Forest — Restaurant in Birmingham

What a let down this restaurant was.... I was taken here by my boyfriend for not only our anniversary but also for my birthday, mind you, he had made reservations a week prior and had requested that we get a window seat and that it was for special occasion. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we arrived 5 minutes prior to our reservation (our reservation was for 8:15pm), they told us that we still had to wait for our table despite us making a reservation. Due to it being a busy Saturday night, we understood that it can take a minute to get another table ready, we asked how long the wait was and they told us that they were not sure because they just sat another table down. This was odd to us because why did we make a reservation if they weren't going to honor the reservation system. While waiting for our table I saw servers making a makeshift table in the middle of the restaurant in an empty spot that didn't have tables there prior, and I remember making a comment to my boyfriend that I hope that is not our table because that is not what we had requested for and also why are they making a makeshift table when we had reservations to begin with as if we were walk in customers. The server finally told us our table was ready and me worried that the makeshift table was ours because we were headed that way, I then asked if we were going to get a window seat and they said no window seats were available at the moment. Already frustrated I asked them how long would it be to wait for an actual window seat and they said they weren't sure. At that point it was already 8:40, (25 minutes after our reservation time) and after the whole day of waiting for date night I did not eat so I was hungry, I said that in the meantime while we wait for our table we will walk downtown Birmingham but if we come across a restaurant that will seat us earlier than Forest, will the no show policy still be applied to us (no show = $40 per person). THEY SAID YES. Meaning we would've paid $80 for a restaurant we wouldn't be dining at....That is so insane to me that not only did they make us wait WHILE we had a reservation, did not accommodate us for our request of a window seat, but is ALSO going to charge us a no show fee if we didn't end up dining with them DESPITE us showing up at our reservation time. We had no choice but to stay at this restaurant that was already ruining our night. Fortunately our waitress was really sweet to us and the actual hosts at the front door were trying their best at accommodating us but seeing the lack of attention from the managers was disappointing. I would have not written a bad review if they allowed us to dine somewhere else without charging us but seeing the greed in management makes it difficult to be cooperative. I would NOT recommend this place to those looking to dine downtown Birmingham and EXPECIALLY to those that are looking for a restaurant that honor the reservation system because they will screw up the rest of your...

Will Not Be Back!! We have dined at Forest many times and the food, service and cocktails are usually all on point. We had a 7pm reservation (we arrived at 7pm) for three and one had arrived early and was enjoying a cocktail at the bar. The gentleman working the concierge desk said I am getting your table ready now and to join our friend at the bar and he would come get us, so we did. It’s now 7:10pm and I return to the concierge stand to see if our table is ready or if we should order a couple cocktails while we wait for our table? The now young woman working the desk suggested we should order cocktails as our table still was not ready. Then 7:21pm approaches and we ask the bar tender if our table is going to be ready soon (wondering if we should just eat at the bar at this point as we all had seats), the bartender said “10 more minutes” so we decided to wait. Well at 7:41 we decided to ask to speak to a manager about our table, the manager comes from the kitchen and to our surprise it was the gentleman that greeted us at the concierge desk when we arrived. When we asked him about our table he tried to explain he was in the back of house (He was behind the bar several times during our 41 minute wait) and that the bartender was keeping us updated and we explained that was not the case. The manager then actually started to get a bit confrontational about the situation and actually smiled like it was funny. We were seated a few mins later and ordered some appetizers, the manager delivered them and apologized for the wait and said the apps were on the house.

Food for thought; your a manager, don’t be confrontational and the “free apps” I could care less about!! When I have a reservation I expect to be seated at that time or within a reasonable wait. Forest has a 15 minute grace period that you will hold the table for and then cancel the reservation, what’s my recourse if you don’t seat me in 15 min after my reservation time? The manager knew he had no plan on seating us anytime soon and ignored the problem rather then coming to speak to us about it.

NOBODY from Forest approached us ONE time during our wait, we had to do all the work to try and get a table.

Poor managment and we won’t be back (again the food was great and Emily our server was...

This was one of the most elegant and well-balanced meals I’ve had in Michigan. Everything—from the presentation to the pacing—felt thoughtful, fresh, and celebratory.

We started with a spread of appetizers: the black rice with cobia was deeply savory and beautifully textured, while the fritto misto was crisp and bright without being greasy. The yellowfin crudo was a standout—fresh, lightly sweet with strawberry and citrus, and plated with precision. The shaved Brussels sprout salad with pine nuts and feta brought a perfect crunch.

For mains, the vongole angel hair was light, garlicky, and full of briny clam flavor, while the filet was cooked to perfection—tender, richly sauced, and deeply comforting. We shared the home fries with garlic aioli on the side, and I’d order them again just for the dipping sauce.

To end, the baked Alaska was not only stunning with its torched meringue shell and birthday candle, but also balanced in sweetness and texture. The surprise of pistachio ice cream (I think?!) on the side was a lovely touch—creamy, lightly nutty, and refreshing.

Service was warm and attentive without hovering. The ambiance feels elevated but never stuffy—just enough buzz in the room to feel lively.

✨ Pro tips: • Come hungry and plan to share. • Ask about the ice cream flavors—they’re not always listed but worth trying. • Perfect for a birthday or intimate...