Hot and Hot Fish Club

The story

Hot and Hot Fish Club Birmingham | Michelin-Recommended American Contemporary

A Modern Classic in Birmingham's Pepper Place

Since 1994, Chris and Idie Hastings have built Hot and Hot Fish Club into a cornerstone of Birmingham's dining scene. Located in the creative district of Pepper Place, the restaurant takes a modern approach to blending Southern, French, and California-styles of cooking. The light-filled space features a chef's counter and open kitchen, large windows, exposed brick, and a spacious dining area with Greystone Italian marble tabletops and locally sourced hackberry wood.

The building itself has a storied past, beginning as Caddell’s Creamery, a popular burger joint in the 1950s, and later transforming into a memorable pool hall. The original design largely remains today, carefully curated to feature works by renowned artists and local craftspeople. Well-known potter Tena Payne developed a signature line of pottery, from dinner plates to espresso cups, hand-thrown from her Leeds Earthborn Pottery studio.

The Hastings' Network of Purveyors

Over the years, Chris and Idie Hastings and their team have developed an extensive network of purveyors, foragers, and artisans. This commitment to sourcing the best ingredients is at the heart of the restaurant's approach to American Contemporary cuisine. The menu changes with the seasons, but signature dishes include the Hot and Hot Tomato Salad with field peas, sweet corn, fried okra, smoked bacon, and Bayou La Batre shrimp, as well as the Southern Bouillabaisse with Gulf fish jowl, shrimp, mussels, and clams in saffron broth.

Chef de Cuisine Sedesh Wilkerson, a graduate of The French Culinary Institute who trained in three-star Michelin-rated restaurants in New York City, now leads the kitchen. He focuses on developing innovative, seasonally driven dishes while expanding the menu's diversity and overall appeal.

A Michelin-Recommended Destination

The restaurant's dedication to excellence has earned it a Michelin Recommended award, a testament to its consistent quality and gracious service. Whether you're seated at the chef's counter watching the open kitchen in action or at a table under the exposed brick, the experience is one of warm, refined hospitality. The restaurant also offers a cookbook, The Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Family & Traditions, which features more than 200 recipes and profiles of the purveyors who make it all possible.