I think this place is totally overrated. The food is very basic and "so so" at best and overpriced for what you get. The location is very good, particularly if you're a student but this is not a place I would recommend.
I'm also surprised at how few food and drink specials they offer.
Best bar food in campus town. I always get battalian burger. The bartender's here are fantastic. I really love the service here and I always come here with friends when they visit. I feel the negative service complaints may be from wiper packed weekends like dads weekend or homecoming where every bar will be backed up. I love this bar and many of my college memories came from here
Review Source:So from my experiences, this is one of the better campus establishments. Take note this is for Firehaus as a restaurant only.
Service can be "awkward" at times to say the least. You seat yourself and I feel sometimes it van take awhile to be recognized. I like to go mention something to the bartender just so they know I am looking to get something to eat.
Thursdays they have half price appetizers earlier in the evening which isn't to bad.
The best thing here is the fries - more crunchy than soggy. Burgers are not as good as some of the other campus bar establishments. The thing I do like about the burgers is the pretzel buns - something unique which I appreciate.
Overall for food, not to shabby.
The food at Firehaus is pretty excellent. Â I love that you can get the burgers on pretzel buns, and the Firehaus fries are the greatest thing ever! Â I've never had trouble with the service either. Â One time, I was given the employee discount because the waitress "kept forgetting about us," but if she did, I certainly never noticed. Â I do wish the kitchen was open later, though. Â The Firehaus fries are $3.99 on Fridays, but even though the kitchen is supposed to close at 10, if I get there past 9:30, it's already too late.
I don't have too much experience with the nightlife here, but it seems pretty crowded when I go to get my fries. Â Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you, but it was kind of a pain that I couldn't hear any of my friends from across the table. Â I've been there a few times earlier in the week when it's less crowded, and it's been pretty enjoyable.
Last word of advice: Â avoid the amaretto stone sours. Â Unless the person making mine messed something up, it just wasn't good. Â It was bland and syrupy,
This place opened my last year of college and I really liked it because it was a 21 and up bar. Â While I didn't go to Illinois, I spent many a weekend partying down there. Â We loved the somewhat clean feel to Firehaus and the cheap drinks. Â I went back this weekend for my brothers graduation and it is now an absolute madhouse on the weekends. Â It's still a pretty solid place, but it has become more of your typical Champaign bar.
Review Source:Met a friend for lunch here one day. Â Decent place. Â Not too crowded for a campus town spot. Â At the suggestion of my friend, I opted for the Nacho plate. Â Huge serving and it was quite good. Â Everything is firehouse themed, as far as the menu is concerned and so many of the burgers and sandwiches and wraps sounded delicious. Â Will have to go again sometime and try one. Â Service was quick and friendly.
Review Source:Decent bar food, decent beer. Â I like to go here early for lunch since service is faster and it hasn't gotten too loud yet. Â Don't expect anything very healthy here..there are a few salads and a veggie wrap, but all have cheese or dressing (which I guess you could get on the side...). Â Onion rings are good, I've heard the mac-n-cheese is tasty, and many of the burgers are on wonderful pretzel rolls. Â As a note, they have something called "haus sauce", which is just their buffalo sauce, so don't be fooled. Â Never been here during peak evening hours, so I can't comment on that, but an ok place for lunch and a beer.
Review Source:I've been here a few times. I remember coming a few years ago to watch some NBA game, and then more recently as a random stop with a few new friends. I feel like it was night and day for me. The service was terrible, and I am a stickler for good service. The kicker: it wasn't even all that busy! Food is standard bar food, the drinks are alright, I just hate having to track down people to get a simple order of a few beers. I'd hate to see what it looks like when it's really busy.
Review Source:This place never fails me for a good time. I would say when I'm in Chambana 70% of the year, this is my default location. You can find me here for lunch dates with my bff for their fried chicken salad with blue cheese and a side of their homemade fries... mmm so delicious! Recently they have introduced $4 40's... which I pray they will continue through the school year, not just the summer! The balcony is always nice on a summer evening. Of course this place gets packed... what campus bar doesn't? But if I had to pick a bar to wait in line for, it'd be this one.
Review Source:I am rating the food. Â (Not the bar).
Let's say, I take a thin ground beef patty and take a mallet, and pound the crap out of it--so that it's shape isn't even round any more. Â That is their Backdraft Burger. Â Don't even try to order a medium rare one. They are all cooked the same like a fast food joint. Â Was disappointed with their burger.
As far as the bar environment I would give that three stars.
Oh Firehaus. I really wish you were better, but with your normally absentminded waitresses and bartenders who on weekend nights are stuck up, how can I, really? Â I think that you're tolerable on Mondays, when I can kind of hear myself think, the bartenders are the new ones and not completely jaded, and I can drink cuervo silver margaritas for $3.
But Firehaus, my experience with you is generally bad. Â The lines are ridiculous, the music is overwhelmingly loud, my friend's credit card got closed out to the wrong person, and had someone else's drinks on it... and his last name is not "Smith" or "Jones" or anything common. Â What You did to get on my last nerve? Â Once I was there, and a seasoned bartender dipped a glass in the ice bin, and it came up broken.... which means there was glass in the ice bin. Â I pointed it out, and so he got another glass... and dipped it back in the same ice bin with glass in it. Gross. Â Their food is OK, but overrated. Bah. Firehaus, I will definitely not miss you when I move away.
I am soooo torn in writing this review right now!
So let's break it down into two visits, one nightlife related, one evening food related.
