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I wish there were half stars, because I'd give it 3.5.
Came here with some friends on a Saturday night. I was dumb and didn't really realize it was kind of a fancy place, nor did I realize how pricey it was. Duh.
A note on the atmosphere.. the setup is just weird. While the fireplace is down there and very atmospheric, I wouldn't want to eat on that lower level because the bar is on top of it, not to mention all the people waiting for their tables. We were seated in the upper level, right near the door that's not in use. Holy draft, it felt like the a/c was on, and this was mid-November when it was raw and raining and cold out. A place as cozy as Fireplace is supposed to be, with the comfort food about to enter my belly, I wanted to feel the same amount of warmth. But I didn't. We were all uncomfortably chilly throughout the meal.
My margarita tasted like water, with a cheap tequila finish. Blech. The blueberry mojito was delicious although a bit too sweet. All in all, it seems like they need to pay attention a bit more to the quality of their mixed drinks. Nice wine selection though, and holy ginger on the menu, that was pretty incredible!
I wish I had known about the bread. Then I wouldn't've ordered as if I was about to eat my last meal.
I ordered: cup of butternut squash bisque, the special butternut squash and feta ravioli, with a side of green beans, as well as sweet potato mash for the table. Yes, I love me some sweet potatoes/butternut squash/yams. As if you couldn't tell. My friends ordered the classic caesar salad, scallops, turkey, and beef brisket.
My soup was really good, but as expected kind of heavy. Then the bread came out. Holy CRAP. It smelled divine, and I made a comment as such. Then my friend said - wait till you put it in your mouth - and oh dear I nearly died. It felt like a 3lb weight in my stomach but hot shit it was delicious!
Needless to say, after that, there wasn't much room for the rest of the food, so I picked a lot. The raviolis were excellent, as was the salad that came on top of it. The green beans were cooked to perfection with almonds grazing them, and the sweet potato hash was damn good. My friends all seemed to enjoy theirs as well.
Next time, I will save plenty of room for that heavenly bread. And I will make sure that it is served to me hot out of the oven.
Also, from what I hear - I think I need to come back for brunch, but let's face it, if I'm coming out to Brookline for brunch, I'll probably go to Zaftigs!
So I am a huge online menu reader and saw that they have this Humble Offerings deal Sunday-Thursday. It listed delicious things like bacon-wrapped meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, mac and cheese, etc. We decided to go there purely on that menu since we were looking for something cheaper but still quality on a random Tuesday night.
We actually got to sit in front of the fireplace and I'm thinking, this is going to be an amazing experience with my hearty meal. Our server, who was not very friendly and seemed to have sized us up in a negative light as soon as he spoke with us, failed to mention this menu. When he came back with our drinks, I asked about it and he said oh...yeah...we have grilled cheese with tomato soup for $17. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS. No sir! I had my heart set on bacon wrapped meatloaf and they totally bait-and-switched me. It was too late to walk out so we ended up eating there anyway.
The total bill came to over $100 with tip when I was looking to spend way less. Now, husby and I have done a random Capital Grille Tuesday night dinner for over $200 without batting an eye so money is not the issue. It honestly was the principle and it didn't make it any better that our server totally wrote us off after I asked about that special menu.
Step it up, Fireplace - get rid of your snotty servers and be more clear/honest on your website about your specials.
My husband and I came here with another couple on a double date. The inside is smaller than… Read more »
Their entrance is on the corner of the block. When you walk in, the bar is to your right, the fireplace with its five little tables is sort of ahead of you, and there are some tables to your left, with additional seating up a few stairs. On the night of our visit, they would only seat us on the ground floor. The tables by the fireplace looked a bit too crowded, so we opted for one of the tables by the velvet(?) covered bench.
Why, oh why do restaurants cover those long seats that you have to slide into with a fabric that grabs and holds on to your pants???
