A lot of times when you leave a restaurant and you’re walking back to your car you can think of five or six ways your experience there could have been better; they could have had better service, the meal was a bit skimpy, the service was so-so, or I wish they hadn’t used the entire salt container on my side-order of fries. But for this particular walk to the car the only thing that I did was smile. Here’s why:
ATMOSPHERE
Poke’s is a bar & grill, so expect to see typical bar staples for your dining experience. There will be flat screen TVs, some arcade-style games, pool tables, and oh yeah, a bar. Nothing extremely out of the ordinary except the feeling that you get while inside; everywhere that you look there is a smiling face or a polite nod to acknowledge your presence. It makes you feel at home. I refuse to be cliché and say it reminds me of Cheers so I will say it reminds me of Cheers in an It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia sort of way.
SERVICE
One of the best service experiences that I have had since well…maybe it was the best that I’ve had. Typically, bars are not known for their outstanding dining service but once again I was completely taken off-guard by how friendly, helpful, and insightful our waitress was (Thanks for recommending the cheese fries Megan, they were awesome!). Even though she was manning the bar and the adjacent tables (due to it being early lunch on a weekday), she was completely thorough and was right there to answer any barrage of questions that I chose to throw her way.
FOOD
Bring a fairly big appetite because the portions here are sizable. We took on the Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Fries, Buffalo wings (Lemon Pepper with ranch), The Build Your Own Cheeseburger, and Macaroni-N-Cheese. The aforementioned cheese fries are good enough to attract a cult and move to Jonestown and for another taste of their gooey goodness I’d drink whatever Kool-Aid you put in front of me. The wings could hold their own with any bar wings in the city and the burger will completely torpedo your calorie count, but it is worth the extra month and a half on the treadmill. The mac’ n cheese wasn’t groundbreaking, but did hit the spot. It’s hard to reinvent the wheel when it comes to macaroni and cheese without getting to Yuppie about it. So, Poke’s “kept it real” and brought it back to the basics.
BLITZ-WORTY
Great service, friendly atmosphere, good food, and it’s an alcohol oasis. After leaving Poke’s I wrote the following letter to my wife…”Dear XXXXX, I am never coming home. I like it here, they let me eat all the wings I want and they don’t tell me that I can’t have extra cheese on my cheeseburger. SportsCenter is always on here and I can have a beer whenever I want. P.S. I sold the cat to buy more wings.”
What to order: Build Your Own Burger, Philly Sandwich, Cheese Fries, Chips and “Surprise Us”
Who eats there: OSU fans, Addison burger hunters, bar hoppers
Contact Info:
Poke’s Neighborhood Grill
14831 Midway Rd
Ste 101
Addison, TX 75001
(972) 385-7653
www.pokesplace.com
Hours:
Mon-Tue 11am-12am
Wed-Sat 11am-2am
Sun 11am-12am