Mauricio’s

We went in for late a lunch with our daughter on ⁴⁄₁₅. The food was great and the waiter was amazing. My 4year old wanted lemonade but the restaurant doesn’t carry it. The waiter went out of his way and made her freshly squeezed lemonade. He even had the chef make her spaghetti made to order. Great food, love the atmosphere and service was on point!

We had reservations at Mauricio’s to celebrate a birthday and the four of us had a really good dinner. The food was very well presented and tasted good. With appetizer, 4 entrees, 3 glasses of wine, it was around $ 140 and we felt like the ambiance, food and the server all added up to a good value and a nice birthday experience.
We’d hoped the birthday girl would have gotten a slice of cake but oh well this must not be that kind of restaurant.
The chicken Mauricio was the hit of the dinner. It was a very generous portion and excellent taste.
All in all this was a very nice restaurant in a converted home so there was definitely a lot of character as well.

After visiting Cumberland Caverns, we started driving back toward Knoxville while keeping an eye out for a little dinner spot. This sweet Italian restaurant looked interesting, so we drove on to Cookeville. All 12 of us popped in unannounced and the wait staff immediately accommodated us with our own private dining room. What a pleasant surprise! The meal was delicious, the service was amazing, and the evening was delightful. Great food and great folks. I highly recommend!

I love this place, I proposed to my wife here. The chicken parmesan is great the fried mushrooms and bruschetta are also great. I can’t say enough good about the décor.

Love this place! The Encrusted Chicken with Vodka Sauce is delicious. Our server Lindsey was very kind and attentive. We sat near the fireplace and enjoyed the cozy home like atmosphere, not to mention the Crème Brûlée was divine! My husband and I will definitely return.

What a huge difference. After raving about this place to my father, who came in from out of town, we finally end up going on his last night. WE WAITED AN HOUR AND A HALF AND STILL NO ENTREES. We got our salad and bread before the appetizer, which took its own long amount of time. We finished off a bottle of wine… still no food… and still no food. We were told 3 different times a wait time for our food… still no food. Also, our waitress disappeared after the first time we were irritated about time. The table who got there just before us walked out about 5 minutes before we did.
I understand being short staffed… but that was ridiculous.
To think I talked up this place all week long to not even get our meal.
My subway though, DELICIOUS.

For ambiance this place gets 5 stars. For food, I’d give it 2. It’s an amazingly charming and romantic restaurant– a house that looks unassuming from the outside, but extremely spacious and well-​decorated inside, with lots of little cozy rooms. We saw one with a roaring fireplace. We were seated in a room almost by ourselves– which was perfect for us. Definitely, this was the most excellent date spot I have been to in Cookeville.
Food-​wise– our apps were the best things we ate– we got fried ravioli and the bruschetta. The waitress also made a peppery oil at the table when we first sat down, but it wasn’t clear what it was for. We also got some foccacia-​type bread free with the entrees later in the meal — but since that’s already cooked in lots lots and lots of oil, I figured we were missing some other bread basket. Still not sure. For the mains, I ordered the Chicken Marsala… and would not recommend it. The portion was humongous — enough for 4 people. But, the pasta was not fresh, was overcooked, and way way over sauced… and the chicken was super-​dry. The sauce was too sweet, too. Just not a good dish.
Service was good. When we arrived, the host seemed to have lost our reservation, and so there was confusion at first, but then she seemed to find it again… we were seated without an explanation. Our waitress was very very nice. I will say she was not exactly versed in Italian food — she didn’t know what San Pellegrino was (it’s on the menu, but apparently they don’t serve it anymore), and mispronounced some standard menu items (like bruschetta). But her demeanor and attentiveness made up for those lapses in training.
Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s an authentic Italian place, and the entrees seem quite overpriced for the area & for what they are. They could do a lot better with the pasta. But as far as dates or special occasions go, I would go back just for the ambiance and order a safer dish — maybe something with tomato sauce or just combine several apps instead.

Great place for quality italian food! Great service and wonderful owners. This is a beautiful, elegant and welcoming space. This is the best place in Cookeville. It can be pricey, but you can share dishes and eat very reasonably. Perfect for valentine’s day, date night, brunch, or any get together. I can’t wait to visit back home to eat at Mauricio’s.