Service here left a lot to be desired... The hostess was chipper and pleasant and handled my initial seating indecisiveness as if it wasn't a bother. However, my friend's drink order was forgotten. Then our waiter stopped by early not once, but twice, to see if we were ready to order while our noses were still obviously deeply buried in the large bound menus (the first time was just after after we first received the menus), but when we were finally ready and attempted to signal this by closing the menus before us, we ended up waiting for several long minutes (when you're hungry - with nary a slice of bread - time moves differently) while I watched our waiter stand on the 2nd level looking around and walking by pass the bar with not even a glance in our direction.
Once our order was taken, however, the appetizers appeared reasonably soon enough. Oh, and I liked that when our waiter told us about the special of the night, that he also mentioned the price without being asked. The bread was tasty and served with pats of chilled butter, but would have been better warmer. The Butternut Squash Bisque with Great Hill Blue Cheese & Crispy Pumpkin Seeds (Bowl $9, Cup $5) arrived steaming hot and so smooth and creamy and yummy. I didn't notice any blue cheese, but I scraped the bottom of my cup clean with the help of some bread. Salmon Cakes, Micro Greens & Cucumber Dill Mayo $14 arrived two plump mini-cakes to an order served alongside several thin slices of cucumber - marinaded? The salmon cake was small but tasty. My tummy was happy with both choices.
When our waiter stopped by to check up on us (which he did several other times through the meal), he made no effort to touch our now empty salmon cake plate which I had set to the side to get it out of our way. I understand that they utilize bus boys (who filled the water, served certain dishes, and cleared plates for us), but if there's a completely empty appetizer plate sitting on the table when you come by... why not just take it? That, and the fact that we used the same forks for both our first and second courses even while we were provided steak knives for our meats - served from a plate of *forks* and knives - gave me cause to think that this is not a high service type of place that the $30+ (at the high end) entree price hinted at.
Unlike the appetizers, we had to wait a bit for the entrees. My favorite parts of the Pan Seared Duck with Cranberry Molasses Sauce, Sweet Potato Mash, Sautéed Duck Confit & Bok Choy wrapped in a RI Johnnycake $33 were the flavorful moist duck bits wrapped in the simple corn flour crepe, and the mashed sweet potato (need I say more?). I found the red wine flavor in the Grilled 'House-Aged' Sirloin & Red Wine Demi Sauce with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Caramelized Onions and Sautéed Mushrooms $34 a touch too strong. We also tried the Cider Steamed Quinoa $4 which was the consistency of oatmeal in terms of its scoopiness, but it tasted interesting enough.
It took us a while to order dessert because no one came by for a while after our plates were cleared and our leftovers bagged. But I guess it was worth the wait... the Butterscotch Bread Pudding with Rum Drunken Raisins and Fresh Whipped Cream $8 was so good! The raisins weren't really necessary, and the portion with its two pieces was reasonable without being generous, but my was it tasty! The Cranberry Pear Crisp with Brown Sugar Oat Crumble & Cinnamon Ice Cream $8 arrived hot - thin slices of fruit that retained a bite, a sprinkle of oatmeal, topped with a scoop of unmelted ice cream. It was okay, but nothing special.
Unfortunately, the most prompt part of our service that night was the speed with which our credit card was picked up.
Our visit was just before Halloween. While it was nice that they got into the spirit of things... they might have gone a bit overboard with the decorations... they were everywhere!
Just a comment - I thought it was interesting that there was no mention of the "Humble Offerings" that I spotted being advertised on their website as being Sunday-Thursday dinner specials either in the menu, nor by any of the staff we encountered.
FYI - they have a kids menu!
Summary - pretty good food, not very good or prompt service... service should be at least more timely given the prices we're paying!
The food was great and the atmosphere was elegant.
It's a bit on the pricey side when it's not during Restaurant Week.
Now, I know this is no fault of the establishment, but the last time I went, I didn't have the most pleasant dining experience. I think it was the food/wine pairing. It did not settle very well.. a shame too, because I would have had a great time otherwise.
Sunday mornings are tricky in ol' Brookline. You want to brunch; no, you need to brunch, but where? Everyplace is super busy 'round 10 or 11 AM, and they tend to wedge the people in. More seats, more turns, more money. Screw that. And really, no egg is worth waiting an hour for.
