New restaurant Bayonet from Rob and Emily McDaniel next door to their restaurant Helen on 2nd Ave N. Staff portraits, food, interiors, bathrooms and other details. — New restaurant Bayonet from Rob and Emily McDaniel next door to their restaurant Helen on 2nd Ave N. (Art Meripol)

Bayonet, chef Rob and Emily McDaniel’s new seafood restaurant in downtown Birmingham has been named the “Best Seafood Restaurant” in Alabama by the national digital foodie publication The Takeout.

Established in March 2025, Bayonet made a big splash nationally in September when the New York Times named it to the “The Gray Lady’s” top 50 restaurants in the country list.

And the accolades don’t stop there. Southern food & culture magazines Southern Living and Garden & Gun have also weighed in, both adding Bayonet to their best new restaurants in the South lists this year.

You can now add The Takeout to the restaurant’s list of admirers.

Bayonet: One of the best restaurants in the U.S.

What did The Takeout have to say about Bayonet?

“This Birmingham-based spot is celebrated as one of the nation’s 50 best restaurants. Sustainably sourced fish rotate between different catches. Raw oysters from Alabama’s Dauphin Island mingle with creative dishes, such as the bánh mì with caramel sauce that’s stuffed with Gulf shrimp.”
The Takeout