The Whiskey Coop — Restaurant in Town of Hounsfield

Being a local for two years, I am excited for this addition to Sackets. I've gone three times despite it's only being open for less than two weeks!

TL;DR - Overall I say this place is worth a visit and has great potential. Understand it is in its soft opening phase, has room for improvement but so far has a flavorful, thoughtful menu. First visit my friend and I had the Seoul Sister with sweet potato fries and the Big Bird chicken sandwiches (pictured), fried green tomatoes, and two desserts, the pecan pie & brownie. These chicken sandwiches are pretty hefty, enough to save for later. The Seoul sister was a nice attempt at a Korean styled chicken, did not quite hit the nail but flavorful nonetheless. The sweet potato fries were undercooked but still edible. The desserts were okay, not really worth it. Appetizer was good, not a huge fan of cornmeal but my friend enjoyed it. I realized the next day at lunch when I went to have my leftovers that my sandwich had been undercooked, a huge no no, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was their literal first day of soft opening.

I visited again the next day with a large party of 9. The server did a great job accommodating a large party and even was very patient with splitting checks. This time I had the popcorn burger (a scoop of popcorn icecream) with a side salad and a feature whiskey flight. The salad was better than expected and the sandwich was good, however I did not really taste the popcorn flavor. The flight was definitely a small pour like another comment said but its a .5 oz, and a taster, so more than enough for me. The overall consensus from the group was that the food was good, people loved the chicken and waffle and nashville hot sandwich. However one big complaint is that the breading of the chicken sandwiches fall apart and the meat is too big and not as flavorful. Again, something that will probably be worked on.

My last visit was last night, and it truly cemented my review. We started off with the pork belly and goat cheese skillet apps, both were great. When I say the pork belly was melt in your mouth, I mean it. Huge fan of fatty meat so if you are too, try this! I hope it never comes off the menu. The service was noticeably very quick and accommodating for it being busy. The food came out very quick. I had the Hot Mess (not on the menu last week) and my friend had the French Onion burger. Both of us were pleased with the meal, however, I had the sweet potato fries again and still undercooked even though its nice and cooked on the outside; perhaps they are going for that? The regular handcut fries are reeally good though! We also had the whiskey cocktails, Hot toddy and "Autumn" something, both were really good; I recommend the Autumn one!

All three times I ate outside, its getting chilly but they do have heaters. They probably need more than just three for their large outdoor seating. Inside the ambience looks very cool, there's bar seating too.

Overall I enjoyed each dining experience. Price is on par with any other nice restaurant you can find in Jefferson county. Understand they're still figuring things out, so if you can be patient I recommend...

3 stars but we legitimately had a great experience. Usually don't review places after one visit esp if they're new but Whiskey Coop is sooooo close to being special I want to give earnest feedback.

Our server was beyond excellent and encouraged our group to leave a review. I want to give this place a fair shake and breakdown.

Service was S tier. Michael was enthusiastic, accommodating to dietary restrictions, and knowledgeable beyond expectation. The vibes were solid, the live music fun and not overly loud and obtrusive, the staff was attentive and lovely overall. Décor was thematic, menu a bit too similar in layout and offerings to Hop Spot.

Other reviews found the drinks watery and they may be slightly but the pricing and quality isn’t unreasonable, the drink specials are great and a good value. Don’t expect the normal Syracuse hamfisted rail liquor pours (I do love those too tho). We enjoyed our whiskey flights, lovely and priced well enough. Drinks were a bit slow but it’s a new joint, grace extended.

I am often in NYC, $16+ for a chicken sandwich and chips is midtown pricing so that’s the standard I’ll put these meals against. Interesting options not bad but not memorable. Chicken was moist and flavorful did not retain its crisp and had some bald spots. Corn fritters were good but the tasty whipped goat cheese lacked viscosity and ran off the pieces of fritter and ended up like cereal milk left over in the bowl. The app mathed out to ~$1 per bite of fritter the size of 2 starburst candies, they felt individual and were not plated in a way conducive to sharing.

It’s largely plantation era food, executed to a far lower standard than the communities that pioneered it, served at inaccessible prices. The target market seems to be well-off ambivalent consumers hungry for another “just ok” pickle juice brined chicken sandwich (sit down chik-fil-a). I believe, as it is, this is fad food that has already run its course in other markets and will rise and fall with that cycle. Syracusan’s are too broke and too smart to buy into this beyond the novelty.

Conceptually this place is wonderful as a bar. Less so as a restaurant.

I want this too be good. I want to be a regular. I won’t without some kind of change, its...

The atmosphere and menu have this place set up for success! If it weren’t for the terrible service it would have been flawless. Upon ariving the host tried to seat us outside. When we asked to eat inside we sensed resistance but she agreed. We walked in and observed the staff inside sitting around the bar chatting and joking or sitting on their phone. We were seated and the waitress was great for a few minutes. She returned with our drinks and took our order. We then never saw her again. Normally I don’t mind and I assume they don’t want to interrupt your meal. However, at one point we were on board for another drink and a desert menu, and tried to get her attention. She failed to recognize the hints and left the area. At a certain point we had to start making moves to leave as we had two kids under 2 who had behaved amazingly and were quiet the entire time, but have a expiration on them. Several more failed attempts to get her attention and I eventually spoke to the host who was still on her phone as she had been about 40% of the time. She said she would grab a box and the check for us. The host returned with the box and said the waitress would grab the check, then returned to her station and pulled her phone out again. Another 10 minutes, I had my wife take the baby out to the car as a final hint. Another 5 minutes, I interrupted the waitress who was about to take another order and asked for the check. She apologized and stated it was very busy and she was sorry for the wait. It had gotten slightly busy while we were there. However, I watched her on and off as well as the rest of the staff. They move about with no urgency, talking and joking throughout the entire time. The host and wait staff obviously rely on the place’s guaranteed success that comes from the food and atmosphere. With better staff the place would be a 5/5 and we would have had more drinks, desert, and a better experience. We will be back as the place is undeniable. Fingers crossed that the staff matures or the owners start checking in every once in a while and teach them to carry themselves as professionals. Thank you for a great...