Nature's Table at Cook Museum of Natural Science — Restaurant in Decatur

Insofar as in-museum restaurants go, I was pretty pleased with Nature's Table!

Located inside the Cook Museum, Nature's Table offers options like smoothies, soups, sandwiches, and much to my excitement, açaí bowls! You don't have to visit the museum to eat here (though you should -- it's awesome!). It's on your left as you enter the building.

The menu board is a little small so I had to walk right up to the counter to figure out what I wanted. Luckily there wasn't a big line and the employees were friendly and patient. I decided to build my own small açaí bowl. It came with two scoops of açaí and my choice of three toppings. I selected granola, strawberries, and bananas, and added peanut butter for another 60 cents.

The price was reasonable, though the small serving size matches it. The scoop of açaí was about the size of a cookie dough scoop, and they weren't super generous with the three toppings I added. However, they were SUPER generous with the peanut butter. That, combined with everything else, was enough for me for lunch.

I also thought they did a really good job with cleanliness - a no-touch trashcan and little flippable signs to indicate if the table had been sanitized or not - made for a nice experience.

It's always nice to be able to go to a museum and not have to worry about having a decent meal to go along with it, and overall Nature's...

The food is great…when you can get it. I checked the hours on Google—restaurant closes at 5. Perfect, at it was 3:10 and I had a 25 minute drive to arrive. Went to counter at 3:35 and started my order. “We don’t sell food after 3.” This is a restaurant. That is open until 5. That stops selling food at 3. In all seriousness, I was truly bumfuzzled and asked what did they sell after 3. Smoothies, in case you’re wondering. I’ll go back because there are so few restaurants in our area that serve healthy food. Hopefully I’ll arrive earlier in the future…to the open restaurant that...

Although the food is delicious, they’re constantly getting my order wrong. It almost feels intentional. They recently increased the prices but I don’t mind. I only wish the kitchen staff were more accustomed to dealing all races. Majority of staff and customers are white so I feel other ethnicities tend to make them uncomfortable; customers included. I feel my presence is unwanted when I enter but continue to remain a loyal customer. Hopefully their...