Satterfield's Restaurant — Restaurant in Vestavia Hills

I just got back from my first visit to Satterfield's. My family booked a private room to celebrate my uncle's 80th birthday; I was unsure what to expect from a place so far above my usual haunts. What I got was a friendly, family atmosphere and fantastic food.

Our majordomo for the evening was Kenneth, and it seemed like he was everywhere at once taking care of our enormous group. All the orders were delivered with precision, and he never let my glass of sweet tea get too low even though I drink like a camel. He was quick with answers to questions my aunt had about the food. I'm sure the rest of the staff maintains a similar level of service, but if you draw Kenneth for your table, you're in good hands.

For starters, we had the usual bread and corn muffins-- absolutely fantastic-- along with fried okra and cheese plates. Everything was absolutely delicious, although I think I was the only blue cheese aficionado in the group. I would've wolfed down every wedge on the table (and would've paid for it later) but I knew I had something good coming for my main.

Most of the party tried the shrimp and grits or the redfish that was on the menu tonight, and everyone loved both dishes. The shoestring French fries were a popular addon as well, and my cousin tried the gazpacho soup (after we explained that yes, it's not supposed to be piping hot). One of our party ordered the pork chop and it was enormous and looked fantastic.

For myself, I did what I always do when I try a restaurant for the first time, I ordered something simple. I like to start with a dish where the skill of the chef is going to be front and center, so I picked the vegetable platter. And it did not disappoint. Oftentimes restaurants will just drown their vegetables in butter and salt to appeal to the palate, but everything was spiced and sauced with a careful hand. Asparagus spears and greens were hearty and earthy; the new potatoes and grilled zuchini were savory and balanced nicely with wilted spinach in a citrusy sauce. The highlights were definitely the corn and roasted tomatoes, which tasted like they'd just come out of the field that morning. All of this was served around a bowl of their wonderful grits, and I cleaned my plate.

Dessert for the evening was a birthday cake, so I wasn't able to try the beignets that Satterfield's is so famous for. I nearly asked for a to-go order. Next time.

I don't know when I might get to return to Satterfield's in the future, but I know when I do I'll...

We were able to make a reservation at Satterfield's the day-of -- this isn't always the case, especially on holidays, and reservations are recommended for any time. We sat at the chef's counter, by request -- it gives you a full view of the kitchen and all the staff as they prepare the evening's food.

It was a really wonderful experience. I went with a friend, and we each had a starter of mushroom ravioli and split a cheese plate. As entrees, we had perfectly prepared pork and duck with amazing complementary sides (mine, the duck, came with bourbon mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts). A foodie would be in heaven with this meal, and would definitely describe it better than I could -- but I can say that our meals were excellent and delicious and the flavors balanced perfectly. For dessert, I had a fruit plate, and my friend had a pecan tart with some absolutely wonderful ice cream on the side -- it was completely amazing. Anyone who geeks out about food would be able to talk about this meal forever, and I can't. But I can say it tasted really, really good (and you can't say that about food from more pretentious fancy restaurants).

A couple of reviewers mentioned that the portion sizes were small, but we found that we were really very full by the end of the meal. It seems like meals at Satterfield's are designed to be enjoyed in at least a couple of courses, and there's plenty of food if they're eaten this way.

We really loved sitting at the chef's counter. The staff was perfectly chatty when we wanted to talk, but they didn't bother us when we wanted privacy. They told us about the food and cooking methods and answered all of our questions about our meals, and they talked about which foods were locally sourced and where they came from, and they insisted that we give them feedback about our food and let them change anything that wasn't perfect (we didn't have to do that because it was already perfect).

I had a great time at Satterfield's, and I'd...

We had a very nice time at Satterfield’s tonight for my husband and I’d 2nd wedding anniversary. But….

I made a reservation explicitly saying why we were there, but when we were seated the hostess didn’t even look up my reservation so I doubt they knew about my special occasion, so we got seated in the worst area in the hallway where the staff are flying right beside us from the kitchen to the bar. Which was a bit disappointing. We ordered the Fritto Misto as an appetizer and were very happy with it. The sauce was perfect and everything was fried well. My husband ordered an old fashioned and said it was nice. Then our meals came. My husband ordered the crab cake, and I got the filet. His was perfect. The dish made sense, the portion was great, and everything was cooked perfectly. My steak however, was not. The steak was VERY rare. So I sent it back. I got my steak back about 5 or so minutes later, ever so slightly less rare. It was fine so I ate it. The Demi-glaze was far too salty, so it kind of threw off the flavor of everything else. The asparagus really saved it as everything on the plate would’ve drowned in umami flavor. The waitress brought me back some unwrapped silverware since they took my original set with the steak, and the fork I got was dirty, so I had to wait another few minutes to flag someone down for a new one. The manager(I assume)was very polite and made sure everything was right. We were graciously given two deserts of our choice for free, and we chose the Affagatto and the Creme Brûlée. The Affagatto was amazing, but the custard with the Creme brûlée was very warm, almost hot. The sugar topping was perfect though. Overall a bit disappointing for the money, and for the occasion, but the manager was very kind and helped make our night there better. Four stars only...