The sauces didn't have too much flavor on their own, but adding salt, pepper, cayenne, etc, fixes them. Food was pretty good, and the wait wasn't long. I'm a vegetarian so there was a bit of meat contamination but that is bound to happen at a hibachi style place. Not bad. 4 stars. read more

A bacteriological nightmare, Salmonella and E. coli everywhere. Seated an hour late, With a reservation for our date. Fingerprints were on everything, Lots of birthday songs to sing. Sirloin as chewy as old gum, I hope I don't have the poops out my bum. All of the handles at the buffet were sticky, Ewwwww I felt really icky. My server's name I do not know, Caring for customers doesn't show. When I left this place tonight, I felt absolutely no delight. I will not be back, Not even for a free snack. Yelpers beware, of this bacteriological nightmare. read more

Alright now. I've read the reviews and there's some whining going on here. Whining about: 1. Having to stand and wait for food to be cooked. Yes, you will. That's what makes it fun. Don't come here if you're tired and want to be waited on. This place is a hands-on experience, so don't expect it to be what it isn't. Also, the cooks are very entertaining everytime I go, and very friendly. They sing songs, do fancy spatula tricks and talk to all the people waiting around the grill. Plus, I find it fascinating to watch all the food cooking. And it doesn't even take that long unless it's hella busy. 2. Concerns about sanitary conditions. I've never had a problem. And I'll tell you what: I feel better about eating food where I can see it being cooked in front of me than food that's prepared in secret. I used to work in a restaurant. I've seen things. Regardless, I'm not a germophobe at all. If you are and the idea of all the food being cooked on a big grill freaks you out, don't come here. 3. Complaints about portion size. Really? It's an all you can eat buffet and people are still complaining that the bowl sizes aren't big enough? America. You can pack those bowls pretty full and then put a huge burger on top of it and they'll cook it all. I always get a full plate worth of stir fry out of one bowl and yeah I always go back for seconds and sometimes thirds but I can rarely make it through my third plate, and I'm known for my prodigious appetite. 4. Whining about price. $10 for college kids on Monday night. $10 for lunch. $19 ish for dinner. Were you really going to pay less than $20 for dinner anywhere else in Back Bay? Even if you did you'd be getting half the food. Now I'm not saying it's dirt cheap but that's hardly expensive. This isn't the Golden Corral. They have unlimited meat, and it's not bottom-shelf. Meat is expensive to buy. You want a 8oz burger with 10 pieces of bacon? You got it. You want another? Sure. You want a whole bunch of seafood? You got it. 5. Complaints about service. It could be better. It's a little spotty especially when it's busy. And it's tough when you slathered on tons of spicy sauce and you need a refill to quell the burning RIGHT NOW and your waiter is all the way over there and making a beeline for the kitchen. They could definitely improve on this front but I've never had any major issues. Them's the facts. read more

I can't say one positive thing about this place. The vibe is wannabe nightclub. Lots of 21st birthday celebrations with the drooling bros to prove it. Relax, guys. This isn't Studio 54 (as much as Fire & Ice would like to think it is). You're eating glorified stir-fry...leave the stilettos at home. I could also do without the worst-of-the-best pop hits assaulting my eardrums. If you aren't interested in conversing with your date, this is your spot. As for the food, it's the McDonald's of Mongolian barbecue. You're responsible for your own concoction, so if it isn't good, there's little room to criticize the restaurant for it. It was well-cooked, nothing too hard or mushy. Just sort of blah, no sauce spicy or flavorful enough for me. And the rice was unmistakably Uncle Ben's instant blend. The ingredients being exposed to God knows what airborne illnesses skeeved me out, as well as the colorful "funky" lighting overhead. They put green light over the greens so it's almost impossible to tell if they're covered with debris, snot, insect carcasses, etc. At no point during my dining experience could I see what I was eating, which was certainly a well-planned strategy on Fire & Ice's part to keep their patrons "in the dark" about what they're really consuming. Our waitress was visibly annoyed to learn that one of the two of us hadn't been there before, so before launching into her dreaded spiel about the "procedure," she asked my dining partner if he was comfortable explaining it to me instead. When she retrieved our plates at the end of the meal, she almost apologetically asked, "Did you enjoy yourselves?" I didn't have it in me to break her heart and give her a piece of my mind. That's what Yelp is for. (Besides, it wasn't her fault.) You're paying for the overhead. If you go back for a second bowl, you're a fatty, so for most people, it just doesn't pay for itself. And don't even bother with the drinks. $18 to share something akin to Hawaiian Punch with no detectable amount of alcohol in it. "Do you want a doggie bag?" No, but I'll take a barf bag. I don't even want my toilet eating this shit. read more

