Cafe Birdie Reviews

We strolled the area yesterday and were more fascinated each time. We enjoyed the happy hour - and the crispy cauliflower and the beet and fig salad were a blast. Highly recommended. Would I make a 30+ min detour to dine here (mandatory in my rating scheme to achieve five stars)? Probably not. But if you are in the area: it's a beautiful restaurant with lovely service - again: highly recommended.

A catchy name, a hip vibe, a beautiful outdoor patio, and a menu to boot. Cafe Birdie serves up good tunes, atmosphere, service, drinks and delectable eats. The Brussel Sprouts and the Burrata are flavor filled small plates, while the Grilled Shrimp and the Pork Cheek Ragu steal the show as main courses. As for drinks the Arroyo Cup, and the Fall Margarita really help you get into the groove of the night. Cafe Birdie hits with whatever type of party your with, whether it's dinner with friends, a date, or even if you're just running in for a quick drink. Where it could use improvement is on the Dessert options; while few, limited to only three pastries/cakes, and several after dinner digestifs the options sound great, but never really pull you in. I wouldn't say this detracts from the overall Cafe Birdie experience, but is just something that can be touched upon. All in all Cafe Birdie still knows how to serve up a great time, tasty eats, all while making you feel incredibly welcomed.

I went with a group of six and really enjoyed the small plates family style. Each dish is rich with flavor and it's best savored in small portions with others around the table because you really will be talking about it while you take bites it's so good. We had a great time.

Hipsters, boho and aging hippies, Highland Park's latest culinary entry, Cafe Birdie, is a stunning knockout in food, drink and decor. The pork cheek ragu was outstanding and while you're at it sip on a Troublemaker, one 9f their unique cocktails. Enjoy while there's room because once Jonathan Gold reviews it, it'll be the go to spot for dinner. There's a secret about the place that I'm not going to share because I want it all to myself and a few select friends.

We had a meal in Cafe Birdie as a couple.The atmosphere was excellent with the low lighting and the service was fairly good. The food was delicious and arrived quickly but not at the same time. Would eat here again if staying in Eagle Rock. Try the bar behind the restaurant - cosy bar with dim lighting, good atmosphere and cocktail menu.

If you are looking for a veg restaurant serving non veg meals this restaurant is for you. There are several chicken, meat, and seafood meals on the menu . Service was friendly and professional. The restaurant is licensed and has clean restrooms. Our party of six selected eight meals and could have had more as servings are not large, but some decided to choose dessert instead . This restaurant makes a nice change from the often over heavy and fatty meals available in town.

We came here on a Saturday. The ambience is great! The restaurant has a good vibe and is really nicely decorated. Kinda hipster-y. Wait staff were friendly and knowledgeable and made the evening. Food was excellent! Loved the burrata, loved the meatballs, loved the best salad, actually loved everything here. We ordered a load and then just shared amongst us.

The management of this place should be paying attention to their slow staff, cold food and awful service. This area of Highland Park could have used a great restaurant. Skip this place at all costs.

Café Birdie: Hip place with a diverse crowd and broad menu options. The food was very good and the drinks exquisite. Reservations a must.

First of all I liked the setting and environment in this place. Both the indoors and outdoors sections feel nice to be. The food is very good too although I do find it somehow overpriced. It is a shared-food concept restaurant and you will need 2-3 dishes per person.

Visited for brunch. Classy hip decor storefront restaurant. Ordered a Bloody Mary with the green chili vodka which is offered at an upgraded price. Comes with seasonal pickle which turned out to be a small carrot. Pickled vegetable would have been more appropriate. Regardless, it spicy pricey and not worth ordering a second. PS it comes in a small glass. The dishes were creative and tasty. While I did not try it, my wife raved about the French toast. The plates are small but lighter appetites will probably be satisfied. Brunch for 3 @$80.

We made a reservation for a Friday evening and had a positive experience with all aspects of our meal, from the excellent menu, efficient yet friendly service, to the spacous and well-decorated space. We had a drink at the bar before dinner - highly recommended. Even though it's not inexpensive it is fair value given the overall quality of the experience.

Our dinner consisted of the burrata appetizer, pistachio pesto pasta, and king salmon plus red house wine. Burrata dish was good with the astringency of the marinated squash and onion providing a nice contrast to the creaminess of the cheese but I would not order it again. The pesto is unique in that the pasta is one large sheet of pasta coated in a lovely green pistachio pesto sauce - very satisfying! I loved the tad pink in the center thick-cut salmon with shaved sunchoke, radish and grapes on a bed of sweet potato- so delicate and citrusy. House red wine, a tempranillo, was so-so, a bit too dense and unstructured. The main room is olive green, has high ceilings, copper tables, high banquettes in the center and a nice bar- atmosphere is relaxed. Subdued lighting in evening. Very efficient and attentive service. Would return to try other items :)

Don’t let the rather austere look of this place fool you: the food is wonderfully complex with layers of flavors and textures and beautifully presented in small plates that are generously loaded and meant to be shared (so two people can easily order 3 or 4 plates at least). Service is attentive but never overwhelming and the menu has a lot of options for non-meat I eaters (and more if you ask your server). Surprising variety of cocktails and wine options. The dessert menu is the only disappointment: only three rather common choices. But the rest of the meal was filling enough to be satisfying without the sweets. Also a nice small courtyard area in the back (that unfortunately picks up a lot of breeze from smokers who go back there to light up - the only real negative in my dinner experience). Will have to make a return visit to sample the rest of the menu!

We were headed for a different restaurant when we met someone who suggested this restaurant. What a pleasant surprise--the food was wonderful as was the ambience. Can't say enough good things.

