My first time at Gabriella's was recently. This place gets really busy..... fast! When I arrived, there were about 2 ppl already present and ordering at the hot bar. It's kind of hard to tell what all the food options are, so I had to ask what some stuff was. I managed to get a meat and 2 instead of a meat and 5! There were quite a few veggie options that looked amazingly delicious! I do not recommend coming here hungry or hangry. Ok, sooo I love meat loaf so naturally that's what I got. I also got collards and cornbread dressing & yes they had cranberry sauce. Everything was good tasting. The meatloaf was a little sweet to my taste so I probably wouldn't order it again. The veggies were not over seasoned or overcooked. I will definitely comeback here bc there is still just so much I wanna try. The staff is nice and took care of the crowd. I even witnessed them give a person in need food, as they were about to dig in the restaurant's garbage can outside for scraps. Made me count my blessings.. all of them! There is street parking only. I didn't have any issues parking on a Sunday afternoon. The inside of this restaurant is not big but I was comfortable dining in. read more

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Good southern food on a Sunday afternoon while visiting. Couldn't tell from the Yelp pictures but it's a really small restaurant with food displayed buffet style behind the clear partition that they serve you in a container. Only about 3 people at a time can hold inside before it's starts getting crowded. It stay pretty busy. Options are 1 meat with two sides or 2 meats with three sides combination. A la cart is available as well. They have ice tea or lemonade drinks in a cup that they also serve you. Lemonade was good. There's a very small counter to pay after you order. Fry chicken is tasty with perfect crisp. Collard greens were seasoned well and perfect texture. Yams (my favorite) was perfect - flavorful, not too sweet and firm but not hard. Both of us thought the Black eyed peas looked really good but taste bland. I would have preferred it without the Okra. I didn't see that when I ordered. One in our group commented the meat loaf was good. The dressing was really good too - well seasoned and tasty. After paying there's a dining area for self seating. It serves the purpose to sit and eat but definitely could use sprucing up along with the restrooms. Please seriously consider! It would make the experience much more pleasant to enjoy their delicious food. I took off two stars for that reason and yes it's that unpleasant as the tables/chairs are also too clustered together. The chairs don't fit around the table properly. Overall good southern food at a reasonable price and recommended. Skip dining in if you don't have too. Just my two cents. read more

Ive eaten at the best southern comfort food in the USA in all the big cities, this bye far hands down the best I've ever had. This makes the big ones in Harlem NYC taste like mud. Detroit, LA, Nashville, Memphis, ect...: only wish they were a fraction of what this place is. Highly recommend. Found this on yelp so thank you fellow yelpers read more

Gabriella's - Meat and 3 - Southern Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

This is authentic soul food you can find in Birmingham Alabama , everything inside this place is the real deal of soul food , great peach cobbler and fried chicken it was super , place is little small and no menu , you get what you see read more

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Hands down best food in Birmingham! After several failed attempts at good and affordable food I almost gave up; I found this quaint restaurant in an article published by a local newspaper, and decided to give it a try. This place is a GEM. Ms. Gabriella saved me from malnutrition! Seriously, I was having tough time enjoying most of the food spots. But this was all around delicious. Ambiance=down home, think family style home. But the bonus is there is a museum next door. It wasn't open I'll check it out next time! Service = Friendly, patient, respectful and helpful. Everyone was so charismatic and engaging I felt like how you want to feel visiting distant cousins except here I got good vibes all around and could smell that the food would actually taste like it's supposed to! Parking = Easy safe and free my kind of pull up. Price = ridiculously affordable! Now food. Here's where it gets interesting. They cool the meals in the kitchen and keep it stocked up front for purchase. You can dine in or take out. Because everything is homemade style in hand crafted batches once it's gone it's gone until the next day. There are so many things to pick from because all of it is visually appealing so your eyes water and your tummy wonders to the point you're bound to get something extra. Do it. It's worth it! I had the fried chicken, Mac n cheese, string beans, and this collards and cornbread pie I had never ever seen or heard of. I also added a side of baked chicken and peach cobbler with a lemonade and a cup of ice water. That pie was so good I almost cried when it was gone. The chicken was crunchy but juicy even when i reheated some later. The baked chicken was so well seasoned and had a robust flavor of herbs not salts. All the sides were well balanced in texture and palette. And the peach cobbler was surprisingly really good without a lot of crust which is usually a turn off for me but not this place! I highly recommend grabbing a delicious meal if your like me and prefer good or great food. read more

Good on point, portions very generous, price is great! Customer service the tops! Management very involved waited tables greeted guest. Small establishment but very comfortable read more

Love the food! Enjoy seeing this family work together!! Cudos to Chef Michael Glenn !! read more

