(See pics) Review #1323. Slightly salty Margherita pizza so you will probably need to grab a beer or a coke. Plenty of seating and a couple outlets to charge your phone. They probably should have more frequent cleaning and re-organizing the chairs. The place just did not look inviting.
Review Source:Inner turmoil of this review. And for what? Who reads Yelp reviews of restaurants inside airport terminals?
But here we go: first of all, the pizza is very, very tasty. Well done with all the ingredients and making it pop out and taste very good.
Here are the problems: the pizza is literally a hot mess. You can't eat it with your hands, because the toppings and cheese fall off. You can't eat it with a knife and fork because a) I didn't see any provided and b) they come in these superfluous cardboard pizza boxes like the kind you get for DELIVERY. That is not a plate for cutting (were there any utensils to cut with (but really that's my problem because I didn't look very hard)).
Also, the pizza is very, very hot. Very hot. For those of us on the go in airports and don't have like 120 seconds to let it cool off or don't have those 120 seconds because who is going to stare at their favorite food for TWO MINUTES and not eat it? (As I type my tongue probes the shredded remains of the roof of my mouth.) Again, MY FAULT, I GET IT.
Third problematic issue regarding this overly long review no one will ever read: way too pricey! $15 for a pie and a water?! I KNOW I'm in SF, and I KNOW I'm in an airport, but come on...
Go two stores down to the bakery that sells these awesome sourdough sandwiches. Unless you are a pizza junky like me, that is. You'll be fine. Tastes great!
Not bad for an airport pizza restaurant. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality and full flavor of the pizza. I got the mushroom pizza ($10.75) and it was pretty good. The crust was thin and crispy, and just big enough for one person. The toppings were well balanced too - not too cheesy or saucy... two sins that far two many pizza parlors are guilty of.
This was also a good place to hang out while waiting for a long-delayed flight. The seating area overlooks the floor below, so you can people watch if you're bored. The restaurant has plenty of seating, so you don't feel rushed to leave either. I wouldn't hesitate to come back here if I was stuck in this airport again in the future.
Not a 4 star place, but definitely better than standard airport fare. Â Crust is a little underwhelming, undercooked in the middle, probably so they can get it out to people. Â Red wine costs nearly 20% more than white, no reason why. Â I wouldn't have minded if there were small bottles I could take on my flight, but no such luck. Â Pizza is overall somewhat decent. Â Extra credit for offering a buzzer to let people know their stuff is ready rather than making them crowd around a waiting area.
Review Source:It's not bad, not amazing, but definitely a huge improvement over the typical Sbarro airport stuff you're normally forced to consume if you are in the mood for pizza and stuck at the spaceport. Â I somehow managed to finish an entire pizza on my own, although I think I was regretting it for the next couple of hours.
Review Source:One of the best airport restaurants I've been to! The thin crust pizzas are amazing...must try the pesto pizza, so flavorful and crispy.
The service is pretty quick, it took 10 minutes for us to receive our order. This is plus if you don't have much time before boarding. I would always confirm with the cashier incase there is a long line ahead. We also tried the pasta salad and that was okay.
There really isn't a fast food option in this terminal like MacDonalds so if I am going to pay the same price for a sandwich in other cafes I'd rather get a fresh oven baked pizza from Firewood.
Not bad...
Picked up a pesto chicken pizza to eat on the airplane during a layover and I thought it was yummy but nothing special. Plus, true to airport price abuse, it was kind of expensive.
I did appreciate that they gave little packets of parmesan cheese and hot pepper flakes but I lost them somewhere in transit (made me really sad).
The employees move rather quickly and get your order to you fast.
I was really impressed by many things on my visit here. First of all, what a great view! I love watching planes from up there and a great view of the hills to the west.
Second, I was really impressed with their clam chowder. Not the best I've had, but much better than most. It was hot, chunky, flavorful and rich. The only down side is they don't have crackers to go along with it. Sure, the toasted facaccia bread is devine, but there is something to be said about crackers with clam chowder.
Next, the pizza was great. Thin crust, limp in the middle, crunchy on the edges. The toppings were thrown on haphazardly. I like things a little better spread out. The sausage was tasty, the 2 kinds of peppers were a nice touch, and I substituted shrooms for onions...WIN!
Bar staff was hit and miss. One guy, Henry, was nice and attentive. The other guy was efficient in service, Â but ignored me for the first 5 minutes and never did try initiate any conversation.
Biggest disappointment however, was that they use huge pizza boxes even for dine-in. It's such a waste. They really should use plates.