I enjoyed my dinner at Cafe Birdie very much. The staff is friendly, food super delicious and fresh, the interior of the place very urban - all in all a really great evening. Do not miss the bar at the back - great cocktails & vibe.

Our group of four decided to have an early dinner at this new restaurant on a Friday. They have a nice outside seating area, but we chose a table inside because of the warm weather. The wine list catches your eye. Two “orange” wines were listed. The wine director told us that one was from a small winery in Oregon that only produced 120 cases. The other was from a winery in the country of Georgia that uses an 8,000-year-old method that consists of crushing grapes in a hollowed out log and storing the wine in clay pots buried underground. Both wines were excellent. The bar is well stocked and offers a variety of drinks including an Italian Getaway that was very good. The group decided to share several plates and ordered a Farro Salad, Mushroom Toast, Butcher’s Pasta, Gnoccehetti, and Moroccan Fried Chicken (my personal favorite). For dessert, we shared a Mascarpone Cheesecake, Panna Cotta, and Chocolate Tart. This is a good place if you want to try something different.

I ate their once about a year ago and, although the food was good, it was heavy -- I called it "hipster comfort food" -- to the point where I walked out thinking, "I. Am. Never. Going. To. Eat. Again," vowing never to go back. But I had read that they had a new chef and was wandering around, saw they had Happy Hour on a Saturday and wasn't crowded so figured would give them a second chance. Glad I did! First, they have Pisco Sours, which are not that easy to find. I had the meatballs, which were excellent. Debated upon what else to have and the excellent bartender, Alex, highly recommended the Agnolotti. And now so do I! Definitely going back!

Great place to hang out with friends have a late night snack, free parking, nice drink menu and the Moroccan fried chicken is yum

My family was staying in Culver City where there are many good restaurants but decided to take the 30 minute drive to Highland Park and have dinner at Cafe Birdie where we had a great meal two years ago. The menu still includes the Moroccan Fried Chicken, but there were several new dishes offered and we decided to share most of them: Hamachi Crudo, Burrata, Mushrooms, Pistachio Pesto, Beef Bolognese, Green Mango Salad, Cacio E Pepe, and Grilled King Salmon, in addition to the Chocolate Vegan Mousse and Tres Leches Cake. I ordered the Pinot Gris Orange wine. Food and service were excellent.

You can sit in the front room, at or near the bar, or in the second room. There's also an outdoor patio. Dishes are mostly "small plates" good for sharing. All the salads are lovely , we had a steak dish and a pasta dish. Desserts are outstanding. Innovative cocktails and interesting wines on offer.

First they checked vac status and id! Great space with gun lovely atmosphere! We ordered 2 salads which were huge and tasty ( caesar & gem). Also shrimp with cauliflower grits were great! Beet salad also remarkable! Highly recommended!!

The Moroccan chicken is amazing!! So is the Cacio e pepe.....The place is cute and the outside in the back of the restaurant is very nice for when it is warm outside. We had great service and will be back very soon...

Our son lives in up and coming Highland Park and he said that we had to visit Cafe Birdie which had only recently opened. It was a great recommendation. One of the new wave that offer interesting refined food, not at crazy prices and not oversized portions which can so often be the case. Beautiful interior which incorporates a number of interesting features with a bar running down one side. We had the pasta which was delicious and our son greatly enjoyed the beet salad. A great addition to the local scene.

Hard to find and parking is at a premium, otherwise excellent on all levels. Service - our waitress was charming, knowledgeable, attentive and engaging. Mike the bar manager was patient as I tasted my way thru his wine list until I found the perfect wine. The food is small plates but huge on flavor - scallops were perfect, shrimp exceptional, meatballs are not to be missed, and pork pasta alone is worth the trip. Casual dining at its best - a very laid back crowd in general. All in all we’ll be back regularly.

So many delicious things to order!! My friend had a couple cocktails and I enjoyed selections from the wine list. We ordered five plates and were completely satisfied. Our server was so personable and helpful with menu selections. She definitely added to our comfort and enjoyment of the experience. I'm looking forward to going back to taste the fall menu!

On a Monday evening, we booked a table – not necessary, but probably advisable on a Friday-Saturday. We chose the nice rear courtyard, which was very pleasant on a warm summer's night. The menu and drinks lists aren't extensive, but we were delighted with our choice of 'mains' – all designed to be shared, and six dishes were perfect for four of us. We all loved the intriguing combinations of flavours. Disappointingly, the couple of desserts we chose to share, didn't measure up to the mains, but our two slightly-herbaceous 'dessert wines' (montenegro and averna) were unusual and interesting. Finally, the service was friendly and efficient – and we will be back...

Wow, great food! Visiting from northern Calif and met family members here for a weeknight late dinner. Server had good suggestions on menu items and number of items to order for our group of three. Most of the small plates we ordered were perfect quantities to split three or four ways. Due to work schedules we tried for a 8 pm reservation, but even on a week night there weren’t a very nice no 8 pm reservations available so we had to go with a 8:15 pm reservation. We had a very nice outdoor table (heated and covered) out the rear door, which was great for conversation with less noise than the larger indoor seating area.

This spot is so adorbz and so was our server Katie! Just the sweetest, funniest, best service I've had in a while. She made great recommendations for our pickiest eater, really catered to all of our needs, and kept the drinks coming. Her fantastic hospitality makes us look forward to returning here the next time we're in Highland Park!!

Cafe Birdie is a restaurant we often choose to celebrate special occasions. Their food is always very tasty and service makes you feel special.

Overall, the ambiance is good. My grilled asparagus with poached egg was good but the portion was small for the price, it looked like an appetizer. Maybe it will also present better on a larger plate. The service got slower. Tea hot water was never refilled. Nice interior. Wish it is opened for lunch during weekdays.