As a group of five of us arrived shortly before our 7:00 reservations, we were nicely greeted by the host and we immediately seated. Unfortunately the table we were placed at was less than satisfactory. It was two different size tables pushed together. One was much larger than the other but could still only sit two of us. The other table was one that had been brought in from the outside patio made of gated iron. Nonetheless we requested to be moved to a more comfortable table. As we were asked to hold for a few minutes we asked if we could start with drinks. We were quite surprised that the answer was no. Twenty minutes after our reservation time, we were finally moved to another table. This too was two different sized tables pushed together. At least this time they were both from the dining room though. We ordered a bottle of wine as well as some cocktails. As we are awaiting our drinks, we begin to notice how unbearably warm the dining room was. I would have to say it was close to 90 degrees at our table. The drinks couldn't come fast enough as we all began downing the ice waters. We made reference to the warmth in the room to the manager and his comment was this was normal as it's an old building with an old AC. We three appetizers to share: the signature empanadas, the organic spinach salad, and the jumbo saut\u00e9ed prawns (more like large). All were excellent! On to a second bottle of wine and cocktails we ordered our entr\u00e9es. Two of us ordered the short ribs, one ordered the evening special (blackened fish), another ordered the pork roast, and I ordered the grilled NY Strip. All of us ordered an array of side dishes as well. The short ribs came out great, but as they cooled, the flavor went bland and they were ultimately dry. We all agreed to stick to Cowboy Ciao's short ribs. The Cajun Blackened fish too came our over cooked to the point it was hardly eaten. The pulled pork was extra tender, but lacked in flavor as well. My strip was cooked perfectly, but I could have the same steak at Applebee's. Unfortunately the main dishes were far from what we had expected after reading the reviews of the restaurant. All the portions were large, but it didn't help as the food was mediocre. On a good note, the sides were all awesome! Fuego brought the much needed spice to the valley with their sides. Then we all shared a piece of their key lime pie with coffee. We believe the coffee was a generic Folgers at best. However, the pie, especially the crust, was some of the best key lime pie we had eaten since being in the keys several years ago. All in all, we had great company with a poor choice of a restaurant as none of us will be heading back to Fuego Bistro. My recommendations are if you do choose to try this place, go during the winter and only order the appetizers and desserts.
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