* Airport pizza *
After security the international terminal at SFO doesn't have much of a selection in terms of food. Â I had bumped into a colleague prior to security and ended up chatting and going through security a bit earlier than I would have normally. Â
After my colleague caught his flight, I then found myself a bit hungry without many options, and I certainly wasn't going to go through another search from the TSA to eat!
Enter Firewood. Â
Service was ridiculously bad. Â It was VERY hard to get anybody's attention and place an order. I finally did and ordered the margherita pizza.
It was produced pretty quickly and was a thin crust version. Â The crust was slightly soggy and didn't have much of a char. Â This was a shame, because it seemed like they had a serious oven and could have produced a nice crust.
There was a bit too much grease, which perhaps could have been baked off if they baked the pizza just a bit longer. Â
One little piece of finely shredded fresh basil seemed like they were skimping as well. Â
Oh well, it is an airport. Â What do you expect?
Although I didn't order my pizza with a topping of grease, it still came with it. I guess it's an added perk for paying airport prices ($10) for what should be $6.
If you can get past the grease (and I could, it's pizza people!) it's not a bad little pie. It takes 5-7 minutes for your pizza to create itself (with the help of the friendly guy behind the counter), so be prepared to be tempted by dessert place right across the way.
Jackpot!! A huge improvement over regular airport fare.
They have a full bar which is great. There is lots of open seating. The location is good too since it is away from the crowds and in a corner.
The thin crust pizza was delicious and not expensive. I liked the chicken pesto which came with liberal toppings. What's not to like??
Not a whole lot of stuff in this terminal (we were flying Virgin).  But Fireside café had a full bar and tables so it was good enough.  We sat at the bar and waited for the rest of the group to arrive.  Ordered wine, beer and garlic fries.  The fries aren't Gorden Biersch, but they weren't bad.  Hot, crunchy, salty goodness to bloat you before your flight.  We ended up eating dinner here too - and I got the steak kabobs.  They were the saddest, sorriest little kabobs I've ever seen.  Mostly a piece of skirt steak skewered onto a stick.  More fries and a corn on the cob came with my dinner. Â
Ultimately it's airport terminal food so I'm never sure why I have any expectations at all. Â The wine was good, the bartender fast and I enjoyed my fries - I'll just stick to that for next time.
Like many, I like to get a little bit and a drink before the flight. Â They suck. Â I still go here, I guess because I usually leave from these gates. Â
What is it with the cardboard pizza boxes; especially when you are clearly eating at the small cramped bar? This must make a mountain of cardboard trash by the days end. I saw no effort to recycle - my box when into the same trash as my uneaten Martini olive.
...and why pour a 3 oz Martini (with way too much Vermouth) and then pour the extra 1 oz. into a shot glass, as if to do me some kind of 'favor'. Â Thanks, just pour it all into a real Martini glass - hold the Vermouth.
It's a ritual of mine to roll by Firewood Cafe when passing through SFO. Â First thing first - I LOVE PIZZA. Â You can't fuck up pizza, and even shitty pizza is good pizza, good pizza is excellent pizza, and excellent pizza is murder your best friend pizza.
So Firewood Cafe ranks on the lower end of the spectrum, but still falls into the shady "good" moniker. Â Again, no diarrhea, but not touch-myself-worthy. Â So why am I giving it 4 stars?
Well, I am thoroughly entertained by the Chinese owners/staff who clearly do not want to be there. Â If you ask them enough questions, they will bark at you, and try to get your food to you as quick as possible so that they don't have to deal with ignorant round-eye. Â Don't request anything special either, because any deviation from the menu will cost you an arbitrary amount decided by cashier. Â I always ask for a veggie option on my pepperoni pizza, and it has cost me anywhere from free, to 2.50. Â Oh the thrill of anticipation!
"you want what? Â no pizza for you!"
OK, so they don't completely suck... they're just a notch above the Mendoza Line.
Dove in for a quick breakfast en route to San Diego this morning, and it wasn't half bad (but in the immortal words of my boys Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets, it wasn't half good, either!). Certainly wasn't worth $8, Â but it's an airport, so really, what can I expect?
The coffee is A-OK, though... but that's more a nod to the folks at Peets than it is the Firewood Cafe.
One last stop for food before my flight back to Los Angeles. Â I went to the nearest food joint near my terminal.
I ordered sausage pizza for my dinner part I. Â It was thin crust pizza with sausage, onion and cheese on top. Â My pizza was super salty and the sausage was whatever. Â 2 stars.
One good thing about this place was the location. Â I didn't have to rush going to my terminal and I could see the airplanes from the window.
They also sell ice cream. Â I grabbed Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia for my daily calcium intake. Â I ate half and the other half went to the cute looking trash can.
Firewood Cafe is not yummylicious!!
