The Fire Pitt — Restaurant in Salem Lakes

🤮 to start, I had a choice of the Fire Pitt or The Colony House. This is where we decided. 2 of us came for the fish boil/chicken /ribs. Very loud in the bar area due to the Packer game but that was ok with us, until it got to the point of ear piecing. No one seated in the dining room, just people in the bar area for the game. Our server, Jennifer, was attentive and accommodating. One dinner drink for each of us and 1 auce fish/chicken/ribs and 1 fish/chicken dinner. Came out quickly as it sits in warmers just outside the kitchen doors. Fish was over dry and appeared to be sitting dry in the warmer. Adding the drawn butter helped but the butter was very salty that it almost ruined it. Getting on to the chicken. Inedible. Really inedible. Seems like it was rewarmed in the pan from a day ago. I wish I took photos, but with all the noise and clatter around us from the game all I could do was try to eat quickly. The ribs were a bit more moist but still well overdone. We could not press a fork into the chicken and break skin. It was that rock hard. Even asking Jennifer for dark meat, thinking it was a white meat dry issue- same outcome. But- the Apple Pie 🍎 was delicious. Not homemade in the restaurant though. Go figure. This was order at 6:15 on a Sunday evening, prime dinner hour. Other than a bartender, server and 1 other young lady that was all we saw. Didn’t ask for management in regards to the quality of the food. Just discussed it together as a last time we spend our $ and time there, unfortunately. But let’s get to the ladies bathroom that I did grab my phone to photo. IMO, the sink(the whole sink and countertop) has not been cleaned today, yesterday or before that. The particles everywhere are not from today but have been collecting. The few human hairs in the sink is not abnormal, but still a turnoff. The toilet area was the same as the sink (bad) but for the sake of people viewing this, I thought better than to share that photo. Lastly, they auto add the 3.99% to the bill. If you pay with cash, remember to tell the server to remove that otherwise it stays on there regardless. Not...

I was told great things about this place but was also warned. Great staff but let's talk about the food "calm chowder" but there wasn't any clam just chewy cod but don't worry they pile on mozzarella cheese for some reason. We had the cod boil and ribs. The cod was so over cooked you had to chew it like. Piece of rubber. The ribs had the membrane left on and had no flavor besides the drips of BBQ sauce added right before serving them to us. The dome of the rye bread was served salted or better put junks of rock salt on top. The coleslaw is below average but dont worry the included desert was at 2-3 days old.. the frosting on the cake sheet "apple pie" developed that white glazy dryness too it like hard candy and the crust was hard and stale. Now to the reason I'm infuriated and writing a review. Everywhere is posted 3.99% upcharge for credit card if you don't pay with cash well this "greedy" owner automatically puts it on your bill under service charge. I didn't even catch it since I was so upset with this horrible meal and I already had cash ready but my better half caught it. Shame sir Shame.. the patrons at the bar said the son is running it and I'm sure this place was ran differently...

Had the pleasure of going to The Fire Pitt for the first time last evening and had a wonderful experience. We moved to the area about a year and a half ago and have been driving by this place and meaning to stop, finally got there last night - we should have been going this whole time! While we didn't order a lot of food, what we did order was delicious - my wife had a burger that was cooked perfectly and I enjoyed their wings which were on special. The wings were perfect - fried naked (i.e. non-breaded) then sauced just right - and nice/big meaty wing pieces! Great service too - our server had just the right combination of hustle and conversational style. She was also training a new server at the same time. Artie, the owner, stopped by to chat with us as well - wonderful guy and you can tell they really care about what they are turning out.

While we didn't try the ice cream shop that's part of the restaurant, we most certainly will be doing so soon!

Definitely give The Fire Pitt a try - we will absolutely be...