With an occasional line out the door and a neighborhood favorite, Fire on the Mountain is a staple. They have three locations in Portland: one just off Fremont and 57th, owned by a local Portland family, the Bushes; one on Burnside; and the last location off Interstate Ave. I tend to go to the Fremont location.

The building is advertised well with a large rustic metal sign above the entrance. There are two connected buildings, one is the restaurant and the other is their brewery. You are able to see inside the brewery from a large window inside the dining area. I think that’s a really cool unique feature. Inside the restaurant portion, there are tons of seating options, which include booths, barstool tables, and regular table seats. I tend to enjoy sitting in the booths due to the big windows, privacy, and the booth seats are really comfortable. When it is nice weather, they open their back porch, which is nicely covered to keep you out of the sun. I take the opportunity to sit out there any chance I can get, especially because of feeling the warmth of the sun without it beaming down on you, as well as it meaning my friends and I aren’t interrupting the peaceful people inside.

The staff who work there have been nothing but kind. When I go, I am usually with a group of people, so we tend to be loud. The staff has been super nice about it, even though I can only imagine it is overwhelming. One time, they forgot to give us our fries, and they apologized for the inconvenience and gave us an extra plate of fries for free, which was so nice. 

My favorite meal to get is their wings. I am not a big fan of spice, so I get their sweet barbecue sauce with a side of sweet potato fries. In comparison to other restaurants in the area, the meals are roughly affordable (six wings for $11.25). My favorite part about the wings is the ranch that comes with them as the dipping sauce. I love it because it doesn’t taste like the bottled stuff.

Their fried pickles are a staple. They’re crispy but don’t have an overwhelming amount of batter. They’re so good that sometimes my friends and I just stop in for the appetizer. 

This restaurant is perfect for families with picky eaters; they have loads of options such as pizza, chicken tenders, corn dogs, and quesadillas. My family really appreciates that aspect because my little sister tends to be picky. It makes it super easy and quick when deciding where we want to eat dinner.

Their dessert menu has to be one of the most impressive I have seen. It includes fried Oreos, fried Twinkies, brownies and ice cream sandwiches. I have only had the chance to get the fried Oreos, and they do not disappoint. I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy it because I am not a big batter person, but this was delicious due to the batter being less sweet than the Oreo. I would recommend getting it as something to share with your table, though, because it is pretty filling.

If you get the chance to stop by, I highly recommend it. The food is of great quality, and the staff are super friendly and the atmosphere is very sociable. I recommend you go in the summer when the sun’s out and you can sit out on the porch.