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Forte Restaurant - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants American (New) American (New) [Edit]
201 S Old Woodward AveBirmingham, MI 48009
Neighborhood: Downtown Birmingham
(248) 594-7300
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
36 reviews for Forte Restaurant
Review Highlights
"The best brunch place around town."
(in 6 reviews)
"...can have something a little more sophisticated than sweet..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...creme fraiche on top of the ribs was Delicious (yes, with a..."
(in 4 reviews)
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36 reviews in English
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Review from Kristen D.
Mt Pleasant, MI
1/24/2012
I worked at Forte in 2005-2006 with Chef Tim Voss..Forte was an amazing restaurant then..I'm sad to see that it went downhill and eventually closed!!
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Review from Caroline C.
Troy, MI
4/24/2011
We tried almost everything not to dine at Forte this past Friday. After being sorely rejected at Tallulah that was rented out for a wedding reception, we stopped inside Forte for a brief look-see at the menu. Nothing on the menu was of immediate interest, so we left to try to get a table at Cafe Via. We were told the wait was 45 minutes. Failure yet again. Finally, after huddling in the alleyway against the drizzle for a quick pow-wow, we decided that Forte must not have been that bad since we dined there almost a year ago and could not remember a single thing about our meals. There was also the possibility that it could have been not that good, but my stomach told me to shut up and quit being picky.
And what a surprise it was. We sat at the bar, and our bartender, Jerry, had the same look and mannerisms as Sam from Burn Notice. Hilarious. Thinking that any restaurant with 2 1/2 stars on Yelp would have to serve some unedible sludge to garner that disapproval, our two entrees, the braised short ribs and the steak frites, suprised us utterly in being really well-presented, really well-executed, and really really tasty. The horshradish creme fraiche on top of the ribs was Delicious (yes, with a caplital D), and the parsnip chips brilliantly offset the rich creaminess of the rest of the dish. I've never had tasted asparagus seasoned and cooked as well as those that accompanied the steak frites, and the aioli fries themselves were really good too! We'll be returning soon to try some of the other things on the menu. Fingers crossed that it'll be as good as this time! -
Review from Harry F.
Royal Oak, MI
5/16/2011
Disappointing. I tried to make a reservation for our group that goes to brunch every Sunday, I was turned down. I decided we would all go anyway and stand at the bar until we were able to be seated, after all it's Sunday and we have no place to be. We had 23 people total.
When we were sat we were spread out all over the restaurant, the hostess was an older women with a very nasty attitude, a contempt for our existence. She insisted we have no empty seats at any of our tables, this created a problem. She was rude in her every gesture and speech toward all of us.
I went to use the men's room and the urinal was overflowing waste on to the floor by the buckets. I had to notify the staff, all they did was put a sign on the door.
When met by a waitress, it seemed everything we tried to order was sold out, it was 12:30 at this point.
They refused to do separate checks for 23 people and made a complete disaster of the organization of information presented on the check.
My 23 friends and I for the first time agreed on something unanimously for the first time this day...This place is awful. We will not be back and will discourage people we like from going. All though if I tell you "go to Forte for brunch" you may have a good understanding of where our friendship stands. -
Review from Bill R.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
3/19/2011
I am somewhat of a regular at Forte. The reviews on Yelp are what they are, but I wouldn't go back if I experienced what the others say about it. The one thing I will say about the place is that there is a lot of turn over with the chefs, so a review from 3 years ago was probably 5 chefs ago.
We usually eat at the bar because we know the bartenders and they treat us well (good tippers, go figure). I really like the Hanger steak which is available for lunch and dinner.
3 stars is a bit low. I'd give it 3.5 if I could. -
Review from Debbie H.
4/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
We've read some very so-so reviews about Forte and they may be accurate, but in our case ... we stopped in before a movie at the Birmingham 8 ... we were really pleased. Granted, we had a drink and an appetizer, so my review is for just that. The szechuan calamari was excellent, lightly breaded and topped with chili lime aioli and mango black bean salsa. Perfect.
