I was a little leery about dining here after reading some of the poor reviews, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Met up with three college friends and ordered a 16-inch pizza with sausage and green peppers and the spicy sauce and onion rings. Pizza first: Two guys thought that Ledo's (a local chain) served better pizza, but I thought it was pretty good. The crust was crisp, but not thin enough to droop or bend when I picked up a slice. The spicy is as advertised, but the sausage was sweet. I liked it. Onion rings: This was my only gripe and the reason why Coal Fire didn't get five stars. They weren't rings. They were straws. To me, onion straws are not onion rings and not nearly as delicious. I was severely disappointed in the deception in advertising. If I wanted onion straws, I would have gone to Applebee's or some other chain. Service: After reading several reviews, I was worried about the service, but I have to concede that my worries went unfounded. After a two-minute wait at the door, we were seated. Our waitress was attentive and courteous, checking on us after each entree was delivered to our table and a few more times after our pizza was served. We were the only patrons in the dining area with about 15 minutes left before the 10 p.m. closing time, but at no point did we feel rushed by the wait staff to get out. I would visit again and I'm hoping to bring the family some time soon. read more

Crabby Mac & Cheese! Got 8 wings too. Both were fantastic. Wings were a little odd as they were covered with roasted onions on top of pita bread. Didnt know what to do with those so i just ate the wings. Crabby Mac was fantastic. Tons of crab meat on top of tons of cheese and pasta. Very filling dish that is easily its own entree. Will come back just for this. read more

Drove her from Silver Spring because their website advertises 1/2 price drinks on Sunday. Arrived and was told that the 1/2 price drink deal was suspended. Odd because we confirmed with the hostess that you had to sit in the bar area to get the deal but our waitress at the bar told us that they no longer offer it. She went to check and came back to say they do offer it but it's currently suspended. Whatever that means. Decided to stay. Mojito was trash. Shrimp on a shingle tasted fine but was not hot, nor was the margarita pizza. Huge disappointment. If you still have a special published you should honor it. It's just the right thing to do. Probably won't support any Coal Fire location after this experience. read more

Really great pizza and well priced. Thin and crispy crust, delicious sauce and they pile on the toppings. Will definitely be a regular.

My husband and I have also been to the Frederick, MD location and we were very happy with Coal Fire's food and service on both trips. We bought a Groupon and combined this with a trip to the nearby Lowe's since we don't live in Gaithersburg. This time we ordered the Ring of Fire pizza with sausage, banana peppers, and a spicy sauce. I thought the spicy sauce was also pretty sweet, so I preferred the traditional margerita pizza we got on our first trip, but it was still really good. They also have a great grilled caesar salad we've gotten both times. And we washed it all down with a nice draft beer :) Both times we've eaten in the small bar area because it's been less busy (for lunch) and the service has been prompt and attentive. We will definitely be back for more! read more

I didn't particularly like the taste or texture of the pizza we ordered. The sauce was sweet. Its okay, I guess. I gave three stars because the bread was awesome! I'm gonna try another pizza place before I go back. read more

Coal Fire - Pizza Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

I tried the spicy sauce and found it to be too sweet for my taste. I'm not a fan of sugar in my pizza unless if its a BBQ sauce based. Crust was thin and I enjoyed that. The Monday night half price bottle of wine was a winner! So, it is a subjective choice after all! read more

This is my third time at coal fire and my second at this location. I like coming here for lunch while taking a break from running errands. The service is great not crowded whenever i visit. Was lucky to have gotten the same waitress. Rachel is super attentive and very friendly. would highly recommend this establishment. And the coal fire wings and salad are a must try! read more

Coal Fire - The Coal fire salad is everything! - Pizza Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

See all

The bartender was very helpful and encouraged me to sit at a table in the bar (the bar was full) even though I was flying solo. AND he came to find me in the parking lot after I had forgot my leftovers on the table. Very accommodating. That being said, I was not impressed with the pizza. I got a simple pizza, sausage and green peppers with the signature sauce; I was very pleased with the sauce, but the cheese provided absolutely no additional flavor. If I went back it would only be to try a sandwich or the wings. read more

I've been here a total of 3 times. I don't think I'll really come back unless I have to. The food is mediocre. Nothing to brag about. The pasta i got was buttery nothing special. It tasted like watered down pasta with lots of garlic and clams. It's in Kentlands and there are other places I'd rather eat at than here. read more

