The food was wonderful, but everything else was terrible.

At first we thought the covered patio looked like a neat, different place to eat. We were quite wrong. The air conditioning vents into the covered patio, so we felt like we were sitting in a sauna. The tables were covered in wax from tea lights and looked like they'd been abused for years before ending up at this restaurant. The service was spotty at best. Our waiter took my order but not my husband's - we had to flag him down to get that. And, luckily we didn't need much of anything because once our food came we didn't see him again until we were ready for our check. But, most disappointing was the incredibly loud band drowning out the entire dining area. Live music is ok for late night at bars, but I don't know anyone that likes to yell over noisy jazz while they're eating. Overall, I'd give service a D+ and the atmosphere an F.

However, the food was incredibly good. Our entrees come with a house salad with pine nuts, red onions, red and yellow grape tomatoes, and rich, parmesan croutons. I had the Steak au Poivre. While this was more just a steak seasoned with pepper than the tradional French dish, it was quite good. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked. The mashed potatoes were wonderfully potato-y without being too dry or creamy or cheesy or anything, and the haricot verts were crispy and well seasoned (thank goodness - there's no salt or pepper on the tables). My husband had the Bavarian sausages - the presentation was beautiful, and though he was frustrated beyond words with loud music and bad service he did admit that his dinner was quite good. The sausages came with mashed potatoes, really delicious red cabbage, roasted grape tomatoes, and a few other vegetables I didn't get a good look at in the dark.

With great food and an extensive beer selection, this restaurant has great potential. The problems they have are definitely fixable, and I hope they can take care of them.

My wife and friends had a wonderful time. I must agree that they need to do something with the A/C, but I guess that comes with the building. Certainly, fall and cooler temperatures will quieten things, but hopefully they can take other steps to remedy it in the future if and when we experience two straight weeks of 100 degree temperatures again!

We arrived at 8:30PM for dinner on a Thursday and we were disappointed there was no live music as we had hoped; however, by 9PM, the LIVE jazz was going and we were content with the violin, acoustic bass and guitar accompanying our meal.

The salads were superb. Dressings - homemade as were the bleu cheese croutons. Everything was fresh and crisp. The vegetable boxty was out of this world with a creamy filling and a great selection of roots - carrot, potato, and a a slight hint of celery. It was a pot pie without the pot. Kudos to the chef on the selection of cheeses on the cheese plate- local Alabama goat cheese and fontina were incredible and went well with the IPA for me and Merlot for the wife. My wife chose the shrimp with polenta cakes. I don't know if I've ever had polenta that good.

One other pet peeve of mine handled flawlessly - proper glassware for beer and wine. Every draft beer at this restaurant seems to be served in a specific glass recommended by the brewer, especially their European style brews. White and red wine are also served in the appropriate glass. It's nice to see a restaurant in Birmingham finally care about food AND drink.

Service was decent, but the patio was packed so it's understandable. $2 draft and the live jazz is an adequate excuse for tons of people. Can't wait to sit on the patio during Fall at this place.

I have to 100% disagree with the two comments above. I have been to the J. Clyde twice now and BOTH times the service was excellent, the atmosphere was nice, and the food was a slam dunk. If you have ever wanted to learn about how quality craft beer and fine dining mix, check out one of their "beer dinners", where you get a six course meal paired with six beers with an explanation of each pairing. It was some of the most fun I have had in a restaurant in a long time.

Food was good but overpriced. Beer selections are great if you're that crazy for beer. Service and decor, not so hot. Unless you only care about beer selection, there are better options for dining and better options for a bar. This place tries to be both and doesn't succeed at either one.

First and foremost, the beer selection and food was a definite plus! BUT, they were out of around four of the beers we asked for, which was a disappointment.

I personally had the Bavarian sausage, which was good, but not exceptional. While the sausage was flavorful and the meal was beautifully presented with potatoes and vegetables, it lacked a bit of flavoring, in my opinion. Before the meal was brought out, a salad was served. I chose the Caesar dressing, which was AMAZING. I wish the salad had been tossed with the dressing (like a typical Caesar), but instead, was brought along side. But after trying the dressing, it was a fine choice.

Service was very good, never really needing anything except freshly cracked pepper for my salad. But they didn't forget the pepper when the entree was served.

The atmosphere was not to my taste and the bar and restroom was in definite need of a renovation.

Overall, I will be back strictly for the food, beer, and service and I will recommend to friends; but the atmosphere gets a 3 out of 10 in my opinion.

I visit the J. Clyde often and am always quite impressed. I would totally disagree with the comment above that they operate as neither bar nor restaurant very well. I guess the commenter wants to either eat or get drunk. Go to any restaurant around them and try to order one of the top 100 beers in the world with your steak. YOU CAN'T, but you can at The J. Clyde.

