Wife and I usually have a rule - no dining at hotel restaurants in our hometown of Columbus. They tend not to impress foodies, but wife made a mistake and booked a reservation at Fyr not realizing it's inside the Hilton downtown, and yea, Fyr didn't impress...
Let me be clear, objective and fair - we had a pleasant meal. The food was entirely edible and pretty OK. Service was fantastic. The restaurant has a nice interior - not super-impressive like a Cameron Mitchell restaurant - but nice for an upscale restaurant stuck inside a Hilton hotel.
But for $450 bucks (including tax + tip) for 4 people - 4 non-steak entrees, a few shared apps + sides, and 1 cocktail each - this was noticeably pricy for what we got.
None of us ordered steak because the steak prices were even higher and would have pushed the bill over $500.
None of the food was bad - we didn't even think about sending anything back - it's just that nothing was great. There wasn't much we would be excited to order again, and none of us would return to Fyr at these prices.
Drinks - let me mention the Caipirinha - Caipirinhas are simple - lime juice, casasha (Brazilian cane rum), sugar - on ice. Some folks add a splash of water. BUT THEY NEED THE SUGAR. It's not a proper Caipirinha if it's just lime juice, casasha and ice. I have a Brazilian friend who taught me to make a proper caipirinha, and this wasn't it. We sent it back and swapped for something else, but the bar manager needs to check how some of the bartenders are making this iconic Brazilian cocktail because mine was solid acid with no sweetness, and that's not how they're supposed to taste.
Again - service was EXCELLENT. We encountered probably 6 different people working there, and every one was very friendly, welcoming, and provided great service. The chef said hello twice.
But the $40 New Zealand Lamb Shank was "gamey" (and I eat a LOT of lamb), the $55 Iberico Pork Secreto was unnecessarily greasy (we ate quite a bit of Pork Secreto in Spain), and the $34 Amish Chicken was under-seasoned.
Mom always said "Freddy, you can say something good about anything", so here goes Mom - the grilled cauliflower was awesome (we were inspired and will make it this summer - I would never have had the nerve to put that much char on a piece of cauliflower, and it was awesome), the 2 lbs of mussels were generous and the broth was REALLY tasty, and the $15 pair of empanadas were pretty good.
Ok, Mom, you're right like usual - I'd order cauliflower and mussels again...
All in all, if I were visiting from out of town, no car, staying in the Hilton, and attending a business conference across the street at the Convention Center and spending from a generous company expense account, Fyr is fine for a hotel restaurant.
But if you're a Columbus local, and a foodie, and you don't want to bring an unnecessarily fat wallet, Fyr was only ok. There are a LOT of great restaurants in this town, including several within walking distance of the hotel... read more