Cooper’s Hawk Winery – Grand Opening October 26

Cooper’s Hawk Winery will open its 20^th Restaurant will open this Monday, October 26 at 4850 Big Island Drive in The St Johns Town Center. Started in Chicago Illinois Cooper’s Hawk is a restaurant centered completely around melding amazing wine with amazing food.

Wine Tasting

Cooper’s Hawk boasts a modern, casual dining experience with warm service and a menu developed with its own handcrafted wines in mind. The menu features unique dishes with each dish paired with a Cooper’s Hawk wine listed next to it on the menu. Signature items such as Soy Ginger Salmon, Chicken Giardiniera, Asian Pork Belly Tostadas and Mexican Drunken Shrimp have quickly found popularity as the restaurant’s signature dishes.

Coopers Hawk WInery

As you walk into the restaurant, on your right you’ll notice a variety of signature food items from sauces for pasta to salsa to pepper jelly available for sale on tables. On your left you’ll find a dessert case with chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, and more. Walk a little further and you’ll reach the wine tasting bar where you can try 1oz. pours of 8 different wines for either $8 or $12 depending on your selection.

Coopers Hawk

The restaurant also features one of the country’s largest wine of the month clubs, offering subscribers monthly wines, special discounts, invitations to exclusive events, rewards, and annual domestic and international wine trips. Cooper’s Hawk has received more than 300 wine awards from various local, national and international wine competitions, including ten awards from the Indy International Wine Competition, and it recently received a 99-point score at the Critics International Wine Competition for its Lux Pinot Noir.

Cooper’s Hawk sources grapes from various places throughout the USA which are then brought to the winery in Illinois where Cooper’s Hawk wines are produced. 50 different varietals are available in the restaurant for purchase while dining or available by the bottle to take home. If you’re not a huge wine drinker Cooper’s Hawk also offers local craft beers in cans. One of the things that really stood out to us as the general manager shared with us about the restaurant was the cheese plate. Cooper’s Hawk’s Executive Chef Matt searches for family owned small batch cheese makers so that each season’s cheese plate can offer up cheeses you won’t find elsewhere. We’re told there’s always a blue cheese and there’s always one that’s very unique.

Coopers Hawk Winery

No article about a new restaurant’s offerings would be complete without telling you about dessert. One of the complaints we always have about dessert menus at chain restaurants is they generally offer up things everyone is already familiar with. Where’s the creativity in that? Cooper’s Hawk offers up a couple of fun things that you won’t find around every corner. First off Banoffee pie. Banoffee pie first originated in a pub in England where this dessert took the country by storm. If you’ve never had it, it’s crazy good!!! The closest we’ve found it on offer is Lulu’s at The Thompson House in Fernandina Beach. Ooey gooey butter cake and a banana caramel ice cream sandwich were the other two desserts that stood out to us. Gourmet ice cream sandwiches are a relatively new trend which hasn’t quite caught on yet in Jax. We assure you that trend is headed our way and we can’t wait til it’s more widespread.

Asian Pork Belly Tostadas

Keep an eye out in the future for a full Cooper’s Hawk Review where we’ll break down whether the food matches the hype. If you visit for dinner before we do be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.