Tucker’s Kozy Korner

It looks like I’m in the minority when it comes to my Tucker’s experience. I had a horrible time, which was only made better by the company I was in. I knew that the trick to beating the infamous Sunday brunch line was to show up early. We did just that. We were maybe the eighth party on the list (yikes!). Our relatively large group, originally 6 that turned into 7, wasn’t seated until 11:20.
Our waitress greeted us with glasses of water and asked for additional drink orders. Some ordered bloody mary’s and others ordered Micheladas which were able to partake in the «infamous» bloody mary fixins bar. The bloody mary comes pre-​made and you get to go over and add fun things like Sandia lollipops, flamin’ hot funyons, beef jerky, corn, and of course bacon. The bloody mary isn’t very strong and aside from the novelty of the bar, not worth the $ 8 price tag.
After our drinks came out, it took another 30 minutes before we saw our waitress again. And when we did see her, she spilled an entire bloody mary on me. She did apologize, but didn’t really make mention of it the rest of the meal, even though I was soaked in bloody mary mix and vodka. After placing our food order we kind of hung out, listening to the music, and snacking on the bloody mary bar. Good thing we snacked on the bloody mary bar, our food took almost an hour to come out! I ordered the Benedict East and other girls at my table ordered Chicken & Waffles, as well as the Butter Eggs & Pepper Bacon. My Benedict East came on a small biscuit that was hard, the sausage was spicy and flavorful, and I couldn’t decide on the hollandaise. The sweet potato hash was so oily and greasy that it lost all appeal to me, even though it was good. My friends commented that their waffles were hard and not crispy or very fresh. Most of the bacon on the plate went uneaten because it was more like the fat trimmings. Speaking of bacon, they ran out of bacon for their bloody mary bar two hours into brunch, most likely because people were munching on it to satisfy their hunger since the food took so long to come out.
It didn’t take us very long to finish eating and by the time we were hitting the two hour mark for our Sunday brunch, several us were ready to go. One of my friends put cash on the table and left. When the waitress came over, it was a mess trying to get the checks separated. She brought them over, but they were all wrong. It took another 10 minutes to get the checks right. We finally were able to leave, but the damage had been done. All in all, we spent about three hours, from arrival to exit, for our brunch.
Tucker’s brunch system is its Achilles heel. It’s the busiest time for them and they had two servers and a DJ. They should probably open earlier and have more staff on hand for Sundays.
TL;DR: Horrible service, expensive food that wasn’t impressive, bloody mary in my shoes and socks, bacon is a scarce resource, and an almost three hour meal!

Came here for a drink and it was dead. I ordered a margarita and it was disgusting. Tasted like watered down lime juice. The décor is very 80ish. I will come back to try the food, but pass on the drinks.

Came here for Valentine’s Day brunch. There was a wait which was expected but we didn’t mind. We had a bloody marry while we waited… which honestly was very good! Had a good amount of liquor and we both felt pretty good just after one. The food here is amazing. Definitely worth the wait. We totally cleaned our plates up. Will be returning for sure!

Very good fried chicken and a fun atmosphere!!! The patio was fun with a DJ and the bottomless mimosas. The servers were very slow to interact with our party from when we were seated to the end of the meal. Overall good was good, but service was the weakness.

My husband and I happened upon this place when we were in the area for a concert. It was late on a Saturday night. We only had drinks so I can’t comment on the food, but the atmosphere was awesome! The crowd was so eclectic and welcoming. The older men playing live music were perfect for the downtown vibe right down to their bowties and obvious love of upbeat jazz they were playing. It’s dingy interior brings back the era of neighborhood bars in big cities with regulars that makes you see past exterior confinement to the inner highlights. The service was exceptional as well… just don’t be afraid to get close to people if you want a seat, as there’s not much room.

If you don’t feel like waiting over an hour for a table, I wouldn’t recommend coming here for brunch on a weekend. Good place if you’re looking for bottomless mimosas. The food menu had less than 10 items on there, which isn’t bad considering everything on the menu was good quality and you could tell the kitchen didn’t rush to cook everything no matter how busy it was. The service was ⁵⁄₅ but overall it’s not worth waiting over an hour for.

Had a great time here. The fried grits with pimento cheese is a must as well as the bottomless mimosas. We sat inside, which pays homage to black R&B/blues legends; I really like that because you can’t find many restaurants that share that kind of history. The only thing was the table we sat at was small, so it was hard to maneuver. Cute table just not as functional. I also had the chicken and waffles. It was good, not the best I’ve ever had, but good enough. Like I said before, the fried grits were the business!

Not a word was spoken during this meal. There’s no time to talk when you’re busy stuffing your face.

