Cowhorn Kitchen & Wine — Restaurant in Jacksonville

It's hard to decide where to start this review because the entire experience from beginning to end was extremely underwhelming and disappointing. Being fans of Cowhorn Winery we decided to celebrate our anniversary here and treat our friends to dinner at the same time. The derailment began before we had even arrived at the restaurant. One hour prior to our reservation we received a phone call to firmly remind us that we had a two hour time limit and we would be expected to clear the table in said time. This was extremely poor etiquette and took a bit of enthusiasm out of our mood. Upon arriving at the restaurant we were promptly seated and just as quickly reminded once again that there was a two hour time limit. At this point this was outright rude and in poor taste. Things only got worse from here. First the dining room was cramped and freezing. As you looked around you could not help notice all the guest sitting with their coats and sweaters on, huddled over their plates like a Siberian soup kitchen. It was a 28 degree evening and the front door was like a subway entrance. There was a steady stream of people coming in and going out to use the restroom, and we were constantly blasted with freezing air. Yes, you have to go out to the shed to use the restroom. By the time we received our first bottle of wine and multiple appetizers, nearly one hour had passed. The anxiety of the time limit was building rapidly and it was hard to focus and enjoy ourselves. The house made bread was not warmed through and the butter it was served with was a salt bomb. The butter may in fact been pulled from the Dead Sea. The rest of the appetizers were your standard bar food fare. Once the entrees arrived we were left grossly underwhelmed. The salmon was MIA and thus I got the halibut. The rest of the party ordered the tartine and two different pasta dishes, and all the entrees were dead on arrival. The halibut was Luke warm, under seasoned, and sitting atop drowning spinach that was not properly trimmed; the whole bowl was a cold, soggy mess. The tartine was basically an appetizer claiming to be an entree, and both the pasta dishes were under seasoned as well and a gummy clump. At this point we were all suspiciously looking at the butter and realized where all the seasoning had gone. If things were not bad enough, about 15 minutes into the disappointing entrees we were kindly provided with a 20 minute warning and asked if we would like to order dessert. We actually had more than 20 minutes, and had to uncomfortably do some basic math with our server to confirm our remaining time. Now, I completely understand the need to turn tables, but if you tout yourself as fine dinning and charge on the upper scale for this area, then you better ensure your guests are comfortable, not rushed, and may actually want to return. Four entrees, two bottles of wine, and the unfinished appetizer all staring at us, and the pressure of ordering dessert so we could quickly vacate was enough discomfort. I asked for the check. There was not one clean dish on the table. We dragged our beaten souls out, and as we drove home dazed, confused, and hungry it dawned on me that I had paid $325 for a very poorly executed concept and presentation. We have always been more than happy to spend on good food and service. But frankly, this whole experience let us feeling scammed. There are a lot of things that can be said about such an experience and restaurant, but I will kindly just say that this is a bad restaurant. I can not implore upon you enough to avoid making the same mistake.

P.S. The numerous five star submissions without a single comment should...

My wife and I were really hopeful that this would be great we’ve been to the vineyard and enjoyed it there but the ambiance, food, and host at the restaurant weren’t so good. I’m not sure of his name but we arrived with a 5:00pm reservation and upon arrival noticed there was another couple already there and seated we were then told we would be sitting right next to them. The restaurant is very small and as there was no one else there aside from us and this other couple I thought it would be awkward to be seated next to each other and make it hard for either table to feel like we could enjoy a dinner and conversation. So, I requested a different table and was told ‘There is another reservation at 5:00pm that has that table so we won’t be able to seat you elsewhere.’ Perhaps I should have made it clear that we would take any other table but I didn’t, not to mention we were there on time with our 5:00pm reservation and it seems it could’ve been an easy change. So we awkwardly sat next to the other couple and they seemed to think it awkward too. This would all be fine because I get if you are booked out you need to organize everything but during our meal a walk in came in and was seated across the restaurant from where we are, which made me wonder why we weren’t seated there when I had made a request.

That all left a bad taste in my mouth but I was open to letting it go if that was only the bad taste left in my mouth. I had a vegan chef plate and my meal was mostly very good except the chef seemed to mix up burnt vs slight char. The broccoli was burnt and inedible, I had to drink more of their wine and plenty of water to get the burnt taste out of my mouth. Due to the way the host had disregarded my request for another table I didn’t bother pointing out the poor execution of the burnt broccoli. My wife’s meal was the half chicken and she said it was largely just oily and salt. The wine was fine.

Long story short I would’ve rather spent $100+ on cooking at home and gotten some rare bottles of wine.

Two stars instead of one because they had vegan options. This was our one and only time we will be...

I'm extremely disappointed and upset after visiting Cow Horn Jacksonville. The employee I interacted with was not only unhelpful but also prejudiced and patronizing.

When I asked to bring my service animal inside on a rainy day, she claimed that 'technically, animals have to be outside.' This was said with a smirk, implying that I didn't know the rules. Her tone was condescending and dismissive.

As someone with a disability, I'm accustomed to navigating accessibility challenges. However, the employee's attitude and lack of understanding were staggering. It's unacceptable for a business to treat customers with such disrespect.

The employee's smug attitude and misinterpretation of service animal laws are unacceptable.

Here's a clarification: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses are required to allow service animals to accompany their owners in all areas, including indoors.

I hope Cow Horn Jacksonville takes steps to educate their staff about disability rights and customer service. Until then, I would caution others with disabilities about visiting this...