Get To Know Fairhope, Alabama

Hugging the banks of Mobile Bay, little Fairhope earns big praise for its artsy vibe and low-key yet upscale attitude, plus its scenic waterside location. Its food scene deserves accolades, too, dishing up comforting brunches, big, juicy burgers, and fresh Gulf seafood in fine-dining digs alongside swoon-inducing views. Chef Pete Blohme, owner of Panini Pete’s and Sunset Pointe (plus eateries in nearby Mobile and Daphne), credits residents for the robust dining roster. “Fairhope has always been sophisticated for its size, but in the last decade, our culinary credentials have really risen,” he says. “We’ve got chef Bill Briand in town with Little Bird—a great guy with a great pedigree. Pearl is a wonderful addition downtown. A couple of chains have snuck in, but for the most part, our restaurants are local because that’s what people here want.”

Best Places to Eat, Drink, and Explore

Best New Restaurant: Little Bird

With the opening of Little Bird last May, chef Bill Briand invited diners to join him in honoring his mother and her influence on his career. (Her middle name means “little bird” in Gaelic.) Here, the coastal-ingredient prowess that earned Briand five James Beard semifinalist nods for Best Chef: South soars in riffs on his mom’s recipes like golden skillet cornbread and crab claws in a chili citrus vinaigrette. 

Best Fresh Find: The Hope Farm

Blueberries plucked near the parking lot; mushrooms, lettuces, and herbs cultivated in its shipping containers; and harvests from other area ag operations anchor The Hope Farm’s seasonal selections like herbed-ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms and sourdough smeared with duxelles and goat cheese, best enjoyed outside on the elegant patio. 

Best Oyster Bar: Pearl

Chef Will Sams’ affection for Gulf seafood illuminates his intimate eatery, shining in roasted redfish cozied up to charred onion salad and grilled pompa- no spiced with salsa verde. But oysters take the spotlight, served raw and naked with classic mignonette, dressed simply yet elegantly in crème fraîche and smoked trout roe, roasted with black garlic chili butter, or golden fried with cocktail sauce. 

Best View: Sunset Pointe

With its waterfront location, “flip-flops welcome” vibe, and chef Pete Blohme’s twists on seafood standards—crisp- tender crab meatballs and Eastern Shore bouillabaisse with Gulf fish and shrimp and local tomatoes—Sunset Pointe stays packed, especially at day’s end, when the ringing of an old school bell calls attention to the sunset view. 

Best Brunch: Tamara’s

Tamara’s beckons brunch lovers with consistently on-point midmorning clas- sics like Belgian waffles. But they get creative with 16 eggs Benedict options including an Alabama-appropriate fried soft-shell crab Benedict and a ham-and-biscuit version mounded with pimento cheese. The DIY bloody mary bar and breezy courtyard are olives on top. 

Best Burger: Bill-E’s

Hearty appetites find satisfaction in nine different grilled thick-patty burgers like the Holy Cow, smothered in swiss and a peppercorn cream sauce, or the bacon cheeseburger crowned with crisp strips of pork goodness cured and smoked on-site by the eatery’s sister business, Bill-E’s Bacon. The Blended Burger goes hog wild with its patty mix of 85 percent beef and 15 percent bacon endpieces. 

Where to Shop

Aubergine Antiques

Step into yesterday’s larders, kitchens, and dining rooms at downtown’s Aubergine Antiques via its collection of vintage culinary tools and treasures ranging from shiny copper pots to rustic old-world sardine crocks, heavy wood sideboards to dainty embroidered tea towels. 

Provision

Provision’s large-yet-cozy space has it all: a coffee shop, a wall of wines, kitchen gadgets and accessories, gourmet pantry staples and snacks, plus a café and vino bar. Pick up some black truffle potato chips and mango pickles for later, then sit and sip a buzzy Honey Bee latte or cava flight while noshing on nachos blanketed in goat cheese and pepper jelly. 

Fairhope Fish House

Cases here are filled with fresh-caught red snapper, grouper, shrimp, flounder, blue crabs, and more, usually only 24 hours out of the water. The market hauls in some of the selection itself, partnering with local fishermen for the rest. Don’t need seafood? Grab some FFH swag; their hats and tees promote area waters’ abundance and a “Gulf-to-table” philosophy. 

Where to Stay

Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa

Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa’s sprawling live oaks shade a verdant lawn with the historic main building and expansive waterside patio at the center, making for a refined and relaxed bayside escape. The resort boasts modern additions and today’s sought-after amenities throughout, but old-school Southern hospitality remains the star. It blazes brightest at Bucky’s Lounge, where guests sip bourbon-based Feelin’ Peachy cocktails in the space dedicated to passed-on employee Bucky Miller, whose ever-present smile exemplified the Grand’s service standard.