TR Fire Grill @ Pavilion

TR Fire Grill is an American bistro operated by the same people who owns another American casual dining chain restaurant brand, Tony Roma's (an obvious clue in the name itself).  And TR Fire Grill @ Pavilion, which opened more than a month ago, is their first international location.

Situated next to Din Tai Fung, I was taken aback by the size of the place when I stepped in.  It's more than 5,000 sq ft and can seat more than 180 guests (when I googled later).  It certainly wasn't bistro-sized and its stylish, elegant ambience was miles away from its diner-like sister restaurant, Tony Roma's.

There's even a full bar ready to churn out crafted cocktails and beverages, with wine and beer offerings too, for the enjoyment of guests.

Aware of its relationship with Tony Roma's and remembering the same dish we enjoyed there, we started with something familiar, the Zing Zing Shrimp @ RM30.

The generous portion of good-sized succulent shrimps, fried to a crisp golden-brown on the outside and doused in a not-too-spicy red pepper sauce (made in-house) sat on a bed of shredded greens.  Finished with a sprinkling of white and black sesame seeds, they were as good as the ones I remembered from their sister restaurant.

We also had another shareable side, the Jalapeno Potato Tots @ RM12 featuring a dozen large-sized rather cheesy potato croquettes (fans of cheese...rejoice!), with a nice crisp on the outside, served with jalapeno ketchup.  A bit too cheesy for me, so I had to dunk it into the jalapeno ketchup to take away some of the cheesiness! ^_*

The potato tots were too filling for two to finish (well, the menu did say the serving is meant for 3 - 4 pax).  I guess I underestimated their 'teeny tots' which turned out to be 'big balls' instead...kekeke! :D

There are two soups on the menu and I went with the Smoked Chicken & Tortilla Soup @ RM10.  This was a light tomato-based soup with chicken cubes, onions, tomatoes and avocado served with some crispy tortilla strips.

It was a forgettable soup, the chicken cubes didn't carry any smoky aftertaste and finding avocados in a soup was a first for me though I've seen it some Mexican soup recipes.

We had only one main (since we had three starters), the Shrimp Po' Boy @ RM37...and yes, we were kinda having a shrimp fest!  The crisp shrimps were smothered in a house-made spicy relish sauce with lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

The fries served with the shrimp po' boy were freshly fried and nicely crisp...loved it! ^.^

The sauce-coated shrimps in the shrimp po' boy were definitely spicier (than the zing zing shrimps) but nothing we couldn't handle.  I wasn't liking the bread as much as I'd prefer a softer, pillowy bread.  The bread also tasted a tad too dry...perhaps some butter (and some grill marks) would have made a difference.

They were very quick to fill up our glasses with complimentary water (as soon as we sat down) and even brought another whole bottle to the table.  Well, how nice...luckily there's more than enough to quench our thirst since prices of handcrafted (alcohol-free) drinks here start from RM17...hihihi....not so great for the budget-conscious, eh?

When we couldn't finish the potato tots and shrimp po' boy, we requested for take-away and they came neatly packed in two environment-friendly, separate paper boxes even though the unfinished food could easily fit into one...we were impressed! ^_~

My Personal Opinion

Overall, the food seems promising and what I did manage to try fared pretty ok.  I'd probably return at some point although I'm not too thrilled with the common occurrence of cheese in many of their dishes (for non-cheese fans like me).  I guess I'll just have to narrow my choices to the balance 50% of the menu.

If you're one of those who like to dine in a spacious yet splendid environment, TR Fire Grill probably has one of the largest dining spaces I've seen in Pavilion.  Overly positive or over ambitious?  Only time will tell.

TR Fire Grill
Lot 6.01.06 Level 6 
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2113 0048