The Fireplace doesn't open 'til 11 AM on Sunday which is fine by me. I strolled in with a friend, got a nice comfy table (whoever bitched about the velvet benches, please ... move along ... ), and had a first rate, wonderfully served brunch.
It might've been 'cuz they just opened, but our server came right over, took our orders and brought the requisite coffee. She was also really good about refilling/warming our continually emptying cups.
We were also served an extremely large breakfast roll/bread that was somewhere between a buttermilk biscuit and a hearty country bread. It was served warm, and really tasty. I did notice that the table next to us (a party of 7) got the same treatment, but their "biscuits" were half the size of ours. Maybe we were special? Maybe they weren't? Who knows...
Brunch itself, the meal, was a crispy duck hash. If you read the other reviews I've written, I'm kind of a hash head. And yeah, I know how ridiculous that sounds. But when you get it right, hash is awesome. This was beyond awesome. Cooked just right, seasoned perfectly, and the portion was exactly enough. Two poached eggs on top were all runny inside and exquisite. It was savory and flavorful, cooked with obviously fresh ingredients, and I can't say enough good things. The potatoes were browned and crispy, the duck wasn't at all dry.
My buddy had the eggs benedict, but being a vegetarian, he subbed out the ham for spinach. I'm guessing it was good, 'cuz it didn't last 5 minutes on his plate.
The prices were very reasonable, about $12-15 per plate. Tax, tip, coffee, etc. ended up around $20/person. Totally reasonable for what we were served.
4 stars for The Fireplace. 5 when I get around to trying dinner ....
What a wonderful place to dine! We came here for brunch and we had such a fantastic meal! The food was great and very fresh. The menu was so appetizing, I wanted to order it all. We all decided to get something different so we could try as much as possible. Our server was very sweet and extremely attentive. At one point I was joking that I needed a steak knife to cut my Eggs Benedict and a buss boy over heard me and was back in a flash with nothing less than a steak knife! It was great. The bloody mary left something to be desired, but the mamosa's were great. Wish I could go here every Sunday.
When it snows in mid-October, there is no better place to watch it fall (and sip on a few delicious cocktails) than The Fireplace. I'm turning into a serious fangirl.
Best of all? They stock Domaine de Canton, yelp friends. I know you want it.
WOW.
My dad took me out here last night; we sat outside for the first 30 minutes or so, until a…
Read more »
A wonderful place to hangout with friends or go for a fancy dinner.
The atmosphere is exquisite and the actual fireplace gives a cozy and homey feeling to the place.
The food is really really good and the staff is fast and friendly. whether you want to sit at a table or chill at the bar, The Fireplace is a great destination for going out.
Harumph. Highly overrated and exceptionally overpriced. There is one dinky fireplace in the corner with all of four (maybe even three) tables that sit in front of it. We sat on this weird plush couch bench and I sulked.
I remember ordering the maple-glazed half chicken and thinking it was nothing special. Service was fine. Ambience is fine. But if you are going to call your restaurant "The Fireplace" - shouldn't more seating around it be available? I think so...
We went here for brunch and it was just OK. That's it. Perhaps it is better suited to the winter, when the earthy decor and eponymous fireplace would create a warm, cozy environment. But in the summer it was just stodgy.
Service was excellent all round. The cheerful hostess got our non-reservation-having part of five a table pretty quickly, and kept us up to date on the status of the party that was leaving while we waited. Our server was gregarious and all the food and drinks came out in a timely manner.
But the food...kind of disappointing. The cornmeal waffles with fruit and blueberry whipped cream were really good, but the serving size was pathetic. There were two wee quarters of waffle and seriously less than half a strawberries worth of fruit. It was delicious, but I think they should knock the price down from $12 to $8, or give a hell of a lot more fruit. The two eggs, homefries and maple-smoked bacon was dire--totally bland and the bacon had been cooked to within an inch of it's life. You could use it to shiv someone in the kidneys, it was so crisp.
So, generally--just OK. It's convenient from our place so we may swing by again but it's not going in the regular rotation.
No alcohol before 12!
I came here for brunch with Tracy C., after 2 disappointing tries to eat elsewhere.
