Black Market Bar+Grill (280) — Restaurant in Birmingham

Black Market

Black Market was extremely convenient for hotel guests like myself who were in town for events, and by convenient I mean it was basically 3-4 minutes away. We rolled in after 10 pm, post-event, and got our IDs checked because apparently, you're never too old to prove you're not a toddler. Hooray!!!

The staff member checking IDs said something about food, drinks, and bar, and honestly, that's all we needed to hear - we weren't told sorry closed. Hooray!! As we entered, our ears were treated to some lovely screeching and screaming from the music, because why not, right? Grunge party!

Like any new uninformed patron, we were expecting to be seated, but servers repeatedly walked by, offering only brief glances without a smile, greeting, or inquiry about our needs. I turned to my Beautiful Husband and suggested that perhaps we should seat ourselves, as the servers seemed overly occupied.

And that is precisely what we did. We plopped ourselves down in a booth, surrounded by decor that screamed 'we don't care' and grunge music that gave off a major 'meh' vibe. We sat staring around and waited for a server like that is what you do in eateries, right?

Well, not this night. Servers seemed to embody a 'whatever' attitude and treated us as if we were old friends who departed on bad terms and had not seen each other in a long time avoiding eye contact. While watching the impolite scene playing out before ours eyes I started singing the song melody "Walk on by" using my lyrics "If you see me walking down the street and I start to ask for service each time our eyes briefly meet Walk on by, walk on by." LMAO.

Finally I stop a lovely server saying informing her of our first time here snd how does it work. She super politely said just order from the bar. We thanked her and she responded, "Yes ma'am you are welcome" and kept on truckin'.

As instructed, my husband bar crawled and ordered two Blue Moon drafts, which are becoming increasingly difficult to find on tap due to eateries opting to sell individual bottles at inflated prices, equivalent to the cost of a six pack purchased at Walmart. The apparent greed is certainly frustrating.

Anyway we hung out for a bit and disconnected from the world, enjoyed delicious cold beer and engaged in romantic conversation. Following our intimate interlude, we ordered parmesan wings to go and returned to the hotel. The wings were fried nicely but the flavor was nothing to write about.

I am going to take a chance and assume as a non native of Alabama this establishment has maybe a day service etiquette and night service etiquette. Reading other reviews customers seem to echo bad customer service experience yet food was praised.

Managers, are you aware that patrons often discuss the pros and cons of their pre- and post-dining experiences? Do you consult reviews to maintain a competitive edge in a challenging economic climate where eateries struggle to remain operational?

Here's some sage advice to management: delivering exceptional customer service is the magic ingredient that elevates ambiance and dining experiences from ordinary to extra ordinary even in an aesthetically challenged environment.

Conversely, poor service is a flavor-deterrent that can diminishes one's appetite, much like happened to us after discussing our experience on the way back to the hotel. Our appetite was eroded when we tried eating the wings. I am sure it might have tasted better if service was better.

As a visitor, I would advise that this establishment may not be suitable for individuals who are easily offended or have specific expectations for customer service. On a positive note, the draft beer was exceptional, particularly in comparison to some of the subpar, flat, or sour drafts we have encountered elsewhere. The customer base was diverse, comprising various age groups, and patrons were generally respectful and mindful of their...

Let me start by saying this is my first ever review. That's how upset I am at the service I received today. We arrived around 3 so one lady told us we Could order off this small menu because they were going through shift change. That was fine with us - we had friends joining us so we were willing to wait. Went to the bar to order drinks and an appetizer and the bartender literally looked at my friend dead in the face several times before finally asking if she needed anything. Told us we could only get wings. Again, we are easy going so we settled on some wings while we waited for another friends to join us. Every visit to the bar took 10-15 minute to get acknowledged. As someone in the service industry this bothered me.

Fast forward an hour and some drinks later they were serving again. Went to the bar to ask them to transfer the check to the table ( we only wanted one tab as we were splitting) and received major attitude for even asking. 30 minutes later I approached a server and asked if we could order she said when you close your bar tab with yet again attitude. So we close the tab. 30 minutes later i ask another server if we could order she says as soon as you close your tab at the bar. Excuse me ? It's been closed for 30 minutes and I've already asked for service once. She took my order and my friends and walked off. My Third friend never was able to order. Menus snatched and tickets brought with our food. Meanwhile the server is sitting enjoying a cocktail with friends.

Food was good so I think I'll try the other location next time. Not a single person in that establishment made us feel welcome or appreciated for coming in. Our tab would have been a lot higher if they would have allowed it be. Again as someone in the industry I can excuse a lot but by the end of the visit it was almost comical at how ridiculous the whole...

My husband and I went last night 9/19/25 to black market. We thought let’s go, have a couple drinks and have something to eat, ok great. We get there we order a drink for me and a balvenie for my husband. And we got and app. Perfect. Drinks were great and even good service. We were pleased and ordered another drink each and were going to pay the tab. The tab came. We were charged $84 for two balvenie. I know it’s an expensive whiskey, that’s fine but the server charged us for doubles. We didn’t order double balvenies. She then refused to come talk to us. We tried talking to someone else but all they said was oh well she says you ordered doubles. WE DID NOT. What part of I would like a balvenie, neat, sounds like I want a double balvenie, neat? It doesn’t. I still paid and I even left a tip, to the rage of my husband, but I did it anyways because I’m a good person. But I will say this. We will not be back and we are telling everyone we know what happened. And they all agree, sounds like a horrible server who just wanted a bigger tip and took advantage of a situation and then ran and hid because she KNEW that we didn’t order doubles. If I could give 0 stars I would....