Cooks Tavern — Restaurant in Tacoma

Today, I had a doctor appointment with the surgeon who performed rotator cuff surgery on me in December 2024. It resulted in an NSAID shot which I hope will stop the non-stop pain, which began immediately after I started resistance band exercises as part of my PT.

Ray also had a doctor appointment in Tacoma but ours were a few hours apart. After I was finished it was off to find breakfast. Today was Cook’s Tavern.

After a beautiful drive down Alder St., taking us on the backside of the University of Puget Sound, we arrived at Cook’s, which does not look like your typical tavern at all.

We got lucky and pulled into a parking spot which was being vacated as we arrived. There are not a lot of available parking places. I did not see a dedicated lot anywhere.

The outside of Cook’s is beautiful with hanging baskets of flowers, and a garden of lavender. The only blight was a gigantic tansy, which is a noxious weed, toxic to livestock, and a constant battle to keep off on our ranch.

We were greeted, immediately seated, and provided with menus. Ray went to the restroom, came out and said wasn’t sure he had entered the correct bathroom. He nearly walked into a female angel statue just inside the door of the men’s restroom. He was the 3rd male with the same encounter today.

After much deliberation I decided on the chicken and waffle. Ray chose Pigs in the Orchard with a house made biscuit. We both had coffee which was very good.

Our breakfasts arrived hot and definitely made to order. This time I got pictures before either of us began eating.

My chicken was lightly battered, hot, and crispy. The waffle had bacon pieces in it and came with real maple syrup. Both were divine.

Ray’s breakfast was loaded with ham, herbs, spices and gooey goat cheese. The smashed red potatoes were crispy and had great seasoning. The homemade biscuit was just like mine; a hard hockey puck.

One of the cool things about the restaurant was the open window. Unfortunately, a lot of diesel trucks drive up and down 26th as well as Alder. More than once we were hit with eau de exhaust which is why I gave the atmosphere a 4. The exhaust definitely changed the air quality inside and taste of our food. The fresh air was nice when we weren’t smelling...

MIND-BLOWING Brunch Experience!!! I am a HUGE Eggs Benedict fanatic but unfortunately most establishments boasting this CLASSIC menu option has only half-delivered or completely failed my expectations. I don't ask for much. I just want a traditional, long-standing tradition done right. But, never fear: this place easily offers what I'd considered in my own humble opinion as among the TOP 5 Benedicts I have enjoyed during a weekend brunch. A MOUND of roasted, shaved ham slices (yes plural), no (singular) dry "Canadian bacon" slice, is piled high with a perfectly poached egg and slathered in an AMAZING hollandaise cream sauce! They also have a spiked espresso called "Coffee Nudge" that like it's name implies, nudges you from early morning weariness into both an alert, but gradual relaxed State. They even place an actual COFFEE BEAN on top of the foam (sorry I am a "visual sucker")!! The brunch STANDARD, mimosas, were also given the ⭐ treatment! I hate to say it, but something as simple as mixing bubbly and citrus juices has escaped the talents of many breakfasts bartenders. This place delivers it's stubborn rebuttal to this lost art in SPADES. This entire meal was such a DECADENT, yet simply wholesomely comforting treat. The atmosphere is the classically laid-back West Coast chic, with a family friendly vibe. All kinds enjoy the first meal of the day here—from college students and artsy hipsters to energetic professionals, young families and octogenarian couples. The soulful sounds of Mississippi Delta and Tennessee blues classics gently fill the air. The energetic chatter and pleasant banter of the other patrons is electric and not deafeningly obtrusive as in many restaurants on a weekend morning. I am from the East Coast and traveling through the area for medical industry work, missing the Mid-Atlantic region terribly with a string of bad news recently and this place is a comforting salve to my soul. My waiter...

Today's meal was such a letdown that I feel compelled to comment. I've been to Cooks Tavern a number of times and my boys love going there. Today was a special meal (father and sons breakfast) and we immediately ordered our favorite Chicken and Waffle meals. It took a little longer than normal to get the food and unfortunately, 2 out of the 3 waffles were way overcooked to almost being burned along with the overcooked fried chicken pieces. Reminds me of when I cook waffles at home and the first one is always over cooked, dark brown and has the burned on cooking spray. Well, if I am paying $19 for a waffle it should be light, fluffy and golden.  We only had one perfect waffle plate and the others were very bad. We were so hungry that we just dove in immediately to eat. We also miss the 1 egg which was offered in the past, but replaced with another piece of chicken. I didn't mention anything at the time and the server actually never came over to check how our meal was, but throughout the day the bad meal kept bugging me so I am writing this review. I should have grabbed a picture of the dark brown waffles but you can at least see the receipt showing the meal so I am not writing a fake review. On a side note, the "small" apple juice is a joke and is the size of 2 shot glasses. This restaurant should be ashamed of that $4 drink and they need much better quality control of the food being plated and served.  Those crappy waffles should have never left the kitchen! If you are reading this and order the waffle meal in the future, watch out and don't let them serve you a burnt waffle. It will ruin...