This restaurant is much better than Matchbox in price, value, and service. While there is nothing special about the decor, Coal Fire often has drink specials during the week. Their pizzas are much more fairly priced and has a great crust--not too doughy. This place is great for families or friends. read more

I've dined here several times and I really wish I could give this place more than a 3 star rating considering its the best pizza restaurant in the neighborhood. The pizza here is superb; the service is anything but. I'm not sure if every time I've been here I just caught the waitstaff after they all synced up and were menstruating or SOMETHING, but the servers here need to check their 'tudes! I waited tables in college for years, I grew up in the Kentlands; I know snooty buttholes... I don't expect to be treated like an effing king nor am I asking you to, but it's your job to pretend to be pleasant. If I were management at this place, I would send a weekly e-mail reminder to the staff to 'check themselves before they wreck themselves' because they're definitely not doing the owners any favors. read more

I found a groupon deal and decided to try he Pizza here. Even though we used the deal, I still thought we were overpaying. The pizza however was delicious and I highly recommend this place if you want to try something new, something better than the average pizza that you've had a million times before - so what are you waiting for? read more

I've been taking my family here roughly once a week for years. Started taking my son and his baseball team after games. Never had an issue. Great pizza and beer. Took my family today, a Friday night, expecting for it to be busy so I have my family wait in the truck outside until I can get a table situated. There's a family of five in front of me and I'm second in line. A woman comes up to me and asks what I need and I explain I need a table for four no different than I would any other time I've been there. Her coworker explains to everyone waiting they aren't taking names and just to wait for the table of five to be seated. They then proceed to sit the next three families that were behind me that weren't already on the list. Then after 25-30 minutes of waiting walk back up to me and ask what I need as if it was the first time we spoke. I said I'll just leave. I'll just start taking my 150 to 200 dollars a sitting to another pizza spot. read more

My friend and I usually come here for a lunch break as it's close to our office, however it took us an hour just to get our pizza. The pizza itself was pretty good. However the parmesan cheese you sprinkle on the pizza was moldy. After making the waiter aware of this, he apologized and took the cheese shaker away but never brought a fresh one back. After paying the bill, we addressed a few issues with the manager to let him know of this poor experience and he didn't seem to care or try to improve our experience. I no longer can recommend this place. read more

Food and service are great! I recommend the blackened shrimp, Caesar salad and white pizza

Never been here before. My fiancé heard it had great brick oven pizza. We were sat right away. The restaurant was a bit noisy. Wings were very unique. They were very meaty and flavorful. We ordered a 16' pizza to share with sausage and banana peppers on it. Loved the thin crust style! The server was young and friendly and was great with refilling our ice teas. Definitely will come back and try their homemade pastas. Only issue that we really had was we did think it was a little pricy to charge $4 extra for toppings. But other than we had a wonderful time. read more

Coal Fire - 16' pizza traditional pizza with sausage and banana peppers - Pizza Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

See all

I am a pizza traditionalist- I only like to order cheeze pizza, and greatly prefer the NY style. In my mind, it is between Mama Lucia and Coal Fire for the best Pizza in the area, and I now give the edge to Coal Fire, based on my last few visits. I recommend sticking with the traditional sauce, and ordering extra cheese. (They don't seem to put enough to my taste if you don't order extra.) They also have terrific fries, the order is quite large, easily serves 2. Once I sat at a table, and it wasn't until after I ordered that I learned that there was a happy hour and I would have gotten the same meal cheaper on the bar side. I now ask about it before ordering. read more

I always enjoy the pizza from here. The thin crust has a consistent flavor every time I eat here and the sauce and topping are tasty and fresh. I usually have the spicy sauce, banana peppers, jalapeños, prosciutto and mushrooms, very spicy but that is the way I enjoy it. I only gave 4 stars today because the crust was a little soggy toward the middle. But I will not stop going back to any of the Coal Fires from Frederick to Hunt Valley they are a small chain that delivers great pizza for a fair price. read more

Coal Fire - Lunch, mmm. - Pizza Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Staff is wonderful, food is average. I ordered a larger pepperoni pizza with spicy sauce. Sauce was loaded with sugar, extremely to sweet. There's nothing worse than messing up the basics and a pepperoni pizza is a classic basic item. read more

