Cork 'n Cleaver

In Evansville for our Anniversary and my husband picked this place for dinner tonight. His steak was on point and my scallops were melt in your mouth delicious! Wait staff was friendly and attentive. Atmosphere was cozy and the people at the tables nearby reminded me of why we love Evansville! People are so friendly and welcoming!

The salad bar is amazing!! Best bleu cheese dressing in town.. My husband and I’s first meal as a married couple was here. Great food and wonderful date night spot. Lunch is awesome too!!

This place used to be a fantastic place but I have noticed over the past couple of years the food quality has declined significantly. The last time we were there we noticed that several pieces of the salad were very dirty and even had bugs on it. We collected several of the pieces and informed our waitresses and gave them to her. We got our steaks the were supposed to be medium and they came out very well done. The time before that I ordered the sea bass and the piece I received was about the size of a 1/2 of a tennis ball and was very rare. They did take it back and recooked a new piece and it came back even more uncooked.

Cork 'n Cleaver has a quaint and inviting atmosphere — it’s a charming place to enjoy a nice dinner. Our server, Luke, was great: friendly, attentive, and eager to please. He just needed a little coaching on opening the bottle of wine, but overall did a good job. One suggestion I’d make is for the staff to ask guests to cut into their steak when it’s served. Mine was very undercooked, and I had to track down the team to have it re-fired. Once it was fixed, the meal was enjoyable, but that small step could really improve the dining experience, especially at the price point for the steak. Overall, it’s a lovely spot with great potential and warm service. With a few tweaks in training and communication, it could easily be a four+ star experience.

Super cool and local spot. It feels like an old steak house when you walk in and they don't disappoint. The shrimp cocktail is fantastic, as is the salad bar. The prime rib with the creamy horseradish is a must have. The wine list is also good. They have a good selection, including the reserve list, at very fair prices.

The food presentation was the best. Everything looked wonderful. However I was not thrilled with their Reuben (processed meat and big mound of meat in the middle and nothing at the edges) and my friend sent the grilled chicken back. The waitress seldom came by and forgot my drink.

We visited for lunch. My son is 32 and had never been before. He was excited to try it. While the service was excellent, our server was friendly and attentive, the food didn't feel worth the price. For 2 lunches and only soda to drink, the bill was 75.00 before tip. The flavors and portions just didn't live up to that cost. The biggest disappointment was being given very dirty menus. If the menu was that dirty, what does the kitchen look like? Not a very good first impression. I mentioned it to the manager, and he agreed it was something they need to do better on. I appreciate the service, but overall, the value and experience didn't match the price point.

Our new favorite place in town! We have been here three times, and every time has been delicious! Steaks are good and always cooked to order. Fish is fresh. The entrees come with the salad/soup bar and a side. The cheesecake is better than Cheesecake Factory! It’s so smooth. We always get sat right away, and never wait long for our food. The Santa fe shrimp are never over cooked and has a light kick. This place is continuously delicious.

Always a great experience! My family and I have been come here since the 1980's and we love it! Always great service, great cuts of meat, and an amazing salad bar. When I bring new friends to town and they see the salad bar, they always chuckle. It appears to be very small. I always say "just fill your plate and taste the freshness." The reaction is always the same. "That was a great salad bar!"

One of the best steaks I've had in a long time. The twice baked potato and salad bar was really good too. If you're near Evansville this place is a must go!

The service was terrible. We were there to celebrate my mom. The waiter couldn't take a joke even if it smacked him in the face. The place looks like it did in the 1900s, and it smells like an old bowling alley where everyone was able to smoke. Food was nothing to talk about, only mediocre.

The steak was great . Loved that they still have a salad bar. The inside had an old style charm to it. The service was good as well. Met some really nice and interesting locals which made the experience even more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend going to the Cork n Clever. Very neat way to display menu on the clever .

