Firechief

It’s an average joint with average food. It brings in the crowds because it caters to everyone’s liking as it has pizzas, parmas, and brekkie, but there is nothing here that stands out on its own to make me want to come back again.
I’ve been here twice now, once for dinner and once for breakfast and I wasn’t disappointed either time, but nothing was memorable either.
If you are looking for a family restaurant and want to make sure the place has something for all tastebuds, this place will suit. If you’re looking to take out a date or try something out of this world, keep moving.

I came here for brekkie, yes, I know… woodfire pizzas! I’ll come back for those another time. My mother’s group booked a table for 12 (6 adults and 6 bubs). They accommodated us and were friendly to boot! The coffee is good and the egg Florentine tasty. Great hollandaise. The prices are good, we’ll be back.

The pizza was awesome my only issue was the waitress never mention about the specials other than that I do recommend the place.

On the hunt for some quick lunch during work, I spotted Firechief. The building stood out to me and I love projects on brownfield sites that fully utilise the existing structures. Especially without losing the original concept to the design. It has large yellow painted steel columns and exposed brick work.
I took a seat and the waiter was fast and prompt, standing out because of how amiable he was. I ordered a quick pizza (crudo) and bruschetta, something very safe but quick for lunch. They love their mozeralla here it seems giving a generous amount on the bruschetta but it was welcomed and enjoyed!
The pizza arrived, the base was decently cooked. I still love it when it’s a bit darker with a bit more of a burnt texture to it. The sauce was the best I’ve tried yet here, not over saturated with it, just enough that the base wasn’t soggy but tasteful. The prosciutto was delicious and my favourite part of it all was their addition of the buffalo mozzarella they placed it on top and used the heat of the pizza to melt it, until it became a delicious combination over the pizza as I ate it.
It’s a great atmosphere and the service is great. Definitely recommend it for a light lunch. It’s not quite 5 stars, the service was definitely worth mentioning for its quality and the presentation was tantalising. What I really liked was the feel of the community in the restaurant with its movie deals and lunch deals. It’s just on the edge for me as it can’t seem to decide if it’s a pizzeria or a burger restaurant or something completely different. I think if it kept to the good simple pizzas it delivers without chips on the side it could really be the go to place for some good pizzas and atmosphere.

I found very little to complain about at Firechief. The space looks as though it could have been a firehouse in a former life, though I was informed by friends that this was not the case (it was also not a brothel, as these same friends led me to believe).
The food was hands-​down delicious. The staff were friendly. And the daily specials are exciting — Meatless Mondays?! HELL YEAH!

Been meaning to try The Chief for ages based on word-​of-​mouth so was glad to finally get around to it and book in for a busy Saturday night.
It’s a cool unassuming space. Not overly decorated or designed, but nonetheless clearly laid out with a laid back feel in mind. The bar at the back (booked for a function when we were there) was also a nice add-​on.
We shared 4 pizzas amongst our party… though really 5 when you take into consideration the garlic «bread» which was more a super cheesey pizza with a bit of garlic in it. (That might sound like I’m bagging it, but I’m not. Delicious, but be prepared for the cheesefest.)
The 4 actual pizzas were all pretty great, and having that many to share and try is a great way to get introduced to a new place. The Irish blood in me had a soft spot for the potato pizza, if a winner had to be chosen, but the slow cooked lamb challenged.
Heat warning that the salami is super hot — from memory the menu does not note this, but we found it quite bum-​burningly warm, and that includes the perspective of someone who eats crazy hot ‘death wings’ for a fun hobby.
We BYO’d, which we thought was $ 10 a bottle, but was only charged $ 10 for two in the end, but the wine list looked decent if we had turned up empty-​handed.
Big recommendation is to come during the week where there are specials galore (none of which apply on a busy Sat night of course) including an exceptionally well priced pizza-​movie combo for the Rivoli across the road. We also plan to come back to try the breakfast menu, which also looks really promising (although it will be hard not to just get pizza again for breakfast I think…).

Firechief, hmmm well I’m just not sure, yet…
I’ve walked past many times and it always looks busy. And you almost always need to book in advance. So these points alone led me to think that this place must be good.
Firechief is trying to be a gourmet pizza place. The layout is cool, spaced out enough to chat with a degree of privacy, but not too much that it loses the ambience. They also have a cool space out the back for groups.
More importantly though, where I have a slight grumble is with the pizza’s themselves. The topping amounts are on the stingy side and the sizes of the pizzas are pretty small.
Yes the pizzas are supposed to be gourmet which I guess means the toppings are more expensive, but I just think there are places out there doing it better (Versace’s being one of them). All Pizzas are priced around $ 20, but for what I got I actually felt a bit ripped off.
All up, I thought this place was OK, and I will give it another try. However, my first visit left me a little disappointed.

