Ordered a triple cheese grilled sandwich and cup of soup. When the waiter brought it out, it was burned/black on both sides. Tried to eat it but couldn't taste anything but the charred bread. Decided to ask it be remade but the second one had so little cheese I couldn't taste anything. Disappointing lunch overall. Unfortunate as was looking forward to trying out this restaurant read more

We recently had dinner here and had a poor experience. We ordered their chicken dinner and Caesar salads. We received our salads and one minute later the dinner plates arrived. The waiter apologized but did nothing the remedy the problem. We basically had to hurry thru the salad while the main course got cold. This was a $80 meal from a restaurant that claims a reputation for service. food, and ambiance. I consider this to be "bush league" service. Cold food is about as poor a trait as you can find in a restaurant. There are too many restaurants working hard to serve good meals to put up with one who pays little attention to the guests orders. We will not be returning. read more

Oh...holy...mother...of all that is right in the world. I have lived in Tacoma all my life but down the street from here for 3 years and finally popped my "Cooks Cherry". The food was amazing. Being naive, I thought this was a Hawaiian themed restaurant but in actuality they change the menu and theme every 4 months. Again, we came on the Hawaiian themed quarter....which was timed perfect since I'm what one would call "islander". I ordered the loco moco and my gf ordered the chicken sandwich which had a fancier name but lets just say "chicken sandwich sent from the Hawaii Gods." And loco moco was perfect blends of fried rice/gravy/hamburger steak. Amazeballs on all accounts. Portion size was the perfect amount to be full but not unhappy and totally regretful of my poor life choices. Food was so great, we decided on getting dessert. We couldnt decide between the ice cream Sunday or the BenYAAYYY (dunno how to spell it...but basically a triangle donut with powdered sugar)!!! I made the executive decision...we got both. The triangle donuts were hot, soft, friggin amazing and life changing. The sunday had all the right fixings and made a wonderful dipping pool for the hot triangle donuts. Service was spot on, restaurant was super clean and nice. I asked our server if they change the decor every quarter when they change the theme and she said they do. They use paintings and decor from local artists in which some for sale. Don't miss out on this place. This review is long winded but i just cant say enough about this place. Since it's inappropriate to moan or touch yourself in a public setting while eating good food...This was my only outlet. Try it! You wont regret it. read more

Cooks Tavern - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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Had a really great meal at Cooks Tavern today. I was kinda iffy on going there when I first heard about it because of the "tavern" aspect and how we associate taverns with local bar fare and a more rough dinning scene. Come to find, I was completely wrong. They have a very mellow family feeling atmosphere, outdoor seating and they had some real culinary creations, completely contrary to my "tavern thoughts". I was pleasantly surprised coming across this spot which would take a weathered local to accurately know about. I would suggest stopping by and trying them out. The only downside that I had was that my server seemed like maybe she didn't have ton of experience and she seemed shy to approach my table. She would stand about 10 feet away to converse and sometimes left just as quick as she came and left words hanging in my mouth.. They have a happy hour from 3-5 and 9-close every day of the week which can help you get some tasters at a lesser price. read more

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Got the breakfast tacos- and they were very delish! Even the grapefruit was so good! Friends got the pulled pork and BLT with sides of fries. It was pretty good. Nice service as well. read more

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My boyfriend and I stopped by last night and happened to make it to their happy hour (9pm-close). He's been before, but it was my first time. Apparently they have a rotating menu and change the decor to match. How fun!! It is "Texan" style currently. Last time my boyfriend was here it was island themed. As for the food: we ordered off of the happy hour menu. We had the Caesar salad, tomato soup, and the bratwurst. It was all tasty. The tomato soup was a bit thick and spaghetti sauce texture to my liking, but I would for sure order it again. We also had a few glasses of wine. The red and white house wine is 4.50$ during happy hour. They were both fantastic. All in all, it was a lovely time. I will return and order an actual entree next time. read more

Cooks Tavern - Bratwurst - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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Great food. Great service. Love that they change the menu to serve different types of cuisine. My favorite brunch spot

Really superb customer service every time we go here. I love their outdoor seating on a sunny afternoon, complete with my shades, dog tied up on the outside of the eating area and a much needed Saturday morning Bloody Mary. Their rotating menu is super fun and I was happy to try their loco moco. read more

Cooks Tavern - HALEAKALA LOCO MOCO from their rotating menu. I'd order eggs over medium next time and use some hot sauce! Still good though - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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Wonderful food and great service. I had the biscuits and gravy. Perfect gravey with large chunks of sausage. Yum! read more

