Fox Valley Restaurant

TRUST ME. This is hands down one of the best meals I have ever had.
You heard that right. I have, up to Saturday evening always told people that the best meal I had was at Nopa in San Francisco, but after this weekend I have changed my mind. Fox Valley was divine.
You can tell that Sue and her staff are bent on turning out the best food possible and can taste the love in every bite.
Appetizer course: with fresh baked bread (that rivals a large pretzel bite) smothered in creamy whipped butter, then moving on to the crab cake with hunks of imperial crab meat in a perfect batter done in a peanut oil.
Soup: A beautiful crab étouffée then arrived with a fired oyster on top. The roux was perfect and buttery and gone in 2 minutes flat (order two for two people if it is on the menu).
Main course: Rack of lamb in a mint julep jelly– gorgeous seared meat– tender.
Dessert: Key lime pie– crumbly graham cracker crust and a zesty citrus filling. Also try a «Momma’s Coffee» while you are at it.
When I come back to the great state of Alabama, you will be able to find me posted up at the bar eating Sue’s soul food. If you are a Foodie– put this one on your list.

Had such a great meal there last night. The Crab Mushroom Broccoli Bisque was light, but still rich and flavorful. The Steak (Filet Mignon-​so buttery and cooked to perfect medium rare) & Cake (their famous crabcake, seasoned perfectly and simply, enabling a proper celebration of the freshest crab imaginable, served with garlic brown butter sauce) was very satisfying. Hubby had Macadamia-​crusted grouper, which I tasted. It was the second best fish I’ve ever eaten. Our server was friendly, helpful & attentive. The ambiance is very low-​key for fine-​dining — which we’ll take any day over the more typical stuffy/​snooty/​uncomfortable fine-​dining environment. Rolls were a bit chewy & had an overly dense crumb (perhaps underproofed?). The Strawberry Shortcake with honey biscuit was delicious — a little skimpy on the berries (especially since they’re in season!), but the biscuit itself had a spectacular and unique crust-​unlike any shortcake we’d ever had. The Lemon Cheesecake was lacking in lemon flavor, the strawberries served with it had been mascerated too long (super mushy), and the whipped cream had been slightly over-​whipped. Despite the few mis-​steps in the baking arena (and I admit as a professional pastry chef that I am very particular — certainly more so than most!), the food and service here are worth the trip and the cost (NOT inexpensive — our bill for two, without alcohol, was over $ 100). Looking forward to our next visit there. Having eaten there several times over the last few years, it remains one of our favorite Birmingham-​area restaurants.

This restaurant is trading on past glories. Though the crab cake was good, the «carpet bagger» steak was small and the fried oysters watery and cold. This dish was further damned by the chilled bearnaise, served on the side at my request, so not actually responsible for the cold oysters.
Duck was extremely gamey (yes I know it’s duck and how it should taste), to the point of being inedible.
Beef scallopini was dredged not only in bread crumbs, but also a salt lick.
Derby cake was tasty, but at $ 200 for 4 entrees, 1 app, 2 beers and a cocktail, I don’t think the cake makes it worth it.
Do yourself a favor, pass on the drive and enjoy many a fine restaurant in the Ham.

The place is a wonderful surprise. It is next to a gas station so you wonder about its high ranking but when you go inside and taste the food… it is amazing. I love the Steak and Cake!!! I am spoiled, I can’t enjoy Crab Cakes in other more expensive places because I feel like I have the Best in the South!

Absolute joke!!! Heard from a friend it was the best restaurant in the area so we tried it. Interior looks like it could be a cracker barrel restaurant. Sorry cracker barrel! At least your interior is clean and well kept unlike Fox Valley. Food portions were not enough for my 8 year old son. Left hungry!!! Food quality was also very very poor for this price point! Frozen fish and a piece of steak you could eat in two bites. $ 32 and not even a side of pasta or vegetables? Please!!! Save your money and go to an all u can eat buffet. Quality of food and ambiance is the same and you’ll leave full!!!

I used to really love Fox Valley. The wine list was great and the food used to be really spectacular. I’m not sure what happened in the last few years, but the food is pretty ordinary now and the place is just looking old.
The décor was never really extraordinary or anything, but it’s just gotten so dated now that I feel like I’m in an old folks home where the cobwebs are familiar, but still there. Recently we asked if they could make some of their old dishes that my mother loved so much — the answer was no.
We really do need better restaurants in this area — this used to be my go-​to place. I’d look elsewhere for now.

Me & my wife were told by a friend about the place. We decided to try it & were very disappointed. We ordered drinks & waited forever for our order to finally arrive. Once it did, the crab cake was cold & the steak was small enough for maybe two bites. When we told our waitress, she got the manager & she seemed offended we weren’t happy. The manager basically told us,” Our food is fresh & no one else is complaining”. We complained about undercooked food & very small portions. When we asked for our order to be fixed the manager got rude so we told her we’d take out business elsewhere. She asked if we planned on paying for the food, we told her if we’d eaten it we would. She said never mind & we left. Worst restaurant in Alabama.

I’ve been three times & every time it is delicious! I get the steak & cake and it comes with salad. The blue cheese dressing is some of the best I’ve ever had. The steak & cake is a fillet & a crab cake. BEST crab cakes ever! I’ve never had any like them. They are fluffy & sit on a delicious sauce. It’s not cheap & it’s a 45 minutes drive from my house but it’s worth it to go at least once a year.

Well i have to say that I was told great things about this place so I guess I was expecting great things going in. I believe that it is over-​hyped and the taste and quality of the food was not reflected in the price. I found my meal to be quite bland. I heard that there had some changes in the kitchen possibly with switching out a chef. The place is also a bit drab. You could have rolled a hearse down through there the night I dined there. perhaps they should lighten it up a bit. This supposably used to be a great restaurant so I hope they come back and make some changes I would love to see what people were raving about at one point in it’s glory but that point isn’t right now.

Update: We are new to the area so after telling our friends we were less than impressed with this resturant they informed us the chef had opened his own place. So we tried it last night, Mikey’s grill, and it was AMAZING!

Ate there this past weekend and it was very good. Can’t wait to go back.

This used to be one of my favorite places for steaks and seafood. They are just not as good as they used to be especially for the price and food portions. I don’t mind paying more for good food but they have been disappointing me lately. I don’t know what has changed there but I hope it goes back to the way it was.
During this visit, I ordered 2 appetizers as my meal… char grilled jumbo gulf shrimp and and «mini crab» cakes and fried grouper. I wanted the sautéed jumbo gulf shrimp and blue crab claws in butter, garlic and wine appetizer but it was no longer on the menu; although, it was on their online menu. The shrimp were indeed jumbo and very good. This was my first time ordering the crab cakes and grouper. You get 2 crab cakes and 2 groupers. And they weren’t kidding about them being mini. The last time I was here, the crab cake wasn’t as good as it used to be which is why I ordered the crab cake and grouper this time. But the crab cakes were as good as they used to be and the grouper was ok.

By looking at it, you would never believe that this place has some of the best food in B’ham, but it truly does. We’ve been going there for years, and we’re never disappointed. The menu is interesting, with lots of riffs on Southern cooking. The wine list is extensive and excellent. Go early, though. Unless they’ve changed, they don’t take reservations.