Shu Shop — Restaurant in Birmingham

3.6/5 ⭐️

Seafood Ramen and Miso Ramen.

The scenery, environment, and overall vibe and atmosphere is amazing. The lighting, cleanliness, and staff was all great.

The wait however, that is a whole story on its own. I definitely understand the place is quite smaller than other usual restaurant and bars, but there was no over the phone reservation, all a first come, first serve basis. We had gotten to the restaurant, showed our ID to the man before entering. Once we got in, we were told to leave our name and phone number down, so they could call us back, since it was packed on a Thursday night, with the overall wait being 40 minutes - 1 hour. The issue could be revolved in my opinion by taking reservations, but it is also a bar, so I understand the business model. This also keeps a buzz and craze over the restaurant itself.

Once we got in, the table, decor, and overall vibe was beautiful. I prefer this type of vibe with the dark and minimal standpoint. The bar looked busy and very aesthetically clean. So were our tables.

The food we ordered,

Appetizer: Hot & Sour Brussel Sprouts. Great beginning snack. Flavor was good on these. Ended up loving them more than I thought I would. Size of them was quite a lot too.

Main Course: Seafood Ramen - Great seafood flavor. Noodles tasted a little burnt, the fried shrimp in there got soggy after being in the broth for a while during eating it. Overall, the dish was okay, with a decent amount of flavor and size of the ramen.

Miso Ramen - Was a vegetable based ramen. There was a lack of flavor. The tofu in it had a burnt taste, as it was a little burned. The noodles also tasted somewhat more burnt too. This ramen was nowhere near the Seafood Ramen.

Overall, the restaurant and bar was clean, beautiful, and an amazing vibe and buzz in there whole restaurant itself. Cleanliness and aesthetic at Shu Shop is personally one of my favorites in Downtown Bham. Staff was attentive and friendly. The wait for the food itself in my opinion is not worth it. If you are craving ramen or wanting to try one of the best ramen in this city, it is not worth waiting and getting through the hassle as it was getting in Shu Shop. If you happen to pass by and the bar and restaurant is open for seating, then yes definitely do. Waiting any more than 30+ minutes for the food is not worth it or as...

Izakaya is a Japanese term for an after-work bar that serves up small plates, food and drinks with a neighborhood vibe. This place is exactly that. Such a weird and cool vibe. Feels like something you would find in the Lower East Side in NYC, not Birmingham, Alabama. Truly special.

You order at the bar, but are free to sit anywhere. Sitting at the bar is great because the sake flows, the bartenders are great and the eclectic YouTube videos they play behind the bar are so weird and amazing.

They have a variation of sake that is some of the best I've had. The unfiltered sake like Snow Maiden is truly delicious, and the glasses are served in the traditional Japanese wooden box with overpour. They make excellent craft cocktails served on a single rock. And they have a nice selection beer (and even sake) on draft.

Food-wise, the spicy miso ramen is my favorite. But they are all great. Personally I love the small plates the most. You have to get the brussels, if for nothing more than the sauce they come in. The crispy fried nori (seaweed) is delicious. The tuna tataki is sushi-grade and melts in your mouth. I'm a fan of the sashimi too. The shishito peppers are fantastic to snack on, but be careful about 1 in 10 will get you. But nothing downing a little Sapporo or sake won't take care of. You can also keep it simple and get crab claws and edamame or just go straight to the ramen. There's veggie ramen too, but for me the pork ramen is where it's at.

This place is 10/10 and a super unique place I am proud to have in our city. It's on BHM's shortlist of best spots...

I've been traveling to Birmingham for work for the last 7 years and I am so excited and happy to have seen the city go through its transformation. The downtown area is really coming along and the addition of Shu Shop is great!

The interior of Shu Shop is dark and funky and I love the upstairs dining area and the weird indie films playing on the TV behind the bar. The drink menu is robust and the sake list is great. I came here with a group of coworkers so we tried a lot of food options. The restaurant is deceivingly big with lots of seating options that include an upstairs dining area. We sat in a booth by the bar and you order your food at the bar and take a number to your table so the server knows where to bring the food.

We started with the Shishito Peppers and edamame, which were a great start. Next we ordered the Tuna Tataki, Buttered Scallops, and Hamachi Sashimi. The sashimi was fresh and flavorful, but everyone agreed the Tuna was the best. The tuna was peppery and the sauce was a great addition. The scallops were good, but compared to the tuna and hamachi it couldn't compete.

Finally we all got ramen, I got the Shoyu (pork) and others got shoyu, vegetarian, and the fish ramen. Everyone loved their ramen and I thought the Shoyu was great. The pork tasted nice and smokey and the broth had all the flavors of the pork. Everything about the ramen was excellent and I would definitely get it again.

Shu Shop is a great addition to a growing downtown area and I would recommend it to everyone. I will definitely come back next time...