Birmingham may be best known for Southern staples like barbecue and fried chicken, but the Magic City is home to plenty of eateries with dishes that are easier on the waistline — beneficial after a season of indulging and celebrating. From farm-to-table fare to the most delicious salads and fresh juices, there’s something for everyone in this roundup of healthy Birmingham restaurants.
Kale Me Crazy
Neighborhood: Homewood
More info: kalemecrazy.net
At Kale Me Crazy, everything on the menu is centered around being fresh, healthy, and nutritious. The superfood café has been all about encouraging a healthy lifestyle since it opened in 2013, and there’s a delicious menu to help make that happen. In fact, the food journey of founder and CEO Roi Shlomo launched the idea. When he began an all-organic diet, he struggled to find restaurants with menus to match his new eating style … so he created one.
Kale Me Crazy features a wide range of offerings, from cold-pressed juices and smoothies to salads, wraps, and sandwiches. A few menu highlights include the Avocado Toast, Poke Bowl, and Chicken Pesto Wrap.
City Bowls
Neighborhood: Southside, Vestavia, Hoover, and Trussville
More info: thecitybowls.com
City Bowls started as a Birmingham food truck in 2017. Since then, it has become a full-fledged brick-and-mortar business with four locations … And for good reason! Its bowls are as palate-pleasing as they are healthy. Menu offerings include açai bowls, pitaya bowls, and green bowls, each as unique as the next. They also boast a nod to Birmingham with names like Vulcan Bowl, Iron Bowl, and Bham Bowl. Any bowl on the menu is a must-try, but you can also choose the BYOB option and build your own perfect bowl instead.
Farm Bowl & Juice Co.
Neighborhood: Homewood
More info: farmbowlandjuiceco.com
Clean eating can be fun, and Farm Bowl & Juice Co. is one of the Birmingham eateries that proves it. All of the ingredients are purchased locally from a network of Alabama farmers, ensuring quality and in-season deliciousness in every bite. In addition to oatmeal and açai bowls, the eatery now features dragon fruit bowls and other sweet offerings like smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and wellness shots. The restaurant even offers mini versions for the kids!
Ashley Mac’s
Neighborhood: Cahaba Heights, Downtown (Pizitz Food Hall), Homewood, and Hoover
More info: ashleymacs.com
You’ll find some of everything on the menu at Ashley Mac’s. The eatery is known for its Signature Chicken Salad. Still, the menu features plenty of other dishes you’ll want to try, such as the Grilled Chicken Club, Mandarin Orange Salad, and Lemon Rosemary Chicken, to name a few. A bonus: Ashley Mac’s offers gourmet to-go, featuring appetizers, entrées, sides, salads, and desserts that you can pick up at any of its locations.
Greenhouse
Neighborhood: Homewood and UAB
More info: greenhousebham.com
Greenhouse is all about feeling good, and you can do just that thanks to the delicious mix of menu items, including a variety of salads (like the Cobb and the Greenhouse), soups, sandwiches, and even smoothies. There’s also a build-your-own salad option with a roster of toppings that wows. End your meal with one of Greenhouse’s Ridiculous Cookies, available in chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin, “Goblin,” and Seasonal Stranger.
Real & Rosemary
Neighborhood: Homewood, The Summit, and Crestline
More info: realandrosemary.com
Since opening its doors, Real & Rosemary has been bringing families to the table around real food — delicious food free of preservatives, dyes, and MSG. The menu features various proteins and vegetables, and many menu items change seasonally. The eatery offers the freshest ingredients possible, but some favorites remain all year. Check out one of its three Birmingham locations!
Chop N Fresh
Neighborhood: Mountain Brook
More info: chopnfresh.com
Chop N Fresh started in 2016 when two friends set out to provide fresh, healthy food in a fast-casual atmosphere. Chop N Fresh has provided its patrons with fresh, clean ingredients ever since, thanks to its many salads, warm grain bowls, and made-from-scratch dressings. Along with ever-present menu items like the Cobb Boom, Falafel N Love, and Wholey Moley salads, there are also several seasonal options, such as the Honey Mustard and Chill and Sweet Brussels Bowl.
Eli’s Jerusalem Grill
Neighborhood: Highway 280
More info: elisjerusalemgrill.com
Eli’s Jerusalem Grill dishes out the best Israeli-inspired meals in Birmingham, loaded with fresh, healthy ingredients. The menu is as wide-ranging as the dishes are delicious. You’ll find everything from kabobs and falafel to lamb chops and schnitzel, along with homemade soups, fresh side salads, and several dips. If you’re looking for a little treat after your healthy meal, snag a taste of the baklava or the knafeh, a traditional Israeli dessert of filo pastry with sweet cheese, shredded coconut, almonds, crushed pistachios, and homemade citrus blossom syrup.
Clean Eatz
Neighborhood: Hoover
More info: cleaneatz.com
Clean, balanced food is at the heart of Clean Eatz. Started in 2011 by a husband-and-wife team, Clean Eatz seeks to change people’s lives through better lifestyle choices. And that all starts with nutrition. In addition to offering meal plans, Clean Eatz also offers a café with various popular meals. Check out the café menu, which offers snackz, burgerz, wrapz, flatbreadz, meltz, smoothiez, and even kids mealz, all featuring healthy ingredients and none of the guilt.
Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge
Neighborhood: Downtown
More info: eattastytown.com
Greek cuisine has long been known for its healthy options — not to mention flavorful dishes — and Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge brings the best of the Mediterranean style to Birmingham. Whether you enjoy it for lunch or dinner, Tasty Town features fresh Greek fare that lives up to the hype. The menu includes small plates and entrées that are 100% fresh, many of which are seasonally focused. The variety-filled menu includes everything from Chargrilled Beef Tenderloin and Spanakopita to Dolmades and Greek-style Gulf Fish.
