Welcome to Firehouse Bar & Restaurant (The)

Good food fantastic service and a reasonable price just lacks a bit of atmosphere.

I have been meaning to try this restaurant since MJAIL visited here last year and finally, tonight, I did. This is a restaurant that serves the motel guests, as both dine-in and room service, as well as attracting locals that are "in the know". They are in the process of getting better signage as if you don't know they exist, you will just keep on driving down Great Eastern Highway, or slip into one of the restaurants or fast food outlets across the road. The room itself is quite spacious and decorated in warm tones with a nice burnished red at the end. Unfortunately, it is insufficient to warm the place up as it is surrounded by glass and only has mirrors on the wall. The (attractive) mirrors do nothing positive for the room as they would be better off with paintings or wall hangings to take away the function room look. Tables are very well spaced out, which if they get more business, may not last! The tables and chairs are of the pub variety but are comfortable none-the-less. I have to say while the lack of a tablecloth didn't bother me, I thought not placing a side plate rather remiss of them.

Attention from the waitstaff was prompt, polite and cheerful with menus and water provided promptly, and orders for drinks and meals taken at appropriate intervals. We asked for the garlic Turkish bread to arrive quickly and before our entrees (six oysters Kilpatrick and sesame calamari and prawn salad), which we were assured would not be a problem as it only takes a few minutes. Hmmm, half an hour later the garlic bread and entrees arrived together. I guess when eating at a motel, 6:30pm is not a good time as they are getting the room service meals out as well as the restaurant diners'. Once these dishes came out, there was no more waiting - except for one errant Coke! (There was also one mix up with the glass of wine when a glass of riesling arrived instead of the bubbly that was ordered.)

The garlic bread and entrees were all well received and were well presented and tasty. The mains of proscuttio wrapped chicken breast with veges and the pie of the day (beef and mushroom) with salad and chips arrived after only a brief wait and were as attractive and tasty as the entrees. This is simple food, well prepared with full plates and each a complete meal without the need to purchase any sides.

For everything mentioned, less the Ent Book discount of $30, we spent $76 which was excellent value for what we had. We were both too full to tackle a dessert but they were also simple but attractive. In fact, all of the food coming out of the kitchen looked lovely.

The restaurant was busy despite the early timeslot and, as I said, the room service was a heavy drain on the staff as well. The staff handled it all well but could have communicated the early delay problems to us to be a bit more professional. Will return.