To each his own. I have never had a bad meal there and the only beers they are ever out of stock result because the distributor can't get them in or because they are part of the Free the Hops boycott of Birmingham Budweiser.

Both the food and the beer are exceptional. I don't think you need to be crazy about beer to be able to enjoy their patio either. The service is excellent and they now actually have a few servers who know a lot about beer AND wine. The decor inside is not great, but outside on the patio is superb and the Cobb Lane sidewalk cafe is nice.

When I was there last, they appeared to be working on an addition. They really need the additional space on their busy nights and I agree they need to update the bathrooms. I suppose it's not easy to do that when you're open 7 days a week.

I'm happy we have a place like this in Birmingham. Most of the redneck or sports bars in downtown don't appeal to me so combining top quality food and beer/wine caters to a more discerning crowd. I admit the building is old, but it has character which most places are lacking. If I wanted to go to a strip mall restaurant, I wouldn't be posting on bhamdining.com I guess.

I hope their business keeps growing so they can be around for years to come.

I was not impressed.

I'd heard a lot about the J. Clyde, and was intrigued by the large selection of draft beers that the restaurant advertises. Because of this, three friends and I decided to give the restaurant a try. Needless to say, it was a failed experiment.

Perhaps it was just too, too hot for a dinner outside, but it seems that the owners would provide fans for EVERY section to keep the air circulating when they only offer outdoor seating. As it was, I sweltered in a sea of sweat for the entirety of my meal. Some citronella might be nice as well, since we were all eaten alive by mosquitoes.

The service was beyond forgivable, even if they were simply understaffed. In my opinion, when I drop 50 bucks on a meal, I expect to have relatively decent service. We were checked on very rarely, had to flag the waiter down for more beer, and never received the extra silverware or napkins our table so desperately needed. I suppose it was better than the table next to us, though, who left disgruntled after never being waited on.

The food was ok, with three of us getting the fish and chips that had been recommended to us. I was a little disappointed, though, when I found out that instead of English-style chips (read: fries), the restaurant serves soggy homemade sweet potato chips. So much for the European flair, I suppose. The homemade salad dressings were a nice touch, but I didn't enjoy the warm house salad. I like lettuce and tomato to be cool and crisp, not lukewarm and limp. What irked me even more was that we went wanting beer and burgers but were told by the waiter that if he were to give us the bar menu, he would get yelled at. It was funny, then, to see a large portion of the patrons eating the burgers and fries we went to eat. Guess they really just have to push the more expensive items on the regular menu.

Needless to say, I won't be back at the J. Clyde anytime soon. The beer selection is decent enough, but it doesn't justify the cost and the poor service we experienced. I was incredibly apologetic to my friends by the time we all dashed to our cars, covered in sweat.

My advice to the owners: buy fans, hire decent help, and decide what kind of place you want to be. If you're going to charge upscale prices, make sure you have the menu to back it up. If not, make sure all your patrons are given a menu of your bar food in addition to your fine dining menu.

I recently met a friend at The J.Clyde after work on a Monday evening. I had been once before, shortly after they opened and was underwhelmed by both the food and service. However, my friend recently moved back to town and wanted to try it out.

The area that is under renovation looks like it will improve the atmosphere. For now, it's in a half-finished state of construction that made me wonder if they were even serving indoors. There were a few patio tables scattered around inside, but no one at the door to greet customers. The layout of this place is unusual and not conducive to a host/hostess. But, perhaps they should consider putting a bell or something on the door until they have the front bar area completed and someone working up there during operating hours.

I've noticed a few other reviewers commenting about the fine dining menu (which I ordered from on my first visit) versus the bar menu (which was the only one we were given at my most recent visit). My previous meal from the fine dining menu was ok, but I don't think my dining companion and I would have chosen this spot for dinner if we had known that standard bar food would be our only option. The owners of J.Clyde should make a decision as to what menu is served when and create some consistency.

Another sticking point amongst reviewers that I also experienced was the inaccuracy of the beer list. When our server presented the list, he informed us that it wasn't entirely correct in terms of what they had on hand. However, he couldn't point out exactly which beers were unavailable until we began choosing. It almost seemed easier for us to ask what they did have instead of playing the back and forth game of "Sorry, we're out of that one."

I appreciate what The J.Clyde is trying to do, in terms of offering greater beer selection to Birmingham and supporting the Free the Hops campaign. But, I agree with the previous poster's statement, "...decide what kind of place you want to be." If you want to be a good restaurant with a great beer list, establish a consistent menu and make sure you offer all the beers on your extensive list. If you're ok with being just another bar with a bunch of beer and some mediocre food, you've got it.