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
Neighborhood: Multiple locations around Birmingham
More info: tazikis.com
One trip to Greece is all it took for Keith Richards and his wife, Amy, to fall in love with Mediterranean fare. They immediately brought that passion to Birmingham in 1998 with the first Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe. Since then, they have opened several brick-and-mortar locations, each focused on fresh, flavorful food. Staying true to the Mediterranean style, Taziki’s focuses on plant-based foods and employs healthy oils instead of butter. The result? A flavorful menu that’s nutritious and delicious.
Brick & Tin
Neighborhood: Mountain Brook and Downtown
More info: brickandtin.com
Brick & Tin’s menu focuses on sustainability and supporting local farmers. That means patrons can rest assured they eat quality ingredients free of hormones, chemicals, and other additives. That devotion to all things fair and fresh shines through in Brick & Tin’s farm-to-table menu, which is full of mouthwatering dishes like the braised beef brisket panini, sautéed salmon plate, Thai vegetable curry bowl, and winter citrus salad.
Seasons 52
Neighborhood: The Summit
More info: seasons52.com
We could probably name 52 reasons why Seasons 52 should be on your list of must-visit restaurants, but we’ll start with this: you can find healthy, savory dishes. Seasons 52 focuses heavily on using fresh ingredients — for example, proteins are grilled or roasted instead of fried. True to its name, the menu changes seasonally, keeping everything that makes its way to the table of the highest quality and in-season. The restaurant even offers supplementary menus for a number of special dietary needs.
BLUEROOT
Neighborhood: Southside
More info: bluerootco.com
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be difficult, and it can most certainly be delicious. That’s what BLUEROOT is on a mission to prove in Birmingham. The eatery boasts a well-rounded menu of nutritious, nutrient-dense dishes, including salads, warm bowls, burgers, soups, smoothies, and sides like sweet potato hummus. BLUEROOT is the brainchild of owner Jennifer Ryan, who brought her Southern California eating style to Alabama when she moved here in 2019. She teamed up with James Beard award-winning chef Robin Bashinsky, and BLUEROOT was born. After a couple of years of serving its delicious fare in more of a pop-up style, the official flagship location opened in Pepper Place in 2021.
Urban Cookhouse
Neighborhood: Downtown, Homewood, Mountain Brook, and The Summit
More info: urbancookhouse.com
“Buy Local, Eat Urban” is the official motto of Urban Cookhouse, and the eatery has lived up to that standard since it began in Birmingham years ago. The restaurant uses only the freshest ingredients possible while supporting local farmers. That means every menu item is made of fresh and local ingredients. That’s why those longstanding favorite dishes like the Urban Cowboy, Chipotle-Braised Pork, and Pepper Patch salad always taste like perfection.
Cava
Neighborhood: Brook Highland, Hoover, Midtown, and SOHO
More info: cava.com
Not long ago, Cava hit the Birmingham food scene, and it begs one simple question: how did the Magic City manage without it? Whether you’re a build-your-own bowl or wrap type of diner or you would prefer to order a chef’s selection straight from the menu, Cava is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser thanks to its Mediterranean-forward creations that are healthy and tasty. For those who haven’t tried it out, no order is complete without a side of pita chips and Crazy Feta.
Zoe’s Kitchen
Neighborhood: Mountain Brook
More info: zoeskitchenbhm.com
Zoe’s Kitchen was a Birmingham institution for years before the brand was purchased and its locations closed. Thankfully, the original owners brought it back to Birmingham with the opening of a location in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village last year. The re-established restaurant brought back all of its original favorites, including the Chicken Roll-Ups, Grilled Chicken Pita, Chicken Kabobs, and its perfectly packaged sides. It’s easy for the whole family to enjoy Zoe’s dishes while keeping to healthy eating resolutions, thanks to the eatery’s family dinners, which feed up to six people.
Newk’s Eatery
Neighborhood: Downtown, Hoover, and Vestavia
More info: newks.com
Newk’s Eatery started in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2004, and thankfully, the eatery made its way over to Birmingham soon after that. The restaurant’s menu is as diverse as it is delicious. It features everything from sandwiches and salads to pizzas, soups, and even mac and cheese. With so much fresh and healthy goodness on the menu, it’s nice to know you can pick two items for a delicious pairing of its flavorful dishes.
Chopt
Neighborhood: The Summit and Vestavia
More info: choptsalad.com
There’s something extraordinary about a Chopt salad. The New York City-founded eatery seeks to bring maximum flavor to each of its creations, which it does effortlessly with its produce-forward ingredient lists. In addition to ever-popular items like the Mexican Caesar Salad, Classic Cobb Salad, and Santa Fe Salad, Chopt also offers the same selections in wrap form. Not in the mood for those leafy greens? Check out the warm bowls, which take taste buds on a delightful trip around the globe with options like the Mediterranean Tahini Bowl and Chinese Chicken Bowl.
Slutty Vegan
Neighborhood: Southside
More info: sluttyveganatl.com
Everyone craves a burger and fries now and then, and while we can’t claim this spot as “healthy,” Slutty Vegan at least makes it possible to partake even if you’re participating in “Veganuary” or cutting out meat altogether. Relatively new to Birmingham, the restaurant is home to the 100% plant-based burger developed by CEO and Founder Pinky Cole. She started by selling vegan burgers from her apartment via Instagram, eventually moving to a food truck and opening her first brick-and-mortar location in Atlanta. Today, Slutty Vegan serves up unique creations like the Dancehall Queen, Hollywood Hooker, and Fussy Hussy burgers, along with the ever-popular Slutty Fries.
Here’s to a happy and healthy new year!
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