Fire and Ice
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Harvard Square50 Church St
Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 547-9007
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sun 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. - Menu: MenuPages
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
115 Reviews for Fire and Ice
I like the idea of Fire & Ice: you go in, pick out your meats and veggies, let the guy grill them with the different possible sauces, and VOILA! You have food. And it's okay food. But it's not worth doing all of that work, particularly considering how it disrupts the social aspect of eating. For that, it's not a place one should go if you want to sit down and talk, not because of noise, but because there isn't much time where your entire party will be sitting down together.
On top of all of this, the outdoor area here at this one is unappealing: It's like a weird rock garden thing that doesn't work considering the outdoor places at other restaurants in Harvard Square. When I want to eat outside, I want the area to be aesthetically appealing, and this one just isn't.
Thursday night...finally a warm Thursday night. Hungry, but so is everyone else. And the students are all still here. Where to take the visiting Mom for a bite to eat??
Somehow we ended up here.
Granted this isn't my first F&I experience, but it likely will be my last. Not because of anything bad happening this time - just because it's always been kind of bad.
I guess conceptually it's cool, kind of like those hobo clowns at the circus are cool. And like the patchwork coats they wear, this place is kind of a mish mosh of styles, functions, and vibes. And like the circus, the juggling of the food getting fried on the center grill bounces around so much that you will most definitely get a little sampling of something on your plate you weren't quite expecting. A bonus for people with food allergens, huh? (I am not one of them, I'm just sayin.....)
No matter what ingredients or sauce you select, everything comes off as greasy - profit margin must be decent, because I couldn't even finish one plate fully.
But maybe I am not their target audience - which is good, since this was my last visit.
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I like the idea of an improvisational grill. It's kinda cool! You get to pick what you want, add a sauce, and they grill it up for you!
A lot of the other reviews mention your dish not getting the attention it deserves. I can't speak for the dinner crowd, but I can say that its a great place to go for lunch.
The lunch there is MUCH cheaper than going for dinner. The place is extremely empty. Chances are, your bowl of goodies is the first to hit the grill of the day and the cook WILL pay good attention to it.
Its a great way to eat healthy for lunch and get a good mix of meat and veggies. I'd say without a salad or an expensive drink, you pay at the most $8.
The sauces are great, although I'd say that they could use some variety. For someone who doesn't like spicy very much, they don't have many options.
Remember - GO at lunch!
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This review is really based on the fact that this is where you want to go. Before you go here, you need to realize a few things.
1. The waiters are there to bring you DRINKS only. You'll need to help yourself to food. It's an uncooked buffet.
2. On that subject, it's an uncooked buffet, so after you wait in line for your ingredients, you need to wait to get a spot at the grill and have your food cooked.
3. And I stress this again, it's still a BUFFET. Buffet food is not traditionally good food. The food here is decent, but don't go here expecting anything orgasmic.
To sum it up, you're going out to eat at a place where you aren't waited on, the food won't be cooked exactly to your specifications, and the food will be mediocre at best.
That being said, this place is actually REALLY GOOD if you're looking more to have a fun, unique time when going out to eat instead of a nice meal. You'll make a few trips, you'll spend half the night waiting while standing, and you'll throw away quite a few mistakes. But it'll be a blast inventing some new dish. Good for groups or a date, whether it's first or fiftieth.
It loses a star for weak ass drinks and in the end, it's still a restaurant with busboys only. I can't in good conscience give a restaurant like that 5 stars. Other than that, s'all good baby.
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We went for lunch on Saturday, and actually had to wait for 4 tables to be seated in front of us -- On a Saturday! This place would be awesome to visit if you were in a slightly inebriated state, but not so awesome if you were color blind: Lots of primary colors, shapes, light bulbs, metals, etc. Totally '86 Rock and Roll.
Our waitress was spunky, and really enjoyed showing us all the different stations inside the restaurant. She brought us our drinks, and sent us on our merry way to collect bowls of raw stuff. Then we went to this big round grill, and watched our raw stuff heat up, become cooked and seasoned, and then dumped onto Fiestaware-esque plates. Back to the table we go, to enjoy our custom made food, as well as the rice and tortillas brought by Spunky Waitress. The food was good, filling, and the process was fun. Not necessarily gourmet, but absolutely edible.
