Quite good for Tallahassee's stds We had the cheese board which i love the sesame crackers and the Portugal castelinhos. There was a good variety of 6 cheeses, olives and grapes. Good for $9. The soup of the day tastes thin and watered down. The flavor was not robust enough for a roasted tomato and red pepper soup. We drank it with the olives from the cheeseboard to make the flavor come out. We ordered the duck and pork shank for mains and added foie gras. Duck was over-cooked and under-seasoned. Sides were raw! Pork was good on its own and not a fan of the sauce and pasta. Foie gras was slightly overcooked on the inside and not seared to a nice slightly crisp on outside. I feel that the cutlery used can be in better condition for a restaurant that charges this price. Service was slow and the meal lasted more than 2.5 hours! Tip : Buy a bottle of wine from the store instead of ordering it off the menu. read more

A wonderful experience every time. Knowledgeable, honest and friendly staff. Lunch prices are $$ not $$$. Definitely worth your time to peruse bottles in the market section. I have always found gems that I believe the owner tucks away intentionally like an Easter egg hunt for the bottle hunters out there. Every meal we have had there has been excellent. read more

Long time user, first time reviewer. In a word: phenomenal. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled (from Miami Beach), but it didn't matter. I went here based on yelp reviews, and it didn't disappoint. The beer/wine selection is top notch, and the food was terrific. My only complaint is that my take out order's silverware consisted of two knives. I ate my ostrich and duck with these "chopsticks" and was totally satisfied. Go here now. PS - it may look closed from the outside, but if the neon sign's a-glowing, you should be a-going. read more

Surprisingly good restaurant tucked into the back of a wine shop. My wife and I were staying at the Duval and found this via our fellows on Yelp so walked the 2 1/2 blocks - worth the stroll. They have some eclectic starters and many reviews rave over the truffle Mac & Cheese - we tried and IMO good but not great - but I am not a M&C fan anyway. Entrees were Ahi Tuna for me and Ostrich / duck for her - both were very good but the latter quite innovative and surprising - loved it. Have to say dessert was the highlight with an apple / caramel parfait and a raspberry tart - both a total treat. So have to mention the wine - we had a bottle off the menu based on out waiter's advice (you can pick any vintage off the shelves for a small corkage fee) a delightful Argentine Bonarda - a varietal new to me but quite good. So overall a very nice meal just north of $100 for two and would definitely return next time in Tallahassee. read more

Amazing food, great knowledgeable staff and relaxing atmosphere. Yes The average meal takes about 2 hours but isnt that the point of going to a nice restaurant? To be able to relax and not be rushed out as soon as your plate is empty? We really enjoyed our experience at Clusters & Hops and will certainly return. We had the meat and cheese plate, filet of dover sole, sliced duck breast with truffled squash and bread pudding cake and it was ALL delicious. Prices were well below our expectations considering the food and service quality. read more

I recently moved away from Tallahassee and still find myself thinking about some of the food from here. The steak is one of the most amazing I've ever had as well as the foie gras on top. My only problem is the up charge for certain wines can be a bit extreme. Just download the Vino app before going and scan to see the market price before buying a bottle there. read more

Read some reviews and the wife and I decided to go there for our 15th anniversary. She was salivating before we got there for the eggplant lavosh, and she was right. She followed that up with the pate plate; another 5 star dish. Next visit, she's thinking about just ordering the pate plate - TWICE! I went all-in for the truffle mac-n-cheese and the filet. Both were excellent. Not only was the food delicious, the presentations were awesome as well. We each tried some new wines which complimented our meals very well. There are very few non-chain places it seems any more, so when we find one that is great, we like to shout it out. If you are a local or just visiting, stop in. Be warned, however, it is small, so get there early to avoid the crowd so you can get a seat. read more

