Firebird

I took out of town guests here on Memorial Day weekend, my second visit. I referred them to the website in preparation. All 4 of us were more than satisfied. The prix fixe dinner, which 3 of the 4 of us ordered, was wonderful. The atmosphere is outstanding; unfortunately my guest had theater tickets and were a little late in getting to the restaurant, so they were unable to view all the rooms. We all enjoyed the special voda drink, which I had tasted previously on an all-girls'-night out. I felt the service on my initial visit was a bit more attentive--perhaps because we were all women celebrating a birthday, but the waiter answered questions and knew his wines.

I went here with my family for Restaurant Week and was fairly disappointed. The food was nothing special. After all the hype about this restuarant, I expected something fabulous. Instead I got small portions, practically no options, and a huge bill to show for it. Although the dessert was really good and the atmosphere was interesting, it was not worth all that money and the food was mediocre at best!

It began badly when they lost our reservation for seven. Rather than being apologetic, the host implied that we had forgotten to make the reservation. When they finally found it, they sat us-fifteen minutes late. We were there for a pre-theater dinner so time was of the essence. The service continued to be poor after we sat down. Some members of our party didn't have water glasses, others didn't have a bread plate, others weren't offered bread, and the waitress neglected to take some of our orders. When everyone was finally on the same page, we ordered. Our appetizers came out fairly quickly. They were only fair and very small for the price. Since the appetizers were fairly small, we finished them quickly and thought we would have plenty of time to have our entrees and dessert, which was important to us because it was a birthday celebration. We waited for 25 minutes (7:20pm) after our appetizers were cleared and still no entrees. We asked our waitress and she said she would check in the kitchen. She never came back to our table. We asked her again and she said she would check in the kitchen, and she again did not return to the table. Finally, we flagged her down and she said they would be right out. A manager also finally came over and said they would be coming out shortly. We alerted her to the fact that it was now 7:40 and we had to be at an 8pm show. She replied by saying "everyone here has to go to the theater." While that was probably true, everyone else was also on coffee and dessert, and we had not even seen our entrees yet. When they finally came out at 7:45, we sent them back to the kitchen because there was simply not enough time to eat and get to the show.

Ten of us went last Friday evening for dinner. Service, as always, was excellent. Everyone of us loved our food. I had the foie gras and the duck breast. Excellent! I was, however, disappointed that the lobster bisque has disappeared from the menu. It was a complex and delicious bisque that I will always remeber fondly . I find the place beautiful as well. I, and I think most of my companions that evening, plan to go back. I have been there several times previously and they were all excellent experiences.

Probably could have passed in the 60s & 70s when there were no real Russian eating places around. Decor and atmosphere are so-o-o-o passe: like an overblown, but cheaply made Hollywood movie set. Menu selection is poor & food not authentic. Kulebiaka is not supposed to be puff pastry, blinis should be several times thinner (even thinner than French crepes), salmon 'balyk' is a poor cousin of the real thing (sturgeon). On the positive side, their vodka is spectacular -- better than Gray Goose or anything you will ever encounter in a store.

Service was great, but the food was overpriced and quality very mediocre. The decor is also very tired. Maybe this was a great place or would have been in the 70's. I should have gone to the 21 Club instead for great food and atmosphere at the same price!

The ambiance is very nice but the service is bad and the food is just ok.........needs alot of fine tuning and I was not at all impressed. It took a long time for someone to even ask if you'd like a drink nevertheless what you'd like for dinner. Do not buy the dinner and a show set because Broadway.com fails to tell you that your choices are few after you fork out the bucks. There are much better places to go to eat with the ambiance as well. This one I will not do again.