Firefly American Bistro

Six of us went for a birthday dinner. Our server Ruby was excellent. We got the Thai calamari, the go go bread, and the beef taquitos it was hard to pick a favorite they were all spectacular. Our entrees were delicious. The haddock was outstanding, the salmon special was fabulous, and the flat iron steak special was also wonderful — what made it so good was the sauce. The drinks were also great. Highly recommended!

Went here. Outstanding. Nice décor, food and service were excellent. Prices are very good for the level of dining. You won’t be disappointed.

I was visiting my parents in NH a few weeks ago and was much more impressed with Firefly this time around. Service was still slow, but very friendly. My homemade black bean veggie burger and sweet potato fries were outstanding! Upgrading to a solid 3 stars.

Ok, we ate dinner here for my daughter’s graduation from high school (20 miles away)! This was a very yummy restaurant with good salads and great steaks. I had the blood orange margarita, a delectable, extremely strong margarita. Service was superb. Everybody lived the spinach and goat cheese salad. One ding for late arrival on son’s steak. A great grad dinner!!!

Food was great — started with the caprese salad — which they gladly split for me and my husband. The amount on each plate was a nice portion– fresh ingredients. The sprinkle of coarse salt on the top was delicious. My husband had the salmon and said it was great. I had the filet which came with potatoes and asparagus — delicious! Would definitely return. The only part we didn’t like was our booth was facing a very large party of about 20 so we had a hard time hearing each other even sitting next to each other.

Not a bad little haunt, it definitely wants to be something more than it is.
This place is like an average looking girl that tries super hard, gets herself made up, buys really nice clothes and tries to pass herself off as something she’s not. Most patrons with a keen eye can see through the façade and appreciate the effort.
The food is fine, the ambience is fine, the service is pretty good. All in all, it’s not fine dining and the prices are a bit unjustified. The dishes to stray away from are the gorgonzola bread and the chicken entrée (both were pretty flavorless). The short rib and bow tie pasta were pretty good, although both could use a nicer aethetic touch. Desserts were kinda amateur. Wines were nice for a consolidated list.
Overall, I would go back, but probably not too frequently.

Came here on strong recommendations for lunch, not sure what the big deal is.
Average fare. Service was ok, he kept coming over but was complaining about his shift running long between lunch and dinner.
Ordered a soda and he brought diet and then insisted we said diet — which I thought was weird.
The salad was fresh, nice they had 2 house-​made dressings to choose from.
The rolls were stale. The butter tasted old.
Beef taquitos were ok, the filling was a bit bland and had a refrigerated taste to it like it had been prepared days in advance. But the outside was crispy.
The fish and chips could have been better, the fries looked double-​dunked, oily and had the fish laying on top of it.
The back patio could use a good power washing and overhaul/​repainted with brighter colors, it felt old and outdated.
I would not return here.

Friday, 4÷15÷2016
First time trying Firefly. Glad we did. Went with my 17 yr old and had a very nice time. The customers in our area were a nice mix of couples, group of girlfriends getting together,
co-​workers getting together, and a group of mixed ages and gender that came in for a celebration but did not make a reservation. We felt very comfortable there.
Our waitress was awesome! Friendly and attentive, not overbearing and did not rush us, even when the group came without reservations and wanted our table.
The appetizer descriptions made them all tempting, hard to choose… we ended up with Beef Short Rib Taquitos with Avocado Crema and a cup of Potato Cheddar Bacon soup. Both were good but the Beef Short Rib Taquitos won hands down. Crispy Taquito outside with a savory Braised Short Rib filling, could’ve enjoyed more as an entrée!
Old World Fish and Chips, and the Firefly Burger, were ordered as entrees:
*The Beer Battered Haddock coating was golden & crispy, the fish was moist and flakey inside. French Fries (Chips) were the standard thin fries you get at most restaurants.
*Firefly burger meat did not have any pizazz, pretty much tasted like unseasoned ground beef. I do make a better burger at home… The Brioche Bun the patty sat on was good and there were 3 thick, bright red, juicy tomatoes sitting on top of the burger. Very nice! Sweet Potato Fries were an upgrade in price. They were good, but again, standard fries found at most restaurants.
OVERALL:.
*All food arrived mouth burning hot, which is what I like when dining out. It tells me it has been freshly prepared and that wait staff didn’t leave it sitting under the warming lights.
*Timing of food delivery and drink refilling, was exceptional. Kudos to our waitress. Asked my daughter if she remembered her name and my daughter replied, «I don’t think she gave it to us». I think my daughter is correct…
*Comfortable and not rushed.
All the above is what earned our waitress a 25% gratuity. The food was good but nothing we haven’t had at other restaurants as what we ordered was pretty standard fare. Really want to try the Low Country Shrimp and Grits, Spinach and Fried Goat Cheese Salad, Bourbon Street Fettuccine, and their Cast Iron Roasted Duck Breast.
Next time…

Bombtown. Best place to eat in manchester hands down. Love the service and its great value for the money. I love there french onion soup!

