Fire & Ice Restaurant & Bar

Definitely not the best experience, service and food. I would not recommend this place especially if they offer a Groupon/Living Social type of deal. I don't know if it was because of the special we bought from Living Social or if they are just an all around not great restaurant but our food and service was not up to par with what it should be for the type of restaurant they pride themselves on being.

We had a deal for a four course meal and the only stipulation written on the deal was that the bottle of wine we'd receive was a choice of their house red or white. Unfortunately when we arrived we were taken to a reserved table that had a pre-planned menu. Our choices compared to the actual menu were limited and not the best. The artichoke dip appetizer was topped with a layer of melted butter and scolding hot that it burnt the roof of my mouth right off the bat. The Cesar salad my husband ordered was basically a half a head of romaine with a dollop of dressing. It did not have good presentation or taste. The meals were even worse. We ordered the flank steak and chicken en croute. The meals were served with a heaping pile of mashed potatoes-the only redemption on the plate. The flank steak was so grisly my husband couldn't even cut through with a steak knife. The flavor was not great. The chicken en croute smelled like a dead rabbit. The smell was so awful I felt ill with each bite I took. When the waitress asked us if everything was ok we told her how disappointed we were with the meals and the issues with each. She offered something else from the menu which we declined. She came back to the table a short while later and proceeded to tell us the reasons why we didn't like the food. i.e. the flank steak is a shoulder portion and typically where more muscle runs through the animal which could be a result of the toughness of the meat. The chicken en croute had Gruyere on it and possibly caused the "awful" smell I was experiencing.

Whatever the issue both meals were not good. They were horrible. They were not what I was expecting from a so-called four star restaurant. To top if off they were out of the dessert they were offering on their pre-planned menu and offered us one of the others from their regular menu. I'd just like to say that the meal for me mostly consisted of red wine and a delightful piece of chocolate cake. I would possibly return for both of these. Anyway, glad we only paid half of what this meal would have actually cost us.  I don't recomment this place. There are plenty of other wonderful restaurants in the Springfield area to waste your meal here.

We stayed at Hampton Inns for the night and the clerk suggested we go to the Ramada for dinner at a locally owned spot there. Strange! Good call tho'. The ambiance was perfect as we had been on the road since leaving NOLA. The service was as good as any I have had in a lot more heralded overrated joints. We started with the Butternut Sqaush Bisque. Delicious! I had the Fire and Rice dish and the better half had the Pad Thai. I thought both were quite tasty, authentic,  and would recommend them. The side biscuits were accompanied with a honey butter and a boursin spread, both tasty.All in all, it was quite a surprise on an 1800 mile road trip. I don't know if I will get back there but I do recommend anyone to check it out!

Overall, I like this place very well. The whole hotel and restaurant is kind of retro and very cool. I've eaten here twice in the last three weeks.

The ribeye is the best around Springfield!

I did not like the Pad thai. It was tart, and seemed like a very American ( or even Ozark ) version of this dish. If you want oriental cuisine, my vote is to go somewhere else.

In my two times here, I notice that you get attentive service if you get seated at a table. If you eat at the bar, you're often ignored while the bar staff stands around talking to each other or on the phone.

In short, if you get seated at a table, and have the ribeye (or just stay away from the oriental food), you'll love it.