Joyland Restaurant — Restaurant in Birmingham

Stopped in for carryout on the way home, extremely impressed, especially as they haven't even been open a week yet, still working out the kinks. The only disappointment was the hand pie, which was good, but not exemplary, and everything else was just amazing, so what would have been a perfectly acceptable hand pie anywhere else was disappointing here. Also, the sauces weren't labeled, so no idea which was Joy Sauce and which was Fancy Sauce, and one was much better than the other, so we will need to figure that out next time.

Went with the waffle hashbrowns with both burgers, and they were extremely crispy and flavorful, the crispy even lasted until I was licking up the crumbs at the end. Got a regular Crustburger for the kids to split, and a double for my spouse. We prefer to buy our meat in general from the Farmer's Market, as we've grown to appreciate the taste so much more than mass-market meat, and choose to eat less of it to offset the cost. Can absolutely taste that this is the good stuff.

Spouse and our oldest also split a Joystick, and I had the Dipstick, which wasn't spicy at all, just flavored. Don't want to say that it was the best fried chicken I've ever had, but it definitely hit 10/10 perfection on more axes of fried chicken awesomeness than I thought was possible. Crispy (without hurting the mouth to eat), dripping with juiciness, so much depth of the chicken flavor, perfect texture, and perfectly cooked.

Milkshake was also good, somehow the four of us split a small ("kid's shake), and barely managed to finish it, we were all so full.

I understand what everyone is saying about the portion sizes and prices, but I disagree that it's a problem. Premium meat is smaller and more expensive, but we also find that it's more filling in addition to tasting so much better, so that really feels like a wash. Yes, more money for a smaller volume of food than at a fast casual place, but still felt just as full, and enjoyed the process of eating it more as every bite was worth savoring, and then it wasn't sitting like a lump of lead in our stomachs the rest of the evening. Two adults plus two children (the six year old regularly out-eats both parents, and the younger can too, just not very often), no drinks other than the milkshake, $52 with tax before tip. Everyone was full, but not hating themselves from overeating.

Best thing in this location yet (even better than the pho place), will be returning soon, the kids are already asking...

This review is breakfast only. I'll be back to try lunch/dinner another time.

Starting with the good: the waffle hash browns are a 💯 banger. Best part of the meal for me. Curly fries were also tasty but waffhash for me all the way. Biscuits were also good, fluffy and had a great flavor and texture. Breading on the fried chicken was great but the chicken was a thigh (I believe, or at least that's how it looked), which I will put in both good and bad categories for reasons I'll explain later (iykyk). Burrito was solid but a little small for my liking. Service was quite polite and manager cooked my eggs special for me. I felt valued and welcomed and were it not for the few things I list in the bad section, I say 10/10. I will go back, but maybe not for breakfast.

The bad : Little to no descriptions on the menu and staff didn't know the ingredients of items. Luckily the manager happened to be right there to help out. All eggs on their breakfast items have cheese and milk in them. Fine. But that is a huge thing that needs to be listed on the menu. Dairy being a big boy in the food allergies chart would demand that something that prevalent be mentioned . Luckily they had some fresh eggs in house and they cooked those for me (like I said , great service). Also the fried chicken biscuit comes with hot honey on it but that is also not listed anywhere on the menu. There is also cheese in the breakfast burrito not listed on the menu . The chicken on the fried chicken biscuit is thigh not breast. Had it be me that ate it not my girlfriend, I would have been disappointed. I don't like thighs (on my chicken 😜). Again, a simple menu fix would have changed this to a perfect score and save you guys from trouble In the future.

I know y'all have only been open for 2 weeks or so, but listing all the toppings on your food items (I mean there aren't that many on the menu as it is) would go a long way and help both your staff and customers better decide what they want and how they want and/or need it.

All in all I had a very pleasant experience and very much looking forward to trying the other menu (which I'm sure I'll have a lot of...

Me and my partner had been wanting to try out this place so we decided to go on Sunday evening. We ordered a double cheeseburger combo and a chicken sandwich combo, plus a shake... which came out to $40. The prices are absolutely ridiculous for the size and portions given. Service was great & the manager Darrius was friendly and kind... but nothing about the food was worth $40 for 2 sandwiches. i also found it weird that I inquired about their hand pies, which they said that they were out of...but then a girl came in and ordered one and sat at the bar and got a pie right away....so I went back to ask for a pie since the woman had ordered one...because that means that they clearly made more, so I should be able to get one. But upon asking and calling out the situation, the gentleman said, "Let me check," and came back and told me they were out. which makes no sense because the woman just ordered one and was able to obtain one. which leads me to believe the pie was either made specifically for her, they made her a pie simply because she was a pretty woman entertaining them at the bar, or just didn't want to heat up a pre-made pie for whatever reason. either way, food was mid, and I'll never be back again. Birmingham is losing it's touch and businesses are dying, and it's because of weird situations like this. Just heat up the pre-made pie, don't lie to people because you simply just don't want to... but can make one for the woman sitting at the bar because she's pretty and entertaining you all. that's lame and...