Never again. I had to go with friends a few time since they were attracted to the show of it, but every time I go I got sick from all the salt in everything. With that and the slow service upstairs, I vowed to never eat there again. However, on a whim I went to meet a friend for drinks and EVERYWHERE else was packed. We couldn't find anywhere under capacity (it was company holiday party time-poor planning on our part) so Fire and Ice was literally the only place we could go. And I use the term literally literally. Not only did it take 8 minutes for our first drinks (whisky ginger ale and a g+t) but ordering chips and guac was a total bust. The waitress at the bar said we could order from her, but then never put the order in. After 27 minutes I asked her about the order and she rudely said "yeah that's almost out" then went to her register to put the order in after giving me the stink eye. The food was out shortly after, but the chips were burnt and guacamole scarce. It then took another 16 minutes to get our check where it was thrown in front of us with a grunt. Nope. read more

I've never felt so compelled to write a yelp review to actually do it, but this is a good start. We were in Boston for a while and we decided to check this place out through a friend's recommendation. We arrived and didn't have a reservation so the lady told us 1 hour to 1 hour and fifteen minutes. Great. That's typical for a busy restaurant on a Saturday night at around 6PM. They told us they'd text us when the table was ready, so we decided to go and do other things. After 50 minutes we head on back and the waiting room is filled with people. Good thing we put our names in an hour ago, right? Nope. They told us they can't even tell us how much longer we need to wait. I even heard other customers complain that they've been waiting two hours. Can't be, right? Nope again. We received a text message an hour and a half later. 9:30 pm. We've already eaten pizza that was luckily open at the time. If you're a restaurant, and you can't manage time, fine. But if you have the technology to send a text message when tables are ready, tell people that the wait time has been extended. Additionally, maybe do something about moving parties a little faster. I haven't actually had the food, and I am sure I never will, so I can't comment on that. I have much more to say about this restaurant, but at this point it's like beating a dead horse. I implore future patrons to reconsider and go somewhere else. read more

My family and I went in based on the reviews but had sticker shock when I got the bill. We had 2 adults and 4 children ages 0.8, 2, 9, and 11. First of all, there brunch pricing on Sunday which wasn't explained to us upon being seated. When we finally figured it out, the brunch selections were ending in 5 minutes. Upon finishing our meal, they asked if we wanted dessert so we ordered 4 ice creams. When I got the bill, my jaw dropped. They charged me for 3 adult prices $15.99 each, and 3 child meals. Child prices are 11 and under. To top it off, the 4 ice creams added an additional $20 to the bill. It's a good thing I only asked for waters instead of sodas. How do you charge patrons for brunch pricing but not provide the benefits? My infant was sleeping the whole time so how do you charge him for eating. Lastly, why not include dessert in this pricing? I am appalled by being overcharged to the extreme. Their saving grace is that their cooks were friendly and entertaining. Their hosts and my server - not so much. I will not recommend this place to anyone nor return. Be careful. read more

By all means, go to Fire & Ice if: [check all that apply] 5. It's your work associate's birthday and no one can agree on a place for lunch; 4. You're having dinner with a bunch of people you think you used to like whom you now see once a year but you can't remember why you were ever friends; 3. You don't mind paying for the experience of forcing chunks of barely refrigerated, rapidly decaying animal flesh, bean sprouts and green peppers into a tiny bowl and watching a teenager from Quincy spatula your meal around a communal grill; 2. You enjoy trying to identify the random pieces of other people's meals that end up on your plate after said spatulaing around said communal grill; or 1. You're OK with smelling like a Mongolian barbecue for the next three days. read more

i used to like Fire & Ice. Until my friend and I saw a rat run across the dining room while we were talking to the waiter. He nonchalantly said, "Oh...it comes out around this time each night". SERIOUSLY?!? read more

