Wintzell’s, Church Street Coffee among establishments receiving 95 and above Food Service scores in December

Several popular Birmingham area  restaurants, including popular places such as Wintzell’s and Taco Mama in Mountain Brook received 95 and above on their health inspection scores over the past 30 days.

As a public service, Bham Now publishes monthly Jefferson County Department of Health restaurant inspection scores and profiles local places that were scored in the past few weeks.

This month, we are featuring  popular restaurants and  a favorite coffeehouse.

How are the inspections conducted?

According to the Jefferson County Department of Health, the agency, “regularly inspects establishments in Jefferson County where food is prepared or sold for human consumption. Two type of inspections, scored and alternative (non-scored), are performed throughout the year.”

The food service inspection scores are updated regularly on the Jefferson County Department of Health website. In this food service inspection edition, the scores were received after December 10th. Here are our featured restaurants for this month.

Wintzell’s Oyster House – 99

The legendary Mobile seafood restaurant located in Fultondale became the first Wintzell’s  in the Birmingham Metro area in 2016. Turning 80 years old last year, Wintzell’s  famous slogan… “Known far and wide for its “oysters—fried, stewed or nude.”

Seafood King – 96

If you love seafood, this place off Lakeshore Drive  has been getting great reviews on Yelp – and of course an inspection score over 95 is a big plus too.

Church Street Coffee and Books  98

A good friend once described Church Street Coffee and Books this way.  It’s the friendliest – coffeehouse/independent bookstore/meetup location Over the Mountain.  One must have: The Breakup cookie.

Taco Mama – 95

This Taco Mama location in Mountain Brook’s Crestline neighborhood is the original restaurant.  Much smaller than the Homewood or 119 locations, if you want to see where this popular Mexican restaurant with some of the best margaritas  all began, venture out to Mountain Brook.

Davenport’s Pizza Palace – 95

Established in 1964, Davenport Pizza Palace is Mountain Brook institution.  It is one of the original pizza restaurants not only in the Birmingham area, but the entire South. Named after a childhood friend of the owner Rex Hollis, Davenport’s remains known for it’s made from scratch pizzas and family-friendly atmosphere.

Once again, visit Jefferson County Department of Health’s Food Service website for the latest scores.  These food service inspections are invaluable and help keep us all safe. It is our “right to know.”