LOVE THIS PLACE! This is the best dive bar in town. And fantastic food! Its clear the Chef takes pride in his dishes. And Audrey the Bartender is the bomb! Come here. You will not be disappointed :)

Fun Rock n Roll weekend… Celebrating a 1^st Place finish in my division (I won’t say what age division) and feeling a little adventurous… so I stumbled into Tucker’s thinking I would just put my toes in the water. But, after a tiny bite, I absolutely dove in and bathed myself in the yumminess they offer for Sunday Brunch. Soul food really doesn’t cover it! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
To get the ball rolling, I started with the Bloody Mary bar. Not the best in town, but a genuine attempt to be different with chicharrones, rice cakes, and spicy nuts.
The outdoor, but covered patio took me to a nice chill and then the Fried Grits with pimento cheese drizzled with honey came and sat down in the middle of the table! Mind blown!!! What a delight, creaminess on the inside with just the right amount of crispiness outside… do yourselves a favor and just lay your face on top of the plate with you mouth open!
So…after I caught my breath, suddenly out came the main event… Eggs Benedict East with crab. Now, the egg yolks were not velvety runny, as they should be, but my goodness the other flavors and textures more than made up for that wee mistake! Egg over crab over what tasted like fresh-​made sausage over a nicely toasted biscuit all topped with a screamin’ delicious buttery sauce.
Ready for a nap to continue this dream after I dry myself off!!!

SO DISAPPOINTED! NO MORE FULL MENU! I came here for the first time last June for drinks with coworkers. We only planned on drinking but when we saw the menu, we had to eat. The pulled pork grilled cheese, fried grits, and chicken and waffles were AMAZING!
I was bragging about the food to my friend and we needed a place close to downtown to eat before going to a haunted house. We came to Tuckers only to find the menu had been cut to only sides. Heartbreaking.
The grits were good, but I still crave that grilled cheese…

If you want down home soul food then this is the place for you. We went for brunch and they didn’t disappoint. Limited menu but it looks like everything they do, they do well. Bottomless mimosas for $ 13…how can you go wrong? Especially if someone else is driving :-)
We had the grits, eggs and bacon, and eggs Benedict. All were great. Come early as they fill up fast.
We sat outside and enjoyed the DJ.

I would’ve left this with zero stars, if only I could figure out how. Another half baked Culum idea– upon walking into the bar to order another round I was advised by the «bartender» to order from outside… Terrible look…
Then– I witnessed this person, clearly a fill in bartender, with zero bar training/​experience, not perform a proper 3 well drink sanitation and leave sanitizer in glasses as well as taint drinks with sanitizer water from the jigger– I will never drink a mixed drink here again.
Lonestar and close me out… Amirite? Good luck.
Respect to the young lady who was clearly in WAY above her head– but food is dieing on your bar; bottles, dirty glass ware, and shakers are going nowhere and she had zero help just a kitchen throwing more orders at her.
I don’t leave poor reviews for fun. I’m willing to chalk this up to a one time issue, and I’ve always had fun here in the past, but it’ll be awhile before I come back.

Gotta get here early on Sundays for the brunch. (11a) 1^st time i would say a 5. second time i went the service dropped off A LOT. We went from the waitress checking on us every 10 minutes to refill our bottomless mimosas to «get your own» the second time around. It was a nice novelty the first time but the brunch menu is so limited i could not imagine coming here regularly to eat the same thing over and over again.
It’s definitley a nice spot to bring out of town family to for a taste of old school soul but play at your own risk. Odds are on favorite you’ll be on the hot patio so dress comfortably

Great food, as always, but come on guys — roll down the plastic walls. It’s not only for the winter. Its freaking raining cats and dogs and your patio is flooding.
I changed the rating from 1 star to 3 based on the quality of food.

This place is oddly eclectic and I like it. It’s almost like walking into another era with the décor: popcorn ceiling, weird dark yellowish walls, and lots of framed magazine covers from years ago. The round tables are designed to look like old vinyl records and the wooden bar looks like something out of the 70s. We went for Sunday brunch, and it was quite the juxtaposition to see a DJ, complete with his new equipment, next to the older décor. It was definitely interesting though.
For our brunch, we opted to the chicken and waffles and the eggs benedict with crab. Both meals were plated beautifully with a trio of sliced fruit (orange on top of pineapple on top of watermelon) to garnish. I though the chicken could have stood to be a bit crispier and the waffle a bit softer, but overall it was tasty. The chicken was nicely seasoned and the waffle came with a bit of blueberry compote on top. The benedict was nicely done too. The eggs were perfectly cooked (soft poached) and the hollandaise, though slightly unusual, was delicious. The sweet potato hash was a bit under-​seasoned, but when mixed with the extra hollandaise, was really delicious.
I’m honestly wavering between 3 star and 4 star here with this review, but since the service was pretty great, and I love the atmosphere, I’m going with 4. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt on the chicken and waffles, since everyone else seems to love them. I’ve definitely had better!

Mmmmmagic. That’s *got* to be what the chicken portion of the Sunday brunch chicken & waffles is coated in. Has to. It’s freakin’ delicious!
Add to that that brunch is served til 3:00 (no way am I making it to any of these ends-at-1:00 brunch shindigs at other places. .too. damn. Early. Clowns!), mimosas are bottomless, and sweet 70’s soul tunes are being spun by a dapper Benedict Cumberbatch look-​alike. Perfection!
Jim Collum plays Monday nights.. I’ll have to go back soon — tonight even, hopefully maybe? — so that Boy Collum can sling me a burger and Pops can provide the soundtrack.

