This was my first time to Ringwood, so was clueless when it came to finding somewhere decent to eat that wasn’t too far of a detour on our way through to Healesville. I did a bit of research and came across The Firehouse Restaurant & Bar, which looked exactly like what we needed for our Friday night feast.
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
Once an old Firehouse (hence the name), this gorgeous building has been transformed into the trendy restaurant you now see. The main doors the trucks would have once used are still in tack and have become a great focal point for diners. Inside, the restaurant is quite spacious with several different dining spaces. To the left is a small more intimate dining space with only a hand full of tables. To the right, you walk into the main dining space and bar area.
Moving to the back of the restaurant is the separate small bar with comfy lounge chairs, for those who are after just a drink. The decor of the space is a bit dated, however very cosy and welcoming. Dark floors and furniture fill the space and large light fixtures hang from the ceiling.
The service was attentive and very friendly. We had a few different waiters/waitresses look after our table, all of whom were very polite and had some great interactions with.
FOOD
Focusing on Mediterranean style cuisine, The Firehouse offers a range of delicious dishes from shared entrees, pastas and juicy steaks. To start we ordered the ‘Garlic Popcorn Chicken’ with dill sauce. The only problem here is we didn’t order enough! The chicken came out piping hot, with a crunchy exterior and juicy meat, which once dipped in the dill sauce, was heaven!
Our next two entrees were the ‘Spiced Lamb Ribs’ with honey tzatziki, pomegranate and coriander followed by the ‘Pan Fried Saganaki’ with vincotto vinaigrette, fig, pistachio and roquette. Again two amazing dishes and left us all wanting more. As I’m not the biggest lamb lover, I let the rest of the group enjoy it while I enjoyed the perfectly pan fried saganaki.
For my main, I ordered the ‘Char Grilled Spatchcock’, which was herb marinated and topped with leek, heirloom carrots and jus gras. I wouldn’t say this was my favourite dish of the night, however it was tasty. The jus gras was delicious and brought some amazing flavours through from the spatchcock, however there was still something missing from the dish.
My girlfriend ordered the ‘Wagyu Beef & Mushroom Pappardelle’ served with a parmesan wafer. I did sneak in a quick bite of hers and must admit, it was delicious. The pappardelle was cooked to perfection, the thick pieces of beef were cooked medium rare and the mushrooms brought an earthy sweet finish to the dish.
Overall I was pleasantly happy with our decision to dine here. Although Ringwood is a bit of a hike for us to get to, I would love to pop back in here on our way through to Yarra Valley and have another feed here.