I had the French toast with cinnamon apples. It was extremely sweet. I understand that French toast isn't the most savory dish, but this was too much. The dish came with the jam enveloped within the two thick toasts and syrup already poured onto the plate with 5 soggy cinnamon cubed apples on the side. Of course they had to add the "touch" of powdered sugar on top which didn't help with the level of sweetness. Flavors were pretty average, cinnamon with apples with toast, not a bad combo but not innovative by all means.
I did have to wait after 12 for a mimosa. If you like pulpy mimosas, this is one for you. My mimosa had major orange pulp-ness.
The atmosphere and service was just ok. The music wasn't too loud and the décor/atmosphere is family friendly. If you're coming for the food, this is a no go.
I have been here a few times, and only the first time about 6 years ago was good. I do not remember what I got, but I told myself I had to go back....too bad they disappointed.
The second time I went with friends the food was good, but nothing to write home about. The dish that stood out was the house special roasted chicken.
I went again about 2 years ago with a cousin who wanted to try the place. It was just plain bad. My cousin and I had the chicken...it was about as juicy as jerky. his wife got some pasta dish that tasted awful...I remember that the pasta was cooked uneven (too much in a pot so some was overcooked and some was undercooked) and the sauce was a salty disaster on a plate.
Well a few months ago i heard that they had an amazing brunch. Since the interior was phenomenal and the place had not been put out of business I decided it must have a redeeming quality, so I went. Boy was I surprised. brunch Kicked ass. the duck hash, the eggs Benedict, and the potatoes were all outstanding. Then I got the bill, and I was floored when I realized I had not looked at prices until this point. i mean come on $14 for eggs Benedict that was just eggs, ham, English muffin, and a side of greens....of course we ordered more food, we were still hungry.
So the bottom line is the only reason to go here is that you could careless about how much a meal costs, and you want a good (but not near the best you can get) brunch on the weekend.
We went to The Fireplace for a friend's birthday, and I wasn't at all impressed with the food here. It was alright, but I don't think I'll return. When I can probably make better food in my kitchen, I don't think it's really worth paying $40 for dinner at a place where the food is kind of sub-par.
Overall, I think The Fireplace isn't anything special--food isn't really memorable and their menu is also somewhat limited.
We usually have a nice meal and good time at this place. Service is ok, food is great. It's pretty pricey though. The first "green" restaurant is kind of BS. We chatted with the manager and he went on about them being "green", but it's weak to say the least. Seems more like a marketing effort more than actually being responsible for their footprint.
Just re-visited the Fireplace, as I was invited and did not have to pay.
The person who invited me had a gift certificate to this place, and did not have to pay either.
The prices are still expensive, even more so than a year ago. The quality of the food improved drastically. It is now excellent. If you have a few bucks $150 for two people to spend, this is a good place to do it at.
This place has a very modern, elegant decor which I liked. The food was decent, but not worth the… Read more »
So many Yelpers already offer details about The Fireplace, I won't bore you with rehashings of their iffy prices, questionable ambiance, etc. It *is* good, and the staff are friendly and professional, but it's also a little overpriced--and a smidge too trendy--for me. (Not every dish calls for candied nuts--just saying.)
*BUT* there's a definite trick to ensuring a 4- or even 5-star experience at the FP.
1) Go on a beautiful afternoon.
2) Grab an outside table.
3) Order from the brunch or lunch menu (about $10-14 per person). Options are great--chicken salad, great Cobb salad, omelettes, Belgian waffles, roti BLT, etc.
4) Enjoy!
I recently went to The Fireplace with some friends for brunch. It was my first time there and I quite enjoyed it, although I wouldn't reccomend going here for dinner. Dinner items are VERY pricey, and frankly, if you're going to pay $30 per plate for a dinner you can do better.
Brunch was great. Reasonably priced and a great selection. I got a delicious 3 egg omlett with tomatoes, brocolii, and cheddar cheese melted on top. Everyone else at the table loved their food as well, from simple bacon and eggs to delicious waffles topped with a homemade blueberry whipped cream.
