Cook Hall

Recently stayed at the W Dallas, beautiful property valet & bell staff were outstanding. Went to get lunch at the onsite restaurant and waited around for atleast 5 minutes while the restaurant was ½ empty but no one was acknowledging that k needed help.
Def. not what I expected from a restaurant in a W. Staff needs coaching, especially the female bartender

This is a hotel restaurant so I don’t expect that much. It does the job, it gets you full, but it’s a bit pricey for the amount of food you get. The burger is great, but the fries, the spaghetti, the popcorn shrimp are just average (I live at this hotel ok). Cheese plate is very good. Pecan pie is very much frozen pie you buy in the freezer aisle. Hit and miss overall, but solid.
Edited: I asked for a house cab and they charged me 17 dollars. Granted I didn’t read the menu because i figured there was no way a house cab in tx would be over 13, but 17 is insane. This place is overcharging for alcohol hardcore. Their food is not great either more and more disappointed with each meal.

We had a delightful (if somewhat expensive) Sunday brunch at Cook Hall. We arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon and were immediately shown to a table in their beautiful dining room by a very welcoming host. The place is paneled in dark wood with warm light glowing from unique chandeliers. It feels cozy and upscale at the same time. On this Sunday afternoon it was fairly empty, a few people sat at the bar watching the football game and a couple tables were taken up by hotel guests with suitcases.
Throughout the meal, our server was very attentive and everything came at a very good pace (I never felt like we waited long for anything). All brunch entrees come with your choice of coffee, tea, or juice, so I got a cup of (bottomless) coffee and my boyfriend got a pot of peppermint tea. Both beverages were very yummy. We then ordered the Egg White Frittata ($ 16) and the Healthy Start Granola ($ 14).
At first I was a little thrown by the small portion sizes for the price (check out the photos to see what I mean). The Egg White Frittata is just that – no sides of any kind. However, it was delicious! Fresh tasting and full of mushrooms, spinach, bell pepper, onions, chives and tomatoes, topped with cheese, it was both flavorful and filling. The Healthy Start Granola was also fairly small: a medium-​sized bowl of plain Greek yogurt (my choice, you can also have vanilla or conventional yogurt) topped with granola and berries. Not a lot of food for $ 14, but yet also very delicious! So we were torn between feeling like we weren’t getting a lot, but also loving what we got.
Given that this place is part of the W Hotel, I guess I understand the markup. Hotel restaurants seem to do that a lot. And since we loved the taste and quality of our meal and the great service, we will definitely be back for brunch at Cook Hall.

I see bad and good reviews. why? I never had a bad experience here. Had a great meal on concert night (Short rib, Tacos, Pecan Pie. I love it.

Had reservations for four at 6pm. Plenty of time to grab a quick bite before walking across the street to catch a show at the American Airlines Center.
By the time our server took our drink orders, the show was over.
By the time our drinks arrived, it was the following morning and I was late for work.
By the time our food was ordered, it was the weekend and I’m sure the babysitter had called CPS on us for child abandonment. Who could blame her? We hadn’t been home in days.
By the time our meal was delivered, it wasn’t our meal. It was Halloween. Or Cinco de Mayo given that they brought us free chips/​salsa «for being patient». A quick look around the restaurant showed a lot of people were celebrating their patience with free chips/​salsa, too.
By the time our meal finally arrived, we were shocked to learn we had ordered two hamburgers, BBQ pulled pork sliders and a baby arugula salad. We were shocked because we had forgotten. But the sliders and salad made that fateful journey from the kitchen to the table alone; the hamburgers apparently got sidetracked because they didn’t make the trip. So two of us enjoyed an average yet overpriced dinner while the two others continued to dine on their patience.
By the time dinner was finished (those uncooperative hamburgers finally showed up) and we payed the tab, my sixth grader had graduated high school and my second grader was swiping liquor from his old man’s cabinet. Time does fly and if you choose to eat here, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

2^nd time here. Horrible service again. Slow food. And my burger came out with cheese burned onto it, meaning that it sat under the heat lamp. Didn’t get even an apology for an entire 4-​top of cold food.
This is likely a spot for one-​time concert-​goers, with no intention of returning. They’ve got the prime spot in the area so I bet they can afford for the service to absolutely suck, because hey, they’ll have more people in the door anyway.

This is the first time I’ve given one star but this was the worst restaurant for the money I’ve been to in a long time.
First of all, we ordered appetizers — cheese board and some deviled eggs. The eggs were really sweet and weren’t good at all. Cheese board was fine — hard to mess that up.
Ordered a chicken sandwich for $ 15 which was literally a dry piece of grilled chicken on a bun with a little mayo and a tomato and lettuce. Pretty sure the chicken had been reheated or under a heat lamp for a while.
Worst part is it took almost an hour to get this awesome sandwich. Pretty sure I could’ve made it myself in 10 minutes. Waiter didn’t apologize and actually said they were plating it about 15 minutes before we got it.
Obviously will not be back to this place. I’m sure it will change names or chefs again soon.

