Epiphany Cafe

Epiphany remains my absolute favorite Tuscaloosa restaurant. Tres is a tremendously creative chef, and I have come to trust his judgment: even when the combinations sound a little wonky in writing, they are woooonderful in your mouth. Freshest ingredients from local suppliers, creatively combined and cheerfully served. *Nobody* does brussel sprouts better than Epiphany; always excited to try the next iteration. The option of having several small plates is great; with just my husband or a large group, we always end up sharing around the table.
There’s been a good bit of turnover in bar and wait staff over the past year or so, but the «new kids» are just as efficient and friendly as their predecessors. Even better, there’s some creativity among the bar staff to match that in the kitchen — great «trendy» mixed drinks to complement the old standards and a good wine selection.
Y’all keep up the good work!

If you like creativity, experimenting, ingenuity, and delicious fresh food, you owe yourself a trip here. Every single thing we are was amazing, and the desserts are worth the whole trip. Just a fantastic experience from beginning to end.

What a great foodie destination for T-​Town! Every dish was excellent! Strongly recommend! Great mixologist too!

I have eaten at a lot restaurants and I have to say that I have had the worst experience at Epiphany.
My friend and I ordered the following to share:
1. Bread service: Bread was good, but small and the pork butter was flavorless.
2. Ricotta Gnocchi: Too soft and overpowered by the beets and watery tomatoes.
3. Warm Duck salad: The duck meat was subpar with lots of fat and cartilage. Inedible.
4. Panzella: That dish was good, but not worth the money.
The food was roughly $ 50 and we were still hungry. That same week we had eaten at Maki Fresh for the same amount of money and received: 1 appetizer, 2 entries, 2 drinks, and 2 glasses of wine. And we left happy and full.
On top of the bad food, the waiter was creepy. He constantly leaned to close to me and reached unnecessarily into my personal space. And while he was bringing a dish to another table he stopped by our table to show us the dish and tried to get us to order is. If I was that other table I would have refused that plate of food! He most definitely did not have wait staff training. Not once did he ask us about the food either.
I will never come back.

Wonderful place to enjoy fresh food. Very interesting blendings of fruits, vegetables and dishes. Who could think of brussel sprout, kimchi and blue cheese together! Loved all dishes. Service was prompt and attentive. Enjoyed eating local as a first visitor to Tuscaloosa.

This place is fantastic. If your pathetic understanding of fine dining is mediocre enough to leave a poor review of this amazing restaurant then I pity you. Yes it’s expensive. Yes the plates are small. It’s tapas-​style, fine dining. If you wanted a huge plate of nachos to stuff your fat disgusting face with, go to Buffalo Phil’s because that’s where your trashy ass belongs. Tres Jackson is a food experience genius. I cannot recommend the Chef’s tasting enough, for it was one of the best prestigious multi coursed meals I’ve ever experienced. Cheers to you, Tres, and see you again soon!

This is absolutely the most expensive restaurant I’ve been to in Tuscaloosa. There is no reason why biscuits and gravy that are smaller than Krystal sliders should be $ 15. A loaf of bread and a block of cheese that’s smaller than grocery store butter is $ 4. The seared red fish could be consumed in about three bites. That’s about $ 5 per bite. As good as the food was, it was absolutely not worth the money that was paid. I’m a sucker for organic and local ingredients but not if it’s going to make my wallet and me lose weight.
The slow roasted lamb filet was easily the best item on here. There’s meat, and then there is meat that almost tastes like cream because it was cooked with God-​like skill. Now this was definitely worth $ 15.
The food was brought over to my friend and I who were wine tasting at Carpe Vino. The service was excellent. I dread giving this place a 3 because the food is above average, and the lamb was excellent. I don’t typically pay attention to the price of foods in restaurants, but when the portions are smaller than my hand and the bill is larger than an entire bottle of wine, you better hope you’re finishing that second glass.

So good it’s hard to put in to words. This was a very fun Tuscaloosa experience and the food was amazing. Gracious waitress at the bar offered us tasters and excellent food advice. This is a MUST dine in Tuscaloosa. You do yourself a disservice if you miss it!

Very un inviting menu with odd combinations. I am a well travelled foodie who was not impressed.

I’ve eaten at several James BeardAward winners that did not make me say «wow» as much as Epiphany did. What Chef Tres does with food is amazing. We enjoyed the Steelhead Trout Sashimi, Chantrelle Mushrooms and Chicken and the Scallops. Our server, Savannah, was knowledgeable and excited about the food. Can’t wait to return.