Drinks were very good and Ken, the bartender was outstanding ... a fellow movie-lover and very friendly. We may not venture to Forte for dinner ... but we'll definitely stop in to see Ken and grab an appetizer before a flic. -
Review from Louise A.
Detroit, MI
7/28/2011
Forte is now closed
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Review from Donna L.
Detroit, MI
5/15/2011
WOW! The food was amazing and the service was excellent! The new Chef (Kevin) did an excellent job in making my dinner special! He even made sure to stop by our table to ask how everything was. We will definitely go back!
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Review from Merritt B.
Portland, OR
1/3/2011
I guess I'm spoiled by fine dining in other cities, but this is not a place I'd consider "fine" by any stretch of the imagination.
You can read all the other reviews to hear about the average food, and I would agree with them: uninspired menu choices and a totally uninspired, pedestrian, overpriced wine list.
The one slightly above average thing about the place is the service--our waitress seemed to know a ton about the food, preparation and ingredients (including the history of a number of ingredients), which was a plus. The minus was that she was a bit acerbic, which kind of ruined my awe of her knowledge.
I feel bad--the economy sucks around Detroit and I want to see local restaurants thrive, but this place just didn't do it for me, and judging by the emptiness of the place (dead on a Thursday night), it's not doing it for other folks either. -
Review from Sasha A.
Detroit, MI
9/18/2010
So I admit, I have only ventured into Forte for their brunch and their dessert. For a restaurant in the heart of such a booming little town, they do not knock my socks off- especially for the price.
They serve brunch on Sundays and seeing as how breakfast/brunch is my favorite meal of the day, I like to see what every restaurant has to offer in a 15 mile radius.
The atmosphere is excellent. It's clean and quiet- I tend to find that many "breakfast" places can be questionable with the cleanliness factor (just sayin').
I ordered the goat cheese frittata for my first visit. This goes for any restaurant- if there is a dish with goat cheese in it, I'm ordering it. Done.
This dish came with a meek side of fruit, but the frittata itself was good, not great, but good. It had oven roasted tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and basil with sourdough toast. I didn't taste too much goat cheese, but I trust that it was in there.
My boyfriend ordered the blueberry pancakes and they were pretty good as well. They weren't thick (which I hate) or too thin, but just right- I feel like goldilocks. It just didn't "wow" either one of us.
As far as service, I don't know what was wrong with our waiter. He was nervous about something because he consistently dropped our places, spilled water either all over our table or our feet, banged our glasses/dishes together every time he got his hands on them. He wasn't slow or rude, just really awkward.
So we gave Forte a second chance a couple months later. We thought with that price tag, there has to be SOMETHING worth while.
This time we sat outside which was nice, until we slowly learned that they tend to forget about you. It took them 10 min to give us our menus then an additional 15 to take our order, then we were charged for a side that we ordered but never received. Hellllo? If I'm paying this much for breakfast, I'd like everything on a silver platter, thank you.
This time around we both ordered the standard eggs your way, with toast and hash browns. So underwhelming! I would have been happier at Ihop.
Their one saving grace I must say is the "Drumstick Dessert." We stopped by with another couple after we dined at Quattro (review coming soon). We ordered coffee, tea and each couple shared the Drumstick Dessert. It was two scoops of vanilla ice cream, thick fudge drizzle, blueberries and something crunchy- hhhhholy moly! BEST thing I've ever put in my mouth and trust me, I know my desserts!
But I've come to find out that the new chef decided to remove it from the menu. BIG MISTAKE. It was the only reason we would have ever stepped foot back in there. Que sara! -
Review from Libby F.
8/1/2008
When I told my friend who lives in Birmingham that I took my mother to dinner here she said to me, "Was the service terrible?"
