Food is good (GET THE GRILLED SALMON!)! Ordered the grilled dates, grill salmon and cheeseburger (which comes with a generous amount of fries). Limited menu options means it's easy to choose what to eat and more likely that the food is good, which is exactly the case.Grilled dates comes in 3 pieces which is a bit awkward to share but it's good. Grilled salmon is perfection, crispy on the outside yet so tender on the inside, sauce goes really well with it. Cheese burger is simple but good, the bun is so soft, fries is just fries nothing special.Server is nice, keeps checking in and surprised that they would replace the cutlery after appetizer, but they did forget the knives so oh wells. Overall a very good experience and will definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Logan Mims
Dined solo at the bar on a Thursday evening while visiting Ithaca. As a professional chef, I'm pretty observant when I eat somewhere for the first time. The Rook hit all the right notes, particularly on service, and the food was interesting and nicely executed.I appreciated the focused menu, as I'd much rather a place do a few things well than shoot for the moon and miss. My pork schnitzel was almost perfect—beautifully crunchy, fork-tender pork, with herbed spaetzle and a bit of lightly dressed frisee/radicchio to cut the richness (it could have been a touch saltier, but I may have been a bit dehydrated, so it's hard to say... still, a damned fine plate). Also enjoyed the buttermilk salad. Straightforward but very satisfying.I had a Cowboy Candy (tequila based cocktail with golden beet shrub) which was great. I was too full to try another cocktail, but I plan to return before I leave town.Finally, service was exactly my speed: low-key but polished. It seemed like every time I looked up, my water had been filled, my napkin replaced, all without my noticing it. The bartender was friendly and engaged in conversation with me and the other bar guests while leaving enough space for me to sit and people-watch without feeling awkward. It really was the perfect place for a nice solo dinner.Highly recommend The Rook, particularly to service folks. You'll have no problem finding plenty to like.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel
Honor Finnegan
I ordered to-go. The food was good. I especially liked the greens. Because my order was via Google search by phone, I was not aware of the 15% added gratuity which is on their website in VERY tiny print at the bottom of the page lol. The server announced this when I came to collect the order. Getting this information over the phone when I made my order would not have deterred me, and would it have met needs for respect and consideration as a customer.
Food: 4
Service: 2
Virginia Lincoln
Went there for the first time for dinner, although I’ve had their chicken before. We ordered the fried chicken with collard greens and the pork schnitzel with spaetzle. Oh my goodness. The atmosphere is comfortable and cozy, the service was excellent, and the food is absolutely delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel
K S.
Enjoyed sharing plates with our party. Food was good and service very attentive. Pork was a bit dry but salmon was delicious. Beet salad had very few beets which was surprising. Out of cake for dessert but mousse was yummy.
Jeff Hull
Very nice meal and attentive service. Bartender was intelligent and seemed proud of his bar area, restaurant and co-workers. Not too pricey for the level of meal and services. Will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel, Royale Burger
David Z. Wilson
We had the hush puppies, grilled dates, fried chicken and pork schnitzel. Everything was solid, as advertised but nothing was really exciting. We had a couple of house cocktails. Again, solid drinks, but nothing exciting. Bartender was friendly and attentive but once again no pizzazz. I'd come back, but it wouldn't be a destination.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Melissa V
This is our favorite neighborhood restaurant! Always so reliably good in all ways. The small menu makes choices easy and both food and drinks are excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Louis DiMarzo
I enjoyed this place very much! It's a small, well appointed restaurant and bar and you can see right into the kitchen. The menu is also small but that can be good, less decisions and everything HAS to be good, I wanted to try it all. I started with the ECHO cocktail, I loved it! Next was the duck fries then the fried chicken and collards. I cleaned the plate, all is well. My server Brandon was cool.
