Nook — Restaurant in Tucson

I rarely get downtown, but met some friends for brunch at Nook. I had never been here shockingly! It felt very popular on arrival with a wait, but I had made a reservation... score extra for permitting reservations. The hostess at the front seemed a smidge cranky when we arrived as when I checked in and said we had an 11A rez, she barked 'is your whole party here, because we don't seat unless everyone is here'. It was the way she said it and the audacity of me checking in prior to everyone's arrival. Not generally an overly sensitive person - and initial greeting is key Miss Hostess.

Nonetheless we were seated and had a truly wonderful brunch. Loved the menu items, they felt super unique and different or at minimum a different spin on a traditional brunch/breakfast item. We started with some Latte's and I will tell you to hard pass on dropping money there. The milk was barely warm and they just didn't taste that great. We also got the protein carrot bread to share and it was REALLY delicious. Made up for the espresso drinks and cranky hostess.

We waited nearly 45 minutes to get our breakfast which seemed kinda long so thank goodness for the carrot bread. My husband got the steak/eggs and loved it; friends got benedicts and omelet's and love their dishes. I had the Tamale Pie and it was absolutely flavorful and delicious. Our server was wonderful, kept our water carafe full and checked on us...

I hesitate to give the Nook 5 stars only because I have only had one dish there but the one dish that I had was excellent. If the other dishes are anything like the hanger steak and eggs then the Nook definitely deserves 5 stars. Even without trying another dish I wouldn't hesitate to give them 4 stars. I ordered the hanger rare and the eggs scrambled. The steak was prepared beautifully with a light sear on the outside. The smoked chimichurri that was under the steak is one of the best sauces that I have ever tasted. It has a nice vinegar bite that goes well with the cilantro and a final touch of heat. I would probably say it was a 4 or 5 out of 10 on the heat scale but keep in mind that I order 5* Thai food. The sprouts that topped the steak added a little crunch and a nice contrast to the chimichurri. The hash browned potatoes were seasoned well and had a nice inner texture that was finished off with a slightly crispy shell on most of the pieces. I ordered the eggs scrambled and to my surprise I got what looked like a thin omelette. I have no complaints because they still tasted fine.

The hanger steak and eggs was so good that I went back and had it again before...

So my family & I drove from L.A. to Tucson for Family Weekend at UofA to visit my daughter. I had researched Nook and figured We'd treat our college kid for a great breakfast before we hit the road on Sunday a.m. It was a party of 9 All kids are over the age of 10. 5 kids & 4 adults. We entered the back entrance, where the young hostess directed us to the front, once we got to the front, she asked our party size & said, "Oh sorry we're not seating anyone w parties over 8 today". There were seats available to sit us, then we suggested splitting our party up, & she came back with, " idk if I can do that & if I did you'd be looking at over an hour wait." We asked if she could recommend a good spot, and she said she wasn't from the area & didn't know. So we left dissapointed, unable to treat our daughter to a great breakfast w fam. Ended up at a lil bagel shop down the way, that was understaffed, but still gave us excelent service. IDK if it was that we are Hispanic or what, but I've never experienced such rejection anywhere I've travled to. I will never step foot at Nook, very snobbish hostess, embarrassing experience to be rejected & have everyone stare at us... Very...