The service was very good, however, we did have a few sanitary issues. My water glass had lint floating in it (I'm glad I noticed!) and someone else at our table had a very dirty spoon (and I'm glad she noticed!). The wait staff was quick to apologize though and I think it was just an anomally.
All in all, I would go back for brunch as there are more items on the menu I want to try!
I have to say that the Fireplace is one of my favorite places to go when i'm in the city (even if it is in Brookline). I used to live not to far away and would visit all the time. Love the entertainment on Wednesdays and Thursday's. The atmosphere is great and what a restaurant should be like. Always been a fan of the spit roasted chicken with mashed. Also a big fan of the Duck. Hopefully with fall coming, they bring back the butternut squash bisque!
What's that? You have a gluten-free menu?
This place is right around the corner from me and I met up with a Celiac support group once here to order from their GF menu. I was impressed by the number of options! I ended up with the lamb and it was tasty, but a bit on the pricey side compared to my usual haunts. However, knowing that I can eat out with no worries=priceless. Highly recommended for celiacs and people with gluten allergies.
It's also probably a good place to take parents if they're in town, too, because it's classy and clean, also, they'll likely pick up the tab!
The food is good, but definitely over priced. There wasn't anything special about this place, except for the fireplace in the corner.
I was left completely underwhelmed after leaving The Fireplace. The food was okay, but completely overpriced for its quality. There seems to be a general lack of consistency within the restaurant as a whole, and it is too crowded. The manager was unable to correctly identify the two different plates of oysters my table had ordered, and after he revealed his lack of knowledge he did not bother to check with the kitchen to find out for sure. The wine list was lovely, but in all I was quite disappointed. I don't believe I will be going back.
No doubt amazing.
Expensive, but if you've got the money, this is easily one of the best restaurants around Boston. Blew my mind.
My fiance and I went here for lunch on a Sunday. It was late afternoon and the place was pretty quiet which was nice.
I had the Fireplace burger with bacon and blue cheese and my fiancee had the chicken BLT. Both the burger and the sandwich were alright, although the hamburger bun was a little stale. Also, the blue cheese they served on the burger was very good. I was really excited to see that they served large pickle spears with the burgers and sandwiches too--until I tasted it. The pickle tasted more like a cucumber with salt sprinkled on it than a pickle.
The service wasn't great either. We waited at the host station for a while because the host was MIA and our waiter forgot to bring me lemons for my water and wasn't very good with the refills....or eye contact.
Overall I wasn't that impressed but I would give The Fireplace another try if I found myself in the neighborhood and hungry.
We had lunch on New Year's Day. It was packed, aromatic and the friendly staff was wearing pajamas. We got the pumpkin hazelnut and vanilla soup, ravioli, the house burger, and cappuccinos. Everything was incredibly tasty.
They messed up my order bringing lobster bisque instead of the pumpkin soup. If I wasn't allergic to shell fish I would have welcomed the change (the chef knows best!). Luckily we caught it in time, drama avoided. The manager was obviously distressed. He promptly made his staff to repeatedly apologize. They quickly brought the right stuff and at the end he didn't charge us for the soup. We joked amongst ourselves whether to put the lawyer business card on the table but they were so embarrassed about it we decided to let it go.
We laughed at the most unusual conversations (couldn't help over hearing the staff comments...everything was so tight) like:
"You don't want to see his esophagus" and "You should get to your lowest weight". In the half an hour it took to get our food we delighted ourselves with possible conversation scenarios that may prompt such an ultimatum. Try it, it's fun.
Plus:
* Delicious flavorful and filling food
* Attentive service
* Make your own bloody Mary - popular with the college crowd (especially after New Year)
* Jazz Nights on Wednesdays and Latin on Thursdays.
Minus:
* Long wait, 30 minutes to get food
* Crammed seating, literally touched my neighbor's back
If you're wondering around Cambridge or lodging in the Brookline area, The Fireplace is worth checking out. For lunch at least.
Bon Appetite!
Some friends and I went for a late Saturday brunch today, and we were pleasantly surprised. My friend had tried their pork dish at the Taste of Elegance event and was drawn to the restaurant.
