The Cork & Cleaver — Restaurant in Montgomery

The Cork & Cleaver is a small, almost hidden, gastropub you really need to try in Montomgery. This is easily the best food we've found since moving to Alabama. Tucked away in the Publix shopping center, this place offered a variety of locally sourced, fresh foods & beers. We arrived around 430pm, just before dinner rush began on Saturday. We were immediately seated in the quaint, chic dining room. This place is small compared to other gastropubs we've tried but don't let the size fool you. We began with a Strawberry Lemonade & Blueberry mule. Both drinks were delicious. Made with fresh fruits, slushy-type ice & decent liquors. Very refreshing! The appetizer was a hard choice so we went with the tuna nachos based on popularity. Sesame-crusted ahi tuna was cooked perfectly on top of a bed of lettuce & red onion then drizzled with hoisin sauce & served with crispy wonton "nacho chips." Yall! So good! The hoisin sauce does have a fermented heat to it so it's adds a nice spice to the dish. For entrees we had the Shrimp & Grits and the Chicken sandwich with Old Bay fries. The S&G made from Alabama-sourced grits, sausage & gulf shrimp smothered in a cajun sauce was by far some of the best we've had! The chicken sandwich was piled high with a juicy, seasoned chicken breat, fresh avocado, lettuce, tomato, bacon jam (I could eat that by the spoonful by itself), more bacon & served with a Chipotle mayo on a soft brioche bun. Then the Old Bay fries! Fresh, handcut fries dusted with OB seasoning. You can't go wrong! For dessert we had the Creme Brulee & White Choclate bread pudding. The Creme brulee had a decent crust and smooth custard served with fresh berries. Delicious & sweet! The bread pudding was massive! Easily shareable for 2 or more people. A huge slice of bread pudding on top of a creamy sauce, fresh Berries & topped with vanilla icecream. Definitely a must try! There are reviews that talk about service being slow, or servers being forgetful but we did not have that experience. In fact, we were served quickly, offered insight into the menu & witnessed the owner walking by tables to check on patrons. Pricing is decent in our opinion as everything is cooked fresh, locally-sourced & plated with care. Even with 2 drinks, entrees & desserts, our bill was under $100. We will definitely be back! Choosing our dinner options was a tough choice so there are many other things we can't wait to try! So stop by! Enjoy something delicious! The restaurant did start to get packed by the time we were leaving but they do have outdoor seating as well & several large parties came in together so...

Update: We decided to give this place another shot and they have redeemed themselves. On a busy Sunday we had the typical and expected wait for a table of four - no complaints there. I switched it up and tried the Conecuh Tacos - they were phenomenal. Someone in our party ordered the infamous Sunrise Burger (mentioned in the original review below) and that was still pretty bad, but otherwise service was much faster than last time, and the food seems to have tightened up (minus the sunrise burger). While I cannot speak for their other menus, at least the brunch in this case I would confidently recommend.

(Original review) Overall: Eating here is kind of like biting into a chocolate chip cookie and finding out it's actually raisins—you're not mad; you're just really disappointed.

Pros: The staff was polite and friendly.

Cons: The wait was very long, even with open tables. We could have sat and ordered drinks; however, we had to stand in the door for roughly 10-15 minutes before being seated, which didn't make any sense. Once we were seated, the drinks took another 15 minutes or so to get to us, despite there being two people working behind the bar and the restaurant not being very busy. The appetizer and food took well over 30-40 minutes to get to us. There were two tables near us who were chatting about how long it was taking to get their food (one had their drinks comped). The food was subpar at best. They take great care to make the food look presentable, but it was all very bland. There was no salt, pepper, or any other condiments on the table, which would have been helpful considering no one came to check on us for the majority of the meal, but truthfully, even after the waitress found us some (after we had already almost finished), it didn't help much. A couple of the items we ordered were supposed to have over easy eggs - but they were all harder than my third period French exam. While everything else was edible, though disappointing, the burger was inedible. The drinks were not good, and the water had a chemical taste to it. The restaurant itself needs some cleaning up. The cooks are cooking on a table that's slanting like the leaning tower of Pisa. There was a bunch of dirty kids' toys cluttering the front door area where all the menus were; there was a hole in the wall next to our table; overall, it feels like they took "hole in the wall" too seriously. Way too expensive for such...

Met a friend for dinner and it was not the same as it has been in the past. I ordered the Lobster and Shrimp pasta. The last two times I’ve ordered this dish it was delicious! But last night it was very disappointing. It’s usually has a rich creamy sauce and served with bread. Last night it was awful. The sauce if you could even call it that was like water. The pasta tasted like what an old fish tank would smell. The pasta alone ruined my appetite. There was no bread. The server was very nice and asked how it was. I told asked to please take it away and that I would pay for it but that I can’t eat it. She said that she could have them remake it. I told her that was not necessary and that if the kitchen couldn’t make it properly the first time why would it be any better the second. She apologized. She came back to the table and said that she spoke with the owner and that he would be willing to give us half off of our desserts. So I was a bit confused as to why the owner wouldn’t at least discount the entree that I had only taken two bites of but instead offer half off of desserts that we didn’t order. The waitress was very kind. The kitchen staff left a bad impression. The cooks were loud and foul mouthed. The dishwasher kept coming out to put clean plates on the line and slamming them down. They must have forgot that they are in an open kitchen. Not the same experience as in the past. It sure if it was different staff or just a bad night. Either way I will not be back for the simple fact that I was served food that was disgusting and the owner was present and the best he could do was to send the server back over to offer half off desserts as if he didn’t even care. I am the one that offered to pay for the entree and that was my mistake. I should have asked for it to be removed from the bill. With it being an open kitchen, when the server went to the cook and told her that I didn’t not like it, the look from kitchen was not pleasant and I didn’t want to cause a scene. My friend had the shrimp tacos and he was not impressed. Only ate one and left the rest. Also I made reservations and noted it was for a birthday. We were sat in between two other tables that were crammed together. The place was not busy at all. It was so close that my chair was against the persons chair behind me. I really used to like this place. It’s really sad. I was embarrassed that I decided to take my friend here for...