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Went there for lunch today, its very much like Pei Wei same menu layout, same prices, similar plates, etc. Food was OK, I had the Lomein Wok Toss and just like Pei Wei they skimped on meat and vegetables by adding extra noodles. I'll have to try the Pad Thia noodles next time.
I'd probably go there again for something quick, but go to a privately owned Thai place first since there's many in Austin. Its cheap, quick Asian food like Pei Wei or Zen.
Father forgive me for I have sinned. It's has been six months since my last Firebowl.
Last night, somewhere between the twin towers of excitement that are Dollar Tree and Walgreens, I gave in to the urge to Firebowl. More specifically, the General Tso's craving struck. It was almost eclipsed by the Kung Pao dynasty, but the General won, albeit to go.
My order was taken promptly, and there were no complaints when I chose to switch rice types right as "Total" was hit on the register. I was even offered a water cup while I waited for the order. I barely had time to get the water, get some Chili sauce in a cup and sit down before my name was being called. It was truly 5 minutes or less.
When I got home, I was pleased to find that inside the nice two-piece plastic box was a terrific presentation of the General. Not thrown together in the usual fashion of most Asian food to go, but properly presented atop the rice; so nicely done, I had to show a family member. And, delicious as always with quality ingredients.
Firebowl, you really deserve five stars for last night, but I have to preserve my integrity as an Elite reviewer. Or not.
Killing me softly with a to-go order of their Hot & Sour Soup and General Tso's on brown rice. It… Read more »
I tried Fire Bowl yesterday for the first time, and ordered the Stir Fry Your Way.
I was very impressed with the portion size. I'm always a fan of getting enough food for two meals for one price. ;-)
The Kung Pao sauce actually had some heat, and just the right amount. Some would probably consider it "fiery" though. When the bowl arrived, I immediately spooned out red pepper to add, then thought I ought to give it a try first. It was great just like it was (although I did add some more heat).
As always, I'm delighted to find many vegetarian options.
This certainly wasn't the very best Asian food I've ever had. But it was pretty darn good, and the price and ability to completely customize what you order makes it a place I'll definitely try again.
One thing about this particular location--the ladies room floor is überslippery. I was wearing grippy rubbery tread shoes, and I had to step very very carefully for fear of a public injury.
Where else can you get a bowl of hot, delicious, high protein Miso soup for $1.95? Loaded with tofu, green onions and seaweed, it is as healthy as it gets and it is cheap (even my meat-loving girlfriend likes it). But for those non-healthy types, there are crispy fried crab rangoons and stir fry / noodle bowls / fried rice dishes for every taste. This location has the 'pick your own' stir fry bar. My favorite thing on the menu are the gargantuan Summer Rolls (never enough dipping sauce). The asian slaw is fresh and tasty too.
So the food is really only three stars, but I'm giving it four stars as they have a dedicated GLUTEN-FREE menu on their website and that makes my life a helluva lot easier. The girls in my office really heart Firebowl and from what I can see it is your standard Pei Wei-ish fare. One swears by the shrimp fried rice, the other loves orange chicken. I had a gluten free stri fry with yellow curry, asian veggie mix, fried tofu and flat rice noodles. The sauce is a little on the oily side, but has a mild spice and filled my hungry tummy, so I will likely get this again but with scallops. The portions are huge, so lunch is all set for tomorrow as well. Can't beat the price even if the food isn't out of this world. At least it is fresh and they don't seem to serve sinewy mystery meats either...
Fried rice is greasy. Curry sauce is rather bland without the fresh, coconutty flavor we expected.
I guess I'm a picky eater. I enjoy flavor.
And for that reason, Firebowl Cafe doesn't cut it. From the appetizers on, it was dish after dish of bland. This Pei Wei wannabe just doesn't cut it.
The "Thai Summer Rolls" had no discernible taste (from herbs or otherwise), just a mouthful of flavorless vermicelli. The crab/cream cheese wontons did have some taste, but it was of salt and some cab -- no cream cheese. Disappointing.
Most disheartening was the "coconut chicken soup," an extremely pale knockoff of the venerated tom kha gai (which is also on the menu elsewhere). For $2, I got a small bowl of mostly rice, and what tasted like highly diluted coconut water with a couple of dried herbs thrown in. There were some piece of chicken thrown in, but the flavor was mind numblingly absent. But then again, it was $2, right? What did I expect?
Entree? A Thai vegetable stir-fry with a "spicy peanut" sauce. Turns out that it wasn't spicy, but more like thinned peanut butter served as a dressing on your favorite salad. I think you get the picture.
Won't be going back. My taste buds demand better.
A really good thing to do is get a small bowl of their coconut soup for $1.95 and a couple of appetizers. You can get a pretty good meal for under $10.