This is the sort of place you need someone to bring you to - it doesn't look like much of anything from the road, and even if you go inside, at first glance it just looks like an unassuming little high-end grocery store. Go just a bit further, though, and you'll realize it's also a restaurant. Take a seat alongside some good friends and order something, and you'll realize it's a VERY GOOD restaurant, as well. Clusters & Hops is delicious. Everything they create off the main menu is worthy of your attention. We shared a cheese platter, the truffle mac n' cheese (extreme truffle-ness), eggplant focaccia bread, and duck quesadillas (incredible). We loved everything so much, we even went for dessert, which was actually the only sour note of the night - they weren't bad, per se, but they were very underwhelming across the board. We got three different ones, and the only one we really enjoyed was the root beer float, which was great. The others (chocolate assortment and balsamic-drizzled parmesean) were surprisingly meh. The only other downside is that this place gets crowded fast and has extremely limited seating, so you better get there early, and they're a bit understaffed - prepare yourself for a long, looooong meal. If that's the sort of experience you're in the mood for, great - if not, you may want to look elsewhere until you're ready to put in a lot of time for a lot of taste. read more

Clusters and Hops is Great! Not only Fine Dining but a wonderful little market with great wines, beer, cheeses and little"what nots" for your kitchen and dining pleasure. My favorite is the Mac an Cheese not to be underestimated, full of rich flavor. Cheese and meat boards are a great appetizer. Wonderful fish dishes made fresh to order. Decadent desserts. Small so intimate. Low lights. Servers are knowledgable in wines and beer. Another favorite for Tallahassee. read more

Who knew I loved ostrich?!?! I do now though! I was in Tallahassee for work and C&H was 4 blocks from my hotel. The first night I went on a whim. On my second night, I couldn't wait to get back and sample more from their unique menu. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about both the food and drinks. I'll definitely go back the next time I'm in town! read more

Great place. Its a food importer and wine shop by day and they have a small restaurant at night. Great food, very original menu with excellent ingredients. We tried the cheese board and it was awesome. Truffle mac and cheese was crazy good. Try the lavash (flatbread dishes), they are fresh and delicious. The best part of this place is the wine selection. You can pick out any wine from the store for your meal and you simply pay for the bottle plus a very reasonable corkage fee ($7.50 I think). The waiter was able to help us pick a bottle and it was excellent. Service is friendly and very well educated about the menu and the wines. It can take a little while for the food, so it may not be the best if you are in a big hurry, but this a great place to spend the evening and relax or go on a nice date. Great place to try a new wine, awesome food, highly recommended. read more

Tallahassee's best kept secret, I hesitate to rave in public about this place. I'm leaving soon, however, so I will pass on the wonderful knowledge of this local fare to others. :) Best date location within a 25 mi radius, at least. First date, anniversary, fifth date, get-me-out-of-the-doghouse-date, best friend date, doesn't mater. Intimate ambiance, fabulous wine selection and overall setting comparable to NYC's famous Serendipity--this is a win across the board. Dim lighting and a quiet crowd provide an element of romance that isn't found elsewhere in Tallahassee, and it's hidden location next to a mattress shop on Monroe insure you almost don't find it. The cheese plate and duck are personal favorites. Service is a bit slow, but you won't want to rush out anyway. Did I mention the wine selection? read more

Owner Kent Steels is a walking encyclopedia of wine as well as chef extraordinaire. Have had almost all of the dishes on the menu over the past 10 + years. All excellently prepared with beautiful presentation. Wine selection and values are outstanding. There is a deli with meats, cheeses, and more for take out. Agree with carol o below: ask Kent or one of the staff to suggest a nice bottle from the shelves to go along with your dinner. You get the most attention when it is least crowded (duh). --- SammyR read more

That was great! The Kir Royal was one of the best wines I've ever drunk!! I could smell and drink it for ever!!

I have ate here once two years ago and got food poisoning, which they denied and refused to compensate the meal. I've recently seen they have been shut down temporarily (emergency shutdown recommended) by the health department. This is absolutely disgusting that a venue that claims to be upscale and classy has worst health codes than a taco truck! I really hope the owner gets his or her things together and uses a bit of common sense and re arranges their business practices. If you're looking for a similar atmosphere without puking and defecating for two days after check out wine loft, koolbeans, or level 8. read more

Perfect place for a date night or small gathering of friends. Always some fun items hiding on the shelves.