Charming restaurant. Good service. Our pasta was over cooked and the sauces were watery (Chicken Mauricio & scallops with pappardelle). We would have given two stars but the ambiance helped bump up the score. Not worth the price. We pribably won’t go there again.

This was an unexpectedly exceptional restaurant. We are not from around here and asked the folks at the bed and breakfast to offer a restaurant suggestion. My wife ordered the special sun dried tomato ravioli and it was superb. I had the same except it also came with a piece of breaded chicken breast. The chicken breast was perfectly seasoned and fried. Along with our entrée we were served bread and house salad. Unlike carabbas, who rely on the oil and herbs to bring out the flavor of the bread, this bread is very delicious on its own. My wife loved her rosé wine as well. When our server, who was amazing, heard us discussing how delicious the bread would be as a pizza, she brought out a new serving with marinara on top so we could try it that way. The cheesecake at the end was your typical cheesecake — good cheesecake. But the fruit topping was very good.
Last thing — if you are wanting to leave the restaurant with leftovers, you’ll be disappointed. The servings are not too small as another poster suggested but they certainly aren’t going to lose money by sending you home with a meal and a half. I’d say serving size is «just right».
My wife and I left having been extremely satisfied. As a point of reference, I’m an Italian food snob as my grandfather is from Sicily.
Enjoy!

My wife and I had dinner on a Monday evening will on vacation nearby. We had crustinis as an appetizer. I had the Italian Sausage & Peppers entrée. Entrees come with salad and bread sticks which are covered in parmesan cheese. All together the food was surprising good, and the service was excellent.

We were seated in the front room. So beautifully decorated. The waiter explained the menu left us for an appropriate amount of time and returned for our order. One in our group wanted dessert first and they accommodated and brought it. My Lasagna was fresh and filling enough for two meals.

My hubby and I met some friends at Mauricio’s on a recent Tuesday evening. We’d not eaten there before, but the couple we were joining highly recommended it, so we met them for an early (6:30 p.m.) dinner.
Mauricio’s is tucked into a little neighborhood near the Tennessee Tech campus and has such an understated presence that we almost didn’t realize when we’d arrived. The building is a lovely old home with big trees and a nice outdoor patio area on one side.
Our party had already been seated in a quiet dining room, and for the entirety of our meal, we were the only table seated in that particular room, which made for a quiet, pleasant, conversational dining experience. The couple we joined have eaten there several times and said that weekends and certain other times (special events on the TTU campus, etc.) can bring in a capacity crowds and significant wait-​time before being seated, so don’t expect to just stroll in at dinnertime and go immediately to a table.
Our server was prompt and knowledgeable. A+
And here’s a helpful hint: If you’ve ever needed reading glasses a single time in your whole life, take some with you. Don’t accidentally leave your readers at home. Between the gentle light in the dining rooms and the font-​size used to describe the many different dishes, I thought for a brief, horrifying moment that I was going to have to have someone read the menu out loud to me. If I’d known how accommodating the server was going to be, I’d have asked her to check the «lost and found» for a pair of readers I could borrow.
We started with appetizers and wine. The fried calamari rings were better than average for a little college city in Tennessee, and the bruschetta was fresh and tasty. I’d order both of those again, but the crustini is nothing more than a breaded and deep-​fried cheese ravioli and go on the «skip that» list.
The salad and bread were served in share-​able, table-​sized portions. The salad was excellent — fresh, nicely-​dressed, flavorful. The bread was a disappointing, tasteless, flat round (who remembers 45-​rpm records?) — it had been topped with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan, but for an Italian restaurant, my bread-​spectation was higher, and I was sad to not have a hunk of crusty loaf in-​hand to help me savor the excellent salad.
While the wine list is short, the selections are appropriate for the menu, and by-​the-​glass prices aren’t bad.
Our entrees arrived and were beautiful. I got wild mushroom ravioli with creamy herbed garlic sauce on half and Mauricio’s house basil pesto on half. The ravioli were delicious, but given the chance for a do-​over, I’d choose the garlic sauce for the whole dish, as the bright, flavorful pesto overpowered the delicate, earthy mushroom flavors. I knew better when I ordered it like that and have no one else to blame. If a garlic brown-​butter sauce had been available, I would’ve absolutely gone that direction. My husband’s Seafood Mauricio was a bit heavily-​sauced for his liking, but he appreciated the texture and overall flavor of the dish. Our dinner-​mates ate Pappardelle with Scallops and an encrusted chicken entrée, and both had high praise for their entrees. I didn’t taste the scallops, but they had a beautiful sear, and the encrusted chicken was perfectly-​cooked.
We shared a round of desserts, and all receive high marks. Tiramisu — A+. Crème Brulee — BOOM! Perfect. Toffee Crunch Cake — Oh, Mama!
I disagree with the reviews complaining about the price of dining at Mauricio’s. Value is about far more than the size of the food or how much you get to take home in a «to go» box to microwave the next day. Our entrees were perfectly-​sized. All of us had plenty to satisfy our appetites and still have room left to nibble on tasty desserts.
Go there.