This is a great restaurant for people who don't enjoy restaurants. You don't go to Fire + Ice for the food, in much the same way that kids don't go to Chuck E. Cheese for the pizza. You go for an "experience." At Fire + Ice, you pay for the "experience" of choosing your own cold ingredients and then having someone cook them for you. I.e., it's the same experience you'd get at any other restaurant, with one important difference: you don't have a chef conceptualizing the ingredients into a dish. In short, you have a dining experience that is emptied of everything that makes other dining experiences special, unique, interesting, or memorable. Other restaurants have gimmicks in addition to the food. Fire + Ice has food in addition to the gimmick. If you want the Fire + Ice experience, chances are good that you're not reading this review. But if you're in town and reading Yelp for restaurant recommendations, go elsewhere. Walk into the South End and throw a rock; chances are good you'll hit a better dining experience than Fire + Ice can offer. read more

Is it just me.. but I'm just not interested in paying to walk in a buffet line looking for ingredients to my un-cooked meal. Then standing for 20 minutes at a crowded grill. Trying not to knock someone out when they push their way in front of you to get their food cooked first. keep it simple.. don't try to grab crazy ingredients cause you think it will taste good or you'll be stuck with it unless you want to stand by the grill for another 20 min. ehh.. i'm just not into this place. read more

I mean it IS a buffet... but unless you're starving and this is the last $20 you have just don't bother. I got dragged here for a lab dinner, so at least it was free. You throw miscellaneous ingredients in a bowl, douse it all with a generic flavored sauce, wait in a long line to have it cooked, and then eat as quickly as you can just to repeat enough to get your moneys worth. BLEH. Service - well there wasn't much as we had to hunt someone down to get us drinks. We were more or less ignored after that, and I'm just glad that my boss decided to spring for a bottle of wine and give me 1/3 of it. read more

It's fun *once* - provided you're drunk enough to overlook the skeeviness of all that raw pork and shrimp that's been lying around for God knows how long, with God knows who poking at it and sneezing on it God knows how many times. So, yeah, um, ew. read more

We went there for brunch on Sunday. There weren't many people when we arrived. We quickly got the table and ready to start enjoying the meal. One out of three of us came here before so she showed us how to prepare our meals. There were plenty of meat selection, chicken, pork, tenderloin and she said more choices like seafood for dinner. I chose some ingredient and then overwhelming by a number of sauces selection. Too bad that I could not try any of the sauces before I put it in my meal. I ended up tried 2 sauces which the tayitori was the best but I have no idea how to try them all. Two of my dished were overcooked, it appeared to me that cooks had to cook the food in the order, first in first out even beef can be done quicker than chicken. The wait time was quite long, it made me lose appetite for my second bowl. The brunch was about $13 and not expensive if you had at least 2 bowls. read more

Nooo I had such high hopes for this place after trying it out at a yelp elite event on Wednesday. The club tacos with pork belly and chicken that were sampled and savored were unique and incredible. The concept was described by Rafael (the owner) as an unpretentious, reasonably-priced taco/drink bar. His passion for his food and drinks really showed, and my bf and I couldn't wait to try out the actual restaurant on Friday night. Friday night rolls around and we walked into what looked like a swanky lounge where no one was eating. It was blasting music, which made it difficult to hold a conversation. The unpretentious vibe was shattered by the dim lights and cold interior design. It felt weird and awkward to sit at the bar and order tacos while everyone else was standing around sipping fancy drinks. We ordered three different sets of tacos: the club (chicken/pork belly), the beef short rib, and the carnitas. There didn't seem to be an actual kitchen where these were made. Apparently the taco bar is built right into the actual bar so we could watch the server make them. We weren't sure how long the ingredients were sitting out and the meat didn't taste fresh. We only enjoyed the club tacos. The beef short rib and carnitas were very dry. The meat tasted overcooked and there wasn't much sauce or anything that counteracted the dryness. For my drink, I got the frozen peach mojito, which sounded heavenly. They served it in a large glass. The first sip was absolutely phenomenal, but after the third or fourth sip I started feeling sick. There was way too much sugar in it, and it was like drinking a giant smoothie from Jamba Juice. It left me no room to drink anything else since I was so full from it. The bartender also wasn't very friendly at first. She warmed up to us, but at the beginning I felt uncomfortable especially when I was trying to express how great the tacos were at the yelp event. She questioned me like I was lying about the event because she hadn't heard of it, but goes to "every event." =/ Apparently not. Definitely has room for improvement, but the concept is great for people who are going out in Boston and want to grab a drink and a quick bite. read more