Ate here last night after looking around for a place I'd never been before. I feel like I've been missing out -- how did I not know this was so close to my house? Anyway, the atmosphere is really interesting. It's a store and restaurant, so you walk through the shelves to get back to the bar and tables. Between that, the lighting, and the service the atmosphere is really nice. (However, decor is kinda, uh, odd. Sort of 80's reject furniture, slightly overdone wall treatments and pictures picked up from Target.) My boyfriend found the seating at the tall tables incredibly uncomfortable, though! We had a meat/cheese appetizer, the chicken & ostrich as entrees, and desserts... With wines throughout. GREAT food. Lots of recommendations and enthusiasm from our server, which added to the experience. There are so many good things to say I can't isolate a single one to say it. read more

What a great hidden little restaurant! The cheese board is always good and the crack in a pot/mac n cheese is to die for. I absolutely love this place. Only reason why it isn't a 5 star is because of how crazy expensive it is. Definitely worth going to for an anniversary or something, but not your normal Friday night dinner. Over all, if you have money to spend on a good dinner, this is the place to go. read more

I have only been to this place twice, but each time was amazing. Once was for dinner, the other for dessert. For dinner, my girlfriend and I had the ostrich and duck. Each time I took a bite to eat, my mouth would stop chewing and just become agape with amazement by the savory taste. Along with their extensive wine selection, they also have a small store which offers many different gourmet food items from across world. This includes meats and bread available at select times, but ordering is always something that can be done so just let them know what you want and they will do their best to help you out. Great pricing as well. Their lunch menu (last time I checked) was their dinner menu, but done on a smaller scale, and I believe with some turned into sandwiches (but I could be wrong here). read more

LOVE that the restaurant is "hidden" behind a wine and cheese shop. Definitely pricey and modest portion sizes BUT quality ingredients and definitely a place to offer your favorites (of cheese) or something new and artesian (but of course). Recommend it for a serious significant other that you don't mind spending some good money on...or for the students with parents who treat you while in town (and don't complain about it), take those parents here - it'll impress them ;) read more

Easily the best place to eat in North Florida, handsdown. It is still one of Tallahassee's best kept secrets. Clusters has an unimposing storefront look, and when you step inside you see there are only about 8 tables and a few seats at the bar. This is one of the few places I know of that you can get foie gras, if that tells you anything. Their wine selection is second to none in Tallahassee. This is the place that the Governor will slip out to every once in a while, since it's down the street from the Governor's mansion. You can also expect to see legislators getting wined and dined by lobbyists year round. The waiters at Clusters are the most polite and well mannered I've met in any restaurant during my travels. If the legislator is not in session, you can get by in designer jeans and a button down. You won't have a better dining experience anywhere in Tallahassee. read more

Cozy little place with amazing food! Great for special dinners with an intimate vibe or for impressing out of towners with a dining experience that is separate from a college town. The truffle oil Mac n cheese will change your life. read more

OmG this was such a disappointing and depressing experience. We heard so much about it and tried going there a couple of times earlier. Both times we were given a fairly cold welcome and almost bordering on a feeling that you're not welcome here. Hoping for a better luck third time, we went on a casual Friday evening around 8pm. They weren't that busy and we could see 3-4 tables open. Still we were told that there's a wait of 45 minutes to get a table. Then we pointed to the bar saying we can get a drink there while we wait. But the person greeting (barely) us told that we don't serve food in the bar and it could be a 15 minute wait to even sit there (even with two chairs open). We looked at ourselves to see if we are well-dressed enough, which we typically are on a date night. And couldn't imagine being discriminated at all. Anyway, knowing anyone else would've left right then, we thought of giving them another chance and sat at the bar. And then a couple of ladies were also served food at the bar. At which point I was like whoa.. this guy just told us that we don't serve food at the bar. The 'bar' was raised further when after waiting for 10 straight minutes, No One acknowledged our presence forget about talking or even putting a couple of glasses of water in front of us. We gave it one last try by stopping a reluctant server and asking if they can take any orders. He said will be right with you. Then about 5-7 minutes passed and we could see them washing and wiping wine glasses at the back yet not bothering to come back. After all this fiasco, we decided to call it a day and left. Tried to find someone to express our concern but obviously there were None to be found. Reading about the amazing food and wine my fellow Yelpers had there, I guess we'd need to settle for just words. We are definitely not going back as we typically heavily weigh a restaurant's service for their overall rating. I can never take my guest to this place when there are a million other places, including classy and upscale ones, within a couple of miles radius. read more

