Ambiance: Dark and moody lighting combined with the heavy and rich furniture give this a very fitting rustic vibe. The place would have a romantic atmosphere except all the hard surfaces make the place somewhat loud. Some of the tables are tucked away in hallways or corners though so it may depend on where you're seated. One really cool thing is that the kitchen is behind glass windows in the middle of the restaurant so you can see the chefs working from where we sat. I was impressed they kept the food coming out at a steady pace despite the place being packed. Wait staff were OK but not elevated by any means.
Food:
We had the shrimp dip to start which had a clean savory flavor, not excessively seafood-y if that's a concern. It's served with tasty pickled cauliflower morsels and some nabisco crackers which they've jazzed up with bay spice and baked to give it a really smoky earthy flavor. It was creative spin using classic flavors although not something I'd get every time. The crackers were a little dry after being baked and there weren't quite enough pickles to have enough with/after every bite.
The miso BBQ ribs was a heartier appetizer that tasted like Chinese char sui. The 6 ribs were perfectly cooked: moist, fall-off-the-bone tender, and seared for a crispy exterior. The sear actually keeps the bbq sauce isolated from the meat so you get to taste the two components separately which was nice. Definitely a winner.
For entree I had the bar steak which, like the ribs, was cooked excellently. It was medium rare as requested and was served with a piquillo pepper sauce had a good tangy zip without any real heat. The pomme frites were a little disappointing. While they did come out golden brown and crispy, the were either overly fried or cut too thin because they had no potato-y substance when you bit into them. It was like eating nothing but the crumbs you find at the bottom of a real order of fries. That said, the marrow aoili was enjoyable and the fries really just became a vehicle for that into my mouth.
My wife had the tomahawk pork chop which was excellent. The corn succotash was a surprise winner as it added a great textural complement to the dish. While neither my wife or I are huge fans of sweet + meat, the blackberry jam that came with it wasn't too sweet and did bring out the savoriness of the pork. The most annoying part of the meal was the blackberry jam's seeds which were a little annoying.
Overall Hook and Hoof delivers a great meal using locally-sourced seasonal ingredients. I am still impressed with how perfectly cooked and seared all their proteins are and their interesting takes on classic dishes. While our meal was undeniably good, the accumulation of small things like the noisy interior, pretty standard service, and nit-picks about small things in each dish makes me question whether the experience is truly worth the $100-200 you could easily spend on a date. I've been to places where I would gladly shell that amount of money out every time but this place just isn't quite that, it's very close though. Absolutely worth trying at least once while you're in Cleveland. read more