The Cork Tucson

Came to The Cork for a Valentine's Day dinner on Feb 13 thinking it'd be easy to get a table. Wrong, LOL The Cork is busy no matter what day it is and that's a good thing because we need to keep local establishments busy and prospering.Lucky enough to find a table in the corner of the bar. Drinks were ordered but were just classics....Captain & Coke and a dirty Martini. My dirty Martini was perfect with blue cheese stuffed olives. We tried the wild game trio (bison, venison and kangaroo) because neither of us have ever had kangaroo. Once the waiter brought it out, set it down and left - we cracked up! For $22, you get one 3" strip/bite of each - so 3 bites of meat. They were all delicious but 3 bites, c'mon now!Dinner consisted of my teriyaki NY strip with a loaded baked potato and charred broccolini. EXCELLENT dinner and to be honest, I could have eaten a whole plate of that charred broccolini. My guy had double lobster tails, asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. All extremely delicious. We topped off the night with creme brulee and a slice of cheesecake. A total gut buster, LOL.Service was on point and everything was perfection.

Decided to try The Cork for a birthday celebration! Loved the ambiance of the restaurant, however we sat at a table right at the kitchen so we watched the food service expo. (However someone we always get stuck at these tables as a 2 top). The service did tend to also be on the slow side, however our server was still great! For an appetizer we got 4 oyster Rockefeller which we enjoyed! My boyfriend enjoyed his Surf & Turf entree! I got the Mexican Shrimp Pasta- which I probably would not get again. Overall we did enjoy our dinner here! We would for sure come back (hopefully sit somewhere else and then order a different entree)

Even though we were 20 minutes early for our reservation they sat us immediatelyMatt was our server on the patio, he was amazingCork Manhattan (wife)Buffalo Trace bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherryVery bourbon forward, decent Manhattan, nothing specialGrapefruit Cosmo (mine)Deep Eddy grapefruit vodka, orange liqueur, fresh lime (usually comes with cranberry juice, I got it without)Refreshingly delicious, very subtle grapefruit flavor, vodka nearly undetectable, smooth finishSouthwest deviled eggs (happy hour only)Deviled eggs with pickled onion, jalapenoPretty standard deviled egg, topped with red or green jalapeno slice, pickled onionI will eat a baker's dozen deviled eggs every day and these, while not exceptional, are no exceptionFreshly shucked raw oystersServed with Mignonette sauce, horseradish, and cocktail sauceThe best combination was a mini dollop of horseradish, a small dollop of cocktail sauce, and a dripping of the mignonette sauce, and these bluepoints were amazingClassic escargotAchatina escargot, garlic, shallots, buerre blanc, house made breadThe buerre blanc had the perfect flavor profile, the bread was amazingAs my first tasting of escargot, I like itTexturally it's akin to mussels or oysters,a little earthy flavor, the sweetness of the buerre blanc plays well with the flavor of the snails110 in the Shade (mine)Habanero house-infused Ketel One vodka, passion, fruit juice, cilantro, sugar rimThe heat comes FAST, the sugar rim offers NO help, but the sweetness of the passionfruit elevates the fruitiness of the habanero; the heat complements the flavor rather than overriding itThe Dirty Tini (wife)Classic Martini, house-stuffed blue cheese olives, Ketel One vodkaVery well balanced drink, alcohol flavor doesn't come through, you get the olive brine and Bleu cheese funk, the olives are incredible and salty in all the right waysMargarita Verde21 seeds cucumber jalapeno Blanco tequila, Cointreau, fresh citrus, Tajin rimThe tequila flavor is subtle, the jalapeno cucumber combination comes through well, Tajin rim was al the right choiceBison Osso BucoServed with Demi-glace reserved from the braise and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed AsparagusWife tried the marrow and her eyes are stuck in the back of her headThe demiglace is so rich and beefy, the way that it complements the mashed potatoes, the bison is fork tender, asparagus was pretty basicBlackened ChickenTender boneless thighs, cilantro-lemon buerre blanc, comes with esquitesThe esquites is not "street" food; it's delicious but it isn't what you think of when you think of esquitesThe chicken was perfectly cooked, fork tender, blackened well, lemon flavor comes throughWe got a slice of apple rum cake to go

We were on vacation in Tucson and ran across The Cork. We were seated quickly and the staff were very efficient and friendly. We started with their house made bread which was very good. I had the 8oz fillet which came bacon wrapped with a baked potato and garlic asparagus. I ordered medium rare and the temp was perfect. I've been to a lot of steak places that undercook, but The Cork was right on. It had a classic upscale steakhouse ambiance. Again, staff was attentive but not intrusive. They also make a great old fashion. So for food or drink this is a good stop in Tucson.

