Firehouse Grill

It’s been hit or miss for years, but lately it’s been more of a miss than a hit. They have a good looking menu, but the food is not always executed well (cold fries, oily sauces, etc). They are always busy, particularly on Hawks or other game nights. In spite of this, they often seem unprepared or understaffed for the crowd, leading to slow service. We have seen some of the same servers working for years, and we usually get decent service. Many are quite friendly and hard working. This week, however, sealed our decision to stay away for a while. Our server seemed irritated to help us from the start, while tables around us received normal service. I had to go inside and find silverware roll ups on the bar for our table since nobody came by to ask about our food as we sat without utensils for several minutes. They similarly forgot or misunderstood a direct request for napkins as we sat eating with messy hands and no forks. The owner seemed to be as in the weeds as any of the staff, which doesn’t inspire confidence.
I know we all have off days, but until this place gets its act together more consistently, I’ll be spending my neighborhood dining dollars elsewhere. A shame.

Food was great and so was the service. However, my main complaint was my boyfriend and I went to trivia night. It would have been fun if the table next to us didn’t google all the answers on their phone. Normally when I’ve attended other trivia nights around different parts of the city, most teams would get disqualified if they were caught on their phones. We were seated in a separate area so I can see there was no way to monitor it. Be more strict about people using their phones and maybe we’ll come back to trivia night. We’d definitely come back for the food.

We have been coming here for years and enjoy the burgers and beer! It is a very casual pub with an old-​style homey feel. My husband and I can’t resist the burgers (the Firehouse Burger and the Gaucho Burger in particular). The fries are delicious although there has been a time or two when they weren’t up to their normal crispness. The Fish and Chips and Quesadilla are terrific too!

Nothing special. Good beers — burger was fine but not really memorable. Was expecting more. Should have eaten at Hoosier Mama across the street…

Went to Firehouse with a big group from work for a Friday lunch. They do take reservations which is nice. There was a decent crowd there for a Friday but it’s a pretty large space so there were several tables available. They seated us in the back room which we had to ourselves.
I’ve been here once before, and both times now service was just okay. None of the staff ever really seems like they want to be there. I ordered the Irish pub burger, which had caramelized onions, onion straws and white cheese. It was good! Definitely a solid burger for lunch. French fry portion was pretty small for the burger, was much bigger for the other sandwiches for some reason. Prices are kind of steep for standard pub food that doesn’t stand out.
It’s a nice clean restaurant conveniently located right by the Main CTA and Metra stops but food and service are just okay… hence 3 stars.

The nachos are very tasty. I hit them with the chicken AND the guacamole. It hit the spot!
The ambiance is casual making it perfect for an impromptu meal. Parking is easy and the food is worth coming back for.

I’ve driven past this place many times, and admired the old firehouse. A friend recommended it, so my husband and I finally gave it a try. I expected it to be more of a gastropub, but it is definitely a family restaurant. This would have been fine, if we hadn’t been sat in the kiddie section (Engine Room). I teach 700 rowdy kids a week, I don’t want to experience them in my free time as well. The noise level in the room quickly became obnoxious, like Chuck E. Cheese obnoxious, so we asked to be seated in the main dining area. We were sat at another table by our waitress, then the hostess came and told us we had to move, when we said we were ready to leave, she offered us a hightop at the bar. Honestly, I don’t know why she didn’t seat us there to begin with.
The atmosphere was definitely charming in the main dining area, but the food was unremarkable. I don’t think we will be back, but I would definitely recommend it if you want to drink beer surrounded by young children.

Cool building, chill atmosphere, yummy burgers (served on pretzel buns)! To be honest, aside from the building’s history, this place could be described as a pretty ordinary bar and grill, with pretty ordinary bar and grill food — but in my book, that’s okay! It’s perfect as an everyday neighborhood bar/​restaurant.
We usually each get a burger — they always come out how we’ve ordered them (medium), and they’re pretty darn big. The fries are always tasty, and the pierogis are wonderful (although very filling).
Doesn’t hurt that Firehouse is so close for us. Both times we’ve visited so far, we’ve enjoyed walking to and from dinner on a Friday evening!

We were just in the Chicago Ave neighborhood after kids’ karate class at Fonseca… decided to stop in for a bite… my 7 year old grandson, noting we were drifting to Firehouse, said, «Granny, that’s not a good place to eat»…“really, I asked… how do you know?”…but seems he and his mom had given Firehouse several tries (they live in neighborhood) and had written them off… well, out of the mouths of babes, he was right! Slow service, subpar food, gritty appearance. .yech…why subject yourself, when there are so many nicer places nearby

I dined at Firehouse Grill once before, about 8 years ago. I recall really enjoying my meal. This time however, was a different story.
Came here tonight and ordered the Santa Fe chicken salad, thinking it would be a safe choice — a salad with grilled chicken and avocado, you can’t go wrong, right? Wrong. The chicken was the absolute driest, most tasteless chicken cardboard I’ve ever tasted. I’ve overcooked chicken at home before, but this was way worse. The texture was so gritty and dry that I couldn’t choke down the chicken and I left half my meal uneaten. What a waste of 13 bucks.
On the brighter side, those who ordered the soup of the day (butternut squash) thought it was really yummy.
Based on my chicken experience though, I’ll never come back.

The food and drinks are fantastic: the burgers are always cooked perfectly (I recommend The Chief with a fried egg), and we love the desserts and drinks, too: don’t even get me started on the Firehouse Cookie Bucket; your life will be forever better with the cookie bucket in it!
Four stars because it always takes us FOREVER to get out of here! Last week we sat in our booth for almost ten minutes waiting for our check, and then another fifteen minutes for our waitress to grab our card. One time we waited a half hour to get the check, only to find out our waitress left for the night!

