Firefly has been around for a while. I was a fairly frequent visitor but it had slipped off my radar screen.

I recently recently returned mid-week with an old friend for a quiet catching-up type dinner. Even though it was ‘kids restaurant week’ we had a delightful evening and Firefly clearly demonstrated that (a) a hotel restaurant can be consistently good and (b) an oldie can be a goodie.

I arrived shortly before my friend without a reservation and was seated quickly without drama. The cocktails were delicious and the bread basket very tempting. The decor – which is insipred by a backyard scene – has aged well and is still intensely cute and the service was good: attentive but not hovering.

My friend and I both enjoyed our entrees very much. I had a nice salad and a perfect roasted chicken with a delicious collard greens side. My companion had the soft shell crab. We both enjoyed reasonably-priced wine by the glass with dinner and shared the red velvet cake which was good but not up to the standard of the rest of meal particularly the hard chalky balls of ‘chocolate’ on top.

Overall, Firely, although pricey, is a great evening out with good service, neat decor, good food and beverages, and pretty good desserts. Although I would caution against kids’ night, I had a great time.