Service - Ended up here after every other restaurant in the Commons was a 90 minute wait and they got us seated in 20 minutes without reservations. Service was exceptional. The four guys at the front of the house worked together seamlessly. Sounds silly, but I rarely see this level of coordination at this level of dining. Huge fan of the the one page menu. Although I would have liked a few more beverage options (craft beer...hint, hint) this place demonstrates that simpler can be better... Ambience - Upscale pub/American bistro vibe. Busy, but well managed (see above). Tables are close, but we didn't feel cramped. Surprisingly not loud given the amount of activity, we were able to carry on normal conversation throughout the meal. Food - We started with the hush puppies. Flavor-wise not what I would call a traditional southern hush puppy, but well fried (could have used some post fryer seasoning) and the addition of the pimento cheese on the side made for a nice inexpensive, well-portioned app. I had the pork schnitzel and spaetzle. Schnitzel had a nice cornflake crust and was well fried. A touch on the dry side (I might suggest brining the pork cutlets) and lacking a little post fryer seasoning. The spaetzle was amazing and the addition of mushrooms and mixed greens made for a very craveable bite. The wife had the cheeseburger and it was quite good. No crazy ingredients, just a really well executed cheeseburger. The beef had excellent flavor and was a perfectly cooked medium rare. This is a simple, but solid cheeseburger...the kind you always envision when you order, but rarely get. The real star of the meal however was the frites. Hand cut, fried in duck fat(?) and perfectly seasoned...I couldn't stop eating them. I've eaten fries all over the world (including a recent tour of the UK) and these are hands down the best fries I've ever eaten. If you're putting "frites" on the menu you better be able to nail it and these are the real deal. Bravo, will return the next time we're in the area...
Bruce T.
From outside you might pass this up, but the kitchen makes the most of a short menu served by a friendly, capable staff. Delicious meal in a comfortably casual atmosphere.
Carl K.
Yelp lists this as "upscale southern food". It's upscale, but it ain't southern, y'all.
ThomasK229
Stopped in on a Tuesday night for dinner. Cute place near the State theater. Small, tight menu- but well thought out. Cocktails were very good. Cambozola app was excellent. Schnitzel and Fried chicken were also very good. The homemade hot sauce was a nice touch. Reasonably priced also... Manny took great care of us.
lois kemp
Small but different food and bev menu. Having a glass of Albanno from Spain - dry... waiting for my friend. We split a Great appetizer- blue cheese … bread… and lovely pasta with squash. Staff let us catch up!
Food is good (GET THE GRILLED SALMON!)! Ordered the grilled dates, grill salmon and cheeseburger (which comes with a generous amount of fries). Limited menu options means it's easy to choose what to eat and more likely that the food is good, which is exactly the case.Grilled dates comes in 3 pieces which is a bit awkward to share but it's good. Grilled salmon is perfection, crispy on the outside yet so tender on the inside, sauce goes really well with it. Cheese burger is simple but good, the bun is so soft, fries is just fries nothing special.Server is nice, keeps checking in and surprised that they would replace the cutlery after appetizer, but they did forget the knives so oh wells. Overall a very good experience and will definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dined solo at the bar on a Thursday evening while visiting Ithaca. As a professional chef, I'm pretty observant when I eat somewhere for the first time. The Rook hit all the right notes, particularly on service, and the food was interesting and nicely executed.I appreciated the focused menu, as I'd much rather a place do a few things well than shoot for the moon and miss. My pork schnitzel was almost perfect—beautifully crunchy, fork-tender pork, with herbed spaetzle and a bit of lightly dressed frisee/radicchio to cut the richness (it could have been a touch saltier, but I may have been a bit dehydrated, so it's hard to say... still, a damned fine plate). Also enjoyed the buttermilk salad. Straightforward but very satisfying.I had a Cowboy Candy (tequila based cocktail with golden beet shrub) which was great. I was too full to try another cocktail, but I plan to return before I leave town.Finally, service was exactly my speed: low-key but polished. It seemed like every time I looked up, my water had been filled, my napkin replaced, all without my noticing it. The bartender was friendly and engaged in conversation with me and the other bar guests while leaving enough space for me to sit and people-watch without feeling awkward. It really was the perfect place for a nice solo dinner.Highly recommend The Rook, particularly to service folks. You'll have no problem finding plenty to like.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel
I ordered to-go. The food was good. I especially liked the greens. Because my order was via Google search by phone, I was not aware of the 15% added gratuity which is on their website in VERY tiny print at the bottom of the page lol. The server announced this when I came to collect the order. Getting this information over the phone when I made my order would not have deterred me, and would it have met needs for respect and consideration as a customer.
