Fire & Oak - Montvale — Restaurant in Montvale

Have you ever found yourself wondering about the term “New American” cuisine? It’s a phrase one might have heard in passing, but perhaps you’re not quite sure what it calls for.

The concept of “New American” cuisine made its debut in the 1980s and is believed to be an evolution from the 1960s “nouvelle cuisine.” It marries the farm-to-table movement with a diverse range of ingredients, providing chefs with a canvas for culinary creativity.

Attached to the Courtyard Marriott since 2009 off of Chestnut Ridge Road in Montvale, my partner and I decided on dinner at this establishment. The reservation was easily made via OpenTable.

Upon entering Fire and Oak as first-timers, we were greeted by the host offering patrons four unique experiences in separate and distinct areas of the restaurant. Just to the left of the bar is the elevated Candle Room. With its soaring high ceilings, the Main Dining Room suggests the views of the gleaming open kitchen. Their Upper Balcony Dining Room renders a magnificent view of the main dining room. The private Oak Room is ideal for business presentations or private social gatherings. We were seated immediately in the Candle Room with a dim, warm, inviting, and upscale/cosmopolitan vibe.

Their menu contained an eclectic assortment of high-quality options with steak, fish, chicken, pork, and sushi to meet just about anyone's palate.

As a starter, we decided on F&O Mac 'n' Cheese and Slow Braised Meatballs. As our main entree, we opted for Cabernet Braised Short Rib of Beef and BBQ Pork Ribs served with Coleslaw and substituted Sautéed Spinach instead of Fries.

The flavors were fresh, unique, and simply amazing. However, we were disappointed in the Mac ‘n’ Cheese by using some kind of mozzarella cheese, making it bland, dry, and stringy. The dishes were beautifully prepared. The portion was healthy. The price was comparable to the area and worth every penny.

The staff are well trained and service-oriented. Our server, Hawkins, was prompt, friendly, professional, and engaging. While touring the restaurant, I exchanged a few words with Patrick, the general manager, and he gave me a tip to take a wonderful picture of the amazing wine bottle room.

As the restaurant filled up, it definitely got louder, and we had to talk louder to hear each other.

If the above-mentioned New American menu items have left one’s mouth watering, there’s only one thing to do: visit Fire and Oak, which we...

Update on previous review- after having a great experience last year, we booked my dads 60th birthday dinner here Saturday night for 6:30pm for 9 people. We arrived on time and our waitress was very sweet. We ordered apps and they came out extremely quick and were great. Things took a turn once our entrees came out. You could tell many items were rushed and not cooked to the quality that we had experienced previously but we were still however enjoying our time. Soon after they brought out the cake we had brought for his birthday without warning, and then right after they brought out the check which we did not ask for and also never got asked if we wanted coffee or tea which was odd. We had to call the waitress back over to ask to take back the check and ask for coffee. The vibe from the staff at this point was completely different than when we had first arrived and it was clear they wanted us out, which is extremely frustrating when you are trying to enjoy a celebration. When we started to get up to leave they didn’t even wait for us to walk away or everyone to get up- and jumped to clear the table while we were still there which was very rude for the quality of restaurant they are claiming to be. As we were walking out we saw an other large party that seemed to be waiting to be seated. Management or the hostess making reservations should really not book tables like this back to back as it causes both parties to have a bad experience (ours being rushed and the next party having to wait). I would be more understanding if it was communicated to us that we had to be out by a certain time, like a 2 hour limit that I know some restaurants do, but that never happened. We got there at 6:30, and walked out the door at 8:50.

While the apps and drinks were good, and our waitress was sweet, management needs to get their act together when making reservations on a busy Saturday night.

———————- Came here for a birthday dinner and the service and food were amazing. Expensive but worth the price in every aspect of what makes a great...

I’ve been to this Fire and Oak locations a few times and have enjoyed my previous experiences. Unfortunately, after frequenting the restaurant for my anniversary with my wife we will not be returning. To start we ordered two appetizers. My order came out first so I waited for my wife’s order to get to the table. While I waited, my appetizer was getting cold . Our waitress finally came over and I had to let her know we did not receive my wife’s appetizer. A few minutes later our dinner was served and still no appetizer. Our server told us the appetizer would be out soon. I asked for the appetizer to be removed from the check. The server seemed annoyed by this but we continued on with the meals. At some point we ordered a second round of drinks and the server got my wife’s drink order wrong. Also, we wanted water and had not been served water from the beginning of the service. It took a while to flag down the waitress but when we did we voiced our displeasure with the service and asked that the drink order be corrected and asked for water. When the waitress returned with the water she slammed both glasses of water on the table. I thought this was rude and unprofessional. Finally when we were done with our meal the waitress asked if we would like our check and did not offer any dessert or coffee. She clearly wanted us to leave. The waitresses attitude and poor service are the reason we will not be dining here again.

10/2/2024 I am updating my previous review. I wanted to thank Patrick for reaching out and expressing his concern regarding our experience. He was professional and apologized for the service we received. As I stated previously we have enjoyed our time at Fire and Oak and I am happy Patrick made things right. We will visit the...