Parking was relatively easy, as there are many metered spots out front, and I heard there's a parking lot. we had a reservation and were seated right away, though quite a few people without reservation were still waiting, even at almost 2pm.
We started with soft, warm bread with a flaky outside. It helped calm my hungry stomach, and it was nice with salt and pepper. There is a good number of wines by the glass, all of which are available as "tastes" or "glasses," so you can try a couple of different ones if you like.
For brunch, I had the New England Cobb, which had well grilled yet still juicy chicken pieces over shredded romaine with fresh diced tomato, peas, crisp smoky bacon, and blue cheese. It was a pretty large portion with a good amount of chicken, and it definitely hit the spot.
A friend got the Winter pear salad with pomegranate seeds and seemed to enjoy the pomegranate walnut vinaigrette. Another got the challah french toast with an interesting almond apricot cheese in the center, and the other had the corn waffles with rum and bananas, which she was raving about.
Prices at brunch were very reasonable - about $10-12 for most things. I definitely prefer this to the greasy diner breakfast, and the ambiance is much nicer. The crowd is a bit older, but it's not stuffy at all. People started coming in for the fireside chats that are done every other week, and I'd like to come back for that sometime.
Service was polite and pretty quick, considering they were pretty busy. The host was very friendly and apologetic when two waiting patrons sat down at our booth because they were tired from standing while waiting. We thought it was a bit awkward, since they were basically sitting at our table, but we didn't think much of it, since they seemed old and both had walkers/canes. The host politely guided them to other seats, and he came back and apologized profusely to us and the adjacent table. It was kind of funny, but we appreciated his attention.
I had a really good time - I didn't expect much, but it ended up being surprisingly satisfying and a good deal for a Boston brunch. I'd definitely go back.
I came here about or 4 years ago for my birthday and didn't really enjoy it. A few years had pasted by and I heard it had changed hands or they got a new chef or something had changed, so I decided to give the fireplace a try again. But I am not one to forget, so I took some precautionary measure. I went for brunch. I mean brunch is pretty safe. Right?
Actually the brunch at the Fireplace is proper. It's never really crowded and the food is pretty quality. They give you a healthy portion and while the price is a little high, I'd rather pay more to eat a better breakfast than visit a greasy spoon and regret it 45 minutes later.
I don't know why you usually go out for breakfast, for me I typically make my own breakfast unless, I'm hung-over. So I usually rate breakfast spots on how well they cured my hangover. The Fireplace has a solid 3 part cure for any hangover.
The first part is a solid starch to start soaking up that booze that's still lingering. Once you're seated you get this little roll/ biscuits that are amazing. And the staff knows the importance of carbs after a night of solid boozing. They keep the bread coming.
The fireplace also has outstanding beverages, which are the second part of they're cure for the common hangover. They have great coffee, fresh squeezed juices, a never ending cup of water and most importantly, more cocktails. From mimosa's to belinis, to the infamous bloody Mary, its truly a hair of the dig cure here. Outstanding breakfast cocktails!
The third and probably the most important part of the cure for my hangover is the food at the fireplace. It's quality all the way. I usually go with the Egg Benedict (a personal favorite). The hollandaise is out of this world. Also I don't really like hash browns (it's a personal preference). Along with the English muffin, the bacon, and the softly poached toped with some buttery hollandaise, there is a small side salad which has some great dressing on it. I've also had outstanding omelets, burgers and sausage pizza. But I need to make special note of the Crispy corn waffles with rum, bananas, brown sugar & apple cider syrup. Those are really good too.
Come to the Fireplace to eat bread, drink something tasty, eat some more and kiss that hangover goodbye
This place really has a great "New England" feel to it. It's cozy, and elegant. The staff is helpful and the food is really a step above what you might expect on Beacon Street. I've been here for brunch, lunch and dinner....all good.
Wu-Tang Killa Bees Forever!!!!!!!!!