I would have given four stars, but no one had restocked the restroom from the night before... No TP, no paper towels, and no soap. That really made me unpleased, and then I remembered how many people use the same tongs to fill their bowls. Some instant hand sanitizer stations might be a great investment...
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With so many choices in Harvard Square for quality dining, I can't imagine why anyone would go, let alone wait, to eat at Fire and Ice. The concept itself is cool, pick what you want to eat, and we'll cook it for you. The problem is that this approach leads just to overly or undercooked items and the sauces are just insipid and boring. Great for big groups I guess with people with a lot of picky eaters, but other than that, it's a pass for me.
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Fire and Ice is the place I bring people from out of town. Ashley O said it perfectly - it's for out-of-towners who think this is big city dining (until it eventually invades suburbia and gives Applebees a run for it's money.)
So far, all of my guests have enjoyed it - and I've been in here with my beau once for dinner, and once to try out breakfast. It's pretty so-so when you don't have an excited friend sitting across the table from you. And it is overpriced - but that's the price you pay for "creativity." I can usually only manage one dish per trip, and that's keeping in mind that I should think lightly so I could try more than one combo. I'm paying $17 for stir fry... I usually feel bad afterwards.
The breakfast menu is just ok. It's not worth a special trip, and I think we only came here because the restaurant we wanted to go to was PACKED. They do omelettes and pancakes. They have breakfast pastries - which were a little stale, and yogurt - which was a little warm and liquid-y.
Take it for what it's really worth.
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So last night I was getting my hair cut and one of the hairdressers was going on and on about how she and bunch of friends rented a hummer limo for their "big night in the city" to go to Fire and Ice. I drive pretty far up on the North Shore to see my hairdresser cause she rocks. So I guess "the city" is a big deal to these people. Anyway, point of the story is, this is what you will find. Small town folks who think this place is a big night out.
It is a novelty. I hate restaurants that make me serve myself. I hate how once they put my weird combo on the grill it tastes like everything and nothing all at the same time. I hate how everything is all overcooked.
So if you are the kind of person who "plans a big night out in the city" I can guarantee you will love it.
If you are one of my beloved young urban yelpers, run run run from this abomination.
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I tried to go here for dinner on my birthday (a Saturday night) and when I got here the line was like out the door and down the street. So curiousity struck me and I wedged my way thru the crowd to ask the hostess how long for a table and she told me over an hr. I turned myself right around and left. I don't care how good the food is "supposed" to be an hr wait for dinner on my bday is definately not cool. See ya later Fire n Ice, just not gonna happen. Haven't been back since. Not worth it to me. My bday still kicked ass though!!
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When I was little, we used to go to this Chinese and Mongolian restaurant that had the most incredible Mongolian BBQ. I really loved it, and even more so when we'd go with family friends who had kids I didn't like, so we'd 'introduce' them to the Mongolian BBQ by putting together the most horrible combinations in the bowl and then watching their expressions when they downed it. Terrible, I know, but I've since learned better manners and considering how much I appreciate the deliciousness that is Mongolian BBQ food, I can't bring myself to be so wasteful now.
Having said all that, Fire & Ice, although is in the style of Mongolian BBQ, isn't what I'd call Mongolian BBQ in terms of actual cuisine they offer. I'd LOVE if there were an actual, real Mongolian BBQ place in Boston, but this is not one of them. So now, not considering that, let me describe the goods and the bads of this place.
If you don't like it, the price will not be worth it even if it is all you can eat - if it's all you can eat something you don't care for, you're not getting a good deal. I've been lucky in that although it's certainly not the highest quality stuff you'd find, the food has always been pretty fresh when I've gone which I appreciate. As long as you're good at mixing up good combos, you can get something decent here, but sadly for me I don't find it to be anything crave-worthy.
I never quite understood why the line is always as crazily long as it is, and I suppose it's a good place to go with big loud groups or for something random/a bit different, since the gimmicky aspect of it can be entertaining. Plus, as it's a fixed price, haggling over a bill will be a non-issue. Then again, you could say the same of many a churrasceria, which is much more my scene.
