05/17/2026
Chris Modica
At the Cedar House Cafeteria in Alabama, you’ll find tray after tray of Southern comfort food served the old-fashioned way. Step into the line and you can build a plate around favorites like hamburger steak, beef tips, fried chicken, lasagna, stuffed peppers, country fried steak, smoked sausage, catfish, beef livers, or chicken and dressing.
The sides make it even better, with turnip greens, black-eyed peas, fried green tomatoes, new potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, cabbage, creamed corn, fried okra, Mexican cornbread, and more to round out the meal. Breakfast is a big draw too, with fried pork chops and eggs, meat lovers omelets, biscuits and gravy, sausage, French toast dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, and classic two-egg plates. Save room for dessert, because the pecan pie, coconut cream pie, peach cobbler, banana pudding, and other homemade sweets feel like part of the full experience.
After the food, the charm is the reason people keep coming back. Cedar House has been serving Birmingham from its same Cedar Street location since 1976, giving it nearly 50 years of history as a local meat-and-three favorite. The restaurant says its dishes are made from scratch daily and that more than 500,000 meals have been served over the years. With its family-run feel, friendly staff, and dining room that feels a little like eating at grandma’s house, it’s easy to see why generations of Alabama locals have made Cedar House Cafeteria a regular stop.