Dram

I have eaten brunch here twice, and both times it was excellent. The food is fresh and well prepared. The menu offers a wide range of fare without being overwhelming. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the interior is beautifully decorated, with exposed beams and a classic varnished wood bar. Their whiskey selection alone is quite impressive. Plus, the location is great: right in the heart of Mountain Brook.
Bottom line: this place is ideal if you’re trying to impress a date, or your parents. Enjoy!

Fantastic! Upscale bar with good food menu from neighbor restaurant. Pork Chop Meal was great and atmosphere was better!

My go-​to spot when I want to eat in Mountain Brook.
The burgers and fries are outstanding and the appetizers are pretty good too.
They have a great selection of whiskey/​bourbon and from time to time have their bacon bourbon.
It can get crowded on the weekend but it is worth the wait.

The blackberry winter has always been my favorite drink here. And if you’re hungry, and order of fries never disappoints. I love the atmosphere and have never had a bad time at Dram.

Fun and interesting bar with food from Avo the Resturant connected to it. Fine drink selection and extensive bourbon selection. Food was excellent and the range of clientele make for a fun evening.

Dram has always been one of my must-​stop restaurants. The burgers are all delicious (the Gatlinburger is my favorite) and the truffle fries are to die for. I am particularly a fan of their brunch and «Scone of the Day.» The bar menu is incredible and wine is half price in Sunday’s.
My main concern with Dram is the food service and waitstaff have become inconsistent. Some weeks things are great. Some weeks I’ve waited half an hour on a French press coffee. This week, the bartender seemed to be more concerned with his friend than crafting a good cocktail. The last visit I had with friends along, the server seemed pre-​occupied and not wanting to be there.
I really like Dram. I think the overall quality of the atmosphere, drink menu and food menu are superb. I only hope for more consistency in the future.

If you’re on the hunt for an upscale bar with a lot of traffic and scenery, where it’s easy to be social during a Wednesday happy hour or dinner /​drinks, check out Dram. While I chose basic food for dinner, there are much finer options on the menu, and of course there’s the sister restaurant upstairs, Avo. Refined cocktail menu, a few good beers and a nice wine list.
Dram was the second evening of three for me in Birmingham on this recent business trip. In contrast to my Tuesday evening visit to The J. Clyde, Dram was very busy when I arrived and remained so the entire time I was there.
I sidled up to the bar and had Dram’s grilled cheese sandwich for dinner (simpleton, I know), which includes aged cheddar, Benton’s country ham and caramelized onions. It was tasty, but not exactly what I expected in the ham category. When I think of country ham, I think of a slab of ham. This was sliced more like deli meat and there was not much to it. But it satisfied. The Truffle & Parmesan fries were the spotlight. I couldn’t stop eating them. So good. Upgrade from the matchstick fries. Well worth the extra buck. Some of the best fries I’ve ever had, actually.
This place is definitely on the trendy, upscale side — less than a 3 minute drive from my Embassy Suites, and felt like there was money flowing around here. I had a sazerac and an old fashioned. Both good solid choices.
The bartending was good, drinks were well made, well balanced. The crowd was demanding, so service was not quite as rapid as I would have liked, but this helped keep me at only two drinks before heading back to the hotel, and that’s not a bad thing.

Met up with some friends for a Sunday brunch at Avo/​Dram. We were first seated upstairs on the outside patio but due to wind we moved to the back patio downstairs at Dram after we had our water. It took over ten minutes for someone to notice we were sitting back there. The manager came by and brought us menus and setups. Another 10 minutes passed before we were «greeted» by our waitress. I say that lightly as she was obviously not having a good day. Since we were still waiting on our fourth person we decided to order some Avo Dip and Pico, which we enjoyed. After our fourth person arrived we ordered. Everyone at the table got burgers. Three of us ordered them cooked medium and one medium well. When the plates arrived we noticed that none of the burgers had any toppings besides the meat and cheese. Our waitress did bring the rosemary ketchup which might be the best thing I ate on Sunday. We had to flag her down 10 minutes later to get some mayo. By that point it was too late to ask for lettuce and tomato. None of our burgers were cooked to the temperature we requested. They were all well done and even charred on one side. They were also all different sizes. The fries were cold upon arrival but again we weren’t checked on for 10 – 15 minutes after food delivery so no chance to share that. By the time we were checked on it was basically too late to complain.
I have had a burger at Dram multiple times in the past, but something seems to be different lately. The quality and consistency is not as good as it was in years past. The service is not what it used to be either. The servers do not seem to enjoy their job and don’t seem interested in being helpful. What happened to the Dram of two or three years ago?