Well, I really wanted to give this place five stars upon entering. It definitely has a classy five star look to it. That is until you see people walking in with shorts and t-shirts. What? No pulling out the chairs for customers? That definitely confirmed to me they aren't five star worthy. I do however love the dark wood interior, banquette tables and open kitchen. The bar, even with the smoking, looks pretty fun. Happy hour seven days a week from 2-6pm is a nice bonus.
Service... it took a while to get water. Then a while longer to get bread. It came with the Forte salad which was really good. After the initial wait and once we had our entrees, service was pretty top notch. Our waiter was very nice.
Food...expensive. My mom's perch was $19 and my walleye was $21. The new executive chef, Don Yamauchi does an excellent job with creating an alluring presentation of his entrees. My fish came stacked in small sections in a bowl with mussels and a basil sauce. The fish was excellent. The mussels were a bit fishy; Bastone's are much better. I loved the fish, but I was still hungry after devoring it in about ten minutes. My mom didn't love her dish (that didn't stop her from finishing it though!). She thought the sauce, which contained curry was a bit too spicy for her liking. I think she wishes she had ordered the lake perch instead.
For dessert we shared the panna cotta. It is not an easy dessert to share as it is served in a sorbet-like glass container. It was topped with fresh blueberries and a few black/red raspberries too.
I may be back to the bar someday. While dining I noticed quite a few patrons ordering pizzas which were $9-$11 each. That's a little more affordable and if you go to Forte during HH, then the pizzas are $4 off.*
*I think that's what our waiter told me :-)Listed in: Oh Birmingham, I miss you!
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Review from Amy H.
Detroit, MI
1/17/2010
This was my first time here after my girlfriends would rave about it. So, I was excited to give it a go. We were getting together to celebrate a friend's engagement, and we all decided to order a few appetizers and share them rather than ordering off the what I thought was over-priced entrees.
I must say, I throughly enjoyed my dirty martinis. They were perfect. The food was OK, nothing out of this world, good, but not great. We got the pizza, burger, quesadilla and the lobster ravioli (that was just one big ravioli...disappointing).
We had a great waiter, which we have been on a string of bad service of late. He was prompt, polite and dealt with our giddy, celebrating selves. He also gave us a free dessert which was really good. It was simple fruit in some sort of crust, but it was excellent.
I will probably go back at some point, because it is close for my friends, but I will not make a special trip from the east side for the food...dirty martini, perhaps. -
Review from Hadeer S.
Ann Arbor, MI
10/21/2009
I will never go to this restaurant again!
Their shredded wedge salad was uneventful (let alone cold and appetizing), the meat used for the burger was not top quality, and the soup with the bread inside of it was sloppy and unsophisticated. I am usually the one in the group who gets shot down when he wants to go to Forte. Everyone tells me the food is horrible, but I didn't believe them. After my hefty bill, I could not believe I was paying someone my hard earned money when the people at Taco Bell would've done a better job. And believe me, at least at Taco Bell I would have gotten my drink refilled. I was embarrassed that my friend from Texas, who was visiting the area after years, was taken their on our only night out together.
But, I have gone for dessert, and for breakfast, and I simply CANNOT complain. The food was excellent, but how can I give a restaurant a good rating when their food was pathetically and unprofessionally prepared. Never again. -
Review from Rese D.
Oak Park, MI
6/20/2008
Dropped in for lunch last week. My girlfriend and I started with cocktails.
I had the chocolate martini and she had some kind of peach martini. Both were deeeelish!
I ordered a seafood pasta dish off the daily specials menu. I loved it! And she enjoyed her pulled bbq sandwich.
Our waiter was very friendly. Inside has a stylish, vibrant ambience. There's also a bar if you want to have drinks.
The first experience was great, I'll be back for more. -
Review from Kellie B.
Farmington, MI
2/7/2009
Let's see, drinks are good, had a martini and one of my co-diners wanted something 'fruity but with a kick, not too sweet' and they custom whipped up something for her that fit the bill. I adore mussels and they did a good job with them.
