Should be closed down by health department!!! Place is filled with mice and flies!!
Mike B..
Horrible food, and way overp4iced..would not recommend nir go back....
Plenty of other places to take my wife, and friends
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Vanessa St.john
We had a horrible experience for dinner..tacos were soggy, chips were old and stale..
Old cukckoos nest, years ago was great, but no more..would not recommend, nor go back..…waiter was slow..
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
christa douyard
The prices in the menu are NOT what they charge on the final bill. Confirm before you sign your check! We came because safe place for Celiacs to eat, food and margaritas are decent. However, the prices in the menu DO NOT reflect what was on our bill. We caught the $8 overage on the pitcher of margaritas (because we discussed the cost to split it prior). Our server fixed that when we pointed it out. Afterwards, discovered two of our three entrees were also over charged by $2 & $5, which was not fixed by our server when we asked her to adjust the margaritas. As a former server, this seems like a scam by the restaurant and not intentional from our server. If you do eat here, keep a menu on the table and check your bill against it for EVERY ITEM! We would have paid an additional $15, had we not done this!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
J B
The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, I had a great time. However, our waitress named Jen was EXTREMELY rude, unprofessional, and unhygienic. I saw her put her fingers in her mouth multiple times and make/bring drinks directly after. She gave off a very strange and creepy vibe so me and my friends ended up leaving because she was staring and making us all extremely uncomfortable. Her customer service was shocking, not in a good way. The drinks she gave to us tasted off, and almost “dirty”, which is something I’ve never experienced there before. The drinks are always amazing! We’ll have to return on a day that woman is not there because the food and restaurant was amazing, but that waitress was definitely strange and off putting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Mexican Combination
C Fletcher
Happened to pass by here and just from the name decided this is where we were having dinner, and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere was so fun and thoroughly decorated. Ordered a slew of appetizers including queso, catfish fingers, stuffed jalapeños and coconut shrimp. Loved the Cajun/creole options too. Everything came out hot and fresh. Wish I had more room in my belly for an entree while here, will definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joshua Barron
Thank you for having vegan options :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charlie Tower
The BEST!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Katherine Kenney
dirty glasses. ordered beef burrito. driest burrito I've ever had. they have the cooks bring it out so you can see it wasn't made by a white person i guess? but it doesn't matter. food was trash.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Aliyah Johnson
First time visiting Old Saybrook and stumbled across Cuckoo’s nest. The decor is eccentric, the severs are super friendly even while taking care of multiple tables. The food is authentic and fresh definitely reminds me of my hometown. 10/10 would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves real authentic Mexican food!
Cookoo's Nest is an institution that has devolved into a tourist trap. Growing up on the shoreline, my grandparents would take us here for special occasions. The atmosphere is still unique and kitchy, so kudos to them for that. The service is generally not the most attentive, but good overall.
The food, when combined with the prices, is the huge negative. I don't often write interviews. But after a handful of laughable visits, I guess I felt compelled to write the review. It's gotten to the point where my acquaintances and I almost consider their food a meme of low quality pseudo-Mexican food at this point. Little taste, bland seasoning/sauces, and poor quality. Kids must love the place. The fries are good.
This isn't a knee-jerk review for a single bad visit. This is based on several visits, where I have enough evidence with several meals to state that there is zero emphasis on fresh ingredients. You would be better served going to any of the Mexican chains. Please see the attached photo of $13 nachos for further detail. The absence of anything resembling a produce item that has been picked In the last month is sad. Throw a sprig of cilantro or diced scallions on there, never mind some pico or a dollop of cour cream. Thirteen dollars, for what?
That being said, I'll keep coming back for $5 margarita Mondays (any other day, non-upgraded margs can run $20). But I'll do my best to stick to the drinks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Danielle King
Great vibe, delicious food and drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erica DeBarge
I’ve eaten here before and liked it, but I recently had a bad experience ordering a dish that shouldn’t be on the menu.
I ordered the burrito bowl with chicken. They got the order wrong, so we had to drive back to the restaurant to get the chicken it was supposed to come with. Even with the chicken, this dish is just iceberg lettuce, a tablespoon of quinoa and black beans, half an avocado, and red onions. And, weirdly, half a corn cob. And it costs $20!! With added chicken it costs $27!!!! I’ve never had food more overpriced in my life and it wasn’t even good. I shouldn’t be hungry after eating a $27 meal and it also shouldn’t be bad for that price. I would guess it cost less than $5 to make. I feel robbed and annoyed. Seriously, take this off the menu it isn’t good.
Food: 1
Service: 3
Aaron Holland
Amazing building and atmosphere with a good variety of quality food and drinks. Some of the best complimentary salsa which is an early clue to the quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jonathan Winkler
They've added some excellent vegan options. The tacos and vegan burritos exceeded expectations
Should be closed down by health department!!! Place is filled with mice and flies!!