The cashiers are really sweet, and one even gave me a free drink once. Service is excellent - you don't even have to throw anything away!
Have to knock Fire Bowl Cafe down a star. Last time I was there there were dirty plates laying around for at least the entire 20 minutes I was eating. I used to work in a restaurant and that is not acceptable, but maybe because it was a holiday weekend and they were swamped...I'll give them the benefit of the doubt once...
First off, I am a major picky eater. And I'm also from New Orleans and have eaten in some of the… Read more »
I'm not sure why everyone luvs firebowl. The first 2 times I gave it a shot up in Round Rock by La Hell de La Frontera, it sucked.
However, it's been a couple years, and the chain is still open. My vegan friends & I just ate there (they seem to like it since you can choose your own stuff) and it was not too bad. I had the $2 tom kha; they call it spicy coconut, but even without a galanga leaf floating in it, you and I both know what this is.
$2 for a BOWL? That is a damn fine deal for a bowl of soup. And that's the small! The big bowl must be the diameter of a medicine ball.
Well, I'm converted, this place now ranks above Zen for me. They even have the gluten free menu.
danke, firebowl.
I played around with the idea of going here, and then someone in real life (imagine that) said they LOVED it. So I thought alright, I drive past it twice a day, let me check it out.
I got a bunch of stuff because a) i love leftovers and b) i think its good to sample a few things at a new place so you know if its ALL good, ALL bad, SOME good, some bad you get it.
Soo I got a few basic loves, crab rangoon, spicy coconut (aka tom kha) and lomein with chicken. So I got home and was shocked and delighted at how tasty each thing was. They ALL had flavor. They were ALL good. I would order ALL of them again. and unfortunately for my wallet and waistline, I'll probably be going here often.
And no, this was not meant to be hidden messaging about ALL Laundry Detergent, though it may have looked like it.
yummm Firebowl!
I've been to this location on multiple occasions, and have never been disappointed. I showed up one Tuesday for lunch and was greeted with a free drink and appetizer for no apparent reason. Promotion maybe? Not sure, but it made my day!
I usually order the stir fry - try the fire sauce if you're up for something super hot. I like brown rice, shrimp or chicken, and choosing my own veggies. Fill your bowl up! Broccoli, sprouts, mushrooms, peanuts, etc, etc. Delish! This is 2 meals, if not 3, for the price of 1. It's a great deal.
I wouldn't step outside of the stir fry box at Firebowl. Because it's completely customizable, it's sure to please. Check it out :)
The best way to go at Firebowl is to choose your OWN veggies and whatnot for the stirfry. Because if not? They're very, VERY skimpy. And don't get the sesame chicken unless you like your Asian food very, very sweet.
That being said, the sauces are flavorful, the prices are reasonable, and the restaurant is clean, if just a bit loud. On a nice day, you can sit outside, but beware the aggressive grackles. Those bastards are jerks!
Ask me a question- "Favorite food?" My answer isn't your normal "chicken and rice", or "lasagna", it's "Firebowl pad thai".
I've quickly learned that all pad thai is not the same and I must not be a fan of the real thing. I, however, LOVE Firebowl's pad thai.
It's embarrassing really. I've driven to the restaurant determined to try something else on the menu- there's the teriyaki chicken my friend raved over, or the stir fry that's uber-healthy and full of options, but my mouth betrays me while ordering and I always end up with the same meal. I'm never disappointed.
The service is simple and friendly. Stand in line, order food, grab your drink and find a seat. They bring it out to you and clean up later. The worst service I've ever encountered there was a server who simply delivered the food without a smile...
yep, I'm a shameless regular. i love this place.
The first time that I went to the Fire Bowl Cafe I was astounded that I left a what is technically a noodle restaurant so full. There is so much good to say about the place that its hard for not to give this one five stars. The Potstickers are excellent and I don't know where you will ever get a better bowl of Miso soup as far as the main menu all the sauces are excellent and at this point I've tried everything from the White Wine sauce to the fantastic Peanut sauce. The noodles seem fresh and I absolutely love the flat rice noodles with the peanut sauce. Another treat here is the Udon the Udon noodles at this restaurant are so hearty and good, these noodles are so awesome you can only eat one at a time. Do yourself a favor and have anything on the menu here you cant go wrong, If i could fault the place for anything its the seating. It seems to me like they try to fit far too many chairs into too small of a space. I could use some elbow room. But overall I'd say don't pass up an opportunity to eat here!
I've only had one thing here and I've always ordered it to-go, but it's sooo good! For $3.95 you can get a big bowl of spicy coconut soup. $3.95! And there's no way you could eat it all in one sitting. It's spicy and warm and coconutty and cheap, and it just makes me happy.
They have a gluten-free menu too - http://www.firebowlcaf... !
Movie ... Firebowl .
