First, this gelato is special and we have tasted it in Italy many times. Every flavor was highly…read morerecommended by those walking around in the park. I loved the sour cherry yogurt flavor the best! And the coffee smells amazing in the coffee shop. Take your date here on a weekend, very romantic fireplace inside as well as a large park to explore and a gift shop. Strict conservative dress required and no cell phones but it's absolutely a stunning place to experience on a day without rain. Christian books, classical music, swings, rockers, delish gelato & coffee in addition to some sandwiches I did not try yet. This place is a hidden jewel but right off Hwy 280. Requires a little hike from parking area! BONUS: One can order fresh pure beef, pork, chicken, & cheese in the gift shop. And the unisex bathroom may be the fanciest I have ever encountered anywhere. This is a Must for guests who love Italy and cuteness!!!

Open till ten on Friday and Saturday, this is a romantic date spot for after dinner coffee or…read moregelato! Bring jackets and a small flashlight! Villagio Colafrancesco is a little hidden Italian village in 2 acres of woods off Highway 280 just past Doug Baker Blvd & Cowboys Service Station, with loads of businesses nearby but once you enter it, you can imagine you are in a peaceful little village in Italy. No photos allowed so you can just delight in the experience! There are actually three different businesses with one address and one owner in this village plus a shady park; Old Bridge Gelateria, The Coffee Shop, and the Butcher Shop/Gift Shop! Come on a nice day as it's mostly an outdoor experience but if you are nearby and it rains, they also have a lovely old farmhouse with tables, rockers and a couch where you can hang out and enjoy your gelato, coffee or panini from the butcher/gift shop! The coffee smells fantastic, the gelato is absolutely top notch, and I loved the fresh cheese and milk I bought in the gift shop! Also they have lovely holiday decorations, soaps and candles for sale. The gelato is supposed to be same company as frequented by the pope near the Vatican! I've been to Italy many times and I will vouch that this gelato is hard to beat. You must try some! A customer gave me a tip to try their special expresso concoction over some gelato! Mmmmmm! I also want to try an Italian soda. Special tip: Don't miss the "Sistine Chapel" of rest rooms around the corner from the Coffee Shop! In summary , this is a unique place for a relaxing visit with an old friend or date in a small wooded park with a little taste of Italy! It quietly opened in 2022, but little marketing left it a hidden secret! Discover it before the rest of Birmingham finds out! It's a pleasant 20 to 30 minute drive south on Hwy 280 from the Summit, unless it's Friday afternoon!

Great ambiance, friendly people and great Gelato, cappuccino and food! A good escape!!!read more

The staff was very friendly. My family was able to place our orders and get our gelati very…read morequickly. I got the orange mango tango. It was tasty per usual. My 4 stars comes from the smell outside. We sat on the patio, and the sewer gas smell was terrible. Likely nothing they can control, but it did take anyway from the experience.

Italian ice isn't my favorite, but their soft serve and swirls are pretty good. The main thing I…read moredon't like about this place is that both locations I have been to smell like a sewer Service was kind of slow, but that was to be expected with only a couple of employees working with a completely full lobby and folks going through the drive through. If you're craving a sweet treat or have kids to entertain, it's worth a try. Just be prepared for it to smell

We stop by here every so often, but it is out of our way since it is on 280. Maybe they'll open one…read morein Trussville one day. We liked to get the Too Good To Go bags they offer - look it up, definitely worth trying out, they're just hard to get since they go so fast. I would like to try their hot bar - it has a lot of selections on it with a good variety. They also have a ton of stuff to try, but it does seem a little like Trader Joes - a lot of speciality foods, most of which are out of normal budget.

*this review is for the coffee bar*…read more I love WF and come here frequently but omg I had the worst experience at the coffee bar ordering this matcha. I am not very picky when it comes to drinks but this was the absolute worst matcha I had ever had. It was chunky, and there was no flavor at all. I wish WF standardized their recipes for this at the coffee bar bc I've seen and had much better at other locations! I also don't think the coffee bar should even be at this location bc it doesn't seem like anyone working there wants it to be there

I recently enjoyed some gelato from Repicci's and my experience was great. The customer service was…read moregood and because it was in a food truck, they were very quick with my order of gelato. There are no COVID protocols considering it is not a typical sit down restaurant. Overall, I would recommend Repicci's to others.

This business is awesome!! They came out and provided services on today at a Community Wellness…read moreFair event and everyone loved it!! I definitely recommend this business for any events!!

