The Cook - Hamilton

The Cook is in Hamilton, New Zealand. The portions are big over there, in fact I had the biggest chicken breast I've ever seen in my life. So how did this eclectic restaurant/bar shape up in the foodie stakes?

Came here on a Wednesday night and it was pretty busy! Luckily, we had a reservation. This place is well presented with its wooden chairs and tables, high ceilings and trendy looking bar. Service was a little slow to take our order but the food and drinks arrived in good time. My 1st guest and I had both chosen the stuffed chicken breast (an oldie but a goodie) and it was huge! I tried not to think about how the chicken had been able to have such large breasts as I ate it. Whilst the chicken was delicious the accompanying potatoes were not. Undercooked and flavourless, disappointing to be honest but the chicken was so big we couldn't, either of us, finish our meals anyway. My 2nd guest had the chicken salad and it went down very well and looked great. Again, another generous portion.The food was overall pretty good and the value for money was excellent. Nice atmosphere, would definitely come back for some good, honest grub!

Had a lovely champagne and nibble for breakfast here. It has had several uses over the years. I love the way it feels open and airy, a few seats outside as well. I hope to go back another time to try more items on their menu.

Background information for our Reviews: My husband and I (late 30s with 3 young kids are fortunate enough to have 2 sets of grandparents in town. We both love eating out, so therefore we try to ditch the kids and get out whenever possible. The reviews we write are our (subjective opinion based on that day’s experience, so obviously can vary greatly depending on staffing/food etc on the particular day. We love a bargain, so use our entertainment book or deal vouchers where possible : Had 45 minutes before we had to collect kids and a grab one voucher to use. I looked up the menu online, decided what we wanted and then phoned the cafe to see if I could place our order (due to short time frame and be there in 10 minutes. They were more than happy with this. When we arrived, our meals arrived shortly after. We both ordered the Mixed Grill, and being a voucher for 2 meals which cost us $15 including drinks, we expected the meals to be perhaps smaller than usual. They were massive! I feel like we ripped the Cook off despite ordering extras. However, we frequent here often and will be sure to return. As usual, good service.

Love coming to this place with friends family to have a few drinks some hearty food. If your expecting culinary food with service to match in a BAR slash CAFE ??? then you obviously don 't know the difference between a unicorn a donkey. If your with the right people at the right time this place can be awesome! #OVERWHELMINGLY REAL