12 essential Tuscaloosa restaurants
From relative newcomers to traditional classics, here are a dozen restaurants in and around Tuscaloosa you need to try. (contributed)
Maybe you’re heading to Tuscaloosa for a football, basketball or softball game. Or you’re going to visit your son or daughter at college.
Whatever your reason, you’ll likely want to grab a bite to eat while you’re in town.
No matter what you’re hungry for, you have an abundance of dining options – from Gulf seafood to Italian pasta, juicy burgers to crunchy tacos, artisan pizzas to scratch-made biscuits – and, of course, some of the best barbecue ribs on the planet.
We’ve made the trek to T-Town literally hundreds of times since our college days at the University of Alabama, so we have a few personal favorites that we keep going back to time and time again.
Here are 12 Tuscaloosa restaurants, including a couple in neighboring Northport, that remain high on our list.
The Historic Waysider Restaurant
1512 Greensboro Ave.
The Historic Waysider in Tuscaloosa has been pleasing diners for seven decades. (Ben Flanagan)
A Tuscaloosa institution for 70 years, the Historic Waysider Restaurant – or simply “The Waysider,” as everybody knows it – is as much a part of the Crimson Tide tradition as Big Al, “Rammer Jammer” and the Million Dollar Band. A houndstooth awning hangs over the front door, and inside, newspaper clippings and Daniel Moore paintings celebrating Alabama’s championships blanket the dining room walls. “It’s like a museum,” says owner Linda Smelley, who started waiting tables at the Waysider back when Alabama was still running the wishbone. A must-do on any hardcore Bama fan’s bucket list, the little red house on Greensboro Avenue is also home to one of the heartiest breakfasts in the South, with country ham and red-eye gravy, made-from-scratch biscuits, bottomless cups of coffee and, on game day weekends, elephant-shaped pancakes. There’s usually a line out the door on football Saturdays but, if you’re lucky, you can grab a seat at the corner table near the front door where Bama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant used to sit and read the newspaper while he ate his ham, grits and biscuits.
Taco Casa
Taco Casa has six locations in Tuscaloosa and Northport
Taco Casa is economical for students and delicious for everyone. (Ben Flanagan)
It doesn’t get much more Tuscaloosa than Taco Casa, the homegrown fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain with the distinctive big green cactus out front and lots of warm memories inside. Rod Wilkin, who was a punter for Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Crimson Tide football team in the late 1960s, opened the original Taco Casa in 1974 and, nearly 50 years later, multiple generations of University of Alabama students and alumni keep coming back for the budget-friendly burritos, tacos, sanchos and sopapillas. One of Taco Casa’s biggest fans is former UA cheerleader and homecoming queen Sela Ward. “Love, love Taco Casa,” Ward told AL.com in 2018. “It was a frequent Chi O (sorority) meal spot when I was at Bama. It takes me right back to college days and, to this day, whenever I drive through Tuscaloosa, Taco Casa is a must stop.”
River
1650 Jack Warner Parkway, Unit 1005
River restaurant in Tuscaloosa is adding something new and special to the dining scene. (Bob Carlton)
A relative newcomer to the Tuscaloosa dining scene, River has fast emerged as a go-to spot for a fancy-casual night on the town or a leisurely weekend brunch. Located along the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk on Jack Warner Parkway, the restaurant offers a spectacular view of the Black Warrior River, along with a menu that features shrimp and grits, fried or seared Alabama catfish, seared scallops, grilled ribeye and strip steaks, and crispy fried chicken.
Nick’s Original Filet House
4018 Culver Road
Nick’s in the Sticks is a popular place to get a great steak in Tuscaloosa. (Ben Flanagan)
RELATED: Nick’s in the Sticks a nonfootball Tuscaloosa institution
Except for the prices, the menu has hardly changed since original owner Nick Delgado moved his Nick’s Original Filet House – more affectionately known as “Nick’s in the Sticks” – to its current location on U.S. Highway 43 on the western outskirts of Tuscaloosa in the mid-1950s. Over the decades since, University of Alabama fans, students and alumni have made the pilgrimage to Nick’s for bacon-wrapped filets, beer-battered onion rings and signature rum-punch drinks, the Zombie and the Nicodemus. So, if you haven’t been to Nick’s since your college days, you’re overdue for a return visit.
Nick’s in the Sticks just sticks with what keeps generations of customers coming back from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
DePalma’s Italian Café
2300 University Blvd.
DePalma’s Italian Cafe has established itself as a mainstay in Tuscaloosa. (Ben Flanagan)
A go-to place for celebrating graduations and big football wins, DePalma’s Italian Café is a downtown Tuscaloosa mainstay that’s been around since 1995 and seems to keep getting better. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting, the waitstaff friendly and efficient, and the food hearty and delicious. The DePalma’s menu features veal Marsala, tomato-basil salmon, pasta primavera, and sausage and roasted red peppers – as well as a selection of pizzas and calzones. We’ve never been to DePalma’s when it wasn’t crazy-busy, so be patient and just sit back and enjoy your meal.
Dreamland Bar-B-Que
5355 15th Ave. E.