Not a bad place for a quick breakfast at the airport. Â I had the veggie scramble, which was good (though I wish I had asked for it with egg whites) and it came with some AMAZING focaccia bread. Â It was (as expected) pricey, over 10 bucks for what was basically a medium-to-small sized portion of scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese and a piece of bread.
Disclaimer: it is possible I was still drunk from the night before, so eat with caution. Â
The service was incredibly un-smiley, though pretty fast.  The bar was  well stocked and had a big TV, so if I were stuck here on a layover, I wouldn't mind hanging out here.
Thanks for the hangover food guys.
The best clam chowder in a sourdough bowl that I've had in a very long time! Â Lots of potatoes and clams, yummy fresh flavor and a toasted sourdough bowl to top it off.
Firewood Cafe also has an excellent selection of beers on tap and a large flat screen for taking in sports while you're waiting for your next flight. Â
The 5th star was held back because the bartender wasn't very good at multi-tasking. Â But he was very friendly! Â :)
This place is okay - airport food, but a bit of a step above that...I wasn't really a fan of this spot, but I tried it since there were no other options.  I had a caesar  salad and a bolognese pasta dish that were okay.
If you can't find anything else in the area, this is a decent option...at least it's not totally overpriced.
I mean do you really think I'm going to give a restaurant in the airport anything more than 2 stars?!?!?! Come on...
OK, it was 6AM and they were more chipper than the "Lady K" and I BUT.... its somewhat stale Peet's Coffee and a warmed up, made by someone else breakfast sandwich, so please hold back your "you should have known better comments." :-)
Next time, a later flight and then maybe more options in the Virgin terminal! Safe travels!
You feel yourself keeling over, your bones becoming brittle and your heart atrophying. Â What is at issue here?
Is it that you have not eaten anything but 3 skittles and a couple crumbs of some sort of bread snack at the bottom of your purse? Â
Yeah... scary. Â I don't even carry a purse.
So you stop at what's available. Â A bar with a "order off this limited menu that we are uninterested in, with typically quite bad selections already poorly prepared to your right.
She got the turkey burger, I got the Cheesebuger.
It was fine. Â Edible sustenance surprisingly only sort of overpriced that was not cared for or loved at any moment of the production or cooking process.
That being said.... it is fine. Â Not too pricey, not too bad. Â And there are fries. Â Perfect for that fine smell wafting from my slack jawed yawn-napping for that neighbouring flier in 18B.
There are two Firewood Grills in the International Terminal of SFO. One is crowded and right near the first few gates, this one is near the back of the Terminal and it has a much better bar and room to sit without feeling like a sardine.
The food is just as crappy as the other location. Don't even bother with the pizzas. Every time I order one I am usually starving and then I kick myself for ordering it because it truly sucks and it's a waste of money. The breakfast fritattas aren't the worst, but I wouldn't call them the best around either.
What this does have going for it is the bar. The Pinot Grigio and the Sauv Blanc are totally decent and they give a healthy pour. They also have a full bar, so if you need a liquid courage to combat the white knuckle syndrome on the plane then you are set here. The bartenders are also pretty friendly but know when to leave you alone if you are working on your laptop. Much appreciated.
The mushroom pizza was just meh, and even though they forgot to make mine for a while, seemed to come up relatively quick. Â Never quick enough when you're staring at your watch because your flight begins boarding in 7 minutes however.
The thing that stands out oddly enough, is the vinaigrette dressing on their ready made house salad. Â Hot damn that stuff was good. Â I'm wondering if I can recreate it at home.
A solid choice in the food court.
For as clean and sleek as it is, SFO's international terminal is severely lacking in the food department. Â I guess I can accept this in a domestic terminal, but an international terminal should have excellent food options for those poor schmoes who are stuck waiting for their twelve-hour flight to board.
I was flying Virgin America from SFO's international terminal, and I needed to eat.  I checked out all the options in the A section, and Firewood Café seemed to be the best. Â
(There are two Firewood Grills, run by the same company, located in the International Terminal.  The first is pre-security, and the second one is right after security.  The restaurant I'm reviewing is Firewood Café, which is located near Gate A-12.  If that's not confusing enough for you, there are Firewood Cafés in Terminals 1 and 3.)
It was breakfast time, so I ordered the vegetable scramble. Â This was fine, except that all scrambles come with bacon. Â So in addition to having to ask specifically for them to hold the bacon, I didn't get anything to substitute for it. Â Great idea for vegetable scrambles, people. Â What about hash browns? Â Home fries? Â Something? Â The only thing worse than eating bacon is paying for it, and considering this is an international terminal, wouldn't it make sense to have fewer items that contain the kind of meat (pork) proscribed in the most cultures and religions?