I first had churro station at pepper place farmers market. I immediately fell in love. When I found…read moreout they were going to have a storefront I was so excited! Their churros are delicious, fresh, and so funny. They also have gelato and coffee!

Great dessert spot! Honestly no complaints. They have a great amount of seating, good selection of…read moredesserts, and it's a unique offering. I love how they have so many sauces to put on or in the churros. It was $9 total for a churro with Dulce de leche and a single scoop of ice cream, which doesn't sound like a lot of dessert but it actually was. The service was great. Would come back

10 out of 10! This is a local explosive experience. The atmosphere reminds you of a five star…read morerestaurant with a bar attached to it. The servers are the best. Each time I have came to this location. I have tried something different on the menu and it did not let me down. This is a perfect venue for a date night or a work celebration. We will keep coming to this location!

First visit to Bellini's. Not sure why I haven't been here since I only live 5 mins from the…read morerestaurant. We made a reservation for 8:15 and arrived a little early but they have a table ready for us. The restaurant is decorated nicely with a very nice bar right when you walk into the entrance. Our waiter recommended several items off the menu. We decided to start with the meatballs and the grillled watermelon as appetizers. The meatballs were great, I like the sauce and the burrata on top. The grilled watermelon was a unique blend of flavors but they melded very well together. It was yellow watermelon that had been grilled with arugula, feta and hot honey. For the main course we got the chicken alla vodka and the chicken pamigana. Both dishes were fantastic with homemade pasta, the chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce for both dishes was flavorful. For dessert we went with the chocolate torte. I enjoyed the dessert but the other folks at the table were not fans of the basil lemon gelato. Overall we really enjoyed our dinner and we will be back.

One of Birmingham's only true creameries, where they're making all the ice cream in house. I am a…read moreself proclaimed Ice Cream Snob, but Big Spoon checks all my boxes. Unique flavors, classic flavors, the smell of fresh waffle cones inside. Big Spoon does a ton of business, as they should. The location here in Avondale is great, but not super walkable from any really good restaurants. I would love to see them open another spot on 2nd Ave. I had the strawberry tres leches in a waffle cone and it was delicious. I appreciate the care and craft that went into making sure every bit down to the bottom of the cone had ice cream in it. 10/10.

The Sweet and the Absurd: A Birmingham Creamery's Baffling Economics…read moreTo step into Big Spoon Creamery in Birmingham is to subject oneself to a masterclass in both artisanal delight and bureaucratic absurdity. On my visits--a pilgrimage undertaken reliably every month and a half--the front-line staff have never been anything short of exemplary. They are the cheerful stewards of a deeply baffling system, executing their duties with a warmth that almost distracts you from the institutional quirks around them. I say "institutional" because the management themselves are entirely phantom. They are never seen on the floor. Perhaps this is a calculated evasion; if they were ever present, they would surely have to field a relentless, exasperated inquisition regarding the tragic and ongoing absence of their finest creation: the "Magic City." Why an ice cream parlor would willingly suppress its undisputed masterpiece remains an enduring mystery. Even if the economics of its ingredients demanded a premium surcharge, "Magic City" ought to be enshrined as an immovable staple on the menu. Instead, the menu is a restless, ever-shifting carousel. I concede that a relentless churn of novelty is a virtue to a certain type of customer, but the soul of a great neighborhood institution relies on the comforting reliability of a few anchor flavors. At Big Spoon, just as you develop an affection for a flavor, it vanishes into the ether. Then, we must examine the rewards program, an endeavor so poorly conceived it borders on the avant-garde. The mathematics are punishingly flat: one point per order, regardless of whether the patron spends a single dollar or one hundred. The rational response to such a broken incentive structure is, naturally, to weaponize the system. To extract any genuine value, the savvy customer is forced into a theatrical display of micro-transactions, paying for each scoop separately. It is a loophole that needlessly punishes the very staff who make the establishment shine, forcing them to run the register three or four times for a single family's dessert. Finally, there is the creamery's bizarre pricing taxonomy. A close study of the board reveals an accidental arbitrage opportunity: the customer is objectively better off purchasing two distinct pints of ice cream and two empty waffle cones to assemble on their own time, rather than engaging in the straightforward, intended transaction of ordering ice cream scooped directly into a cone. Whoever is pulling the levers behind the curtain at Big Spoon clearly fancies themselves a clever operator, disrupting the traditional ice cream parlor model with dynamic menus and gamified loyalty. But in their pursuit of perpetual novelty and labyrinthine economics, they have embodied the old proverb perfectly: they are entirely too clever by half.