Wow. I was blown away on every level at Firechief. The restaurant was short staffed on waiters/​ess’ and they still were gracious, generous and informed us of everything, right down to the timing of our food! I had the barramundi and it was the best I’ve had in months. Pizzas were gorgeous and aged steak was top notch. Wine by the glass is great too. We will definitely be going back!

PIZZA THE ACTION.
We have a soft spot for pizza, who doesn’t? And we have found a few pretty good joints here in Melbourne — from the authentic Italian staff at St Kilda stalwart Il Carusi (where you will find rich, sweet tomato sauce slathered on thin and crispy bases, paper tablecloths and very drinkable red wine) to upmarket fare at Ladro (on Greville Street in South Yarra and Gertrude Street in Fitzroy — the funky fit-​outs and interesting pizza toppings do the two fashionable addresses proud). Then there is old reliable Pizza e Birra on Fitzroy Street (which also serves a range of pastas and meaty mains, plus Italian antipasti-​style starters), city slickers +39 on Little Bourke Street and Joseph Abboud’s (of Rumi fame) super– delicious Lebanese take on the beloved Italian peasant food at The Moor’s Head in Thornbury (full review to come — just one quick tip — order the fairy floss for a post-​pizza trip back to childhood).
Places that failed to live up to the hype include Mr Wolf — toppings too sparse (not in a less is more way, but in a stingy way), too noisy and frantic inside, and a high chance of sitting next to excitable kids and, even worse, excitable adults.
Then there are the places we want to visit and haven’t got round to yet — 400o Gradi (East Brunswick) and Pizza Meine Liebe (Northcote).
But let’s now turn our attention to Paul Mathis’ new kid on the block — Firechief, which along with sister brunch /​coffee chop operation Goldilocks, opened in Camberwell late 2011 /​earlier this year. As lovely front of house man-​in-​charge Lucas is keen to point out, it has been a gradual process, with both halves of the refurbed high-​ceilinged warehouse space getting to grips with jam-​packed services (on a busy Saturday night, Firechief can see in excess of 200 diners pass through the doors in up to three sittings — seems like everyone wants a slice of the action — ouch).
Rollings pins on the wall, oversize rustic chandelier, splashes of yellow and the odd pot plant housed in wooden boxes — all very Melbourne (in fact Paul Mathis Design has been shortlisted for the 2012 Australian Interior Design Awards.
Pizza connoisseurs — now is the time to get excited. Three ovens provide three different pizza styles. That’s right — authentic and original pizzas from Naples are made according to strict guidelines (outlined by a rather stringent pizza-​loving ‘associazone’) and cooked in a 400o wood-​fired oven for just two minutes. Crispy, uncluttered and authentic toppings — we opt for Crudo — San Marzano tomato, bufala mozzarella, topped with San Daniele prosciutto and basil ($ 24.90).
Then there is the modern artisan ‘hand-​style’ pizzas — cooked in a classic Italian twin-​deck oven, worked by hand and shovel, and placed on the stone floor at 360o for around four minutes. We ordered the Prawn and Pancetta — Tiger prawn cutlets, fior di latte, crispy pancetta, mojo dressing (tangy aioli-​style sauce, offsetting the salty meat) and fresh rocket ($ 23.90). If you flew to Italy tomorrow (we wish), this is most likely the kind of the thing you would be biting into (ok, the toppings have been given the Melbourne treatment) while knocking back of few cheeky glasses of chianti. On that note, the drinks list is a happy mix of old and new world grapes and grain, and old-​school aperitifs.
The third class of pizza is ‘the great Australian family pizza’ cooked in trays in a conveyor oven with local Aussie ingredients — six minutes at 340o sees fluffy bases and some less authentic, but no less popular, toppings — think pineapple, egg, pepper-​marinated chicken and scallops.
There be salads — fresh tomatoes, fior de latte, cucumber and basil — among other fresh and zingy offerings. Also starters make for good pop-​in-​the-​middle-​of-​the-​table sharing plates, in case you’ve had enough dough for one sitting (like that would ever happen). Deep-​fried calamari with yoghurt tzatziki dip ($ 13.90) was our choice.
Happily sated, we think we might have found our new favourite pizza place — unpretentious, affordable, with a great range of pizzas (without making up topping combinations for the sheer heck of it — a pet niggle of ours), good drinks and decent coffee. Mama would be proud.

Firechief has potential. There is something to be said for an Italian restaurant where you can talk freely with space around you and not be too concerned about the proximity of other dinners (take note Rococco) and your own privacy. That said, the pizza was a little disappointing. With our local favourite Della Nonna closing down, we are in hunt for a replacement. Firechief will not be it. Far too salty for one and just lacking the spark that Ladro and E Lounge and the like have. BYO ‘$ 5 corkage per person’ the waiter apologetically mumbled… The wine is reasonably priced from what I could see. It was nice, I liked the ambience, the food was ok.