Cooks Tavern - Best biscuits and gravy I have had !!! - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Dear Cook's Tavern: As you know, ambiance is a major component of the overall dining experience. And sound is, by definition, a principle element of ambiance. Therefore, I humbly suggest that you reevaluate your restaurant's overhead music selection. Allow me to elaborate. I have dined at your fine establishment at least, oh, maybe 10 to 12 times. I cannot remember a single visit during which the music being played overhead was not some form of classic rock/top 40 hits, songs that for the most part have been pounded into each American's auditory cortex over the years by repetitive exposure. So my suggestion is this. Since you take pride in featuring regional cuisine's from around the world, why not do the same with the background music? For example, currently your chefs are providing us with delicious plates from the island of Puerto Rico. Why not play some Puerto Rican music? Same thing goes for when you are featuring regional Italian cuisine, German cuisine, etc., etc., etc. Believe me, listening to Journey, John Mellencamp, random country music, and the Super Pop Sounds of the Seventies, etc. is neither unique nor demonstrates any degree of thoughtfulness on your part. It's easy and, dare I say, lazy. You can do better. Thank you for listening. read more

Great food and vibe (wonderful art and music), The place is very clean and the service is excellent!

I judge a place by its burger and Cook's Tavern makes a mean one. Tender and flavorful with a great bun and fun toppings. I chose the one with bacon, an over-easy egg, and battered and fried onion straws. mmmm's. It came with some thin cut sweet pickles which were tasty and a side of ketchup which seemed homemade, but I only use ketchup to cover flavors, so I didn't wanna do that here. Husband grabbed the Lamb Burger and enjoyed that. Lamb scares me as does goat cheese, and they put a schmear on there. Daughter, who is a no dairy/meat gal, but will eat seafood and eggs, went for the black bean cashew burger and was disappointed it tasted a bit too sour for her taste. there are atleast 3 more things on the menu she can try next time. Ambience and service was great! I was surprised by the volume of music, but appreciated it when we started with our conversation. I couldn't hear others either, which was nice. The music was a bit 60's folksy with an occasional hint of Caribbean Ska. I liked that I could have had pancakes till 3pm, and I was torn lemme tell ya. next time. next time. read more

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Great food and friendly staff. We were for brunch and had a bit of a wait but it was worth it.

I've lived in the Northend for 3 years and this was the first time I've been to Cooks. I got the foragers omelette w egg whites, I was a bit apprehensive w the first bite because the goat cheese was so sweet. I love goat cheese but first bite was ... but 1/2 way thru it was fine and super delicious!! My friend got the chorizo skillet and loved it too. We went at 9am on a sunny Saturday, no wait. Potatoes were super yummy read more

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The food here is out of this world! Definitely the best in Tacoma for sure. Whatever you do, get the bacon!

We often frequented this restaurant for weekend brunch, as they have the best smashed potatoes in the area. The different themes for the food that they have in constant rotation always keep it fun, and the cocktails they continually come up with are always delicious and entertaining. Since quarantine has started we have switched to getting dinner from them. We got the fried chicken dinner a A few times now, and while I don't particularly like fried chicken I love the seasoning they put on their's. We walked to pick up the to go order both times and even after getting home from a 40 minute walk as it was still warm in the chicken still crispy (although the butter for the biscuits was melted from being by the warm fluffy biscuits for so long). Most recently we tried the new Hawaiian menu which was Good too. The tofu dish was just OK (I just prefer my tofu extra crunchy and crispy, so it's just me), but everything else we tried we Really enjoyed. Especially the chicken katsu dish. The dipping sauce that came with was so good, we ended up using it for everything! Will continue coming back here and supporting this local business in our neighborhood. Also, the service has always been wonderful for us. When we call in a to go order is ready when they say it is, and they've given us the option to both pay ahead of time or pay at pick up. We really appreciate your effort to accommodate during this time. read more

Cooks Tavern - Fried chicken dinner With an extra biscuit. The one dinner was more than enough for two of us - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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This place is an awesome new discovery in Tacoma having just opened in June. Influenced by Louisiana and Cajun/Creole food the food is awesome and the staff is outstanding Came here for the brunch but will be returning for dinner read more

Cooks Tavern - Looking towards the display kitchen - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

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Definitely had high hopes for this place. I kept hearing great things about this place for breakfast. I thought it was weird that there was really no hostess. You put your name down and hope they called you. It was really bazaar. They had a lot of open tables but didn't really seat anyone. A waiter would come up and call a name on the list seat that party then went about their business. Then 15 mins later another waiter would come up to look at a the list and will seat a party then ignore the rest. Food- pretty quick. Was it the best? Eh... was it the worst ? Eh.. our waiter never rechecked on us until I was staring him down to get the bill. I wanting to order another drink but he never even refilled our water. Would I go back? Probably not. read more

We ordered food to go and got the eggs Benedict and biscuits with gravy. The staff was not only very nice but the food was absolutely amazing the best eggs Benedict I've ever had! We will be going back. read more

Excellent food, service, and total atmosphere. Went for late lunch and it was crowded. Subdued sound so that you could easily carry on a conversation. read more

Great. Super Good breakfast lunch and dinner, with great atmosphere where they change the art and theme monthly. Place does get busy at times is the one thing I think can be an issue but that's a good sign. Always love a place that has an open kitchen seems to keep things honest. read more

Every time my parents come by we have to visit Cooks Tavern. Outside seating is a huge plus for us!