The entrees were pricey and my whitefish entree was just okay. Usually at the setting and for the price you can expect a wowzer taste sensation from a seafood dish, along with some kind of sauce that brings out the subtle fish flavor. My entree was disappointing for what I expected. Servings hardly fill you up. The bread and butter plate was nice.
All in all just an okay meal, which arrived Slooowly. Maybe reduced to a 'stop in for a well done martini in a pretty setting' if I ever return. -
Review from Matt L.
8/18/2010
I struggle with this review. Everything was "fine." Nothing stood out. But nothing was really terrible either. I feel like 3 might be too low, as usually there's a glaring error for me in a 3 review. But again, not a four. Here's why.
Service: Our waitress was really nice. But she didn't come by a lot. And she described the special differently than what my coworker got. He still enjoyed it, no doubt, but...
Decor: It's a nice place but something here feels cheap and dated. Maybe it's the worn carpeted floor. Maybe it's the curvy metal ledge on the open kitchen a la 1990 Spago, but it just didn't work for me.
Food: We tried a couple of apps. While the gyro pizza was interesting, garlicky, and creative, it lacked for me the salty pop of a true gyro and, given that this was more flatbread than pizza, kind of just reminded me of a gyro unrolled. Korean short ribs were WAY too fatty but tasted great. Had I created this dish, I would have shredded the meat off the rib, placed on the scallion pancake, placed a bit of the pickled radish on top, and put a small dot of eel sauce or hoisin aioli, and I would have loved it.
My salmon dish was fine. I'm never a fan of raw whole cashews in any dish other than a salad -- they just seemed terribly out of place. I always enjoy a good pea tendril as well, but they were hard to eat as they were pretty long and fibrous. The salmon itself was cooked perfectly and very tasty.
For dessert, I went with the key lime brulee. To me, this was a good dish that could have been great with a little bit of editing. The accompanying muffin was dry and didn't add anything to the dish (as there was already a pie crust on bottom). Plus, brulee implies custard and burnt sugar, NOT custard and berries and burnt sugar and jam and pie crust and muffins. Jeez. It's like Betsey Johnson put together this dish.
On a whole, again, everything was tasty with individual components doing better than the full dishes. I once saw a painting in a marketing class where the painters had surveyed people to paint a picture based on the items people most liked in a painting. What came back was technically fine, but entirely disjointed. Forte was that painting. -
Review from Ellen C.
12/6/2008
I used to go here whenever I visited UBS with my broker. The food is good, and a good value, particularly the lunch menu. I wouldn't say it's outstanding, and it always seems relatively empty during lunch so it's nice to be able to talk in a quiet atmosphere.
Generally when in Birmingham otherwise, I'm looking for something quicker or a meet up with friends who wouldn't be in love with Forte.
I'd recommend any of the sandwiches, and the soup isn't bad either. -
Review from Rich F.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
6/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
We went here on a Thursday night around 6:30 and the place was dead, so if you are looking for atmosphere outside of prime dinner hours look elsewhere. Additionally, Forte is incredibly overpriced for the quality of the food they serve. Neither my wife nor I were impressed with the soup, salad, or entrees. Ultimately, although the food was not horrible, this was close to the worst $85 I have ever spent at a restaurant and we didn't even have a single alcoholic beverage.
The wedge salad was bland and needed tomatoes or cranberries or SOMETHING to give it any kind of flavor--a terrible value at $8. The wife had coco-curry sea scallops, which she thought were decent but a far cry from $28 worth, and similarly, I thought the flat iron steak was decent but not worth $22. Mostly because the potatoes were bland and the additional ingredients like bacon were incredibly unnecessary to the dish and just got lost. Do yourself a favor and spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. The best part of our meal was the 1000 bonus OpenTable points we received for dining here. -
Review from kelly w.
Brooklyn, NY
7/19/2008
I haven't been to eat here in ages-- but I have been here for drinks.
