Monday, January 18, 2016

SkyCastle Gastro Lounge - "Birmingham's Next Big Hit"





After waiting through several months of "opening soon" updates, Lakeview's newest addition recently opened it's doors.  Sky Castle Gastro Lounge  Offers a wide variety of amazing twists on American classics and more. Their menu consists of lots of choices from  "Swingin' Appetizers" to  salads as well as small & large plate items. 

Atmosphere: This joint is jumping! Since Sky Castle is in its grand opening stage & lots of people are patiently waiting to get in to see what the fuss is all about. There was about an hour wait, however, we were seated within 5 minutes of arrival due to my charm =) There is plenty of seating. Just inside, there is lounge seating to the right. There is also table seating in addition to ample bar seating. The lighting is unique and definitely enhances the atmosphere.

The Meal: My dinner companion was elated to try out this new spot as well. Especially since it was her birthday and I was treating (Hi Mrs. Ogletree). We started out with an appetizer of the Harissa Hummus: delicious hummus with highlights of garlic along with basil & pesto. This was accompanied with charred flatbread for dipping.  If you're a hummus fan, you will appreciate the flavor infusion of this appetizer.
From the small plate menu, my dinner companion had the Korean BBQ wings: a generous order of moist ,delicious wings topped with a drizzle of white barbecue sauce and fresh sliced jalapeno peppers. From the large plate menu, I opted for the Bourbon Glazed Mississippi Quail: a seasoned  bird atop red bean gnocchi, smoked andouille sausage, baby turnips and collard greens. If you are a hearty eater, I'd strongly suggest having an appetizer or small plate item before ordering this. While I enjoyed it, I typically like larger portions than offered with this quail dish. For dessert, we shared the root beer cake. Mmmm hmmm! This dessert is the truth! The root beer cake is topped with a scoop of beer infused ice cream (no it doesn't taste like beer) and on top of THAT, a carefully formed waterfall of popcorn drizzled in caramel.

The Prices: The prices are pretty standard for a concept restaurant such as this. We were not blown over by the pricing of any of their food items.

The Staff: The staff was great! They were VERY busy, but everyone we encountered was very accommodating and attentive.

Overall Experience: I can't wait to get back to SkyCastle Gastro Lounge to try other menu items. From the shortened wait time, to exploring the meal and celebrating with Mrs. O, the evening was 100% fantastic!

For more information about SkyCastle Gastro Lounge, visit their website at  http://skycastlegastrolounge.com/
Follow them on Twitter at @SkyCastleBham
Check out their tantalizing pics on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/skycastlebham/

Thanks so much for reading and sharing this review!

~The Birmingham Restaurant Raider
Anonymously Raiding a Restaurant Near You!! 
Enter the #RaidBham photo contest on twitter 

Harissa Hummus

Korean BBQ Wings

The Mississippi Bourbon Quail (I named him Dan Quail)

The Root Beer Cake (a must try)

2 comments:

Judy Sebastian (Food She Blogged) said...

The quail seemed like it did have a personality. Hah!
When will you be raiding restaurants here in Dubai?
Cheers!

benilhalk said...

The food looks very delicious! I am sure you had a great experience at this food place. Well dear, I am also thinking to host dinner birthday party for my son. I would like to make reservations for one of the best New York event venues for his birthday bash. If you have any recommendations then please share!