Firebirds Wood Fired Grill — Restaurant in Surprise

Update October 2024: Still great! Breanna took fantastic care of us.

Update September 2024:

We're so glad Firebirds has made it to our neighborhood. What a nice place for a drink or dinner--or both!

Our reservation was honored and we were seated a few minutes after our arrival. Our server was Taylor, and she was terrific throughout the meal. Everything we ordered was correct and she ensured good pacing between courses. They even boxed up our leftovers and wine!

She had the filet mignon and port wine mushrooms. I had the ribeye with a loaded baked potato. (We shared!) Both sides and both steaks were perfect, and the Caesar salads preceding them were great. Our before dinner cocktails were delicious and made to order, and our wine was a perfect pairing for the steaks. Everything was awesome! Top ratings remain untouched.

Update July 2024:

Nothing's changed, and that is a very good thing. Tonight we dropped in for drinks and appetizers. She had Cosmos and I had Manhattans. Both were expertly prepared and delicious. We shared the Lobster Spinach Queso and the Seared Ahi Tuna. "Yes" to both, please! We were served by the delightful and charming Melody, who made sure we were well-cared for throughout. Although we didn't stay for dinner this time, the experience was awesome and complete. I'm so glad Firebirds is now at the Prasada and a part of our neighborhood!

Update May 2024:

All ratings stay the same. This restaurant continues to impress. Our server, Olivia, was first-class and a real professional. We ordered the 3-course special. I had prime rib and she had the salmon. Perfection. Best-tasting prime rib in memory. There was a problem with my baked potato--left off the butter but included the sour cream I didn't want. They fixed it--immediately. Perfect. Service, food, attention from the management, and wonderful attitudes everywhere. We go out pre-cocked in the "have fun" position, and our experience tonight carried that through the evening. I am so glad they've opened this location. We love it!

Previous visit:

C'mon, man. Do SOMETHING wrong! Our visit was perfect the entire way through. First, they honored our reservation and sat us rather quickly, despite being a bit busy. Next, our server--Kaycee--was phenomenal. Sure, we go in with a good attitude and looking for a good experience, but Kaycee made sure that it was going to be even better.

We started with drinks and an appetizer. She had a lovely red blend and I had an Old Fashioned. Both were sublime. We enjoyed sharing the seared ahi--the slaw and the sauces were fantastic. (Okay, okay, we'd ordered it before!) She had the salmon, which was delicious, and I had the aged ribeye (the same!). She ordered a quinoa salad with her salmon--it tasted WAY better than that. I had steak fries and they were hot. My steak and her salmon were cooked perfectly, and I added what were mounds of sauteed mushrooms and onions, plus some woodfired shrimp that lived up to it all.

While the steak was cooked to perfection (medium rare), it was a little thinner than I prefer. I ordered the 12oz, and I wonder if the 16oz would have been the same size yet thicker. Believe me, I'm going to find out soon!

She ordered a second glass of the fine red blend and I ordered a glass of the Firebird cabernet (sourced from Paso Robles). I expected a cabernet from that area to be good and it didn't disappoint--it was great.

We surrendered too full for dessert and with plenty of steak to take home for an amazing dish my wife makes with leftover steak. (No, you're not invited. Sorry!)

We felt really well served, both by Kaycee and the kitchen staff. Our meal was well-paced--not too slow and not having one dish served on top of the other, either. And although this is a place that serves first-class food, I felt the pricing was perfectly fine.

Come have a fine meal at Firebirds. We'll be the ones in the corner booth, well-served with smiles on our faces. And the cute one in the black outfit? That's Kaycee, our new "DS" (Designated Server). How...

I'll start off with the good. The food was very tasty. And now on to the bad...

We'd made an early reservation and while they were still busy it definitely wasn't the prime dinner rush hour. We were seated at close to our reservation time but were not happy that we were seated at a table that another couple was sharing (the table was a longer table and looked like it could accompany 8 or so guests; we were at one end with a chair in-between us and where the other couple was seated). I suppose my thought on this is if I'm going to spend 100 dollars on a dinner for two I'd like at least some privacy, like my own table. Additionally the seats at this table were low and the table was therefore at an uncomfortable height especially for my wife (the table top was around chest level). We asked to move to another table but they said all the other tables were reserved. We informed them we had made reservations and they just told us sorry. We were able to make it work, however, by switching out some chairs with chairs from a nearby counter. I wish I could say things got better from there but they didn't.

The service was very slow. It took at least fifteen minutes for my wife's drink to come out (and it was non-alcoholic). The waiter who brought it told us the bartender needed to get their act together. He then indicated he'd bring out some bread. Fifteen minutes later we had to ask him if we could have some bread since he'd never brought any out. He told us that he was just waiting for some more bread to come out of the oven. Were that actually the case then that would have been fine. However we just saw him bring bread to a table that had been seated five minutes before. It's much better just to apologize and get the bread than to lie about it. Based on that, I'm guessing that it wasn't the bartender that needed to "get their act together" but the waiter.

This is a nice restaurant with some good food but there were just too many customer service issues for us to want to go back again, especially for that price.

It should be noted that the long table seating is not the only undesirable seating in the restaurant. There are two tables right next to the entryway and if you're seated in either one of these you'll have people waiting right next to you. While we were waiting it was uncomfortable for us to be right on top of them. I can't imagine how they felt.

So if you're going just for the food and not the experience this is a fine restaurant to try. If you expect customer service and environment to match the price you may want to try...

Today was a super treat! This was our first time eating at Firebirds. When we walked in everyone was cheerful and happy and attentive. As our delightful server Olivia walked us out to the covered outdoor dining space, We were greated with a fireplace and a very low key atmosphere with an open bar that was beyond amazing and impressive. I wish I had taken a picture! When Olivia brought us our signature drinks She asked if we needed a straw, my husband said yes, and boom, there was the straw. We were then greeted by Matt, the owner, who talked about how much his food equated to how much love he put out into the world, as a chef myself I understood What he was articulating, it struck a chord with me as that's how I feel as well, I had some spiritual tears of joy. My husband had the famos tomahawk pork chop, cooked perfectly, nice and juicy, even had that lightly charred little crunch, served with caramelized carrots that were out of this world! I've got to figure out what's on them, so I can recreate these. They were that delicious! I opted for a salad and baby back ribs. The baby back ribs were well seasoned, juicy, and had that wonderful rustic feel about them, perfect comfort food. The salad had jicama in it, I liked the light crunch but then all the water came out and I found it to be very hydrating. I have found in Arizona any food that tastes good and is hydrating is always best! The restaurant has taken on the liking of its owner who is very thoughtful and deliberate in his delivery of honest, elevated flavor packed perfectly life-changing food, with a whole lot of love. We had the pleasure of meeting The awesome manager Davi, She treated us to a warm conversation and ensured that our food was delivered and cooked impeccably. Not only am I known as the realtor for life but now my husband and I are customers for life at Firebirds! We walked out feeling like we were family, that is rare these days.... If you're looking for that perfect place, with elevated delicious down to earth food, deep connections coupled with an elevated yet comfortable, chill, atmosphere and being seen & heard, this is...