Actually this is the place where I was solely blamed for the embarrassingly intense level of intoxication of my co-workers prior to seeing a movie.
It's called Rumpleminze people. Man up. It's not THAT bad. and it was ONE shot!
Back to the bar though. Our bartender.. oh how your name slips my mind when it shouldn't because you were such a friendly gent... was extremely attentive and catered to the Birthday Girl's wishes.
I will come back soon to apologize for the shenanigans and try some of the food! -
Review from Chayan K.
Farmington, MI
12/1/2009
I have visited this restaurant twice, and feel it's not a good value for the price, and especially the service. I feel as though I have offered 2 opportunities for these folks to get it right, but the only thing they get right is the quasi-pretentious environment and service I don't want to experience again.
I wasn't impressed with my meal at all; my salad was evocative of a salad I might get at Max and Erma's. (But M&A is M&A, and I know what I'm getting when I go there.)
As far as the meal, I can honestly say it was such an inconsequential experience, I cannot remember the details. I apologize for this.
I would've given this place 2 stars; however, the wait staff on 2 occasions were not attentive. I feel bad giving tips sometimes of 20%, but this waitress was so sub-par, I think I only gave her 15%. I waited literally, 45 minutes on a day that wasn't even that busy.
He who is shipwrecked the second time, cannot lay blame on Neptune. -
Review from Nina C.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
4/10/2011
The hostess with the long brown hair and is older is a total jerk there were tables open she insisted that we sit at the bar, she told us that the tables that were open were takin... Umm we were there for 2 hours and umm tables still empty!! Onto the food- umm was pretty good..... But my boyfriend got totally sick almost immediately after word then I got sick a couple hours after..... The bartender Jerry was one funny guy, we won't be back to eat but we will be back to see Jerry for drinks!
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Review from Elizabeth F.
Chicago, IL
1/15/2010
I've been to this place twice but only for drinks, I can't comment on the food.
My date, now husband, took me on our first date there and I really had a good time.
When we got engaged we went to Forte. My husband called to reserve a table for us and he requested the same table that we had on our first date. Manager arranged everything and when we arrived waitress greeted us and when we asked for THAT table she responded with "That's taken, it is reserved for special occasion" with the smile. In that moment I really felt special. We had great time that night. For drinks, we had a good red wine. I am never going to forget Forte treatment.
Thank you Forte. -
Review from Cranky C.
Birmingham, MI
7/18/2010 1 Check-in Here
Been to Forte a number of times and have never had a great time there. I go back here and there because my brain apparently erases any memory of the place. This visit was especially funny so I thought I'd yelp it...
4 guys, weekday lunch on the patio. Nice setting. We felt lucky to get a table out there but realized there was nobody inside and only half the tables taken outside. Downtown bham patio on a beautiful day... This should be packed.
Ok, the server. She was one of those servers that are really casual and kind of challenging, thinking that this will endear us to her. it did not. Sometimes that works but she wasn't pulling it off.
She walked up and said hello and asked if we wanted drinks. One of us said, "what beers do you have?"
She said, "Oh I dunno, we have a lot. Just tell me what you want and we probably have it." Awesome.
After a grueling back and forth about what beer we want and which ones they have, she finally left to get them. Ten minutes later she came back all flustered and said that shes not sure what's going on but there's a problem with the kegs. She asked what we wanted all over again. Rather than suggesting that I have a bottled Stella since I had ordered a draft Stella, she just sat there waiting for me to take another guess at their vast selection of beers. Painful, but we got it done. The beers showed up 15 minutes later.
The food ordering was equally challenging except that we had menus. She rattled off the specials and it was bizarre. She kept going back and forth and correcting herself. We didn't say a word. We just sat and stared. Nearing the end of her wild presentation, she was walking away almost near the door and still talking. We couldn't even hear her anymore. Bizarre. So she was gone a long enough time for us to finish our beers and have them sitting there empty for a bit. The actual ordering went just fine... But thats because we were doing the talking.
