irrationale kitchen+taps

Terrible. Had to eat on paper towels. We didn’t have plates to eat food on. We asked for spinach dip, and they brought out the wrong one. We didn’t know it was the wrong one and it had seafood in it causing an allergic reaction for one of our family members. She had a reaction at the restaurant. Manager never came to address anything. We were charged full price for everything by the waitress. Save your money and protect your health, do not come here. It ruined our graduation celebration.

December 10, 2025, was my first time there. I found the staff to be invaluable, friendly & polite. The food seemed fresh, well-cooked, and portioned. The only issue I had was with the receipt: the suggested tip was based on the total billed amount, including the 9+% sales tax. Even though I enjoyed the food, I didn't order the tax. I wish the receipt had the suggested tip amounts for the total bill before the sales tax. Only a few dollars difference, but if you're going in often, it does make a difference.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The Ribeye was out of this world! Spinach dip is great. Delicious place to eat! Can’t wait to come back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great meal and service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

After 15 minutes of research and a 20+ minute drive from Livingston, we thought we’d found the perfect spot for a good steak in Cookeville. We checked the menu ahead of time, already decided — Ribeye for her, flank steak for me. Turns out, Irrationale was apparently named after their management style, because they were out of both.

I even offered to stay and try something else if they’d give a small discount for the inconvenience — you know, a reasonable gesture. But apparently “rationale” is not something they serve here either. We left hungry, disappointed, and wishing we’d chosen literally anywhere else.

If you’re looking for a restaurant that lives up to its name in all the wrong ways, Irrationale is your place. Otherwise, save yourself the trip (and the letdown).

The only snafu with our visit, is that I expressed to our server that I have a gluten allergy and ordered my eggs benedict without an English muffin. My order came with an English muffin. I did not send it back (because we were pressed for tine), but removed the English muffin halves. I should have, because I had an allergic reaction to the cross-contaminated food. Hindsight is 20/20.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

The food was great, the service was good, the atmosphere was just ok. It’s very loud. Could certainly benefit from some sound dampening.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

The place was really clean. Everything tasted amazing especially the smash burger. The service was a little slow I think there was 9n lot one cook in the kitchen.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Although the majority of the experience was not good, the bartender was fantastic and was able to seat us while there was no one else to do so, and this was the first place I’ve had serve marshmallow fluff with sweet potato fries and it was SO good. It gave us something to eat while we laughed about how comically bad one of the items we ordered was. It was the chimichurri and flank steak, yes I know that is a cheap cut of meat BUT I have never had a flank steak like this. It was unseasoned, it wasn’t just a fibrous cut of meat, it was like a cured steak by way of sitting out on the counter for a few days, forgotten about. But then we got Mac and cheese, cheese in and of itself tastes great, right?! Wrong, we both tried it at the same time and busted out laughing because it was so tasteless, although the pasta was cooked perfectly and the texture was great. Recommend getting a salad and maybe a side of sweet potato fries. I felt so bad for picking this place, the reviews were so good and I figured the bad ones were just complainers. I’m happy to also be part of the small group of complainers which I now see as people trying to warn others about the short comings of this almost mediocre bar and restaurant.
Edit to add: we didn’t eat the meal, it sat on the side of the table untouched. It wasn’t offered to be taken off the check although we didn’t ask, but I don’t think they would have anyway. We paid for it, so I felt extremely entitled to leave this review.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 1

Eggs Benedict eggs raw, English muffin not toasted, mimosas are all juice. Waitress sucked, went to tables that came after us and took their orders before ever coming to our table. Some of the food was good.

This was our second time here. The forest time was great this time…meh. The meat and cheese charcuterie board was delicious. My son and I had the teriyaki sirloin tips. The were at best room temperature. The rice was a bit undercooked. I had the Gouda grits and they were again just warmed and seemed not fresh at all. Almost microwaved. The Gouda grits was so good the first. When we finished dinner the server brought our check. We were not offered dessert. My husband actually wanted another beer. So we paid our bill and went somewhere else for both.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Great food and friendly staff

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Stumbled on to irrationAle searching for Brunch while traveling across I-40, and am happy we did. Friendly service, casual vibe, and excellent food. Our group tried the praline pecan french toast, city bowl, southwest omelet, gouda grits, fried green tomatoes, and spicy bloody mary; all were delicious and made it to the table very quickly. It's a little out of the way off the highway, but certainly worth it. Looking forward to visiting again the next time I'm passing through. Thanks irrationAle!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Always love eating here. We love sitting in the bar area. Bartender/server always checking in on our table. Great date night out🥰

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Overrated! Small portions for the price, limited menu on Sunday, slow service, bad bartenders couldn't even make a decent Bloody Mary! Industrial drafty noisy space with no ambiance and uncomfortable chairs. Advice for manager, train your servers and bartenders!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 2