Stopped by on a Sunday afternoon just out of an early movie. Â I had seen this place for a while in downtown Oswego but had not thought of stopping by but with a head full of Tom Cruise I was feeling adventurous.
Let me start by giving a complement - this place is a dive. Â But in the best use of the term. Â The staff was very friendly, the setting was like someone converted their garage into a bar and grill (and from what I could see that's almost exactly what happened. Â It does not have the sterile, over rehearsed feel of the chains and...the food is pretty good.
Let's talk pizza. Â They do a NY style za in only one size - HUGE. Â Now you have to be a fan of fold-up pizza but they do it right. Â Of course if you don't feel you can down five pounds of pizza they will whip up a slice of your choosing. Â I had a slice of sausage and was not disappointed. Â Although I prefer chunks of sausage this is a crumbled kind of place (hence NY style). Â At $3.50 for a single slice and two for $6.00 the portion is way more than generous. Â The base red sauce was just a little on the sweet side to my taste but the abundance of cheese made up for it. Â Over all i enjoyed the pizza and would not hesitate to order it again.
I also had a 10 piece order of their wings in the medium spicy Asian sauce. Â The wings are deep fried with a dusting of flour so you get a crunchy result without getting soggy breading a la Hooters. Â The wings were well coated but not served in a soup of sauce - big bonus in my book. Â I also liked that the celery and blue cheese dressing was included - again, well done! Â had I been dining alone I would have gone for one of their hotter sauces and I look forward to doing that on my next visit.
My wife had the mushroom Swiss burger which was cooked to YOUR desired doneness and hand formed. Â I took a proffered taste from my sweetie and found the burger to be delicious. They use a unique hybrid of hamburger/ croissant bun which was very tender yet hearty enough to handle the juiciness of the burger. Â I could easily make this my new burger joint.
We finished off with the cinnamon ties - and DO NOT leave before you have an order. Â These are strips of pizza dough tied in a simple knot and deep fried. Â I am well aware of the fried dough desserts all pizza places offer but, trust me, these are different. Â The had a light texture packed with sugar and cinnamon and jam-your-mouth-full tasty. Â If there had been a side of glaze to dip i would have been a dead man.
There are some minor downsides. The parking is not well marked and you can easily end up driving around the block to find yourself going the wrong way on a one-way alley. Â The interior has an unfinished feel about it and the slate floor looks like it's dirty in need of mopping, but it's really just the maroonish color that shows every bit of detritus.
The menu has a lot of variety in both za and sandwiches. There is a bar area and a large (70+) selection of bottled imports and craft brews. Â The place is stuffed with flat screens on a variety of sporting events so it is a little noisy - but HEY! Â It's a pizza dive! Â The prices are reasonable, my wife and I came away with about $35.00 including tip and sodas.
I am recommending this place on two levels, first - it's good food at a good price with a fun atmosphere.
Second -= IT'S NOT A CHAIN! Â Support this place, you will not be disappointed!
This local place has as many positives as negatives;
Let's start with the positives, The Jalapeno Popper Pizza was Orgasmic, The crunchy crust loads of Mozzarella and Cheddar, real strips of bacon and hot jalapeno made my tummy happy.
The do have a decent beer list, lots of safe picks and some beers I have never had!
We came on a Wednesday night and it was full but we sat ourselves and were served quickly. She was attentive and friendly.
The place has tasteful decor touches, and is very clean, The brass fire extinguishers for lights above the bar are nice. Comfy seating, lots of t.vs, Â great place to watch a game.
Negative Nancy says:
The menu is limited, and what we ordered was not on it, we saw it on another table, and took a chance, they do not even list what toppings they offer! Â Obviously we don't eat based on price alone, but had no idea what it would cost.
I know I am kinda a beer snob but most the list was bottles, and I am weary of a 50 plus list of craft beers as they have a tendency to sit for to long and get skunk, Â 8.50 for a draft beer is outrageous!!!!! They also did not give you any more information then the name of the beer. Bad Form.
My familiy went to Firehouse Pizza and Pub, because we like to patronize local restaurants, and because I have a toddler who is into fire trucks and the like. The atmosphere was fun, and there were authentic fire-house items hanging all around. This place receives full marks for the pizza. The portions are huge and very tasty. I had to leave off a star for service. We were placed by the door in the back, and every time somebody entered in the back (every minute), we were treated to an icy blast of air. Next time, I'm going to ask to sit in the front. The food and drinks took a long time to get to us, as the service was pretty slow. I chalk this up to the staff getting used to working in a new place.
Review Source:We bike to Oswego frequently and it's a good halfway point for our 40 mile plus rides. Â We've been at Firehouse twice now and have yet to be disappointed. The staff and owner are ever so accommodating and the food is tasty. It's a great place to refuel after the first 20 miles. Â We have only had the subs so far. Very tasty. We've seen the pizza and will have to make a dinner stop soon. Â I recommend this family friendly place. Has a nice atmosphere and the pub is decorated with cool firehouse type stuff. Love the cabbage patch doll fireman. Â Thumbs up for Firehouse Pizza and Pub!!!!