The hostess was too busy curling her hair to pay attention to how many ppl were in our party. When there were not enough seats for our party, the manager blamed us for not telling them the proper number of ppl in our party. No one explained to us how the restaurant operated. My friend had a piece of meat that tasted like chewing tobacco. We are still waiting for our check. read more

Great concept and new experience if you've never seen it, but the management and wait staff ARE TERRIBLE! First of all, I called to add 2 ppl to our reservation. The woman on the phone was so rude, and told me we would have to squeeze in. Complete lie. When we got there, it was obvious that they just added tables to the end, and there was plenty of room to add more. And about getting there, even when half of our party arrived, they wouldn't let us be seated. The rude hostesses said that 90% of the party would have to arrive.This means that for a party if 10, if 8 ppl were there, they would not be allowed to sit until the 9th arrived. REALLY?! 8 PPL COULD NOT BE SEATED? Our waiter was oblivious to our existence. It took 30 mins to get cups of water. This is self-serve; the waiter has like 2 tasks: get drinks and get napkins and he couldnt even get them done efficiently. It was too loud. You cant havea conversation because of the loud music and screaming people. It was also too dark. This is a restaurant not a night club. When we finally left, it was a huge relief to be outside. We were overcharged for an extra person and gratuity is included for the worst service ever. We must have paid $50 in tips for rude or nonexistent service. While the grill is unique, unfortunately our experience with the staff tainted the entire night. We wont be going back. read more

Oh Fire and Ice, you're so silly. Yes, this place is a pretty fun experience, and allows you to try your hand at becoming a flavor master(WHATTUP PINKY T!), but sometimes it is better to sit at a table and enjoy a meal cooked by a professional who actually knows what he is doing. This particular location is 2 floors, which creates some unique problems if you're in the "bar area" on the first floor. The upstairs area is extremely cramped, which can cause some collisions when attempting to get to the grill or back to your table with your scorching hot food. The food can be a 1 or 5 star experience depending on your own choices, so make sure that you are truly a flavor master, or your night will end poorly. read more

Fire + Ice has a grown up new venue, and it's hotttt. Or is it cool? Either way, it's sleek, sexy, and attracting a new crowd to what used to be a "young adult" spot. Under FiRE is the aptly named modern, trendy sister restaurant and bar, located directly under the Berekely Street location of Fire + Ice in Back Bay, Boston. The Marcia to F+I's Jan Brady, under FiRE's tagline is "grown up, not buttoned up", and it delivers. A zig-zag white marble bar pays homage to the traditional sharp edges of F+I's branding and mirrors the flame logo of under FiRE. Decor is minimalist chic, with space for 80 spread among hightops and low tables, and 15 at the bar. Pendant lighting gives the sophisticated aura you seek 'round these parts with enough light to read your menu sans iPhone glow. Director of Operations Raf Barbosa put all servers through a six-month craft cocktail training, which you can taste while sampling the diverse options on the drink menu. Blackberry moscow mule was superb, with strained blackberries (!!) and served in the traditional copper cup. The Fire Tea really was an unexpected twist on the Long Island, with a pink color and a light flavor that is way, way better than the usual extra dose of pre-packaged sweet and sour mix you find at most bars. Food-wise... well, come hungry. You'll want to try everything. The buffalo calamari is to die for, with a blue cheese dip that has just a hint of sweetness. Definite must-try. The peruvian chicken and gorgonzola quesadilla was delicious and I loved the sauce drizzled on the plate. It would be fantastic with a creamy balsamic, but for a bar to be getting that particular that I'm seeking the appropriate food pairings for peruvian chicken and gorgonzola? I'd say that's a good problem to have. Service was excellent, experience was great. Under FiRE really is a brand of it's own and destined to be a huge success. Can't wait to go back to try the tacos, or burgers, or sweet potato tater tots, or literally anything else on the menu. Yelper tip: bathroom is upstairs! read more