I’ve never been to a Whiskey bar so it was pretty cool. We got a flight of whiskey, the one with the moonshine chaser, and I usually don’t drink whiskey, but they were all pretty good. The «bar food» here is amazing! I say «bar food» because the prices for everything were so expensive, but I guess I’ll agree with everyone else that it’s just because of the location. We both got the Dram burger, which I believe has Angus beef, with the Panko Onion Rings and Truffle and Parmesan Fries. I loved everything about this place and the food… except the bill. It was a cool spot to hang out, obviously since it was packed full. It did take longer than usual for us to be greeted by our server, but she was very attentive after that. The crowd was more middle aged and I did see a lot of men sporting jackets such as previous other posts mentioned, but I would return here. Cute place!

I went on a Thursday night with my wife as we wanted to try a new place we haven’t been to before. We didn’t know what to expect but I had my reserves as it is located in the heart of Mountain Brook and I could only assume it would be an upscale restaurant/​bar. I was right but the atmosphere was relaxed and the food and service was excellent! I rated this a 4* only because paying $ 12 for a drink is a bit over the top, but it was Mountain Brook and it was good. I would suggest wearing a button down shirt and no jeans or you may look a bit out of place. You’ll see quite a few sport coats as well. However it’s nice to get out and look fancy every once in a while!
I would go back, but may need to save up some money first! Expect at least a $ 60 bill for two including service.
Atmosphere = A = fine dinning; relaxed
Service = A+ = spot on; no empty glasses
Cleanliness = A+ = no issues visible
Location = A+ = safe area; close to home
Quality = A+ = excellent food & drinks
Quantity = A = healthy portions; can’t eat all
Price = B = $ 12/​drink too much

I really wanted to enjoy Dram more than I actually did– the reviews looked good and we were looking forward to a fun meal out with friends. Long story short, the drinks were good and the burgers we got were all tasty (4 stars for this part of the evening), but the service was incredibly slow (2.5 hours for one round of drinks and burgers, and no refills on water even after we asked). While it’s a cute bar/​restaurant, I’ll probably only be back if I’m in the mood for whiskey or a specialty cocktail.

Dram can confuse some people. Dram is a Whiskey bar on the 1^st floor. Avo is a restaurant on the 2^nd floor. You can order food at Dram from both menus. Dram is neatly decorated. Dark with lots of wood and stone. Kind of cave like. CLEAN cave but like a wine cellar. It gets really crowded with the younger after work crowd. The food is wonderful. Lots of variety from Bar food to Steaks. The drinks are very well done. They have nice flights of whiskey allowing you to try many different kinds without ordering full glasses. They have indoor and outdoor seating plus the Villages of Mountain Brook shopping area is very nice to walk around. If you are a fan of trying different whiskeys and scotches come here. They food wont disappoint either.

Great place to relax and chill with friends/​coworkers after a long day.
Set-​up:
Super chill. Dim lighting and plenty of TV’s to watch the game with some friends.
Food:
Surprisingly super good. A little on the expensive side, but, what do you expect being located in the heart of «MOUNTAIN BROOKE!!!»
Service:
This is the reason I keep coming back here. The bartenders and servers are uncharacteristically friendly. Conversation is easy and they make the experience great.
Overall:
Great spot to relax. Great spot to bring a date. Great spot to hang with friends. The vibe here is very chill– you don’t have to worry about 40 college kids coming in and tearing down the bar.
I like Dram.