Food: 4
Service: 2
Went there for the first time for dinner, although I’ve had their chicken before. We ordered the fried chicken with collard greens and the pork schnitzel with spaetzle. Oh my goodness. The atmosphere is comfortable and cozy, the service was excellent, and the food is absolutely delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel
Enjoyed sharing plates with our party. Food was good and service very attentive. Pork was a bit dry but salmon was delicious. Beet salad had very few beets which was surprising. Out of cake for dessert but mousse was yummy.
Very nice meal and attentive service. Bartender was intelligent and seemed proud of his bar area, restaurant and co-workers. Not too pricey for the level of meal and services. Will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Schnitzel, Royale Burger
We had the hush puppies, grilled dates, fried chicken and pork schnitzel. Everything was solid, as advertised but nothing was really exciting. We had a couple of house cocktails. Again, solid drinks, but nothing exciting. Bartender was friendly and attentive but once again no pizzazz. I'd come back, but it wouldn't be a destination.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
This is our favorite neighborhood restaurant! Always so reliably good in all ways. The small menu makes choices easy and both food and drinks are excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I enjoyed this place very much! It's a small, well appointed restaurant and bar and you can see right into the kitchen. The menu is also small but that can be good, less decisions and everything HAS to be good, I wanted to try it all. I started with the ECHO cocktail, I loved it! Next was the duck fries then the fried chicken and collards. I cleaned the plate, all is well. My server Brandon was cool.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken, Duck Fat Fried Chicken, Cheeseburger, Bacon Wrapped Dates
Got all 4 of the small plates and it was a good amount of food and variety for 2 people. So delicious. And a great Manhattan too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Service - Ended up here after every other restaurant in the Commons was a 90 minute wait and they got us seated in 20 minutes without reservations. Service was exceptional. The four guys at the front of the house worked together seamlessly. Sounds silly, but I rarely see this level of coordination at this level of dining. Huge fan of the the one page menu. Although I would have liked a few more beverage options (craft beer...hint, hint) this place demonstrates that simpler can be better... Ambience - Upscale pub/American bistro vibe. Busy, but well managed (see above). Tables are close, but we didn't feel cramped. Surprisingly not loud given the amount of activity, we were able to carry on normal conversation throughout the meal. Food - We started with the hush puppies. Flavor-wise not what I would call a traditional southern hush puppy, but well fried (could have used some post fryer seasoning) and the addition of the pimento cheese on the side made for a nice inexpensive, well-portioned app. I had the pork schnitzel and spaetzle. Schnitzel had a nice cornflake crust and was well fried. A touch on the dry side (I might suggest brining the pork cutlets) and lacking a little post fryer seasoning. The spaetzle was amazing and the addition of mushrooms and mixed greens made for a very craveable bite. The wife had the cheeseburger and it was quite good. No crazy ingredients, just a really well executed cheeseburger. The beef had excellent flavor and was a perfectly cooked medium rare. This is a simple, but solid cheeseburger...the kind you always envision when you order, but rarely get. The real star of the meal however was the frites. Hand cut, fried in duck fat(?) and perfectly seasoned...I couldn't stop eating them. I've eaten fries all over the world (including a recent tour of the UK) and these are hands down the best fries I've ever eaten. If you're putting "frites" on the menu you better be able to nail it and these are the real deal. Bravo, will return the next time we're in the area...
From outside you might pass this up, but the kitchen makes the most of a short menu served by a friendly, capable staff. Delicious meal in a comfortably casual atmosphere.
Yelp lists this as "upscale southern food". It's upscale, but it ain't southern, y'all.
Stopped in on a Tuesday night for dinner. Cute place near the State theater. Small, tight menu- but well thought out. Cocktails were very good. Cambozola app was excellent. Schnitzel and Fried chicken were also very good. The homemade hot sauce was a nice touch. Reasonably priced also... Manny took great care of us.
Small but different food and bev menu. Having a glass of Albanno from Spain - dry... waiting for my friend. We split a Great appetizer- blue cheese … bread… and lovely pasta with squash. Staff let us catch up!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5