Firefly Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Manchester

We normally come here once a year to celebrate a birthday but was super disappointed with the experience we had this year and I’m not usually one to write bad reviews. I was looking forward to celebrating my birthday here with my friends. My husband made our reservation for 15-16 people 3 weeks in advance. They sent us an email saying that for large parties, they normally require meal selections ahead of time, but excused it for us and told us to just be patient with the staff (which we always are, we truly didn’t mind, we know the food is worth waiting for!). We had 4 extras try to join our reservation, but the staff said they couldn’t make that work so we did not let them come, no problem! By the time we got seated, the table only had 14 chairs. We kindly & patiently asked them for two more (as our reservation was for 15-16 people) and the manager or whoever she was, came over to our table and approached us in a terrible, extremely negative manner, telling us that our party size was unacceptable (even though we booked in advance and it was accepted). We tried to show her our email exchange with a staff member confirming the party of 15-16 people, in addition to the excusal of preselected meals but she didn’t care (we were still going to pay together on one main bill which was discussed in the email). About 3 minutes or so after this insane reaction, and before even ordering anything, she told us we were going to “annihilate the kitchen” and continued to be so angry with us. This was the worst interaction I’ve ever had from a restaurant employee and she ruined our celebratory birthday dinner that we were all looking forward to. After me and my friends were left speechless with how we were just treated, we left. It was unfortunate because I know this place can be hard to get into, so some servers definitely missed out on a few tables but we did not feel like staying where it was made clear we weren’t welcomed, and instead, were more of an inconvenience to them. If they had told us prior to this, that they couldn’t accommodate our party of 15-16 people, we would’ve understood, we know it’s a lot. But this woman waited until we were sat, to come over and be incredibly rude to us, without even greeting us or working something out (which we would’ve been open to!). Attaching a screenshot below for proof of our conversation. Extremely disappointed with how this was handled and bummed we had this experience that stayed with us for the end...

If you need a place to have a lovely dinner that won’t disappoint, let me tell you this is the place. Service was a 11/10 (our server Mac was beyond outstanding and was absolutely amazing and gave us the best recommendations on everything from our cocktails to dinner to dessert) beverages were a 10/10 (beautifully crafted and served very quickly, plus had a wide variety for everyone) the food was a 10/10 (from the appetizer to the entrees to the dessert everything beyond exceed our expectations) We were recommended by multiple of our friends to check it out. We live over an hour and 20 away and we will be making the drive back to enjoy Firefly again very soon (I wish we lived closer). We started our meal off with the shrimp and grits. It was beautifully done (the grits were fantastic, hats off to the chef) with very generous amount of shrimp and sausage. Our entrees were to perfection. I got the Pan- Seared Sea Scallops (with the Parmesan risotto) which was one of the best top 5 scallop dishes I have ever had. My boyfriend got the Boneless Beef Short Rib, which completely melted in your mouth with how tender the short rib was. It was absolutely delicious flavor wise. We both got a few cocktails that beyond met our expectations. Our top cocktail each was the Firefly Old Fashioned and the Pineapple Honey Margarita. Both were absolutely fantastic and came out beautifully and quick. For dessert we got the chocolate peanut butter pie. It was perfectly balanced with the right amount of chocolate and peanut butter, and the fudge sauce was a perfect touch. If you have made it this far reading this, let me tell you this place is worth it. I cannot wait to go back and bring my family and friends to enjoy this wonderful establishment. Cheers to the amazing staff, chefs, and owner for an amazing place. I cannot stress enough how much I can’t wait to come back and enjoy this...

After scheduling a test drive at a local Manchester dealership for late Friday afternoon, I turned to Google to find a dinner spot. Firefly had a great rating, so I booked our table for 3 with OpenTable. We arrived 30 minutes early. As I exited the car in the convenient parking lot, I heard a strange clinking metal sound. I looked down but saw nothing. We headed in, and the gracious host seated us in about 10 minutes. Now, my only quibble is that it took another 10 minutes for our server to appear, but she was lovely and attentive from then on. We were seated in a corner booth in the bar, and the ambiance was lively, but not loud. After ordering club sodas, we tried the soup of the day, a cream of mushroom that was hot and delicious. Those came out fast, as did our entrees, with our server and another placing our plates simultaneously. The service at Firefly is friendly, alert, and unpressured. We all enjoyed our fish n’ chips, super bowl, and avocado club wrap, but the service, caring, and vibe of the Firefly staff is the story here.

I noticed my ring finger was bare Saturday morning, and I freaked. I searched my office where I often fiddle with the band, tore our bed apart, and then the car. Then the metal cling reentered my mind. Damn. That had to be my ring in the parking lot. My hour drive back to Manchester was worrisome, and my scan of the parking lot did not strike gold. With hope waning, I walked in and asked the same friendly host if they had a lost and found. While he rummaged through the stand drawer, our server recognized me. She took my info while the host went to ask his manager. He reappeared and handed me the ring! Nate, an employee, had found the 💛 symbol in the parking lot and turned it in. Not everyone would have.

Give Firefly a try. They’ll...