Service can be slow, and if while a couple of the 'cooks'' are nice, some of them have been kinda creepy. I feel a bit cruel giving it two stars, but I guess in conclusion I'd have to say: not bad if you're curious or have to go with a group once in a while (usually someone else's choice not mine, though) but there are so many better places to eat in Boston both in terms of being good for groups and having better ambiance, fun and food. 2.5 stars.
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Fun for the novelty, but that is about it.
Your food ends up getting overcooked because they are cooking so many orders at once. They can not give your dish the attention it deserves.
I did not like that I had to stand there waiting for my food to cook. I had a beer waiting for me at my table calling my name, but I was standing there waiting for my food to cook. Hmm if I were smart I would have grabbed the beer while i waited.
You do not end up eating with the people you go with because you go up and get your food and someone else takes longer than you so your food finishes and you sit to eat while they are waiting for theirs to cook
Save your money and go somewhere else.
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I remember a time when the line for this place was out the door. I'd show up early so I could get a table before the rush and have a great time. I had great service, some great food, and some fun conversations.
Then I went back.
Originally, I was really excited because there was no line. That should have told me something, right there. Sadly, I was blinded and deafened by hunger. We were seated promptly, and then forgotten about. The sauce bar was empty. BONE FUCKIN DRY. The meats weren't as diverse as they once were, and the quality of ingredients had gone downhill. On top of that, the grill staff seemed less. . . with it.
We actually left to get better food with better service from Sto Two-Fo. . if that tells you anything.
All in all the food was bad, the service was lousy, and I had ZERO fun.
Sorry Fire and Ice, but. . .you suck.
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Love this place!! I have never had a bad time here and the more people you go with the more fun it is. I recommend going on Fridays and Saturday from 7PM onwards!! You'll have a blast!
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This place just needs to not happen. I went here with some friends, and honestly, have no intention to go back. While I think the "modern buffet" concept is kinda cool, the rest of it is lacking. The one thing I will say is that they do have a great selection of seafood that I risked eating. Lord knows how long those pieces of squid had been sitting out there but they were tasty. They also had an awesome amount of veggies. So that was nice.
I dont really enjoying paying a lot of money to the company of the people I am with and wander around the restaurant, stand for 15min while they cook my food and THEN when finally get back to the table to find the other members of your group have gotten up to get their own food. Its not too relaxing. I would rather go to Todi, the amazing all you can eat seafood and sushi buffet. Its a chain, and better than this place
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The food, once I got it, was OK. But the drinks I had were very overly sweet and tasted like they were from a mix. Yuck.
It's just not my kind of place. Gimmicky, crowded - I don't need to watch other people cook my food. I want to sit at my cozy little table and have people wait on me and bring me stuff. That's why I go to restaurants. I don't want to wander around a crowded place bumping into all the other wandering people with a bowl of raw food, and then have to sit around waiting and NOT drinking my drink or talking with companions while waiting for it to get cooked next to everyone elses food. . . Up, down, up down. Like church.
It's the bastard love child of a mediocre hotel buffet and bisuteki. Neither of which I like, either.
Service was slow. Yeah. . no, I didn't like it.
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An old teacher of mine used to say that "what you find in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armadillos." With Fire and Ice, that pretty much sums it up.
When I first had it described to me, I immediately thought "MONGOLIAN BARBEQUE!!!!" and couldn't wait to try it. Mongolian barbeque as I remember it is absolutely positively the shit, but I hadn't seen anywhere ever purporting to serve it in America. Then I actually got to Fire and Ice, and found it to be a restaurant that I couldn't really classify.
On the one hand, it's clearly influenced by Mongolian barbeque: you gather your ingredients and choose a sauce, and then you have your stuff cooked. But there's where the similarities stop. Instead of the Mongolian grill there's something you take your food to that more closely resembles a large teppan-yaki stove. Also, upon closer inspection the food selection is heavy on one or two different kinds of meat, and lean on vegetables worthy of a stir-fry. Additionally, the sauce selection leaned towards a more Western palate.
This isn't to say that the food was bad; it was just not exactly as I'd thought it'd be. Even though there wasn't too much variety in the food, it was tasty and had a decent variety of flavors.
