We had driven 90 minutes to western Massachusetts on a recent Saturday for a long-anticipated outdoor music festival, arriving in a torrential thunderstorm to find that organizers weren’t letting anyone in for safety reasons, even to park. Bummer. Atmosphere: 19/20 Menu: 18/20 Food: 18/20 Service: 18/20 Value:18/20 Total: 91/100 After waiting an hour with no progress, and checking the unpromising radar, we headed home dejected, grumpy and hungry.
We decided to try to salvage the day with a nice meal somewhere and pinned our hopes on Keene, a sometimes-overlooked small city with a great vibe and nice variety of restaurant choices. We landed at Fireworks Restaurant & Bar on Main Street and we were so glad we did. It turned out to be just what we needed to rescue a dismal day.
Because it was an off-hour, between lunch and dinner, the restaurant wasn’t crowded, our first bit of good luck on a day sorely lacking in that ingredient so far. You enter Fireworks through the bar area, which manages to be both cozy and chic, thanks to low lighting and cool artwork. The restaurant offers a nice variety of seating — high-top tables in the bar area, an arrangement of comfy-looking couches and chairs, and cozy booths along a brick wall.
The decor is eclectic and so is the food. Eclectic decor at the Fireworks Restaurant & Bar makes it an appealing spot for a meal or just drinks. Our waiter, Ayden, was friendly, attentive and accommodating.
We started with drinks — the Summer Solstic.