Firebirds Wood Fired Grill — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

Today was our first time at Firebirds. As soon as you walk in, the beautiful Bar area really captures your attention. The Bartender said, “It’s the prettiest adult rainbow I’ve ever seen”. She’s right. We didn’t have drinks today but they have a huge selection of top shelf liquor. Our Server was Melissa. She’s been there 3 years so she was a big help with menu selections. Everything she described sounded great. The onion rings are on the app menu and not the sides menu but she said we could substitute with no problems or extra charges. She brought us a fresh round of bread, right out of the oven. Yum! The manager, Shawn (sp?) stopped by to greet us and to introduce himself. I ordered the Ribs and substituted for the Onion Rings and the Citrus Coleslaw. The Ribs were fork tender but I still picked up the bones to get every morsel. I mean, Melissa had already brought out steaming, wet rolled towels for clean up! The citrus slaw is a nice side to compliment the richness off the ribs. The onion rings were cooked perfectly so you get onion in every bite. Here’s the kicker. They came with a side of a Garlic Ranch. Just when you think Ranch can’t get any better, it does by leaps and bounds! Seriously good. My husband ordered the Grilled Chicken Pasta which was spicy but very good with a ton of flavor. The Creme Brûlée’ Cheesecake is phenomenal and I’ve never seen it anywhere else. So light and perfectly brûléed. Melissa kept bringing us fresh glasses of Tea, so you always had good ice to tea ratio. The atmosphere is very pretty and the Wall Of Wine is really unique. The bathrooms were spotless and very modern. The restaurant room temperature was perfect. I hate freezing in a restaurant! We spoke with Shawn on our way out to rave about our experience and Melissa. He agreed and said, She’s a rock star”. I mentioned that Rodney is from Hawaii so we were going to take his picture by the Pineapple display. Shawn then explained that the pineapple sits in Vodka for 3 weeks before they turn it into a Pineapple Smash Cocktail for Wednesday’s special. We will definitely return and we will always ask for Melissa. She goes above and beyond. The Chef Team should be congratulated! Thank you for a wonderful experience, that started the moment we walked in, until ....well, we are still talking about it!

10/26/19 update: we went again, just one week later, hoping the experience would be good. We asked for Melissa. Not only did she recognize us, she remembered what we drank, what we ate and that I like a To Go iced tea. She is just wonderful, there’s nothing like being made to feel like you are a VIP. She works two jobs so the fact that she remembers these details, is incredible. I know I couldn’t.

11/03/19 update: I took my sister for her birthday. We could only go on Sunday so I knew we wouldn’t get Melissa. The service was good but it didn’t compare to Melissa. The food was still delicious. The only recommendation I would give is, MORE BUTTER. The bread is wonderful but each person should get their own butter rather than sharing one little ball. The loaded baked potato also needs more butter. Still loving Firebirds as a whole but I’ll only go back when I know...

We have been to this location several times. Normally our experience would rate higher but this last weekend was a mixed bag. And somewhat unfairly on my part, I didn't do a review on those better occasions and chose to do one this time. One disappointment was despite calling well in advance for reservations we were told our group of 8 couldn't be accommodated. I give the staff kudos for at least getting the two groups close to each other. Staff was courteous from start to finish. Our server, inconsistent is the best word i can use to describe .....took the order, got it correct, was very personable. We had to ask a different server two different times to get tea and water refills. Then at the end the server went way over the top with a birthday desert. Food was also a mixed bag. Caesar salads were great, just the right amount of dressing mixed in. Two of us got the prime rib, the best part of it was the creamy horseradish and aju, without it, the meat was fairly plain. Now the meatloaf got over the top reviews from everyone who got it. We had one side that didn't come out as ordered, it was quickly replaced, then one entree that didn't come out with the rest of the food. The manager did come to the table explained what happened, got it replaced, and didn't charge us for it. I give the manager 5 stars for how he handled the problem, he did it as well as anyone could expect. So parts of our visit were 1 star, and parts were 5 star, hence the 3.

UPDATE: After some discussions with Regional Manager Michael Wolf via email we decided to make another trip to Firebirds. We did not give them any heads up we were coming, or that we had issues on our prior visit. First off, our server was as good as it gets, and i really can't express how happy we were with her efforts. She gave us just the right amount of attention without over doing it. As she was tending to her other tables, she obviously was paying attention to all of them. If she is consistently that good, Firebirds needs to promote her to a managing role over training. We started with the onion rings. They were extremely crisp and the garlic ranch that came with them was awesome. It really should be a bigger container of ranch, but when we asked for more, it was brought out immediately. We both got steaks with grilled shrimp. I had a NY strip, wife had the filet. The shrimp was done simply, but with a squeeze of lemon on it i have to say it it was very well balanced. Both steaks came out cooked exactly as we asked for it. Wife was 100% satisfied with the bacon wrapped filet. The NY strip was seasoned perfectly but was a little tough. All in all it was an improvement over our previous visit. As i said in my first review the manager really stepped up when things were not going great. Mr Wolf seems also genuinely concerned about the experience the patrons of Firebirds receive. I get the feel that the management at all levels understand, due to their price point, they need to meet the highest of...

Nice brick development. First time going@2:00 pm. Women's bathroom was empty of tissue in all stalls. No one obviously did bathroom duties from the night before. Bathroom smelled like it was not cleaned. Too early in the day for tissue to be out and unclean. The operations were ridiculous. We were never asked if we wanted any condiments. We ordered steak, burgers, fries -which require condiments for many people. The table near us had to ask for steak sauce. This made the server work harder. And when he brought them out, they were in plastic cups. This was not upscale presentation. The server brought us water. Several glasses were dirty with stuff floating in the water. We had to ask for straws and new water. Waiter was running around because our table and the other kept needing items that he failed to bring, or the standard operations do not implement easy service. Sweating like crazy! He was over worked. The food was OK. My older niece ordered the deviled egg appetizer, and they left 4 of them untouched because they were disgusting. I have had much better food and service at prices worth paying. They charge a gratuity to your bill. This guy made at least 50$ from our table, he only deserved about $20 for his service. I am very UNHAPPY with the experience. I feel like we were robbed with literally taking 20% of the bill as tip for horrible service. It is unfair and dishonest. I should tip what I feel is fair trade. We need to be reimbursed. I kept mentioning it to the server. I also told the hostess about the restrooms when I saw the issues. No one ever came to speak to me about what I complained about. This place wants to be a 5 STAR restaurant, they need to have more management involvement and correct problems that are presented. Management needs to check on tables to see if people are having a great experience. This is what sets an upscale restaurant apart from mediocre. This place lacks many upscale aspects. If they lack in these areas, they should not charge as if they are upscale. Absolutely, horrible. The only good experience at this place was my family. We are use to eating in better restaurants across the country. Firebirds is not that place for 100%...