Horrible food, and way overp4iced..would not recommend nir go back.... Plenty of other places to take my wife, and friends
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
We had a horrible experience for dinner..tacos were soggy, chips were old and stale.. Old cukckoos nest, years ago was great, but no more..would not recommend, nor go back..…waiter was slow..
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
The prices in the menu are NOT what they charge on the final bill. Confirm before you sign your check!
We came because safe place for Celiacs to eat, food and margaritas are decent.
However, the prices in the menu DO NOT reflect what was on our bill. We caught the $8 overage on the pitcher of margaritas (because we discussed the cost to split it prior). Our server fixed that when we pointed it out. Afterwards, discovered two of our three entrees were also over charged by $2 & $5, which was not fixed by our server when we asked her to adjust the margaritas.
As a former server, this seems like a scam by the restaurant and not intentional from our server.
If you do eat here, keep a menu on the table and check your bill against it for EVERY ITEM! We would have paid an additional $15, had we not done this!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, I had a great time. However, our waitress named Jen was EXTREMELY rude, unprofessional, and unhygienic. I saw her put her fingers in her mouth multiple times and make/bring drinks directly after. She gave off a very strange and creepy vibe so me and my friends ended up leaving because she was staring and making us all extremely uncomfortable. Her customer service was shocking, not in a good way. The drinks she gave to us tasted off, and almost “dirty”, which is something I’ve never experienced there before. The drinks are always amazing! We’ll have to return on a day that woman is not there because the food and restaurant was amazing, but that waitress was definitely strange and off putting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Mexican Combination
Happened to pass by here and just from the name decided this is where we were having dinner, and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere was so fun and thoroughly decorated. Ordered a slew of appetizers including queso, catfish fingers, stuffed jalapeños and coconut shrimp. Loved the Cajun/creole options too. Everything came out hot and fresh. Wish I had more room in my belly for an entree while here, will definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you for having vegan options :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The BEST!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
dirty glasses. ordered beef burrito. driest burrito I've ever had. they have the cooks bring it out so you can see it wasn't made by a white person i guess? but it doesn't matter. food was trash.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
First time visiting Old Saybrook and stumbled across Cuckoo’s nest. The decor is eccentric, the severs are super friendly even while taking care of multiple tables. The food is authentic and fresh definitely reminds me of my hometown. 10/10 would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves real authentic Mexican food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Refried Beans, Steak
Restaurantji Recommends
Cookoo's Nest is an institution that has devolved into a tourist trap. Growing up on the shoreline, my grandparents would take us here for special occasions. The atmosphere is still unique and kitchy, so kudos to them for that. The service is generally not the most attentive, but good overall.
The food, when combined with the prices, is the huge negative. I don't often write interviews. But after a handful of laughable visits, I guess I felt compelled to write the review. It's gotten to the point where my acquaintances and I almost consider their food a meme of low quality pseudo-Mexican food at this point. Little taste, bland seasoning/sauces, and poor quality. Kids must love the place. The fries are good.
This isn't a knee-jerk review for a single bad visit. This is based on several visits, where I have enough evidence with several meals to state that there is zero emphasis on fresh ingredients. You would be better served going to any of the Mexican chains. Please see the attached photo of $13 nachos for further detail. The absence of anything resembling a produce item that has been picked In the last month is sad. Throw a sprig of cilantro or diced scallions on there, never mind some pico or a dollop of cour cream. Thirteen dollars, for what?
That being said, I'll keep coming back for $5 margarita Mondays (any other day, non-upgraded margs can run $20). But I'll do my best to stick to the drinks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Great vibe, delicious food and drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’ve eaten here before and liked it, but I recently had a bad experience ordering a dish that shouldn’t be on the menu.
I ordered the burrito bowl with chicken. They got the order wrong, so we had to drive back to the restaurant to get the chicken it was supposed to come with. Even with the chicken, this dish is just iceberg lettuce, a tablespoon of quinoa and black beans, half an avocado, and red onions. And, weirdly, half a corn cob. And it costs $20!! With added chicken it costs $27!!!! I’ve never had food more overpriced in my life and it wasn’t even good. I shouldn’t be hungry after eating a $27 meal and it also shouldn’t be bad for that price. I would guess it cost less than $5 to make. I feel robbed and annoyed. Seriously, take this off the menu it isn’t good.
Food: 1
Service: 3
Amazing building and atmosphere with a good variety of quality food and drinks. Some of the best complimentary salsa which is an early clue to the quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
They've added some excellent vegan options. The tacos and vegan burritos exceeded expectations
Food: 5
Service: 5
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