Big Sandwiches and a Garden Courtyard at The Garage

At The Garage, a sandwich can arrive with enough height and filling to change the plan for the rest of the afternoon. The Fritz, the house favorite for serious appetites, is notably large and generously packed; it is also substantial enough to split when lunch calls for a little restraint.

This Birmingham pub and sandwich shop has the useful ability to serve two moods at once. Inside is dark and bar-like, with the comfortable, unpretentious character of a longtime local hangout. Step outside, though, and the setting opens into a greener, stranger, more leisurely world of flowers, old objects and tables under the trees.

The food is centered on substantial sandwiches, with soup and tuna salad providing a few familiar detours. Pastrami, roast beef, Reubens, smoked turkey and cheddar, hot roast beef and BLTs give the menu a good range, from deli-counter classics to a straight-ahead sandwich-and-beer lunch.

The simple BLT has its own appeal here. Not every order needs to be a towering construction, and a well-made basic can be exactly right when the table is also ordering drinks and planning to stay awhile.

Tuna salad and horseradish appear among the options, and diners can build their own sandwiches as well. That makes the menu friendlier to mixed groups: one person can pursue the biggest sandwich in the room while another keeps things closer to a soup-and-sandwich lunch.

Soup of the day is a recurring option and a natural companion to the sandwich menu. On a cooler day, the combination gives the place an old-fashioned lunch-counter rhythm, even if the surroundings are far more eclectic than a lunch counter.

The Fritz is the order that tends to get mentioned first, largely because it is so generously filled. It is built for the person who has skipped breakfast, driven across town, or simply believes lunch should be an event rather than a snack.

Pastrami, roast beef and the Reuben offer similarly satisfying territory for fans of meaty, traditional sandwiches. Smoked turkey and cheddar provides another familiar lane, while hot roast beef carries the menu toward the comforting, napkin-required end of lunch.

There is no need to treat the menu like a test of endurance. Splitting the Fritz leaves room for soup, a beer, or just a slower afternoon at the table.

The outdoor courtyard is the feature that gives The Garage its distinctive personality. Magnolia trees and a wisteria canopy bring a real sense of enclosure overhead, while greenery and seasonal flowers soften the edges of the space.

Then there are the antiques and odd objects scattered about. They give the courtyard a collected, almost improvised artistic quality rather than the tidy look of a formally designed garden. A good object can interrupt a conversation for a minute, which is not a bad thing.

Lights and flowers add to the visual appeal when the patio is in use. The overall effect is relaxed rather than precious: a place where an old piece of décor, a drink on the table and a magnolia branch can coexist without trying too hard.

The courtyard has tables that suit different versions of a gathering. Some are cozier and more private, while larger tables give friends or a small group room to spread out over sandwiches and rounds of drinks.

Conversation comes easily in the outdoor area, which is generally calmer than a louder downtown bar. It works for a casual date, an unhurried catch-up with friends, or a group that wants to keep talking after the plates have been cleared.

The Garage can be a daytime sandwich stop, but it does not hurry the visit toward the exit. It also works as an evening place for drinks, with the courtyard providing a setting that is more garden hangout than standard patio.

The drink list gives the sandwich menu a proper pub counterpart. The Garage offers a broad beer selection that includes local beers along with a wider range of choices, so a roast beef sandwich does not have to settle for a generic pairing.

Wine and cocktails are available as well. The cocktails are straightforward and well executed, fitting the place's comfortable, no-fuss style without turning the evening into a cocktail-bar production.

That mix helps explain the flexible pace of the place. A visitor can come in for soup and a sandwich, meet someone for a beer, or let lunch gradually turn into another round at the table.

The courtyard may be the more unusual setting, but The Garage is not only an outdoor destination. Indoor tables, bar or counter seating, and the darker interior give the place another personality when rain, heat or cold makes the patio less appealing.

The contrast is useful. The indoor room has a dive-bar-like character, while the outdoor area is leafy and full of visual curiosities. Choosing between them changes the mood of the visit without changing the essentials: a big sandwich, a drink, and plenty of room for conversation.

The ordering arrangement is slightly different from a full-service restaurant. Drinks are purchased at the bar, while food is ordered at a designated counter or kitchen area; once a table is chosen, the food is brought out.

It can take a moment to get oriented on a first visit, especially when a group is deciding who is handling drinks and who is placing the food order. After that, the system suits the casual flow of the room and courtyard.

During busy lunch periods and other peak times, the line at the food counter and the wait for food can grow longer. The place is better approached as somewhere to settle in than as a guaranteed quick stop.

The Garage sits in Birmingham's Southside area near downtown, in a setting that feels a little removed from the bustle once you are inside the courtyard. The crowd is diverse, and the atmosphere is laid-back rather than flashy.

Street parking may be free or paid depending on the spot, and finding a space can take some patience. Once you have made it through the ordering routine and chosen between the dim interior and the courtyard tables, the rest of the visit has an easy, stay-a-while rhythm.