Redbird — Restaurant in Los Angeles

It's a nice spot in DTLA that I went to for Dine LA. I've been curious about this place for a while, so I went with great company to check this place out!

The environment is moody, and going on a Tuesday night was still lively, but not super busy. There are big windows in every room, and the main room has a gorgeous open space with a greenhouse glass roof. It was full when we came for dinner, so we were seated in another room, so I'd recommend getting a reservation for that area ahead of time. It was still very nice, and the service was attentive!

We tried (from the Dine LA menu) Melon Gazpacho, Buratta salad, Carbonara, the Hanger Steak, Earl Grey pannacotta, and Chocolate Tart We also added an additonal cocktail drink, Paloma, and the Spicy Shishito Peppers appetizer!

The melon gazpacho was light and a little sweet. Since it was a cold soup, it was refreshing and found it as a great pair with the spicy shishito peppers, which weren't very spicy and were even a little salty at times. The peppers come with ALOT of one bite peppers that's easy to share and bite on while having your other appetizers. I enjoy a good burrata and never had it in a salad - now that I've had that, consider me a fan. It was light, crunchy, and tart, and I enjoyed it a lot!

We had the Garganelli Carbonara and Hangar steak main course: the carbonara was fine, and the pasta was the short twist kind, which absorbs the flavors well, but not the most flavorful carbonara I've had, but was a good amount. The Hangar steak was sliced steak covered with corn on top of a red sauce. It was also good, though I tasted a super smoky taste that wasn't something I was used to.

The desserts are very rich, especially the chocolate tart, which is more like a fancy resses cup with a peanut butter creme and caramel whip topping. The Earl grey Panna cotta was very subtle, as I could only taste a milky flavor and hardly any Earl grey, which was a little disappointing. But the texture was good and creamy, and all the little garnishes and stone fruit made it a lovely dessert!

They have a happy hour menu, which I believe is only available at the bar, with decent prices for drinks and some bites. The Paloma was sweet and easy, so I think their drinks and signature cocktails would be great. Their signature cocktails have names like Peach, Grapefruit, Cherry, and Strawberry, so that leaves me very curious to come back and try them some time (those are not on the happy hour menu).

There is street metered parking (which may be hard to find weekend nights) as well as valet parking up front.

Overall, I'd like to come here again mainly for drinks and appetizers! Any maybe an opportunity to go into the window roof room to enjoy the ambiance and people chattering away in the night, would be a plus. Its pricepoint makes sense, and I'd come back for dinner on a special occasion. Very trendy, classy place that's impressed me with its appetizers...

I really wish I could give this place 6 or 7 stars. We came here to celebrate my wife's belated birthday and it was simply the best evening we've had in ages. Yes, that includes pre-COVID.

We were seated outside in the Vibiana Courtyard, which they had transformed into a lovely, outdoor eating space with plenty of room between the tables, area heaters when it got chilly, dedicated wait staff, and even a dedicated bar tent.

Our server, Devon, was amazingly friendly and fun. Which for me, that's not something I usually comment on. I usually prefer that service be polite and efficient but she was friendly and comfortable without being cloying. She was interested in our night out and was even excited for my wife's birthday when we told her. She helped answer questions about hte food and made recommendations based on the tastes that we expressed when we had a hard time deciding. Absolutely best-in-class service.

The food was spectacular; I can't underline this enough. The Everything Parker Rolls are a must try if they haven't sold out before you get there. Savory and sweet they are perfect for whetting your appetite for the main course. My wife was a bit more adventurous than I and had the bacon-wrapped saddle of rabbit with polenta while I had the New York strip with smoked potatoes. The rabbit was tender and incredibly well prepared nested on a ridiculously creamy layer of white polenta; my wife was very impressed and cleared her plate in record time. The New York Strip was amazingly tender; I order medium rare but have become accustomed to cooks sending out something more along the lines of rare or blue; this came out perfectly cooked. It was tender and delicious with amazingly cooked greens and what I believe was demi-glace on top and a smooth bed of slightly smokey mashed potatoes underneath. I had to take my time and savor the steak because it has been over a year since I've had a cut of beef that good.

Finally, my wife ordered a baba au rhum for her birthday dessert. Folks, I was amazed that they brought it out with a lit birthday candle balanced on the edge of the bowl. After sharing a laugh and blowing out the candle my wife tucked in and offered me a taste. The creme diplomat was light but rich, the cake was dense but not tough by any measure, and the syrup was strong but sweet and complex. A great interpretation of a wonderful dessert, I must say.

Side note, if you like a boozy but delicious cocktail I highly recommend the King James. It was strong but so pleasing on the palate that it's absolutely dangerous if you try to drink more than one.

My wife had a great belated birthday celebration and I thank Redbird and its staff for that. If you want to have a great night of food and drink in a great atmosphere, this is the...

We visited this restaurant with a group of 8 on a Saturday before seeing the “& Juliet” musical nearby. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing from start to finish. Service was slow, and the menu options were extremely limited. Due to health restrictions, I could not eat meat or duck, and the only dish I felt comfortable ordering—the cod fish sandwich—was unavailable. Two other guests in our group also tried to order the cod sandwich and were told they had run out, which is frustrating for a restaurant not to keep its limited menu stocked. With no other suitable options, I decided not to order. What truly soured the experience was our server’s attitude. When I asked for alternatives, he replied, “It’s either the cod fish sandwich (which we’re out of) or the whole branzino plate,” followed by, “Is the branzino plate TOO MUCH FOR YOU?” This came off as rude and unprofessional, implying affordability was an issue rather than taste preference. Later, when delivering food to the rest of the table, he again asked if I was “okay not eating anything,” which was unnecessary and awkward. Finally, while I fully understand the 20% gratuity for large parties, I found the additional 5% fee for employee health benefits unreasonable. Employees are the responsibility of the restaurant, not the diners. Overall, this was a disappointing visit due to unavailable menu items, slow service, and unprofessional remarks. I would not recommend this restaurant, especially if you have dietary restrictions or expect quality service. What rubbed me off wrong is, I kindly asked the server if there was another option and he said unfortunately it's either the cod fish sandwich which we are out of or the whole branzino plate (I love fish but a whole fish with head and tail is not something I would personally consume either as it's not appetizing in my opinion) but is the branzino plate TOO MUCH FOR YOU? This is just beyond unprofessional to judge a customer on whether the food is affordable or not, but I simply replied, I'm okay, thanks.

Our groups orders finally started being brought to the table, and the server asked me, are you sure you're going to be okay without eating anything? Why ask me when everyone's food is being delivered knowing we were on a time crunch to go see the concert. The other things are parties of 6 and up is subject to a 20% gratuity included (which is perfectly understandable as servers should receive a tip), but what I find beyond unreasonable is that they also add a 5% fee which YOU the customer are paying towards their health benefit. These servers are employees of the restaurant, not your employees, customers should not have to pay for this fee. I would not recommend this place! There are better places with...