COPPER GRILL & GROCERY Copper Grill & Grocery has been around for about a year now and I have eaten there on several occasions. While it is normally a pleasant experience with good service and better than average food, I have to say that my latest experience at this bistro has certainly taken it down a notch in my ratings. I intentionally chose this restaurant for my first review intending to enjoy the food, as I usually do, and give it a 4-knife rating. However, this experience left me less pleased than normal...hopefully this was just a single event, but in all fairness I can't give it better than a 3-knife rating at this time.
ATMOSPHERE:
Copper Grill & Grocery is a modern bistro style eatery with a comfortably modern aesthetic. True to its name, copper grill has aspects of copper through out the relatively small dining room. There is a small lounge area inside the door, and a patio area that is almost the size of the dining room, though of course at this time of year in Arkansas you would have to be a masochist to try and eat outside. The patio also overlooks a major intersection and could be better shielded from the constant vehicle traffic.
FOOD:
As I indicated, it was my hope that my first review would be at least a 4-knife, but that was not to be. I decided to try a new item on the menu and went with something new. Staying true to the nature of the blog, I chose a pimento cheese burger with onion rings. I was seriously underwhelmed. I have had a few different items on their menu and especially like their steak and blue cheese flatbread pizza, but this burger left a lot to be desired.
For starters, the burger was way overcooked. As anyone who loves a good burger, I ordered it medium. When it arrived it was just shy of well done. The bun was nice artisan role, but it could have been taken up a notch with a little butter. The pimento cheese was not inspiring at all and lacked any serious flavor or heat, but perhaps the worst thing about the burger was the overworked patty which was tough and slightly chewy. It had nice char, but if it was infused with garlic as the menu suggested, I couldn't detect it.
Finally were the onion rings...and friends let me tell you, I am a big enough fan of onion rings that I have been known to lower my standards. In this case however, I just couldn't do it. The onions were flavorless and while the panko breading was nice, someone needs to introduce the chef to the concept of salt and pepper. Needless to say, overall it was disappointing.
PLATING:
I won't spend a lot of time here, and sorry...no pics this time, but it was pleasant. Not impressive in any particular way, but not sloppy.
SPIRITS:
This is one area that I can pleasantly say is still fairly impressive, especially for such a small eatery. There are a few impressive selections from a broad range of ares worldwide. If the food can come up to the same standards, this would be a solid 4-knife establishment.
SERVICE:
The service was sufficiently attentive. We were seated almost immediately, but had to wait while the table was wiped down. One of my party had ordered potato salad and was informed that the kitchen had run out. Cudos to them for bringing it to our attention quickly, but seriously...any chef worth his knives would not run out of something as simple as potato salad in a half filled restaurant.
VALUE:
Another pleasant aspect of Copper is the menu pricing. With lunches ranging from $10-$15 and dinners from $15-$25, this is a good value for your money...providing they are on their game like I know they can be.
All in all, I will give it another shot even if this particular day they were off their game.
Copper Grill & Grocery is located at:
300 East 3rd Street
Little Rock, AR
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