Firebird Restaurant

Went last night to celebrate a friend?s birthday. The food was not bad. A couple of funny things though. First ? $25 martinis ? enough said! For appetizer, we ordered the blini (Russian crepes) with fish or meat or whatever. Doesn?t really matter, and I?ll explain why later. This is an appetizer and there was very little food on the plate. That?s fine, I expected that. The funny part is, the waiter filled the first three blinis for us. Anyway ?. for the three blinis that the waiter made for us he used up about 90% of the meat on the plate. Looking into the blini bowl ? there were still three more blinis for us to fill on our own ? but practically nothing to fill them with. Now I don?t mind if you give me three blinis and three blinis worth of meat to fill them with ? that?s fine ?. But don?t give me six blinis with only three blinis worth of filling! By the way ? the reason that I said that the filling did not matter is because the filling in the initial three blinis was so sparse that you couldn?t taste it anyway. Next funny thing. The borsht on the menu costs $32. Now, for someone like myself ?. growing up with a Russian grandmother and eating borsht on a regular basis, you must understand that borsht is essentially a poor man?s soup. It is made of water, beets, salt and pepper and sometimes a few chunks of meat ? that?s it. Here the borscht apparently contained some foie gras or duck confit ? or something that does not belong in the soup. Now I do not recall exactly what the ingredients were, but I do know that they did not belong in borsht. For those of you who are not intimately familiar with Russian cuisine ? I?ll give you an example that we can all appreciate ? $32 wanton soup that is made with kobe beef ? enough said! The bottom line is that the food is good ? but aside from the Russian waiters and the Russian sounding menu ?. There is absolutely nothing authentic about the Firebird. If you want Russian food ? go to Brooklyn! more

I had my bridal shower at Firebird on Saturday. Firebird doesn't feel like a restaurant- it feels like a wealthy turn of the century Russian townhome, particularly the third floor where my shower was held. There is a lovely parlor with a grand piano...perfect for guests to enter into. We paid per person ($30- extremely reasonable for a 3 course meal, considering we had the whole floor to ourselves). There was one long table in the dining room as opposed to smaller tables like you may usually see. I felt like I was at an old-fashioned aristocratic dinner party. Off the dining room is an amazing patio, wtih views of midtown, perfect for guests to wander out onto or gather on. We were there in the afternoon. The sun was out and it was perfect, but I can imagine it being quite lovely at night as well. BIG POINT- the SERVICE was TOP QUALITY. The waiters were exceptional and behaved as though they were at Le Cirque, not on Restaurant Row. They were most accomodating and seemed ok with most everything we asked. They were fine with us bringing the fancy dining chairs out onto the patio for present-opening. My mother was not charged one penny over what she expected and there was no discrepancies over the bill. This place is absolutely lovely. I got so many compliments on my shower- but so much of it was Firebird itself. I can't think of another place in NYC like this (and I have lived in Manhattan my entire life) so it really felt like finding a diamond in the rough. As for the food, it seems a tad heavy for brunch, but people were 'dying' (in a good way) over the chocolate molton lava cake they served. Firebird is the perfect balance of being grand and intimate at the same time. It seems the perfect place for a bridal or baby shower, a small fundraising dinner, tour group party, etc....For a party, this place is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Pros: decor, service more

I had my bridal shower at Firebird on Saturday. Firebird doesn't feel like a restaurant- it feels like a wealthy turn of the century Russian townhome, particularly the third floor where my shower was held. There is a lovely parlor with a grand piano...perfect for guests to enter into. We paid per person ($30- extremely reasonable for a 3 course meal, considering we had the whole floor to ourselves). There was one long table in the dining room as opposed to smaller tables like you may usually see. I felt like I was at an old-fashioned aristocratic dinner party. Off the dining room is an amazing patio, wtih views of midtown, perfect for guests to wander out onto or gather on. We were there in the afternoon. The sun was out and it was perfect, but I can imagine it being quite lovely at night as well. BIG POINT- the SERVICE was TOP QUALITY. The waiters were exceptional and behaved as though they were at Le Cirque, not on Restaurant Row. They were most accomodating and seemed ok with most everything we asked. They were fine with us bringing the fancy dining chairs out onto the patio for present-opening. My mother was not charged one penny over what she expected and there was no discrepancies over the bill. This place is absolutely lovely. I got so many compliments on my shower- but so much of it was Firebird itself. I can't think of another place in NYC like this (and I have lived in Manhattan my entire life) so it really felt like finding a diamond in the rough. As for the food, it seems a tad heavy for brunch, but people were 'dying' (in a good way) over the chocolate molton lava cake they served. Firebird is the perfect balance of being grand and intimate at the same time. It seems the perfect place for a bridal or baby shower, a small fundraising dinner, tour group party, etc....For a party, this place is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.\r \r Pros: decor, service more

best of the bests! Good vodka and beef. Also super good russian folk music! I love this place very much! more

best of the bests! Good vodka and beef. Also super good russian folk music! I love this place very much! more

I went with a group of friends to FireBird during restaurant week. The food was not terrible, but there were several problems with the service: from getting the wrong order to multiple errors in our bill. However, the disappointment was really in the price: $9 bottles of water and $17 martinis easily added up to more than $100 per person. The manager is indeed attentive is the food is not bad, but the experience is definitely not compatible with the price. Pros: Attentive manager Cons: Except for the manager, service is below average; pricey more

