Newly opened Magnolia Point restaurant brings beachside nostalgia to Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham's new Magnolia Point restaurant "pays homage to those nostalgic fish camps found along the Gulf Coast that we all know and love," says Nick Pihakis, CEO of Pihakis Restaurant Group. That means satisfying meals in a relaxed atmosphere. (contributed)
Magnolia Point, the latest dining concept by Alabama restaurant mogul Nick Pihakis, brings the beach to Birmingham in a historic setting. The new full-service eatery and bar by the Pihakis Restaurant Group (PRG), in a 1930s-era building at the edge of the Five Points South commercial district, evokes the kind of seaside restaurants where the setting is casual, but the seafood is fresh and fabulous.
“Magnolia Point pays homage to those nostalgic fish camps found along the Gulf Coast that we all know and love,” Pihakis, CEO and founder of PRG, says in a news release. “We look forward to welcoming the community into this new gathering spot for shared meals, celebrations and much more.”
The Birmingham restaurant, which includes indoor and patio dining, opened July 16 and will operate for lunch and dinner seven days a week. It is in the Magnolia Point building where Magnolia Avenue, 23rd Street and 10th Court South meet. Free parking is available.
The menu, composed by PRG’s executive chef Paul Yeck and Magnolia Point’s chef Dave Atkinson, includes shared plates, seafood and fry baskets, hamburgers, wings and po’boy sandwiches made with Leidenheimer bread from New Orleans. Entrées feature New York strip steak, the Captain’s Seafood Platter and Shrimp Spaghetti.
Like most items on the menu, the sharable-portioned Smoked Tuna Dip starter, served with fried crackers, is house-made. Appetizer plates range from typical beach-joint fare, like Fried Crab Claws, to dishes showcasing the freshness of the restaurant’s fish, like Seafood Crudo.
Most of the main dishes are sandwiches or plates built around shrimp, fish and oysters, individually or in combos. The meat is available fried (a crunchy, textured coating), blackened or grilled. The grilled shrimp stands out, cooked just right and well-seasoned.
The side dishes, also fresh-made, are another quality indicator. With its main ingredients in season locally, the Stewed Okra and Tomato is summer in a bowl.
Most of the main dishes at Magnolia Point are sandwiches or plates built around shrimp, fish and oysters, individually or in combos. (Angie Mosier)
Among early customer favorites are the blackened Fish Sandwich, Shrimp and Grits served with blistered tomatoes and bacon, and Shrimp Spaghetti in a buttery sauce with tomatoes and capers.
The drinks menu is simple. They offer 10 wines and 10 draft beers — the latter are all from Alabama — and nine canned brews. Frozen cocktails are a specialty at Magnolia Point’s bar, and each can be made with or without spirits. As another nod toward the N/A cocktail trend, the bar also serves a Virgin Mary Refresh, a concoction with house-made lemonade enhanced with pureed strawberry, mango, piña colada, peach or passion fruit.
Large windows let plenty of natural light into the main rooms, which seat 72 total. A large courtyard is shielded from traffic and features lounge-style furniture, seating around a fire pit and plenty of televisions for gameday viewing.
Magnolia Point restaurant occupies a 1930s-era building at the edge of Birmingham’s Five Points South commercial district. (Rachel Ishee)
The bar area is tucked separately from the main dining room. The bar itself was hewn by Alabama Sawyer from a single magnolia tree.
“After many years of planning, we are excited to debut Magnolia Point to the Birmingham community,” says Michael Mouron, a partner in the project and chairman of preservation specialists Capstone Real Estate Investments. “We’re thrilled to be breathing new life into the space with a concept built on quality, hospitality and enjoying time together.”
Adding to the growing number of murals in the heart of Birmingham, art on an exterior wall at Magnolia Point depicts Willie James Perry, who was known for helping stranded Birmingham motorists in the 1980s, and his self-styled Batmobile Rescue Ship.
A mural on an exterior wall at Magnolia Point on an exterior wall at Magnolia Point depicts folk hero Willie James Perry, who was known for helping stranded Birmingham motorists in the 1980s, and his Batmobile Rescue Ship. (Rachel Ishee)
Pihakis co-founded Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q in 1985, building the franchise to more than three dozen locations in seven states before selling it in 2017. His current company partners with existing restaurateurs to build their brands while also opening its own establishments.
PRG’s diverse culinary portfolio includes Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge, Little Donkey (a Southern-Mexican mashup), Luca Lagotto (an Italian restaurant and market) and now Magnolia Point. Others in the collective include Hero Doughnuts and Buns and whole-hog specialist Rodney Scott’s BBQ. Based in Birmingham, PRG also has restaurants in Montgomery, Atlanta, Charleston and Nashville.
This story originally was published on the SoulGrown website.