Do not be fooled by location or outside appearance. I've been coming to Tallahassee for 10 years and finally used Yelp for my dinner choice and what a smart move. Excellent food! And wine. Duck pot stickers were the best I've had. Filet was very good. The value is right on. I recommend this restaurant anytime you are in downtown Tallahassee. Save room for desert! Staff recommend Banana Foster and I would too. read more

Called to verify that they would be opened and whoever answered said yes. Showed up at 840 and the place is closed. Super upset, we were really looking forward to dinner. Drove 4 hrs to stay the night and check it out. read more

This is one of the best restaurants in town! The food is always delicious, service is great and ambiance is unique and cozy. I highly recommend. read more

This petite hybrid shop & bistro offers European-inspired cuisine with wine, craft beer & cheese. Great wine selection for enjoy with fine cuisine. Very intimate setting. read more

We picked this restaurant to try something new. we heard about it and thought that it would be a nice place to go on a much needed date night. cheese plate appetizer was very tasty. it is always nice to have unique flavors to try. if you like ultra-sweet wine, they have a red with raspberry liquor in it, we did not enjoy it. for dinner, we had the seared Ahi Tuna which was very tasty and the chicken medallions in a Marsala sauce. the chicken medallions were not as tender as I would have liked, almost rubbery in some bites. the flavors in the chicken dish mostly worked together but the texture of the side felt like oatmeal in my mouth. it was an OK experience and we did enjoy it but I think that they tried to create a very eclectic atmosphere and it might work for some people. it would not be a restaurant that I would automatically think about going back to right away. read more

Hideaway we stumbled on from Trip advisor. Love this quaint little place, have had several lunches and several dinners, so far never disappointed. Always take guests here who are from out of town. Lots of flavor in their dishes but wish they would add new items to their menu every few months. Will be one of our favorites in Tally. read more

Finally tried this place last night after hearing great things and reading reviews and I'm so glad I did! The ambiance was great to have a low-key double date dinner. We ordered a bottle of Beringer Merlot and the Large Meat & Cheese Plate to start. Everything was delicious and presented well. We then got the Duck Quesadilla which was amazing, each ingredient complements the others perfectly. For our entree we tried the ostrich and duet of duck breast. Although it was really delicious my boyfriend thought one of the duck styles tasted too similar to bacon. But If we get the chance before we move, we will definitely go back! read more

Love this hidden gem in Tallahassee! The owner/chef takes great pride in the quality and presentation of the food in this establishment. Mac and cheese is a must-try here, as well as the goat cheese, fig and eggplant sanswhich. For a slightly healthier fare, try the buffalo chicken salad. EVERYTHING here is amazing! read more

The menu is incredible. Great cuts of beef, fresh fish, quality ingredients. The truffle mac n cheese is fantastic. The wine selection is great, too. Casual vibe but also appropriate to dress up if you feel like it. read more

The server seemed a little odd and acted like he was playing a role or something. Very strange interacting with him and he was not attentive, never refilling our drinks or checking on us. The food overall was not bad but it was like gourmet created by an amateur. The truffle mac and cheese was good and had a decent flavor. The escargot was really bad. It seemed as though they ran out of the main ingredient and used the last bits and pieces to put the plate together. The paté plate was alright but could have been created from things I bought at Publix. Publix has some pretty good stuff. The one saving factor was that it was fairly reasonably priced. read more

