Birmingham guide
The best wings & sports bars in Birmingham
Birmingham has 5 standout wings & sports bars worth your time — these are the ones locals actually send people to, ranked by how well-loved each spot is and checked by hand. Chubbfathers, The Battery and J&J Grocery & Deli lead the list. No chains, nobody pays to rank.
Chubbfathers
The Zydeco burger. Will Cholewinski's burger joint in Alabaster. The Zydeco has bacon, onion straws and a Cajun horseradish sauce; there are po'boys, wings and weekday plate lunches too.
The Battery
Smoked, then fried wings. A sports bar in downtown Homewood, opened in 2022. The wings are smoked for hours, then flash-fried, with Alabama white, buffalo or Korean barbecue sauce. There's a smash burger too. Closed Tuesdays.
J&J Grocery & Deli
Double bacon cheeseburger. An old gas station on Dickey Springs Road, just south of I-459. Juanita McClanahan started making hand-patted burgers on the flat-top in the late 1980s. Opens at 5:30 in the morning, done by 2.
Tasting Table: Alabama's best hole-in-the-wall burger
On Tap Sports Cafe
Jumbo Buffalo wings. Birmingham's own sports bar since 1996, started by the Beegle family. Big Buffalo wings and every game on.
Marty's GM
The Goat Popper burger. A neighborhood sports bar at Grants Mill Station, opened in 2018 by Phillip and Marsha Mims. The Goat Popper is two patties with pepper jelly, goat cheese and jalapeño.
Good to know
What is the best wings & sports bars in Birmingham?
Chubbfathers — the zydeco burger. The Battery and J&J Grocery & Deli round out the top of the list. Every place is locally owned and checked by hand.
How many wings & sports bars are on this list?
5, all locally owned and ranked by how well-loved they are. None of them paid to be included.
Which have a Michelin or James Beard honor?
J&J Grocery & Deli.