We want YOUR review of Firefly Fare in the Roanoke City Market Building
Photo by Eric Brady l The Roanoke Times
Today’s featured restaurant in our market building review project is Firefly Fare, which offers local and organic bistro fare, as well as a juice bar.
Please share with all of us what you thought when you dined at Firefly Fare by leaving a comment on this blog entry.
You should aim to respond to specific questions about your experiences at the restaurant. For example, what have you tried, and how did you like it? How would you rate the pricing for what you got? How was the service? The atmosphere/vibe? What is your favorite thing about this restaurant? What still needs work? Would you eat there again?
Keep it short. Try not to write more than 300 words.
If you have not been following this ongoing project, you can click here to read more about it and to read the rules.
We are still accepting reviews of all the previous restaurants we’ve featured on the blog so far. Click the links below to add your review of each restaurant. On Thursday, we’ll feature Euro Bakery. I’d love to see as many reviews as possible, and I’m sure others would agree. Thanks!
February 14, 2012 - 11:30 AM
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What’s not to love about the Firefly Fare??? I’ve eaten there three times and it’s been fabulous!!! The food is so fresh and tasty and most importantly “local” and healthy. And everyone who works there seems to enjoy what they do. Great, great downtown eatery! A “must-do” on your dining itinerary!
I love their Mediterranean salad because he does not skimp with the Kalamata olives. Love the roasted red pepper dressing too.
Their veggie pita is good, but I found it a little messy to eat.
I like that they use boxes for the food and not styrofoam containers, but it would be nice if they could find some kind of small recyclable containers for side dishes. I got the veggie pita and potato salad to go recently and both were put in the box, which meant some of the salad got on the sandwich, making a somewhat messy dish anyway, even messier.
They are a little pricey IMO.
A vegetarian friend from out of town was visiting a few weeks ago and we ate at the Market Bldg. She had the Incan Bowl from Firefly Fare and loved it.
Great restaurant. Everything I have eaten has been outstanding. Great selection of meat, vegetarian, and gluten free food. Always has fresh and local produce.
Their falafel pita with cucumber sauce is the best. I think it gives the Isaac’s falafel sandwich a run for its money. And Firefly’s customer service is always excellent. Although their food isn’t cheap, it’s not fast food. It’s quality food and definitely the healthiest to be found for lunch downtown. I just wish they had a Grandin location and that they were open for dinner!
I think it is the best food in the Market Building. Fresh. Delicious tasting. I get the veggie grilled pita with a side of tater salad or falafel all the time. It is delicious and good for you. Well done Firefly. You make some tasty treats!
Their Gingered Grasshopper drink is wonderful!
This is the best place in the Market Building. Fresh, quality food. What more can you ask for?
I had a muffaletta there a couple of weeks ago. I thought the sandwich was pretty decent and the sweet potato fries quite good. I’d give it a thumbs up.
Their creamy garlic parmesan salad dressing is possibly the best dressing I have ever had. They should bottle the stuff. Great on the wings from the wing place across the Market Building!
It is such a pleasure to know that your meal will be wonderfully delicious as well as healthy. The place is artistic in every sense and the staff is fun and helpful.We’re lucky to have Firefly Fare.
I love Firefly- it makes it very difficult for me to want to try anywhere else when I am downtown because they still have so many items that I haven’t tried yet and I’m always curious to see what they are doing for their fresh daily special.
I always have to get the garlic falafel no matter what else I am ordering. It has an almost crunchy/cornmeal type of texture and the yogurt sauce is really yummy. I’ve had the falafel wrap, mediterranean salad, Incan bowl, grilled veggie wrap, and tuscan panini (with Kalamata mayo-mmmm). The pita/wrap is very fresh and soft. I think the serving sizes are generous for the most part- definitely the amount we should be eating versus overeating. when I first ate the salad I knew many people would say it was smallish and overpriced- but there are no fillers- no bag of tasteless iceberg in the bottom of the bowl- just good quality ingredients, priced appropriately and satisfying.
Firefly also had amazing hot cocoa during Dicken’s of a Christmas (not sure if that’s a regular item) and have the best iced tea in Roanoke. Firefly is the first place that comes to mind when I am looking for a quick place that is also healthy!
I agree with the comment on small containers for side dishes. I would like my side in a separate container if I get something to go.
I am glad the market building is now open nights. It’s a great place to eat with kids because everyone can choose what they want and parents can introduce their kids to something new.
