People assume Homewood is just a place you pass through on the way somewhere else. I used to think that too, until a friend dragged me to Side by Each Brasserie on a Thursday night and I ended up staying two hours longer than I planned.
Side by Each sits on 18th Street South in Homewood, close enough to the busier stretch of SoHo that you’d expect it to feel like every other upscale-casual spot chasing the same crowd. It doesn’t. The room is warm without being precious — dark wood, close tables, the kind of lighting that makes everyone look like they’re having a good night. There’s a small bar up front, and most people seem to end up there at some point during the evening whether or not they started with a reservation.
The menu is French-ish, but not in a way that requires a glossary. Think moules frites done properly, a steak frites that actually delivers on the promise, and a rotating selection of small plates that change often enough to reward repeat visits. On my last trip I had a chicken liver mousse with cornichons and grilled bread that I still think about. Not because it was avant-garde — it wasn’t — but because it was exactly right. Properly seasoned, generous without being excessive, served at the right temperature.
The wine list is the thing that surprised me most. It’s short enough to be manageable and chosen with enough care that you’re not just choosing between two price points. The staff actually knows it. I asked a server to pick something for me given what I was eating and she didn’t hesitate, which matters more than it sounds.
On weekend nights the room fills up early, so I’d call ahead. But weeknights are genuinely pleasant — the noise level drops to something you can have a real conversation over, and the kitchen doesn’t seem to rush. I’ve been there on a slow Tuesday when a couple of regulars were parked at the bar and the chef sent out a small test dish he was working on. That kind of ease doesn’t happen at a place that’s trying too hard.
Prices run what you’d expect for this category in Birmingham — appetizers in the $12–18 range, entrees from around $24 up to the low $40s for a nice piece of fish or the steak. It’s not an every-week spot for most people, but it’s the right answer for a birthday dinner that isn’t fussy, or an anniversary where you want good food without a dress code that makes everyone uncomfortable.
What Homewood doesn’t get enough credit for is that it has a few places like this — restaurants that are genuinely good without needing the downtown zip code to validate them. Side by Each is the clearest example I know. It doesn’t have a famous chef’s name attached to it, and it’s not trying to be written about. It’s just trying to be consistently excellent, and mostly it succeeds.
If you go, order the moules frites and let yourself get talked into a second glass of wine. You’ll probably stay longer than you meant to.