Until I ate better I thought the coconut soup was great but it has less flavor and less chicken than it used to. Maybe in an attempt to keep prices in check and costs down . I think I would rather pay more .
I like the fact that everything is not served in plastic disposable ware . It is corporate and that is always a strike against for me but I think rent in those centers is out of most independents budget so i have to like them for providing me with a decent place to meet and get to the movies .
I think the food is actually pretty good ...brown rice option always a plus . Too much sauce most of the time and undercooked vegetables and that is just my complaint not shared by many .
The manager that worked there was great to watch too . She was on top of everything in a really effective way . I like to watch how a place runs as much as I like to watch the people that go and then the food kicks in. Again my complaint is that the menu has been the same for what 10 years now .
Better than Zen, not as good as our dear departed Noodleism. Fire Bowl does an okay job with a variety of dishes from a variety of cuisines, and therin lies the problem. You end up with Thai lite, Chinese Lite, you get the idea. So the Pad Thai is tasty, but a little goopy. The coconut soup lacks the punch of a real Tom Ka Gai. Still, fast, cheap, consistent, and in my hood.
I looooove the Vermicelli Singapore. I get it with shrimp and soft tofu. Its greasy, tasty, and reminds me of the chow fun I used to get in San Francisco when I was broke and needed comfort food.
Why does no one else in Austin (that I know of) have a stir fry bar where you can select your own ingredients?
This seems so elementary a concept - especially for ultra-picky eaters like myself.
I can have the broccoli with a little bell pepper, peanuts and carrots - but none of those pesky snow peas or water chestnuts I hate so much...AND I can order it with or without sauce.
Did I mention how condiment-ally challenged I am? Yeah, I order EVERYTHING dry. No mayo, no mustard, no b-b-q sauce, no dressing - nada.
Anyways, the place is usually clean and quick and is a good place to grab lunch when you only have an hour and your boss is watching the clock.
I always enjoy Firebowl - Mongolian grill style food, with your choice of fairly tasty sauces, cooked to order.
Minus one star for being in Sunset Valley whose four police officers exist to harass you for doing one mile an hour over the limit. I avoid putting tax dollars in their pockets as often as possible.
Oh Fire Bowl, how I love thee. I used to drive from Riverside to get this stuff before I moved.
They have some of the best Egg Rolls on the planet. Yeah, that's right. I said it. Spring Rolls aren't half bad either.
The simple retail shopping area, quick turn-over restaurant always seems to have a good flow of people coming in. I've had their stir fry, fried rice, rolls, sweet/sour chicken and sesame chicken. Personal favorite being the sweet/sour chicken with brown rice. Awesome.
Come for the Americanized Chinese Food, not the Thai food. Jeff K.'s review is pretty spot on of the Thai options at Fire Bowl. They are passable, but not preferrable.
I prefer this place over similar P.F. Chang's family chain Pei Wei just because it doesn't feel so much like a conglomerate... It's a little smaller and more intimate.
Yep, it's a chain, but a little bit of an unorthodox one as chains go, and as I apparently have a soft spot for anthropomorphic food attached to the wall, I have to say that I dug my initial stop in here.
The concept here is something in between counter service and something else altogether (perhaps Narnia), and over lunch we were able to cobble together some quick turns (large portioned at that) with some new choices I'd not yet had the pleasure of experiencing. To whit: the spicy coconut soup, which I fortunately ordered as in the 'small' bowl, could have been a meal into itself, the big bowl is about the size of my head. My pineapple rice with yellow curry dish was right on, and the table delivery was pretty quick, if I do say so. A nice departure.
It's been about two or three years since my last visit to Fire Bowl...I was so scarred by the horrible chicken I had there then that I never thought I would return. Well, time makes you forget certain things...or at least allows forgiveness a chance. Today was the day I gave Fire Bowl another chance...
I really want to like Fire Bowl...I love its mix and match meat/veggie/sauce/starch concept. Maybe I just keep ordering the wrong things??
I didn't dare try the chicken again so I got the fried tofu. I never order tofu so I really can't tell if it was good compared to other tofu. It was alright. Certainly better than the chicken I remember having before. I got the spring (? not the thai) veggie blend and they were good but I wish I there had been more veggies. (If I go back, I may see if I can just get extra veggie instead of a meat/tofu.) The tofu and veggies were on a ramen noodle (okay) and a peanut sauce (okay, not great). Hubby had the steak with some sort of red curry sauce...we both agreed the steak meat was kind of chewy and didn't have a lot of meat flavor. I didn't really like the curry sauce, but it's not a sauce I would have normally ordered anyway, so...
