Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Indianapolis

We’ve been wine club members for 6 years, and our friends have been members for at least 13 years, and we have not been treated at this location as rudely/unprofessionally as we were treated yesterday by one of your sommeliers (I’ll call him “A”). Which was surprising giving that A seems to know our friends and has worked many years at this location. We patiently waited at the tasting area for a spot to open for our group of 6. No one was behind us at the time. We waited for B, who would be our sommelier, to invite us to step forward to a place at the tasting counter. Three of us then stepped forward to the counter, and the other 3 in our group stood behind the first 3 in the group so that we wouldn’t be taking up too much room as there were groups next to us. We stayed in that position until the groups standing to our right departed. They included a group of at least 5 or 6, all of whom had been standing together at the counter single file. Only at the time the people next to us left did the 3 in our group who had been standing behind then move to the right, to step up to the counter. We were not cutting anyone off and we were being patient. A, who wasn’t even acting as the sommelier for that side of the tasting area, promptly walked over and said “no,” pointed at us, and told the 3 in our group that they needed to step back to where they had been because “we need to make money.” Scolding us because Cooper’s Hawk needs to make more money……ok……I believe there were only 2 people waiting behind us at that time and there was room for them at the tasting counter, too. But had there not been, we wouldn’t have minded continuing to stand 3 on 3 as we had been, if necessary. However, we were taken aback at the tone and rudeness of how we were told to move. Especially as we — and particularly, our friends — have been long time wine club members. And especially as A never said one word to the other group by us about their standing single file. In contrast to A, our sommelier, B, was wonderful and we would be glad to enjoy a wine tasting with her again. B deserves a 5 star rating and my low rating isn’t directed at her. I don’t care how long A has worked for your establishment, he shouldn’t be allowed to treat any customer that way, much less long-time customers. Unacceptable. Also, if this is a policy that only 3 people in a group can step to the counter at a time, even when there is room and no long waiting line, then it needs to be enforced across the board. Because I can tell you that we have seen large groups stand single file at the tasting counter, even when it’s busy, and for much longer periods of time than we were there. We’ve never encountered a sommelier say anything in this tone to a group at your store. It most certainly did not come across as “joking” (if A thinks that’s what he intended). I really am taken aback by how disrespected we felt. We cancelled our membership last year because of the increasingly poor service at this location, the higher meal prices that exceed the quality of what we receive (cold food, overcooked steaks, etc), and the repeated goof-ups with processing our check at the table in the restaurant (and at nearly every single visit — including multiple episodes of double charging our card on file, mixing up the items on ours/our friends’ checks, not correctly applying rewards, etc). And, yet, we have still tried to give your location another chance. We recently reinstated our membership only because our friends reinstated theirs and asked us to as well. We’re seriously rethinking that decision and are ready to give up for the second and final time. We are over Cooper’s Hawk and will certainly share our poor experiences with anyone who asks for our opinion. When we canceled our membership the first time, no one at your company even bothered to reach out to us though we shared our reasons why. All we received was your generic “we’ll miss you!” auto-generated e-mail. That was a clear sign that the company does not care. I would hope Cooper’s Hawk can do better but it doesn’t...

A Disappointing Fall from Grace

As a regular guest at Cooper’s Hawk, I walked in expecting the polished, high-quality service I’ve grown to associate with this location. What I received instead was an evening full of missteps, delays, and overall poor hospitality that completely tainted what should’ve been an enjoyable night out.

Let’s start with the basics—bread service. Something that’s usually brought out promptly was completely forgotten. It wasn’t offered, mentioned, or acknowledged until our server realized we hadn’t received it—then tried to act as if it’s something only served upon request. (It’s not.) When it finally did arrive—with our entrées, no less—the butter was frozen solid and unusable.

Drinks took 15 minutes to arrive, and the pacing of the meal was completely off. My appetizer, the egg rolls, came out lukewarm and skimpy—clearly not fresh and lacking the generous filling they usually have.

The server also assumed only one person at the table wanted an appetizer (my mother), and didn’t offer the option to anyone else. On top of that, my mom ordered a Bloody Maria (with tequila) and was served a Bloody Mary (with vodka)—a basic mistake that showed a lack of attention and understanding.

At one point, I dropped my AirPod between the seat and the wall, and the staff had no tools or system in place to help. It wasn’t until a kind Hispanic gentleman with amazing hair stepped in that the issue was finally resolved. He was the only staff member who truly embodied hospitality and professionalism that night.

A second round of egg rolls was eventually offered, but at that point it felt like damage control rather than a genuine effort to recover the experience.

A manager did come to the table and comped my mom’s calamari, the egg rolls, and the gnocchi carbonara—which unfortunately was heavy, bland, and nearly inedible.

This wasn’t a case of the restaurant being busy—it was a breakdown in training, attention to detail, and overall care. I’ve had great visits here before, which makes this one even more disappointing.

I hope management takes this seriously, because no guest should have to dig through excuses, cold apps, and underwhelming service to get the level of experience Cooper’s Hawk is known for.

That said, I do believe in second chances. While this visit was frustrating from start to finish, I’m not completely writing this location off. I might still return in the future—but only with the hope that serious changes are made and that this experience was a rare exception, not...

My husband & I went to Cooper's Hawk this last weekend for our date night. We truly had a great experience. We didn't realize it was prom night, but this made no difference on our experience had. It was so fun getting to see all the couples dressed up! The atmosphere still felt calm and organized! We were seated in a timely manner and had a wonderful waitress named Brittany! Brittany made sure to show us all the new items on the menu and was very kind to us. She was very good at always coming to check on us to see if our food arrived correctly and how we wanted it. Brittany was very focused on making sure we were enjoying everything and that we needed nothing. She was absolutely wonderful. My husband and i had ordered our steaks both medium. When our steaks came, we had realized mine was more rare than I like. This was going to be okay with me, as I knew they were very busy this night and all of our other food had been amazing. I was not going to complain, but it was important to our waitress Brittany she ensured I enjoyed all of my food, not just most of it. She took it back to be cooked more for me. When she arrived at our table with my steak, she informed us that not only my steak would be taken off the bill, but my husband's as well. She also informed us that both of us would be getting a dessert on the house to make up for the steak. This was not necessary what so ever, but it did have a great impact on our experience and our opinion of Cooper's Hawk. Brittany informed us that the manager would be over herself to speak with us and drop off our desserts. The manager came to our table very apologetically, letting us know that she was sorry about our steak and she was happy to make it right with us. We could see how important customer's satisfaction was to them. My husband and i both truly enjoyed every minute and appreciate how much it matters to them that we left happy and full. & then to top it off, after we had left the building and almost completely to our cars, we looked up to see our waitress Brittany running with two to-go drinks for us in hand. That is amazing service. That is above and beyond service and I can truly say that is the best we have ever been treated somewhere! Cooper's Hawk and their staff will not disappoint, I promise! Great date night spot & wonderful...