St. Charles dining scene heating up with new restaurant fire + wine

For nearly 15 years, BG Hospitality Group has brought people together around plates of wood-fired pizza at Gia Mia, pasta at Livia Italian Eatery, Italian pub-style street fare at Ella’s Italian Pub and Pan-Asian delights at moto imoto. Their latest restaurant, fire + wine in St. Charles, brings the company full circle, as their first restaurant was fire + wine’s first location in downtown Glen Ellyn.

The restaurant is like a rustic Italian trattoria, where wood-fired cooking meets elevated comfort. Their latest location is in Fox Haven Square — a new 70,000-square-foot, family-oriented lifestyle development located at Main Street and Kirk Road in St. Charles — that’s opening this spring.

The focal point of Fox Haven Square is a central plaza that will feature community gatherings, like concerts in the summer. And guests at fire + wine will have a front-row seat to those events from the restaurant’s four-seasons room.

Since Fox Haven Square is a new development, BG Hospitality Group experienced more creative license with this restaurant.

“This is our first time designing a building and concept with new construction. This new facility will let us do things to elevate the dining experience,” says Brian Goewey, president of BG Hospitality Group. “It’s going to be a great addition to the east side of St. Charles.”

One of those unique features will be an outdoor bar in the aforementioned four-seasons room.

“It will be neat for guests to experience the four seasons of Chicagoland from this space,” Goewey says.

The new fire + wine location also will feature more indoor and outdoor space compared to other restaurants in BG Hospitality’s portfolio.

“My favorite thing about the new location is the openness of the restaurant, especially all the windows facing the outdoor piazza,” Goewey says. “Every location we do features something different.”

What isn’t changing is the essence of fire + wine. The restaurant’s ambiance blends comfort and class with an easygoing, fun vibe that makes guests feel at home. The menu is based in part on things guests have requested through the years.

“I’m always chatting with the guests to see what we’re doing well today and what we can do better tomorrow,” Goewey says.

“fire + wine [is] a unique concept with really good food options and a great wine value,” he adds.

Goewey recommends trying the vodka pasta. This dish of eight-finger cavatelli pasta is nestled in a spicy tomato cream sauce and topped with prosciutto.

“It fulfills all your sensations,” Goewey says.

You can taste your way through fire + wine’s pastas on Mondays when pasta dishes are half off. Settle in for a seafood delight with the lobster fra diavolo featuring shrimp and lobster over pennoni pasta. Or get in your daily serving of vegetables with the vegetables and Asiago gnocchi served with broccolini, cauliflower, carrots, peppers and Brussels sprouts.

The menu changes three times a year to reflect what’s fresh and in season. There’s also the Weekly Chef’s Playground featuring a different special of the day throughout the month. Recent specials at the Glen Ellyn location included crab-stuffed flounder, apricot and prosciutto toast, and a prix fixe menu for select holidays, as well as lasagna on Sundays. Weekend brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Lunch specials are available on Fridays.

The steak board, served Fridays through Sundays, features a choice of New York strip steak, rib-eye and a filet trio. Choose from béarnaise, red wine veal demi and peppercorn sauces to pair with your steak. Complement the meal with a shareable side such as whipped potatoes or seasonal roasted vegetables and a glass of wine.

Many popular dishes can be found on the menu year-round, like the ricotta + honeycomb — toast topped with ricotta, wildflower honeycomb and extra virgin olive oil.

Another popular favorite, the grilled romaine salad, has been on the menu since day one. The salad features romaine lettuce, tomato, leeks, pancetta and Gorgonzola tossed with a creamy Parmesan dressing.

The curated wine list reflects a fixed price point with rare blends not found at other restaurants. A great way to try these is during Wine on Wednesdays, when bottle-only wine selections under $100 are half off.

“My favorite wines come from the Tuscan region. They pair really well with all our food,” Goewey says.

In comparing BG Hospitality Group’s Italian-inspired restaurants, “fire + wine has more of the feel of a traditional Italian trattoria,” says Goewey.