TR Fire Grill

[highlight]Restaurant is currently closed[/highlight]

Another reason to visit the popular Ravaudage dining complex, the upscale-casual TR Fire Grill. The Orlando market is the first location for this new dining concept for Romacorp Inc., parent company of Tony Roma’s. The emphasis here is artisanal fare with a local farm-to-table approach.

The Restaurant

The upscale-casual dining room features interior space that is open and inviting. The U-shaped bar at the entrance is the focal point of the restaurant. There are a handful of high top tables to the right of the bar and tables and booths to the left. A half-dozen or so ceiling mounted TV screens located around the bar provide sports updates, but are not so overpowering that they take away from the restaurant’s main focus of quality food and drinks.

The Food

Menu items consist of quality, fresh seasonal produce utilizing fresh, local ingredients, most within a 200-mile radius. Steaks are fresh, never frozen, aged and then hand cut daily in the restaurant.

The restaurant is a “chef-inspired American bistro” with thoughtfully layered flavors and creative combinations of quality ingredients that transform traditional menu items into truly innovative dishes. A good example of this is the Harvest Salad, with a combination of roasted golden beets, grilled pineapple, roasted tomatoes, asparagus, avocado, Manchego cheese and topped with pineapple mango vinaigrette. Batter-dipped bBrussels sprouts top off this salad, deliciously replacing the predictable croutons.

At the Bar

Drinks are available throughout the restaurant, but I’d recommend having at least one specialty cocktails at the bar. Watching the process and getting a narrative of the unique blend of ingredients is part of the experience.

Be sure to try one of the house-crafted “infusions.’ (My favorite was the Grilled Daiquiri with wood grilled pineapple infused Barcardi rum!)

Bourbon and whiskey drinkers will be impressed with choices listed on the drink menu. There is a reasonably priced and representative selection of wines available. The 20 + selections of domestic Craft beers, represent 11 different States.

You’ll find discounts on beer, wine and cocktails (including hand crafted cocktails) from 3 pm until 7 pm Monday through Friday and noon till 2 pm on Saturday at the bar. During Happy Hour, there is a special bar appetizer menu offered with $4 – $7 options.

Places and Spaces

The majority of the restaurant is a large flexible, open space with both regular and communial tables. The open kitchen on one side featrues the culinary team busy at work while the opposite wall hosts the bar with multiple TV screens. In addition to a good selection of individual booths and tables, the restaurant also offers a private dining area dubbed ‘The Godfather Room’ which consists of a large round table (comfortably seating 8) that can be enclosed by curtains. There is no charge or minimum for using this table and is the perfect way to host a dinner with friends. Another distinct dining space is a small table with 4 – 5 seats that overlooks the kitchen providing a little personalized interaction with the chefs at work.