On a recent trip to Reno I decided to give Spitfire a try. Â I was pleasantly surprised. Â The curry was very good and the bar tenders were lively and friendly.
I returned the next day and really like the authentic fish in the Fish and Chips, the chips were not authentic, but were still very good.
I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a good night out, I look forward to returning to Reno and maybe catching one of the live acts one night.
Well, I was born and raised in Yorkshire, so I was keen to try the Yorkshire puddings.
While not the same as mum makes, they are the most authentic I've had in the US outside of my own kitchen. Let down slightly by the gravy, which was thick and over-seasoned for my taste.
Then moved on to the fish & chips.
Fish, and the batter, were again the best I've had in the US, just let down by the "chips" which were wedge cut fries. Not authentic, but most Americans would frown at authentic Brit chips, so I understand the need to satisfy the locals with more Americanized fries.
The tried the dessert platter with good tasting custard, great fruit crumble.
David the chef came out to personally greet the party I was in. Had a wonderful time here.
Highly recommended.
Missing one star only because of the lack of authenticity on the fries (chips) and gravy.
We tried this place after the RN&R came out, and really wanted to like it. We started out with the coconut shrimp and found them greasy and lacking in taste, salt or spice would have helped a lot. My husband had a beer, and I had a glass of wine, that wasn't even 1/4 full for $10!!! I nursed it as slowly as I could, but service was so s-l-o-w, that I needed another glass with lunch, which was shephard's pie for me, and the waygu burger for my husband. We were sorely disappointed with these items, too. To tell the truth, I had much better shephard's pie from Cafe 1001 at UNR when it was there! This was greasy, flavorless, and filled with canned peas and greasy meat. It was supposedly topped with "garlic mash," but I was darned if I could taste any garlic in those taters. My husband's burger was also tasteless, and he asked for "crispy" fries, but what he got was soggy, greasy fries, there was nothing crispy about them. We waited so long for our entrees that my husband ordered another beer, too, so by the time we were done, we spent over $60 for lunch, including tip. That's far too much to spend for this disappointing meal, and suffice it to say, we won't be back.
Oh, and I heard another patron complaining there weren't any paper towels in the women's restroom, as she was wiping her hands on her napkins at the table. Ewwwww.
Went here with a group of 8, it was very busy but the staff were very accommodating. We started off with cheddar spinach dip and spitfire wings. The dip was delicious and easily shared between 8. The wings were very good, just the right amount of spiciness. The fish in the fish and chips basket was one very large piece and tasted good. Prime Rib, shephard's pie and chicken tenders off the kids menu were also ordered and I heard no complaints. For dessert we all shared apple crumble (which is served warm), chocolate mocha cake (served cold) and spitfire cheesecake (served nearly frozen) all tasted good. The place is on the loud side although, it is a nice spacious place with a fun vibe and decent food
Review Source:My wife and I were in town for the evening staying near the airport. Â We were actually looking for another location but pulled in to Spitfire and are very glad we did. Â Being Easter Sunday it was not very crowded but really enjoyed seating at the bar and having some dinner. Â The clam chowder was very good followed by some coconut shrimp and chicken wings. Â Terrance the bartender was very hospitable and we had a nice evening. Â Will definately go back when in the Reno area again!
Pete
San Clemente, CA
We went on a Friday Night after the "Reno News and Review" positive review came out. It was pretty crowded. We were seated right away and our order was timely taken. I ordered the Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding. My wife a spicy Prawn dish. Our dinners were served 40 minutes later. The roast beef was warn, not hot it appeared to have been warmed over as one edge was grey and more well done. The Yorkshire Pudding was NOT Yorkshire Pudding, it was a Popover. Yorkshire Puddings are supposed to be the same dough but with Roast Beef drippings which were definitely absent. The Gravy was thick, tasteless brown gravy which is probably a British staple. My Wife enjoyed her Prawns but would have preferred it served with rice. Mashed Potatoes, again a British staple, seemed wildly inappropriate for the Prawns.
After waiting a bit for the check, I handed over my credit card and had a ten minute, or more, wait to get it back. It did seem that Spitfire was understaffed. I think that there was only one waitress for our half of the restaurant.
The decor and furnishing were low rent British. Model Spitfires hanging from the ceiling and WW2 posters on the wall over the Bar.
My Wife and I did not feel that the food was good enough to go back to see if the service is better at a later date.
This is authentic English food. Â I happen to be from England. Â I like the fact that they serve University of Nevada grassfed (local of course) meats although it's only when they can get it. Â This is a big restaurant and bar with a good sized bar area. Â I didn't like Firkin'n'Fox because their bar was tiny, and they're closed now. Â The food selection here is much better and larger than Foley's although Foley's has good specials from time to time. Â Kitchen doesn't stay open as late as Foley's though. Â They also have a small cabinet of English candy (sweets) and condiments for sale although at the time they didn't have a price list. Â The service was spotty and slow and the bar wasn't that packed and they weren't under staffed. Â Average bar experience but great food and food selection especially the authentic English type and they have a real English chef.