Genuinely disgusting. After being recommended this place way too often we tried it. Evansville, you don't have to settle for this trash. The service was embarrassingly bad. The food was... barely legally food. The bar is a joke. Dive bars have better programs. Please let this place go out of business so that someone who is willing to try can open a restaurant there.

Ordered a drink , waited 30 minutes to order. appetizer took 15 to show up. ordered a second drink and had to request to order my meal. she was busy (Sam) barely touched my second drink ,waited another 30 minutes. Prime rib showed up and no lobster tail as requested was told another 15 minutes. when I said it was not as to menu . a second lady showed up and they pulled my plate.?? asked to speak to manager and was told I was expecting too much. Paid 41$ for 2 drinks and mushrooms. Only had one drink and mushrooms. Will Not go back. Called to complain to manager and got same girl who was second lady. Not Manager . She hung up on me. Did not waste my time on a second call. Terrible service Inside and Out.

I had dinner here because a friend wanted to celebrate his birthday with a steak. So, we made reservations and planned accordingly. We arrived on time but still had to wait around for 25 minutes before we were able to be seated; I was really surprised it was that long because a few tables were clear. But, I also understand that there could be staffing issues, etc. After we sat down, we waited another 10 minutes before we were greeted by our server and able to get water. The server was not very helpful when asked about the specials on the menu; he did not go into detail about what the specials actually were. It's like he only knew the names of what they were that night. So, I took a chance on a big pork chop. What. A. Mistake. My wallet and palate immediately regretted it. It was so dry; I honestly believe I could have done a better job at home on a George Foreman grill. It's almost like they knew it was dry and tried to supplement the dryness with sauce. I did, however, like the flavor of the sauce. I would have sent the porkchop back, but I had to wait 45 minutes to get it. At that point, I was so hungry that I didn't really want to wait another 45 minutes. I also ordered two margaritas, but they aren't worth going into detail over. They were inconsistent and lacked flavor. I generally don't leave non-positive reviews, but I felt this one was relevant. I've been to two birthday celebration dinners within the last couple of months at Cork 'n Cleaver, and neither were worth the money. It was very disappointing for the price charged. I don't anticipate a return visit anytime soon.

Visiting family gor Christmas. We're from Evansville and Cork and Cleaver is a favorite. We wanted a nice quiet dinner where we could visir with local family. Service during our meal was great. As we were finishing up, staff was being very obnoxious and making all kind of noises (banging things, being intentionally very loud). It became apparent they were trying to get us to leave...which we did. Ruined what was intended to be a wonderful family dinner. We were essentially chased out at 8:30 on a Sunday, although we started to hear the commotion as early as 8:00. We are used to restaurants accommodating guests and not imposing on their dining experience and ruining. Sadly, overall, very disappointed.

Melt in your mouth steaks. Salad bars from the old days. Perfect martinis. Excellent service.

Had the prime rib and baked potato. Both were delicious. Also really enjoyed the salad bar.

It would be helpful if this business answered the phone so I could have made reservations. No matter what time I called today it said call back during hours

Stopped in for lunch. The food was good, if simple for the price. There is nothing wrong with simple, it was delicious. The salad bar was fresh and delicious. My steak was well cooked and tender. My only complaint is that our waitress really pushed us off the table for a reason I couldn't fathom. There were plenty of open tables and plenty in her section. Would definitely eat here again.

Cork and cleaver is a good old school steakhouse. A little expensive for the area but not outrageous. I had the prime rib which is cooked overnight and the mushroom and cheese appetizer. Both were quite good classics. The salad bar is pretty standard callback to ruby Tuesday's etc but with a few fun options like herring. Service was attentive and fairly quick. The place gave an old school supper club vibe, classy in a mid century way.

I love the salad bar here. The salmon is also excellent! The service is impeccable. I highly recommend this place!

Always top notch service and great food. Went recently to celebrate an anniversary. Easy to make reservations and got in on time. Salad bar is best in Evansville and offers a variety of options. Steaks are always delicious and cooked to order

Service was great but this place is past its prime. Definitely in need of a remodeling. Salad bar was good with great croutons. Seems to be a local favorite.