Had a very large birthday dinner for my husband here last weekend. 18 people on a Saturday night was a lot to ask for but they completely came through. The servers were very nice and the vibe inside was relaxed yet refined. Literally everyone was happy with their meals. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was because the dish I ordered for myself was a bit too spicy for me so I didn’t eat much of it. I did try my husbands steak and a few other dishes and they were amazing. I’m sure upon my next visit I’ll bump this up to all 5 stars.

Firefly is one of Manchester’s really good «date night» restaurants. I would not call this place a family restaurant. It’s a place for the middle and upper class working adults. It’s a small restaurant where they turn the lights down low and really try to set a mood. It’s quite nice actually. We did the whole food experience.
Started with the «go-​go bread” — Okay-​ish and we ate every crumb.
Ordered the Murrey’s Chicken — That thing was banging– ate everything
Ordered the Steak Tips– Wasn’t quite as banging as the chicken– still ate everything.
Finished with Crème Brûlée– That was super dope– I would have ringed my finger around the bowl if I could.
Overall the place was really dope. It’s a classy joint with a really impressive menu.

Started with a Selection from their impressive wine menu. I Enjoyed the tomato bisque and my husband the smoked seafood chowder — delish! I had the risotto and my husband had the flat iron steak which was on special. He commented the steak was «tough». We finished off with a cookie sundae and carrot cake which were both incredible. We came home with left overs but that’s fine because it helps to prolong the memory of the wonderful evening.

I thought this place was really nice. It looks like a bar, but with upscale american food. Went here on a whim and I’m glad I did. The food was great — I had the lamb shank; you don’t see that all that often on menus, but I always get it when I see it. It was terrific! Moist and tender and flavorful. I had a baked potato too and that was great as well. I had a nice dinner — I’d easily recommend this place to anyone in the area. Give it a shot!

After reading all the reviews I was excited about giving this place a try. So I packed up my significant other and his mom, and away we went for lunch…
I’ll never go back. The food was plain and blank. The service was so slow and the dinning room empty. I left apologizing that I had taken them there.
I left with nothing good, just a wallet with much less in it.

Nice service
Food was so so
We picked this place for lunch, because we had a visitor who expressed burger love. So the three of us had burgers. They were huge, but the flavor combination — some special of the day burger with some strange cheese and other non-​fitting condiments — was off. The meat tasted — perviously frozen, but I am not sure if it was. At least it was cooked right as ordered: medium rare.

They sure know what they are doing! Atmosphere I give them a 10, service was exceptional, lemon poppy seed muffin was to die for, and I got the western omelette which was cooked to perfection and it tasted like real eggs! Not egg beaters or some other form of fake egg. If I lived in the area I would definitely become a regular. And I will tell me friends that live around there to check it out!

Food was mediocre. We had the burger and fish and chips. The burger tasted pretty good but the fish was incredibly boring. The fish was very oily and lacked flavor.
The service was mediocre as well. We asked to split checks and the server kept emphasizing it would take a long time. Thanks for the heads up… But we’re in the 21^st century now!!!
Will not be coming here again.

The martini were delicious. I loved the elderflower and the blood orange one.
The waiter needed more training. When asked which martini was the most popular or best, his response…“I’m new I don’t really know”.
The short ribs were essentially pot roast. Displayed nicely but not short ribs. I prefer places call food what it is.
My streak tips were overlooked. The new server never came to check how they were cooked or if it was right… It’s normally done when steaks are ordered…
The chocolate mousse was displayed horribly. Thrown into a water glass with whip cream it looked like was thrown on my the server.
The drinks were delightful and really the only highlight.

Ok, real talk. Our waiter was Shawn and he was awesome. Super attentive. The go-​go bread, was on point. My mom had the smoked chowder– it was «alright». I had the French Onion soup– really good. In fact my mom LOVED my soup.
Entrees:
Mom: Seared Sea Scallops With a cream sauce with bacon and spinach (mashed potatoes instead of jasmine rice) — very good but, it was very rich. There wasn’t any acid to cut the heavy cream. (Gave her the lemon from my water to squeeze on top and it bumped it to FABULOUS)
Me: Braised Short Rib over mashed– really good. The potatoes were nothing special but, still good.
Onto the negative: there were HUGE cobwebs over our heads in the «art» on the walls. Someone REALLY needs to clean and dust. It put a huge damper on our dinner to see all the dirt. =\
Other than that, it was pretty ok. Not worth 100 $ but, good.

Quick, careful service and a diverse menu make this a good example of american bistro dining, if not an exemplary one. Plenty of seafood, meat, pasta, and comfort dishes re worked for a discerning palate. Nor a bad option in Manchester!