Firewood

Firewood in Mchenry has shut its doors for the last time! It’s sad it seemed like in the beginning it was a nice, clean place for a family meal or a night out. But as the years went on it just slumped. The menu was way too big and the quality of food was sub par.
It is also my understanding that the company that owned Firewood closed the place under dubious circumstances. Apparently they were selling gift certificates to customers just days before they shut down. They also never told the staff. They were informed at the end of their shift on the last day that they were closing and they were out of a job.
Too bad. Maybe a nicer place will take a chance on that location and make it work.

They attempted to «north woods supper club look». And while they did that very well, the sizzle at this place is better than the steak… Been a few times and nothing I had ever tasted great.

First time here for a company dinner with 9 of us. Loved the ambience, our waiter Luke was great, very friendly and personable, made a great effort to accommodate someone in our party that was hard of hearing. Polynesian long island was disgusting, tasted like gasoline, my friend got one as well and hers was a lot less stronger so the consistency was off. We ordered many appetizers and entrees, every thing came in a timely manner, food was tasty. Salad bar was lacking, lettuce was turning brown and the soups were empty. Turtle cheesecake was delicious. Probably not worth the drive from round lake to come back, but everyone left happy and satisfied.

I did not look at reviews before we went here as the place looked good from the outside from the looks of the brick building. Unfortunately our service was very poor and the food quality average. I was a bit suprised by the buffet station at dinner time. I don’t think we will head back.

Our first time at the Firewood and we enjoyed ourselves. The wife and I ordered steaks and they were spot on and delicious. They had a nice beer selection as well. The prices are a bit high but we found the food satisfying enough to return. I’m liking the interior, it has a Vegas strip, 60’s style vibe to it.
The downside, way too dark. I know the lighting is supposed to provide ambiance, but it was a bit too dark. When we first came in, we couldn’t read our menus. A candle needed to be lit so my daughter could see the kids menu.
We’ll be back.

Over priced, bland food, drinks were good, atmosphere is nice, service is OK. We had chicken fingers for my son that tasted like fish and the kitchen lost my daughter’s pizza. Her food came out when we were ready to leave. :(

we enjoyed this place a lot, and went back probably once a week, then something happened, they changed the menu and raised the prices and lowered the quality of food. It was disappointing, we have not been back. There are a lot of choices out there, restaurants need to be on their «A» game at all times during these economic times.

I went there for the first time and things were a little hit or miss. Very friendly, attentive server, were greeted and seated right away, and had some excellent spinach and artichoke dip.
They had a pretty solid beer list and my drink came with a frosted glass. Bonus points. My wife got a cocktail, and while it was a huge glass, it tasted SUPER weak. Like… could’ve just been various juices and no booze at all weak. Sad points.
The vibe is a little weird… It’s decorated very classy/​modern which is great… and everything was super clean. They had TVs in the dining area though… not a huge deal but it struck me as sorta odd and clashy with what they’re going for. Like they aren’t sure if they want to be a classy, modern restaurant or a sports bar.
Main course for my wife and I was BBQ chicken pizza. Delicious, but be warned it comes with jalapeño and is very HOT.
It IS a bit pricy. And while the pizza was good, there was a sense of «home-​made» to it, but not in a good, nostalgic way… more in the «not really restaurant quality or made particularly well for what I paid» kind of way.
We’ll be giving it another visit or two (mostly cause I have some
gift cards and this was the only decent looking place in McHenry to use them at), and I’m excited to try some other items on the menu. But unless I find some new, favorite dish that I can’t live without, I’ll probably find other places to eat when I want to drop that kind of cash on a dinner.

Came in was greeted by the guy at the bar. Asked if we where there for the bar or for the dining room told him dining. Went in back place was empty no host no servers. We weren’t in a hurry so we waited for someone to come out. Finally someone came out of the kitchen. But he was to busy pulling up his shirt to wipe his face to notice us. his hairy belly didn’t really make me hungry. Waited thinking maybe he did see us and was sending out a server. My wife yelled hello still nothing. She left annoyed the bartender said have a nice day. As Told him what happened the waitress started coming out from there hiding spots.
Gave them two stars because the place looks nice. Only been here one other time because of a groupon thing my mom gave me.
The other star is for the bartender
Will never go back after reading all the negative reviews. That sound just like my experience.
The Owner needs to read these reviews and fix his staff problem.

To bad it’s like every other Kyahat restaurant. Very average. Food is so so. Service, sometimes good, sometimes stinks. Firewood location has so much potential. Unfortunately I would never recommend it.

We won’t be going back here. The prices are outrageous for the quality of food. My husband and I ordered the filet and it was so very obviously previously frozen, tasteless, and not tender as a filet should be. The mashed potatoes were cold. The vegetable side was boiled from frozen. The buffet had wilted, old lettuce. Nothing looked fresh. It looked as if everything came out of a bag, jar or can. It certainly tasted that way. People go to restaurants for FRESHLY prepared food. If I wanted reheated food, I’d go to a chain like Applebee’s.
At the very least, the prices should reflect what you are serving. We would have gladly paid the what we did for better food. This restaurant should be ashamed to list the prices as they do.
We also had to ASK for menus after we’d already received our drinks. Perhaps we should have left at that point. Not going back.