Way overpriced. Food was mediocre at best. Service not acceptable, First, waiter asked for our appetizer order. He had not given us a menu. My mom, who is 88 and very happy to return to the place where she had memories with my dad, ordered Salad Bar and Soup. The waiter NEVER brought the soup. I eventually found him chatting with a friend near the kitchen, but she had finished the salad. The salad bar wasn't even as fresh and varied as one at a local community college. My tilapia was extremely over seasoned, to the point of nearly uneatable. The asparagus was rather sad. The bill for my mom, my brother in law was $100, including tip. We drank only water. My mom complained that the large table of people next to us was "so loud I never heard anything." The loaded baked potato was a shriveled sad affair that looked like something someone might find on the buffalo trail. Will not go back.

The waiter was very polite and helpful. He service was very fast. The salad bar was very good and the food was great.

Tough 12 oz rib eye cost 40$ for one,salad bar was awful . Won't be back I hope told my about the experience

The salad bar was the best but everything was down hill from there. My steak was over cooked and priced. It is to bad I always loved the place. Will have to find a different place in the future.

Our first time at this place. Went with some people from work because we desperately wanted to treat ourselves to a great meal, and we was blown away with the service, and staff. I ordered the Smoked Salmon appetizer and it was beautiful. The Menu was on an actual Cleaver. The open salad bar was beautiful and fresh. The Chef name was Tim and he made my Steak Well Done, and trust me when I say it was beautiful and crispy!! We will be back

Great lunch menu -ordered the glazed salmon ! It was cooked perfectly! Great place for a birthday lunch! The salad bar was great as well!

Love the old school local vibe. Fantastic service and great food. Excellent steaks and a nice salad bar.

Great steak, superb salad bar, and the menu is fun. Just don't throw it. This is everything a steakhouse should be.

Came here for the first time recently. The salad bar was okay--the pasta salad, beets, and mushrooms on the salad bar were incredibly bland. I ordered a twice baked potato. It was okay. Service was great and my waiter was super attentive. I'm not sure I'd return.

Good food at reasonable prices. Service great, if not a bit less formal than you would expect from a surf and turf joint. I had sea bass, my friends had pork chops and steaks. Everybody happy. I would go again.

Upon walking in for dinner on a Saturday was told by the host that they stopped seating people at 7:30 p.m. when the scheduled business hours are until 9 p.m. Reasoning was because most of the staff was at an Alice Cooper concert. Unacceptable business practice.

After struggling somewhat to make a reservation, I was not convinced that we made the right decision to go here, but our son is with us and this was a childhood favorite place for him for special occasions. I'm glad we did come because it was a wonderful experience. We were greeted enthusiastically, the server was very attentive and made sure we had everything we wanted on a timely basis. The salad bar was very fresh with a variety of nice selections. Our ka-bobs and steaks were excellent! They have a very nice grade of meat and they were done perfectly to order. The place has not changed in 40 years, but was clean and fresh. Prices are reasonable in today's market. We will definitely return soon!

Been going there for years Great service staff. Stesks and prime rib are always yummy

Our waiter was wonderful and very Attentive to our needs. Although the restaurant has a rather small menu list everything is cooked fresh and made to order served in a lovely atmosphere. The bottomLess salad bar is nicely stocked and everything is fresh.