I have to say the picture had me wanting to go. But the food was tasteless. Literally me and my husband ordered a pizza and it tasted like a tortilla with watered down sauce. Tasted like nothing. I was so disappointed I'm a foodie and from NY so I know good pizza. Do not waste your money. When I saw tortilla is BC it was thin pizza and not only did it taste like nothing we were still hungry. Save your money. Not to mention we felt discriminated against. Soon as we walked in we felt like we didn't belong. The waitress had my drink spilled all on the table I had to have a ton of napkins just to drink my martini. Never will I ever spend my money here. Your better off with commercial pizza at least it taste like something. read more

I have been a fan of Coal Fire for more than a year. My favorite item is spaghetti and meatballs. However, 3 times over the past 2 or 3 months the meatballs have been very burnt when I get this item. They are not just a little burnt. The meatballs are dried and taste burnt. The other dishes we have ordered are still good. ALL the food used to be so good. I hope they can get it together soon or I will take my business elsewhere. read more

Only reason I keep going back is the one particular pizza we ALWAYS get is the best tasting pizza I have ever had. With that being said, it is hard to give this location any better than 2 stars. Very very inconsistent. We usually go about once every 2 months. The last 5 or 6 times the pizza has been anywhere from burnt bubbles to perfect. Just cannot figure out which night is the night to go. It is never horrible, and better than any other pizza like Domino's or Pizza Hut etc... so we keep doing it. This past time, my buddy and myself were seated at a table that was so sticky it was literally disgusting. Everything we set down stuck. My phone was stuck to the table. The condiments were stuck. We tried our best to not touch it. There were no other tables open as it was packed so we were left to deal with it. Next time, I am not sitting down if the table is like that. read more

Nice pizza place atmosphere, unfortunately that's the only nice thing we had here. Arrived with three kids - there is no kids menu in the "pizza place"??.We started with signature Coal Fire Salad with bacon, which was very dry and burned. The second choice was also bad - Prosciutto pizza, the prosciutto was too salty, the tomato paste too sweet - I never saw three kids to say NO! to a pizza, but this was the case. We had to get French fries "you cant go wrong with fries",no? Again??? The only smart decision we made that night is to relocate to next door Chick-fil-A. read more

Love the pizza, signature sauce with pepperoni and sun dried tomatoes! Coal Fire salad is also amazing! read more

If you're ever having trouble figuring out where to eat... GO TO COAL FIRE! Food was delicious and service was SO kind. I couldn't have asked for a better dining experience. read more

One of the best spots in Kentlands! Whether in the mood for a good salad, delicious oven baked pizza or just a good cocktail - this is the place. Walked in, Jackie the bar tender immediately welcomed us. She's wonderful! Between managing a full bar and still finding the time to talk to everyone while making drinks at the service bar.... we were impressed. The GM walked around and introduced himself, made sure everything was great! Wish we could give this restaurant 6 stars, a must! read more

Service is ok. Some of the high school age servers/hostesses should smile more lol. Pizza is cooked to perfection for me, I like it charred. Cranberry margarita was really good. HUGE (!!!!!) portions of fries and onion rings. Good for families. Crab mac and cheese was good. They didn't skimp on the crab. Would taste even better with better choice of cheese... looks like it's Velveeta maybe? read more

Food is decent. Dine in service is ok. Bartender Jackie is awesome. They cannot get carry out orders right to save their reputation. Never seems like anyone is in charge. read more

Well visiting my Aunt so I googled who has great Pizza for carryout well Coal fire was a mile away and had 4.1 stars ! NOPE ! Ordered Margarita Pizza the FRESH Basil was very dark wilted OLD ! Looks like it was baked with the pie and the Fresh Mozzarella was NOT it was old shredded cheese ! Do you have any IDEA how to make a Margarita Pizza ? read more

Do not go here! We came here bc there was an amazon local deal & they had gluten free pizza. It was the worst GF pizza - Ledo's is the best btw. The pizza runner dropped 1 of our pizzas on my 6 yo sons juice which spilled all over him & the table. Instead of grabbing a rag she grabbed her boss. I had to clean up both my son and the table. Then asked the manager for a second apple juice which she slammed down on my table without any eye contact and kept on walking. I called Amazon local and they refunded my money because customers come first with them obviously not with Coalfire. Needless to say we will not be returning. Work on your customer service. read more