If the germs from the sticky silverware does not kill you. Then, the food will. If you like this place, I seriously could never be friends with you. Stay home and have an air sandwich, it's better than the food here. read more

A little gimmicky, but a solid choice for a good meal. I like that I can experiment with combinations and my son loves going there because he loved it as a kid. read more

Horrible service. No knowledge of food allergies. Waiter actually said to a food allergy child, "oh good, you are still alive". I will never come back to this place. I sent them an email voicing my displeasure and never received a response. Very classless. If you cannot be food allergy friendly, don't even mention it on your website. read more

The atmosphere and experience of this place is amazing. I went with a huge group of friends on a Friday night and our wait was surprisingly not real long and we got a nice round corner booth. They play great music, have tons of food, and let's face it, how they cook the food is like no other place you'll see. I found it kind of expensive though. Yes, it's Boston and yes, it's all you can eat, but on a budget and with a strawberry daquari to go with it and of course a tip...it can be a little tight. Especially considering the fact that I had trouble finding things to eat. I definitely did not get my money's worth. I prefer things separated on my plate and I don't like things of different tastes meshed all together so it was really hard for me to find things to go well. I think I only went up twice and got something small each time, and I didn't love the idea of the raw chicken next to the pasta and broccoli in my bowl...I'm sure it was safe but not something I'm used to doing. Maybe I'm just a little on the conservative side but this wasn't one of my favorite places. I'd go there again if other people wanted to go because I did have fun, but if I had a choice I'd pick some place else. read more

Why do people celebrate their birthday here? I guess I can understand celebrating your pre-pubescent birthday at a TGIFridays because your it's just like, SO COOL and the food is SO GOOD. But here? Do you really want to wait for your food with all of your friends while RuPaul decked out in bebe attire is screaming at the "cooks" about undercooking her burger? I don't know. But more on RuPaul later. I came here with a bunch of the girls because Erin C. (not a yelper yet, but soon to be one) told me this place was really good. She knows how to pull at my heartstrings... food, and unlimited amounts for $10. Ah, but there's a catch. There is always a catch. So here's the thing about me: when I'm hungry, I need to eat. Like within ten minutes. And though I had a really wonderful time picking what I wanted stir fryed into bowls I found too small... the wait was almost unbearable. It was made bearable standing next to my SISTERS (woot, woot, sorority girls) and watching the scum of the earth salivate at what was definitely their third time up at the grill. So I'm standing there, waiting to get my food cooked, excited at the chance to try the Fajita sauce (undoubtedly the best thing ever, I wanted to put it in to go cups and take them home with me but I think that's frowned down upon?) and Erin says, "Okay I need you to look over ahead and to the left. Just look." So I did. It was RuPaul, with buggy eyes, in bebe jeans that I later learned were bebe because there were rhinestones preciously attached across the ass, in a corset, and just overall a terrifying sight. I couldn't take my eyes away from her. Him. Her. I give up. I finally get my food but not before the cook flirted with me. For a moment, I thought something could happen between me and Alberto. Or Julio. Or Jose. Whatever, it was special at the time. Then I realized that he was being extra nice to all of the girls, even the one who was celebrating her birthday there and was a tiara away from me totally hating her. I bring my food back to the table... and I'll be honest. I scarfed it down. It was the fajita sauce. I would have eaten a person if they had sauce like that smothered on them. And then I went up again, sauce in hand, and stood next to RuPaul's cousin. I knew they were related because they had the same kind of eyes... the kind that are barely held inside the head. "Oh UH UH THAT AIN'T MY BURGER. I SAID I WANT MY BURGER WELL DONE. OH NUH UH DON'T TOAST MY BUN I DON'T WANT IT TOASTED. OH NO I KNOW YOU DON'T THINK THAT BURGER IS DONE. WHAT YOU TRYIN' TO DO, POISON ME?!" That's who I stood next to. It was exhausting. I was bursting at the seams with judgement. Then I came back and ate my second plate of food. With some salad. With some fondue that we all demolished. Then I had dinner at Aquitaine two hours later. Okay gotta go, bye! read more

