A new-to-Birmingham tasting-menu restaurant will open this Saturday, March 8, in downtown’s Pizitz Food Hall.

Rêve, a fine-dining restaurant that will offer such French favorites as steak au poivre and coq au vin, is the culmination of a longtime dream for chef Jacob M. Stull, who fine-tuned his tasting-menu concept at a series of pop-up dinners in Birmingham last year.

“Rêve means ‘dream’ in French, and the name holds deep personal significance,” Stull, the restaurant’s owner and executive chef, says. “It’s always been my dream to transform this idea of a tasting menu into a permanent restaurant.”

A native of Maryland, Stull worked in restaurants on the East Coast and New Orleans (including the revered French Quarter restaurant Brennan’s) before he moved to Birmingham in 2018 and became the opening chef de cuisine at the former Whistling Table in Forest Park.

He later served as the opening executive chef at the French-inspired brasserie Forté and the rooftop bar Roll Call in the Nick Saban-backed downtown Tuscaloosa luxury hotel The Alamite.

Back in Birmingham, Stull began Rêve as a pop-up concept in March 2024, hosting six- and 10-course tasting-menu dinners two and three nights a week at The Sage event space in Pepper Place and Dillard’s Chophouse in the Westin Hotel.

He found a receptive, and appreciative, audience.

“The good thing about the pop-ups was we were able to test the market and see if Birmingham was ready for something like this,” Stull says. “And after six, seven months of doing pop-ups, we made the decision that they were.”

‘Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn’

Stull found a permanent home for Rêve in the former SOCU Southern Kitchen & Oyster Bar space in the Pizitz Food Hall, which he moved into in December. He has spent the past three months transforming the space into his vision for Rêve.

The 3,000-square-foot, 78-seat restaurant anchors the northwest corner of the food hall, opening onto the courtyard and including an entrance near The Standard food stall. Rêve is the only full-service restaurant in the Pizitz.

In addition to tables and booths in the main dining room, the space includes a chef’s bar that offers guests front-row seats to the action in the exposed kitchen, a private dining room that faces Second Avenue North, and outdoor seating that is available on the patio when weather permits.

The interior features preserved tile floors and century-old heart pine that goes back to the early days of the Pizitz building, as well as cold-rolled steel countertops that pay homage to Birmingham’s industrial roots.

“The goal was to make it Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn, where it’s not too stuffy,” Stull says. “And there’s a lot of history in this building, which is fun for us.”

Stull commissioned Birmingham artist Mandy Maples to create two expressionistic abstract paintings — which she titled Joie de vivre (or “joy of life”) I and II — that help tell the story of Rêve.

One of her paintings includes the French translation of a quote from famed chef and cookbook author James Beard: “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”

“Jacob sent me musical playlists that he listens to, so I listened to a lot of his French playlists while I made these pieces,” Maples says. “I layered the pieces with quotes and writings about his journey, so they’re really kind of a portrait of Jacob.”

‘A journey of gastronomy’

While other chefs around the city have hosted tasting-menu pop-up dinners — which feature small portions of multiple, chef-selected dishes — Rêve is believed to be the first tasting-menu-centric restaurant to open in Birmingham.

“Opening a concept like this is daunting because we’re the first ones to do the brick-and-mortar,” Stull says. “But what’s fun about it is we get to see how people react to the food and the story that goes with it.

“When you’re doing a six- or 10-course tasting menu, it truly is a journey of gastronomy,” he adds. “For me, it’s fun — especially in an open kitchen because I get to see everyone’s reaction.”

For the opening week, Stull will start with a six-course menu that is priced at $150 per person. Reservations are required 24 hours in advance.

The six courses, according to a media release, include:

• Canapés, with house-made bread and fried truffle beignets dusted with charcoal powder.
• La Gargouillou, an iconic dish from French chef Michel Bras that features spring vegetables from local farms and is complemented by Benton’s country jamón broth, molasses yolk, jamón consommé and mirepoix — all poured tableside.
• Pho Au Bœuf, a French-infused take on Vietnamese pho, showcasing seared veal cheek and consommé served in a crystal wine glass adorned with chili oil and garnished with Thai basil.
• Canard et Mélasse, featuring sustainably sourced Hudson Valley duck, dry-aged and served with confit legs, root beer and molasses glaze, beet, oxalis, sorghum and cherries.
• Lait et Miel, a pre-dessert, New Orleans-inspired honey snow cone made with kombucha honey and topped with caramelized Foxhound Bee Company honey and crème fraîche.
• L Vallée de la Forêt-Noire, a traditional German Black Forest torte made with Cacao Noel, glazed with candied griotte cherries from France and finished with an orange bitters sorbet.

“Obviously, a tasting menu is smaller portions,” Stull says, “but I promise you, you’re not going to leave hungry.”

Beginning Friday, March 14, Stull will add a 10-course tasting menu, and later in March, Rêve will offer a brasserie-style à la carte menu that will include steak au poivre, steak tartar, coq au vin and a chocolate soufflé.

“The à la carte menu is like my greatest brasserie hits of things of mine that people have enjoyed in the past,” Stull says. “It’s a little more casual – still really nice (and) high-end, but more casual than a tasting menu.”

‘A city of camaraderie’

Stull didn’t have to look far to assemble his support staff at Rêve.

Sous chef John Smith and pastry chef Caitlyn “Cate” Cole both worked with him at Forté in Tuscaloosa and followed him to Birmingham.

“Those guys have been with me since Forté,” he says. “After we all left Forté, they decided, ‘Look, if you’re doing Rêve, I’m coming.’”

Blake Boyd, who helped with the Rêve pop-up dinners, is the dining room manager, and Chelsea Cheyenne, who comes from Luca Lagotto, oversees the beverage program at Rêve.

“We’re just super-excited to be able to be part of Birmingham and have a brick-and-mortar (restaurant),” Stull says. “It’s been a dream of mine since I came to the city, and everyone in this city has been nothing but awesome.

“It’s a city of camaraderie,” he adds. “I just can’t wait to be a part of that tapestry of restaurants in Birmingham.”

Rêve is in the Pizitz Food Hall at 1821 Second Ave. North in Birmingham, Ala. The phone is 205-593-4154. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For reservations and more information, go here.