Black Market Bar & Grill

Black Market Bar & Grill traces its roots back to 2006, when it started as a small bar in downtown Birmingham before opening its first full-scale location off Highway 280 in 2009. Today the restaurant runs two Birmingham locations, one in the Avondale neighborhood and one along Colonnade Parkway, each built around the same irreverent menu of loaded burgers, wings, and Southern-leaning bar food that has made it a fixture of the city’s late-night dining scene.

The Avondale location sits at 4100 3rd Avenue South, in the middle of a neighborhood that has become one of Birmingham’s busiest nightlife corridors, anchored by Avondale Brewing Company and a cluster of bars and restaurants nearby. Black Market’s late hours, running until nearly 2 a.m. most nights, make it a natural stop for a post-show meal or a late dinner after other kitchens in the area have closed.

The menu leans heavily into burgers, with a roster that includes the Black Market Burger, a Queso Burger, a Pimento Cheese Burger, and a spicier “Hell’s Gates” version, most served for $15.99 with options to add toppings. Beyond burgers, the “East Lake Tacos,” a Feta-topped quesadilla the menu calls the “Feta Than Erra Quesadilla,” and a pair of pasta dishes round out a menu built for comfort food rather than fine dining polish. Starters range from queso and chips and salsa up through loaded fries and stuffed potato skins, all designed for sharing at a bar table.

Black Market’s identity leans into a rock-and-roll, slightly irreverent theme, with menu item names like the “Disgraceland Burger,” “Hulk Burger,” and “Godzilla Burger” nodding to pop culture rather than culinary tradition. That playful branding extends to the restaurant’s interior, which the business describes as featuring “Southern history, cult classics, and artwork from local legends” across its walls, alongside pet-friendly patio seating at both locations.

Sunday brunch has become one of Black Market’s signature draws, described on the restaurant’s own site as “famous,” and it runs alongside the regular menu at both locations. The bar program includes a full range of domestic and import beers, draught pints, and buckets of beer for groups, keeping the emphasis on casual, unfussy drinking to match the food.

The restaurant is operated under Black Market 2 LLC, and its two Birmingham locations, Avondale and Colonnade, share a menu and branding while serving different parts of the city. The Avondale location’s hours run from 11 a.m. to just before 2 a.m. most days, with a later Sunday opening at 4 p.m., while the Colonnade location keeps slightly different hours across the week.

For a night out that starts with wings and ends with a loaded burger well past most kitchens’ closing times, Black Market Bar & Grill has built its Avondale location into one of the neighborhood’s dependable late-night anchors, matching its irreverent branding with a menu that delivers on straightforward bar food done well.

The restaurant’s roots as a small downtown bar back in 2006 still show in its identity today: Black Market has never tried to reposition itself as an upscale destination, instead doubling down on its bar-and-grill format across both of its current locations. That consistency has helped it build a loyal following of regulars who know exactly what to expect, from the burger menu to the late-night kitchen hours.

Both the Avondale and Colonnade Parkway locations share a full bar menu built for groups, with domestic and import beers, draught pints, and buckets of beer designed for a table splitting a round. Combined with its wing menu, loaded starters, and late kitchen hours, Black Market has positioned itself as one of Birmingham’s more dependable options for a casual night out that doesn’t require a reservation or a dress code, just an appetite for a loaded burger and a cold beer.