Dillard’s Chophouse, a favorite in Tuscaloosa, has now opened in Birmingham at the Westin Hotel.

“Tuscaloosa is awesome; football season is awesome,” said General Manager Jared Patterson, formerly general manager of the Tuscaloosa location.. “This is a whole new ballgame. We wanted to get in the city life.”

The steakhouse opened Monday in the former Todd English Pub and Casey’s Sports Grill location.

“It’s a fine dining steakhouse, an American steakhouse with a little French twist,” Patterson said. “We sell all prime beef, the top two percent of been in all the world.”

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved the liquor license for Dillard’s Chophouse. The bar offers an extensive cocktail list, “the best drinks I’ve ever had,” Patterson said. “We have an excellent wine list.”

The chef, Jacob Stull, has created a wide variety of fine dining options, Patterson said.

“We do some wild-game dishes like a dry-aged duck and a pan-seared venison filet,” Patterson said. “Those do really well for us, as well as our grilled double bone-in pork chop.”

There is also distinctive seafood.

“If you don’t care for beef, Chilean sea bass,” Patterson said. “It’s one of the rarest white fish in the world. It’s super tender. It’s right off the coast of South America. We house-cut it every day. We house-cut all of our steaks every single day, so we’re selling the freshest, highest-grade product that we can find, at a price that’s good for you.”

Birmingham’s restaurant scene keeps expanding exponentially, Patterson said. “The competitiveness is the fun part,” Patterson said. “We’re here to compete. I don’t think anyone’s going to do it better.”