Sage Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Calera

Hadn't been here since 2021 or so and, foolishly, decided to choose this place to take my folks from out of town for my bday lunch.

It's definitely gone downhill. Firstly, I don't remember there being such a bar feel to it before. If memory serves, they didn't have a bunch of pool tables in the middle of the restaurant last time. It used to be a lot more family friendly and a lot less like a dive.

It was also freezing cold in there and my dad, who has congestive heart failure, was too cold to sit inside so we had to sit outside at metal tables while it was lightning overhead. Even the waitress complained that it was too cold inside for the staff so yall might wanna fix that.

I got the redneck chicken with okra and broccoli. The broccoli was lukewarm and had no seasoning whatsoever. The 3 tbsp of butter hunked on top wouldn't even melt so I just chucked it to the side and ate it without butter either.

The okra was a bit more flavorful but not by much. The chicken was decent but nothing to phone home about. They'd taken their bread pudding off the menu which was the best part of my meal a half decade ago, so that was a letdown.

My mom got this tortellini pasta stuff and she said it was dry and needed some balsamic vinegar or basically anything that would make it more palatable. She didn't finish it after a couple bites.

There were kids running frantically around the building, screaming, and then the dad peeled off like he thought he was at Talladega and his truck left a plume of black smoke that wafted onto our table as we were eating. Super appetizing. What's worse is my dad and I are both vets with PSTD so each time the kids ran around the corner from behind, we both got anxious.

Our waitress was sweet enough and I'm sure she was just trying to be really proactive but she kept rushing us to order. Between the horrible time sitting outside trying not to get scorched by lightning, the "sons of Sam" running around yelling, and the mediocre food, it was just an all-around horrible experience. Won't be back...

Everything was fantastic! Really! Great! We came here on date night. My wife had been here before with a friend and she recommended it to me. I have been around many food places in Shelby county, yet I have not been terribly impressed. The night we came the atmosphere was nice and comfy. Its the kind of place both adults and kids would like, so it is good for families. There is a good drink selection for adults. The atmosphere is a bar & grill environment as the name suggests, yet the food is better than many bar & grills I've been too. Truly. I ordered the Ribeye and it was tasty! I have been to several places and got a steak in the Birmingham area and I thought this was just as good as some of the best places. Even more, the price is right! A steak of that size would be more expensive at a fancy steakhouse, yet many that I've been to have not been this good. The sides, too, were very good. I got greens and the baked potato. My wife got the redneck chicken and the fries. It was all good. We had a lot of fun. The live music was good too! The nice thing was that it was not too loud. The owner and the manager came by and they were very friendly. We learned a lot from them and they were fun! Katie was the owner. She's awesome! We hit it off with her. She is high energy and we connected with her in several ways. Liz was our server. She was great! She was on top of things and attentive to us. She talked to us at the beginning and really made us feel welcome and appreciated. She was fun and on top of things. I can't emphasize enough how much I liked it. This is one of my new favorite places to eat and have a good time. We will be going back for date night and for a family outing. I really liked this place. I was surprised at how much I liked it. Oh I almost forgot to mention the fried banana pudding. It was great! And, the owner took the time to make it even better by adding some...

My soul is on a budget. I cannot afford stress, envy, negative vibes, doubt or deceit. Walk in to Sage and you won't be short of anything but goodness. Katie is a phenomenal owner, hostess, waitress, and overall exemplary human in the all too difficult world of hospitality. This was my first stop on a first trip to Birmingham and Katie left me with the best impression of southern hospitality. Plenty of parking and seating, our preference was the patio. Pretty chill vibe with plenty of TVs for football nights and pool tables to keep you from being bored.

Lucky enough to have live music on a Thursday night and a perfect evening where the Truck Stop Honey brown ale was as cold as any air conditioning one could ask for on a typical Alabama humid summer night. We had several cocktails to quench our thirst and they kindly made me a killer very dirty martini. In order to not stumble out of the place, we did order the charcueterie board and XXX smoked wings. Portions are so generous and cook staff is quick with the orders. The BLT was amazing with pimento cheese and freid maters on top. Trust me, pretty delish and goes well with the Truck Stop Honey. If you rather go all out southern, the shrimp and grits were incredible. We also got the meatloaf and my girl friend couldn't stop gushing how it tasted so homemade with love and goodness. Katie surprised me with a dessert sampler that included the fried banana pudding and chocolate brownie with fresh crushed walnuts accompanied by ice cream.

Thank you for your hospitality Katie, you are the epitome of what a great local gem is to its community. I hope to be back again and maybe you'll have a milk stout on tap then! Dine here and eave with chill vibes, happy belly...