Food & Drink

Second visit here.  Live music makes the dining experience fun.  Fresh food with appetizing presentation.

What a joke this place is !! I was visiting in Tyler, TX. One of our family friends suggested this place. He claimed that it was comparable to any "big city" bar
( I guess there's something to be said for idealism ), so my curiosity getting the best of me, I visited "Cork".
Could they have found a more intriguing, original name ?? Too funny ! The atmosphere was stuffy. The food was COMPLETELY over rated; although I have never had Oysters Rockefeller deep fried and still haven't. No Cork kitchen, wrong !!
(Hats off to the gentlemen that posted earlier about this. Apparently a gentlemen of class and taste) The outlandish drink menu was drab and not very well thought out, but for complete rookies, what is to be expected ? Class of bartenders there I would give a grade of D at best. Especially one named Alex, I believe. She definitely had a very pretty picture of herself in her own mind, (so funny) and the cocktails she made were, how can I say this, horrible !! Sorry Alex, I hope your attending college because, tending bar is not your forte. The wine selection was somewhat par at best. I write reviews on these kind of establishments very seldom, because I reviewed for 5 of the top food and beverage publications in the U.S. for 16 years. I can be kind if harsh, but I know what I'm talking about. I apologize to the owners of this restaurant and bar
(I guess that's what it's supposed to be), but EXPERIENCE in these undertakings is impeccably of most importance !! I understand that this is your first endeavor and it shows, gentlemen. My apologies once again; I just "call em as I see em",
so to speak.

Disclaimer: This review relates to the bar only.  Mrs. Scott B. and I came in here for after dinner vino. Cork is something that you really wouldn't expect to see in Tyler, and this is a good thing. The bar is rather large, and it seems to primarily focus on their wine (hence the name, cork).

We started with two glasses of Belle Glos Meomi. This Pinot Noir, is by far, one of the best (at least in this price range) that you can buy. In fact, it's not that common in many restaurants...yet. With an intent to come in for just a "a glass" of wine, we ended up staying much longer than anticipated. Why, you ask. Well, I attribute this to the little Asian dude bar tending. He's a good salesman, and when I noticed him making craft cocktails, I switched from wine, to bourbon, think back to wine, back to bourbon, and so on, and so on...

Now, as I mentioned- Cork does offer liquor, which is discreetly hidden, underneath the bar. Funny, because I didn't even know they offered anything other than beer and wine, until I witnessed craft cocktails being prepared. And, Cork seems to have trained their staff well at making interesting drinks- not just the plain Jane mixes you'll find at most bars, where bartenders are just too lazy, or dumb to come up with anything innovative.

All in all, this place seems popular, and it was packed by the time we left around 11:00. It's Tyler, so everyone seems to know everyone, and everyone's business. When I'm back in town, I'll try the sushi, and hopefully, will find a reason to up this to a 5 star review.