Have I forgiven Fire Bowl? Well, we're certainly not BFFs... I give it a 2.5, but I can't round up to 3. I may return sooner than my last visit (as long as I can remember that we're not enemies), but I'm still trying to find a sauce/starch combo that I like. And I'll see if I can pass on meat/tofu and just get extra veggies instead...
Brown rice! Big thumbs up.
Large servings! Thumbs up again.
Favorite dishes phased out from time to time. Big thumbs down.
The salmon teriyaki on soba with broccoli was so yummy. =(
I'm an super-duper-uber-picky eater, so Fire Bowl is a true blessing for me. I can decide exactly what goes into my dish and exactly what doesn't... and so far, I've never had any mishaps. I greatly prefer the one in the Arboretum, but the south location was the first I visited -- I was estatic when they finally opened one up north!
Oh... Did I mention that the hot and sour soup is OUT OF THIS WORLD??!
Pretty darn good food. I ordered the beef with spring veggies, and szechuan garlic sauce. It was delicious. I ordered chicken and broccoli for my daughter, the hubby had the beef with broccoli, and the boy had sweet and sour chicken. The boy's chicken looked AWESOME. I totally loved my meal--the meat was tender and the veggies were nice and crisp.
Although the food/ambiance is perhaps not 4-star quality I am a huge fan of Fire Bowl because they offer a GLUTEN FREE menu, yay! It's terribly difficult to find GF Asian food and although they don't offer GF soy sauce like PF Chang's does, I love that you can make a noodle bowl with your own choice of veggies. Granted there are only a few items on the menu that are GF, it's a lot better than most places!
If anyone suggests a trip to Firebowl Cafe, I will usually second the motion. While I'm not a fan of their pick your own stir-fry, I am a huge fan of their traditional dishes. My fav which I cannot seem to depart from everytime I go is General Tso's Chicken with brown rice, and a side of their rangoons as appetizers. Mix in some broccoli and I'm "shoppin broccoli... shoppin' broccoli... shoppin'... uh" Dana Carvey fans will get that I hope. Anyway, I've never really had a bad firebowl meal. I usually get things to-go and they are always on-time and efficient at getting me in/out so the food is still warm when I get home.
I've always been a fan of Fire Bowl. I normally order the seafood-make-your-own-bowl dish and it's excellent everytime. They also have awesome spring rolls and good hot and sour soup. Great, quick place to stop by and get a reasonably priced meal with more food to spare.
I just discovered that this is one of my favorite Asian food places in Austin. This is the only Asian restaurant that makes Spring rolls the way they make them back home on the east coast....fried and meatless! After all, I am not into the whole rice paper wrap thing that they have going on in most every Austin Asian restaurant. Bravo Firebowl cafe!
This restaurant used to be called China Bowl and then it was bought out by Fire Bowl which seems to be like more of a chain. I like the new style inside but I do miss the giant fish tank they had before. Now the food is good and has extremely large portions. You can also choose to make your own bowl and then choose the noodle and the meat similar to Mongolian BBQ. Overall I prefer it for lunch over dinner, but honestly works for both.
I always leave FireBowl feeling a little... disappointed. My wife's had bad experiences with the pad thai, but I wasn't present for that. I usually get the General Tsos Chicken and it's ok. It's perfectly serviceable chain Chinese food, but not as good as the actual Chinese restaurants around, and the Pad Thai isn't nearly as good as Madam Mam's down the road.
Oh poop, another chain but Firebowl has been so good for catering that I had to give them a hearty thanks! they pack my order in an easy to carry box and everyone is generally pleased. Oddly enough, I do not care for Chinese food, but I view this place (and choose accordingly) as more of a fast & healthy Vietnamese/Thai take out. Their spring rolls are very large and very good and I especially like the make-your-own-bowl-bar! Unfortunately this is only available at the south location. I guess i better start an "Acceptable Chains List!"
I love me some Fire Bowl Fried Rice. Beef, chicken, AND shrimp in a big bowl of sticky rice, with the perfect amounts of sauce and veggies and egg. Tom Ka (coconut/lime) soup has always been one of my faves at Thai places, and FB has their own version here (spicy coconut soup), but what's with the rice?
I love this place! It is exactly what I want it to be - delicious, filling, fresh, and fast Asian food at an affordable price AND BROWN RICE (Chinese restaurants do not understand the Austin demand for this). I love the General Tso's chicken and they have great "make your own" combinations and sauces. Much better than Pei Wei and nicer employees.
I have nothing to add to Tara H's review. Except that we should dine out out together - us Taras must all be picky eaters...
a nice lunch spot. I love the soups and the pad thai is fine. I dont mind going here, even though it is not local.
Asian comfort food. The coconut-based soups are absolutely to DIE for; love the crab rangoon and the edamame!
Neighborhood: Great Hills
Category: Asian Fusion
Austin, TX
Category: Japanese
Austin, TX
Category: Thai
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