Celebrating my mom's birthday we decided to unwind and uncork at The Cork. Such a cozy atmosphere with desert rustic flare. FoodAppetizer: wild game trio: bison,kangaroo,venison with chimichurri and prickly pear bbq. Don't knock it until you try it. For all my game meat lovers this is for you. Seasoned and cooked well. Thar prickly pear bbq is superb .Bread basket: the jalapeño bread is phenomenal DinnerFilet mignon corn and saffron rice 10/10Steak was tender tender and seasoned well. Lamb chops Mexican corn and potatoes 8/10 I preferred with the chimichurri sauce not the mint sauce Waitress:Allison she was patient, friendly and welcoming. She had amazing recommendations and was super attentive

We tried the Wild Game Trio, which featured bison, kangaroo, and venison. While all three were tender, they tasted quite plain without their accompanying sauces. I found the venison to be the best of the three. I enjoyed the salsa butter and prickly pear sauces, but the chimichurri left a bad aftertaste. The mussels were overly salty and inedible. The escargot was rather bland. The poached salmon was good but slightly overcooked, while the duck with prickly pear was too sweet for my taste. The calabacitas side dish was delicious. The sautéed mushrooms were excellent, but the side of asparagus was bitter and tasted really off.The dirty margarita wasn't dirty. I wasn't a fan of the verde margarita or the grapefruit cosmopolitan. The 110 in the Shade cocktail was good, though it was quite spicy.

although the service was really nice and the appetizers were good (the escargot and bone marrow are a MUST) the main reason its a 3 instead of a 4 is that for an expensive/more upscale restaurant ; they dont know how to cook their game meat. We came here for the kangaroo and we tried the wild game trio- although their sauces for the meat were spectacular, all the meats in the trio were over cooked and chewy. it had us not want to try the bigger version of the dishes. their prickly pear duck had great flavor but the skin was a bit soggy- wish it was crispy. Wouldve marked 4 stars but because of the prices here, it should be held to a higher standard.

Had our date night here Monday evening around 7:30. There was a good amount of people dinning but there still easily room for seating. It's a very cozy atmosphere with small separated dining areas. This restaurant is interesting as it had a lot of game based meals including bison, kangaroo, and ostrich! Very different. Prices are a little elevated as they also have a multitude of steak and seafood options. We initially wanted oysters Rockefeller but were told they were not in season unfortunately. When we asked about a different appetizer, our server recommended the bacon wrapped shrimp appetizer. That was a stellar recommendation, 5 stars to the chef for that dish! Everything about it was perfect. We also ordered the chicken Catalina meal and the prime rib. Both came with 2 sides. I chose the street corn and mashed potatoes and my husband chose mashed potatoes and Sonoran rice. I loved the Catalina Chile chicken and really recommend that others try it. It was creamy and flavorful, as well as filling. The street corn was okay. It had a sauce on it with a sweet flavor I didn't prefer. My husband's Sonoran rice didn't seem done enough and the mouthful I tried was quite crunchy. Our server quickly took care of it and replaced it with the calabacitas side, which was good.

Met some friends here for dinner recently for a very nice dinner. I do not think I had been here in over ten years. The inside has a sort of rustic, homey, nice but casual vibe. The menu is super unique with some of your normal steak/seafood classics in addition to bison, venison and kangaroo. I ended up doing the halibut which was very good, coupled with the Mexican street corn and calabacitas. Other orders at the table were the shrimp pasta, chicken and steak. Everyone enjoyed their meal. We all shared a piece of the Italian Lemon Cake for dessert.Service was fantastic and attentive, our servers name was Ryan. I never saw my water glass less than 2/3rds full and I love that.

The vegetables came cold. The portions were very mediocre. The appetizer was overcooked. My wife's steak was overcooked and very fatty. Other than that it was great.