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.