Review Source:I really wanted to like this place. Unfortunately my experience there was just okay. My husband and I went in one night. There was nobody at the hostess station so we sat and waited. After about five minutes a waitress finally realized we were there and sat us. We then realized that the bartender was sitting at the bar texting and didn't even bother to serve us. We were the only customers in the restaurant so I can write that off as them being slow and unaware.
I ordered the waygu burger and by husband got the English dip. My husband's sandwich was okay, but not anything special. It's also served with brown gravy instead au jus. We didn't really care for the gravy and the sandwich was lukewarm instead of hot. The burger was an okay burger, but the meat lacked seasoning. A little salt and pepper would go a long way. The worst part was how greasy the burger was. Not only was it literally dripping down my hands, but there was a rather large puddle of grease on my plate. The bun actually started to break up because of the amount of grease.
There were some positives about the visit. Once our waitress sat us she was very attentive and friendly. Try the cheesecake! It was delicious. The crust tasted like it had cinnamon in it, the filling was creamy and rich, and it was topped with a fabulous raspberry sauce.
We really wanted to love this place; nice atmosphere, service is great, nice bar selection. Unfortunately, while the food shows promise it's only okay. The fish and chips were very good, not greasy but needed salt. The British dip sandwich was good except for the gravy which was heavy and in desperate need of salt. . The bangers and mash was a split decision; the bangers were great, meaty and flavorful. Problem is they were covered in the same uninspired gravy. So many things in need of salt and it cannot always be added after the fact. Â The chef needs to add some to the gravy, salt the meat before cooking it; anyone who turns on The Food Network already knows this. For dessert we had the mocha cake (awesome), the creme brulee (very good) and the bread pudding which we sent back, not good. Â Maybe they were going for savory, if so should have said on the menu. Â It needed sugar like the gravy needs salt and was made with rye bread complete with caraway seeds. I like rye but not as a dessert. Â Will try again, hoping the kitchen finds its legs and, most importantly, spice rack. If not, it really is old school British cuisine and that is not a good thing.
Review Source:We ordered the crab cakes for an app. It had good flavor, I wish it had more of a crispy crust and a little more sauce on the side.
I ordered the waygu burger which comes with your choice of cheese and bacon. Holy cow this burger was awesome! It required no mayo, mustard or ketchup. Just a wonderfully juicy piece of meat. The burger came with fries. These are some of the best fries I have ever had. They look hand cut and are fried to perfection.
My husband ordered the Sheperds Pie. I only had one bite and the flavor was good. My husband liked it a lot and he loves Sheperds Pie.
I wish we had saved room for dessert because there are a few options that sound great. We will be back soon.
After looking at the photographs here on Yelp, I was expecting something really out of the ordinary. It looked like there was a lot of English pub food, but like a fool I ordered the rib eye because one my eye hits that magic word it stops. It was pretty much nondescript and unmemorable. Fries were decent. Or "chips," I guess.
The wife got her drink from the bar very quickly, but I had to wait for my martini for some reason. And wait. It was a kick-ass martini when it finally arrived, though. But given the number of people in the place- which was like ten, including us, I was expecting it a lot quicker.
Anyway, my disappointment with the ribeye would not stop me from coming in again to try some of the pub food, if I were ever in the neighborhood again, which I won't be.
I saw this restaurant in the "new" restaurants section of Yelp. Plus, Robert's review looked great and made me want to give this new place a try. Looking on the map, it didn't look too hard to find, although coming from the south up Longley and making a left onto McCarran doesn't let you turn left into the parking lot due to the median. I'm hoping they get a sign up soon, as there isn't any real indication of just where this Spitfire place is...OK, except for the neon beer sign in the window....I figured that meant bar!
The inside was much nicer then the outside would indicate. I came here with my sis and my BF. We were greeted promptly and seated in a nice booth. It's a nice modern pubish decor. The inside is quite large with many tables and booths along with the bar. I see on the website, there is live music on some nights.
The beer list is decent with many selections of bottled beers and several on tap. We had Icky's all round. Now, with Robert's description of the Chocolate Bacon Appetizer, I just had to give that a try. Wow, this is one appetizer you all gotta try. ($8.00). Its thick bacon dipped in a decent quality chocolate served with a spicy dipping sauce. This might sound weird but it really works well. One thing I guess that surprised me was the bacon is served chilled, I guess it need to be otherwise the chocolate might be a mess.
