Astrid's — Restaurant in Vestavia Hills

My experience at Miss Astrid’s Tavern: ridiculously bad. Preset family style menu for a family of 15 for a Vestavia and Mountain Brook graduation celebration. Medium rare beef tenderloin, fried Brussels sprouts, fondant potatoes, old bay macaroni,fresh bread,salad and a bread pudding dessert with assortment toppings. What we got was old over cooked meat that looked grey once cut served with a dirty dish rag. We were expected to slice the entire tenderloin ourselves with a dull knife. The dinner plates were small appetizer plates. The Brussels sprouts were just the leaves and literally not one brussel sprout. No fondant potatoes. Basic leftover macaroni, Stale bread and leftover cake that I did not order. I was assured by Anna that the bread pudding would be made fresh as she is the pastry chef. The table was not set when we arrived yet we were the only guests. We had no water or a drink menu for 30 minutes. They ran out of wine. My 75 year old mom had to clear the plates. The owner Denise clapped in one of our guests faces and jerked her plate from her hands. DJ the kitchen staff called a guest a bully when she asked for plates and serving utensils for literally the fourth time. Denise had the audacity to texted me as I sat down to eat about how horrible I am but that my family is nice. I did not engage as I was celebrating my son and nephew. Denise told me that my sister and I were Karen’s and needed to find another person to torture. I reached out to Denise the next day and her behavior escalated.

Turns out Jessica the real chef was terminated and they obviously have no clue what they are doing. The photo...

Everything was delicious, my daughter loved her steak and raved that "It was cooked perfectly! Which hardly ever happens, most places cook it too long!" My halibut was also fantastic with a nice crispy skin, but still juicy and very flavorful 🤤 the salads were very fresh and the house-made dressings were well-balanced. We were both in love with the cheese-filled meatball as well, and the carpaccio was so good and I really enjoyed the unique pairing of the goat cheese, blackberries and capers as opposed to the usual horseradish cream I typically see it offered with. Chef Jessica Armstrong also chose some delicious mocktails for each of us and brought us a little sampling of all of the desserts which were fabulous, in particular the signature chocolate basque cake with chocolate pastry cream filling, unbelievably moist and tasty! I forgot to take a picture of the cakes until after we had already dug in a little, unfortunately, so my picture does not do them justice! Can't wait to return once they've got their wine and liquor license so I can have some wine paired with my next meal here! They really did an amazing job for a first dinner service and I'm certain they will only improve! Definitely don't want to miss out...

Nice little local tavern! Fairly small doning room inside, but even more space on the covered, enclosed porch. Menu is elevated Southern fare, and honestly feels a bit fancier than the homey atmosphere. Went for lunch on a Saturday and it wasn't tol busy, but the dining room was still full. No wait for a table on the porch, though. Staff was friendly and accomodating (see below).

Ordered a wagyu smash burger w/ fries and a 2-egg breakfast. Burger was good, but cooked/toasted a little too hard and could taste the char. Fries were vattered which aren't our preferred style, but still good quality. 2-egg breakfast was great! Homemade english muffin, nice fruit parfait (plain yogurt, fyi), and when oatmeal turned out to be unavailable after we'd ordered it, they graciously allowed us to subsitute in a small deviled egg order instead for no extra charge (which were...