Fireplace, what sorcery has though wrought in thy kitchen? Does that even make sense? It doesn't? Okay, hopefully this is a bit more articulate:
The mussels arrived smelling not unlike the Delaware River, that great body of water separating New Jersey's vibrant factory coastline from Delaware's voluptuous landfill. Upon further examination (via both taste and sight), we noticed that one mussel consisted entirely of a black-ish sandy sludge, mixed in with mussel sinew and tendon. This was undoubtedly the matter from which Alien from Alien v. Predator was conceived.
Our entrees arrived not soon after we pushed the rogue crustaceans aside, and again, our stomachs were filled not with satisfaction, but disappointment and regret. The only exception to this was the goat cheese/walnut tart, mysteriously served on a bed of McDonald's salad. The roasted vegetable farfalle would've been excellent had they stopped at roasted vegetables and farfalle and decided not to add that half a container of heavy whipping cream and half barrel of Morton's salt, a recipe found in the 1954 edition of "Keeping up with how Mrs. Jones Cooks Terribly."
Redeeming The Fireplace is the live jazz on Wednesdays, and the excellent wine and cocktail list. Come for the tunes, pour some wine, but vote no on the food.
I used to only go to the fireplace for their mussells......and they are the greatest I have ever tasted......but after trying their eggs benedict, I always look for an excuse to go there. The ambiance at night is great and also their Lating Thursdays are great! I recomment this place to anyone that is looking to try something great but also not too pricey. :)
This place is named the Fireplace because there is a fireplace right as you walk in. Because my favorite ambiance always includes coziness, I give it 5 stars just for the way you feel when you walk in the door.
The food is great! Not so great as other places I've been in Boston (some of my food-snob friends have snubbed this place), but I think that it will satisfy most people.
It is pricey, but is really the only place in the area of its sort. So if you are looking for a relatively fancy place in the area, this is where you should go.
So I give this place three stars, however this is an average of a 1 star rating and a five star rating. This is because while one part of this restaurant is kind of sweet, the other part of this restaurant chugs a boner.
I will start with the 5 star part of the restaurant which is the bar. Bartender is a chill dude and bottom line its a great place to bring a girl for a drink. It's a classy bar, you can usually find two empty seats next to each other, and there is a good/interesting drink menu which is excellent for stimulating conversation. My friend Alex C brought some girl there for drinks a few months ago on a first date and got a hand job that very same night! She said she wouldn't bang him until the second night though (she was a classy broad.)
Now moving on to the 1 star part which is the food, and although probably not in all cases, our waitress. This place is expensive - the prices are that of a fine dining restaurant. When you throw down that type of cash your food needs to be better then mediocre. The food here is mediocre at best. I was there with a group of 5 and tried everyone elses entree and not one dish was much better then passable. I would maybe be satisfied with the entrees if they cost half of the price that they list. It would be very difficult to find another restaurant with worse food in this price range. As for our waitress, pretty much all I can say is everything took freaking forever.
Go here for the bar and, if you are lucky, a handjob afterwards - not dinner.
I have only been to The Fireplace for brunch - I think it is overpriced for dinner - but I enjoyed it. I thought the food was really the best part, no one in my party of 7 had any bad dishes. I ordered the cornmeal waffles, which were topped with berries and a fresh blueberry whipped cream that was incredible. The restaurant itself is tasteful and comfortable, and I appreciated that they seated my large group at a round table, that makes conversation so much nicer! My only complaint is a couple service gaffs. One person had lint in their water glass, and another's coffee left a huge chunk of grinds in the bottom of the cup. The waiter fixed each problem quickly but still, at a place that's supposed to be that nice, those kinds of things aren't really acceptable.
The first time I visited was over 2 years ago with a large group and I remember the food being really good, especially the duck salad they had at the time. So when 2 friends and I arrived for brunch on Sunday I was immediately drawn to the duck hash and eggs. I wasn't disappointed -- the food was great.
The service that day wasn't great though -- our waitress forgot the side we ordered, but all is forgiven. It was Sunday. It was busy.
I'd definitely recommend them to anyone in the area.
Hands down the best meal I have had in a long long time. Absolutely all of the food was excellent, although we didn't get dessert. I can not wait for their Restaurant Month because the menu looks fantastic and it's going to be a great deal!