The food was pretty good. All of us agreed that our orders were very good. It also came out fairly timely.
In the end, I think she was picking up on our frustration because she never asked if the food was ok. Remember, she had two tables. When she dropped off the bill, she just laid it down on the table and walked away. Her tip reflected this. The guys I was with said that they would never go back and that this was the worst service they ever had.
Recap... Don't go. It's just not worth the hassle.
Boom! -
Review from Dane K.
2/7/2008
From all appearances Forte is an upscale restaurant in beautiful downtown Birmingham... it has all the makings for a great restaurant... good atmosphere, good service...
I've been here to eat numerous times and every time the food has been a tad bit disappointing. Sometimes really disappointing. (last time I had a pizza at the bar it was totally uncooked)
Occasionally they have a good bar crowd and hanging out at the bar is fun. I haven't quite figured out when it's busy and when it's not, but when it's not busy it's TOTALLY dead usually and you're drinking with yourself...
It's too bad the food is just kinda "ehh" ... -
Review from George K.
Rochester, MI
1/9/2011
OK maybe 3.25 stars
We have not been here before even though its been open a while.
Beautiful space inside, dark woods, nice bar and a few flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling for some discreet sport watching.
We got there early on a Sat nite , 5:30 ish and it was empty, but was full when we left at 7:30
No big misses in the service or the food, just no big hits with maybe the exception of the Nacho appetizer
First the drinks. We have been a wine mood lately, so we looked over the wine list and it seemed pretty good and I thought priced ok, most bottles in the $25 to $50 range.
We first picked a Pinot Noir that the list said was from "France"... $31 a bottle. The waiter brought it to us and as he presented it to me I saw it was the right label, but was a Napa bottling. I asked about the France designation on the wine list , he seemed flustered and off he went. Came back with the answer from the manager that he said "the grapes were grown in France and shipped to Napa and then bottled there"
Really ?? I am not a big wine expert , but really !! So minus one star for the manager not coming to the table and admitting the menu misprint and sending the waiter with that story.
We ended up with a FRENCH Burgundy for $32 that was very nice.
On to the appetizers. Lately we have been ordering two appetizers and splitting the main entree, fills us up and a few more things to try.
The Nacho app was very good, the narrow chips were piled high on top of the black beans , sour cream, guac, cilantro and peppers
We also ordered the cheese and spiced sausage plate. There was a 3 cheese and 5 cheese offering. We asked what cheeses were on the 3 cheese and one was a "kinda like blue cheese" selection. We asked if another non visible mold cheese was available. Sure !
Well when the platter came out there was a nice Parmesan, a sharp white cheddar and a GREEN cheese. minus star #2
The sausage was good, the fruit with a cinnamon apple jam was good and two of the three cheeses were very tasty with the wine.
Main course. We ordered one of the specials, a 12 oz NY strip with a side of Lobster Mac and Cheese.
The steak was prepared just right, it was a ok piece of meat, cut nicely, but just not too tender,
The Lobster Mac and Cheese, minus the last 3/4 star.
small portion even for one person, very little lobster, we counted 3 small pieces and regular Muller's elbow macaroni, just no visual pop. The up side, it tasted pretty good.
Dessert was a shared berry sorbet with some fresh fruit. It was very good
All in All with the bottle of wine the bill was about $90,
Service was very good with the hostess taking our coats when we were seated and our waiter bringing them back after we paid
Would we go again, probably if walking by, but to make a special trip there, probably not. unless we hear of improvements from others -
Review from Sally B.
2/12/2010
I went with friends to Forte last night during Birmingham's Restaurant Week. This was my first visit.
Maybe the waiter was annoyed that we all ordered from the Restaurant Week menu, but the service was really sub-par... Just because we ordered from the RW menu did not mean that we were in a hurry. I wasn't even able to finish my salad before the entree arrived. And there was a lack of attention to detail... no offer of fresh cracked pepper for my Caesar salad (and this is a serious offense in my book), no lemon peel for my espresso.