Super delicious locally sourced farm to table food creatively prepared. Come hungry, curious and financially secure and order a dozen small plates. Standouts to me were the house made cheese with pickled blueberries (pickled blueberries?! Yes!), the Brussels sprouts and the blue crab with watermelon. The blue cheese cheesecake is like a slab of blue cheese with lovely sweet things all over it, my dream dessert but not necessarily yours. The chocolate mousse cake is outrageously good and the best creameux has a texture that could be off putting, firmer than a panna cotta, softer than jell-​O, but it’s clever and if you like beets you’ll dig it. Coffee comes in a French press, AS IT SHOULD.

Try harder, do less.
Two stars for presentation.
Negative one star for using mediocre ingredients, combining them in original ways that don’t really work.

This restaurant rocks. Chef Tres and his staff gave us personalized attention with the Chef’s Counter Tasting, pairing each course with a different wine. The foods and wines they selected clearly took significant effort to customize for the farm to fork concept. I have never tried the combinations they produced on those plates, and due to having the sampler, didn’t have to commit to one dish. My only complaint is that I left uncomfortably full.

Truly inspired flavors, each bite was like a little party in my mouth. One bite sweet, the next savory, another spoonful with a hint of spice. What a lovely meal!
Gnocchi– While the texture was a bit off for me, the flavor combinations were plentiful with a variety of smears on the plate to choose from. A well balanced plate with cauliflower giving nods to the Middle East and Asia. Not traditional but exciting. (My favorite gnocchi is from Lilli in Rome Italy, so I acknowledge my standards are a bit high here)
Bread and pork butter– This was the first time I had ever had pork-​butt reduction in butter. What a concept, I loved it! The rich buttery spread was soft and welcoming as it complimented the sweet cinnamon loaf.
The Brussel sprouts are life changing. If you have not tried these you must order them. Brussels sprouts are all the rage in California right now and I am honestly sick of «flash fried» gourmet sprouts with an aioli de jour. These are completely different. There is a soy caramel glaze and house kim chi that make this dish stand out from the rest. One of the highlights on the menu.
Hanger steak — a little bitter at first bite, but the second bite is the seduction that keeps you going back for more. The tomatoes could not have been any fresher. Again unexpected… But lovely.
Chocolate expresso mousse cake has an Oreo crust and fresh crème with a hint of chili powder. Extremely rich; I recommend sharing a single slice and splurging on a glass of wine to wash it down with. The ladies will love this dessert.
The service was exceptional. The wait staff was well informed and skillfully guided me through an unfamiliar menu. One of my servers had been there for 10 years which speaks volumes to the management of this establishment.
This foodie will be back for more. :-)

I love a good Farm to Table style restaurant and when you add interesting craft cocktails, local brews and great service you have a winner.
We arrived in Tuscaloosa after a long drive, picked up hubby’s packet for a bike event he’d be riding in the next day and set out to see the local. Having seen the online menu for Epiphany, we came in knowing there would be a nice list of local beer and healthy food options.
We started with a Druid IPA on tap and a cocktail called the Lilac. Both refreshing. With our beverages we enjoyed the roasted brussel sprouts and the beef carpaccio. Both were fantastic and unique from dishes had elsewhere.
Before I finish, I must compliment the staff. They really work as a team and seem to genuinely enjoy each other and their work.
What an Epiphany!

I’ve eaten here a couple times when visiting Tuscaloosa, I have had mostly good experiences. This last time, was not up to par. The service was very slow. It took awhile to receive menus and then longer to take out order. I did enjoy my meal, the Brussels sprouts were good and so were the scallops. I would recommend this restaurant, hopefully the service was a fluke.

Best restaurant in Tuscaloosa. Period. Farm to table ingredients and great cocktails. If you are tired of the fried diabetes bombs at every other spot in town, give this place a shot!

My wife and I have been to Epiphany several times and always had the best of food experiences!
On June 2, we brought another couple and enjoyed a «chef’s tasting» where Tres prepares and serves you several courses personally.
The meal was fabulous! From the opening course to the last course, the food is expertly prepared and the suggested wine pairings are outstanding!
We want to thank Tres for his culinary expertise and outstanding service, Anne-​Marie for warmly greeting us at the door, and Anna for expertly serving us throughout the meal!
Bravo to the entire Epiphany team!
We will be back soon!
Mike and Dawn Hurley

In Tuscaloosa for a night, we weren’t sure if we would find a good place to eat or not. We found an Epiphany. This downtown place in an old storefront with beautiful exposed brick made for an excellent meal of small plates. The innovative farm to table dishes would make Epiphany shine in Atlanta or any other big city. And they have a nice selection of artisan wines and the expertise to guide you on a selection.

Ate there last week while in town for business. It was absolutely delicious. I had the cauliflower soufflé and the orecchiette pasta. Both were equally fabulous. Also, their bread and butter is superb!