If I were to judge Fire and Ice on the food alone I would be giving it a higher rating, especially since it seems to cater to the younger crowd. Unfortunately, the fact that it chooses to try and blend the Mongolian barbeque into its food selection means that when it could be very good as a Mongolian barbeque (which it choose not to do) and it could be a decent traditional restaurant, it achieves neither. Be prepared to wait in long lines, especially on Mondays (more on this later) and if you aren't amused by the antics of the chefs in the center grill then you're going to be bored waiting.
Half price Mondays and its all-you-can-eat sort-of-buffet make Fire and Ice extremely popular on Monday nights, in particular with students. Other nights, it's generally still crowded.
In the end, a lot of my friends like Fire and Ice, so I still go. Two of my friends' last birthdays have been at Fire and Ice, and if anything it's a great venue for that. But after considering taking my family here, I decided against it: there are much higher quality restaurants in Cambridge far more suitable for taking your folks out. But that said, Fire and Ice is a fun option on a Monday night and it works for a man on a budget like me.
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When I was younger, my dad got it into his head that he was going to start making Chinese food, wok and all - without recipes. We'd mix up our combination of spices and sauces and sautee some stuff and combine forces and then...it would be inedible. We would either mess up with the sauce combination, or, worse, pair the sauce with the wrong meat.
And that, friends, sums up how easily one can mess up at Fire & Ice. When I was co-teaching a freshmen "pyromaniacs" seminar in school, we'd take our young charges to Fire & Ice for dinner, but that's about the end of my good memories of this place. Well, that, plus stories about ridiculous meat-eating competitions between friends. (I don't know many folks who can fit multiple pounds of meat into their stomachs in one sitting, but the ones who can are honestly among the most interesting. And probably also the most dangerous.)
In conclusion: totally expensive and too easy to ruin your meal. But hey, if your friends are jackasses or somebody else is paying for it...
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A TON of people made a huge deal about how awesome this place is, how badass all you can eat meat is... Well, I know a little something about badass all you can eat meat and it is most certainly not here. The food is average and it's really hard to eat enough to get your money's worth. The meat quality was low, hell the quality of everything was cheap, only god and the managers know how much food you would have to consume to get your money's worth, and the food isn't all that expensive.
I'm a big fan of Mongolian barbecue, but this place is not one I would recommend to anybody, except maybe a homeless guy who found a $20 on the ground.
Pretty cool place, the food wasn't THAT great. I really did like the atmosphere though. It's just another form of a buffett, with a little extra entertainment at the grill!
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Another expensive, eat-'til-you-puke experience in New England. Fire and Ice takes the Mongolian barbecue concept, which is delicious on the West Coast, and transforms it into yuppie chic...sort of. It seems like a good idea, but somehow they don't really do it very well.
I will definitely give a thumbs-up to the infused alcohol drinks and shots. It's tasty stuff. Maybe F&I would just be better for a couple of drinks before you head out to a real dinner, but the main draw here is the "fire", the massive grill in the center of the restaurant.
The idea is that you're cooking fresh, raw food and your choosing it yourself, so how can it be bad? However, the quality of the food isn't that good to begin with, and I question how sanitary it is to keep raw meat on a buffet. But whatever. Assuming you can get past paranoia attacks about salmonella, I recommend staying away from the sweeter, heavier sauces. And the chicken. And the fish. Stick to red meat and veggies. And pace yourself, for god's sake.
Ok, ok, so I tend to overindulge at buffets. It's really easy to do that here, but it's so pricey that it's hard to justify.
Service here is godawful, by the way. They do a bit better at the Back Bay location. But they make up for it by hiring unbelievably hot servers. So there's a bonus. Maybe. No.
So stop by for the booze, but skip the food. There are some great places to eat in Harvard Square, so you'll definitely find something better.
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Four stars for lunch, three for dinner, because the price is double for the same food. I don't think this place is as good as BD's Mongolian Barbecue (which doesn't exist on this coast), but it works okay. I wish the selection would change, but its pretty much constant. If you're not careful you fall into a rut and keep getting the same ingredients every time you go.
