Went again and this is the best restaurant in Michigan! Shadi has the best recommendations and is so helpful!! 10/10! Went again and this is the best restaurant in Michigan! Shadi has the best recommendations and is so helpful -- truly above and beyond. 10/10! On this visit, we tried the Black Rice, Farm Egg, Arancini, Rigatoni Bolognese, and Truffle Pasta -- every dish was exceptional. The rigatoni noodles are so fresh and springy they could rival (and honestly beat) any I've had in Italy. The arancini were impossible to stop eating--crispy outside, creamy inside, perfectly seasoned. The farm egg dish was unlike anything else--rich, delicate, and wonderfully balanced. And the black rice remains just as bomb as before: umami-packed, savory, and deeply satisfying. read more

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Curtis was such a pleasant and efficient server. Love his vibe. We dined on the patio-shaded table on a beautiful night. Pasta and salad were flavorful. Bread served with olive oil was very delicious. Loved the homemade ice cream and cheesecake topped with honeycomb! read more

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The food was great! Quite expensive for the portions but I had a great time. They gave me a personalized birthday card which was a very nice touch. The service was great, we had refills brought rather quickly and the waitress gave us a run down of the specials and recommendations. Parking was a hassle since it is connected to an apartment complex and many side streets do not allow parking. read more

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Another summer, another formulaic Birmingham restaurant. Good news -- I like the formula! We sat outside on a steamy night but were comfortable and tended to with care. Our service was great and consultative. Truffle pasta special as an appetizer was lovely albeit a little salty. Loved the brussel sprout salad with enough acidity to cut through the cream of our pasta. Filet was one of the best I'd ever had and cooked to protection. The rest of the plate was unnecessary with vidalia onions cooked beyond recognition. My dining partner's salmon was perfect by all accounts. Asparagus side was plain but good -- the ricotta started to curdle but was still edible. My wife enjoyed her drink, and my mocktail was fine. Birmingham prices were featured throughout the menu at $120/person with drinks and inclusive of tip. It's a fancy restaurant. $10 for valet, but you could find street parking on this side of Woodward if you really tried. In sum: great food with more hits than misses, a little overpriced, and a beautiful place to exist for dinner. Solid 4/5 read more

My favorite ambiance of any restaurant interior. Very unique interior and when the doors are open in the summer completely changes the character. read more

Forest is the dining experience anyone visiting Birmingham should strive to get. The restaurant is elegant and inviting with many outdoor patio seats to enjoy the warm summer breeze. The food is pure excellence... from the farm egg (culinary perfection) to the spicy rigatoni ... everything on the menu is delicious. The cocktails were expertly prepared and the service was on point. This restaurant has a great energy and you can tell by the struggle to get a last minute reservation it's a local favorite. Worth the extra $$$ for a high end experience. read more

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Forest is quite an expensive restaurant, but the food is absolutely delectable. I had the truffle pasta, which was AMAZING--truly the most expensive pasta dish I've ever ordered! We were there to celebrate my fiancé's birthday and enjoyed the baked Alaska for dessert, which was a delightful surprise. The dining area is intimate, so I recommend making a reservation in advance. Unfortunately, the service wasn't the best; at times, it felt like we were being ignored by our server, which is why I docked a star. Overall, I'd say this is more of a special occasion restaurant rather than a regular spot, but the food is definitely worth trying! read more

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This was an incredible restaurant. I'm not much of a $$$$ diner, but the food here was amazing. We enjoyed every dish. The desert was a little overly sweet and rich for our palates, but still great. My favorite was the pasta. Definitely check this out. read more

Dined at Forest in Birmingham for dinner, and it was a mixed experience. The tomahawk to share was the star of the evening--cooked perfectly to temp and great for sharing. The veal, on the other hand, was a huge portion--felt like they served the whole calf! Generous, but maybe a bit much. The halibut was interesting but missed the mark for me--colorless and a little dry, lacking that bright, fresh pop you'd hope for with such a delicate fish. As for dessert, the blondie fell flat--just not worth the calories. Service and ambiance were solid, but for the price point, I expected a bit more consistency across the menu. read more