I used to come here in college and it was a fun time, but this last visit was a nightmare. I experienced the most violent food poisoning I've ever had in my entire life. The other person I ate with also got sick, but not as badly. I suspect it was from the crab legs because I noticed when I added them to my plate the ice underneath them had melted. I suppose I should have known better. Aside from the explosive food poisoning, the experience I had WHILE at Fire and Ice was nice, but I feel I've outgrown it - everyone around was much younger and noisier, and I ended up just feeling pressured and rushed to stuff my face and hurry out. I was already thinking to myself that I probably won't come back because I really wasn't feeling the atmosphere anymore, but the food poisoning sealed the deal. I won't be returning. read more

"Meh," is about all I can muster if asked to come up with one word to describe my experience at Fire + Ice. I was there as part of a large party for a couple people's birthdays. They had both agreed upon this place pretty much based on the gimmick, I suppose. When we got there, on time for our reservation, our tables weren't yet ready. About 20 minutes later, we were permitted to continue upstairs to our seats. Our party was a mix of children and adults, so I was willing to give this place the benefit of the doubt in terms of service. But then... what service? We hardly saw our waitress, and it took forever for her to fulfill our drink order of mostly sodas. For a restaurant where the patron does most of the work (picking out your own food, bringing it to the grill, waiting for the chefs to cook it and bring your plated meal back to your seat), we were surprised at the poor attention we received from our waitress. The quality of the food was sub-par. I realize that $17 for an all you can eat dinner is pretty decent, but the pasta was rubbery and the meat was flavorless. It's a neat gimmick, but the execution is bad. FYI: They validate parking, but make sure you part at the St. James garage. read more

Man do I hate Fire & Ice. I begrudgingly went here this weekend for a friend's birthday. This place was packed until close with college kids. It's becoming more like a club with food than a restaurant. Ick. Anyways, I do have a few positive things to say. I didn't eat at the grill (because it grosses me out and I think the food all ends up tasting like grill anyways, not worth it) and ordered some fries instead. They were $2 for a huge basket, sweet! Free refills on soda kept me in a good mood too. Our server was great, very attentive even in the zoo that is Fire & Ice. read more

It's loud, it's crowded, and takes a long time. I'm okay with all three of those things as long as it's a Monday night which is college night: $10 all you can eat with student ID. Usually it's around $20. I would even suggest going during lunch time when it's less crowed and is $9.95 for all you can eat. I like the food EDIT: It's super crowed at night with bachorlette/birthday parties. I went here for my lady's birthday on a Thursday night and it was a 2 hour wait, and even if we were to wait, I'm sure the grill would be SO crowed it would take forever for one plate. SO! We skipped over to the harvard square location which wasn't crowed and the food was delicious. read more

Edit: star removed due to getting sick. We showed up several minutes before our reservation and were told they already had given our table away. First time I've lost a table when I'm on time. When they finally got our table ready, we were told they could 'accommodate' us now. Perfect word choice to the already angry couple. If we hasn't had a gift card, we would have walked out. The concept here is cute, but when left to your own devices, you end up with what you are comfortable with instead of going nuts. It would be nice if they left the menu with combination suggestions at the table, or if they posted them around the food area. Food was grilled to the point of being overdone, and you can't taste the sauce, no matter how much you give them. The more food, the more charred grill taste. The initial bowl is HUGE. If you really want your money's worth and to go to the grill several times, don't fill it up all the way. The second-round bowls are much more moderately sized. If you want to visit the grill several times and you're there at peak hours, be prepared to spend several hours there. read more

This is great place to eat with a big group or on a date! You can get creative and it's all you can eat. Awesome for Sunday brunch. It's a must try (at least twice)! read more

Was really counting on this, because I'm trying to gain some weight, but I was grossly disappointed. I was sat in front of a broken window at the end of December, wait staff never once refilled my water, removed dishes I was still eating from, waiting to have the food cook in front of you takes at least 20+ mins and the bowls are kid size and the meat was questionable similar to the discounted meat at the super market (graying red meat and slimy chicken) definitely needed to be cooked on the day. Oil sprayed from a can and too much of the food was singed. Buying three chipotle taco bowls would cost the same after tax and tip and considering wait time I'd save an hour and a half of my precious time, more money in the pocket there too. They lost what would have been a regular weekly customer for the next six months at least. read more

