Firebird Russian Restaurant & Gallery

Very disappointing. Extremely poor service. The borscht was weak. The stroganoff was bland, maybe a teaspoon of sauce and cold. I will not return. Disgusting restaurant!

I used to love this place, but I have seen a drastic change in service and food quality recently.
Service is simply awful. Last three times Ive gone it seems like the servers have never been trained on how to do their job. Expect NO refills for your drinks. Expect no one to check and see if things are ok with your food. No bread unless you ask, then it comes with no butter, and no plates to eat it on. Don’t ask questions about the menu as the response you will get is basically repeating what the menu already says. There is a manager/​owner that walks around but never helps out with anything or asks the guests how their meal is. There used to be a lady owner/​manager that was very attentive, but she seems to be gone.
Food quality is all over the place, and generally bland and not up to the standards I have come to expect from this restaurant. I used to think this place had some of the best food in Carmichael, now its just ok. Presentation is nice, but taste and quality is lacking. What a shame.

I am now a convert. What can I say except if you’re looking for authentic, cooked for a large family holiday food this is the spot. We came for the buffet to sample their offerings and loved it. The beet salad, cucumber dill salad, eggplant caviar, zucchini pancake, cabbage rolls, borsht, meatballs, stroganoff, eggplant stack with cheese, fried fish, buckwheat, braised chicken, even the mashed potatoes were awesome. This is just a partial list, there are quite a lot more items with little signs identifying each dish. It is now a standing joke that I have taken so many people to try this amazing establishment that I may have an interest in the place. It’s true I do. My interest is that they stay open, keep serving wonderful food and be even more successful. I have not had one bad meal or problem with service here, just like you don’t judge a book by it’s cover, here what’s inside is like stepping into your happily cooked all day
babushka’s dining room. Enjoy!

I was expecting kasha and cabbage and borscht and plov and PIROSHKI! Everything was present except for the piroshki, which is apparently only available on the weekends. See you this Saturday!
For now:
Yes, to the chicken & beef meatballs, pan fried tilapia, and borscht.
Ehh, to the cabbage rolls, buckwheat, and chicken wrapped w/​bacon.
Meh, to the farmer cabbage, zucchini pancake, and rice beef plov.
Most of the ones I didn’t like were on the bland side, barely any flavor and bite, texture a bit odd, almost unpleasant with the cabbage and pancake particularly. spongy and greasy…
On the brighter side, meatballs were delish! I actually wouldn’t mind getting a side of that beef w/​buckwheat again. It was appetizing, especially along with the borscht.
Would I go back again? Sure. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on their house-​made piroshki, and everything else I haven’t tried yet. Buffets, such a first-​world problem.

Ate here two times had the Cornish game hen first time was very tender and delicious second time I had the beef pork and chicken ground meat stuffed with mushrooms, French potato wedges and fresh green beans I loved it. My boy friend had beef stroganoff. Very clean restaurant and friendly staff. Prices were comparable.

Firebird is my favourite russain place. food is amazing,
homemade cake was great, the server was okay.

The possibilities of being a nice dining experience. The ambiance and finishing touches have much to be desired. It almost appears as if part of the dining room is storage or in the middle of rennovations. We came to try the buffet, wanting to experience a variety. The food was cold, not very fresh. I had high hopes and unfortunately was sorely disappointed. The buffet is extremely expensive, especially for a family. Service was extremely slow, we waited a long time for the check. I would never come to this establishment again. I really wanted to give a good review, was open minded and tried all of the dishes.

It’s an excellent restaurant with great service

Bought a Groupon so that my husband and I could have a reasonable date night.
Our first impression was very positive. The décor is unique, clean, with both modern and classic elements. The fresh rose on every table impressed us, and gave an extra feeling of care.
Our only complaint was our server. I believe his name was Max. While amicable, and adaptable, and kind, he was inattentive. Our overall dining time was increased exponentially by his slow nature and lack of awareness. He also did not know the menu the way he should have, and when I asked him if he would recommend the dish I was ordering, he was lack luster, and didn’t say positive things about the dish. He seems young, and he may be new, but hopefully he learns to be a bit more knowlegable and attentive.
Now the FOOD!
After the lack luster description from our server, I was not expecting much, but OH MY WORD. the food was great. As I said before, our server was very open to substitutions which I appreciated. I ordered the Zrazi With Mushrooms. Which is served with rice and a Russian salad. The server happily substituted vegetable kabob.
The zrazi I believe was pork, and it was delicious. The garnishing sauce complimented the dish well. The salad was very refreshing and light, it was composed of cucumber, cabbage, a little lettuce, and dill. The kabobs were perfectly cooked, and all very fresh vegetables. I was also very impressed with the presentation.
My husband ordered the Lamb Stew in the clay pot. It was the perfect balance between home cooked comfort food, and elevated high class flavors. It was wonderful with the puffy bread served on top.
We finished our meal with the Dessert Ballerina. It was more delicious than we anticipated. The prunes counteracted the sweetness very well, and the walnuts added a nice texture. It is served with a sort of cream I might compare with cannoli filling.
Overall we will be returning. Hopefully with a better experience with the server.