I’m from upstate NY and eat strictly vegan (no animal products). I found Firefly Fare to have the best vegan food in all of Roanoke. The Incan Bowl and the sweet potato soup are great, and the Tofu Teriyaki Stir-fry is just amazing. The people who work at Firefly are always very friendly and helpful, and made me feel right at home in Roanoke. As I told them, their food is so good that I want to move to Roanoke just so I can eat it again! I’ve explored the food in a lot of great cities, and Firefly really is a special “gem” that ranks right up with the best I’ve had anywhere else. Three thumbs up (because two just aren’t enough)!
Firefly Fare is a wonderful restaurant that has great food and a neat atmosphere. The restaurant has a comfortable feel with plants and local art on the walls. The menus are unique-they are old albumn covers, and the kids menus are in little golden books, which keeps the kids busy while waiting for their food.
The food is wonderful. It is always very fresh and delicious. The kids meals are a great value and healthy! The staff are fun and friendly. My husband and I have tried the cobb and mediterranean salads, the chicken salad pitas, the monte cristo, and the country captain. All of the food was wonderful, and the sides tasty and unique. My kids love the ham and cheese panini and the flatbread quesadillas. The juices are also awesome! We like the spiced hornet and firefly flicker best. We think the prices are really good for organic and local food, and the portion sizes are good. We love eating here, and love that the kids can eat food that they like and is healthy for them too!
While I adore the underlying theme of Firefly (i.e., fresh, local food), I have experienced two meals there — both of which were average, at best. I had the cobb salad and black bean soup the first time, and while the salad dressing was great (which is a comment echoed by other posters), I found the soup and salad to both be lacking. After hearing others talk about the great chicken salad pita, I ordered that the second time. The side dish (black bean and corn salad) was great, but the chicken salad had little chicken and not much flavor. Seeing the other reviews, I think I will return and try a different dish.
Enjoyed the Incan Bowl – food of the Incas – sweet potato, quinoa, black bean, and grilled corn. A bit pricey at $8 but delicious.
I had the Tofu Teriyaki Bowl for supper tonight and it is delicious. A large portion too. i had 1/2 for supper and I’ll have the other 1/2 for lunch tomorrow.
I love Firefly Fare! The Incan bowl rocks! So does the cob salad with basil dressing. The basil tomato soup is good. They offer a variety of gluten free options, only place in the market building that does. Everything is fresh. I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality food. The staff is always friendly. IMO – best place by a long shot!
I had the Waldorf chicken salad. While the food tasted good, I was disappointed in the serving size (I had the large @ $9.00 before tax). Frankly I could’ve had the same thing from Fresh Market for about $4.00. I understand the cost of doing business, and the exhorbitant rent that the city charges has to be recouped, but I will eat elsewhere.
Quality, great tasting and (where possible) regionally sourced food served by really nice people. It does not get better than this, Roanoke. They deserve our support.
We at Firefly would like to think everyone who participated in the user reviews of the Market Building. I believe this has been a positive learning tool for all the restaurants and a nice way to bring the community together in a discussion. Great job Lindsey! There are many decisions one has to make when opening a business. I believe that businesses are a part of the greater community at large, and as such should strive to be a “good citizen”. At Firefly this means paying a little more for our fresh ingredients produced by our neighbors. It also means we buy fairly-traded sugar packets for our coffee. These little decisions add a few cents to the cost of a meal, but around the world, from Franklin County to Bolivia, they make all the difference to the farmer. So thank you for supporting Firefly Fare and your local farms.
I recently tried Firefly and agree that it is probably my favorite place in the market building. I had the chicken salad and loved it!!
I had to try the sweet potato/coconut soup, even though I don’t like coconut, just because Firefly was using our sweet potatoes from Ferguson Farm. Coconut and all, I LOVE the soup! So much that I can’t seem to branch out and try anything else. I will have to, though, after reading these reviews! While some of the dishes seem a bit pricey, the soup is very reasonable. The fact that Firefly uses fresh, local (when available) ingredients helps us farmers and nourishes all our bodies. By the way, if you bring your own little dish, they will be happy to put your side into it.
Ate there Saturday with my wife and toddler. We loved it. We got a Incan Bowl and Veggie Pita and both were great. We were hoping to be able to feed our toddler some of the Incan Bowl but it was a bit too spicy for the little guy so he ate the bean and corn side dish that came with the veggie pita. We’ll eat there again.
I had dinner from Firefly Fare last night. Lamb meatloaf toppped with spicy tomato jam, wild rice, and perfectly grilled asparagus. A great dinner for 10 bucks.