This restaurant is across woodward from the downtown area so parking is a bit easier. There is valet or street parking down the block. The restaurant is beautiful with lots of windows and a very clean look. The service was very professional and kind. They even split the dishes for us and brought extra plates. The short rib cannelloni was really good- it was a lot of meat to the pasta/breading on the outside and the sunchoke puree and roasted sunchoke were a bit sweet to balance the salty meat. I hadn't ever had that vegetable before (it is a but like a potato and a bit like an artichoke). The salmon was not very good- it was pretty bland and the crème fraiche sauce was watery. We also got the house salad and that was really delicious with avocado and pistachios, highly recommend! read more

Forest - Short Rib Cannelloni - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

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Love this restaurant! This reminds me of a city restaurant in Toronto or Montreal or Chicago where the interesting ingredients and great menu make this place a stand out. We ordered the shrimp, pasta and salmon... Both were flavored beautifully. Their dessert menu is top-notch. We need to go back before the new winter menu comes out... and try a few other choices... Although we are very excited to see the new menu coming this month. read more

My favorite restaurant in Bham. It's great for entertaining clients, family, a romantic dinner or just to stop by for a cocktail. Service doesn't get any better than Forest. read more

The ambiance is elegant and modern with lots of big, beautiful open windows. There is a smaller space for outdoor seating as well. The service was great. For dinner, I had a Caesar salad to start which was fresh and had just the right amount of dressing. For my main dish, I had the rigatoni. I liked the spice of the chicken meatballs in the rigatoni and loved that they had options without pork, but sauce of the dish was very light. Portion sizes are smaller so something to be aware of too! Would come back, overall liked the vibe of the restaurant! read more

Forest - Rigatoni - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

Brought my family here for my Mother's milestone birthday. The food, service, and ambiance were on point. We didn't order any drinks as parents frown upon libations. So we sipped on waters for the entire meal. Between the 4 of us, we ordered the following: 1/ 3 Appetizers - 2x Egg Broiled dishes and 1x Octopus sampler 2/ 4 Entrees - 3x Pasta dishes and 1x Lamb Shank 3/ 2 Desserts - 1x Baked Alaska and 1x Chocolate Mousse Every single dish we ordered was cooked well and enjoyed by all 4 of us. There wasn't a dish we had issues with, sent back, or didn't finish. If anything we took home half a pasta dish and half my lamb shanks. The desserts were completely finished. We are a family W/OUT a sweet tooth and if we finish our desserts it means they were made exceptionally well. Since it was my Mother's birthday, they brought out the Baked Alaska with a candle on top. It was a nice touch and we enjoyed it very much. Server was a gentleman with a ponytail. He was polite and kind towards my mother. Enjoyed the service all around. Total tab for the entire meal was $185 before tip. The dinner and experience was enjoyed by all. Would repeat! read more

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We had the best time, Al Fresco is the way to go. We celebrated our Anniversary here, food was fantastic, we both chose the Truffle Pasta, we shared the greens salad and black rice. Everything was unique and delicious .Service was everything you could ask for . Such a great experience! read more

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We very much enjoyed our experience at Forest. we ordered the octopus, artichoke soup, short rib cannelloni and halibut. All were fantastic save for the octopus, it was a bit chewy but the flavor was on point. The bartenders were friendly and attentive. Highly recommend. read more

