This was our first visit to Fire. After seeing the restaurant featured on several Cleveland area articles, we decided to try it out. Walking in on Saturday evening around 9pm, we were surprised to find the restaurant mostly empty - it must be more popular during earlier hours. The restaurant features a nice main dining room facing the kitchen, bar area, and outdoor seating. Overall very nice environment and interior.
Upon being seated we were promptly greeted by our waitress. There were service service related issues during the start of the meal. (1) Firstly, and above all the waitress had a very cold and impatient demeanor which was noted by all guests. We asked several times that we would like take our order but was told to hold on, this occurred 3-4 times between placing our appetizer order and placing our main order. This is a first for me. Overall we got the feeling we were being a nuisance. (2) bread came significantly after the appetizers were finished. Bread should have been served before or shortly after appetizers had arrived. (3) significant time between noting a cocktail was empty and asking if another drink was required.
In terms of the cocktails, I ordered the sangria and manhattan. The sangria was way too sweet and for 10 dollars way too small. I do not recommend the sangria unless you are looking something super sweet. Manhattan was well done.
For appetizers, we ordered the mussels and decided to share a pizza. The mussels were cooked well and the accompanying sauce was very good. The pizza was average with the crust a bit thicker than expected.
We ordered a mix of main entrees between the table to share - the tandoori pork chops, rainbow trout, duck, and the hamburger. The sides we ordered were French fries, scallop potatoes, and green beens. The tandoori pork chops was the best by far - i would recommend topping it with the fried egg as it really added to the flavor. Hamburger was average as the amount of meat was overwhelming compared to the bread and toppings. Sides were pretty good and would recommend the green beans.
For the price point, the environment and food was on point, however, the service was severely lacking. The restaurant needs to reevaluate the service level during evening hours. The automatic tip percentage does not warrant bad service. Once we left we understood why this place may be so empty on a Saturday night. Hope this is just a case of a bad waiter versus a wider issue.