Hooked Restaurant Warrensville — Restaurant in Warrensville Heights

Sorry to say, but with this being my first experience of Hooked Restaurant... I'm definitely NOT HOOKED! I wanted, badly, for it to be a good experience. I've been seeing Hooked Restaurant all over social media. I've been reading good things about them. Sadly, I can't say the same. The atmosphere is OK. Nothing special, that's not what I was there for. But I also want to be comfortable when I dine-in somewhere. One thing I did notice first were the gnats. I know it's .... but this was overkill. There's obviously something that needs cleaned in there. My thoughts would be the fountain drink machine, behind the counter, that was not in use. When I asked about the drinks, my attention was directed to the fridge that held the bottled drinks. My wife walked to the restroom, which was past the counter and had to "windmill" the gnats away. She reached the restroom and immediately came out saying, "Nope...I'd rather uses a gas station bathroom. It's nasty in there." Well...on to the food/service: My mom, wife and I decided to go to this restaurant because we'd heard good things, like I said. My mother was in a separate car, so she was a few minutes behind us. When my wife and I walked it, there were about 3 people waiting for food, and a family sitting down already eating. We stood at the counter reading the menu. My wife ordered the Honey Lemon Pepper chicken wing dinner. I ordered the Catfish dinner. This was at about 6:35pm. My mom walks in right as we ordered. She then looks at the menu and orders a Catfish Po-boy & a Steak Philly. We sat down at a table to wait for our food. We weren't far from the counter, and we saw a few people come in and make orders after us. In which one of them was a wing dinner. We patiently waited, talked and watched orders being sent out. There were plenty of online, or phone orders that were going out. That's to be expected. But then, about 35 minutes later, my mom's name was called. Wait? What?! I mean, I'm happy that she received her food, but didn't I order catfish first? She got her catfish po-boy before I got my catfish dinner... and she ordered on a separate order AFTER us. If that was a person I didn't know, I'd really be upset. But I digress on that. THEN, the name was called for the guy that came in and ordered wings about 10 minutes AFTER us! My mom goes to the counter and says, "They ordered their food before me, and I got mine first.... that guy that just left ordered wings AFTER them and got his. They're still waiting." At this time, it had been a little over 50 minutes. Without going into the kitchen to check, their response was, "They're working on it". I'm assuming someone dropped the ball on our order. I see the 2 girls at the counter continuously looking over at us, then one finally goes into the kitchen. With that being said, about 10 minutes later our food comes out and my name is called. I sit down to eat, just to be disappointed even more. I will say that the catfish was hot, and good... BUT... my fries were cold (like they were sitting by watching the catfish being cooked). The hushpuppies were ok, but small and cold. The coleslaw, that they forgot to give to me with my food but brought it over to me after I started eating, was terrible. It was just wet, flavorless uncooked cabbage. I had to mix tartar sauce into it to make it taste like something. My wife's honey lemon pepper chicken was just honey flavored... not even a hint of lemon pepper on them. With all of this being said, I do know mistakes happen in the restaurant world but own up to them. Don't just say, "They're working on it." I live 2 1/2 hours away from Cleveland, and I do go there frequently...but HOOKED will NOT be on my frequent flyer...

I went to hooked today and purchased a perch dinner with two extra pieces for $32 it was $38 with the tip that I unfortunately left. After arriving home and we're eating the fish two pieces, the fish is old and has a very oily taste to it not the way that perch is supposed to taste. I called back after eating it first of all the young lady hung up on me secondly she told me to bring it back I said I'll bring it back tomorrow I can't come back up there today but I would bring it back tomorrow when I get off minus the two pieces, she proceeds to tell me that oh so you ate two pieces like how else will we know that it's bad unless you eat it? so I asked for the manager who she told me is not there whose name is chef Stevie. I have to honestly say this is my first bad experience I've gone there multiple times and this is the first time that this has happened I wasn't even expecting money back if you could just replace the dinner that I purchased no problem and a better review just for courtesies sake . I've even referred people to them recommended them in other words and the people have gone no problem. However at this point the recommendations and referrals are over and mainly because of the poor customer service by the person that answered the phone. Everybody can have a bad day and usually it can be corrected but I won't be patronizing them any longer. And I'm throwing this terrible perch dinner in the trash and just chalk it up to $38...

Went for the soft opening and although it was very busy, the staff was still pleasant and didn’t seem overwhelmed. Seating is comfortable and spacious.

Food! The fish was cooked very well! Battered perfectly and wasn’t greasy. Wings cooked great. Not dry! Just wish I would have ordered sauce on the side because they got soft. When they say fresh cut potatoes, they mean fresh cut!! Ok.. I had a little bit of everything LOL the Rasta pasta was well seasoned and generous portion. Very tasty. Last but not least…the hush puppies! I feel like I need to mention! Very well seasoned, the outside wasn’t too hard or soft but perfect and the inside was so moist! I hate dry hush puppies. Idk. They might have been my favorite of the night. Overall I enjoyed everything! I was skeptical with it being opening day but they exceeded my expectation.

Only gave 4 stars because I want to experience the restaurant on a regular day to get a true feel. Also I came when catfish and perch were sold out :( So I need parts to make an official review. So...