Forest - Octopus - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

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My sister and I went to Forest for my birthday dinner, on a Friday night. We were seated right on time. The restaurant is nicely decorated and has big beautiful windows throughout. The menu has a variety of items, many of which sounded good to us. We ordered the black rice, and the farm egg for our appetizers. They were both amazing. The black rice had this amazing garlic and sesame flavor and the texture was just awesome. The farm egg had mushrooms that were so tender and yummy, and also had a delicious sauce that was so good we dipped bread from the bread basket in it afterword. For dinner, I ordered the branzino and my sister did 2 different half orders of pasta. Both of our entrees were good. I especially enjoyed the pomegranate in the quinoa, as it provided a wonderful pop of flavor. I also ordered one of their mock tails with dinner - the love potion. It was fantastic! Fizzy, sweet, and perfect with the meal. For dessert we both ordered the baked Alaska. The restaurant put a candle in it, which was nice. I have never had baked Alaska before, but have always wanted to try one. Let me tell you it did NOT disappoint. It was incredible. The cake/brownie at the bottom was so chewy and good and the merengue was perfectly toasted and deliciously sweet and sticky. The ice cream in beteeen was good too. The service overall was top notch. They kept our water full (hard because my sister and I drink a ton of water), and our waitress also brought me a complimentary mocktail for my birthday (in addition to the one I ordered), which went above and beyond for me and made it a special meal. I would definitely recommend dining here and would go back again. read more

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Amazing food and beautiful atmosphere/ ambiance. Drinks and food were amazing. The pasta was unreal. Amazing experience!

I'm all about patio dining in the summer and even more so with the pandemic. I recently met a friend at Forest and had a great dinner on their patio. Be sure to make a reservation for the patio. The tables are appropriately social distanced apart so no worries from me on other diners being too close. The staff was very pleasant and all sported masks. Now to the good stuff...the food! I started with the farm egg with maitake mushroom and madeira sabayon. The egg was poached then deep fried - what's not to like? For the main course, I ordered the pasta special of the day which was pasta, garlic, cream sauce and a TON of shaved truffles. It was so good! My friend got the salmon which looked really healthy...no knock on the healthy part, I just opt for carbs. For dessert, we split the baked Alaska which is an old-school dessert. It hit all the sugar overload requirements. I will definitely come back soon for dinner! read more

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I had a surprise birthday dinner here and I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate. I had a scallop appetizer, duck as an entree, and a side of home style fries. The menu is small and I appreciate how they perfected the taste of every dish -quality over quantity! The home style fries are so unique and I enjoyed that the restaurant put their own spin on their presentation and preparation of the side dish that we all love. The interior was sleek and modern and I highly recommended this restaurant for an intimate date. Looking forward to returning soon. Check out my Instagram for more @hangry_detroiter read more

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Our server, Nick, was terrific. The room is sophisticated and sleek. Our patio table was lovely and the weather was perfection. But we won't be racing back to Forest anytime soon. While the menu is solid with lots of appealing choices, the execution was no more than meh. The Caesar salad was predictable and under-flavored. (If I never see another crouton in my life, I'll be ecstatic!) The pasta special, a variation of Alfredo with truffles, had the makings of something tasty. But the chef forgot the small amount of savory that would have made the dish come alive. That could have been salt, a sprinkling of Parmesan, anything to pull the underlying flavors to the surface. While the salmon my wife and I split was a generous portion for both of us, and perfectly pan seared, the sauce underneath it was a mystery. The shallot based cream broth was thinner than water, a bit too tart, and again desperately needing a pinch of salt and a few minutes of reduction to give it badly needed body and flavor. And I can't forgot to mention that my wife's pomegranate martini had to be remade because the mixologist apparently forgot the pom. Seriously?? I know it's pedestrian to bring cost into the discussion. But at these prices, I would have expected a heck of a better meal. Overall - lovely setting and service for a dinner I could have gotten down the street at Mt Chalet at half the cost and better executed. read more

I've always wanted to try this place!!! I love everything that I ordered! From our appetizers to our entree. Service is awesome. I was gonna give it a perfect 5 but just have a few comments. The concept was an open restaurant I guess ?.. but the flies are a no no. It's not so much , but you'll have the occasional nuisance of fly around you and we weren't even seated outside. Hence , I will never eat good food al fresco .The glass on my table had a lipstick stain around the rim. We saw that at the start of our meal. I'm so surprised with that one .how can that be missed. And my son ordered New York strip... I know it's not the most tender amongst the cuts but they could've done better. It has a good taste but a little tough , even with it being medium rare. read more