We had the best server this time around and i've been here many times. He was completely under control and no signs of stress considering it was college night and it was buzzing with crazy madness. He came around and ask how we were doing several times and refilled water and removed plates as needed. He was all smiles even though it was a mad house. This was the highlight of our trip. We weren't happy that there were no shrimp as part of seafood. Perhaps a result of so many people, the food was cooked a lot longer than necessary, and therefore the first time was burnt. The fish became a puddle of particles. The hostess was also accommodating and let us sit with, after we spotted our friends there! YAY! Downside: the food is completely what you make of it. So if you put in a bad mixture, expect it to be, along with your sauce of choice. When cooking, it could be completely over cooked and your food will be burnt as I've noted last night. Upside: you get to put whatever you want in your food and it will be cooked, with your sauce of choice. TIPS: MEAT/Veggie Choices: a very good mixture of stir fry, (my personal favorite, when they have it) is: Broccoli, Chicken, Bamboo shoots, sugar snaps, pineapple (break it down yourself because they no longer have the cut up ones), cilantro, squid, shrimp. SAUCES: Sweet and Sour, Hot Chili, Yakitori (mix equal parts (1/3 each). Mix it up yourself with another little cup or ask them for a spoon. When the sauce is ready to be applied to your food, tell the cook to add another cup of water after he pours the sauce. It will thin about the sauce you already put in so that it will mix more evenly on your food. I want to give this place more stars but really can't. Service was the only highlight of the evening but i also paid for food. It just doesn't make sense. read more

I LOVE Fire & Ice. I love the ability to customize my dish (although I tend t always get some variation of the same dish), and it always feels a bit like a fun experiment. This is not to say it is without flaws - service is lackluster, they can get easily overwhelmed by crowds, and the acoustics are terrible (make an already loud environment ten times louder than in needs to be) . However the unique experience they offer partially makes up for these weaker points which at more traditional establishments would be deal breakers. The compiling of ingredients is self serve - separate buffets with uncooked meats, veggies, and pastas alongside stations for burgers and salads (and I think I saw an ice cream bar?). You walk around the buffets with a bowl, putting together your meal. Then you go to the sauce section where you can mix, taste, and select your meals sauce. The meals are cooked in the center of the area in front of everyone, which provides for some excellent entertainment (but can also get old pretty quickly when you have a long wait). If you get the all you can eat option you can't take home the left overs so be sure you can finish what you get. They have entree options but honestly I've never even looked at them. I wouldn't come here for a traditional dinner. Their cocktails are OK - they taste good but are extremely weak. read more

We arrived at quite a scene, there was about 100 people lined up outside the restaurant. We had made a reservation for 6 (four adults two kids) 3 months ago and couldn't get in the door when we arrived. They then tried to sit us at the high top tables near the downstairs bar but the kids needed high chairs so it didn't fly. They then told us they were dealing with a party of 125 and had no room left in the main restaurant. We finally got sat at a low top near the bar, however, the 125 people were unleashed to get their food and if you've been there you'll have some idea how much of a bad idea that was. We couldn't get upstairs to get food so we left and ate crappy sandwiches. I wish they had told us when we made the reservation about the party of 125 so we could have planned around it. Reply - we were given two vouchers for six people and the GM insisted on sitting a pregnant woman and her kids at the bar. Please don't take reservations you can't accommodate. read more

What a disappointing brunch. But what did I expect? The few times I've visited Fire&Ice, it was never spectacular. Maybe except the time I went for the very first time in the 9th grade. That did wow me. So awesome that you can pick your own food and have someone cook it for you. But wait, I pick my food, my sauces, and all they do is throw it on the grill -ALL of my sauce bowl, doesn't matter if it's too much or not. So in the end, I'm the responsible one for cooking my food. Therefore, the awful taste of my dish is entirely on me, not the chef. And I'm paying for it. So if you want a nice dinner, save yourself the trip. Save yourself some time hustling through the crowd with your overfilled bowls of ingredients, save your stomach from growling as you eye your dish sizzle away on the giant grill while the cooks seem ever so slow as they move around the circle, and save your clothes and hair from the smoky smell of the grill. If you want a fun/different experience, I guess you can always try. P.S. The service I had today was horrible. The hostess sat us down saying someone will be right with us for drinks. No one came by for the longest time. So we went to get our food. I asked for water once we got back and the waitress told me that usually they take drink orders before we get the food. Oh I know. But no one was there, and now she managed to make us seem like savages who couldn't wait for eat. read more

