Fireside Grill 4.30/5

The fireside grill, judging from the name, paints a picture in your mind that you'll be sitting next to a crackling hot fireplace while awaiting a very refined savoury meal. The restaurant boasts character as a higher class eatery so one would expect that the dishes should not only be like home cooking but also be refined into something that is really astonishing. We stuck to the Dine Around Victoria menu, but entrées on their regular menu started around $20 and went up from there.

The restaurant has a very nice, warm atmosphere with gentle yellow candle lights and it does have at least two gas fireplaces that you can sit next to. The place was very clean and has been kept very well after being established for so many years. They also have a patio outside that is open during the summer. The service was above par and had it not been for a lack of explanation on some of the meals they would have had a perfect score. We also noted that our server took awhile to return with drinks after the entrées were served.

Both Mr. Blue and Mr. Pink ordered from the Dine Around Victoria $20 menu…

We both had the carrot camembert soup, topped with garlic croutons as our starter and thought it was probably the highlight of the meal. It was smooth, slightly sweet, and savoury. But why only two garlic croutons? They were fantastic!
 
Mr. Blue: I had braised lamb with seashell pasta for the entrée, and a house-made tiramisu for dessert. The braised lamb was very tender and full of flavour. It was cooked incredibly well and was delicious.
However the seashell pasta was not as good a combination as I would have imagined with the braised lamb. It was good, but it left the lamb feeling like it was separate as seashell pasta does not absorb the natural braised juices as easily as say risotto, rice, potatoes, or something a bit starchy.
The tiramisu was definitely house-made and it was very delectable with tiny, crunchy bits of chocolate inside. My only complaint is that the spoon that they gave us was too large to make it to the bottom of the glass. I could not reach the rest of the sweet dessert which resided in the bottom corners of a slightly pear-shaped glass.
If the meal was $15 or $17 instead of $20, or if it included a drink like coffee/tea, then it would have scored perfectly to me on value.

Mr. Pink: For my entrée I had duck confit served on a potato cake thing, drizzled with a sour cherry sauce. Some parts were a little stringy, but it wasn’t too tough and the fat and skin was incredibly tastey. The cherry sauce really helped bring some contrast to the dish, as well as made it more visually pronounced. The potato cake and the vegetables were satisfying and contributed to making this a hearty, comforting dish.
I had the berry tart for dessert, which was a pretty good balance of sour and sweet. It was a thin, graham crumb-type crust with a thin layer of berry goodness on top. It was good, but nothing really special.

Overall the experience was a pleasant one and we would recommend The Fireside Grill to others. The atmosphere, food, and service was enjoyable, and would be a fine choice to go on a date, or for a celebration with family and friends. They had no difficulties accommodating for our table of seven. That said, if it wasn’t for the special Dine Around Victoria event, we probably wouldn’t have gone just for the heck of it.

Mr. Blue’s opinion…
Taste: 1.75/2.00
Value: 0.80/1.00
Atmosphere/cleanliness: 0.90/1.00
Service: 0.90/1.00

Overall: 1.75 + 0.80 + 0.90 + 0.90 = 4.35 / 5.00

Mr. Pink’s opinion…
Taste: 1.80
Value: 0.75
Atmosphere/cleanliness: 0.90
Service: 0.85

Overall: 4.30 / 5.00