Disappointed! Cork is supposed to be one of Evansville's premium spots...we recently went for my son's 21st bday, the drinks from the bar were awful, worst old fashioned I've had. My son's drink was completely wrong and had to be sent back. The food was good not great, but the Tbone was horrendous, zero flavor! The most disappointing aspect were the bar charges they tried to slide into my final receipt, which is so unethical. Menu told me the old fashioned cost $9.95...receipt depicted almost $17 per drink...$12.50 for Four Roses (joke!) and an additional $4 for making it an old fashioned. Guess they do this to everyone hoping it doesn't get caught. I'm glad I caught it and had $40 adjusted off the bill. To say the least, we won't be going back. I expected so much more, as our past experiences with Cork have been solid. But I've had a couple other work peers give the same review for recent visits..."it wasn't very good and I expected more" The salad bar is always good so I'll bump it to 2 stars

Overpriced low quality Greeted at host stand by a manager or owner in a dirty tee shirt and filthy ball cap. 1977 called and asked for their dining room fixtures and decore back Still using the pandemic to pass out stingy portions at thier less than impressive salad bar Baked potatoes over cooked and dry with a thick leather skin. Staff competent but not 60 dollars per head worthy

Wow, what a great experience! I love the quaint and intimate setting of the restaurant - my boyfriend and I were seated in a booth next to a fireplace. We did call ahead and get a reservation, and I'm glad we did even on a Sunday night. After reading other reviews, it seems everyone loves the salad bar and I can't disagree. Our server was GREAT, I wish we would have gotten his name so I could compliment him to a manager. Really excellent service. The menu is small and simple (and engraved into an actual cleaver) but perfect for a steakhouse. We both got the New York strips, which came with your choice of a potato or a steamed vegetable - asparagus or broccoli. The steak melted in your mouth and was a very generous size for a New York strip. We ordered medium and they couldn't have been cooked more spot on. You'd think we had spent $50 a plate for the quality of the meal but they were between $25-$30 depending on the cut you chose. Salad bar was included in every meal. They also had some specials advertised on the board on the way in. My baked potato was baked perfectly, why is this so hard for other restaurants to do? We will definitely be back next time we are in town and want steak, I don't think we could convince ourselves to go anywhere else after such a good experience!

I loved the food here! The menu was a great idea and added to the overall experience. Food came out quickly and accurately and the staff was kind and welcoming. Steak and shrimp were tasty and I enjoyed the salad bar.

We are from out of town. We wanted salad bar. We show up and find out reservation are highly recommended. Needless to say, we didn't have a reservation but the post graciously seed it us anyway! ( Amazing customer service). Our waiter was prompt, attentive and very knowledgeable and gave us awesome recommendations for dinner that didn't disappoint. We chose teriyaki chicken and on Christian crusted chicken! It was absolutely amazing and I highly recommend!! Chicken was moist and not dry at all!!!! All you can eat salad bar was perfect under current Covid conditions as they had a server that hooked us up!!!! We will absolutely be back and we will make reservations!

My wife and I were celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary. We decided to have our dinner here. Well, that was our first mistake! My wife ordered the 1lb lobster tail, it was served to her undercooked, tasteless, and the Pecan crusted chicken was just regular sautéed chicken breast with store bought honey mustard. Will not be returning, and will tell all of our friends not to aswell.

This is an excellent restaurant, and I would highly recommend eating here. If you're concerned about a salad bar during Covid, know that they have an attendant at the salad bar who will put whatever you request on your plate. Very safe. Negatively, you should also know that the prices on the website and listed here on Yelp are nowhere close to what you will pay. Prime rib says 19.99 for the Earlybird menu. We paid something closer to 32.99. The good news is, it is worth the price. Great service and great food, but know you're going to pay a little more than the website or the Yelp listing would lead you to believe.

Very unique little corner of Evansville In. Come early bird 4-5:30 pm the salmon and salad was very good. The only downside was the guy who seated us was far from personal We will return here

Very good first experience at a restaurant I have been wanting to try for a long time. Service was was great, food was great and we will be a returning customer. Just want the COVID restrictions to be lifted so there is more of a personal experience.

Soo good! I had the Hawaiian Chicken with a baked potato. Wish we would have sat in the lounge when offered it looked super cool while walking by. We will definitely be back! It was delicious!

Absolutely... hands down, the best prime rib I have ever had! Service was incredible and atmosphere was cozy. First time in Evansville and would highly recommend for anyone that loves steak. Shrimp cocktail was delicious as well.

