviews, I had the fried egg with arrabiata polenta and Italian sausage. It was great! I am not a big fan of grits… but the polenta made me a fan.

The only downside to this place is deciding what to eat. Everything looks and smells delicious.
I recommend coming with a couple people and all getting something different so you can try each other’s food.
It’s a little chaotic when you first enter as you’ll have to wait in line to order and then wait to get a table, but every bite is worth it. Also, once you’ve ordered you’ll get a coffee cup and you can help yourself to the octane coffee they serve. Yum!

Oh damn. Birmingham knows how to do brunch.
First off, this place has a System. You wait in line to place your order, then get a table once your food is up. That way tables are only filled with eaters, and you have a seat just about when you hit the front of the line. Not only did it work brilliantly during a packed lunch, but we got to watch as the staff removed a System Violator to get us a table. Nice try, guy.
The food was insanely good. We shared a french toast with mascarpone and berries that was fought over hardcore amongst our party. The biscuits with sausage and gravy were all that I had heard about up north, but clearly had a culinary oomph beyond the basic family style.
We got one other egg dish (I believe with goat cheese), that I don’t remember anymore other than that we didn’t have a single bad dish. This was an excellent place to start a Sunday.

This is only a review of the Sunday brunch.
We got there at 11:45 and there were about 10 – 15 people in line. The line moved fairly quickly. In fact, I had just selected what I was going to order right before I got to the cashier. So, the wait was just the right amount of time I needed to study the menu. While in line, one of the cooks explained to someone what the frittata was (a crustless quiche) and another cook answered my question about the french toast. I asked the cashier if I could have extra marscapone cheese and when she told me that it is premade inside, the cook overheard and promised to find me one with a lot of it in there. I thought that was incredibly nice!
I loved the four things we got! We had french toast with marscapone cheese, strawberries, syrup, and bacon; fried egg over polenta and sausage, topped with arrabiatta sauce; biscuits and gravy (gravy had english peas and fava beans in it) which came with mixed greens; and the famous (for a good reason!) cherry and rosemary scone (I’m not a scone person but this one was great). I recommend all of those dishes. I hate that I didn’t order the breakfast pizza!
Two staff members (not sure of their titles) approached us a few times asking if we needed anything and brought me a to go box and would have gotten me another scone but they were sold out. Everyone was very friendly! While we ate inside b/​c of the impending rain, the outside tables (covered by awnings) looked like a nice place to dine.
OK, so full disclosure, some may find it cramped inside. One from my party said she hated feeling like people were looking over her shoulder while she ate. So, if you don’t like that style of dining, be forewarned. I didn’t notice it at all and liked the packed ambiance a lot.
I will be back!

Popped in for a week day breakfast and didn’t bring any coin with me. There was plenty of open meter parking nearby but I had to bail at 8AM so I didn’t get a ticket!
I had read the reviews and really wanted to French toast, but the special frittata of the day changed my mind. Sausage, basil and mozzarella. It was awesome. Maybe not as big as I would have wanted but the flavor was there and the texture… and really, do I need to be the size of a house?
Served with excellent grits and a pile of fresh fruit, it was a good meal and kept me going through lunch.
I liked Trattoria Centrale. Good stuff!