Not a great experience. It seems The Kentlands has really few decent places to eat. This place ranks up there with being overrated and just plain lousy. First off it appears that when we all went to eat it was "teen night" in the place. Everyone working there was too busy chatting with their friends or just hanging out at tables. You almost felt like you were bothering the people working there if you needed something. The food is like anything you could get at a bowling alley or ballpark. However that's really an insult to those places since the food there at Coal Fire is really not even up to those standards. The manager seemed sorta not really interested in the lack of service. It looked like he himself was partying it up with the teeny boppers there working. All in all, overrated and overpriced. read more

My boyfriend and I had noticed this place for awhile and since we were really in the mood for pizza last night, decided to give it a try. We built our own pizza with spicy sauce (which tasted more sweet than spicy), crumbled meatball and jalapenos. It was decent but definitely nothing special about it. We also ordered a Caesar Salad with Chicken. The menu said "this warm salad is a must try". Not. The salad was more hot than warm and soggy and slimy so it was really a disgusting texture. Lets talk about the service, which is what I found most appalling. I've never been to any restaurant where there were so many staff members just sitting around doing nothing. Our waiter, after taking our orders, sat right across from us and was texting on her phone the entire time we were there. When she came back to bring our food and later check to take plates away, she asked if we needed anything else and my boyfriend asked if he could have a refill on the Pepsi. She said of course, then took the plates away and went back to her seat to continue texting. At least 3 other staff were there eating pizza and chit chatting. This is definitely not a place either of us would recommend or visit again. My boyfriend even commented, "Man, we would have been better off going to Cici's!" lol read more

Have been here a bunch of times, most recently with family on a Saturday night. Pizza is always good, mostly thanks to their "signature" sauce which is a perfect mix of sweet with a little kick (nothing too spicy). Plentiful toppings and just an overall great taste. We had the calamari and Greek salad as starters - calamari was different (sweeter than most), nothing special and came out more soggy than crispy. Greek salad came with a delicious dressing that really made the salad and a nice portion of feta cheese. They also have an impressive selection of cocktails and beers - big fan of the different versions of Moscow Mules. Always a solid meal here and will keep coming back! read more

Pizza is delicious, the Classic sauce is so yummy and the toppings are always fresh. The place is a good size and the bar is usually busy with nice people and good bartenders. The service in the dining room has room for improvement but overall with the quality of food and drink, it's a great place for lunch and dinner. Glad to have it around! read more

Came here twice around 3 pm. I thought that since we came late that usual lunch time , that the pizza would come faster. We came in we were seated, then waited bought 10 minutes before she took our drinks order even though , it wasn't busy. It was only us and another another table. The after we got our drinks we ordered one 16 inc pizza and we ordered 3 Cesar salads. We waited 15 minutes , just for our salads. When we got our salad , it took bought 25 minutes , before she brought our pizza. If you really hungry , I would suggest you to do carry out not dine and call them 30 minutes ahead. Only giving 3 stars because the pizza was good but looked burned and doesn't make you full. wish they have 20 inch or make their pizza thick. read more

Great local place now serving curbside pickup. Just finished a great salad and pizza meal . the staff was so nice and cautious. Got to support this local gem. read more

I think this is quickly going to become one of my favorite places in MoCo...I went here twice in one week and already planning my next outing! The place and atmosphere was pretty casual, which I enjoyed. My favorite thing though is the grilled chicken caesar salad! They take some romaine lettuce, brush it with olive oil and stick it on the grill, then add some shaved parmesan and homemade dressing. My mouth is watering now thinking about it! I've heard of one other place doing this, but this needs to become a trend. Amazing! Each visit, I also had some of the mild sauce pizza, once with basil/mozzerella, and once with meat. I didn't know how I would feel about it being a burnt crust, but it added a nice flavoring. The service was also great. On my second visit, the waitress dropped 2 slices of our pizza, but didn't want to have us wait any longer, so she brought out the rest of the pie and then threw in a whole other pie for free! This place always seems to be hopping, so hopefully the news is getting out! read more

I must be the only person who dislikes this place. The last time I ate here I got meatball pizza. The meatballs were crumbled on the pizza, but like one crumble per slice! I was not impressed. Plus the waitress was forgetful and disappeared. I'm not sure I'll be back. read more

That thin crust pizza with the signature sauce is always a good choice. I knocked off one star because the service wasn't very good this past time. read more