I went with a group of friends to FireBird during restaurant week. The food was not terrible, but there were several problems with the service: from getting the wrong order to multiple errors in our bill. However, the disappointment was really in the price: $9 bottles of water and $17 martinis easily added up to more than $100 per person.\r \r The manager is indeed attentive is the food is not bad, but the experience is definitely not compatible with the price. Pros: Attentive manager Cons: Except for the manager, service is below average; pricey more

We ate at the FireBird on a Saturday evening. The service was attentive, but the food was a disappointment. The salmon in puff pastry, while tasty, was a very small portion. The beef stroganoff was tough, bland, and served at near room temperature. We wanted a nice bottle of zinfandel - interesting how they were out of both bottles under $60. Only one at $68. was available. The strawberry charlotte for dessert was too heavily marzipan flavored and the hazelnuts were gritty. The bananas foster were great - but definitely not Russian and not worth a supplemental cost of $8. We did the prix fix menu, but still paid $190. for a mediocre to poor dinner. The piano player was the only true redeeming feature of this restaurant.\r This restaurant was highly recommended by the concierge at American Express. Guess they just like to see high checks charged on Amex! Pros: Piano player Cons: prices, quantity, bland food more

We ate at the FireBird on a Saturday evening. The service was attentive, but the food was a disappointment. The salmon in puff pastry, while tasty, was a very small portion. The beef stroganoff was tough, bland, and served at near room temperature. We wanted a nice bottle of zinfandel - interesting how they were out of both bottles under $60. Only one at $68. was available. The strawberry charlotte for dessert was too heavily marzipan flavored and the hazelnuts were gritty. The bananas foster were great - but definitely not Russian and not worth a supplemental cost of $8. We did the prix fix menu, but still paid $190. for a mediocre to poor dinner. The piano player was the only true redeeming feature of this restaurant. This restaurant was highly recommended by the concierge at American Express. Guess they just like to see high checks charged on Amex! Pros: Piano player Cons: prices, quantity, bland food more

Overpriced for a small bowl of bland borsch. Expensive drinks. Service had problems, even though there were plenty of them on the floor. I would not go back or recommend. more

Overpriced for a small bowl of bland borsch. Expensive drinks. Service had problems, even though there were plenty of them on the floor. I would not go back or recommend. more

The service was exquisite, decor is beautiful! Ever since April and beyond the overall experience has changed into a more spectacular dining experience. The honey vokda is divine, the foie gras is to die for,and the russian tea is absolutely amazing! I had a wonderful time with my fiance, i would highly reccomend this restaurant to everyone in new york city! Pros: Ambience, Service Cons: I miss the food! more

The service was exquisite, decor is beautiful! Ever since April and beyond the overall experience has changed into a more spectacular dining experience. The honey vokda is divine, the foie gras is to die for,and the russian tea is absolutely amazing! I had a wonderful time with my fiance, i would highly reccomend this restaurant to everyone in new york city! Pros: Ambience, Service Cons: I miss the food! more

Its a wonderful place for romantic dinner. We've been there a week ago and had very nice time. Food was good. Blinis, caviar, meat plate,Lamb,Kiev kotleta, cakes and honey vodka are something. Don't think that you can't wear dress or suit there. My boyfriend thought that he's underdressed. more

Its a wonderful place for romantic dinner. We've been there a week ago and had very nice time. Food was good. Blinis, caviar, meat plate,Lamb,Kiev kotleta, cakes and honey vodka are something. Don't think that you can't wear dress or suit there. My boyfriend thought that he's underdressed. more

Went to this restaurant recently, glad to see others agreed with me and would not recommend Firebird. Service and management rude and incompetent. Food unappealing. Such a competitive market in New York, I don't know how this restaurant has survived. Does not represent Russia well--vodka, people, or food. I have been to fine dining in numerous cities, trust me....go somewhere else. more

Went to this restaurant recently, glad to see others agreed with me and would not recommend Firebird. Service and management rude and incompetent. Food unappealing. Such a competitive market in New York, I don't know how this restaurant has survived. Does not represent Russia well--vodka, people, or food. I have been to fine dining in numerous cities, trust me....go somewhere else. more

We went for our anniversary. We had a truly wonderful time! The infused vodkas were wonderful. Our favorite was the Honey Vodka. We're making sure to stop back by just to have a glass of it when we go up for Christmas this year. Our dinner was fabulous and dessert was to die for. The atmosphere is wonderful and the service very professional. more

We went for our anniversary. We had a truly wonderful time! The infused vodkas were wonderful. Our favorite was the Honey Vodka. We're making sure to stop back by just to have a glass of it when we go up for Christmas this year. Our dinner was fabulous and dessert was to die for. The atmosphere is wonderful and the service very professional. more

I was in last week for what I thought would be a good place for an anniversary dinner. Boy, was I ever wrong. Not only did we have to wait to be seated-we had a reservation-but we had to wait at least 15 minutes to have our order taken. When our food finally came out, after reminding our inept server, the plates looked fithly and my chicken was cold and undercooked. If it that weren't bad enough, the chocolate cream in my husbands cake was sour and my ice cream was freezer burnt. The manager didn't even offer to compensate this disaster of a meal. For the price we had tp pay you would think we would have enjoyed ourselves. I would DEFINITELY NOT RECCOMMEND FireBird to anyone!! There are better place in NEw York for less money and higer quality. Take your business elsewhere. Cons: overpriced more