Firehouse

I am sad to write this review. I have been eager to try this place for sometime now. This place has a nice atmosphere, and good wine. Service was okay. No complaints there and the staff seems kind.
The food however is lacking flavor, due to the amount of salt poured on every dish. It was so salty that I can honestly say that I have had drunken bar food less saltier. I could not tell the difference in the seasoning from my salad to the pizza because of the saltiness of the food. Our Pizza had a pool of olive oil in it, and we only ate two slices. Both my husband and I left feeling bloated and miserable that we spent our time and money here. We won’t be returning.

We stumbled upon this place on a winter evening. It offers a nice lively vibe, combined with good choice of pizzas and oven roasted veggies. We loved our food, will definitely go again

The Firehouse PDX is beautiful in architecture. The interior is unique and very intimate. I was very excited to try this place for dinner. Even contemplated making reservations. Luckily there was no need for it & we got a table within 5 minutes of arrival. The wood fire pizzas were what I was most looking forward to. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy my entire pizza because it was extremely burnt. Of course I took into consideration the wood fire aspect, but the burnt taste overpowered the pizza. The service was great and the staff was extremely courteous, but I’d probably just come back for the wine selection.

Good: A
Service: A
Décor/​Ambiance: A+
This past week I made my second trip to firehouse, the second trip was just as amazing as my first trip! As soon as you enter the restaurant, you’re immediately welcomed by the beautiful wood work present through the whole restaurant, clearly someone who is extremely skilled did the decoration and woodwork. The ambiance is great, and fits many different occasions: romantic, fun casual dinner with friends, and other occasions. Food was wonderful, from what I understand all is cooked in a wood oven. They feature a wonderful rotating menu, lots of fun small plates to start with. I had a hanger steak which was beautifully cooked, asked for a substitution for one of the sides, they were more than willing to accommodate. I have celiac, and this place was a no reaction for me! Looked like there were tons of great options for vegetarians. This place doesn’t offer a ton of last minute seatings, but they do take online reservations via opentable– link on their website.
Bottom line: Firehouse doesn’t disappoint.

I have been back a few times since my first review but figured it was tome for another. We had a large group of us (8) for a pre-​Christmas holiday. They were great to accommodate us as they are a small restaurant. Everything was delicious! I love their pizza but we got sides and salads to share and all of it was YUM! Then desert was oh my holy moly, so good!
Thanks for a great evening and I can’t wait to get back again!

Firehouse has a cozy atmosphere with a fire place for those chilly winter evenings. I’m vegan so I always get a mixture of the small veggie plates. The beets, squash and Brussel sprouts (spicy) are all amazing. Everything seems fresh and perfectly seasoned that I’ve had here.
The service is great and Food comes out quickly. My only compliant is that they have a very small bar area (4 seats) and a Table is right behind bar so it’s a tight space.

Ugh the service here is just terrible. Wait to speak to the host. Wait while the host searches for your reservation. Wait while the host admits they’ve lost your reservation. Wait while, instead of getting the next table because of your reservation, you’re bumped to the back of the table waiting line. And so on while you eat. The food is fine. It’s pretty good. But you can get pizza just as good at least five other places in town. It’s just not worth it.

If you’re looking for a decent meal with crappy service, this is the place for you.
Our party of 4 adults and 2 young children arrived a little before 5:00 so we waited willingly outside in the damp cold Oregon fall. They did not invite us in and then actually unlocked the door a few minutes late. Ok, fine not a big deal. Then, there was a bottleneck situation while we were seated by the aloof hostess in slow motion with a minimal greeting or welcome.
We ordered drinks, promptly ordered our food to keep things moving. When the small plates came out server mixed up the orders. When the entrees came our server mixed up the orders. When our to go orders were boxed, they were mixed up again.
I’m not a jerk. I was still going to tip the server 15% at this point. Then I realized she GRATTED US 18% as a party of six and didn’t mention it.
At this point I asked to speak to the manger on duty. Guess what? It was her.
I am appalled at the service and entitlement of someone who thinks its ok to grat a party of four adults and 2 toddlers who didn’t even order.
Never again, Firehouse. Pollo Norte has better chicken anyway. Did I mention the steak was cold? Serious fail.

When I pass this place on my way for drinks and dinner elsewhere, I look longingly at it but can’t bring myself to try round 2 of the lake of oil pizza that is their signature dish.
I love the building – I just wished the food and the experience matched it. As for the lake of olive oil pizza, I’ve never had anything like it – and it’s a deliberate move on the kitchen’s part. If there were such thing as pizza aversion therapy, I’m certain it would involve this restaurant and lots of olive oil.
There are other things on the menu, of course. The small plates of veggies are wonderful – the fried cauliflower was pitch perfect. And I really like the wine selection, but I sincerely shudder at the thought of their oily pizza. Judging from the reviews, I’m not alone in my Lake o’ Oil consternation, but it may be someone else’s version of outstanding pizza. Meanwhile, I’ll admire the historic building as I walk toward Tamale Boy or any place without a heavy hand for oil.