Great wholesome good and wonderful mix of ingredients. Great service and beautiful people. Cool environment full of texture and warm earthy colors.

My experience started off shitty and was redeemed by the lovely bartender Nikki. I’d give her five stars! I was staying at the W and came in for lunch, or so I thought. The hostess was just an airhead. She told me only brunch was served. It’s was nearly 3 pm, I don’t want breakfast, I already ate breakfast at 8 am, thanks.
So I was that girl, I left in a bit of a huff because I was hungry and grumpy. I thought I could find someplace decent nearby and I was wrong. So I came back. I’m sure Nikki was steeling herself to deal with my crabby self but she was super nice and made me a few delicious margaritas that had me feeling alright. I ordered the pulled pork sliders and the French fries. The sliders were laughably small and were $ 14, fries were $ 7. What?! $ 21 for barely any food? I got the pecan pie for dessert because I’m on vacation, I can be a glutton. It was really delicious. For lunch, my bill came to $ 75. lol!
If you want decently tasty food at ridiculous prices, Cook Hall is your place.

Not impressed. The location dictates that it be pricey, but the food isn’t that good. I got the crispy fish sandwich, and honestly the fish sandwich at Mc Donald’s is better. The fish tasted so fishy that it basically overwhelmed the whole sandwich and didn’t taste good at all. My husband got the grilled cheese, and it was so greasy it was pretty much gross. The food was served on these little planks that are not big enough to hold the food, and end up just making a huge mess. The service was good, but the food wasn’t

I really wanted to like Cook Hall considering the nice ambience, staff and its location in the W lobby, but the food left little to be said.
Tried several items of the menu and found all the dishes to be oddly seasoned. The scallops with squash spaghetti tasted weird. Even though it highlights yuzu orange as a seasoning, the excess seasoning definitely overpowered everything and made the dish awfully sour and funny smelling. So I’m not sure if the cook had a bad day or the dish wasn’t seasoned properly.
The only upside was the fries with truffle aioli but we can’t have that for dinner every day, or can we?

Dire. We have been to Cook Hall about three times before tonight. We even went to a quite good beer pairing event back in the day.
An almost totally empty restaurant does not bode well and I almost said «Let’s leave» before we sat down. We decided to go ahead. There were five people dining on a Saturday night.
The waiter who had «five years» experience had never heard of a Negroni, but thankfully the bar tender had and a lovely cocktail was delivered.
We ordered popcorn shrimp, some cheese jalapeño fritters, tomato soup, macaroni cheese, cron bread and the pasta dish.
I never tried the shrimp but my father-​in-​law ate it up. My wife said that the corn bread that accompanied it was inedible. He’s from the boonies of Georgia and would eat anything.
The tomato soup wasn’t bad, but the grilled cheese slice of bread with it was beyond banal.
Wife unit thought the tagliatelle or whatever she had was good. I felt so bilious I could not even bring myself to try it.
Cheddar jalapeño fritter whatevers were like something from the frozen cabinet.
Macaroni cheese was a big disappointment. Bland apart from the vaguely crusty top.
Methinks they have gotten rid of any pretense of having a chef and merely rely on cooks churning out this very banal food.
Avoid at all costs.

Thank you to our lovely waitress NIKKI, after a well needed message, great food, and even better service! Thank you.

First thing’s first.
1. This restaurant is in a hotel. So, don’t expect prices to be too cheap and also, going for regional cuisine in a hotel is not always a safe bet. If you want regional cuisine, it may be a better idea to go to a place that specializes in it.
That said, the seared scallops were one of the best meals I had while spending a week in Dallas. Also, their Ruby Port Manhattan was an interesting and delicious take on the classic cocktail. Last but not least, their pastry chef is the clear superstar here. Their Salted Butterscotch Pudding ended my meal on a high note and I was nearly convinced I’d never have another dessert that was nearly as good. That said, their s’more’s was almost as good but not quite. Homemade graham cracker ice cream with chocolate mousse and a homemade marshmallow? I’m in! If you find yourself heading to the AA arena, do yourself a favor and stop in here for dessert before or after, you won’t regret it. Also, this rooms décor is downright beautiful. It’s such a nice space.

The food is mostly southern comfort food. Not so healthy, but tasty.
The beer situation is nice. They have Revolver Blood & Honey, which is my favorite. They also have a nice selection of other beer on tap and in the bottle.
The bartenders are good at making cocktails (which is their job). The bloody Mary’s here are a solid 6 on a scale of 10.
The atmosphere is okay. Sometimes it’s too hot in here, but that’s not really a good reason to hate on the place. In the summer it’s cooled nicely just like the rest of the W. Don’t come here expecting a sports bar. They have one TV and its tiny. The décor is okay for a hotel restaurant. It’s very Texas-​like.
Overall I like the place. It’s on the expensive side and they lose a star for closing at 10:00p, but other than that it’s a good place to frequent in Victory Park.

