Fire and Ice

It had been a few years since the last time I had eaten here. The food is just as good as I remember. I love the concept and the food is definitely good
The atmosphere has really gone down the drain here. This place definitely needs a big time update. I also remember the chefs being more fun and they were all just business. The music was just today’s hits and overall just not much of a fun place. The bathrooms were disgusting. Both me and my girlfriend made a comment about it and it’s not something we usually really care about.
I didn’t get a burger but that was mainly because while watching them cook it, it looked like they were mutilating it. They chop it up and press all the juices out. But having not tried it I can’t say if it tastes good just breaks my heart to watch it.
But overall the food is good with lots of options. Would love it if they revamped it. Maybe try the Boston one?

It has been years since we went to the Harvard Square Fire and Ice but we went last night for a birthday party. It looked exactly the same — fun and festive, but it seemed small. I love the concept — you pick your veggies, meats and sauce and they cook it on this big circular grill. Since you pick your own ingredients, there is something for everyone of every dietary need. The guys at the grill work so very hard — if you go, please tip them — and the waitstaff is pretty quick at clearing dishes and refilling drinks. The major disappointment with this location — especially when it is crowded — the layout is rough and not conducive to easy assembly and dining. The grill in the center works great, but it is way too close to the food and sauce selection area and when folks don’t know how it works, they wander around and honestly just get in the way. Easy parking right across the street, but not cheap and not so easy that we would just pop in the car and say, let’s go! I prefer the Boston location better — it is a much better set up and at lunch, they give you a ticket to give at the grill so they can bring your plate to your table when it is ready. That allows for ample conversation time over a salad before the main meal arrives. I wish they gave us that option there last night. It is still a fun place to go and the food is good, just don’t plan to start and finish your meal at the same time as the rest in your party.

This place has such potential, it’s a shame that it doesn’t live up to it.
The idea that you can pick exactly what you want to eat, in what proportions you want is awesome. The food and the sauces were pretty good, but the execution left lots to be desired.
The concept is that you fill your bowl with what ever vegetables and meat/​fish/​protein that you want, pick a sauce, and then they grill it on a big communal grill. In practice, it didn’t work that well.
They threw everything on the grill and cook it for the same length of time, without taking any care to separate the food or pay attention to different food’s optimum cooking time.
I got someone’s else’s chicken in my bowl! I only selected fish options, and they were left on the grill just as long as the meat choices, so they were WAY over cooked by the time I got them. And it took a LONG time to cook them. While you are cooking them, you have to stand around the grill. As someone with a bad back and knees, it was not comfortable.
The salad bar was AWESOME. We enjoyed that the best, but for some reason they decided to put green and red lighting over the salad bar, so it looked completely unappetizing. If you can get past that, the salad choices are great.
The soup was also very good, even though they only had one. I would have liked a choice of one with meat and one vegetarian.
The atmosphere is crowded and noisy. We went on a Saturday night, got there early when it wasn’t too bad, but by the time we were done we were yelling at each other to be heard.
The seating it cramped. When people around us got up, they ended up bumping into my chair every.single.time.
This might be a fun place to go once, but I didn’t find it all that great and won’t be going back.

I honestly wish I could give 0 stars…
Where to begin…
— parking was extremely expensive, and I believe I paid more for parking that I did for my food.
— the restaurant was very dark and seemed crammed.
— when we went up to get our food to be cooked, I had asked the waitress if there was cheese. She said that they had it up at the grill. When the cook took my food, I asked for Parmesan cheese and he said okay. Once my food was done, I reminded him about the cheese, and he just said, «no we don’t have it.»
— the cook DID NOT HAVE GLOVES ON.
— when we went up for seconds, the same cook that did not have gloves on was running his hands through his hair, and then wiped his hands on his pants and continued to cook.
— another cook, who had one glove on, fixed his junk WITH the gloved hand.
I have been to both the Providence and Boston locations and have never had a problem. Quite disappointed.

Told half hour wait… It’s been an hour and a half and I am still waiting. This is ridiculous… What a joke of a restaurant. Keep being told «ten minutes» which has been a lie. We asked if we are able to eat down at the bar and were taken off the list without our knowledge… Oh? How can this place be in business? They claim they are behind on reservations. Then they say people upstairs are not leaving. I don’t get it.