You take a bowl and fill it with meats and veggies and other tasty bits and fill a little container with sauce then take it to the big circular grill where they fry it up for you. It's fun and you get to let out your inner artist, and then when you screw it up, you can try again.
My suggestion: get small portions, take your time, and go back for 3 or 4 bowls! For a special (and painfully filling) treat, get a hamburger (grab the raw ball of beef) and put in a few toppings (onions, mushrooms, peppers?) and get a fun sauce, which they'll put on at the end. it'll taste great.
When you go at lunch they bring you chips and salsa, but it's a trap! Don't fill up on them, save room for the good stuff.
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It's a fun concept, but the quality of the experience depends on whether the ingredients are stocked well enough (during rush dinner hours, they're generally not). Also, it's tough to go with a smallish group because everyone's up and down watching food getting cooked, standing in line, etc. The service has been so-so - the last time I went there, the waitress never brought us rice or wraps to accompany our food and then left for the night (!) without giving us our check. The atmostphere is loud and dark.
I would recommend if there's no wait AND you have someone in your party who has severe dietary restrictions - one of my friends actually prefers to go to this place as she has celiac disease and can control all of the ingredients in her final dish.
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Its hard for me to rate this place because I was "I can eat my own hand" hungry when we got there. So three stars it is. They have a variety of ingredients that you can put together with various sauces to create your own meal. The cooks then cook it on a large grill in the center of the restaurant. The food was mediocre at best (and I don't think I'm all that bad of a cook) and god forbid you get stuck in a long line, it takes forever to get your food cooked. So average at best.
Honestly, this wouldn't be my first choice to eat out, mostly because my feeling is that if I'm paying for a meal, I shouldn't have to cook it myself. Had it not been for my bf liking this place, I'm not sure I would have gone.
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The best reason to go to Fire & Ice (and the best deal) is to do it for the lunchtime deal. One trip and salad for $8. If you sit at the bar you can walk right in and get in and out in about 30 minutes. Be careful, though. If there is a large school group and only one cook you could be waiting.
There's often something for everyone at Fire & Ice. You can always try different flavor combinations and enjoy something different each time. Great for people wish to focus on high protein diets and eat salads.
I've only been once for lunch and it wasn't too packed but I thought that this place had a really good idea. Let the customers make up their own meal out of a wide variety of fresh ingredients and sauces put it in a bowl bring it to the chef and then have it cooked for them and brought to them at a table. So really, if you don't like your meal, it's your own fault you... made it... after all. I really liked this because I got to make my lunch a lot spicier than I would have gotten it, if it was made for me.
The drinks are weak and the dinner prices are really expensive, but the food is great, and the service, too. Worth checking out, but be aware that lunch is $8 all you can eat, and dinner is $18.
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So, you sit down on the toilet, and you sense the diaphanous aroma of stale fanny... you don't remember what you've eaten lately, but you can tell you're gonna to be here for a while.
There's nothing to read. You stretch for the toothpaste tube and begin to read it: Potassium nitrate 5%. Builds increasing protection against... Nah, this is boring. The hand creme looks interesting: Clinically proven effective for dry, sensitive skin... Not a good read either. How about the shampoo? Hey! This is better: Just lather and rinse. For maximum oomph, follow up with Anti-Flat conditioner and Weightless Volumizing Creme.
Not too bad. But a People magazine would have been so much better.
This whole experience is not entirely unlike visiting Fire and Ice. Smells like poopie and not a lot of great choices. You'll find something, but there are better places to go.
I'm not even 100% sure if the Fire and Ice public grill is sanitized for your protection.
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The food is ok, but the deco and idea of have your own bowl of food and sauces is wonderful. It is good if your friends want veges and you want eat chicken, you can all pick your own.
only concern is some of their plates are black, I don't know if they burned my food. it's hard to see under that lights. Oval all, it's a nice place I would recommend my friends to try out!
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I just dont get it.
Sure, its all you can eat. But its just stir fry. And OK, you can come up with a hundred different combinations of meat, vegetable, rice or noodle, and sauce. BUT ITS STIR FRY!!!! im pretty sure anyone could cook this stuff at home and it would come out just the same or even better than what they offer. Believe me, i am an avid fan of eating all i can for one set price, but not the same thing over and over and over again.