Came here with friends and our service was ok. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Ordered the vegetarian Clean Up on Aisle 12 and it was also just ok. Could use a little bit more seasoning and the "fancy toast" that came with was far from fancy. Just plain old toast. Friends said the biscuit was way better. The pricing was just a tad more than I would have wanted to pay for the hash. Ambiance is nice though. Packed on a Sunday afternoon. read more

Cooks Tavern - CLEANUP ON AISLE 12 - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

best breakfast i have had since going to Ohio and eating at First Watch which is farm to table.

Cooks Tavern is a neighborhood favorite and I've been coming to this place since they opened 6 or 7 years ago. My food favorites are the Lamb Burger, house red wine, and the Tavern Salad. Their menu does have a few rotating items which is great for variety. Bonus: the staff appear to love working here so I always get great service. Also, THEY HAVE GOAT CHEESE AND DAIRY-FREE MILK for the lactose- free peeps. read more

Had a wonderful waitress, so check on great service! Went simple with breakfast request eggs, bacon, and crushed crispy red potatoes, with a side of their sauce gravy. The wife had eggs Benedict. Both were absolutely fantastic. Noticeable differences were the potatoes, the gravy, the hollandaise sauce, and the ham! So a hell yeah check on food! I love the location and decor but I am old so take it with a grain of salt. So we have checks all the way across the board for this place. To the owner and chef, thank you for your perseverance through this tough times, we shall support you, like we support the police! read more

First time to cooks and it was just ok for me- ordered a bunless tavern burger medium-rare. Burger was cooked exactly as I specified with regards to rarity but came without the cheese I ordered. The tavern burger comes without cheese but you do have the option to add it, which I did. Alas, it arrived without cheddar. The fries were also just ok, not bad but not amazing. I really wanted to like this place and will probably give it another try at some point. Service was fine save for the cheese omission. read more

Cooks Tavern - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

We decided to venture out to Tacoma so we could try the food after hearing good things about this place and the food. The food was disappointing, my husband ordered the Tavern burger medium done with cheese and he got a well done gray unseasoned burger with no cheese. I ordered the crepes with goat cheese, mushrooms and arugula and my first order was burnt and the crepes were covered with arugula you couldn't even see the crepes. After I called the server over I showed her my beyond burnt crepes and my husband's burger, she was apologetic and got me a new order of crepes and they were delicious! The fries we ordered were the runt of the litter some small, some regular sized, some burnt and some as pale as my husband's legs during summer time. Not impressed, long wait to order, long wait to be served, okay food but good server. This is why I gave this place 3 stars. read more

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Everything we had was tasty! We started with katsu bites with an aioli sauce (breading was spicy which was a pleasant surprise). We shared two entrees (Honey Stung chicken and Huli Huli Chicken). Decent selection of beers on tap (husband had a stout and it was solid). The li hing on the pineapple was so good! I love that they during this pandemic it was clean, spaced out, and it is very open air! read more

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My review is based on visiting Cooks Tavern multiple times within the last few weeks (Dec-Jan). Our first venture here seemed okay. Between the 1.5 hrs it took us to get a table and the mediocre service, the food/drinks were absolutely delightful. However, our second trip was less than delightful. Though today, we were seated within the hour, our service was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. Allegedly, due to COVID-19, there is an extreme staffing shortage (as stated on the top of their new menu). We asked our waiter if their "improved COVID-19" menu options can still accommodate a vegetarian. The waiter (who was our waiter during previous visits) placed his left hand on his left hip, pompously stated, "I guess you can order an omelette or a salad" and promptly walked away. Needless to say, we simply ordered a drink (a cup of coffee and pineapple gimlet). The table adjacent to us asked the manager for a fresh, refilled cup of coffee, in which our same waiter then visited their table. Again, they simply asked for a fresh cup of coffee, which the waiter exaggeratedly stated, "I guess I'll just go make a new pot for you." 30 mins later, our waiter revisited our table and asked what we would like to eat. We simply asked for another round of coffee and a Pineapple Gimlet. Unfortunately, 45 mins goes by and I asked the waiter when our drinks will be coming. He stated, "the bar is making them now", in which I said, "I've been watching the bar and the bartender has not made my drink yet." Again, needless to say, our drinks were then delivered within 5 mins. After our drinks were delivered, we immediately asked for our check. 20 mins rolls by; the manager walked past our table, which I asked if he could please cash us out. I then asked, "is this normal service for a Saturday afternoon?" The manager merely made eye contact with us, took the check/card, and walked away (no feedback given). We ended up leaving Cooks and going next door to the Taco restaurant, which had AMAZING food and AMAZING service. read more