A quaint place in Woodlawn with wonderful outdoor seating. Apparently it can be hard to get a reservation, but we just walked in on a weekday at around 6PM while visiting Portland and had no problem.
You’ll get pizza with a perfectly cooked crust (slightly chewy but crispy on the edges) and flavorful sauce. We got the pizza with sausage on it too which was a good move — delicious.
It’s not just about the pizza, though — their appetizers are great also. We loved the cauliflower.

My biggest takeaway from my experience at Firehouse is: MAKE SURE YOU GET A RESERVATION. We didn’t and that’s the reason I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5.
We showed up with a party of 3 without a reservation and were told it would be a half hour wait. We waited 45 minutes and then went to the hostess to check the status. It took half an hour after that. I’m one who is fine with waiting for good food, but it was a bummer to wait more than double the amount we were told.
Even after waiting 45 minutes more than we were told, I was pleased with the experience. I got the Margherita pizza with honestly rivals those of Ken’s and Apizza Scholls. I also sampled the Fennel Sausage and Sopressata from those in my party.
As far as appetizers go, the Bruschetta is a MUST HAVE and the Olives and Arancini are worth the $ 4.50 when you get all three.

Bad. customer. service.
That’s my 3-​word summary of our night at Firehouse.
The food was good; nothing out-​of-​this-​world, but it was good.
Otherwise, it was cramped, stuffy, and we were treated indifferently by the host.
A friend called (a few times) in advance to inquire about seating policies, reservations, etc and then to confirm that we were, indeed, coming for dinner. The information she was given over the phone was very consistent re: seating policies for the outdoor patio.
Upon our early arrival, we were told we couldn’t sit outside. Contrary to the policies previous stated to us on the phone (patio is first-​come-​first-​served), the host was «saving» the outside seats for a group. Okay… we’ll sit inside.
We sat inside (it was sweltering hot) and watched the totally empty patio seats. They were empty for over an hour.
I’ve worked in the service industry, and I know that sometimes customers can be annoying/​ungrateful/​just plan stupid. We were none of these. My friend was very gracious when she didn’t pitch a fit that we were seated inside with a nice view of the empty outdoor tables. We were polite and ordered lots of alcohol and food. In spite of this, we felt snubbed. It honestly felt that we were being ignored and that nobody cared that we were inconvenienced or that we were misinformed several times.
We got infrequent water refills (did I mention it was ROASTING inside?!) and at one point someone who worked there «fluffed» a napkin (a used napkin) directly over my drink. Eew. Crumbs. Good thing it was my friend’s napkin and I don’t mind her crumbs.
Dear Firehouse: it seems (based on other reviews) that the only thing consistent with your treatment of guests is that you are inconsistent. Maybe a better training for your staff? Maybe being clear and fair regarding your policies? Even if we made a mistake (which we didn’t) there is no excuse for the lack of service…
I really have no desire to go back. There are many places with similar menus and GREAT service.

What a delightful place to stop for dinner. It’s a real gem. My friend and I made reservations but were unfortunately 20 mins late, the gave away our table but were great about getting us another one and gave us complementary appetizers — roasted beets and roasted cauliflower were just divine. We ordered a simple margarita pizza and it was just perfect. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and the staff are super nice. Don’t miss the rhubarb and strawberry compote — it’s just perfect, not too sweet and not too tart. I will go back here when I visit Portland again.

Although it’s a touch on the spendy side, it’s pretty amazing.
We ordered the cauliflower and it was perfect, then we moved on to the mussels — all I can say is wow. These are the only mussels I have ever liked!
Lastly we enjoyed the mushroom pizza. It’s was the right amount of food for 2 people.

Wow. When someone calls to get information about the following night’s availability, it’s really smart to actually talk to them. The girl who answered the phone, just now, first hung up on me before I’d even said ANYTHING. When I called back, I told her that she’d hung up on me so she knew that it had happened. Rudely, her only flippant reply was, «…how can I help you», in the most insincere tone. When I asked, again, if she had time to help me or if she was too busy, she then said, dismissively and impatiently, «how many in your party?» At that point, I just said to forget it.
OWNER: if your staff can’t even answer the phone, properly and courteously, how on earth do you expect to keep business with those who want to reserve for the following night (not even the same night, mind you)? Your restaurant’s first impression is through whomever you’ve hired to greet customers (or potential ones calling so they might spend money eating your food). This seems pretty basic to me. Restaurants come and go in PDX and the good ones remain because the staff are friendly. Sorry to say, I would never spend my money in your restaurant, simply, because the person who answered the phone left a very, bad taste in my mouth: rudeness. Too bad because I dine out A LOT, tip HEAVILY, and review, FREQUENTLY (not only here).