Truly my favorite brunch place at the moment.
I am very impressed with the food as well as the service that I have received here on two recent weekends.
I work many Sundays out of the year so it was delightful to finally enjoy a meal here instead if just look at pictures of chicken with waffles and all the scrumtrulecent yummies served here.
The first weekend I came out I met a lovely couple of friends here that were also joined by their well behaved Rugby Crew.
They had been the weekend before I came and it made such a ruckus on Facebook & Instagram that I had to come see what the real deal was, you know? Looked so good!
Mimosa’s are de-​lightful, the breading on the fried grits was so good, texture was on point and the Eggs Benedict with crab was the best one I had in ages!
Someone turned loose a piece of their fried chicken to me too & it was SO good and FULL flavor for sure.
The music from the Dj was just what you need on a Sunday morning too.
He brought the funk, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by his selections at all either.
The Bloody Mary bar here has a lovely variety of things to choose from, peppers, okra, olives, gummy bears, celery, tomatoes, and a powdered curry
(which is so good in it)!
They provide vodka that has infused with the traditional flavors of the Bloody Mary and that truly makes a huge difference. Loved it, easily the best in town.
The second Sunday I came out I was with my good friends who are vegan and they were able to be accommodating to their special diet too by allowing them to order ale carte sweet potato hash brown which is amazing by the way, waffles for the kids with jam & syrup, fried grits & the bottomless mimosas were a hit too of course!
My friends were in love with those grits lemme tell you. Loved it as well as the hash.
We will definitely be back. We sat on the porch this time and it gets pretty busy out there for sure but the mimosas seemed to make their way just in time.
Which was great. I had bragged up this place so much I wanted to impress my friends too so they would come back with me & I am sure they will too. Yay for Tucker’s your a gem of Midtown & I am so proud to have you as a neighboring business to mine so I can park at either my friends place of my salon and just Über over for bottomless mimosas and then explore all the fruits of midtown/​downtown/​AlamoHeights until were sober again!
Yay! Love you Tucker’s Kozy Corner!
Can’t wait to see you on a Monday for the Jim Cullum Jazz Band & Atta Boy!

So maybe my expectations were too high especially after all of the reviews that I read. My experience did not live up to them :(
First I will say that the mimosas were quite tasty, but even though they were unlimited, its only if you actually get your glass filled. Sometimes my glass went empty for quite some time. Other tables got ½ carafe but because only 2 of us ordered we weren’t that lucky.
Lets see we got there about 20 min before and a few minutes before 11am we realized they serving a couple already– even though we were waiting outside. I mean you could let us know you are ready for us. Anyho– we waited for the rest of our party. We sat outside because it was a beautiful Sunday morning.
The menu is limited. I ordered the fried chicken, but was actually fried wings. There was a spoonful (and I mean spoonful) of coleslaw — check out the picture I posted– and fries. The chicken was greasy (which I don’t mind) but it was not flavorful (which I do mind). It was heavy. I asked for a waffle on the side & that was cooked so it was on the dry side. My husband ordered the biscuits and gravy & it was actually one split biscuit dunked in gravy. Now, I usually LOVE gravy, but this gravy had an overpowering smoky flavor– it was overwhelming so it took away from the biscuit.
The vibe inside looks way cool, small place but it looks like you stepped back in time.

Sunday brunch. Fried chicken. That’s all you need to remember!
We arrived about 15 minutes early — they open at 11 — cause we knew the parking lot was baby small. Plenty of parking and they kindly sat us down early. We ordered a Bloody Mary — which they make for you — then you go to the bar and top it off with whatever goodies you’d like from pickled okra to beets to Vienna sausages! Tasty Bloody Mary, but I recommend the bottomless mimosas more.
The menu is small, but packs a punch! We started with the Chicken Fried Grits — no chicken, just grits fried into a cute triangle on a plate of goodness from pimento cheese to jam to orange slices. A delicious party of flavors… especially when you mix the fried grits, pimento, and jam all together.
We shared the Chicken & Waffles — I’m not a big fried chicken fan (yes, perhaps I’m dead inside) but I am a huge FAN of Tucker’s fried chicken… the batter is so tasty and crunchy, the chicken is super moist. YUM. The waffles also had a tasty honey, brown sugar butter and jam on them. DEF a must order.
We also shared the Biscuits & Gravy… a big bowl of grits with a buttery, flaky biscuit plunked in. Solid. The sweet potato hash on the side was good, but, for some reason we weren’t really feelin’ it. Not artery clogging enough, perhaps?
The staff is super pleasant, the DJ was spinning some fun 50s and 60s jams (think Dirty Dancing soundtrack), and the patrons around us were fun and friendly. If you want to eat inside, be sure you don’t have a party bigger than two as the tables are baby small. There is a big covered patio outdoors, too.
We’ll definitely be back! What a funky, unique joint!