I also don't like the fact, that everything thats cooked is (some times under cooked) on this ginormous grill. what if i have allergies to peas? its like an orgy of all that had been cooked on there before, on your plate. i once picked out chicken, broccoli and a rice mixture and swear i could taste fish and corn...weird.
i guess its good to go once and try it. other than that...i just don't get it
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This is possibly my favorite restaurant in the whoooooole world! You fill your bowl with excellent raw meat, veggies, pasta, choose from the delicious sauces, and bring it to the huge circular grill - you can try out as many combinations as you want, and everything I've tried has been awesomely good!
The interior is cool looking, too. It's a good atmosphere for eating with you family, friends, bachelorette parties, etc... I've been here so many times (at the Back Bay location, too) and it's always awesome. Escpecially the time our waiter hit on my friend Chris with a foot tall beer glass and his New York accent... Sawce? sawce? sawce? sawce? hehehe.... okay maybe that was only funny to me.
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I don't care what people say about Fire & Ice because I HEART IT SO MUCH.
I mostly go to the one in Back Bay and I absolutely LOVE the cooks. They always put on a great show for everyone especially when your standing there with 80 other people waiting for your food. They make everyone sing to you for your birthday (have done it to my mom and had it done to me). They are amazing
The food is not the absolute best but they have great selection. And they cook it in the back if you have food allergies or a phobia of having your food touch other people's food.
Brunch is AMAZING here. Pancakes the size of hubcabs. Omlettes filled to the brim with goodies. French toast everything you could ever want for breakfast.
I heart Fire & Ice no matter what people say
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This place is the worst.
A couple years ago, I had the worst customer service experience of my life here, and I will never ever go back. We were seated for lunch well before the shift between lunch and dinner prices, and not only did it take more than an hour for our undercooked and cold food to get to us, they saw it fit to charge us the dinner price which is more than twice the lunch price. We talked to the manager, and she told us that we needed to pay the dinner price even though we had been seated long before the shift.
Perhaps they have new management/policies now, but this was really lame. I am never going back there.
Go to Wagamama. They are nice and great and good.
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My friends and I started going there quite frequently on the college night (Mondays), even in the summer. We would always go before, the mass of college kids come in. Between 5 and 6:30 were the best times. The later you go, the more chaotic and loud it'll get. You'll have to wait for people to get out of your way so you can pick your food and then you might have to wait in a line that has wrapped around the counter/grill area twice. The busier it gets, the less enjoyable it is. You might end up getting bits of other people's food in your plate. So, if you're an annoyingly picky eater, don't go here.
The plus side, is that you can go up as many times as you want and try new things and it is vegan friendly.
The last time I went, which was in August or September, I had a really disgusting incident. I was waiting at the counter and I felt an itch on my leg and scratched it and then I noticed it was traveling up my leg! So I shook my leg and my jeans and out fell a cockroach!!! How f---ing gross is that?? At the time, it was super busy and loud, so nobody at all noticed me freaking out, which was odd! I should have complained, but I didn't want to seem like some weirdo making up a story since no one saw anything! What I should have was call the Cambridge Health Department!!
I went here for the first time the other weekend and I loved it! Definitely call ahead if you're going on a weekend. The waiting area was very crowded, and it is right by the door people constantly go in and out of, so on a winter night that was pretty inconvenient haha. But besides that, they have a great atmosphere, pretty hip and exciting, they play top 40 songs and the whole time I just wanted to dance! If it's your first time going, your waiter/waitress will teach you how you get your food at Fire and Ice. It is all raw, and you choose what you want to have cooked, and you can mix and match a lot of meats, sauces, fish, noodles, salad stuff, etc. It was a little overwhelming since it was my first time, so I stuck with what I knew and chose to have a pulled pork sandwich made. I thought it was really unique how you line up in a circle around a huge grill and the cooks make your food right in front of you. Make sure you move with your sauce when they move it though, or things can get confusing and the cooks might get confused too! Our waitress was really nice, however, when my boyfriend and I got up for a few minutes, I came back and my unfinished sandwich was gone :( but I guess that was my fault haha. Halfway through your meal, your waiter/waitress will bring a bowl of rice and some tortilla type things with soy sauce and you can make a rice tortilla or something? Anyways, that's what I thought they expected you to do with it so that's what I made. The price is a little expensive, but at a place like this, you have to go in expecting that. Overall, I had a great first experience, I liked the location, and I would definitely recommend Fire and Ice for a date or a night out with your group of friends.