We were looking for something new & happily discovered the Firebird! We enjoyed everything from the Trio of Smoked Fish (fabulous herring), the Vareniki dumplings with potatoes, bacon, & mushrooms (delicious!), the Pork Kebab, and finally the Chicken Kiev (so tasty & flavorful! — worth many return visits). If you like homemade mashed potatoes, this is the place. Generous portions & excellent service. Also enjoyed the special decorative touches on the serving plates. Don’t be deterred by the outside. Inside is fairly simple but cozy, & the food & service will win you over.

Have finally experienced the Firebird and loved the buffet. It is served weekdays until 4:00 and is quite the bargain. Wonderful soups, meats, and vegetables. Tried as many dishes as we could but got too full to try them all. Great variety. Don’t make the mistake we made by waiting 5 years to stop in. Go soon and enjoy!

Only tried the lunch buffet here, well stocked and steaming hot. There were many selections and I loved the cabbage rolls, soups and salads. My favorite salad was the beet salad, simply delicious. The service was good and not overwhelming. The only part that I didn’t care for was the desserts, they were sugary and crumbly. Overall a good dining experience, would come back for their lunch buffet in the future.

Best food I have ever had for a long time. I had never really had Russian food before. Thought there were nothing but potato dishes… well it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
I would say there is a lot of Armenian, Middle Eastern, and even Indian influence to it. I really enjoyed the fried cabbage, creamed beets, Fried cauliflower, zucchini pancake, marinated eggplant, steamed eggplant with tomato and cheese, vegetable pickles, Cabbage soup, stuffed mushroom.
The service was really good too. Server was a really nice and drop dead pretty girl from Ukraine. I heard them talking the language with the guests. Can’t believe they weren’t busy at first. Once again… GREAT food!

what i ordered… lunch buffet
all the dish (s) i have tried were good to great though some were of an acquired taste and the homemade cakes (althought they were only two) were great.
ambiance… great (it looks funky outside but inside was nice, clean and spacious)
service… great (the best service i ever had in a buffet place but i have to say that i was one of the few at the time. the young lady was so nice from beginning to the end and did everything right without ‘em fancy uniform… greeted me well, informed me of what they have, went back to my table a few times to ask how i was doing, offered me stuff, clean my table and refilled my drink.
cost… $+ (fair)

Finally hit up Firebird after months of driving past it. And man, glad we finally did. Amazing food, awesome server, and nice atmosphere. I’ve never really had Russian before so this was a good introduction.
Started with the pork salo. Well seasoned. May take getting used to but not bad. It’s basically fat heavy chunks of pork with garlic and horseradish. A good cold start to meal.
Plenty of Russian rye throughout meal. Pairs well with Kvas.
Chicken Kiev as main course. Crispy, buttery and served with potatoes and a cucumber salad.
For dessert? Cherry blini. It’s sort of like a crêpe with powdered sugar and tart Russian cherries.
We stayed well after closing. Our server was prompt, nice. Definitely coming back, probably going to try buffet at some point.

By far this is one of the best introductions of Russian cuisine in the area.
Buffet has all types of delicious home made dishes different but traditional distinct taste that forces you to come back for more. All for $ 14,79
With no offense to the owners and no obligation I defiantly will be!
Thank you.
!

Omg, this food was delish! I had the meat borscht, and the pork schnitzel with a glass of kvass! Oh sooo delish! The prices aren’t cheap but the portions are large and the servers were attentive. There was a man bringing food out from the kitchen who seemed a bit befuddled but our waitress was very nice. The bathroom was clean as was the general restaurant. This place is across the street from chevron on Winding & Manzanita. There is ample parking in the lot in front of the place. If you’re feeling adventurous I would def recommend stopping in for some soul European food.