Throughout my years of college, I looked forward to the day I turned 21 so that I could finally go here! Unfortunately, I have to say that they fell pretty short of my expectations. I went with a friend and we both ordered wine. It was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. Then I ordered the truffle mac & cheese, which was good. But it was $10 for a very small amount. We also ordered the special, which were sliders which again were good but really nothing incredible for the price. The atmosphere is a little weird. It's very small on the inside and has about the same vibe as eating dinner in a dark library. Overall, the food was decent but way too overpriced and the atmosphere is off-putting. Disappointed it didn't live up to my expectations. read more

We've eaten here a couple times, and the food is okay. But good luck getting a table, and good luck depending on their hours. We arrived thirty minutes before their closing time, but were told that despite open tables and diners still eating, they would not serve us because "the kitchen was closed." This, after we drove 25 miles into town for my wife's birthday, and told them that when they said they wouldn't serve us. I can't imagine wanting to return again after that experience. read more

Big shout out to the owner (?I think?) Kent of Clusters and Hops, an amazing little gem on North Monroe that has a great selection of wine, cheese and more, as well as one of Tallahassee's best and smallest restaurants. Back when I ate more cheese, their truffle mac n cheese was one of my favorite dishes in town, as well as their other delightfully tasty plates and appetizers. Yesterday, I walked in at 5:30 PM and asked for two custom wine/food baskets. Kent asked me for a budget for each and what the recipients liked in the way of food and wine. He said they would be ready at 11:30 AM the next day. I then asked him for a bottle of red to take to girls night that evening, and he went straight for a nice Italian red that he said "popped out of the glass with surprising flavors." I brought that to the counter and he said he'd add it to my tab with the baskets. He asked for my phone number for basket questions and I gave him my business card. I slapped a credit card down and he told me "You can just pay for this tomorrow." I told him he shouldn't let me just walk out with a bottle of red I hadn't paid for. "Yes I should," he said. I left with a potentially free (not really, of course) bottle of wine that was highly enjoyed by the girlz. Today, at 3:sizzle30 PM, I picked up and paid for the baskets and the bottle of red. I got back in my car and, much to my surprise since it's only 3 years old, the battery was dead. Kent, dressed in two layers of black, stood out in the BUH-LAZING sun in front of my black SUV and had his waiters run an extension cord into the restaurant and charged my battery with his portable charger. Five minutes and about a gallon of Kent's sweat later, my car started. I thanked him profusely and he went back into the restaurant, which I hope was equipped with a shower. read more

My wife and I decided to give them a try during a Saturday afternoon. The bar is hidden nicely behind a grand selection of wine. The low lighting provides a rustic wine cellar feel. Cozy, romantic, and relaxing. I had the "Deep coconut cream ale" on draft and it was delightful! Even my wife took a bigger sip than usual!! She had the "Chateau de L'aumerade" Rosè very crisp and refreshing. We will surely be back to try the food. read more

Clusters & Hops - Beer and Wine - Cheese Shops Near Me - Tallahassee, Florida

Service is absolutely horrible and the ambiance is a bit odd. Nonetheless, the food is delicious. They definitely need to work on presentation. read more

I don't know what everyone else is used to but I've gone to really great restaurants and this was just not one of them. I even had lower expectations for it being a Tallahassee "fine dining" establishment but even those weren't met. The mac and cheese was passable at best, cheese board was...not my favorite, the wine was good. Honestly maybe this is the best tallahassee had to offer. ..unfortunately. read more

Came in with my wife for our anniversary dinner and wont ever be coming back! We had several COCKROACHES crawl across our table as we were eating our meal! Slow service, dirty glasses, needed a flashlight to see, owner seemed to be more interested in pouring his next drink than making sure paying customers were satisfied. Unacceptable, don't let these 5 star reviews fool you. Save your time and money. read more