I love puns. As such, I instantly liked the Firehouse when I learned that the restaurants theme is wood-​fire grilled food sold out of a decommissioned Portland city firehouse. How awesome is that! The environs are great and very pleasant — but a bit more about that further into my review.
Now for the dining experience. For the food — a solid, rock solid 4 stars. For the atmosphere — a 3.5 stars, as the venue is rather smokey and we left with fully «smoked» clothes post meal. Finally the service — man, Portland really has a dilemma with regard to quality, reproducible service. It seems that dining out is pretty much a hit-​or-​miss at Portland eateries, and the Firehouse was no exception. Don’t get me wrong, the service wasn’t overtly bad — it just wasn’t overtly good either. I’m a firm believer in the notion that the food is only a small percent of the overall dining out experience, and the service at the Firehouse was aloof, not overly hospitable nor centric to the needs of the guest. As such — I give it 2 stars. Overall this means my rating of the Firehouse is on the low side; however, if the food were the only variable — I’d rate it much higher.
With all of that said, the smoked skirt steak and the cauliflower starter were awesome. I mean it — really nice dishes. The drinks were also good. If the service was just a little more guest focused, I would rate the Firehouse with more stars and be back for future visits.

Not fair to hold to a higher standard, but I do.
My wife and I found this in the 100 places to stuff your face book. Fortunately when we arrived it was happy hour so we got to try lots of things.
Some of the tables are unusually small for a two top. As a wide person I noticed this discrepancy. I appreciate the old firehouse feel, but the noise level gets a little crazy. It’s a little hard to hear the person across from you.
The fried cauliflower was pretty good. Could have been seasoned a little better and it was cut kind of clunky.
The bruschetta was not really bruschetta, but toppings on a piece of bread. Kind of clunky as well. I think they would be better to have two smaller portions than one large one. The flavor was good, but a hair salty.
The meatballs were quite good. Excellent texture and just a little salty. Seemed to be a theme for the night.
We were most looking forward to the pizza, but were most disappointed by it. We got the marghareta pizza. Love the fresh mozz and the basil. I think the sauce was good, but the pecorino or whatever cheese they added blasted the thing with salt. It was almost inedible from the salt content. I did like the crust. Nice and chewy and cooked well. The middle was a little soggy and thin, making it a little hard to eat.
Sadly I hold the east side eateries to a higher standard, and this did not quite make it.

Firehouse offered New Years Eve seating in 2014, one of the few places without a prix fixe menu. The catch here is that they require a credit card in advance, and will charge $ 40 if you no show. Also you are allotted about 1 h 45 min to finish your meal.
Of course, they can’t actually enforce the time constraints, and by the time we walked in, three parties were waiting to be seated, the larger of which was quoted an additional 15 – 20 mins wait time. By the time we left, there was a line of parties out the door, all of whose reservations were long overdue.
We didn’t especially like the goat cheese + lettuce salad or the crispy potatoes. But the pizzas are spot on, in terms of ingredients. The flavors are excellent. The pizzas are pretty difficult to slice (and you have to slice them yourselves), with the center being too squishy, and the toppings falling everywhere. But they tasted great.
All in all, a four star option for New Years Eve, and probably 3 – 4 stars in the non-​holiday context.

In attempt to hit the Eater 38, I went to the Firehouse this weekend. The only bummer is they didn’t have a bar for us to wait at, but we went to Breakside Brewery across the street and they called us when a table was ready. We sat at a small bar table top the three of us which was good because our sarcasm, wit and humor may have been misconstrued — we called ourselves the Japs with two Jews and one Japnese boy — oy!
Anyway, We loved the brussel sprouts and we loved the pizza. The crust was woodfired amazing, the pizza a little drippy, but so so so yum. I particularly like the spiciness of the sopressata. Can’t believe its been open 6 years and it took me this long to get here. And the kale humbolt fog currant salad was also a hit.
Love you can try a three course menu for a fixed $ 25 or $ 29 with a primi, salad and secundi, price dependent on whether you order pizza or mains.

We went here last night and it was a very good experience. The happy hour menu (available from about 3 – 6 pm) was well-​priced, so we ordered a variety of items. The pizzas were excellent! They arrived almost immediately. Our server said they only cool for 90 seconds in the blazing-​hot brick pizza oven, and that was a welcome surprise because we were hungry!
The cinnamon rooibos ice tea was excellent! We also had the cauliflower appetizer and it was so great that we had to order it again. For $ 3.50, it’s definitely something to try.
The place is hard to find because it’s a remodeled fire station with no visible signage. But it’s worth the search.