I don't get this place.
"Ooo, you can grill whatever you want, even corn and fusilli!"
Well...okay, that could be good.
"Oh, and you can add whatever sauces you want afterwards!"
Wait, so the stuff isn't seasoned already?
"Ooo, and they grill it right in front of you!"
Riight...hey, there's no one in here, why is it taking so long?
"Ooo, it's grilled! It's grilled!"
Hey, this bacon is limp. Wait a minute, did they grill my SALAD?!
"That's okay, they'll grill you another one!"
But-
"Grill buffet! Grill buffet!"
For $17, I will go around the block to Le's and eat the Entire Deep-Fried Bass. That's almost exactly all I can eat. Thanks.
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Only okay.
I agree with everyone who says this 'novel' idea of preparing your own food gets old after a while. I sat outside in the patio which was covered in dead hanging plants. I expected a larger selection of ingredients, but the food I did get was fresh and good. I chose onions, peppers, steak, tuna, snap peas, mushrooms, and mussels. (???) My sauce was pineapple curry. You can't really order that combo from a menu anywhere...not that you'd want to. I ended up too stuffed and not feeling so great.
I do need to mention my waitress was awesome. Smiley, smiley, smiley. I left that place smiling and it was NOT because the food was that great. It was because that friggin waitress was so contagiously happy. Maybe it was her last day? Maybe the bartender was handing out free booze? I dunno. But she was happy. All fire. No ice.
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This was one of the smelliest, dirtiest, stickiest establishment I have ever attempted to eat in. I did not enjoy paying 17 bucks to "pick" my "food" and touch dirty tongs that were definitely contaminated with god knows what. Meanwhile, I had to navigate around tourists and children and swat flies while doing it. It was about 90 degrees outside and the AC did not even feel on. I only picked veggies, noodles and fruit to grill and I told the chef not to cook it near meat and he put my food right next to sausages and raw hamburger. I felt disgusted eating my food and complained to the waiter. Honestly, why do they even have waitstaff, this place is total do it yourself and wait. They were out of Malibu and made me the nastiest Bacardi Coco and pineapple ever (there's 2 ingredients..how do you mess that up). I won't be returning unless someone cleans that place!
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Yeah, it's spendy as heck, and sure, there's not really much to it, but it's meat. on a grill. with vegetables. or not, even. dumped with some sauce. once in a while (it had been at least five years in my case), that can be pretty good. and sure, it doesn't seem like such a good idea afterwards, but after dancing myself stupid at a concert the night before, i had a mighty hunger that could only be satisfied, as it turns out, by pulled pork, broccoli, bacon, and noodles, slathered in barbecue. how would i have known this if there wasn't a restaurant whose entire business is centered around catering to peoples' worst dietary whims?
I worked in Boston for several summers before college. I remembered enjoying Fire and Ice quite a bit, which made it all the more disappointing when I came back now--years later.
I understand, respect, appreciate, and enjoy the entire concept this comes from--it's modeled after one of my favorite restaurant types, the Mongolian Barbeque. Unfortunately, there's very little direction to help you get a well-balanced and good-tasting dish.
They have an awful lot of kinds of meat, but not very many veggies. The veggies that they did have didn't seem particularly fresh, or even particularly well-cut. Pretty much every person I looked at was filling up their dish entirely with meat. That's not the way to make a well-balanced dish.
They also had a wide variety of sauces, but more often than not I found myself wishing I had a different set of things in my dish once I walked over to pick the sauce. It takes too much effort and planning to get a dish that has the right meats and veggies to go with the kind of sauce I felt like having.
All-in-all it still gets at least two stars because I did manage to make some decent dishes, and it is quite fun standing around the grill with friends as the staff cooks your food. I wish they had some decent ingredients that weren't meat.