RELATED: Dreamland’s ribs and white bread on 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama
Dreamland Bar-B-Que has 11 locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia – including a second Tuscaloosa-area restaurant across the river in Northport – but it all began in T-Town’s Jerusalem Heights neighborhood, where John “Big Daddy” Bishop built his little café on next to his home in 1958. Dreamland’s hickory-fired ribs and sweat-inducing sauce have become legendary, and barbecue aficionados from all over the globe have made the pilgrimage to eat here. Dark and noisy, Dreamland has the look and feel of a Delta juke joint, with license plates and Alabama football memorabilia covering the walls from floor to ceiling and the enticing smell of smoldering hickory filling the air. Bishop’s big red chair, where he held court with customers until he died in 1997, still sits against the back wall of the restaurant. And those ribs? Well, as the slogan says, “Ain’t nothin’ like ’em nowhere.”
Dreamland BBQ ribs and white bread make list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Chuck’s Fish
508 Greensboro Ave.
Chuck’s Fish is one of the essential restaurants to visit in Tuscaloosa. (Ben Flanagan)
A favorite of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, Chuck’s Fish is named in honor of the late Charles “Chuck” Morgan II, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Alabama before going on to a long and distinguished career as a civil rights lawyer. Morgan really wasn’t much of a fisherman, but he once reeled in a 30-pound king mackerel to win a fishing tournament with his buddy and fellow civil rights champion Julian Bond. That big fish became known as “Chuck’s Fish.” So, in 2006, when Morgan’s son, restaurateur Charles Morgan III, opened his upscale seafood restaurant in downtown Tuscaloosa, he just had to call it Chuck’s Fish. The menu features grilled scallops, stuffed shrimp, crab cakes and a fish of the day, as well as an extensive sushi selection.
Heat Pizza Bar
2250 Sixth Ave. South
Heat Pizza Bar in Tuscaloosa is known for its artisan pizzas and signature cocktails. (Ben Flanagan)
Founded in 2015, Heat Pizza Bar has been bringing the fire to Tuscaloosa ever since it opened across from Government Plaza in the heart of downtown. A fun place to hang out and chill out whether it’s early evening or late at night, Heat is almost as famous for its signature cocktails as it is for its artisan pizzas. Traditional pizzas include pepperoni, cheese and margherita; specialty pies include Greek, veggie and BBQ chicken; and the Heat “exclusives” include Thai chicken, spinach and artichoke, and chicken-bacon ranch. Specialty cocktails include the Buffalo Soldier (vodka, lemon juice and Buffalo Rock ginger ale), the Strawberry Bloom (dry gin, tonic and muddled strawberry), and the Simple Man (bourbon, sweet tea and fresh mint).
Avenue Pub
405 23rd Ave.
Avenue Pub in Tuscaloosa is all about the pub-style foods. (Ben Flanagan)
Perhaps best known as the home of one of the best bacon cheeseburgers in Alabama, Avenue Pub is a laid-back, two-level restaurant and bar that’s always dependable – whether it’s lunch, dinner or weekend brunch. Besides the burger, standouts on the menu include the fried green tomato BLT, the chicken club sandwich, Thai nachos, and fish and chips. A second location of Avenue Pub opened in Orange Beach this year.
Hooligans
515 15th St.
Hooligans Restaurant has two locations in Tuscaloosa: 515 15th St. and 1351 McFarland Blvd. NE. #112. (Ben Flanagan)
Tuscaloosans went into momentary mourning earlier this year when owners announced that Hooligans was closing its downtown location after 23 years. But their collective grief was short-lived, as Hooligan’s reopened on 15th Street, in a former Pizza Hut. (Hooligans has a second location on McFarland Boulevard.) Hooligans’ casual and comforting Mediterranean-American menu features gyros, kabobs, falafel and a good ol’ cheeseburger. Be sure to order a side of those paprika-dusted fries.
City Café, Northport
408 Main Ave.
RELATED: City Café makes list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama
On the other side of the Black Warrior River in charming downtown Northport, City Café has been serving eye-opening bacon-and-egg breakfasts and belt-loosening meat-and-three lunches since 1931. ESPN’s Todd Blackledge made a trip to City Café for his “Taste of The Town” food feature a few years back, and he filled up on green beans, black-eyed peas, mac and cheese, and fried chicken livers smothered in gravy and onions. Oh, and he also had a fried bologna biscuit from the breakfast menu. The cafe seats about 165 diners and, at peak time, there is typically a line out the door and down the sidewalk. The turnover, though, is reasonably fast and, if you don’t insist on a table, you can usually find a seat at the counter, where nobody is a stranger.
Meat and three from City Cafe among 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Archibald’s BBQ, Northport
1211 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Archibald’s is the favorite rib restaurant for many Tuscaloosa diners. (Bob Carlton)
RELATED: 100 dishes to eat in Alabama: Archibald’s
George Archibald Sr. and his wife, Betty, began selling their now-legendary barbecue out of a little cinder-block building behind their red-brick Northport home in 1962 and, now, the third generation in the Archibald family keeps the fires burning. For barbecue purists, this modest, soot-scorched shack is the most sacred of barbecue shrines. Just ask sportswriter Andy Staples, who, in a 2017 story for Sports Illustrated, ranked Archibald’s No. 1 on his list of America’s Best College Town Meals. To get the true experience, we recommend ordering the “mixed plate,” which comes with sliced pork, ribs and white bread and is served with a thin, vinegar-based, atomic-orange sauce that packs just the right amount of heat.
Archibald & Woodrow’s has barbecue that is one of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
