Firebox Restaurant

This place is great because its walking distance from our office it also prides itself on locally sourced produce. It also has a very cool industrial cozy wine bar feel. I came here for lunch with a coworker and we had the soup and salad combo which was a creamy butternut squash soup garnished with thick crumbles of bacon the farm fresh greens were so delicate and beautiful and came in a vinaigrette and crumbles of goat cheese. My coworker got the chicken salad sandwich which was really well done and had an interesting grilled flavor to the bread or possibly to the chicken I couldn’t tell.
Another a different occasion in December, I came here for a work party. It was at night and they had their 2 valet people attempting to park the influx of cars in a side parking lot. When it came time for me to leave I was disturbed to find I was blocked in by a ring of parked cars. Cars that the valet was struggling to move. I told them I had to leave to get to another place by a certain time, but they couldn’t help me. After waiting 15 minutes I was already too late and needed to cancel my other plans. I was really upset about that.

Nice atmosphere and seating area! Also, the food is amazing! I tried the steak frites and the ribs, both were superb!
However, there was a weird smell in the restaurant from the food, I think they need to get their ventilation fixed!
I would totally visit again!

I need to echo some of the recent comments and reviews regarding the poor service at Firebox. It is truly a shame, as I think this restaurant has some of the best food in the entire area, and it serves fresh, local cuisine that could be off-​the-​charts with a better, more disciplined staff. I think the prices should also be more in line with the ingredients and quantities served.
I came in on a Thursday night without a reservation and was told it would be a 45 minute wait, which I was perfectly fine with. But after waiting 45 minutes without hearing anything, I then went to the hostess and was told, to my surprise, that a table was ready. On my way to the table, I noticed that the restaurant was half empty. The back of the restaurant had somewhere between 10 and 15 empty tables, some with place settings. Most of the tables were never filled during our meal as the after-​work rush weekday evening rush trickled out. Perhaps the restaurant was under-​staffed?
No water came. No waiter came. No menus came. I don’t know how long we waited. I was eventually asked for a drink order and had to ask for a wine list and menus. I ordered a Pinot and my companion ordered a Malbec. I was served the Malbec and my companion was served the Pinot.
The waiter asked what we wanted to eat, but I explained it was difficult to answer that question without a menu. I later had to ask if the waiter would be so kind as to share the specials.
Our appetizers were delicious. But while we nibbled, we were repeatedly asked if we were finished with them — somewhere between five and seven times over the space of about 15 minutes. I think the bus boy was untrained and perhaps a bit bored?
The food arrived and each dish was promptly delivered to the wrong people. I enjoyed the salmon, and the fact that this restaurant does not serve huge portions. Although, I did feel the «filet» of salmon was a bit small for the price of $ 27. It looked to be a maybe ¼ lb slice of a filet and was served on top of some pearl barley. Again, very good dish. But the price was not in line with what was on the plate. I’ll try to upload a photo.

We decided to take advantage of Taste of Hartford as an early Valentines day dinner and did their fixed price menu on a Saturday night. Everything was absolutely incredible, from the bread at the beginning of the meal, all the way to the cheese plate that I chose as my dessert. Their cocktail menu is very impressive and I can’t say enough about the impeccable service we received throughout the meal. It is definitely a special occasion type of restaurant and we will be back in the very near future.

