Automatic Seafood and Oysters
Alabama
Automatic Seafood and Oysters brings the Gulf Coast to Birmingham’s Lakeview neighbourhood, occupying the former Automatic Sprinkler Corporation building that gave the restaurant its name. Opened in 2019 by chef Adam Evans and designer Suzanne Humphries Evans, it combines an industrial address with interiors inspired by classic American coastal life. The kitchen draws much of its fish from the Gulf of Mexico, while the raw bar looks to the southern and eastern US coastlines for oysters. Seasonal produce and the available catch shape a menu that gives familiar Southern ingredients plenty of room for invention. Recent dishes have included duck-fat-poached swordfish with black lentils, crispy fish collars with Calabrian chilli butter, and roasted red snapper dressed simply with lemon and olive oil. Cornmeal-fried oysters and hushpuppies reinforce the regional character. There are also meat and vegetable dishes for companions who prefer something beyond seafood. Evans received the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South in 2022. The menu lends itself to a dozen oysters and a drink or a longer dinner built around the catch. Weekend brunch includes seafood dishes alongside eggs, biscuits and cheddar grits.