Review Source:Went to Firehouse Pizza for the third time yesterday and will not be returning. I ordered my usual "slice of pizza" which arrived cold. It was replaced but the second one was burned. The third replacement obviously came from the same as the second since it was just as crisp. At this point someone from the kitchen came to our table and said that's the way their pizza is served. Funny, it wasn't that way the first two times. My wife ordered the Meatball Sandwich. It was  obviously a re-heated frozen meatball that was VERY dry. To top it all off WE had to go to the order window to get a drink refill since the server never returned to our table. All in all an unpleasant dining experience. Better pizza at Uncle Lars in Plano!
Review Source:Food- Â First off, pizza is huge! Since it was only my wife and I, we decided to order slices rather than the whole pie. Â My wife is from the east coast and claimed this was the best New York style pizza she's had in Illinois. Â The ingredients were fresh and the pizza was well prepared. Â We also ordered 10 BBQ garlic wings. Â They were good, but nothing to write home about.
Drink- Â Can't really comment on taste since we didn't order any drinks, but their beer menu was huge! Â I was definitely surprised to see how many options were provided in such a small place.
Service- Â Our server and what we assumed was the female manager were great. Â They were very attentive and super friendly. Â
Other- Â Parking is a little tight, but there's tons of spots on the street. Â Of course that requires us to walk about a 1/2 block, but that's really no big deal. Â Inside they have a ton of TVs which was great for the Blackhawks' game. Â
Conclusion- Â My wife and I plan on coming back soon. Â The food was great, service was friendly, and it had a fun atmosphere. Â Glad to have two good restaurants in downtown Oswego!
By far this place has the best wings in town. The burgers are mixed choice ground chuck and beef rib tip and the pizza is awesome as well. The Italian breaded steak sandwich is to die for. Don't forget to order the chocolate cake before you leave! Great place to catch the game or the race.
Review Source:You won't catch me going back here again.
1. Horrible parking. If you can't park on the side, good luck in the back. Gravel, no defined parking spots. It's a free for all.
2. Small. Like the other gentleman said in his review, waiting for a table is not easy there. There is a small bar, but there is literally no room. Until we snagged a seat at the bar, I felt like I was intruding on other diners. And once I did sit, I felt intruded upon when waiting customers were hovering next to my table.
3. Limited menu. I went last week and they still had their limited menu. They had been open about two months at this point.Plenty of time to have your act together. Â
4. Basic waiter/waitress skills. Everyone needs silverwear and napkins, or at least just napkins. Why not bring them out at the beginning? I shouldn't wait five minutes while my food gets cold.
5. Staff crawling all over each other. We actually had a really good bartender, so that was my one plus (get out while you can, man). But some other dude kept coming back and second-guessing him. Same dude asked me if I wanted another drink. I answered in the affirmative. He took my glass and never came back. Sigh.
6. The pizza. Humongous ... a good value. But greasy and tasteless. And on a paper plate. Was I at a restaurant or a carnival?
7. Ventilation system. The fire smelled good for a while but then got overwhelming and my hair smelled disgusting when I got home.
Finally, they had a problem with our check. Had to run my friend's CC twice. I certainly hope they can pick it up. If I ever go there again (doubtful), I will update my review.
My wife and I went out to dinner and brought two other couples with us, for a total of 6. We arrived just before 7pm and put our name down as there was a twenty minute wait. No big deal, and definitely to be expected on a Saturday. I don't mind waiting typically I'll just grab a beer or drink at the bar, but don't bother with that this place is so small if they're business there is no place to stand and wait....We got sat after about 30 minutes of waiting, which again wasn't a big deal. Our server came over, clearly her first serving job, and asked "what drinks would you guys like" and we asked if there were any specials for the night. She responded, "No drink specials, but there is a food special, any appetizer, pizza, and cinnamon sugar knots (they're dessert) for $21". Each couple ordered the special and we also were drinking beers. Appetizers took 35 minutes to get delivered and were typical frozen appetizers that were flavorless... oh well it's a pizza joint and I came to try the pizza. We received the pizzas and they are HUGE but that was the only good thing about it. Very greasy, overly cheesed, and generic pizza. Nothing about it stood out or would bring us back. Cinnamon knots.... I'm not even going to waste my time with this failed attempt at a dessert. We then asked our server for our checks into the three couples. Our checks came back and without looking at the tab I just paid the bill....BAD MOVE. I then went to sign and for my wife and I we, by their math, managed a $60 tab.... not so much. Told the server to please adjust the amount. Check came back a second time, then all three tabs were wrong. Next try, the checks come back and now all of us were charged $26-$27 for our $23 pizza special. My wife then took the check up to the man near the register and explained our concern and that this would be the fourth revision to our check. He explained well it's my computer that over charged you and I can't do anything. Finally he said he would try and fix the checks to make them reflect the special. The checks come back the fourth time and were yet again wrong. We hand them back to the server and she hands them to the man at the register and he says "What now?!" My buddy went to talk to the man at the register and asked to speak with a manager.....and you'll never guess..... the man at the register was the owner....WHAT?!?! This is your new restaurant and this is how you treat your customers? Not only did he not offer to fix the checks and apologize for the poor service. He stood behind the counter with an attitude. Seriously? This place is not worth your time, effort, or money. I really wanted to see this place be great but we won't be going back....ever.
Review Source:
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
