Cork & Bull Chophouse — Restaurant in Chesapeake

I called to make a reservation for a party of 12. This was by far the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had with a restaurant that I never even got a chance to step foot in! I called at 4:30 pm to make a reservation for 12/30 - which is almost a month away. I was told the largest party on the weekend would be 8. However, the website does not reflect that information. So I asked if I could do 2 reservations for a party of 8 and 4. I was advised yes, however we may sit on different sides of the restaurant. The host stated that they would not know until they make the floor plan the day before! I then asked to speak to a manager and I was advised that she was in a meeting and not available to take my call. I told the host, to do the 2 reservations and I will just leave a review because I feel as if she was giving me a really hard time with the reservation. Ironically, the manager is now available. The manager (Makayla) came to the phone with a bad attitude. I explained to her the situation all over again and she stated she couldn’t guarantee that we would sit next to each other. Although, I am making a reservation a month in advance. She then stated I could make the reservation but my credit card was needed. (As if I did not have multiple!) I explained to her that I was driving on a dark road and asked if I could be emailed a link to provide that or if she could hold so I can call home to get my son to read her my card information. She then hung up on me!!! I called back and she immediately answer the phone again with an attitude. I proceeded to give her my card number, with hesitation. She explained my card would not be ran unless I no showed for my reservation. She put me on hold and came back to the line to tell me that my credit card declined. This is a brand new credit card that had not been used- that I may add. Also, again she stated that it would not be ran, so how did it decline?! She became super aggressive and argumentative and I told her I feel as if she did not want my business. From the initial interaction she was very unpleasant as well as the host that answered the phone. I told her I knew she’d say that because I felt as if she did not want US there. She then screamed “I don’t know what color you are!” I told her I will just leave a review on Google and do business elsewhere. She replied, “I dont care!” Then she hung up. As a business owner, I am appalled at the way I was treated. The customer service displayed by these 2 individuals were disgusting. I would be embarrassed to have individuals with such poor customer service skills as these two, to represent my company. I will NEVER patron this business. I can imagine how she treats her employees if she treats her customers the way she treated me today. I would strongly encourage getting Makayla some customer service training at a bare minimum. I would like to add that I sat on hold for over 20 minutes to make a reservation. That is absolutely absurd. 45 minutes later, I’m off the phone with no reservation and by far one of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve received in...

I’m only writing this review because I wish I had read one like it prior to going. Normally, I’d just take my business elsewhere, but maybe this will help those considering the restaurant or the restaurant itself.

My husband and I selected Cork & Bull to celebrate our anniversary, when we typically will pick a more upscale place we haven’t been to. Friends warned us that the restaurant still had kinks to work out, but we chalked it up to being new when that feedback was received, and we always like to experience things for ourselves. They weren’t wrong. I’m not sure I’d describe it as kinks though, IMO, they need a full sweep of change in staff. We had a 7p reservation, they said they were running behind on reservations, but we were sat 15 minutes later, no big deal. They asked if we were celebrating anything special, we did fill them in that we were celebrating our anniversary, but that’s where the information stayed, there were no special touches whatsoever as we’ve experienced in the past (Hunt Room, Terrapin, etc.). Our waitress was admittedly flustered and said she was having an off day. She was nice and aimed to please, but you could tell she had little to no experience in this type of dining environment. We ordered the half charcuterie board and shrimp cocktail as appetizers. The charcuterie board was the oddest thing – fatty meat chunks, blue cheese crumbles, another type of cheese, pickles, strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, and candied pecans. The shrimp cocktail was perfection, except that it was not served with cocktail sauce, which we did not miss. Those came out quickly, about 15 minutes after we got our table. One of the reasons we picked this place over others was its menu – and it IS a good menu. I chose the elk because I’ve not had the opportunity to try it and my husband got the pork chop – these meals came out 45 minutes after our appetizers which we felt was far too long. I ordered mine with double asparagus and no mashed potatoes, it of course came out with one side of asparagus and mashed potatoes, but the waitress brought me the other side of asparagus after I asked her about it. My husband said the pork chop was delicious. We did not stay for dessert and won’t be back, Luce next door is FAR superior for the area. We very much enjoy their sister locations, Amedeo’s & River Stone, so they DO know how things should operate, they just don’t have the right people to do it here. The entire staff looked disheveled, with the exception of one waitress. Even one of the hostesses had a large sweatshirt on. This wasn’t Applebees, but aside from the décor, it could have been. Something else to note is they now have an additional 3.5% fee for all non-cash transactions, not a huge deal but in a world moving to...

My wife and I went here for our anniversary. We made reservations and showed up about 10 minutes early. We were seated promptly at our reservation time (8pm).

Atmosphere (3/5): The place looks great on the outside and seems to be about the norm for most chophouse/steakhouse restaurants on the inside. The only negative I had is the layout lends to far more background noise from other tables. We happened to be seated next to a larger party that was celebrating a birthday, so the noise level was relatively high (I couldn't hear my wife talking) until their food came. Some sound deadening material or a slightly different layout would help a lot in a large open area like the dining room.

Service (4.5/5): Princess was our server and she was awesome and the bar staff was on point with their recommendations on drinks. I will say the service was slightly slow (they were very busy), (15 minutes to get drinks), and the total time at the restaurant was about 2 hours. However, we were there to talk and relax, so it didn't feel overly long for any one thing, and the server was constantly checking on us.

Food (5/5): We wanted to experience as much as possible, so we ordered: Pear Salad (5/5): This was the best salad I think I have ever had. Every ingredient properly complimented each other.

22oz Bone-in House Dry-Aged Ribeye with a little garlic butter on it (5/5): I ordered it medium and it came out perfectly medium. It was very flavorful, just the right temperature. It was a bit pricey at $70, but we knew the price point going in and wanted to see how this steak compared to some of the more expensive steakhouses. We were not disappointed.

Sweet Potato Casserole (5/5): Reminded me of Thanksgiving sweet potatoes. Very tasty!

Parmesan Truffle Fries (5/5): They were crispy and had the right amount of Parmesan and truffle oil. Very good.

Indulgent Mac & Cheese (we added lobster) (3.5/5): I am a bit of a snob when it comes to lobster mac and cheese and thought this was run of the mill lobster mac and cheese. Not bad, but not great.

Crab and Lobster Cakes (5/5): My wife had them and said the they were very good.

Drinks (5/5): Don't judge our drinking. :P

We had a Pomegranate Martini (4/5), The Classic Old Fashioned (5/5), Maple Espresso Old Fashioned (4/5), The Japanese Old Fashioned (5/5), and the bartender made up their take on a Lavender Old Fashioned (5/5).

Overall, while this isn't a place we would visit a lot due to the price, it is certainly a place we will enjoy going back to in the future. By the way, the leftovers...