I recently went to The J Clyde after hearing a lot about it from different sources. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I was not impressed at all. The beer I had was good, but the service in the mean time was miserable. I can bear with a staff if they are busy or overwhelmed with other issues, but there was nothing out of the ordinary this night. The food was good, but not good enough to go back simply for that reason. Me and two friends were very disappointed in the evening, and left to go elsewhere after a few beers at J Clyde. Two dollars is a good deal for a beer, but I would much rather pay more for a decent service. I will give it another chance, but way too overhyped as either a bar or restaurant.

I haven't been to the J Clyde yet, but I want to go just to try the Coffee Oatmeal Stout made by Birmingham's own Good People Brewing Company (I love sampling small, hand-crafted beers). I will comment on J Clyde's web site, www.jclyde.com. It is as lame as it gets! Poor web site. It needs a link for "Contact" information (phone & email) and "Directions". "Hello! How to you get to the J Clyde? Where is it?" Their web site won't tell you. Luckily, I Googled J Clyde and found this web site which has their address and phone number. "Thanks, Bhamdining.com!"
-Cougar6

I've been to the J. Clyde several times and was somewhat impressed every time. First and foremost, I love their awesome beer selection. I’ve been around and I do have to say that the J. Clyde is the best place in Alabama to drink a wide variety of excellent beers. I have yet to try a bad beer and I have yet to ask for a beer that they were out of. So for the beer, I award an A+

As for the food, well, I’ve never had anything there that was bad but I’ve also never had anything that was strictly superb. They most certainly do serve one of the best BLTs I’ve ever had and they cook a pretty good steak. It’s a bit pricey but worth it. So, for the food I award a B+

Now to the aspect that nobody really likes: the service. Yes, I would have to say that not all the servers there are world class, but there are some there that are absolutely excellent, it depends on who you get. I can’t say that I ever felt forgotten, but it came close a couple of times. But, like I said, it depends on who you get. As for the bartenders, they have always been exceptionally nice to me and always tried their best to serve me as fast as possible. But you do have to understand that it is hard to serve 50 people yelling 50 different drinks at once on a packed Thursday night. Just be patient and you will get your drink.
So, for the service, I award a B+

The atmosphere and building at the J Clyde is one of my lowest points for them. yes, I do understand that it is expensive to do renovations under Birmingham’s laws, but come on, two toilets for a hundred people aint gonna cut it, especially when they aren’t the nicest. So a little work won’t hurt. I do have to say it’s pretty cool to have a patio to drink on, but it might not be a bad idea to invest in some zippers to seal up a few huge gaps that release all the heat/air. And speaking of heating and air, it might not be a bad idea to focus in on a few systems to solve that problem. I love the live music on the weekends, so certainly keep that up! But please do try to fix the tables so when somebody puts their drink down, the drink on the other side of the table won’t fly up, spilling it. So, for the atmosphere and building, I award a D-.

My husband and I visited J Clyde on a Wednesday evening. This was our first time there and we enjoyed it. They were out of a few beers we requested but the ones we did have were great! Our waiter was very attentive and gave us some of his favorite beer picks (Rogue Hazelnut was amazing!). The patio was almost empty and very comfortable. Not sure how it will be in the hot summer but for a Spring night it was great! I had the Bavarian Sausage dish and it was very good. A little overpriced for what it was but still very good. My husband had a burger with a fried green tomato on it and loved it. The meal came with sweet potato chips and they were very yummy. Next time I will probably get the hamburger and chips too. We will be back soon!

I'm so happy there's a beer bar in the Ham, but there's definitely room for improvement. My main complaint is that there should be more attention given to pouring a proper glass of beer. I've been mindlessly served short beers on a number of occasions. With the Gourmet Beer Bill passed, the J. Clyde should take advantage of their present status in the beer community and do it right. I've also been completely ignored by the waitstaff while sitting at a table and some of the bartenders could stand to educate themselves a bit more on what they're selling. I've ordered beers and all the bartender could tell me was the beers' name.

I love J Clydes because it indisputably has the best beer in the area. It is the center for local beer culture.
However, the food seems to be overpriced. The menu reads interestingly, but pretty much tastes like typical bar food: bland and fried. This is not to say its bad, I like eating fried food and beer. Just that its priced a bit high for what it is.
Nevertheless, its my favorite drinking place, unless I feel like a dive bar.

Recently went to the JClyde for dinner. Food was good, beer selection is excellent. Service = Terrible. Really "mean" bartenders.

I have been going to the J. Clyde weekly for the past year and a half. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a bit packed and service is not as fast as it would be on any other night but, still, I have never had to wait longer than 3 minutes to get my drink or place an order and that is true for whatever section I sit in. They have an excellent selection of beer. Even when they are out of my usual beer, the bartenders and servers do a wonderful job of recommending something I will like which, in turn, expands my beer knowledge and taste buds. I love the atmosphere because it is completely unique to the Clyde. I have never, ever had a bad experience there and recommend them to friends and out of townere constantly. Their homemade sweet potato fries are to die for!

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