The Ridge Eat & Drink — Restaurant in Vestavia Hills

So me and my cousin Jay went and tried a place we had never been to before and we are so glad we did. This restaurant we went to is called The Ridge Eat & Drink. Guys when I tell you we took a shot in the dark I mean a complete shot in the dark. I have never heard of this place and I have never once heard anyone talk about going here. The only reason I found this place was because I Googled places to eat in Vestavia because we were going to the movies right after.

When we first walked in we both instantly thought um we don't belong here... however staff was extremely nice and super helpful. I forgot our waiters name but he did a great job. He came when he needed to and didn't stalk us. He was very helpful with recommendations and we even found out they make all their sauces from scratch. We tried the Cahaba Sauce, BBQ sauce, white sauce, and homemade ranch all very good and unique. I suggest you try them all those were just a few we tried.

So let's get to the food. We tried the chili cheese tater tots and as you can see these are not your standard chili cheese tots. The chili was freaking amazing it had the consistency of a sloppy Joe. Like this was a meaty and delicious chili sauce (no it didn't taste like sloppy Joe) the cheese was not what I was expecting to see but was very good and the tater tots themselves were very crispy and delicious! 4 out of 5

The wings I mean I explained the sauce and ranch already so you know lol. 5 out of 5

Pimento cheese grits. Look I'm not a pimento cheese person like at all and maaaaaaaaan them grits hit the spot very cheesy, well seasoned and just chefs kiss. If you are a pimento cheese person and like grits you'll love these. 5 out of 5

The corn dog. No lie we literally got this as a joke because it was 12 inches... I mean a foot long so I said we need to see it. Of course we tasted it. It was a standard corn dog not really missing much could have been better. But yeah 12 INCHES! 3 out of 5

The burgers. My cousin had the blue cheese bacon burger. He claimed it was the best blue cheese bacon burger he has ever had. I had a standard cheese burger. It was very good very juice but in my opinion lacked some seasoning but still good. 4 out of 5

Fries were good and crispy and well seasoned. 5 out of 5.

Sauces were a 4.5 out of 5

All in all this place was great I will be back and I want you all to check it out. This place as a whole gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me and more people need to know about it. Go check...

This place is good, yet pricey.

You're certain to find something on the menu that you'd enjoy... from a variety of burgers alone, to filling-sounding sandwiches to and other Entree's... most of which have spiked price tags to go along with them. Atmosphere is family oriented and feels like a place that people from the neighborhood frequent and are known by name. Not only did I catch waiters stop and talk to customers off to the side quite regularly, I even spotted a chair at the bar with someone's name spelled out in black electric tape... yes tape. I can only imagine what it's like when this woman is there lol.

My meal itself was tasty and filling. I got a "Jam Gouda" burger that had smoked gouda and a bacon jam along with a few other toppings. It was very tasty... though a tad overcooked for the medium temp I ordered. Also, instead of fries to compliment I actually ordered grits which were very good and very tasty. I also ordered one of there specialty cocktails which I wasn't wow'd or even pleased with. Wasn't nasty, just didn't taste like much.

The atmosphere was pretty nice. Catch some patio seating if the weather's right. It is however, one of those awkward places that doesn't really have a host section so you just kinda stand in the doorway until someone comes and asks you what you want lol. Other than that, no complaints. Nice restaurant decor. Can get tight inside if really busy.

All in all, I would love to try this place again... not sure how I'd feel about ordering one of the pricey entree's from here, but definitely something else...

I still give the restaurant four stars for quality of food, wait service, and price but upon a recent visit I was a little disturbed by the staff's lack of regard for the standards put in place for operating an eatery/bar during this time of COVID. Signs on the door outlined that masks were required to be worn upon entering but few patrons were wearing the required mask upon entering. Out of five wait staff observed only two (including the person who waited on my party) were seen wearing the required mask for employees interacting with the public and no social distancing was evident: people sitting at bar shoulder to shoulder and entire restaurant was open to seating. It's a great family-friendly/neighborhood-type restaurant where one can get a tasty and reasonably priced meal but I was just disappointed to see their lack of respect for public health guidelines regarding a communicable/respiratory-borne infection. I must confess that I worked in public health/infectious diseases for thirty-three years, so my concern is a little more heightened than others but I understand the benefit and practicality of the current guidelines. On April 9th that will all change most likely when the governor's "mask' edict expires, but until then I ask all to do their best to adhere to the guidelines for the benefit and...