Rocket City Tavern — Restaurant in Huntsville

RCT has been on my list for a while. I visited for lunch today and I'm glad I got to experience it.

Located just off of Redstone Arsenal (still accessible to civilians, but only just) RCT shares a strip mall (and also a parent company, iirc) with Fiero Mexican Grill and DipWich. It's the most upscale of the three, offering an actual sit-down-and-dine experience as opposed to counter service. Still, it's of an approachable price, not fine dining or super ritzy or anything. It's a tavern, like the name says. Most lunch offerings are between $15-20.

As expected per the location, this spot attracts a large dose of engineer types from the arsenal and research park alike. I wound up grabbing a seat at the bar since I was dining solo and the restaurant was pretty busy. That's where I met the star of the show today -- Jessica, the bartender, was outstanding!

She had a warm smile and welcoming demeanor, got me quite literally everything I needed with a quickness (menu, Diet Coke, took my order, grabbed extra ketchup after the kitchen brought me my food, and then had my check delivered and my card run all in less than 45 minutes) and she was always busy making sure everyone was taken care of and everything was clean. She offered recommendations and brought refills so confidently and with such perfect timing I wonder if she could do it in her sleep. A family of three sat next to me briefly before a real table was cleared for them, and she even found time to get their orders and reassign them to the correct table before they moved. Go, Jessica!

I'd browsed reviews and the menu before I went and was confidently set on ordering the tavern cheeseburger with hand-cut fries. Jessica let me select the doneness and I asked for medium well. It was delivered more on the well than the medium side, but that's okay by me; never hurts to play it safer with a burger.

Overall, the burger was decent. Pretty thick cut patty and only a little dry around the edges. Not too fatty nor too lean. It had a nice charred flavor and the cheese was gooey (and not American cheese - which certainly makes ME happy). The bun did start to disintegrate a bit as I was finishing up. I enjoyed the peppercorn aioli (I'm a sucker for all aiolis though). It added the extra moisture the patty needed and also brought a bright, peppy flavor. It was good for fry dipping too.

I guess $15.50 is the going price for restaurant burgers nowadays, but I don't know if /I/ want to spend that much on a burger that was only just "good" with any regularity. I think if I'd added bacon to it, that really would've leveled it up -- some burgers just need bacon, ya know? I feel like this was one of them, but I didn't feel like paying for the upcharge.

I think I'm coming across as more negative than I really feel about this burger. On a 10 scale, I'd give it about a 6.8. Above average, good even, just didn't wow me.

The fries were quite good. They had some kind of herb and flaky salt dusting and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Perfect amount of crispness. I think the serving I was given was maybe a little paltry, at least in comparison to what it looks like in other patrons' pictures. I could've done with a few more, but when is that ever NOT the case when it comes to me with fries?

A clean and inviting atmosphere, quick food delivery (nice when you can get a comfortable sit-down meal within an actual lunch HOUR), exceptional service from Jessica, and good enough food makes this a comfy 4...

We ate lunch here last week and it was half decent. Drinks came fast, service was on point, food was hot and tasted decent. So when we saw they had Monday night trivia at 5:30pm, we decided to give it a try. We showed up tonight, Monday November 6th at 5pm planning to have food, drinks, and okay trivia. The hostess informed us that they had changed trivia night to 6:30 and asked if we wanted to stay. We asked when that happened since all the signs in the restaurant, all the websites material, and social media ads said 5:30. She didn’t know when. We opted to stay and eat since we were hungry. We ordered drinks, which took over 15 mins to get. It was slow, 6 tables, there’s no way 2 simple drinks should have taken that long. About 5 mins after our first drinks arrived, dinner came out. Everything was cold, except the fries. I tried to use my soup to wake my ice cold sandwich, which didn’t help because the soup was cold. I took a bite of the crispy strips on my salad and had to spit it out . It tasted like stale chips dipped in very old oil and left a foul taste in my mouth. Didn’t even touch the salsa after that. My husbands beef dip lacked taste and my daughter complained her food was cold and her drink left a horrible moldy taste in her mouth. I tried her drink and 100% agreed. I could even drink it. There was a clear disconnect between the lunch service and the dinner service. We will never eat there again. I also suggest updating all your advertising on trivia night so folks don’t waste their time showing up for an even that isn’t...

Exceptional service, incredible team — Rocket City Tavern made our Farewell Luncheon truly unforgettable.

We had the honor of hosting a farewell luncheon for COL Bothern, officiated by Mr. Pinckley and beautifully coordinated by Ms. Wurtz. Rocket City Tavern delivered with excellence from start to finish. Event Planner Trudi, Manager Matt Crane, Hostess Laura, and our amazing servers Zander, Destiny, and Tristen went above and beyond. Their attention to detail, professionalism, and warmth set the tone for a meaningful and smooth event.

The food was superb, the environment welcoming, and every staff member — from the chefs to the servers — showed genuine care for our gathering. As a military member, I truly value this kind of commitment to service.

Highly recommend Rocket City Tavern for official functions, military celebrations, or any occasion where excellence, hospitality, and care matter.

Thank you, Rocket City Tavern team — you made this send-off special, and we are...