We arrived Cooks at 5:00 pm on a Sunday evening. We were approached by a gentleman that couldn't crack a smile if he wanted to! I told him a table for 4 and asked if we could sit in the bar. We are 64 and 62 years old. He rudely Asia's... is everyone over 21 years of age? Well being our age I don't believe we would ask to sit in the bar if we weren't all of age. Really!! We were seated and had an ok dinner. The burger want any thing special. It wasn't juice or even special. As they were picking up the dishes as we were finishing up they dropped several knives and forks from the plates, two of which landed on my husband and made a greasy mess of his clothes. No mention of an apology or comp on our meal. That's it no more with this place! I went home and did laundry. It was horrid. If the employees aren't pleasant to the patrons then there must be something wrong with the management. read more

Love both the breakfast and dinner here. The menu focus changes every few months so it never gets stale while always having a few signature items on the menu. The bartenders are top notch. read more

This was the first time I've eaten here it was suggested by a friend ..So we decided to check it out. It was really busy . so we waited for about 20 mins which wasn't bad and the weather was nice . We ordered our food and it was so yummy!! I will be back read more

Cooks Tavern - eggs Benedict - New American Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

C- an't say enough good things. O- rdered the grilled cheese and a side of O- ne egg for brunch. They're K- illing the grilled cheese game. S- taff is friendly and accommodating. T- hemes change so the decor A- and food offerings change. V- isa and other major cards are accepted! E- nchiladas with pork got R- ave reviews from the husband. N- ice looking mimosas too! I love the different themes that this restaurant has. Once we went and it was hawaiian. I ordered tuna poke then. This weekend it was Greek! Lots of interesting options and Grecian themed drinks. read more

Wholesome and a wide variety of dishes. Vegetables were roasted perfectly with medium sized portions. Service was a little slow, but it was worth the wait. Overall if you are seeking a place to find a wide variety of menu options I would recommend Cooks Tavern. read more

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Cooks - always a solid choice when you are near the Proctor District. Under COVID - it is no longer packed and the tables are properly distanced. The menu has been reduced to accommodate the changes in operations. Although the menu is limited, the selections are still enough to satisfy your various cravings. Expect heavy, hearty and filling food - it is a tavern. Solid drink menu and a full cocktail bar. For a lovely treat at the end of your meal - grab some coffee and eat a bag of the Beignets - fluffy, tender with a nice outer crisp - coated with powdered sugar. Eat two or three - they don't leave you feeling full. I miss the packed and vibrant vibe of pre-COVID Cooks - it is hanging in there and will return one day soon. Support this local business. read more

My husband, sister and her husband enjoyed a fab breakfast here. The foodie experience left us all wanting to return to try other dishes being that everyone on the menu looked delicious. We had no complaints ab6the food or service. Between us all we ordered the Clean Up on Isle 5 vegetable hash, Eggs Benedict and a couple of Breakfast All days. Our waiter was eager to please, friendly and kept a great I on our table. I am sorry but your name currently escapes me. read more

Wow. Very impressive. Beware happy hour ends at 5:00 here! We ended up staying for dinner since the ambiance/decor, staff, and menu were so intriguing. A small part of their menu rotates monthly with a theme. We were lucky enough to hit France (waiter told us next month is Spain which sounds amazing). Two people in our party ordered a french chicken dish with roasted vegetables and the best gravy ever. WOW. So amazing and so french. Another ordered the lamb burger (she'd had it before and fell in love). The flavors on this burger were incredible. The spread is mouthwatering. She also ordered the reisling and said it was the perfect amount of "sweet". I ended up ordering the tavern burger. I'm a super fan of rare meat and this was RARE. I loved it, but caution to those who order rare to avoid medium, do not attempt that here. They listened to my request and it was bloody. The chef's team put out incredible food all around. I would recommend this place to anyone who wants a very unique taste and atmosphere of Tacoma. Our waiter and staff were also incredibly professional and kind. Perfect for a date or brunch too! read more

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Good service. Waiter let me order off menu even though it was not quite dinner time. Beet salad was really good. Tomato soup was also good--smoky flavor. And the Caesar also tasty. read more

Good food. I had ravioli. I thought it was delicious but I didn't love the salty sauce they gave me. It was a white watery sauce. My boyfriend ordered burger and fries. He said the burger was good but fries were OK. The beignets were delicious and saved our evening. OK service. It was slow but I think it may be because of COVID reasons. 3 stars because it doesn't live up to all the hype I've heard. read more