I had visited this restaurant as a 20 year old and had fond memories, so when I returned 9 years later I expected a similar fondness. What I found was a noisy restaurant that had some novelty but not enough charm to sustain. While the chefs are entertaining and the food adequate, some of the patrons were quite obnoxious. Birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and «bros» abounded. This place is to a 22 year old what Chuckey Cheese is to an 8 year old. Either way, I’m too old.

After standing at the bar for 25 minutes without service as they served others instead we left.

I needed a restaurant that could accommodate a large party prior to Christmas. Fire & Ice filled that bill. Well, now I know why there was availability. This basement location restaurant with Dr. Seuss inspired décor is so tired. Tired of not getting an update since it opened in the late 90’s. The lighting in this place is terrible!
The greeter was nice enough, but he said he needed to «get our table ready» when we showed up for our reservation that had been confirmed three times. The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived. We didn’t wait long to be escorted to our table, however, my leg ran right into a strip of metal coming up from the carpeting. We put a chair over the metal so no one else would be hurt. The waiter’s eyes told me that he knew the place was in need of some repairs.
Our food was okay, but if you happen to get behind a large party, which happened to one of our guests, you will be waiting to come back to your table forever. I had to ask for the bowls of food to be refilled. The grill and dining area just felt dirty and old. Definitely a big disappointment. I would not recommend this place.

A favorite restaurant of mine to go for lunch. I just wish though they have WIFI so can use internet while I have lunch. All employees very nice, love the variety of food can choose from for chef to grill and love watching the chef cook my food.
Manager Meagan very nice, and the host that seats me.
Love how the ice cream bar was added, I wish more flavors added: Mint Chocolate chip, Cookies N Cream, Black Raspberry, and toppings, Sprinkles Rainbow.

I suppose 2 servings of stir fry and a multitude of protein options might justify a $ 22 dinner bill for 1 (including gratuity) however the environment was absolutely unappetizing. The cooking area was messy, the entire restaurant was painted with tacky gross colors… Also, I didn’t like having to stand and wait 10 minutes plus for the stir fry to be cooked before walking back to my seat at the other room of the restaurant. Luckily, the servers and cooks are great people. Too bad the rest of my experience was so-​so. Won’t go back.

Honestly, I’ve been here about three times and I’ve enjoyed it every time. Solid place, and I love the idea of it! Never had bad service but never superb either~

Have eaten here for dinner many times, including 2 trips for my birthday and another for a friend’s birthday. It’s definitely a good place for groups and they do take reservations.
They have a wide range of meat, fish, and veggies to choose from so there is something for everybody.
I recommend coming here for lunch since it’s a cheaper deal and you get the same ingredient options.

Hopefully the owner reads this.
Front reception guy and girl looked like they wanted to burn the place down. A smile goes a long way no?
And what’s with the hand wave like shoo away gesture to us to wait?
At least the waitress Olivia was nice.
foods not worth it

When it comes to places like Fire and Ice, you have to be realistic about what you’re getting into. If you want finely seasoned steak aged for nine months, seared over open flames, and drizzled with red wine-​laced au jus, you’re in the wrong place. But for those occasions when you’re seeking little more than a bellyful of cheap, reasonably tasty meat and vegetables, you could do a lot worse than Fire & Ice. The only times I’ve come here have been for a friend’s birthday party and a recovery meal following an extreme marathon weight lifting session. And both times, I stumbled out the door stuffed and satisfied.

Pretty unique place and all you can eat for about $ 17.
You pick out your food at different cold bars (meats, veggies, pastas, sauce etc) then bring it to the middle where the chefs cook it all for you on this huge grill.
For a city with a ton of craft breweries, I was surprised to see such a small selection on tap.
Overall, it’s a good place to go if you’re with a group of people.

