Forte A Birmingham Restaurant

The first time we went, the coat closet caught on fire, they opened it up and wafted all the smoke into the restaurant. No one apologized or offered us any compensation for having our anniversary dinner in a smoke-filled room. I thought that was unbelievable. When it was under new management, we tried again. I ordered short ribs and they tasted freezer-burnt. We tried once again for coffee/dessert after movie and they didn't have items that were on the menu and the waiter just shrugged his shoulders as if to say ""too bad""--he made no other suggestions nor even acted as if he cared. Completely disengaged. Three strikes, Forte is out for us. Pros: location Cons: horrid service, don't care attitude more

Forte always has the nicest servers, such a fun place to go before or after a movie uptown. The bread... oh my gosh.... it is such a fabulous combination of warm, soft, seasoned.... just melts in your mouth. Got to give them props for having a very tasty raspberry/lemon martini on the menu, $1 of which goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research - makes the fact that it costs $10 slightly more palatable. Had a Birmingham salad the last time I was there and it was pretty good. Just impressed with the consistency of nice, non-attitude and attentive service and had to post a review! Pros: Best bread!!! Cons: Martinis are $10 :( more

great food, and suprisingly affordable. the service was great as well. the dinner for two was amazing Pros: affordable, good service more

Looks brand new, Menu very creative with section of dinners for 2 to share. Service above and beyond... server went to theater to buy my movie tix!! Parking a big problem, maybr Valet would be a good idea? No reservations, but not too long a wait. Different specials and discounts everynight, server was even a little confused. I loved the fact that I could get breakfast at 7:30 at night! Pros: Interesting food, great service Cons: Parking is horrible more

I went with a group of 25 (dinner club) and only one person loved their food. Everyone else either said it was just okay to bad. The service was good for the most part but very expensive for bad food. When the waitress asked how everything was, we told her and she just said ""I'm sorry"". I had the duck and it's the first time that I ever had bad duck. There are much better restaurants within a few blocks. Pros: Ambience Cons: The food was terrible more

This place is okay. The after work crowd is old and old. The service is marginal, but it's the Detroit area so what do you expect. Pros: Close to home and never crowded Cons: Horrible service, nasty food more

As far as decor, I don't think the carpeting has been replaced in fifteen years. \r The menu tries to hard to be ""eclectic"" leaving the customer overwhelmed with strange flavor combos. \r Forte would not be my first choice(or second choice) for a memorable dining experience. \r Pros: Downtown Birmingham location more

I've never been impressed after leaving Forte. It has the looks, feel, and people of a high end restaurant in Birmingham, but it lacks in quality of food. \r \r I could name 3 or 4 places in Birmingham that are far better when it comes to food, and that's saying a lot considering Birmingham is a small town. Cons: Food not that great more

Expensive (worth every penny), trendy and food is out of this world. Try their short ribs!! Every dish is like a sculpture, not your regular neighborhood restaurant for sure. Have been there a few times, last time on our 7 year anniversary. It wasn't crowded, although in winter gets PACKED and if you want to get a good spot (by the window) you better make reservations few weeks in advance (been there in January for my bday with 12 people). Service is always great, great selection of wine Super highly recommended! more

I have no idea what everyone is raving about because the place is poor at best. I went to Forte Easter weekend (April 14, 2006). The place was only 1/3 full. Freshness was a big issue with my meal. My friend and I both ordered different kinds of salads, mine was wilted and brown. We also ordered Grilled Citrus Marinated Chicken (which was supposed to be served with broccoli raab, but was just regular broccoli) and Yellowfin Tuna with a coconut-lime crust. The tuna was tough, veiny and virtually uneatable. Dessert was great! We had Key Lime pie ... definitely big enough for two. In closing, our server actually thought we would come back again and asked me to fill out a ""frequent diner"" card. Maybe is a manager would have come to my table and explain what happened I would be more inclined to do so. Pros: great dessert, large wine list, brick oven Cons: poor quality control, no music more

Overall I would recommend this place for a nice evening out with friends...great people watching spot and the food was good but overall the staff was not impressive. We had 7pm reservations and we were not seated until 7:20pm. The hostess did not explain the delay and really didn't say anything until they were ready to seat us. The gentleman that seated us was nice, very friendly but our waiter was bad. He talked over us and pushed menu items on us. Took to long to clear dishes and we had to miss my b-day dessert because we had to leave by 9:00pm. I'll give it another shot in the future and see if they can up the staff. Pros: Location, Atmosphere, Food Cons: Staff, Pricey more

I stopped in as a single diner. Felt very welcomed by the gracious server. Nice wine list. Great appetizer - cavatelli with a rich mushroom sauce. Tasty but inelegantly presented as a pile of mushy things on a plate - needs something long/crisp to add some texture and break up the visual. Then came the duck, after I spied a worried-looking cook scanning the room to see where he should take this plate that had been sitting too long. It was mine - he handled it well but without admitting or apologizing for the mistake. Duck was a little tough and stringy, without much sauce and with a starch that was undercooked enough to be crunchy. That said, I think this place is worth going back to - they have great flavors and warm, if not perfect, service. It did seem like I was paying for better, though. Pros: Warm service, flavorful dishes Cons: not the best value more

Great place to network, hang out, have a drink, eat dinner, be romantic, get to know someone, impress your friends. What else do you need? Barb Tate Pros: Location Cons: Parking more