I had heard about this establishment before but I usually don’t go to Evanston. However my cousin just moved into town and wanted to check it out. At first I was excited because the outside looked like a converted firehouse. However, when you walk in it is very reminiscent of a Chili’s or some other 80’s joint. However, when I got the menu there were a few things I wanted to try. My cousin got the fish and chips, his daughter got the port house burger, and his wife and I got the New Englander… delicious topped with a thick cut of bacon!!! I was honestly surprised by that and the bill came back very low… definitely affordable but too far away from me.

Love this place. Its a great place to go for Dinner or Lunch. My favorite is the Blacken Salmon Sandwich! Great Burgers or salads too. Great Martinis, great Beer selection as well. The Bartenders at really nice and after you have been there a few times they know just what you want. If you like trivia they have that one night week. Love to watch sports, they have TV’s with everything on! But if your a Black Hawk Fan this is the place to be during the Playoffs… it ROCKS! Oh Yea if you like firehouse lore they have that all over this place to see!
MB

I went to the Firehouse for the first time recently and I was quite excited walking up to the front door. When driving by in the summer people are outside enjoying the patio and it has the looks of a solid bar and grill, kinda like Wilde in Lakeview, one of my favorite places.
When I walked in my excitement subsided and I was a little disappointed by what I saw. I liked some of the décor inside as its firefighter related however it’s no fancier than a local bar. The tables were a little dirty/​sticky, the booths were covered in old vinyl, etc. For such a well kept building it was rather disappointing inside. I was expecting something a little more grandiose and historic inside and instead it was just like any other neighborhood bar.
As for the dining experience, when you walk in you seat yourself. There’s a little sign that instructs you to do this. The servers were very prompt and helpful and took our order very quickly. I went with The Chief burger and my sister went with a selection of tacos (pulled pork, barbacoa, and chicken and chimichurri). My sister enjoyed the tacos and the burger was very good. The fries were a little stale but they grew on me and I eventually finished them.
Would I go back? Sure. There’s nothing wrong with this place at all as the food was decent. I guess my expectations were a little high walking in the door… 3 stars.

Great place for grab a drink and snack.
Amazing burgers, really nice waitresses and they have dog friendly terrace on the side of the building. Love this place!

Normally we don’t write reviews unless we really find it worth telling (Warning) people about the place!
I watch this place open up a couple of years ago and have been super excited to come here. We finally had the opportunity to come here (so excited) but it turned out to be not what I was hoping for (I should have read the reviews before coming.).
We ordered Perogis for an appetizer and got them cold (after the food runner ran around the place twice trying to figure out what table ordered them). We couldn’t flag down our waitress so we told the other one in our area. She took them before we could tell her we didn’t want them anymore. The food runner brought them back… the same exact ones burnt and with the same sour cream on them. We still got charged for them (We paid without fighting them. We just wanted to leave at that point.)
My fiancé ordered a burger… He compared it to Red Robin burger (Gross).
Mean while our waitress didn’t know about any of this until we told her (before we paid).

Firehouse Grill has great salads and hit-​or-​miss burgers/​sandwiches/​tacos. If you have the choice of a side, skip the rice and beans because they’re mediocre. There’s a good selection of beers and a small offering of wines; I don’t recommend the cocktails/​specialty drinks.
Service is either good or terrible and tends to be slow. Seating is available both indoor and outdoors. There’s parking on the street or in a private lot just south of the restaurant (the mostly unpaved land by the train tracks).

Firehouse Grill has a unique ambiance as I hear it really was a firehouse at one point. There is a main floor and upper-​level (which is often used for private parties). Their burger is probably the strongest menu item, although their salads aren’t bad. They have certain nights that they play bingo and the restaurant is completely packed. Good, timely service.

I wish I could update this review with more stars, because I come here regularly and keep hoping they’ll work on their food, but this is solidly a 2-​star place.
The food is across the board just okay, and the staff, although very nice, is never sufficient for the number of patrons. I wouldn’t come here just to eat, but as long as they continue to host trivia, I’ll keep coming back.

How I heard of this place: I’ve got friends in… great places! Local and fun, a wonderfully unpretentious and easy space to share a final meal with our friend in Evanston on this glorious spring day.
Type of cuisine: Sandwiches, burgers, salads, and creative entrees including Adobo Pork Chops, Korean BBQ Skirt Steak, Jambalaya, and Potato-​Crusted Salmon. Yum.
Ambiance: «Firehouse Grill in charming Evanston is setting the town on „fire“! This historic old firehouse has been meticulously restored to its original luster. The private party room features pressed tin ceilings, hardwood floors, a private bar, 3 regulation size pool tables, shuffle board, foos ball and other gaming. The private room will comfortably seat 60 people for sit-​down dinners, and accommodate up to 120 people for cocktail gatherings, corporate functions, rehearsal dinners and more!»
What I ordered: Still feeling full from our Walker Bros extravaganza, and knowing that our table would share the Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos ($ 6), I opted for a bowl of Firehouse Chili ($ 5) served with sour cream, cheddar and green onions. My husband chose the Chorizo Burger ($ 12), a ground chorizo patty, chihuahua cheese, pico de gallo and tortilla strips, served with fries (substituted for mashed potatoes). My sister-​in-​law and my favorite food companion chose the Potato Crusted Salmon ($ 16) drizzled with a tequila lime butter sauce and served over a bed of spinach. Our local gourmand selected the Pulled Pork sandwich ($ 9) with house-​smoked pork in BBQ sauce, served with a side of fries and cole slaw.
What I loved: The chili was fabulous, the fries amazing, but the potato crusted salmon easily stole the show!
Why I loved it: Friendly service, a great one-​room space with tall ceilings and fun, tasteful décor, and excellent food!
Cost: Average ($ 9 — $ 14 per entrée)