Live Fire Chefs — Restaurant in Ocala

This was our first encounter at Live Fire Chef. The four of us came to celebrate a birthday after reviewing the menu. The menu selections looked to please everyone, so a reservation was made for 5PM. Upon arriving, on time, we were seated immediately. Our wait person (Ciara) arrived at our table within minutes to take our drink orders. She was very friendly and personable. We also placed an appetizer order. Returned shortly ti see if we were ready to place our main orders or she said we could wait. But we went on with our orders. I was the first, I requested the Lobster Club. Ms Ciara informed us that the Lobster had not been prepared yet. So it's not available to order...it's 5:20PM...why isn't it ready. So I changed to the New Zealand Lamb Chops that came with potatoes and asparagus. Ms Ciara says no asparagus, but she offered broccolini as a substitute. She also Informed us the Steak & Fries were not available and 2 of the four desserts were also non existent. Our food arrived, again I ordered the lamb chops. They were super thin, small and over charred (burned) . But because everyone seemed satisfied with their order, I did not complain. After our meals and since this was a birthday celebration...we decided to have the Italian Creme cake dessert. Now....I do not own a bakery however, I have made many Italian Cream cakes and reviewed many recipes for the dessert which were all along the same ingredients. Which are, pecans and coconut. How Live Fire Chef arrived at pastry creme and berries and labeled it Italian cream cake boggles the mind. One last tid-bit, while we were sitting at our table, at the front, (table 15), having our drinks we watched people delivering food supplies; eggs and other items being carried through the front door, carried past the aisles of seated customers. Mind you the place is full of customers at this point. It did not happen once, it happened several times. Just regular non-purveyors, (no signage on vehicles) parked in front of the restaurant and walk the supplies through the customers to the back. This was an eye opener especially since there was a back door CLOSER to the kitchen. Deliveries like this should NEVER happen especially if the restaurant has a customer who is trained in food safety. I would have liked to have given this restaurant a excellent (5 star) rating however my experience was not. One day if I decide to return to try the Lobster club, I'll call ahead to ask if it's...

I wanted to like this place. The server was super nice and when I asked for a Diet Coke he asked me if Coke Zero was okay. I am glad he asked because I am allergic to the sweetener in zero soda products. He was a very nice guy it started off well. After we ordered is when things went wrong. For some reason our server also had to act as the bartender and the bar was busy. He couldn’t really service our table, because he couldn’t get away from the bar. I ordered a cup of soup it came out nearly 45 minutes after we arrived. Then another 30 minutes for the food. The table in front of us arrived after us and got their food long before us. The other servers brought it out explaining that their server (my server) was busy. I think they got the help because the food was clogging up the line at the kitchen. Our server brought the food some time after and apologized before putting it down on the table. He is a nice person and took responsibility which is great. What could have saved the day was great food, but it was really cold. The short rib seemed more like a huge chunk of poorly cooked chuck roast. It was so tough and dry I needed to ask for a steak knife to cut it and it was cold. Maybe they needed to pressure cook it first to get it tender. I took it home and my dog had no complaints. The other food was cold too. The one thing that was great was the lobster club, but the fries were soggy and cold. Fresh I think they would have been good.

I am giving this 3 stars because the soup and lobster club was so good and the server was nice. The issue with our server is a management issue. When you have staff covering other stations management should train other servers to step up and cover. Our meal should not have sat back in the kitchens and allowed to get cold, it should have been run out like the other table by someone else.

The server was so apologetic and tried to offer us a free dessert but we declined because we just wanted to leave and assumed getting a dessert even to go would take another 20 minutes and we just didn’t want to be there anymore. The server took some money off the bill, which again is taking responsibility for what he knew was bad service and I greatly appreciate that. I will go again and try something else and hopefully management can train staff to work as a team if it busy and a table is getting...

If you know Ocala, you know the eatery choices for Good food are slim.

This is Excellent food. We've enjoyed all but one selection (the chicken sandwich - it's too messy even with the sauces on the side), and our favorite is the cheesesteak - hold the aioli.

Service can be slow, but for the most part it's the right balance between an empty cup and a refill.

I'm hoping the word gets out because I very much want this to be the one venue that breaks the bad juju on this location (it's been many things throughout the years), so help make that happen. Go in, try the cheesesteak, steakburger, meatloaf, or stroganoff.

Bar - bring back the Live Fire Lavender. The new berry hibiscus doesn't hit. The gin gimlet I had last week was top notch, even though the bartender had to look it up. Mark that one down - I'll be reordering it! Learn the Bee's Knees, add a Tom Collins, and other classics to the menu. Heck, add club soda to the gimlet and you have a Gin Rickey, add it to the Bee's Knees and you have a Bee's Knees Spritz. 4 drinks, 2 base recipes. Honey syrup not needed (though it's only half and half honey and half water - easy and cheap) - agave works well as a substitute.

Appetizers could use some work. Tuna nachos? Too much going on. Cilantro - many of us taste earth or soap when cilantro is added, so we avoid it. Sriracha is overdone, as is aioli. The fries are good sans rosemary - try a cheese fries appetizer with bacon and green onions. It's good to have simple options for simpler palates. This is Ocala, not New York. Trust me - there are folks who agree that less is more. Offer cilantro, sriracha, wasabi, etc . . . on the side. People also enjoy mixing their own flavor profiles when ingredients are provided. It's an enrichment experience and conversation piece.

We'd love some flyers to put out. It would be nice if customers could grab a handful of flyers. Some of us have businesses or enjoy networking to ensure the success of businesses we deem worthwhile. Word of mouth is one way to ensure the...