***THEY NEED A MAJOR RENOVATION***
I came here for my birthday with my lovely family and friends on a Friday afternoon (around 6 p.m.) and it was dead empty, only two other girls at the bar, and I think they worked there lol!
This is the only Russian restaurant in a 25 mile radius from my house and is definitely worth the drive. The neighborhood is a bit sketchy but the inside is welcoming. Firebird has a huge bar that would be fun to gather with friends and strangers, but it doesn’t give that vibe since there is only one T.V. (that plays Russia Today) and the restaurant is practically empty on a Friday night.
Their so called ‘Gallery’ is just a bunch of overpriced paintings on the wall that you can buy, none of the paintings there were memorable to me or worth writing.
THE FOOD
Their solyanka is delicious, I usually order that whenever I eat Russian food. I did order their ‘Beef Stroganoff’ and also some red caviar for starters which was pleasant to say the least. Their drinks were very hardcore which was probably the best way to start my 21^st.

I’m actually a huge fan of Russian food, all meat and potatoes based cuisine really. Firebird fills you up on that no problem!
First things first, VODKA! I usually always say vodka with a pseudo-​Russian accent, but I tried not doing that here (tried…). Russian vodka of course, but French and Polish is offered too. Really delicious martinis, oh baby!
We shared our dishes; borscht, pelmeni, and Chicken Kiev. Borscht was flavorful, savory, way better than mine! Pelmeni are little Russian dumplings similar to ravioli, served with sour cream. Those were really good, I love dumplings, that sour cream served with really did something for it. My Chicken Kiev was amazing, perfectly fried, and who doesn’t like chicken wrapped butter? I don’t know what they do to their mashed potatoes but holy hell…(put vodka in it?!). The dish also came with a nice and fresh vinegary slaw. Nice to clean the palate from all those meat and potatoes.
Didn’t try their desserts, but the cheese cherry blintz sounded good. I wish they had Russian tea cakes, would have been all over that. Must try the coffee next time!
Service was great, only one girl doing all the serving and bartending, so considering, yes amazing service!
Overall, very impressed. Will have to go back during their lunch buffet.
Firebird!

For years I’d wondered why Sacramento, a city with a Russian population of around 100,000, couldn’t seem to sustain a single decent Russian restaurant. There was a burger place downtown for a while with a small Russian menu, and that place in Del Paso Heights that always seemed like a front for something or other… but neither lasted long, and neither was very good, anyway.
Anyway, now there’s Firebird, and all is right with the world. I’m not Russian myself, and I’ve never been to Russia, so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt… but I’ve had Russian food in a lot of other cities (London, Paris, San Francisco, Beijing), and judging by the meal I had there recently, Firebird ranks with the best of them – at least, as far as the quality of food is concerned. I do have a couple minor issues, which I’ll get to later.
We started with some soup – one bowl of borsch, and one of solyanka. The plan was to share both, but as soon as I tasted the borsch I knew I wasn’t going to want to share much of it. I love borsch, and this one was really outstanding – rich, hearty, with plenty of dill and sour cream to brighten the flavor. Fortunately, my girlfriend preferred the solyanka, so in the end we were both happy. For our mains, she had the lamb stew and I had the salmon filet. The lamb stew comes in a clay pot, and has a sort of puff pastry crust on top, similar to a pot pie. The salmon is served in a cream sauce with salmon roe, with fried potatoes and red cabbage on the side. The salmon was cooked through, but not overcooked, and the potatoes were crisp and surprisingly flavorful.
The biggest problem we had was the service. This is absolutely nothing against the waiters who were working that night – they were great, but there were only two of them, and they were not only serving all the food, but also preparing drinks and bussing the tables themselves. I felt so bad for them! I tipped well, but I really hope they get some help soon. I’m guessing the situation in the kitchen is similar, because we waited a bit for the soup, which was then followed about two minutes later by our mains. If they hire more staff, I’ll definitely increase my rating to five stars.
The ambiance could use a little work, too. It’s not terrible, but it feels a little cavernous, and a little bit cheap. It doesn’t detract from the food, but a place like this should be drawing customers in any way it can. I’d like to see Firebird stay in business for many years, and a comfortable atmosphere can only help.

It looks like a hole in a wall outside but it’s a real gem. The food is so delicious and service is awesome. I am Russian and my Canadian boyfriend was keeping asking me to try one of Russian restaurants. Now it’s his favorite place.
We tried solyanka soup, escargot snails, jullien, varenniki with cheese, salo with garlic, zucchini pancakes with smoked salmon, tapaca chicken and chiken Kiev, plus desert blini with cherry and Napoleon.
Everything was so tasty!!!