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I was so excited to try this place last night. I heard great things about the food from friends. I love the location, the option to valet, and the outdoor seating. We had a reservation at 8:30 and were seated almost immediately. I really enjoyed the set up of the restaurant. The kitchen was totally visible and the decor was beautiful. We sat outside because the weather was really nice. The waitress came to our table right away. The service was impeccable. The waitress was very friendly, but not very knowledgable about the menu. The food and drink options were great, however I do wish they had more cocktails. We started with caesar salad and black rice. I ordered the royal lemonade and the future loml ordered Cava. They enjoyed their Spanish wine. Caesar salad: 5/5 it was very good and had plenty of dressing. They even split it for us before bringing it out. Black rice: 1/5 honestly it was too salty and crunchy for me. It also lacked flavor and just seemed like I was eating sea salt. It didn't look very appetizing either. Royal lemonade: 2/5 I felt like a kid drinking it. It was very sweet and lemony, but I can't complain because it's exactly what I ordered. For our entrees we ordered the truffle spaghetti and duck. We also ordered a bottle of French wine. For dessert we ordered the chocolate dessert because they were sold out of the baked Alaska. Truffle spaghetti: 3/5 it was good, but too tangy. They were extremely generous with the truffles, but you couldn't taste the truffle at all. Duck: 3/5 Nice presentation. The mushrooms that were paired with it were very good and flavorful. Chocolate dessert: 0/5 unfortunately it wasn't good at all. We only took one bite. I wish I remembered its name, but clearly it wasn't very memorable. Overall, this restaurant is pretty good. I would return because I really enjoyed the vibe. Everyone was extremely friendly and the couple next to us made sure that I knew the future loml treated me like the royal princess that I am! I had a really great experience and would definitely try the food again! read more

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I've been to forest twice. Yesterday I sat outside for the first time. Both inside and outside you will be impressed, stunning place. Service is great. Black rice and the farm egg are both a must when visiting Forest. I had the Royal lemonade to drink and didn't love it. Oddly purple and flavor was just a little off. I had the truffle pasta for my entree. Beautiful presentation, a lot of truffles. A bit soupy and tangy. I will order something else next time. Overall super nice restaurant with a great menu. read more

Forest - Truffle Pasta Royal lemonade Green beans - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

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Very simple and elegant atmosphere. Located east of Woodward, in Birmingham, I actually enjoyed it being away from downtown. Made reservations arrived 5 mins early and was seated right away. Great service, nonstop attention. Constant plate changes and utensil changes. Waitress was very friendly, and knowledgeable. There was a little mix up with a pasta dish but the manager came over and handled it quickly and very professionally. Highly recommended the home fries and baked Alaska. read more

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When I'm looking for some of the best potatoes, fresh fish, amazing ambiance, and professional service. I'm heading to Forest! The blue cheese olives for my dirty martini are stuffed daily and the managers/hostess and Brandon make sure every detail is covered to the utmost. read more

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Service here was absolutely amazing. We had girls dinner and everything tasted great. It was cool being able to look into the kitchen and seeing the prep. It's very romantic , dim, and chic. Perfect for date night or an outing. They do offer valet parking and there is plenty of street parking as well. read more

Forest - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

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The food was generally salty and not very tasty. It looked like a high-end restaurant, but the dust piled up under the tables and the windows piled up, and I thought the management wasn't very good. read more

The food here is just ridiculous. No other way to describe it. Ethereal. Possibly best fine dining/upscale restaurant in Michigan pound for pound. Food 10/10 Cocktails 8/10 Service 8.5/10 Ambience 8.5/10 read more