I would HIGHLY recommend this place! It is truly soul food, made with love and care. Everyone is so friendly. They offer dine in and to go options. If they have the collard green casserole, try it!! read more

If you are in the mood for some good, home-cooked Southern cuisine made with love, I highly recommend you try Gabriella's. They do not operate like most restaurants, as the hours are Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, if you know, you know. Gabriella's is small in terms of facility size, but it makes up for it in flavor! You name it: fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Green Beans, Mac-N-Cheese, Yams! The food portions were ample and hot. And the desserts... Peach Cobbler, a variety of cakes, and Bread Pudding. Save room because you're gonna want some! The atmosphere is very reminiscent of a southern speakeasy for Black folks, but I can assure you we're not the only ones trying to get inside for a bite to eat. At one point, all you could hear was silverware tapping against the plateware because the food was handling the talking, LOL! The staff was pleasant and attentive, so there were no complaints to be made. I wouldn't advise anyone to go dine there with form-fitting clothes and a big appetite. Take my advice... that dress shirt got untucked, and the sport coat came OFF! "Full as a tick" was an understatement. I felt like I was at my grandma's house on a fine spring Sunday afternoon. I shall spin the block again... Gabriella's might wanna get me a VIP table because my money will be coming back time and time again. read more

Great soul food in a tiny space. We ate outside. The atmosphere was awesome. We felt like we were in a movie with the colorful conversations. Highly recommend for great food and a true experience! read more

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Very good soul food in downtown Birmingham. The service was great but the serving area is way too small.

1st off - the food was ok. It was the typical comfort food served cafeteria style. But I will say that the fried chicken had good crunch & good flavor. Food alone gets 3 stars. But if I was rating the experience alone, I would give 1 star. It was the 1st visit for everyone in my party and definitely a confusing one. (1) You go down a line & let the server know what you'd like. Obviously you can see the items behind the glass that are exposed, but there were also items that were covered. We all assumed that they were just more of the same items & were covered to keep them warm. Not the case. We realized that there were other options once we were through the line & could look at other people's plates. No one bothered to tell us what was covered. The server stands & waits for you to say what you want without telling you what's available, especially the items you can't see. There's no menu posted or chalk board with "Today's Specials." Same for drinks. We saw 2 drink options that weren't labeled & no one shared what they were. It's as if they assume everyone is a regular. (2) The seating is limited but there were a couple of open tables & we decided to eat there. They put your food in carry out containers & bag it, so we were confused & wondered if that meant those tables were already booked & we needed to leave. Total confusion, no direction, no menu/board, no food labels, no explanation about seating. So we all moved through the line confused & watching other guests to figure out their system. Well at least we tried it read more

Fantastic soul food! Sunday buffet that was AMAZING. We're will definitely be back! Huge portions and anything you can think of southern style read more

Best soul food. The options . A must visit. Sit outside and take in the vibrations. Located in a historical area

The concept is good. It's soul food buffet style. Its white table cloth and napkins. Very small place. Music very loud but the food was pretty good. read more

Gabriella's - The buffet - Southern Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

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This is one of Birmingham's best kept secrets! A true diamond. The food is delicious!! It is a must add to your places to visit if you are in the Birmingham area looking for some outstanding soul food. read more

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The food was awesome! We were visiting from Florida and decided to search for soul food on a Sunday. We chose here for the Sunday buffet with the thought of trying several dishes. The place is small and the presentation of the buffet could use some work but do not let this stop you. Everything we tried was finger-licking good. Do not pass on the peach sweet tea it was amazing. The fried chicken and peach cobbler were my favorites. Any future trip to Birmingham will include a stop here. read more

The food was very flavorful. 1 meat, w sides, dessert, bread and a drink for a reasonable price. I have fried dark meat chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans and a roll. Chicken was hot, juicy and the skin was crispy. Thoroughly seasoned. Macaroni and cheese was good, not overly cheesy and not runny. Green beans were seasoned and had a very good texture, not soggy. Most got their food to go. My dining partner had the fried pork chops (2), collard greens and yams. She also got the pound cake for dessert. She at all of her food which very rarely happens sand was very pleased with her choices. I did taste the pound cake and it was spot on. read more

Great Sunday Brunch Soul Food, just like Mama and 'Dem make it. They were gracious and had an authentic southern style. Loved our waitress, Ashley! Worth a stop always from ATL to Memphis. Keep Making those Good Money Moves. read more

We stop by the Sunday after the Magic City Classic 2015 for the Sunday buffet... EVERYTHING was delicious. Great soul food: fried and blades chicken, neck bones, pig feet, greens, mac & cheese, etc. read more

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