Cook Needham — Restaurant in Needham

Overview: well lit roomy casual dinning resturant serving an eclectic menu.

Meal/Time: Dinner/Tuesday 1830/ Party of 3 Seated: 1835 Ordered: 1845 First ordered item arrived: 1903

Decor/Atmosphere: casual dining with a touch of class; Tuesday night is loud since it's trivia night.

Service/ Front of the House: we arrived, but it took 2 or 3 minutes to get everything sorted out to find a table for us

Service/Serving Staff: Bridget was friendly and helpful. She did check back, but did not check on drinks and refills for the iced tea.

Food: Lets start with the best to the not so best.

The Braised Short Rib Tacos ($17.00 + $10 for additional taco). Soft taco wrapped around a crunchy taco. Tender and juicy short ribs. Sweet and savory... can get a bit messy...but worth the napkins.

Charred Broccoli with Chimichurri ($10) - slightly smokey with some crispy bits. The chimichurri adds layers of flavor.

Mussels Fra-Diavolo ($16). Steamed mussels in a tomato based white wine sauce. Use the garlic bread to get the sauce. I would to have a side of bread just for the sauce.

Prime Steak Tips ($29). This was the biggest loser of the night. You get about 4 pieces of beef, 3 potato croquettes and some broccoli with Chimichurri. We ordered the steak tips medium. Of the 4 tips, 1 was medium rare, 2 were well and only 1 was medium. Love the sides...the potato croquettes were perfect... crunchy crust with a creamy center.

Value: Pretty good value as tapas...we ordered all starters except for the steak tips.

Restroom: Men's Room is really narrow. There is one stall, one urinal and 1 sink with 2 soap dispensers. Well stocked and clean.

Will I come back?: sure I would love to come back...I want to try the fish platter and the...

Last month, I went out with friends to Cook, after talking repeatedly about their hidden menu item, the Triple Burger. Naturally, I ordered that and that only. You can order any of the burgers listed and the total at the time was $45 for it.

Basic Burger - very onion heavy, which made it just a bit difficult to taste the rest of the dish because it lingered for awhile. Otherwise, as stated in the name, it's your basic burger.

Rodeo Burger - I love bacon and was very happy how much of it there was. There's also light bbq sauce on it and above the onion rings. My suggestion is to have the thinner onion ringers and maybe caramelize it. (totally not a fan of caramelized onions or anything! :D)

I wasn't able to finish my 3rd burger in the restaurant due to movie plans shortly after dinner. But I will say that whatever was going on with the previous 2 burgers, the Chicken Sandwich blew it away! If I had to come back and get only one, it'd be the chicken sandwich...unless I can get 3 of...

Love this place! I first came in a few months ago to meet some friends and have been back many times since. AMBIANCE is very cool whether you are sitting in the dining room or at the bar. FOOD is fantastic. I always start with a shrimp taco and it always hits the spot. NFC (fried chicken) is amazing and the Truffle Fries are to die for. My wife ordered the falafel plate and was delighted not only by the flavor but the little mini pitas with which you can mix and match your own bites. COCKTAILS are top notch. I usually stick to the spicy margarita, but my friends always enjoy their wide range of fresh, homemade cocktails. SERVICE is consistently friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable at the bar or at a table.

One last thing I really like seeing at Cook is how immersed in the service process their management is. Rather than standing in the corner and telling their staff what to do they take active rolls to ensure a positive customer experience....