One visit. Patio with coworkers… Super stoked about the Kentucky theme, being raised in Central KY. Great bourbons and a Kentucky Hot Brown were not within my expectations when sitting at the long wooden patio table. This place would be full on 5 star, if the wait staff wasn’t as pretentious and odd as the local elitist. I thought Dallas had an occasional weak spot with this atmosphere, but it is hard to hold up to this pompous crowd. To make the people watching more comical, several tables must have been Cougar Hunt first dates, or some Ashley Madison hot spot. Weird… but I’d go back for the bourbon and a giant Hot Brown. Maybe I’d get lucky. Lol

This place would be great if it wasn’t in the middle of Mountain Brook and full of pseudo-​elitist fake people trying to act like they have class while talking trash about everyone in the bar and all their «friends» who weren’t there…
The food is actually better than expected, and if you can get the attention of the bartenders when they’re not texting or taking smoke breaks, they have an excellent drink selection.

Whenever I’m in need of bourbon and being surrounded by rich mahogany and leather bound chairs, I head directly to Dram. They have an incredibly deep bourbon menu, with all the bourbons sorted by county, and a few house cocktails that have yet to disappoint. The Old Fashioned here is outrageously good and consistent. It’s easy to order 2 or 7 without noticing. Plus 2-​for-​1 drinks on MWF during happy hour! It’s just a great place for bourbon fans to relax and enjoy the water of life. Stay classy.

I sat alone at the bar, so I spent most of my time observing. I must agree with a previous review that had both pros and cons; the place is very cute, it’s a great ‘after work’ spot, the drinks are ok, but they DO have a disinterested wait staff. I waited a while before I was greeted at the door (the hostess was digging for something at her stand), then a very long time at the bar before being greeted (after 2 bartenders just stood there talking with each other). I even left and went to the restroom at one point and they were still talking to each other. Note: They weren’t making drinks at this time, just having a conversation. I noticed a table across from me get neglected for the first 10 min of their visit. Finally, the bartender who took my order started fussing about how that table’s server was nowhere to be found. He talked about bringing that table water but complained about how it ‘wasn’t his job/wasn’t his table.’ As a previous server myself, I’ve always felt like it’s in the best interest of the restaurant for all servers to help each other. I do like the fact that you can order food from Avo even while sitting at Dram, the whiskey bar, but most of my experience involved listening to the servers and bartenders complain to each other about everything from dirty glasses to not being taught the menu changes. They also had an incident where the main bartender at Dram had to go upstairs and the ‘makeshift’ bartender didn’t know what garnishes to put on the drinks. He kept asking other servers who also didn’t know.
On a lighter note, I had the lamb burger with feta cheese and mint jelly (very yummy) and the sour mash sweet potatoes (which left something to be desired). The drink I had was a blackberry winter (very sweet).
When I got ready to leave I had to track down someone for a box, I was not acknowledged upon leaving (the hostesses were busy talking to each other), and I felt like I was more of a burden than a patron. All in all, the food was a good, but the experience was not. The staff needs more training from food, to drink ingredients, to common courtesy.

Great whiskey selection!
My wife and I had dinner here one night and set up stairs. We each had a filet with different sides. The steak was decent and the sides were good.
I tried several different bourbons and whiskeys that I have not tried before. It was nice to have the variety available.

Dram is a fantastic location for a night out. Good place to begin or end the night. I met a girlfriend here to catch up. We sat at the bar and ordered cocktails.
There are lounge chairs and tvs as well as a patio. This makes for a surprisingly good place for groups or a date.
Having had dinner, and just cocktails on separate occasions I would say that the service is all around impressive.

One of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham, and probably one of my top 3 favorite burgers (and definitely my favorite buns). You can sit outside in the warmer months, or upstairs at Avo when Dram is full, and it can be pretty loud by the bar but the food is so worth it. Libby is my husband and my favorite server.
Food & drinks are both top notch. Food-​wise, high praise for the burgers, the matchstick fries, fried okra when it’s in season, the pork belly poutine, the Memphis chicken sandwich, and the hot brown. I’ve tried and loved a lot more.
I love that you can order from both Dram and Avo’s menu and the burger prices are especially reasonable. Love it!