The food was beautifully presented and very good. Boyfriend is Russian so he knew exactly what to compare it to, the owner checked on us often and was very nice. The food did take a while however

Once again, I waited too long to eat. My fiancé and I were on the road looking for a good place to eat. I was tired of all the chain restaurants in the area. My stomach was looking for a good home cooked meal, and this was just the place to be.
I’ve been eyeing this restaurant for years! I kept saying, oh someday I’ll tryout that restaurant. I’m half Russian/​Ukrainian on my dad’s side. It was so warm and welcoming to step into this joint. I have to mention here that the outside in NO WAY resembles the inside. Its completely gorgeous inside! Painted murals on the wall, paintings that make you feel like you’ve been transported into another space and time, and even a little corner that resembles what cooking in Russia must have looked like many years ago. It a magical place to walk into. My fiancé and I needed a moment to soak it all in.
After being seated our next task was finding something to order. I’m familiar with a couple of dishes on the menu, but many of the other names I didn’t recognize. Our waiter was very helpful in assisting us through what exactly each menu item meant and what might fit our mood for the evening.
We went with Valmenki’s. I might be spelling it wrong. It was soooo delicious. Its the Russian’s dumplings with bacon and mushrooms. Omg, it was amazing!!! One plate was enough to feed the two of us. I ate more than my fair share, and we both were completely satisfied. I was stuffed, but happy. I wanted to just stay in the bliss of being in this cozy environment and never have to find a place to eat again!
The Russian tea I drank with our meal was excellent. I didn’t even want any sugar or honey to go with it. It was rich and flavorful all by itself. My fiancé ordered a glass of red wine and was very content as well. Afterward we ordered dessert. Since I was the more hungry of us two, I got to pick it out. I was feeling adventurous and wanted to go for the Dessert «Ballerina». Not everyone might like this dessert, but it was nice balance of sweet and refreshing. Prunes, walnuts, whip cream and cogniac reduction is placed in a pretty bowl with a cherry on top. Great presentation, and a super yummy treat that also felt like a healthy choice for the most part. And what a great deal. We walked away from the whole meal around $ 30. That’s super impressive for such a wonderful experience.
I so enjoyed the atmosphere in here. We just discovered a new favorite place to eat. Anytime we can support local businesses that serves great food, with great service, and a beautiful ambiance is a complete package in my book! It was so awesome, I hope that all of you will consider coming to check out this unique gemstone of a restaurant and help keep places like this going!!!

A nice solid 3.5 stars. This was my first foray into Russian food, but I’ve had Hungarian food before (which is comparable) so I knew what to expect.
We had a groupon and although we came in on a Friday night, it was pretty quiet. Service was a little slow in the beginning since the waiter was also playing host, but overall it was first experience into Russian food. The waiter was more attentive later on in the dinner and there’s really nothing bad about the Firebird.
Borscht (4 stars): surprisingly good. A beet soup with other vegetables and sour cream. Very hearty and rich for a cold day.
Beef stroganoff (4 stars): pasta with sour cream sauce, beef, and salad. The salad was very good– the dressing was perfect and light and the lettuce fresh and crisp. I wished this dish was spicier overall and instead of using beef for stew, they should use a different cut.
Beef pelmeni (4.5 stars): so good! It’s a beef dumpling with broth inside– well seasoned and flavourful.
Napoleon dessert (2.5 stars): filo pastry itself was perfectly crunchy and good. BUT whip cream from a can, come on.
Service (4 stars): good service– refilled our water quickly and cleaned our table of dishes often.
I would definitely go back to the firebird, I would just get a different dish.

I was a little hesitant on eating at this restaurant. Coming from a Ukrainian/​Russian background and culture and eating all those delicious foods that come with.
I wasn’t sure that they could be recreated at a restaurant level. Once inside, it looks very open, I think they should add a few more seats to the establishment, looks a bit bare to me. During the afternoon they have a lunch buffet and evening time it’s a sit down restaurant. We came during the lunch Buffet. When it comes to the food, I must give it a 5 star rating. They cooks did a great to make it as authentic as possible. I felt like I was at my grandmas house all over again. The plov was delicious, mashed potatoes just as good. Piroshki are a must try here, they have some filled with meat and potatoes… I can talk about the food all day long. You need to get out there and try it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.