Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants
3130 Fruitville Commons Blvd.
Sarasota, FL 34240
The tasting room in the front, restaurant located in the back. Simple decor, pleasant vibe, good food and decent service.
We got there at 4:50 on a Friday without a reservation – I forgot – and are seated within 15 minutes, despite many empty tables.
The staff is friendly. Their first restaurant was opened in 2005 and this one in 2021 (?). Their winery is in Ohio or Illinois (? – getting old, can’t remember …), and buy their grapes, instead of growing it – so there isn’t a bad year so to speak. Two reds we tried are good – Merlo and Cooper’s Red. Schott Zwiesel glasses are nice.
The bread is good and warm but not the whipped butter. My tuna appetizer is good, however, is bit sweet. Chicken is fine. Gumbo came a little cold, my friend loves his food HOT, asked them to heat it up.
“We don’t have microwave. We’ll have to remake it from scratch.”
“Oh, never mind. Just put it in a box, I’ll take it home.” They served him another one rather quickly and took it off the bill.