All you can eat..need I say more? This a very entertaining place for large groups and can also work for a date. You basically pick all the veggies, fruits, raw meats, noodles that you want and take it to the cooks and they grill it for you, right in front of you! The cooks also add to the atmosphere by chatting with you. Depending on how crowded it is will determine how long it takes for your food to be grilled. There is one giant grill and you stand around it and hand the food to the cooks. I had a great time last time I was there and I can definitely say I am going back!!! read more

So my boyfriend (who works in the building) and I went to the new opening of the downstairs bar at the Berkeley location. The manager, I believe, had gone around to businesses in the building and passed out coupons for free food and drinks on their soft opening. When we get there we were seated promptly. Our vouchers said "free food and drinks", so we asked our waitress to verify this before we ordered. She verified and said we had full access to the drink and food menu--no limit (we double checked this as well, because it seemed too good to be true). She again verified we could order whatever food or drinks we wanted and it would be complimentary. So we go ahead and order drinks and appetizers. We are warned that the kitchen is working with the new menu but is backed up so our food would be "shortly" delayed. So we go ahead and enjoy our drinks and wait for our food...and wait...and wait... An hour and a half go by and finally our waitress, brings out 1 of our 3 appetizers. We are told one of the appetizers we ordered was no longer available. You couldn't have informed us of this an hour ago?? The second just never comes and the one she brought out was cold. At this point I just want to leave and go home. Our waitress brings over the check and we slide our vouchers inside and leave her a nice tip, even though our meal was supposed to be free. So as we walk out of the restaurant, our waitress comes yelling behind us that we didn't pay our bill. We remind her again about the vouchers and she says that was only good for "one drink and one food item". I was furious, because we had taken such precaution, asking multiple times the status of the voucher before we ordered anything. They called the manager down which was ridiculous and caused a scene at the busy entrance. He honored our vouchers and let us leave. First of all, the staff was completely unprepared for the night. There was multiple times I saw staff members sit behind the bar and eat/drink and stand around. The kitchen seemed to explode at the site of a new menu and was horribly unprepared. My understanding is a soft opening is for the business to test their product and introduce their new concept. If this was what they were striving for, they completely failed. It was one of my most frustrating dining experiences, thank goodness I didn't waste my money here! read more

If you decide to come here I highly suggest the pastas and salad bar, my food and my class of 95 students was all pretty positive except for my raw burger which made me not eat any more. They have good service just it's a bit of a rush to get your food. read more

this place should be called salmonella and diarrhea, but i just that doesnt pop as well with the tourist bunch. so when i had less than a good idea about how food is suppose to be prepared or whats expected in a sitdown restaurant, i would go for lunch,hell the office was a block away and the price for lunch was decent. heres the deal, pile a bunch of shit in a bowl, get some sauce, give it to a 'chef' and wait for stomach cramps to come knocking. did you know the average cooking time for broccoli is different then cooking pork? no? yes? you still there? well long story short, on a giant grill with 50 plus people's lunch all over it, youd think that the odds of getting a undercooked this or a burned that were a bit better then if they were working one on one. eeek! well anyway, chose to eat here if you want, im never going there again. read more

First floor bar, second floor dining. The place is a bit run down. I counted ten strips of tape covering the booth seat I was at and a random strip of blue painters tape on the wall that no one cared to remove. Asian hostess had absolutely no greeting, energy and pretty much walked away as soon as she flung the menus on the table. No explanation of how things work, who our server was, etc. You grab a metal bowl, pick your ingredients that have been sitting in ice for who knows how long, and bring it to the "chef" to cook. Everyone's plate cooks for the same amount of time so good luck to you if you are eating fish. The sauce gets added last so the pasta is left burnt and hard as it gets scorched on the burner. You get to customize to your liking but the reason I go out is to make food better than I can at home. F+I definitely does not. Two redeeming factors -1) it's cheap AYCE and 2) our server brought waters without asking, checked in from time to time, and cleared plates. read more