Fire & Vine — Restaurant in Cookeville

Fire and Vine- a review.

Went here with some friends to tonight...figured we would check out the rooftop bar. Cool setup, with a great view. Late afternoon/ evening is a perfect time to have a drink and enjoy being outdoors. I ordered the rum/ pineapple mule, my wife ordered a gin lavender cocktail off their specialty drink menu. The bartender said the gin used for that they didn't have in stock at the moment. And were confused and frustrated when we asked to supplement that gin with another. I asked if they had Hendrick's gin and if we would order the drink with that to replace the one they didn't have, and the bartender suggested another. So we went with her suggestion. As she was putting in the order she seemed to get slightly hateful with the other bartender about our order and making it difficult. Which we were by no means doing.

The cocktails were decent and refreshing, but not great for $12

Service was...well...lacking. The bartenders were rude and our server struggled with communication. Simple people and professional skills are not that difficult. Being polite should be a common trait in the service industry.

We tried to tab out at the bar before being sat at our table, which we were upfront about when we ordered drinks, and were asked twice if we were going to pay, after we had already asked for the check and had our cards out ready to go. The bartender rudely said something under her breath as she stormed off to get the check. And again complained about us to the other bartender at the register.

When we were ready to be seated, we were not greeted by the hostes when we got there. They seemed to be arguing with each other over another table's seating. After a couple minutes they acknowledged we were standing there and took us too our table.

The menu options are kind of all over the place. But we decided to start with what would be an over priced charcuterie board- the vine. Everything tasted good. But only 3 paper thin slices of cheese came with the bacon, bread, dips and prosciutto. Over priced for what we got as an appetizer.

I had the neapolitan pizza. I made a custom one, thought it was very tasty. But for a personal pizza at $28...a little over priced. Not as good as Marioochi's in Sparta (which is a way better overall experience)

I asked server for a wine list/ cocktail menu. Only for her to come back with a Moscow mule I didn't order, when I just wanted a menu. I also had to remind her to take the unordered drink off my ticket...

Overall. Pizza was good, friend's short rib pasta got a good review as well.

Prices are a little high but not terrible.

But service and drink menu could use a much needed overhaul.

I think with a little more time being open, hopefully the staff will become more familiar with the restaurant business.

I was a bartender and server during my college and grad school years. I know how it can be. But this was just unprofessional and a little sloppy to be a nice new restaurant in the area. I feel like the overall experience could be much greater.

I'll give it one more shot. If not for the rooftop bar, I probably...

My wife and I were looking for a great quiet dinner so we waited until about 8:30 and opted to sit in the dining room as opposed to the rooftop bar. The parking lot was crowded so it must have been busy upstairs. We were immediately greeted by two hostesses and sat in a cozy booth near the bar. Cole, our waiter, appeared at our table within a minute or two of us sitting and gave us a great welcome into the restaurant. We told him this was our first visit but had heard about Fire and Vine when our 18 year old went there on a date earlier this year. Cole was great to make some menu suggestions as we ordered a cocktail and started with the bruschetta appetizer. Luckily, due to an extra order, we also got to sample the chèvre, which was absolutely delicious. I ordered the ribeye and substituted fries, which we laughed about as i said I wanted ketchup, but not for the ribeye. The ribeye was perfectly cooked with a delicious demi-glaze and was a great size and perfect cut. The fries were great and so were the skinny green beans. Cole initiated a great rapport with the wife and I as we cut up through the meal. The staff was attentive and expediters were quick to bring out appetizers and my meal. Ashley was craving a deep dish pizza, and while it took longer than my ribeye, when I was curious about it she said it was noted on the menu it would take longer than other food. When it arrived it was a masterpiece and better than any I have had at Geno’s or UNO’s during my many visits to Chicago. We took the rest of it home, and my judge of a real good ‘za comes the next day. Wow it’s absolutely delicious! I know that sounds weird to some, but I bet many of you know what I mean. So get a large and treat yourself to a tomorrow meal as well.

Fire and Vine is not a Michelin Star restaurant but the meal and service could easily be mistaken for that same level of quality. I could tell that the staff culture was a deepset team and management had done a great job. The interior decor was minimalist and modern. The bar was located next to the kitchen and there were a few people sitting there enjoying cocktails and conversations. I could see this being a nice stopping point and now am really looking forward to our next visit and to sitting upstairs if we make it back before the weather changes. Cookeville is growing and Fire and Vine is a great addition to the culinary choices! Kudos to Cole and the entire and the entire staff for providing us with a top-notch...

Coming from the land known for deep dish we had to try the deep dish. Here’s our take on it.

-the sauce has a nice sweet taste and it’s chunky. Overall we enjoyed it. -there is an abundance of cheese and it’s stringy and melted to our liking. -once you get to the thick crust it’s too doughy for deep dish. Actual deep dish has a crunchier more solid crust. This crust is chewy and doesn’t pack in the flavor like standard deep dish. -the top of the crust was burnt which wasn’t a deal breaker but I wasn’t too keen on it either.

Overall I think they did a decent job with imitating deep dish. I’ve had other restaurants in other states try to imitate deep dish and this place is ahead of the others. The price for the pizza is average. I feel like you get more love and quality with this pizza versus other pizza restaurants in the area for a similar price point.

We also ordered the lobster/shrimp Neapolitan pizza which is better than New York style in my opinion. I’m unsure about the lobster/shrimp pizza based off the amount of toppings you get for the price. When we order next we will probably just customize the Neapolitan pizza like we did the deep dish pizza.

The service to order over the phone was pleasant. One thing that was odd to me is they never asked for a name or phone number for pickup. So when I brought it up the person over the phone asked me for my name and said “ok sweetheart, we will be sure to have it ready in 40-45 minutes.” Not sure if he was being snarky or what. Seriously though it was a Saturday night when we ordered and wouldn’t you want a name or phone number to decipher who is picking up pizza? Call me crazy but I think that’s an organization thing most places do when dealing with carry out. When my husband picked up the pizza he said it was very fast and the ambiance was nice. The employees were very friendly.

The pizza was an average price but looking at their menu some of their other items seem a bit pricey. I would love to eat on their rooftop some days in the summer though.

you have to wait until 4pm to...