My friends ordered the pork chop and chicken, which they thought were tasty. I had the whitefish, which I thought was past its prime. Perhaps the chef knew this and that is why it was covered in too many spices. And my mashed potatoes were watery.
If the point of Restaurant Week is to introduce new diners to your fabulous fare, Forte definitely missed the mark. I don't foresee any reason to try it again. -
Review from Dan M.
Franklin, MI
Updated - 6/2/2011
Update: A little more done than I thought. Just found out they have closed for good as of 5/31/11.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/8/2011
Wish I had read the Yelp reviews before taking my family here for Mother's day brunch. I had never… Read more »
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Review from J B.
Farmington, MI
1/10/2011
Came in for lunch and had an unexpectantly great meal. To begin it wasn't very crowded but the service was still great. The lunch prices are very reasonable from around $8-$14 for pretty much everything on the menu.
I ordered an open face turkey pastrami sandwich and it was fantastic. Salad and fresh bread were both included and the sandwich was worth way more than what I paid. The pastrami was smoked in house, it was on a good piece of rye bread topped with coleslaw and russian dressing. Everything about the sandwich was just perfect. Also included was a small side of freshly made thin potato crisps and a pickle. I'm not sure on the prices for dinner but for lunch this place was great. I would definitely come back. -
Review from CJ R.
Royal Oak, MI
7/12/2008
Ah, I want to give it 4 stars badly, it just doesn't deserve it anymore. Forte was "the restaurant" about 10 years ago. They still serve a great lunch that is quite reasonably priced, but I just can't convince myself to go for dinner. On the lunch menu I would recommend the filet and the club sandwich. Their location in downtown Birmingham is superb. The service is usually attentive and friendly. Forte is still good, just not great.
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Review from Robert J.
Troy, MI
3/15/2009
I'm constantly on a search for great food. This is not the place for that--not by a longshot.
I had heard that brunch at Forte was good. Maybe, I should have stuck to brunch. I went in for dinner. I had a snail appetizer. All I can remember was that I can't remember actually tasting a snail. I tasted everything else, but the snail was conspicuously overpowered by whatever other ingredients were there. Grade: D
Another miserable failure was the short rib hash served with a hoisin sauce and a poached egg with hollandaise. Okay, I get it. East meets West with hash and eggs, update of hash and eggs, or however you want to pitch it. It looked good on paper. It's nonsense in reality. The ribs are so throughly mashed that it takes away any of the great things that I think of when I eat ribs. The texture, the flavor? All gone. It's just a mess of meat that I would never have guessed was ribs if I weren't notified in advance. The hash was overcooked as well. Hoisin sauce isn't really one of my favorites except in the context of Peking Duck, Mooshu whatever, or an occasional (but cliche) hoisin-glazed braised short rib. It's like they took the flavor out of the meat and tried to add it back in at the end with the hoisin sauce, resulting in a perplexing failure. I mean, I love ribs. I love eggs and hollandaise. I couldn't fathom how anyone could have ruined this dish so spectacularly. Hollandaise sauce? MIA. I mean, I saw it on the plate, but it was like Alex Rodriguez in the playoffs: a non-factor.
Complete and utter disappointment. The Epoch Restaurant Group, which counts Tribute as one of theirs, has a clunker in the group too. Skip Forte. Garbage. -
Review from Yin Z.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
9/24/2009
The best brunch place around town! This is one place where you can have something a little more sophisticated than sweet potato scambler and blueberry pancake. I've been hunting for a nice sunday brunch place ever since I moved to Detroit two years ago. I have to say Forte and the buffet at MGM made my top two choices. Service is impeccable too.
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Review from Stephen M.
