Birds of Paradise

I was very impressed with Birds of Paradise, mostly for the drinks. This restaurant is very hard to find if you're not looking for it. It's hidden by the other bars and restaurants in the plaza, but it's one of the better ones there for sure. (The rating is closer for 4.5, but giving a 5 because yay)Their concept is around travel (hence, birds of paradise). They curate drinks based on different authentic ingredients you would find in different travel destinations. My boyfriend and I went for a date night and the dim, intimate ambiance made it a great place to go. We sat at the bar and the bartenders were very attentive and even suggested great drinks to us. We ordered 4 cocktails and 2 handrolls.For cocktails, we got Bangkok to Mumbai (gin, yellow chartreuse, mango cordial, jackfruit, calpico concentrate), San Juan to Hanoi (rum, licor 43, cold brew, passion fruit, blackstrap molasses, lime), Dublin to Caracas (whiskey, banana, amaro nardini, pedro ximenez, tonka bean, salt), and Pare de Sufrir (patron 'birds of paradise' tequila, soursop geney, tomatillo, orange bitters). I was very impressed with all the cocktails. The first two came in classic glasses and every ingredient balanced each other perfectly. The last two came in such a unique setting (see picture). They give you half the cocktail in a small glass and the other half in a mini beaker dunked in ice, along with a little bite to pair with your drink. It kept the cocktail ice cold and let me drink it at any speed! I've never seen presentation like that and wanted to get more drinks solely to see it. The only downside to any of these drinks is that the tequila in the Pare de Sufrir was overwhelming. I know it's meant to highlight the tequila but it was hard to drink. Everything else was absolutely genius!For food, we got the spicy salmon handroll and the tuna belly. The spicy salmon was amazing. They were not skimpy with the salmon at all and it literally fell apart from being so big! They add a little crunch to the fish, giving it a nice texture. The flavoring wasn't super strong and allowed the natural salmon taste to come out. The tuna belly was a little disappointing. While the actual fish was great quality, the actual handroll wasn't great. This is solely because there was wayyy too much wasabi. After the first bite, my boyfriend thought that the wasabi went down the wrong way but it turned out that there was too much wasabi in every bite. It became a little hard to eat but if you love wasabi, you'll like it. I just wouldn't get it again.If you're looking to get food, the menu is very limited and the focus is definitely on the drinks. However, from the 2 handrolls that we did get, the sushi was very fresh.I would 100% go back again, and it might even become our regular spot!

How hard it is to print a few menus? It is annoying to have to open my phone every time I want to explore an exciting drink menu like this. If you want to be mysterious. Let the waiter recommend a drink. This is where I ended up after finding the click, click, click, click to read the drinks frustrating. He was really great and guided us to delicious next cocktails.Based on reputation, this place deserves a second chance. I will go back in a few months,

Make it a home but a restaurant with those vibes. Birds of paradise looks like you are stepping into someone's home but you are welcomed by a darkly intimate and dim lit bar with a good amount of seating as. Our server was a pleasant guy from the get go and even asked for my instagram when he saw me taking pictures of my food and drinks. The concept of the drinks is very fun. They are named after destinations and ingredients you may see at a specific destination. They don't have mocktails on the menu but they are able to make custom ones which my mom got and it was so delicious.The food menu is small with dumplings as the appetizers, some hand rolls , bento box or poke bowl. I got the eel bento and I've got to say it was just alright for me. I love eel but it didn't really stand out too much and the rice was a little too saucy. The star of this place is most definitely the drinks. And the vibes I feel like this would be a great place to take someone on a date.What we gotShrimp ShumaiPork & chicken Gyoza Custom MocktailVeggie Poke BowlUnagi DonTuna TartareSan Juan HanoiBig Apple cocktailFood 7Atmosphere 8Service 8

The drinks are beautiful, amazing flavor combinations, but the flavors are a bit... same-y. Mostly sweet; maybe that was because we were having the rum group of drinks? I had one gin drink and it had a similar flavor. The dumplings are fresh and delicious. I also had the unagi box. That was good too, but the eel was, again, very sweet. The box could have used more pickled daikon to balance out the sweet. Service was amazing, Natch is a total pro. She's great!

Excellent cocktail bar. I had one of their specials and the Hanoi drink. Super flavorful and unique. Service was stellar and the decor inside had a nice cohesive travel theme. Would definitely come back.

Lovely spot for cocktails, but the servers and especially the host do not make you feel welcome. No hello, no greeting, not even a crack of a smile the entire time we were there.Only saving grace was the cocktails were delicious:Lima to Dubai (5/5) - lovely drink that's made with a whole egg. Sounds odd but tastes deliciousKingston to Milan (4.5/5)Bangkok to Mumbai (3.5/5) - way too sweetI'm inclined to go back in the hopes the host and servers were just having an off day.

I can't speak for the food as I only came for cocktails. I was extremely sad to learn Ivory Pearl closed because they had some of the best cocktails, but heard this is their sister restaurant so I definitely had to try it when I was visiting the area. The cocktails are eclectic, and may even sound strange. We tried the parsnip cocktail and it honestly was phenomenal. Parsnip in a drink?? But yes, it works and it was so beautifully crafted. Our bartender was also helpful in our selections.

Came on a Saturday evening. We got reservation day of. The place is very intimate and can be a good date spot. We got two drinks that were on their seasonal menu and it was really good. I also got the salmon and scallop hand roll and the salmon hand roll was so big! I would come back to try more drinks but would probably not come back for the food.

This place was a hidden gem; even their entrance felt hidden. We came here after dinner to drink; we ordered three rounds. We tried Rio to Tokyo, San Juan to Hanoi, Lima to Dubai, Pennies del cielo, and Guavaleada. It was interesting that they mixed flavors from the departure city to the final destination into a drink. All drinks are presented beautifully, and you really can taste the alcohol. Since we both can't drink without snacks, even though we had dinner less than half an hour ago, we ordered the wagyu temaki, snow crab temaki, negi toro temaki, and yuzu rotate temaki. The quality of the ingredients was fresh, and there was not much rice. The menu is limited; don't come here if you expect a full meal unless you want to eat a poke bowl and/or are willing to pay a lot more just for small bites.I am willing to return if I am around the area for drinks and small bites.

Come here for amazing cocktails!! This is a travel themed bar and their drinks are VERY unique and deliciousThe rolls were OK, especially with for the price! Everyone's favorite was the salmon roll and I'd say 2-3 rolls were good as a small bite but I wouldn't recommend coming here for a meal unless you're willing to pay a lot more! Id recommend sitting at the bar so you could see how your drinks are being made :)