Black Rock Bistro

I’m a full-​blooded Cajun born and raised in SE Louisiana. We happened upon Black Rock purely by chance while traveling through for the holidays, and had dinner on New Years Eve. Simply stated, the food was truly incredible, original to its South Louisiana influence, and the service was impeccable. It’s not often you find real Louisiana food outside of the southern part of the state, but this is one of those true «diamonds in the rough.» Greg and Lindsey really nailed it!!!

This is hands down the best restaurant in Jasper. I’ve never had anything that wasn’t delicious and the service is second to none. Most restaurants in Jasper usually start out great and then go downhill after about six months. Greg & Lindsey have done a fantastic job maintaining quality in all areas of their restaurant. Bad circumstances may have brought them here but I hope they never leave.

Some of the best food ever! The pork loin is AMAZING and the pasta salad is to die for. You can’t go wrong here. One of the best places in Alabama to eat. Worth the trip from wherever you are coming from.

Fantastic! The fried green tomatoes were great. Definitely worth the trip. The blackened catfish was salty but had great flavor.

Love this little place in Historic Downtown Jasper. Voted best burger two years running and serving fresh, chef prepared meals. Shrimp and grits, dry aged beef and CATFISH PONTCHARTRAIN! This is not a meat and three steam table joint. Take a friend, take your time and enjoy your food!

Outstanding food! Worth the wait any day. The Smokehouse burger was simply the best I’ve ever had. My wife had the Tilapia with asparagus and it was cooked to perfection.

Without a doubt the best restaurant in Jasper. It rivals some of the best in Birmingham. Lunch is very reasonable ($ 10/​person) and dinner is not much more. Some menu items stay constant but most of it changes seasonally and with what they can get the freshest (sign of a very good restaurant). Reservations recommended at night. Not needed for lunch unless you have a big group.

Black Rock has a unique charm that isn’t what you’re used to finding in Jasper. The first time I ate there with my family, we walked out and all thought «Oh yeah! We’re in Jasper!» If you can’t afford to drive into Birmingham and eat at The Hot and Hot Fish Club — go to Black Rock Bistro! I can’t say enough good things about this place. The filet is always amazing and I tried the rabbit appetizer this time — so good!
Only con about this place is their wine. Save your money and drink at home. But bring your appetite because the food is wonderful. The staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable as well, which always makes the dining experience more pleasant.

It’s a small restraunt with a cosy southern feel.
Food was good
I got the blackended catfish which was well cooked and seasoned. The portion was a little on the small side, just one fillet. The taste was excellent.
It came with two sides. I got the fried okra and a side salad. There’s not much to say about the salad. It was good but nothing special, about what you would expect for a side salad, lettuce, grape tomoates, cucumbers, and crutons.
The okra was a very large portion and it was tossed with a little bit of hot sauce which gave it a good flavor.
My meal cost 11 dollars and change (plus tip) including tea.
Overall, I was very happy with my visit.
I come to Jasper about once a month and will definately be back.

This place is one of my favorite restaurants in the South. I’ve sampled most of the menu. The New Orleans influenced cuisine is of a quality that is usually available only in restaurants that are 50% more expensive. The gulf seafood shines, as do the steaks, and the barbeque shrimp is stellar. The peach cobbler is my favorite dessert. They vary the menu on a regular basis, and have some lower cost more casual opitons like poor boys and burgers. For a special treat try anything the chef smokes himself. The owners source local ingredients whenever possible.
That said, this is not a white tablecloth place with tuxedoed waiters. This place is about the food. The service is genuinely friendly and attentive, as you find in the deep South at it’s best. Make reservations, particulary for Friday nights. I love this place!

Absolutely love this place !!! Make reservations for thurs or fri !!! Also sweet potatoes at lunch are to die for !!!

Never disappoints! Delicious food, and a great price! I always get a ton of food for the price. Fried grouper fingers, catfish, chicken fingers are all faves, but the Alabama burger– topped with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese– is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had!

