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Fancy's on 5th, a new oyster and burger bar from the owners of the Melt restaurant and food truck, opened tonight at the corner of 41st Street and Fifth Avenue South in Avondale.

The restaurant's name is a tribute to "Miss Fancy," the elephant that was the star attraction at the old Avondale Park location of the Birmingham Zoo — a beloved piece of Birmingham history that many longtime residents still recall fondly.

The restaurant is owned by Harriet Despinakis and Paget Pizitz, who previously brought Avondale the MELT food truck and restaurant. Fancy's on 5th expands their Avondale presence with a more formal sit-down format, while maintaining the neighborhood approachability that made MELT a local favorite.

The menu centers on fresh regional oysters priced by the half dozen — a selection that changes daily based on what's available from regional suppliers — alongside handcrafted burgers and a curated cocktail program. The kitchen also offers baked oyster preparations, including Oysters Avondale (spinach, parmesan cream) and Chorizo Oysters (chorizo, white cheddar polenta).

At the crossroads of Fifth Avenue South and 41st Street South, Avondale's main street, an illuminated, iron octopus swims mid-air, twinkling among glowing Edison bulbs hanging from nautical rope.

On the wall, machetes and samurai swords adorn a large palette of reclaimed wood that proudly reads "Fancy's." The rustic, exposed brick walls are juxtaposed by the understated elegance of a long, gleaming white marble bar.

This is Fancy's on 5th — and it opened in Avondale on March 10, 2016, to immediate neighborhood excitement. The restaurant occupies a prime corner location in one of Birmingham's most vibrant dining corridors, and its interior design manages to feel both eclectic and cohesive: industrial elements like the iron octopus and exposed brick sit comfortably alongside the refinement of the marble bar and the warmth of Edison-lit dining room.

The cocktail program reflects the same balance. Named drinks like Fancy's French (Bombay Sapphire gin, fresh lemon, sugar, house bubbles) and Octavius' Sangria (choice of red or white wine, housemade fruit jam, fresh citrus, house bubbles) are inventive without being precious. The Avondale Classic and Avondale Dirty both offer Tito's or Bombay at $10 — approachable pricing for a well-made martini-style drink.

The oyster program is the kitchen's centerpiece. Regional selections rotate daily and are served on the half shell with cocktail sauce, mignonette, and freshly grated horseradish. The baked preparations — particularly the Oysters Avondale with spinach and parmesan cream — were drawing immediate repeat visitors in the restaurant's first week.

If Birmingham's food scene has a beating heart, Avondale might be it — and Fancy's on 5th has arrived at exactly the right moment.

The restaurant bills itself as an "oyster dive," a term that signals something important: this isn't the stiff, white-tablecloth oyster bar of a previous generation. Fancy's on 5th is a neighborhood joint that happens to take its oysters seriously. The vibe is casual. The food is not.

Owners Harriet Despinakis and Paget Pizitz, who built a loyal following with the MELT food truck and brick-and-mortar restaurant, have created a space that feels genuinely like Avondale — a little rough around the edges in the best possible way, with the iron octopus and the machetes on the wall and the exposed brick, but anchored by that long white marble bar that communicates exactly where the quality is.

The burgers are made with house-ground beef on fresh-baked brioche buns. The oysters are regional, sourced daily, and prepared with care. The cocktails use real ingredients: fresh lemon, housemade fruit jam, freshly grated horseradish on the oyster plate.

Fancy's on 5th is located at 430 41st Street South. They're open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 5:00pm. For an Avondale neighborhood that already has a strong dining identity, Fancy's on 5th feels like a natural fit: unpretentious, local, and worth the visit.