Looking over the menu, there was quite a selection, from appetizers of wings and fried pork belly, and sandwiches of beef dips and burgers. Entrees included English things like Shepard's pie and fish and chips. Go to the website to see the full menu with prices included.
We ordered the fish and chips ($12) and the Wagyu Burger ($12), which was really a 1/2 pound bacon cheese burger, with served with fries (chips or frites or whatever you call'em). I guess we could of tried some of the more unusual offerings, but this being the first time here, we ordered some standard items to compare. I had the fish and chips. It comes with a single large piece of fish and chips. I was offered 3 different kinds of malt vinegar to go with he dish. One offered is a true British import  and the other 2 were made in USA. I thought that was a nice touch. I really like my fish (and batter!) and the fries looked to be hand cut, instead of the regular frozen ones...I'm so glad they weren't those crinkle cut fries. My fish was also served with what was called "mushy peas". Not such an appetizing name, but I liked them. People might get the little ramekin of peas confused with guacamole or wasabi! The burgers looked and were great. My BF ordered med rare and it actually came out as requested. No small feat in today's burger market. The bun was a heavier thicker bun as opposed to those white squishy buns the all fall apart. I had a bite of my BF's, very tasty! My sis really liked the burger too. I liked the bacon they have here too, nice and thick! Just one small complaint, please, maybe up the portions of fries just a bit, not like double or anything, but maybe a quarter more fries would make it fabulous. I know in Europe, big portions of food are not the norm, but this is Reno Nevada and we like lots of fries....the fries are so damn tasty here too! My side of coleslaw was great too. It tasted house made, not out of the big food service container.
After the fish and burgers and beer, we were all stuffed, so we passed on dessert. The service was super friendly and quick. The place was still not too full, but they just opened, and need a sign outside. I'm definitely coming back! Do give this new restaurant and bar a try! Its great to find a new place here in town that I like!
Went back today for my third trip. Â This time we were all in a burger mood. Â So burgers it was. Â I got to try the Spirtfire Waygu burger. Â My wife and son both ordered the basic 1/3 lb burger and my daughter ordered up the grilled cheese, cadet meal.
We all were able to try the chocolate bacon appetizer. Â Cool flavors, especially with the spicy sauce. Â This was $8 and worth every penny. Â Good thick bacon. Â Presentation was a little different. Â I probably wouldn't have gone for the "cocktail" presentation but more of a flat square white plate presentation. Â It's probably against some rule cause it would look too much like dessert. Â Anyway the flavor was there and so was the value. Â Serve it in a paper cup for all I care. Â Just glad they have it.
The Waygu burger was a 1/2 lb of deliciousness. Â A lightly toasted bun fresh tomato onion and lettuce with a choice of cheddar, american, jack, swiss and pepperjack cheese. Â I chose the Jack for comparisons. Â And big chunks of bacon. Â It came with no other condiments on it. Â No mayo, mustard or ketchup. Â I added ketchup and dug in.
The burger was perfectly cooked to order and juicy and flavorful. Â The bun held together and wasn't too big. Â It was just a perfect burger. Â Maybe they should rename this the Goldilocks burger cause everything was "just right" today. Â I was given the option of fries or salad so I chose the salad to keep the carbs as low as possible. Â An excellent portion of salad finished filling the plate and the mustard dressing was awesome. Â Sweet but fairly heady in it's flavor as well.
My wife and son both ordered the fries with their burgers. Â Skinny fries for my son and steak fries for my wife. Â They were less "steak" and more fresh cut fries. Â Steak fries reminds me of wide thick flat frozen, but these were good and fresh with some skin still on. Â The skinny fries were standard fries.
At the end we all were able to share a cheesecake dessert with three different sauces. Â I myself liked the Pineapple. Â But just barely more than the strawberry or raspberry.
On a previous trip I ordered the Fish and Chips, they were totally awesome, and I am told they are more authentically English than anything else in town. Â
As I mentioned in one of my tips while checking in, the soda of choice is just a "bar brand". Â This is fine for most drinks and is a great way to avoid the soda wars, but I personally have always found the bar brands to never have a good carbonation/syrup mix. Â So maybe they will soon get one of the bigger names in to be the choice.
A few more side notes. Â Business seems to be doing well. Â And if they keep the quality of the food and service as high as my first three trips....this place will keep the people coming. Â Sure it's location is a little tough to get into from certain directions. Â But it's well worth the trip.
Prices are fair and make this a place I would think of on any night.
Had the french toast for breakfast today it was simply amazing!
Later in the day i decided to come back for lunch with a couple of friends visiting town.
This place is pronominal!
The service is superb and very friendly.
I actually know the owner and i know he does good business and is really passionate about every costumers experience.
you will leave this place with a smile!
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