The house is charming, and the service excellent. We were seated in a small dining room that was exceptionally loud because of 2 men at a 4 top who had the loudest voices I have ever heard! The place was packed but we asked to be moved — so the hostess scrambled to get us a table in the quieter bar area– she was terrific. We were so relieved to hear each other! The menu is terribly overpriced, but the food pretty good. Eggplant Parmesan consisted of one long, thin slice of crisp eggplant over slightly mushy cappellini with some sweet marinara and grated cheese. It was way overpriced at $ 18.95 for the tiny portion of egg-​plant. The ravioli special did not appeal to me at all — but my family enjoyed it. The slice of Orange Cake for dessert was generous, but tasted like it came from a mix.
I think that they should do better on the quality of food served here, or lower their prices.
In such a pretty house with outdoor seating on a lovely patio, they might invest in a better chef.

I have ate here several times. It is located in a unique old house near TTU. I have had their spaghetti and chicken parmesan. Both of these dishes are good but not great. I can make much better spaghetti myself. However, their salads and bread are really good. It is a little more expensive than the chain restaurants in Cookeville so it is not a place I eat at very often. Overall I would recommend this place just for the atmosphere and the unique building.

Overpriced and underwhelmed. The restaurant is in a beautiful, warm, and inviting home so atmosphere is great. Even the patio is a remarkable spot in warm weather. On both visits the service was great, and on one the owner came by to check on us, which was nice.
That said, the food is only so-​so. Mostly too rich and cheesy– which may have been trying to cover for lack of skill with spices. Salt was necessary. The desserts were good, if ordinary, but I was disappointed that our party of 6, and a nearly $ 300 bill, didn’t warrant a free dessert for the birthday boy.
With the high prices and tiny portions I can’t believe this place has been open for so long when so many other great restaurants have closed. Most shockingly, I can’t believe they don’t make their own pasta! I expect the pre-​made stuff at the chains, but not when I pay $ 18 a plate!

What a gem in the middle of TN !
I was on my way from Nashville to Knoxville dying to get something decent to eat. I almost settled for Subways when I saw this restaurant pop up in my google maps.
What a tranquille, original place with plenty of love for the details. I had a delicious lunch consisting out of Caprese and the Lobster Raviola and will definitely return next time I am on route 40. The outside area must just be beautiful for dinner.

Had lunch at Mauricio’s today. I wanted to give it another try because it was a lovely place and when We had dinner several month’s ago, it was very forgettable. On a 1 – 10, dinner was a 6. Today, I spent $ 70 for lunch and it was a 4 at best. Unfortunately, I will not go back and give these folks any more of my hard earned money. Too bad really! This leaves Crawdaddy’s and Maddox Station as the best places in town.

Food was not worth the price. Mine was too bland and her’s was too rich.

One word: Cheesy!
I can’t begin to explain to you how much cheese was on top of my seafood pasta dish (unfortunately I forgot the name but it’s the only dish of its kind on the menu). My companions ordered other entrees but also experienced the same cheese-​shock as me.
Overall the flavor was good but oh my goodness the cheese overwhelmed everything… and made me feel uncomfortably greasy and full on a musky summer night. On the flip side, the restaurant is a very charming house with a cute patio area for outdoor seating. The house salad had a light Italian dressing that was very refreshing.
This would be worth a visit… if you can get past the cheese explosion on your $ 20+ entrée…