Had been here before for Happy Hour and have been wanting to come back for dinner. Decided to try it out for Taste of Hartford.
We made reservations, which I highly recommend you do, and were seated pretty quickly. Usually during Taste of Hartford at other restaurants I have been to you are given the regular menu and the Taste of Hartford menu when you are seated. That was not the case here. So we waited patiently for our waitress. In the meantime a table was sat down next to us. Their waiter arrived before we saw ours to take their drink orders, tell them the specials and tell them about the Taste of Hartford menu. When are waitress finally came by she asked if we knew what drinks we wanted, didn’t mention any specials or the Taste of Hartford menu, so we had to ask about it. She returned with the menus and then we had to wait around a while again for her to return to take our orders.
I got a glass of Riesling and my bf did the wine pairing for the Taste of Hartford menu. We both started with the butternut squash soup which came out pretty quick. So quick we didn’t even have are drinks yet. Which when you order a wine pairing you would like to have the wine with the food to pair it. So we started to eat figuring the wine would arrive shortly, not the case. We then stopped eating as to wait for the wine. Another waiter even tried to clear our plates assuming we were done. We explained we were waiting for our wine. Finally we gave up and finished the soup without the wine. When our waitress finally came with the wine we did express our dissatisfaction with the fact the wine arrived well after the soup. She did bring us a beet salad to share to make up for the timing issue, but when you are already ordering a three course meal a salad really isn’t needed. The salad was good but would of rather had our drinks in a timely matter.
For our main course my bf got the Ricotta Ravioli and I got the Black Pearl Salmon. He liked the ravioli though it was a tad salty from pancetta. The salmon was very good and the couscous and curry sauce paired with it nicely, though it had to be one of the smallest piece of fish I have ever been served at a restaurant. My boyfriend’s wine did arrive in time for this course.
Lastly, for dessert I got the gingerbread and my bf got the cheese plate. The gingerbread cake was served warm with a milk jam. It was heavenly! His cheese was good too and locally made.
All in all the food was delicious! I love that most of the ingredients used are locally made. This would of been four stars but because of the service, or really lack of service, we received I am only giving it three stars. We were their for almost two hours, that is how slow our service was. Just as a comparison we were just getting our entrees when the table of four who sat down after us was getting dessert. I hope the next time we have a better waitress!

For a place that gets so many good reviews, I don’t understand what happened.
They should really rename this the icebox because that was the attitude of the staff, complete and utter disinterest, at least with us.
My friend and I came for valentine’s day brunch, I was really excited since seeing the good reviews and having driven past it so many times before, so, expectations were high and almost immediately were they brought down.
I was greeted with a perplexed look from the hostess as I said I was meeting someone there, so muttered out just «ok». No effort was made to help me locate my friend. After I walked around the whole resturant and noticed that I wasn’t packed, I found my friend in the front. We got the brunch menus and our waitress came maybe 6 minutes afterwards. I will say their brunch menu was very limited in their option, and since I don’t want to eat a salad for breakfast or brunch, I ordered the eggs Benedict. While I was ordering, I told them I wanted the salmon and asked how the eggs would be cooked. They couldn’t make it well done since they use a particular method of poaching their eggs. Fine, I understand.
But what I didn’t understand was waiting more than 1 hour for our food, seeing the table of 5 people who came in after us getting their food first and when I asked the waitress about our food, no apology, just a cold, I’ll go check.
This is after she knocked over my purse, didn’t even attempt an I’m sorry, and then our food came out. To het credit, she did pick it uo, but again, no apology. Imagine my surprise when I got bacon Benedict and I promptly told them this isn’t what I ordered.
Waitress came and said they just now told her they were out of salmon, again, no apology just a matter of fact, oh we don’t have salmon anymore. So you thought throwing bacon at me instead was just «oh well good enough «?. I told them I don’t eat red meat and she offered kale. I don’t want kale. She then suggested the kale salad. Again, I don’t want kale. So I just said give me another side of home fries and in fact, that’s why they got 2 stars instead of 1, they didn’t charge for the homefries.
The homefries were given by I assume was the manager although he saw me and was just like, here are the homefries. No apology, no effort to make it better, just cold. And again, the resturant was not full so I don’t even know what the excuse was.
My friend ordered the mussels and she said her food was alright. Needless to say, I was upset and both of us felt like we were being discriminated agaisnt, never an apology no effort made period. And the discrimination is weird, especially since firebox sits on the border of the «hood» part of Hartford but I digress.
Needless to say, will never be back.

My wife and I went with another couple on Friday night. Our friends heard good things about Firebox. I did not know anything about it but from reading the other reviews I was expecting a better than average experience.
Ambiance
An old brick building with character. It was pretty cool.
Parking
Valet parking seemed to be required but was told I could park my car myself as there was a spot available. As a treat I used the valet service. This was a waste of time and money.
Food
Two steaks, raviolis and the roasted vegetables were our four meals. The raviolis were very good. The steak meal was average and the roasted vegetables were not good at all (more on this in service). We also had desserts which were very good.
Service
Here is where we run into problems. 1. To me the servers seemed ‘cold’. I think they’ve gotten so many good reviews they are s little cocky. 2. Our friends roasted vegetable dinner came out 15 minutes after the other 3 meals. We were essentially done when she started eating. There was an effort to blame the kitchen as they were ‘backed up’. No apology and no effort to make things right. Expected to see a manager bring the meal out. To make things worse the meal did not look appetizing and our friend was not impressed with it. 3. I noticed part way through our meal every other table had bread… We did not.
Don’t know if I’m going back.