I came here for a quick bite to eat before a concert at American Airlines Center next door. We were in a bit of a hurry, because we had parking issues since the event was so big. However, the food here definitely hit the spot!
We told our waitress that we were running late, so she said they would get our food and drinks out in no time. 5 – 10 minutes later, our grub was on the table! I ordered their black truffle and fontina grilled cheese, and it was super unique and very tasty. Pricing is about average for the location. Craft used to be the high-​end restaurant in this space, but it looks like the W Hotel decided to go with more of a casual, laid-​back vibe for Cook Hall. I actually like it better now.
I probably wouldn’t come here for dinner often as I don’t live in the immediate area, but for any events near the W Hotel or American Airlines Center, this is a solid place to grab some food and beverages before your festivities. Cheers!

I don’t think we’ve ever been here for a regular dinner, but my boyfriend and I have been here for quite a few beer dinners. Their monthly beer dinners are fantastic: they bring in a brewery and pair their beer with a 5 course meal. It’s a great value and the food is always fantastic. The chef and brewer do a great job of explaining what you’re eating/​drinking and why it works well together.
Christmas Eve dinner last year was a life saver, when the restaurant that we (thought) we had reservations for wasn’t open. They weren’t at all crowded and the prix fixe menu was delicious.
Sign up for their email list and you’ll be notified of beer dinners and other events. One event highlight was a cocktail competition that I attended: they invited celebrity bartenders to make cocktails and we were able to sample them and vote for our favorite cocktail.
Parking is easy — you can use the W hotel’s valet for free, or you can park in the nearby garage for a small fee.

Hotel restaurants don’t exactly have the best rep, and as one who spends an unusual amount of time in hotels, I’m often one to avoid the overpriced food on the ground floor. It’s frankly one to two star territory more often than not, but Cook Hall at the Dallas W really does a pretty good job at dishing up fair portions of decent food.
Star 1: How was the service and atmosphere?
Not unexpectedly, Cook Hall delivers when it comes to the service and atmosphere, and I really was impressed with the process. The location is a given and the décor in line with what’s found at other upscale Starwood properties, and Cook Hall employs a friendly but knowledgeable staff. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
This is where I was particularly impressed. When it comes to hotel burgers, the standard $ 8-​$ 12 ‘reasonable’ price band is often breached, often to a pretty gross degree. However; already impressed that my Cook Hall Burger only came in at $ 14, the size of the burger and the extra large portion of fries really made this worthwhile and fair. I didn’t take a picture, but Cook Hall really has delivered when it comes to the value of their menu, which is important considering the quality of burgers and other establishments in this city. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
Good? Yes. Out of this world? No, and frankly you can find better burgers throughout the city at nearby places such as Off-​Site Kitchen, Maple + Motor, Hopdoddy and Grub. Having said that, this was a tasty bun, a flavorful patty, decent toppings, and really good and crispy fries. It could be improved by a wider variety of topping options and some cheese variety, but this was good stuff. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
I’ll be back to Cook Hall considering it’s across the street from my apartment, but as I mentioned, there are much better burgers in Dallas. No Star Granted.

Stopped in for a drink. They do validate your valet parking.
Service was great. Atmosphere was good. The drink I ordered deserves a 5 really… it was called the West Side. Not sure how much alcohol it contained as I felt nothing… but it was tasty.
Popcorn Shrimp: it was okay. A few fried shrimp scattered on a plate with popcorn kernels — all of which had been drizzled with ranch dressing. Nothing special or satisfying.
Cornbread with smoked vanilla honey butter: two small loaves on a plate with a side of butter… the bread was too dense and lacked flavor. The cornbread needed a little salt. I had two bites and called it quits so I wouldn’t waste calories.
I’d love to come back and try a dinner item and more drinks!

One word: YUM.
I was hesitant to venture to Cook Hall since I have distant memories of this location as Craft (the old restaurant in the W) and they weren’t the best. Luckily, the negative aspects of Craft — cold and dreary interior and horrific food have gone away with the closing of the restaurant and Cook Hall is an entirely new concept.
Dark wood and dim lights offer a beer garden feeling and the menu definitely doesn’t disappoint either.
During the week they have a 5@5 deal from 5pm-​7pm that offers up house wine and select cocktails as well as a sample of appetizer plates for just $ 5 each. I ended up going over there for «a quick drink» but stayed for dinner since we were having such a good time and the food was so good.
Some favorites of the meal was the kale caesar with crispy egg, house made ricotta and the duck tacos. The best part, though, was the desserts. WOW! Butterscotch pudding, nutella torte and Cook Hall donuts were all fabulous.
I am so happy that I had the chance to visit Cook Hall as dining options in Victory Park may not necessarily be limited but the food at most of the establishments is below par and normally I’m stuck eating mediocre pizza from Neo or fried everything at House of Blues. From now on, Cook Hall is my go-​to spot while in the area before a game or concert.
Another perk? You can valet at the W for free when you visit Cook Hall!