The only complaints I had were:
The service, our waitress was so impersonable, she walked away mid-conversation and was straight up rude. Luckily you don't deal with your particular server that frequently as they have runners that bring the food out.
The seating, we were put in the corner of the room, which my boyfriend loved because I wasn't people watching, but I hated because I couldn't!
The drinks...my drink was really good but my boyfriends was not. The wine list was fairly decent though so next time we may just stick with drinks you can't screw up and a bottle of wine.
Duck hash was super delish!
This was my first time here and I was very disappointed with everything, the place was almost empty and the bartender seems to be in a rush to get us out, no hostess or anyone to greet us so we sat at the bar but that was a mistake, for $120 not again.
Two reasons to go here: Antelope for dinner and Mojitos.
Ahhhmazing.
I went to The Fireplace this year with one of my friends/coworkers with whom I've eaten many a good meal. We have a pact to make it to as many as possible during RW.
We called and made a reservation, 7:30. We were early, and took our time getting in there. We were seated immediately at the back of the restaurants at a partial booth, smack in the middle of two couples that seemed not to enjoy our arrival all that much.
We decided to do the wine tasting with the pre fixe - good choice, in my opinion. I started with the endive salad with goat cheese and really tasty vinaigrette. I wish I had noticed it was made with nuts cause that meant I couldn't eat all that much of it - as I am mildly allergic. I am usually more attentive to the menu, but I guess I just got caught up in the anticipation of being ready to order when our waiter came to the table - not that he took too long, you can just never be sure about service, I wanted to be ready for him when he came.
I then had the risotto, which had chicken, tomato and a whole bunch of veg in it. It promised to be "lightly smoked" but I found it really smoky tasting, not that that was bad - just surprising. This was not your ma's risotto.
I finished with the Blueberry Lavender sorbet, which I found to be very funny tasting... Like licking perfume? I only knew what a mistake I had made when I tasted my friend's Butterscotch Bread Pudding - A-MA-ZA-ZING. We were speechless. Then we began a lengthy discussion with our very nice waiter as to how we could get this crazygood bread pudding again. Sadly, he told us it was no longer going to be on the menu, but though it was also his favorite he told us he couldn't say anything bad about the other bread puddings they have during different seasons. Whew!
The décor is nice, too dark to really tell what is going on, but it was clean and had good colors. I found the kitchen to be oddly visible. The entry and the bar (also the bathrooms?) are kind of cordoned off from the dining room.
Our waiter was really nice. He served very well, up to the point where he served the girl (MOI!) first every time and always made care to at the very least make eye contact with us to see if we needed anything else. And for that we tipped him as nicely as we could.
What a new year's bummer.
The Sig O and I braved the freezing cold and made last minute dinner plans here for New Year's Eve - since we moved to Brighton we've had our eye on this place and couldn't wait for an excuse to try it out. We slipped and slid down Beacon to make our reservation on time...and the place was nearly empty. The fire kept petering out all evening, and the warm, rustic decor was inexplicably spotted with sports paraphernalia.
We were seated by a harried maître d' who whisked our coats away and told us to find him when we were leaving and he'd direct us to them...one guess as to whether or not we could find him when we were ready to leave.
The wine selection was delightful on the page, but my chardonnay was served icey cold - the same for the Sig O's pinot grigio.
I ordered pumpkin soup and the menu mentioned hazelnuts...I'd have welcomed them crushed and as a garnish, but I had to crunch my way through the soup. My autumn salad was doused in oily, flavorless dressing even though I requested it on the side. The Human Eating Machine consumed every last morsel of the ravioli on his plate, but his reaction afterward was "meh".
$64 later and not a "wow" - I can't say we'll be heading back.
I ate here on Christmas Day, for dinner, and it was great. I was bringing someone from the airport, so we were nearly an hour early, but they still seated us, and right next to the huge fireplace. The service was spectacular, and so was the food.
We had salmon cakes, baked beans, and the filet, and everything was cooked to perfection. It tasted wonderful, and the atmosphere was toasty and cozy, perfect for the holiday.
The drinks were amazing as well -- I had a raspberry cocktail, and it actually had raspberries in it. So nice!
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