Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Florida

I am more than happy to say that because of my review here, Cooper's Hawk privately emailed me, took full responsibility, and assured me they would have more training so this won't happen to anyone else. I am really elated at how they have handled this situation. We have always loved it there, the reason we went there to celebrate my daughter's birthday and we were so discouraged after what happened. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS RIGHT!! Jillian pointed out how no one is perfect and things can't always go the right way, but it's how you try to correct the problem, for the customer. Her email to me has really made a huge difference and we will be going and giving Cooper's Hawk another chance. After all, it was one bad night out of the countless ones that we've had there. Jillian deserves a raise ;). Thank you, again!!

Absolutely horrible!! We made reservations for 10 people for a birthday dinner, a week in advance. Two days before hand, we called to add 2 more adults and 2 small children. They said it wasn't a problem, but they would have to move the time from 6pm to 4:45pm. Everyone arrived at exactly 4:45 and we were told our table was ready, but to give them 5 minutes. Between 1/2hr and 45 minutes later (all 14 of us standing and waiting), they came to seat us. They had a square, 2 person table attached to a round 4 person table put together, with 10 chairs hardly fitting around it and a separate booth behind that for the other 4!! It was absolutely horrible!! There's no way 10 people would be able to sit and eat at those tables, nevermind room for 10 plates. We went to the manager, who stated he is unable to accommodate all of us and the reservation should have never been made!! There we are, for our daughter's 31st birthday, holding a cake, at 6:00 at night and nowhere to seat us!! We could see outdoor space, that would've accommodated us. We could see 4 high tables, in a separate area, where no one was sitting at, that would've accommodated us. The manager stated he had other reservations for those tables. Last minute, we called Mushroom Pizza, which was nearby, and they were more than happy to accommodate us, even giving us our own room, along with exemplary service!! Imagine that, the pizza place went above and beyond and the, so called, "classy" place failed on so many levels!! The manager at Cooper's Hawk busied himself on the phone the entire time, I might add, obviously trying to avoid any kind of responsibility, remorse, complaints, compensation, or accommodations for us. He was THE WORST MANAGER I have ever encountered and handled the situation absolutely terribly!! Just leaving all of us standing there, both before (knowing he screwed up) and afterwards, trying to avoid us. We had 6 different families there, all locals, and we all frequent Cooper's Hawk regularly ( the reason we chose there to celebrate) and you have now lost ALL of...

Arrival The atmosphere in this place is awesome. The entry with the wine displays and tasting bar is top rated. Service. Shawn our server was knowledgeable and very helpful with menu suggestions and the recommended wine pairings on the menu is a brilliant touch of marketing not to mention the complimentary tastings. There is definitely no rushing you out the door here which is a treat in an upscale chain that is usually looking at turning tables. Wine The wine is above average for the price. We tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Super Tuscan and a Chardonnay. All were smooth and tasty with no bite which generally accompany some restaurant private labels. Food This is where the train went off the rails. We ordered the sweet chili calamari and the egg rolls. Once again, Shawn did an excellent job explaining the dish, the sauces and getting our feedback before placing the order. Not sure who’s running expo in the kitchen but they need a remedial course in calling orders. The calamari came out first. It was very tasty but was warm at best and had been sitting for a while waiting for delivery. The egg rolls arrived hot and delicious. My biggest disappointment was with the surf and turf. While I like the idea of being able to choose various options my beef medallions and drunken shrimp were less than stellar. At $45, the beef medallions were very small and must have been cut from the tail of the tenderloin. We asked for medium rare and if they had been a decent thickness and hadn’t been placed under a heat lamp for an extended period of time they may have arrived at the appropriate doneness. The veg medley side had obviously been prepared in a batch had scooped from a hot table. I ordered a side of fries which did not come with the order. I told the runner who delivered my dish and she apologized and went back to the kitchen. Several minutes later when our server came to check on us , I also told him I was waiting on my fries and he too apologized and went to the kitchen but the fries never arrived. Did I need an order of fries? Absolutely not. My waistline was thankful they didn’t arrive but here I am 12 hours later still thinking about them. Will we give them another try. Sure. I’ve been in the business and every kitchen doing volume in this category can have an off night. Final note. Go for the service and ambiance, lower your expectations on the food. BTW. I brought one of the medallions home for a measure. It was 2 x 2 x 1/2. Granted this is a cooked measurement which means it probably started out at just under 3/4 of an inch. Professionals knows how difficult it is to get a sear on a steak under 1” and return a medium...

I hope management sees my review, because I really want this business to improve, as we need more good quality chains in Fort Myers. My wife and I went to celebrate her 36th birthday tonight, but it wasn’t a good experience…

All started with seating: we booked for 8pm, got there 8:12 (OpenTable gives a 15min grace period). Despite the reservation, we waited for 15min for a table - they don’t have seating for waiting, so we walked around the wine tasting area (idea: why not offer customers the free samples while waiting and then show the wine club? Win-win!)

Service: waiter was nice, young girl. Just not well-trained to wait tables at this place, from way of speaking to customers to lack of knowledge of food and options (better training solves the problem here).

Food: the “Drunken shrimp” (shrimp with bacon around on tequila, lime, and butter sauce and guacamole on side) is AMAZING! Definitely 5 stars! But I ordered the shirt-rib risotto and it was “soupy”… way more sauce than it should have. This made the risotto mushy and overcooked. I showed the waitress and she agreed it had way too much sauce (she said “it should have been 1.5oz of sauce, but it has way more than that…”). She took my complaint to the kitchen. She offered to change plates, but that’s the problem: after waiting 15-20min for a dish (after finishing appetizer), a customer doesn’t want to wait another 20min for another dish… you either do it perfect at once or you give some discount (some places do free dessert) as a courtesy to compensate. We got nothing: just the full bill of $130+ (risotto was $33 and the creme brûlée, $11). Chef needs to keep an eye on the kitchen and teach staff how to respond to customer’s feedback: I saw the waitress telling them about the risotto and I just saw laughs from distance…

Wine: got a bottle of the Malbec, good quality for the price ($34), a 4-star wine, I recommend with strong-flavored red meat.

Atmosphere: the place is brand new and have a nice, modern, clean look and feel. Not romantic but cool. The kitchen is pristine and well equipped. Seems to have a nice size for that many tables, but the service was a bit slow.

Paid the full bill, including 20% tip (total $156). But left disappointed and needed to share it here so management can see it and other customers as well and can think of better alternatives to spend $75/person…

When I give bad reviews, I always come back a few months later with an Edit and updated review. Hopefully it will be...