Top 10 Must-Try Tuscaloosa Restaurants for Alabama Football Fans this Season – Hot

All the walking, cheering, driving, shopping and more fans experience on a gameday works up an appetite Tuscaloosa can more than satisfy in 2023.

The Druid City’s restaurant scene has seen impressive growth since last football season, and fans should hurry over to check out these recently opened restaurants that will make your weekend jaunts to T-Town that much better.

From fine downtown dining to refreshing ice cream cones to popular fast food burgers, you will have some new options (many of them very close to campus) as the Crimson Tide reloads and rolls towards another championship run. See what we mean below.

READ: 10 underrated restaurants in Tuscaloosa

FORTÉ CUTS & COCKTAILS (2321 6th Street)

Located in The Alamite hotel downtown (co-owned by Nick Saban), this restaurant (with Chef Jacob Stull) offers “elevated classic French staples and classic cuts on a brasserie meets steakhouse inspired menu.” They also boast “a thoughtful wine list and an excellent bar program,” according to the website.

JALAPEÑOS DOWNTOWN COCINA & TEQUILA BAR (405 23rd Ave.)

In a welcome return to downtown Tuscaloosa, this restaurant has Mexican dishes with unique additions, plus margaritas, wines, cocktails and what they call the largest tequila bar in Alabama. The restaurant closed its Temerson Square location years ago, expanding to other spaces in the city and county, but we’re glad to see it back at the center of town.

MOONSHOT CREAMERY (1650 Jack Warner Parkway, Suite 1008)

Self-touted as “a place to celebrate the mundane and the monumental,” this small-batch ice cream shop features 20 rotating flavors and inventive toppings. We’re located on the Riverwalk, it’s perfect after an evening stroll along the Black Warrior River. Visit Tuscaloosa says the shop is “deeply beloved by the gluten free market” for their selection of gluten-free cones. Read the menu.

ROLL CALL (2321 6th Street)

The elevated rooftop experience at The Alamite hotel has awesome views of downtown Tuscaloosa (including a prime look at Bryant-Denny Stadium). They serve cocktails, local and craft beers, artisanal wines, plus a small plate menu from Executive Chef Jacob Stull. Try the wood-fired pizzas and sliders, but a charcuterie (assortment of regional-cured meats, cheese, jam, pickles, nuts, crispy flat bread crackers), a cold beverage and a sunset view from a downtown rooftop is as good as it will get this season.

SOCAL CANTINA (2308 University Blvd.)

This Cali-Mex restaurant brought their popular margaritas and tacos to Tuscaloosa, with two bars, a wide selection of Southern California-style dishes and specialty margaritas made with fresh ingredients. Great downtown location between Cravings and Depalma’s.

THE STANDARD (1217 University Blvd.)

The Strip’s new pizza-by-the-slice spot has a special Gameday menu and a service window on the sidewalk. That gameday menu includes their standard 20-inch pies like the Meat Lovers, Chicken Bacon Ranch and Buffalo Wing, plus their fresh hand-cut fries, wings, appetizers and adult beverages (full bar serving draft beer and slushies).

THE VEGANISH MARKET (2128 University Blvd., Suite B)

Owned by a local entrepreneur Yazmyn Rozier, this new market offers many gluten-free, dairy-free and plant-based items. You’ll find plant-based ice cream, smoothies and mock-tails on the menu. “The idea behind Veganish was to not only create a menu that caters to the vegan community but also the vegetarians, pescatarians, flexitarians and those transitioning into a plant-based lifestyle,” the website says.

STRANGE BREW COFFEEHOUSE (1101 University Blvd.)

Located between Gallettes and Alabama Express on the Strip in Tuscaloosa, this spot appeared dormant for years but is now a hot spot for students and greater Tuscaloosa with the semester underway. Based in Starkville, Strange Brew is a local & independent coffeehouse that specializes in lattes “made with love & crazy tasty original espresso drinks.” Along with their frappes, smoothies, teas, iced coffees, their signature Strange Brew Hot Chocolate and “the best Caramel Apple Cider in the galaxy,” they bake all of their pastries from scratch. You’ll also find fresh chocolate croissants, muffins, scones and coffee cakes, plus vegan and gluten-free options.

WE DAT’S CHICKEN AND SHRIMP (1130 University Blvd.)

Taking over Little Italy’s old location in University Town Center is this New Orleans-style eatery specializing in chicken, shrimp and catfish owned by former Alabama basketball star and NBA veteran JaMychal Green. Crimson Tide fans will feel right at home, with other Bama legends’ faces plastered on the walls, as you enjoy the perfect gameday food.

WHATABURGER (1130 University Blvd.)

The popular Texas-based burger chain just opened on the corner of University Town Center, smack dab in the middle of the Strip (across the street from Buffalo Phil’s). Tuscaloosa’s first two Whataburgers opened in 2018, on Skyland and McFarland Boulevards, but you can bet this will get heavy foot traffic year-round, including all seven gamedays in the fall. This location also looks a little different than most you see nationwide, even across town, because the signage outside the building does not feature any of the franchise’s standard orange coloring. The lettering in the word “Whataburger” and the restaurant’s logo are white against the red brick building. A Whataburger representative told AL.com that the white signage outside the restaurant was “a requirement from the landlord,” but we want to think it was because of the football rivalries. Let us have that, and the burgers.