Anyway, the scramble was prepared relatively quickly, and it was good for what it was. Â Actually, I was impressed by its flavor. Â The drinks are a ripoff, but you already knew that. Â The seating area for this place is actually really nice. Â You have a nice view of outside and the gates below you.
A glass of wine, a view of the runway, and the old professor sitting next to me with a suit, tie, glass of scotch and some pretzels...it was definately a Hemingway moment. Â
Yeah, sure the breadbowl and chowder could have been better (folks, we're in S.F. uhhh..) but the company and chianti you would not have run into anywhere else in the U.S.
I suggest you don't go in expecting much, I mean it's the airport and be glad it isn't a pre-made deli shop. Â They have a full bar and the game was on. Â And only in SFO will a 1950's professor be on your right and a man with spiky blond hair and a strapping sense of style drinking a cranberry and vodka be on your left.
Upon departing SFO last month, my flight was delayed by four hours, causing a chain reaction of missed connections and the very real possibility of having to spend the night on a chair at the Hong Kong airport.
While they couldn't guarantee me a hotel room in HK, Cathay Pacific instead handed me a $10 voucher for lunch at SFO's international terminal. Â Lovely.
So I treated myself to the mahi mahi sandwich, at $9.50. Â The bread was dry, the grilled fish was even drier, and all of it hurt going down. Â But at least the fries were awesome and there were a ton of them. Â
Should've gone for a bloody mary at the bar instead.
Service is fairly quick and snappy. Kinda like a last resort place for me to grab a quick bite to eat before a flight when the lines are insanely long at all the other places. Prices can be inflated... Salads are a little droppy and the pastas greasy and bland, but when you're hungry and you're pressed for time, it's not a drastically bad option. When you have 10 minutes to spare, don't eat here!!
My other option is to beg around or try to sneak into a first class lounge...
Shh. Don't tell SFO but I located a free WiFi spot in the dining area of Firewood Cafe. GODBLESS THE INTERNET!
The airport lacks in veg*n options but Firewood came to my rescue: a mushroom pizza sans cheese, a small garden salad and a large bottled water. But $18? Is it because I'm here on Easter afternoon? I'll bet drugs Jesus didn't come back from the dead and bless this food, why I'm paying so much for this meal is perverse.
Dude, it's airport food.
I woke up at 6am this morning and didn't have time for breakfast or lunch.
I wasn't expecting a French Laundry meal, just something to prevent me from passing out.
For $12 I got a personal sized margherita pizza and a nantucket nectar.
I took off two stars for charging me about $5 more than it should cost and another star because it wasn't an amazing pizza.
The views at this firewood grill are actually quite nice. You can see the runways and the bridge (I'm guessing Dumbarton bridge but not sure).
(See photos)
This place is essentially a clean and modern bar and grill inside the security in the international terminal at SFO. Â They serve a really solid burger with good shoestring fries, and a great selection of beers on tap. Â The setup is you order food at the counter or bar, and then it comes out to your table. Â We were here catching a midnight flight on literally the busiest travel day of the year, so you can only imagine how worn out the servers were. Â If I didn't know any better, I'd call the person at the counter a word that starts with 'b' and rhymes with witch, but it wouldn't be fair after dealing with literally 140,000 people coming through the airport that day.
Still, depending on what side of the international terminal you're on, you either have this place on the one side, or Andale on the other, so either way you're good to go for a place to fuel up before embarking on your overseas journey.
Prices are aggressive, but, hey, it's the airport, and you're either here on business travel so you can expense it, or you're on vacation, so don't worry about it. Â After all, once you're overseas, your US dollar isn't worth much anyway.
Firewood has two locations in the International Terminal - one is a "cafe," one is a "grill." The grill location felt the busier of the two - and was a bit cozier.
I was looking for a place to eat dinner, have a beer or two, and watch the Thursday evening ESPN college football game. Â Both locations had TVs - however the grill was quiet compared to the Firewood Cafe - the bad thing was they had four tiny analog style/CRT TVs - with no sound - and they were unwilling to turn up the volume so you could hear the game. The guy sitting next to me at the bar was wearing a suit, reading a book, and sipping a glass of red wine. I guess they did not want to annoy their more well-heeled customers. Â :-)
I got an order of fries and a Foster's beer. The fries were good and crispy and the Foster's was good and cold. But it was not enough to make me stay. So I went in search of better TV offerings.
Among places to eat at the airport, this is one of the best. I think their menu is a little smaller than the other locations in the City, but they still put out stellar thin crust pizzas.
For just a couple dollars more you can get a pizza at the airport that isn't full of cheap cheese, sitting under a heat lamp, and in a tiny box labeled "Pizza Hut."
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