Fireside Crafted Food & Spirits

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  The remodel and makeover of Wetherington Pub & Grill is impressive! The decor is sleek and attractive and the energy of the place is great. A see-through fire place separates tow dining areas - the bar side features bar seating, bar height tables and boots and the other side of the fireplace is more conventional seating for families and a more quiet here is a dining area on one side of the dining  The staff is engaging and fun.
  
  After reading the review in The Dispatch, I was excited to see the transformation and try the food. Reading some of the other Yelp reviews, it is obvious that the restaurant was working out some of the opening kinks in the operation. I am happy to report that none of the problems reported in other reviews were observed during our visit. I agree with John W. - anyone expecting everything to be perfect with a newly opened restaurant, simply doesn't understand the dynamics of opening a new restaurant. The Dispatch article was a little premature and didn't allow the restaurant to reach peak performance.
  
  Chef Jeffrey Wilson deserve kudos for the creative small plate menu that provides fresh, made-from-scratch food with innovative twists on old and new favorites.
  
  The crab soup has a generous portion of fresh crab served in a rich cream broth with a touch of sherry. We enjoyed the beef sliders - three sliders that are loaded with sauteed peppers and onions, bacon and choice of cheese (we chose the bleu cheese). These great burgers that are attractively plated on long plate.
  
  The short ribs really fall of the bone - large portion of meat, enough for sharing. The bacon-wrapped shrimp and grits were excellent, service with a black-eyed pea relish. Try the roasted root vegetables - good portion size and properly prepared root-style veggies.
  
  Can't wait to go back and cruise the menu. Congratulations!

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  Posted on 04.28.13 Robert W.

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  Fireside Crafted Food & Spirits... hmmmm.  That's putting a lot of words into a new brand.  Oh well,.... let's move on.
  
  Big surprise when I walked in as I was expecting something like the New Old Christina make-over.  I mean, Julie Louis-Dreyfus will always be Elaine Benes yet she can pull off sitcom magic.  Fireside is nothing .... Nothing"!" like what was once there.  The makeover includes a see-through fireplace in the front one-third of the restaurant, wood, brushed aluminum, rock and granite as interior design combos.  It's nice.  Still, I sat at the granite bar for a lunchtime visit and it felt almost cold inside.  Fireside hasn't cracked the daytime cozyness the fireplace probably brings to an evening visit.
  
  Sticker shock!  The beer-tender shot me a glass of diet-PEPSI and handed over a menu.  Okay... no nachos, no taco salad, no hot wings..... Nope.  Not Wedgewood Pub any longer.  Today's menu has grilled salmon sandwich, flatbread of the day, Fireside salad(s), crab soup and such "new" items.  I found one item on the entree list for under $10 and that was the soup.  There are add-ons ala carte that range in price from $5 - $7 thereabouts..... but this was all new food & pricing to me.
  
  My orders was half-sandwich & salad combo.  I did the lightly battered chicken breast on slider buns with provolne cheese and a hint of bacon.  My garden salad was ordered with strawberry vinegarette dressing.  This all came at a price tag of $10 and some change.  Tasty!  Yes, the food was hot & tasty and because I felt like I'd managed the order, price wise, I think it may have tasted even better.
  
  Fireside Crafted Food & Spirits (there's that name again) might just be a nice break from the pub-grub once served as this location.  Adjusting to the price might be another story entirely.  Now,.... where are all the ski bunnies with their feet resting on the fireplace knocking back toddies?

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  Posted on 04.15.13 Walt S.

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  My wife and I came in for the first time due to the articles in the Columbus Dispatch and the Local paper. We entered the restaurant and there was no one to greet us or to manage tables. The place has two entrances which does not help either. One of the wait staff finally came to help us and another guest. I gather that they are still seriously working out the kinks. A bar tender took care of us at a table near the bar. Nice looking place. They are trying to be an upscale bar with better food then BW3's. The wait staff had no idea how to handle the table. I had to ask for napkins, forks those sort of things. The food was just ok. My wife's crab cake salad was small and fishy smelling. The crab cake was all crab which was a nice change. I had the meatloaf and cheese grits. The meatloaf was tasty, but totally cold. The grits were very good. Two martinis (during happy hour), two plates, one side and the bill was $50. That is a bit much for what we got. In a month or so, we will try again, and see if they have figured everything out. One other item, this is not a place for kids, not at all. They do not even have a kids menu. In Powell/Liberty township where there are a lot of families, this is going to be a big issue for them. Are they trying to be a bar or a  restaurant, or both. Not sure. They need to work that out. Great attempt, needs alot of work.

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  Posted on 04.06.13 Brian A.

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  This was an unbelievably awful experience.  Not just bad, but rude wait staff.  I have to say this is the first time in my life a server has told me to be quiet, he wasn't stupid and began to tell me how he was on a path to being an engineer.  Food was weak at best.  Came out cold and over cooked.  The chef made a valiant attempt to correct his serves rudeness, but it was to little to late.  Atmosphere was not at all as expected.  More on the cheap sports bar level.  Definitely not worth the drive.   I predict a new restaurant coming soon to this location.

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  Posted on 04.03.13 Steve F.

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  This was an terrible experience. One waitress working took 40 min to get food which was bad. We ordered chicken sliders that were dry and over cooked. A brisket salad that had huge chunks of lettuce that couldn't be cut due to the fact we didn't get a knives. No water refills. We were going to leave when food appeared I'm window. Owner/manager didn't seem to care. Should of left and hit McDonald's across street. Good luck to this place I won't ever be back.

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  Posted on 04.03.13 Craig S.

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