BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Red Sea Ethiopian, Mediterranean and Cajun Restaurant, long regarded as Birmingham’s only Ethiopian restaurant, has closed its doors, ending a decade-long run that helped introduce East African flavors to the city’s dining scene. The restaurant’s shuttering leaves Birmingham without a dedicated Ethiopian option and adds another notable loss to a food landscape already rich in Mediterranean but sparse in African cuisine.
Opened around 2015, Red Sea operated in the Green Springs/Red Mountain area and built a following with a menu that fused traditional Ethiopian dishes such as spicy stews and injera with Mediterranean and Cajun offerings, including kebabs and seafood. Regional writeups and guides routinely highlighted Red Sea as a destination for authentic Ethiopian food in Alabama, noting its role in broadening the city’s palate beyond Southern and standard international fare.
The closure surfaced publicly in recent days through local business roundups and online discussion, with Bham Now listing Red Sea among the latest Birmingham restaurant closures and describing it as the last Ethiopian restaurant in the city. A widely shared Reddit post from early December reported that the restaurant had shut down and that a new Mediterranean or Greek restaurant is expected to take over the space, sparking disappointment from diners who viewed Red Sea as a distinctive part of the city’s food culture.
While Birmingham has seen steady growth in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern options, African cuisines remain underrepresented, and Red Sea often appeared on lists of places to find African food in the metro area. In 2017 and 2018, local food publications and city guides spotlighted Red Sea as one of only a couple of Ethiopian spots to ever operate in Birmingham, underscoring its niche status in a market better known for barbecue, meat-and-three plates and New American restaurants.