My friend came over with her fiancé and asked for a place to get some brunch. I remember coming here before and it was good enough for me to recommend this to them. So, my girlfriend and I went here with my friend and her fiancé and we all really enjoyed it.
Regarding the atmosphere, there are two areas you can be seated. One near a booth that’s a thoroughway to other diners going further into the restaurant, and then there’s a open area further in, with racks of wine to the side. It has a very upscale feel, despite the neighborhood it’s located in.
The wait staff were kind and attentive. Not over the top amazing, but nothing to complain about either. They also helped us get some extra toast for the mussel white wine broth.
The food was where it was at though. I ordered a croque monsieur but got a croque madame, the latter of which is a ham grilled cheese covered in a bechemel sauce, topped with a fried egg (the former is the same, just without the egg on top and the addition of the egg was probably the better option anyway). The croque madame also came with fries on the side. My girlfriend ordered a bunch of sides, which included honey sriracha bacon, home fries (which were really just french fries apparently), and fried brussel sprouts. My friend got the mussels, and her fiancé got a salmon eggs benedict.
The quality of my food was great. The croque madame was packed full of flavor and hit the spot as a brunchy soul food. My girlfriend’s brussel sprouts were delicous and the aioli on the brussel sprouts really gave them a nice creaminess that went well with the intrinsically nutty flavors bursting from the brussel sprouts themselves. While I didn’t try any of my friend or her fiancé’s food, I was told that the salmon benedict was really good and the mussels were delicious. The broth was a bit on the salty side and the bread there really should’ve been a few more slices of toast to accompany it for the broth, but they were still really happy with their meal.
Overall, this is definitely one of the better places to have brunch in the Hartford region. The food is great and the atmosphere is pretty cool too. There’s enough parking in the parking lot and it’s never too packed. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for some brunch.

I’ve visited Firebox a number of times and always had a great meal. My favorite meal to eat there is brunch. Sunday brunch at Firebox is top-​notch. I have never ordered something I did not like.
Their menu is seasonal and farm-​to-​table, which makes it that much better. The last time I was there I ordered the buttermilk waffles with cherry, pistachio syrup and a side of breakfast potatoes. The waffles were crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. The cherry syrup was incredible and I have never tasted anything nearly as delicious in terms of a syrup. The breakfast potatoes were perfectly seasoned and just as delicious as my waffles.
In terms of cocktails and beer
If you are looking for a great meal that is outside the box, then Firebox is the place for you.

Why haven’t I come here sooner? I’m not sure but I’m truly happy that I did. Firebox has jumped to the top of my list as a new favorite. Great happy hour and tavern menu! From mouth watering mussels that fill up the whole shell, oysters on the half, savory chicken liver pâté, and some of the best drinks around.
Try the «Market Cocktail» for a nice spin away from your average drink, and PLEASE ask for the entrée specials. I was lucky enough to have the bolognese with fresh made pasta from Di Fiori’s in the South End of Hartford, and have a bite of the cast iron duck that was really a special treat.
If you think you’re full… just wait for dessert. Must have the strawberry rhubarb cobbler topped with local ice cream, or the whipped chocolate mousse pudding. You will not be disappointed, ugh.
Firebox is the definition of a «hidden gem» and exactly what Hartford needs. Definitely a special occasion for dinner, but greatly affordable if you come during happy hour. Anytime is a great time if you come with good company. Will be back… very soon.

Sooooo, I now hate this place. After waiting nearly an hour for a table, my friends and I just left without ever getting a table. We were originally told it would only be a 30 min wait, but that was all lies!!! No apology, no nothing. People were clearly coming in after us, but seated before us, even after we were told we were the next group to get a table. The hostess needs some lessons in customer service. So angry. Never coming back here.