Current Charcoal Grill — Restaurant in Birmingham

Waited a bit to try this place, as most new places have their share of growing pains. The feedback that I got from other foodie friends was that the place was fantastic, however expensive relative to portion size...So, I fully expected to walk out of there spending $200...but, I did not...so let's run through it:

First, the space. Holy artistic flair batman, they nailed it. It's clear that the designer here knows what they are doing as this space is stunning...even down to the ridiculously well done cool wallpaper in the bathrooms. I LOVED that the bar seating was vast and ran the entire length of the restaurant, showing they were in tune with the nomadic habits of the BHM restaurant crowd. Might be the best space in town.

The staff was equally awesome...I love it when the bartenders engage and aren't too busy being bar-backs or making drinks for the floor. Plenty of banter to be had, a well done martini, and even a take home portion of the delicious chili sauce.

The food was very good. There was nothing that I didn't like, but also nothing that made me say, "this is my favorite thing ever." The dumplings are a must have, signature dish I think. Not only delicious but the presentation is worth the price alone. Which, the presentation on everything was super cool and well thought out. Now, this is where you have to manage your expectations if you come here, the portions for the most part are smaller and many will perceive this as poor value. So, if you are looking for that...go to PF Changs or Outback you heathens...this is about the experience, and that is what you are paying for. If you have gone to ovenbird, you would have experienced something similar in price/portion, but the food here is much better.

The only thing I didn't really love was the scallion flatbread...my expectation was a thin crispy crust, and it came very thick and bready. I mean, it tasted good, however, it was priced low, $6-7 I think...and filled me up, costing them another entree ordered...so if you read this, you may want to rethink that...unless it was intentional to make people feel more full to counter the smaller portion sizes?

I will absolutely come back here, especially when there are events at the nearby theatre, and try other things. I am a huge fan of Automatic Seafood, so this is on par with that, with even better space. My guess is that over time, they will solve the perceived portion size/value proposition and please more customers. Last note, the place does tout itself as some kind of asian fusion, but I am not so sure...maybe future recipes will get there, but I would bet that hardcore asian food fans would say this is not that...there is much more of an american influence on this food...for me, that was just fine...everything I ate...

Beautiful restaurant, not so great food. This is hands down the best looking restaurant in town. You’ll feel like you’ve left Birmingham when you step inside. If the music was turned up a notch, it would really be great. Unfortunately, the positive marks end there. Raw bar offerings were suggested first, so we ordered beef tartare and tuna tartare. The beef never arrived and, after two reminders, the tuna came at the end of our meal. Cocktails were very slow to arrive and not enjoyable enough to order more - although I was charged for a second Lotus that was not ordered. The soft shell crab “larb” should instead be called a salad, as it had zero semblance of larb. The meat was not minced with the chili and herbs, but was instead a full crab that had been fried and halved. A full crab is a nice surprise, but not what was expected from the name. The salad below was very good, but the crab lacked flavor and had an undesirable texture. The scallion pancake was the best item received and the only dish that was fully eaten, but doesn’t even compare to the green onion pancake at Red Pearl (so good). The fried grouper bao was a single bun for $19(!!) and had a poor taste. The butter lettuce with pear was a large plate of mostly undressed lettuce topped with very thinly sliced pear - this gave only a couple of good bites, with a giant bowl of plain lettuce remaining. The kimchi fried rice was ok, but we picked around the pork belly. The mee goreng noodles were dry, salty, and had a tough chew served with rubbery shrimp. This was replaced and the noodles of the second dish were much better. The oyster mushrooms and fried rice were forgettable and should have been skipped. Overall, a fairly expensive meal for most of it to remain on our plates. I hope that in time, the food is on par...

I can’t explain how disappointed we were in our experience last night at Current Charcoal Grill. We are old-school Bham people - but love trying new things. This was on our radar and it was our anniversary…so I made a reservation.

First, it took over 15 minutes for anyone to bring even water to our table. Then, once the waiter finally came (he seemed very flustered) - we put in our order of two appetizers (we ordered green leaves salad & grilled pork) - the salad finally came after almost 20 more minutes.

Finally at the one hour mark - when we still haven’t even gotten our 2nd appetizer - we asked for the check and left.

So - we waited an hour + to eat Bibb lettuce with miso vinaigrette. Literally something I could do at home in 5 min. I don’t know if it was our waiter? But the manager kept circling and wasn’t aware of anything it seemed. I complained under my breath…manager offered my husband a $35 gift card or something-which we declined.

As a longtime Stitt fan the difference in his restaurant isn’t the food - it’s the service and the training of staff. This restaurant will continue to be full in Bham for awhile - simply because it’s new and it’s Bham. But this place - along with Automatic - will not have the decades of staying power like Stitt - simply because of service. A huge disappointment.

I never post a review about anything / and rarely complain about anything regardless of how bad something is - I just don’t waste the energy…but last night was so frustrating…I couldn’t...