My husband and I were in Evansville for a couple of days. We very much enjoy fine dining and try to avoid chains. In Evansville it is difficult to find either, but we did and were very pleased. We walked in without a reservation and were promptly seated. Our server had our drinks to us quickly and took our entree order. My husband had the kabobs and just loved them. I has the bourbon salmon special and am still craving it the next day. There is a small salad bar with many choices that are fresh and plentiful. Our server was attentive without being overbearing. This was a wonderful start to a romantic evening.

Fancy joint with a nostalgic atmosphere and good food. Unique place you won't forget and is small and quaint on the inside for an intimate atmosphere.

Excellent! From the food to the service I cannot day enough about our experience. We were out to celebrate our engagement and wanted a good steak. We had all that and more! This restaurant is small enough to give you a cozy home feeling but with big taste. No doubt we will be back. In the past we tried to walk in but no seats were available and all reservations were taken. The host gave as a coupon for a free appetizer! Once again friendly faces and great service. Top Knotch! Hats off to Zachery our server. Great knowledge on all the specials, drinks, etc. Was excellent! Give him a raise!

Don't do it! Jeez I miss the days when this was my preferred place to go for special occasions. The last 2 visits were uninspired messes. From dry chicken that likely began as frozen to a truly mediocre steak (ordered medium well, cam to me fully rare to medium rare. Either way it wasn't even a good cut of meat. It was their lunch filet. The "twice baked potato" (costs extra, mind you) was a regular baked potato with what I'm pretty certain was a half-melted slice of the kraft "cheese food" slices you buy at the grocery,,,they didn't even have the decency to fully melt the cheese, so it was even easier to discern the fake cheese square. Save your money, and find another choice, or severely lower your expectations. This past week's visit was my absolute last at this once great establishment. I'd go to McD's first.

This has been one of my parents annual date spots for their anniversary off and on for 20+ years. The decor is a really unique southwest style. The menu is, unsurprisingly, a bit meat-centric and maybe not great options for vegan or vegetarians. Some places have too many things on the menu and this place is maybe the opposite end of the spectrum. I will say I've tried salmon and shrimp dishes and they were pretty food. I had not been to a salad bar since the pandemic started and that's a key component of their meal offering and I was curious to see how they were handling that. They had a dedicated staff person with gloves who would fill your plate with whatever items you chose along the salad bar so that people weren't grabbing tongs one after another. It went smoothly and seemed like a good sanitary options right now. Not that it really matters, but I always get a kick out of their logo/sign which has this toothy goat creature on it.

Absolutely delicious! The service was amazing and the food was even better. My husband had the ribeye and twice baked potato and was in heaven. I had the filet mignon with hollandaise sauce and it literally melted in my mouth.

I have never had a bad experience until recently. I am hoping it's due to new cook in the kitchen with no supervision. Steak came out wrong three times. The asparagus was way over cooked sitting in a small area of water on the plate. The shrimp cocktail was amazing as always. Main meal was the only issue. After three times of getting both steaks wrong we cashed out with leaving full steaks on the table. Not the proper service from this restaurant.

Steaks and Seafood. I am still up in the air on the overall rating - I want to say 2.8 if we were able to really dice the stars into meaningful numbers. I had dinner at the bar, as I tend to do just about everywhere I go. Bartender was very nice and helpful with suggestions. She got my order in and I kicked back and had a look around. The interior is on the dark side which is what you want in a steakhouse. The clientele seemed to be on the older side and regulars as well. There were two older gents at the bar who were pretty lit up and loud which was a tad irritating. I ordered a filet, some veggies and a baked potato and it all arrived pretty quickly - which I was a bit surprised to see. I did order it med / rare and this thing was pushing med / well. Again, I was a bit surprised since this was a steakhouse - they tend to be right on the money with meat done-ness. I was hungry so just went with it, finished up and headed out. Overall a disappointing experience and I will have to give it another shot. Parking lot available.