TIPS:
–Reservations recommended
–Next door to courthouse
–Don’t wear a jacket inside, it gets hot!
–Go with time to spare and company you enjoy
–Join the Facebook BRB group to find out the fresh menu
–Go here to get you a coupon for BOGO free appetizer (small plate)
. Offer expires 9÷29÷13
PROS:
–Unique dishes you can’t find just anywhere
–Small plates available at dinner so you can mix and match if yon’t
–Food was pretty good
–Seafood bisque was delectable, especially with the bread they serve pre-​meal
–Portion sizes are decent for the price
–Friendly staff
–Chef/​co-​owner monitors Facebook BRB Group and was quick to offer suggestions when I asked what my picky husband could look forward to on the menu.
–It’s a shiny gem in a city I thought mainly hosted fast food joints
CONS:
–Limited and «fancier» menu makes it harder for someone picky like my husband to find something he’ll eat
–It was REALLY hot in the small restaurant since the only thing separating the dining area from the kitchen is a ¾ high wall
–It was a LONG dinner maybe 1 ½ hours. Mainly because it took forever for the waiter to take our order-​he walked by 4 times without taking our order, the food took a while which I completely understand, took forever again to bring us our check, but then he took probably 10 min to run my credit card because he just kept taking care of other customers. My observation was that he was really bad at multitasking and would get side tracked easily instead of taking care of several things at once. At least he was nice and very knowledgeable about the menu.
–It’s kind of loud in the long, narrow dining restaurant. With the open kitchen, music, and crowd it was almost impossible to hear my husband across the table.
–Brisket my husband ordered was very fatty. About ¹⁄₃ of his serving was fat.
FOOD:
Keep in mind the menu changes so these items may not be available. You can join the Facebook BRB group and Chef Greg posts the menu items.
The rolls they bring out to the table are actually pretty good, perfectly chewy. The butter was delicious. Maybe honey butter? It was silky and sweet.
Small plate– Open face flauta: crispy tortilla topped with brisket, pepper jack cheese, roasted tomatillo salsa, and cilantro. I was super excited to try this. Yes it was good, but with my high expectations it wasn’t quite the POP of flavors I wanted. I think it’s mainly my snootiness for good verde. I really like my verde with a good kick of garlic, jalapenos, and sweet tomatillos. Theirs, like most verde I’ve had just added a bit of sweetness. Brisket was tender and plentiful. I would highly suggest it to anyone looking for a unique dish.
Small plate-​Louisiana frog legs with buttermilk sauce. This gal has never had frog legs before. They had a good flavor, light crust with a hint of creole spices. The sauce tasted a bit like ranch with hot sauce and I liked it so much I added it to the flauta.
Small plate: Seafood Bisque. I ordered a bowl for my meal. It comes with Spiny Lobster, gulf lump crap, and gulf shrimp. It was very brothy and perfect for sopping with the delicious bread they bring to the table. All of the meat was very tasty. While the bisque was good I added a little hot sauce to mine and it really stepped it up to a much higher level.
Brisket: The brisket is served with blue cheese mashed potatoes and a demi glaze. My husband asked for fries instead of mashed taters and the sauce on the side (per Chef Greg’s rec). It came with the mashed potatoes anyway but they did at least bring out the fries as well. While the brisket was flavorful and tender it was very fatty. ¹⁄₃ of his portion was fat that he left on the plate. Thank goodness they serve the plate with two huge pieces of brisket. Surprisingly he actually ate the mashed potatoes too. He always snarls at the idea of blue cheese but said you could only taste it slightly and he ate 98% of the taters on the plate. He scarfed down the fries and said he really liked those. The fries are shoestring size with skin on and seasoned lightly with creole type (guessing) seasonings.

I really like this little place — great ambiance and extremely friendly and helpful service. The food is very good — especially the grouper and the fried okra, but I agree that it’s a little salty. Definitely the place to lunch if you’re in downtown Jasper. RW & LS

Dined here recently for the first time at the new location. Much more ambiance but the food not up to par on the night we visited.
One of us was looking forward to the Shrimp and Grits but it was swimming in grease, had always been delicious prior to this. Another got the Catfish Pontchartrain and was not impressed. My Apalachicola fried oysters were extremely salty, otherwise would have been yummy. Coleslaw on the side really salty, too.
Had a wonderfully creative dish here once – sweet potato hash, with pecans, bacon and cubed roasted potatoes.
I hope this night is not typical one now. Has had so much potential. But don’t know if will return