First service. Took forever to get our first course and all other courses. We were 8 people and spent over $1600, ok not complaining about bill, but while eating dessert the waiter said we would need to leave very soon as they needed to turn the table! Are they kidding? Cardinal rule at fine restaurants. Don't make good customers leave. This is no Conney island. We were there a while,because they didn't bring the food within a reasonable time. The restaurant is pretty,but the noise levels are so bad as to be unacceptable. The menu is awful, very restrictive and short in selection no veal chops, no lamb chops, no pork chops only steak a strip, no stews , no prime rib, small selection and restrictive preparations of fish. I sent my appetizer back as it was fishy. Ok, Mackerel is fishy but this was over the top. My wife sent back the potato soup because it was too bland. My wife, likes some bland, rather than spicy ,so it must have been really bland. So, menu and food get one star. Fancy, small portions, not wonderful in taste. Their sister restaurant Phoneshia is just the opposite. Great service, great menu, great food. Too bad, none of our group will go back. Do not recommend! read more

Outstanding!!! Worth every single penny. But prepare to bring A LOT of Pennie's (LOL). Again, however, food selection, quality, service, ambience, and overall experience is out of this world. I have made no other restaurant reviews like this ever, and it will take a lot before I write another review like this about any other restaurant. -PJTC read more

I really like the cool vibe here. I don't feel rushed it's a different feel than most of the Birmingham restaurants. Both times the appetizers were more memorable than the entrees, but maybe that's because the appetizers were outstanding. I enjoyed my pasta, and I tried several entrees that were all unique and really good. Cheese Cake was memorable. I will be back read more

Oh how we love Forest! The egg -- incredible! The potato wedges are seriously amazing! Atmosphere and vibe -- great!Service is always excellent. read more

Wonderful food and service in a sophisticated yet comfortable environment. Always interesting and tempting items on the menu.

This is a location I would go back to over and over again. Their egg is amazing! So simple but so perfect. Their pastas are great and you can order small portions to try different things. Their baked Alaska is just out of this world. Our server was the best. The only downfall is their budino as it's not a budino- chef- dump it and put the real thing on the menu!!! We will be back! read more

Came to Forest to celebrate my birthday back in June. It was my second time dining out after the stay at home order was lifted. I was a bit hesitant since the first restaurant I went to didn't really enforce distancing. Here at Forest, I felt they were taking things seriously. Dining tables were appropriately spaced apart, they had hand sanitizer at every table, workers were wearing masks, they even offered QR code menus. We ordered a few things to share. We got the corn agnolotti and parisian gnocchi both in half sizes, as well as a full sized truffle pasta which was their current special. For our appetizer we got the farm egg. Everything was cooked perfectly. Our favorite item was the truffle pasta. We loved the shaved truffles on top. We got to sit by the kitchen, so it was really cool to see the staff in action from behind the glass screen. We saw our chef use a tasting spoon to double check the taste of each entree before giving it his seal of approval to serve. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, drinks, and our overall dining experience. Service was without a doubt spectacular. Our server surprised me with a complimentary baked alaska since he knew I was celebrating my birthday. I know eating out during a pandemic may be scary, but from my experience, Forest is doing their due diligence in putting the proper safe guards in place. read more

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The service is always excellent and friendly. And the pasta is always amazingly delicious. Some of the best mashed potatoes and mushrooms... Love that they do half portions of the pasta. Also try the home fries. This is a must-stop-at for me every time I'm in the Detroit area for me. read more

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A lovely restaurant right in my neighborhood. Have had wonderful dinners here. The most memorable being a chef's tasting, and also a baked Alaska one evening. A bit pricey, but hey, it's not a place you go to often. read more

Best food anywhere in the state. Five stars all around. Upscale and worth every penny. Thank you for making my birthday special to the staff! read more

Forest - New American Near Me - Birmingham, Michigan

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The farm egg was interesting and tasty. I liked the meat in the short rib pasta but the pasta around the meat was not pleasant to eat. Overall, it was a good experience. read more

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