Just went for the St. Patty buffet. Wasn’t my first choice… Port of Blarney was packed so we went to Firewood. Even at 6:30 the food was typically mushy, lettuce limp and brown… etc…etc. It’s what you get with a buffet anywhere. BUT… the MANAGER on staff that night was the worst I’ve ever seen!!! We placed our drink order at the table and then two of us decided to go to the bar for a st. patty shot. We waited and waited for someone to even acknowledge us. There were maybe 10 people total around the bar. And the restaurant was practically empty. During this long wait we watched this greasy hair with dirty green sweater guy make our actual table drink order. My daughter had ordered a rail vodka and water tall. He made it in a short glass but the waitress set it back and said it needed to be tall. He literally spilled the drink across the bar floor, got a tall glass, sloppily poured the drink into the «tall» glass and it literally filled the entire glass except ½ inch which he then squirted one second’s worth of water. After he finished our table of 5 drinks he looked at us like, «What do you want?» We said, «two lemon drops please». He turned and looked for another bartender and passed our order off. She was in the middle of something else and said it would be a bit. He went back to just standing there. When we got our bill and saw that this vodka water tall cost $ 6.75 and a regular vodka water is $ 5.00 I was shocked. I told the waitress about the fact we watched this guy pour the regular drink into a tall glass and barely added a drop of water to fill the glass and he was also RUDE. She felt bad… and said she’d inquire if a credit could be offered. She came back and told us the guy behind the bar who did all this was the MANAGER! And that he would only credit back $ 1.75. Well isn’t that a slap in the face, huh? And you wonder why the place was pretty empty on St. Patty’s. Who ever that manager was needs to find a new career. I live close by but because of this idiot manager I will not ever be back. I’ve been going to firewood since it opened and each time hope for the best but your food is getting worst and worst and worst.

Never had a bad meal there. Will have to visit again and make sure it is still good.

Been here multiple times hoping it gets better… never does… today was the last straw… went here for New Years dinner… got the auce crab legs Buffett and it was awful… same buffet as the ten dollar meal except some overcooked crab legs and some dry chicken… for triple the normal price of a normal meal with the Buffett. seriously tired of trying with this place and won’t be going back

Been here twice. Once for drinks on a Friday night and another time for lunch on a Saturday. I was not impressed with really anything on either visit. Drink prices didn’t impress me, service was not good at all, and the burger I got was very bland, not taste/​flavor to it what-​so-​ever. Doubt I’ll be back for a third visit.

This place is awful, save your time and frustration and go somewhere else. I’ve been there about 10 times hoping it gets better because it’s so close to my house and has such great potential but I’m disappointed every time (but 1 to be fair). The only good experience was when we had the waitress named Bobby in the bar area. Every other time the waitresses clearly don’t give a crap about you or if you want another drink. I’m sorry but if we’re one of three tables in the bar you should come to see if I want another beer more than once every 45 minutes. I’ve officially given up on this place and will never go back.

This is another case where there seem to be so many negative reviews that just don’t match my experience.
Met a group of friends (20+) today to watch the Bears game (disappointing result). Most of us had the AUCE Brunch Buffet which I thought was a great value for the cost. Very good spread of breakfast items, made to order omelets, salad bar, and 2 hot soups. Everything that I sampled was tasty and fresh. There was a table with desserts which looked tempting but I was a «good boy» and had fresh fruit instead. A couple of the ladies had cheesecake which they rated «A-​OK».
Our server was attentive and seemed always right there when someone needed a drink or have an empty plate cleared. I was quite impressed and that’s something I don’t say lightly.
At half time there was free pizza available which I took a couple of small pieces of just to try. The pizza had a thin and flavorful crust and good toppings. I would certainly order their pizza the next time that I am at Firewood.
I felt Firewood is a very good place to watch the big game in comfort; there’s even a little conversation/​couch pit off to the side if you want to stretch out.

I personally enjoyed my first experience here. The décor is very nice both in the lounge and dinning area. Perhaps my only complaint is that I personally didn’t care for the TV’s in the dinning area.
i was surprised on how varied their menu is as it has more than just steak, chicken & fish. Certainly items on the list which will please the kids in the family.
The wait staff were on top of their game, friendly, knew the menu and attentive to our various needs. The appetizer was very nice and I liked the salad/​soup bar. For the entrée my prime rib was outstanding! The homemade bread they have is very good. Nothing like a rare prime rib and soaking up the juices with some good bread.
You can bet we will definitely be checking back in here.

My husband and I went to Firewood on 120 in McHenry. SLOW and rude front of house — they stood at the stand talking and we stood in front of them for a few minutes before they decided to acknowledge us.
Salad bar «ok», but when my husband went to get soup, he had to go through about 6 bowls to find a clean one. The (½) bread loaf we get was doughy and under-​cooked. Then we heard the people behind us complaining to the waiter that they didn’t like their dinner. ut-oh…I got a 10 oz sirloin (MR) and husband got the pork chop. My steak was so rare it was nearly blue and husband’s chop? RAW with some grill marks. disgusting.
Did they care? not really — though we were comped. What a complete and utter disappointment.

Unfortunately there aren’t many choices for quality dining in McHenry and Firewood isn’t one of them. I have been there three times and each time I had a less than quality experience.
The kids macaroni and cheese for example was about $ 6 for a plate of half a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. No sides, no drink. On top of that, there was no kids menu so there was no way of knowing what you were getting for how much. The mashed potatoes were cold and tasteless. The lettuce on my chicken Caesar wrap was warm and wilted.
Customer service was poor and issues with our bill were difficult to resolve.
I will say that the atmosphere is nice but that’s about it.
I don’t like to give a poor review but I really can’t recommend this to anyone! I hope that they can use these reviews to better their restaurant! McHenry could use a nice place to eat with a variety of foods (other than Italian food!).