Modern Bird — Restaurant in Traverse City

What a disheartening and demeaning experience for two new parents…

My wife made an early 5:45pm dinner reservation for two at Modern Bird for tonight. We were excited to try it out as a highlight of our first family vacation with our 3-month old, who she planned to hold in a baby carrier (not a stroller) during dinner. He doesn’t yet require any sort of seat of his own, and therefore she did not include him as a diner in our reservation. When I arrived at the restaurant, I checked in with the helpful host ahead of my wife and son meeting me there. I mentioned that she would be holding our baby and all seemed well as I went outside to wait for them. However, when they arrived, the manager joined the host and notified us that “because it was a small space” and we only had a reservation for two, we would need to sit outside (next to the traffic during our son’s nap and where not a single other diner was seated) or find somewhere else to dine. There would have been plenty of space for us to sit inside while holding our baby - it was quite obvious that he didn’t want to risk a baby interrupting the other diners inside. I understand needing to control for ambiance, but we would have stepped out and paid the full check if at any point our son became a disturbance. Instead, the manager placed the blame squarely on my wife for not having made the reservation for three, making her feel terrible about the whole thing before giving a tepid apology and watching us leave. Instead of being given the warm welcome we’ve experienced at other restaurants during our time in Traverse City, we were treated differently for daring to dine with a baby at Modern Bird.

It’s a shame because the food looks incredible and the reviews are great. We were excited for our meal, which made receiving such unwelcoming, pretentious, and altogether disgraceful service so jarring. Steer clear if you have kids, which I’m sure (truly!) Modern Bird...

Wow. I have had a lot of amazing meals in my life, but this place had me saying that this was the best meal I’ve ever had. And I stand by that. My husband and I started with a couple of fantastic cocktails, the Saskatoon Sour (despite having whiskey, which I don’t normally like, it was incredible) and the Garden spritz (I also don’t normally do aperol spritz-like drinks but this was super tasty). We got the bread with ranch butter and WOW this is a must-do! Perfect pastry-like bread with a crunchy exterior from the cheese, complimented by an herby butter. For our appetizer, we enjoyed the Cucumber, a heavenly blend of ingredients that is so perfectly balanced. We ordered two plates as entrees that we shared- the Beets and the Wagyu. The beets were excellent, especially the jammy egg and speck, though the horseradish cream was slightly overpowering. I did enjoy dipping a few pieces of the wagyu in the horseradish though! The wagyu was on a whole different level. Of course the beef itself was tasty and well prepared, but its accompaniments somehow fought for attention against the star ingredient. The caramelized onion hollandaise was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten and I would put it on practically anything. And those maitake mushrooms were FANTASTIC. Seriously like little crunchy umami chips of heaven. Topped with these pickled? mustard seeds that popped with flavor without being overpowering. I was so incredibly impressed with this dish. And we weren’t even done! Dessert kept the hits coming. The key lime pie was beautiful and top notch, and my husband loved the rhubarb hand pie with crème Anglais. Modern Bird knows what they are doing, from the setting to every detail of every dish. I wish I lived closer so I could experience them...

Really as good as it gets in and around Traverse City. I just had a short time in the city for a quick work meeting and needed a dinner after a long drive. I do enjoy great restaurants and I have not yet been here, so I was able to get a reservation! I am very glad I did.

The restaurant is nice and open. It is very comfortable. And inviting I sat at the kitchen counter, where I was able to watch the chefs work. I was also able to talk with the chef/owner. It is easy to tell that the owner and chef has experience in fine kitchens, but at this restaurant the excellently refined food and service is also paired with a very comfortable dining experience.

I started with their bread and butter course, which is an excellent baked mini-loaf of bread with cheese baked into the bread and a compound butter with the flavors of ranch dressing. It was wonderful and definitely something to not miss. I then had the roasted beet salad with a horseradish creme fresh sauce and there was some spek in there as well. It was very flavorful and enjoyable. My last course was the roasted salmon. The salmon was extremely fresh and cooked perfectly. It could not have been done better. I was convinced to eat some dessert after reading the dessert menu, and I had the berries and cream course. It was light, flavorful, and extremely enjoyable.

Overall, I am so happy that I went to this restaurant. There is no way that I will not be coming back!

Thank you to the staff for a...