Near as I can tell, the variety of foods from which to choose seems to vary depending on the day and time you arrive. If you go for lunch on a Tuesday afternoon, the wait time will probably be very minimal, but the selection will also be limited. If you go on a Friday night, the wait will be significantly longer, but the overall selection of food will be more bountiful.
For those who have never been here, I’ll briefly describe how it works. It’s a buffet, but the food you choose is raw. You choose your food items and plop them into a ceramic bowl. From there, you grab a smaller cup for sauce. Mix and match them if you like and if you want more than one cup for your sauce, by all means grab two.
From there, you place your bowl and your sauce cup on a curved counter that faces a very large, round grill. The grillers take your bowl and lay the ingredients out in front of them in a straight line and they start chopping and flipping with two fairly large, metal spatulas. On a busy evening, you could have upwards of 25 people hanging out at their spot on the curved counter as they watch their food being grilled. You don’t need to stay standing to watch your food being cooked, but a lot of people seem to prefer doing that as I think that’s one of the perks of eating there as it’s somewhat of a spectator sport.
For food selection on a good night, they’ll have salmon, calamari, shrimp, and catfish; maybe one or two other types of fish that, for the time-​being, I’m drawing a blank on. They’ll also have tender strips of beef, turkey, and chicken; not to mention chopped andouille sausage, noodles, chopped red-​skinned potatoes, broccoli, onions, chopped black olives, watercress, baby corn, carrot slices, and a few other options.
You can also get burgers, salads, and they even have steamed white rice, warm tortillas, chili and other soups from which to choose, as well as ice cream and other desserts. Again, on a good night, they’ll have a substantial selection from which to choose.
And don’t worry if you happen to plop raw fish and/​or raw chicken on top of your veggies. They cook everything right there on the grill and they do so thoroughly, so it’s perfectly healthy. The waitstaff has, by and large, been quite friendly and attentive, but it CAN get busy in there and when it IS busy, it feels not unlike commuting on the T during rush hour, so it can get a little cramped. More often times than not, I’ll go between the lunch and dinner rush, so it’s more relaxing.
They also have a full bar, but I’m not much for drinking. I just write that to let the drinkers among you know. The price is good if you’re going there for lunch, but the dinner buffet’s a bit pricey. Great food… but pricey.
Overall, I have great things to say about this place. Haven’t really had a bad experience there. If their weekday lunch options were as bountiful as their Friday night and weekend options, they’d have gotten five stars from me.

I have been to the Boston location and it has been my favorite.
This place doesn’t have a flow like the other one does. The service wasn’t that great and she was not friendly at all. She did check up on us but she was honestly annoyed with us it seemed.
The food wasn’t that great because the chefs kinda sucked. They were rude and not nearly entertaining as the other chefs. They overcooked my food and they were not really nice .
The space is cramped. Like you get the bowls in the middle of the food. No one seem to want to help anyone. The sauce station was right near the grill and it was too close to where people where standing waiting for their food.

I am torn with this place. Ive come here for dinner before, and everything was great. I only got the Quesada and enjoyed it very much.
Today, went in for brunch, and was beyond disappointed. Watery coffee, eggs Benny not marked with the english muffin too hard to cut with the hollandaise sauce separating and hoarded on top.
The omelets were yummy, but we were given too much bacon and flavorless home fries. Went up to make a pancake, with little to no toppings left. The raspberry purée they had was still half frozen and super tart. Not to mention their «morning pastries» look store bought and sad.
Suggestions:
Learn how to brew the coffee, seriously we live in New England, step it up
Have more than two cooks on at once
Refill the pancake toppings, maybe even offer them some of the ice cream bar toppings (I’d come for that)
Mark things that are in lone standing burners, and pay attention to the amount of time they’re in there.
Flavor those damn home fries. A lil onion and green peppers could bring them to life!
I know I’ll probably be back for dinner, but never again for brunch. I feel like I wasted $ 16 for mediocre brunch.
Save yourself the disappointment, go to Tavern In The Square.

I really love this place for the food and experience but man I’ve always had some of the worst service here. Today for example, I swear this guy was just trying to make a few extra bucks. First he brought us a big scorpion bowl when he never specified which size I would like. Wouldn’t you assume small if there is just two people at the table? After we asked him about this he completely turned cold on us and never checked up on us again, even when I made eye contact with him multiple times. Super avoident. Then I get charged with an «unlimited plate fee» since when did they start doing that? Isn’t it always unlimited? Had to get him to fix the bill yet again because even so, only one of us got multiple servings.
I think I’m done trying this location out.

Eh. This one is definitely not as good as the other location near Copley. If I really needed some Fire and Ice in my life, I’d head there. At the Harvard location, the selection of ingredients and sauces is greatly pared down, the grill is smaller so it takes longer if it’s busy and the place has a really weird layout.
Bottom line there are many better places to eat in Harvard square, and if you gotta have Fire & Ice the other one is much better. Don’t waste your time here.