Coopers Hawk has been a much-needed addition to nicer dining options in the neighborhood. It’s a great date night spot or girls night out. The wine is delicious, and there is enough variety for everyone to enjoy - from the sweetest to the driest reds or whites. Even non-wine folks can enjoy — their cocktails are also pretty tasty!
Right upon walking in there is the wine tasting bar. You can walk right up and start sampling wine. You get 8 samples for $10 and it is well worth it! For an added cost you can buy chocolate truffles and do pairings (highly recommend!). Just make sure you have about 45 minutes to dedicate. And note that it’s standing only. Might not be the best if you have a bad back (floors are concrete) or wearing painfully high heels. It can get really busy in the evenings and on weekends. It’s first come, first serve for the wine bar.
If you wind up coming here at least once a month, it’s worth getting a Coopers Hawk “wine club” membership. Members get 2 free tastings each month and discounts on wine bottles. They have a 1, 2 or 3 bottle per month membership. As you go up in bottles the monthly cost goes up, but so does the total savings per bottle. Any that you don’t pick up that month roll over. We’ve been members for about 7 months and it’s been well worth the money. We enjoy the bottles at home or have given them as gifts. One of your monthly bottles you can use at dinner (they charge nearly double a bottle in the dining room).
FOOD: so the food is really good. We haven’t had anything bad so far, but we definitely have some favorites.
The brussel sprouts appetizer. OH MY GOD. This is one of the most flavorful, incredible takes on Brussels I’ve ever had. It is mouthwatering and delicious. Lightly sauced in a peanut sauce and dressed with crushed cashews…wow. Just wow. You HAVE to give this a go. It’s my #1 recommendation on the menu.
The pretzel bread is free. And it is incredible. Be careful because it’s unlimited and the calories are terrible (haha!).
The flatbread appetizers are okay. Tasty but nothing that mind blowing or differentiating from your run of the mill flatbreads.
My husband has had both burgers on the menu and gives them 3.5/5 stars. He says he can get a better burger at five guys. You can’t deny it’s all the things it says it is from the menu, but the flavors are lackluster for the steep price tag.
I have LOVED the steak medallions both times I got them. The crusted tops are a fun way to play with flavors - there is a parmesan crust top, Blue cheese, and one more I’m forgetting. Delicious but pricey.
The chicken piccata is a good “bang for your buck” dish as it comes with 3 thin sliced chicken breasts and plate of noodles. You won’t leave hungry, and it’s a hardy portion of protein.
My husband really likes the prime sandwich. It’s a standout dish for him, a delicious French dip! He is a fan of the chimichurri steak as well but similar to my comment of the medallions…it’s a steep price for what it is so he often leans French dip as the “bang for buck” and very...
Read more3pm yesterday this restaurant wasn’t busy at all. It was my first time there. My daughter and I walked up to the hostess station and we were greeted. The hostess asked us if we had a reservation. I said “no, I didn’t realize I needed one when it wasn’t busy”. I pre checked GOOGLE to see if it was a busy time. All these hostesses had no idea on what to do. They were chatting on there headsets and looked absolutely ridiculous chatting to each other less than 5 feet apart. I decided since apparently this was going to take awhile I wanted to take a deeper look into the setting and I saw a large outdoor patio with long windows, a long row of comfy booths in the bar area, lots of high top tables and a long bar with additional seating. After that there was another room. It had large comfy booths and some windows, smaller tables and then one long section of tiny 2 top booths. There were far too many servers walking about with nothing going on to have dirty tables and too many hostesses not understanding how to properly ask for our preference. Finally the decision was made to sit us at the very smallest booth in the restaurant where one person could stare at a wall and the other person would most likely find more interest in their phone. I reluctantly sat. I again looked around the large empty space at several dirty tables and a few dining customers that had multiple dirty dishes piled on them. Apparently clearing away dishes from the tables was not taught at this establishment. I decided after that I would just leave. Why stay at a restaurant that had to fumble so hard to make a new customer feel like such a burden, when I can go anywhere and be treated better. This was a fail. I didn’t care about the menu. I cared about the service. If your hostesses can’t do their simple job, of welcoming a new patron or asking them if this is their first time, well then everything else becomes a question too. I saw no management person so I returned our menus and simply left. Telling someone that reservations are preferred is unacceptable when you’re not busy. No one cares. I could see if this was an established restaurant and reservations were a must, and it was a busy night but this wasn’t the case. The hostesses were less than friendly. Melancholy at best. Useless and rude. One was happy to roll her eyes. Whatever. My suggestions. Ask the patron where they would like to be sat and describe the areas using full and delightful comments. First impressions go a long way. You can have terrible food, but the service will always be the win. Yesterday, I wasn’t asked if I’d like to be sat in the dark corner of the restaurant that could barely fit the menus on it. I was simply...
Read moreWe made an early (5pm) dinner reservation on New Year's day 2025 during a visit to Northern Ohio to celebrate New Years Eve on Lake Erie. It was our first time in the area and at Cooper's Hawk Toledo. Having lived in California for a number of years, I was interested to see what a restaurant and winery looked like in Toledo. The entrance to the restaurant is the wine tasting room which was filled with Cooper Hawk labeled wines on one wall and other wines on the opposite wall. We were asked to wait for a couple minutes before being seated. It wasn't clear why, since the restaurant was not crowded when we arrived at 5pm. We were seated at a table with a "Reserved" sign on it, in the bar area. When we sat down the music was blaring loud, but before our server checked in the volume had been adjusted. It was not clear why were seated in the bar area, as the dining room appeared to be open, with many seats available, but we did not ask to be moved. We ordered a shared wedge salad and two dishes, Grouper and Shrimp and Scallop Risotto. The meals arrived with Shrimp Scampi rather than the Shrimp and Scallop Risotto, which may have been a result of the music in the bar area and a misunderstanding because I wasn't speaking loud enough. No matter, our server corrected the error and the risotto dish arrived after we had finished the Grouper. The food was mediocre, with good (not great) flavor. The scallops and shrimp were well prepared, but the risotto lacked the creaminess and depth of a good risotto The presentation of the meals on the plate and in the bowl left the impression that there was not much attention to the finer presentation details; excess oil/butter pooled on the plated grouper and a finger print that had not been wiped from the bowl of risotto. The shared salad, two entree's with two glasses of wine was a little less than $150, which I did not consider to be a very good value. My expectations may have been too high or maybe it was just a bad night, but we're not...
Read more