Nightlife:
I came here for a friend's 21st and waited for an hour until 145 a.m. (yes, 15 min. before close) when I just said f**k it and left with my friends. Honestly, what is the point of maintaining the line that close to closing when the bar itself is not at capacity??
Evening:
We came here at the end of Fall semester as an organization to celebrate a job well done. Our group of 10 was seated promptly and the waitress did an awesome job in accommodating our group. We came on a Thursday I think which meant $3 burger with AMAZINGGGGGG fries. Their fries are double fried so they have a great crispy crust. On top of that, they have a good selection of beer on tap to complement your meal. Expect to pay more for a pint than for your entire meal haha.
So it's quite bittersweet... awesome bar food place turned horrible bar at night? This is life :(
Sadly, not named after the 80's hair-band, nonetheless, the former R&R's has been cleaned up and they provide some pretty good pub fare. Â The wings are quite good. Â Also, I must say I was impressed with the level of service I received for Sunday brunch, after a football Saturday. Â If our wait person was hung-over she sure didn't show it. Â On time with refills and completely polite. Â Best part, 6 people for lunch: $50.
Review Source:Good daily specials! Â I feel like this place is just a typical sports bar on campus -- a dime a dozen. I'm starting to get used to the super cheap alcohol in Champaign, that the specials here only get one star. This place isnt that special...besides the fact that it's oh-so-close to my building. The waitress was slow, literally and mentally. She took forever AND Â messed up our bill. I guess she's forgiven because she's cute, but geez!
Review Source:This place is ok, but what I miss the most is what used to be here: my beloved R and R's....Wednesday night mug nights with $2 HUGE mugs of bud, bud light or cider beer...it was dirty and crowded and hot, but played GREAT 80s hair band music (and even music from 80s movies like the Karate Kid...how awesome is that?)..ok, back to reality...Firehaus is pretty because it's newer and the food is pretty standard bar fare, but nothing spectacular. Â The decor is nice and eye-catching though. I will go when I'm in town just to reminisce about it's predecessor and those addictive shark bowls with the plastic squeaky shark...ok, now I'm just rambling, sorry!
Review Source:I love how they open up the windows when it gets warm enough and have a beer garden up top. Â They have good daily drink specials (Sharkbowls on Tuesdays!) and is kept very clean - and I don't just mean by campus bar standards! Â During the day, it's also nice to sit by the open windows and grab some chow - just your typical bar food - but it can get pretty busy, especially for lunch.
I remember getting a Sharkbowl for the first time on a barcrawl with co-workers: "Uh oh, these are really yummy" =P Â Needless to say, the fact that Firehaus was only the second stop on our list made sure that the rest of the night was comprised of a bunch of drunken debauchery.
I remember a time when this place was called R&R's and there was the legendary Sharkbowl. Â This place got a face lift and now it's called Firehaus.
Now they've replaced it with the fishbowl which is a much smaller fruitier version of the sharkbowl. Â Oh well. Â There isn't much room for dancing.. but I like how there is no cover for 21+. Â It also is a college scene but it's one redeemable aspect is that the people are pretty good looking.
Been here once for lunch, once for dinner, and once late night. Honestly, the crowds were biggest during lunch, definitely unusual for a campus bar. The food was okay, typical bar food, but Legend's is better. 2 stars for the food, drink, and party atmosphere, 4 stars for the fact that it is CLEAN, pretty, and well decorated, so a 3 over all.
Review Source:I'm a little too young to remember this place as R&R's, and I had stopped working here by the time they brought the shark bowl back, but I was one of the first employees of this place when it reopened (FINALLY) as "Firehaus" in '05.
This bar took a long time to get on its feet, and by then, I was tired of not making any money due to lack of clientle, so I had moved on. But now, it's kicking ass and taking names and has a whole lot of loyal customers, and for that, I give this bar all sorts of props.
Also, I just said "props." Ew.
Anyway, the really excellent thing about this bar is that it is CLEAN. Clean clean clean. Even on Unofficial, which is arguably the dirtiest day on campus all year, the bathrooms at Firehaus will be clean. The layout isn't my favorite as there aren't a whole lot of places to sit, but the beer garden is excellent, and the buffalo chicken sandwich (with pasta salad!) was pretty damned good.
Of all the Cochrane bars on campus, this one is without a doubt. the best.
I remember the Wednesday nights I spent here with a paint-pen decorated mug in my hand or clutching one of the many straws poking out of a Shark Bowl. Â Of course it was R&R's back then...
After being under construction for something like 17 years, it finally re-opened after I moved to Chicago. Â I came here before a football game last year and was pretty impressed. Â Out with the rickety wooden stairs and graffiti-filled bathroom. Â In with the shiny photos of firefighters and giant hydrants of beer. Â 3 cheers for hydrants of beer!! Â The decor was crisp and basic, which is appropriate for a campus bar where drunken kleptomaniacs will nab anything that isn't nailed down. Â Apparently, you must be 21 to enter after 9pm so they are going for an older crowd. Â
I highly recommend this place if you're an alum and hitting up Chambana for a sporting event.
Hmmm firehaus was nice on the inside, air conditioned, clean for a bar, espec. a campus bar. Â My dining partner and I thought the firefighter photography on the wall was on the depressing side, but at least it fit the motif. Â Our waitress was competant, and left us alone to conduct our business.
My sandwhich was $7 though, and I still had to pay extra for fries. Â Not crazy about that.
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