Chez Fonfon
Alabama
Chez Fonfon is a restaurant in Five Points South, Birmingham, Alabama, at 2007 11th Avenue South. The official site presents it as a casual, bustling bistro with a French character, opened in 2000 and styled as an homage to Paris, Lyon or Nice. Its setting is described with Belle Époque café tables and a 100-year-old etched glass door from Lyon, which contribute to a compact, old-world dining room atmosphere rather than a modern brasserie look. The kitchen focuses on classic French bistro food, with menu items such as steak frites, sautéed trout with brown butter, escargots, croque madame, steak tartare and a hamburger Fonfon. The site also notes a wine programme centred on bottles from the Loire, Rhône and Languedoc, alongside cocktails. Current menu PDFs confirm a broader à la carte offering that includes salads, pâté, grilled fish and poultry, and the restaurant’s own house burger with pommes frites. Chez Fonfon serves lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Friday and dinner on Saturday, with reservations taken via Resy and walk-ins accepted when available. It also offers valet parking, accepts major credit cards, and does not have a private dining room. The dress code is informal, reflecting the bistro’s accessible neighbourhood character rather than formal dining. Outdoor seating is part of the experience: the patio is promoted as a place to linger over a meal, a cocktail or a glass of wine, and to play boule. Taken together, the restaurant reads as a lively French-inspired Birmingham bistro with a strong emphasis on hospitality, simple cooking and a sociable setting, anchored in the city’s restaurant district and run by the Stitt restaurant group.