Beverly Hills, MI
2/7/2009
This place misses the mark. The food is ok. It's not great; you might send it back. Went during restaurant week. The kitchen was slow (bread came after we finished our salads, an almost too long wait for the entree.) One of my co-diners kept mentioning it was Restaurant week...but the place wasn't that busy--The kitchen was just slow. And the venting didn't seem to be working as well as it could, seemed to be a bit of a haze from the open kitchen. I've been to enough restaurants--this one isn't clicking.
Our service was good--can't blame the server for the kitchen. Front desk very pleasant.
Ceaser salad unremarkable. (not worth the calories, sorry.) Pan seared whitefish was disappointing for a restaurant trying to be upscale. And it was only lukewarm. Not acceptable. But given the slow kitchen, didn't want to send it back. The short ribs were good, but nothing spectacular. At least it was hot. Sorbets & Cheesecake were both good.
Finger prints on the bottom of the wine glasses, not enough paper menus to go around (started with only 1 for the table), menus looked crinkled & used. Decor is getting tired. Clientele seems to be the local conservative Birmingham crowd, making it seem like a slightly upscale Max & Erma's (which is only one notch above Bill Knapps, IMHO).
So the decor doesn't mesh with the clientele. probably a bit because of the food & location. Good place to take your granny. She'll feel safe yet trendy. -
Review from Haroun K.
2/7/2009
I ate here on a whim a while back, and they happened to have a pretty good lunch deal. But my portobello sandwich was not very good at all. Other than the lunch special, the prices seemed too high, and the place seemed to be a caricature of a nice restaurant. So many better options nearby.
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Review from Jackie turner T.
Seattle, WA
9/7/2009
Lunch is the best time to drop by this slightly overpriced restaurant. The dining experience is pretty good. It's typically quiet. I enjoy the steak, salads and the burgers. If you make it to dessert, they do a very good creme brulee. It's a good alternative if Mitchell's or the Rugby Grille is booked.
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Review from Lauren B.
Birmingham, MI
2/13/2011
It's been awhile since we have been in for breakfast/brunch but we went this morning. It was delicious! We were told by our server that the menu had just been updated so we read thru it before making our decision. Although we stuck with the classics the options looked delicious. We ordered classic eggs benedict, buttermilk pancakes, and the classic 2 eggs, meat, potato breakfast. The eggs in the benedict were cooked perfectly served on top of julienned ham and a nicely toasted english miffin. The buttermilk pancakes were picture perfect in coloring and tasted good too. The sausages were delicious. The potatoes were perfect. All meals were served piping hot. The prices for all three meals was very reasonable. We'll definitely go back for breakfast.
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Review from Elizabeth M.
Houston, TX
8/17/2010
My husband and I joined my family at Forte last night - a group of 8. It was a Monday night and the restaurant was EMPTY. South - the new hot Birmingham restaurant was jumping with people. We should have known not to eat at Forte. We were the only people in the restaurant the entire time (apart from a few (5) people at the bar). The food was slow, and came out cold. We started with 2 shrimp cocktails - neither were finished because they lacked flavor, calamari - very spicy, but good (fairly difficult to screw up something fried), and an eggplant dish - which was served cold - should have been warm. We had a wide variety of entrees ordered at the table - but I am a vegetarian and there was literally nothing to order if I wasn't going with fish. I had to ask for a chicken dish without chicken. Bleh. Again, it was cold - had to send back to be reheated and it was under salted. I had to ask twice to have the fresh ground pepper left on the table ....I WAS THE ONLY TABLE THERE! Either way - there are far too many restaurants in birmingham that have new, exciting faces and dishes to enjoy. Forte is washed up and needs a facelift. You never want to be "the one place in town you can always get a table" - simply because your food sucks and your restaurant is no longer a destination.
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Review from lynn h.
Birmingham, MI
9/6/2010
I have celiac disease (cannot tolerate anything with gluten) and it is not always easy to find a restaurant that can provide exciting food (not the old grilled piece of meat on a salad with no dressing...). Forte has consistently provided me with the most delicious, off the menu options! Healthy and tasty. Excellent service as well.
