Kafe Kokopelli

Tonight I choose my birthday dinner here. I was so excited to enjoy what was once my favorite restaurant.
Why I am writing such a review is because this is my 2^nd horrible experience with them in 2 months!
Many disappointments! Most concerning one there where RUBBER BANDS in my child’s broccoli! Yeah the one he said where gross and I said that’s ok keep eating!!! I spoke with the manager, sadly I gave him the rubber bands… He suggested that the rubber bands are usually a different color than the color of the particular rubber band, I thought Mm mm… Ok who cares my 8 year old could have ate and seriously been hurt by them…
Not that it mattered but the manager still charged me for the child’s meal!!!
I would suggest only coming to this restaurant if you want burnt steak and or chicken and rubber bands in your vegetables!
SO DISAPPOINTED!!!

We’d go here for special occasions but any more hard to afford when paying for a small group. Food has come down from exceptional to just okay. I was also disappointed in our server last visit, unless you are ordering cocktails n the 9s you’re pretty much ignored. I asked 3 times for water n never did get any. Sad cause it was a Great place.

Everything is wonderful here! Save room for the Banana Foster served table side, best I’ve ever had.

Had dinner there tonight with my parents and boyfriend. I had the chefs scampi. My boyfriend had the meatloaf with the potato hash. My dad had steak and my mom had the shrimp puttanesca. Also had she crab bisque and gator bites for appetizers. All was delish and reasonably priced. Our server Ken was energetic and knowledgeable and fullfilled our special requests. He refreshed our drinks in a timely manner. Décor is delightful! Will return!

We met here for a family birthday and was very surprised by this place. I really liked the décor, reminded me of a log cabin. For Dinner I had the Shrimp Scampi and I was blown away how good it was! The pasta was so fresh. I also tasted the Chicken and Egg plant parmigiana, which was delicious! If your in the area, I highly recommend this secret gem!

Food was overpriced and service was severely lacking. We had been there before and had a good filet minion dinner with excellent service and we had returned hoping to repeat the experince.
Boy were we ever in for a rude awakening. My wife and I each ordered a $ 30 filet minion and we received a steak about the size of a typical meatball that was plopped on top of about four spoonfuls of mashed potatoes accompanied by a few green beans. No salad was included.
We both had asked for the steaks to be cooked medium well and when I cut into mine, it bleed into my mashed potates. But since the whole steak was only about three bites it didn’t seem worth sending it back even if we were lucky to ever see our server again. If there was actually any bearnaise sauce on the steak I couldn’t see it or taste it.
The entire meal was spent trying to get our server’s attention, because he didn’t bring to the table what he should have in the first place. Like forgetting my sweet iced tea, then when he brought it, he didn’t leave me a straw, and when he brought me the straw and I finally got to take a drink he had brought me unsweetened tea. Once I got his attention again he took my glass and brought me the sweet tea but when he took away the unsweetened tea he took my straw and so I had to once again get his attention to bring me another straw.
The bread was supposed to come out before the meal but was never even brought to us until I once again got our server’s attention and pointed it out. I had just finished the last bite of my meal when he finally returned with the bread. When the entire entrée including sides can be consumed in about ten bites there isn’t much room for error getting the bread and beverages to us in a timely manner before the dining experince becomes unenjoyable.
On the way out my wife spoke to someone about how disappointed she was and was met with rudeness as though it was all her fault. In fact she was told she might try a little kindness and get better service. My wife is such a cheerful and pleasant person all the time, so even to suggest that is to display such arrogant ignorance. The whole experince would go a long way to explain why on Easter Sunday while every other restaurant had a waiting line extending outside… they were only at about 10% capacity. You think?

Wasn’t expecting much but what a surprise. Great atmosphere. Good food. Price is reasonable. A must if you are in the area.

So Cool!!! The interior and exterior of this establishment are a must see. The food has been constantly great with excellent service. It’s cabinesque and totally custom designed inside. Some people won’t get it but you can’t say the food isn’t fantastic. We are really lucky to have Kafe Kokopleeli in Dade City. I know many people travel from Tampa to eat here and sit at the cool bar. I am fortunate not to have to drive far to get here. Try it you will love it.

I was in Dade City for business and was referred to KK by clerk at the hotel. Interesting old building but dark and a little overdone with stuffed animals. Crab bisque was warm and tasty. The special was pheasant over barley and black rice. This should have been a great dish but the fowl was overdone and the barley and rice just lacked something. The brownie with pastacio ice cream failed to excite, not enough chocolate flavor. The ice cream appeared to be house made and was good. Two small corn muffins left me underwhelmed. Service was good. Food should have been better for this price point.

The Good:
Great wait staff. Atmosphere and décor is rockin’. Food comes out fast and hot.
The Bad:
Measly portions. Expect to pay over $ 20 a plate. «Artisan» recipes that are hit and miss.
The Long Version:
Visit 1
Ordered their ½ lb. Angus burger. Decent burger. It was raw and had to send it back to cook to medium well. Came back overcooked. Must have pissed the «Chef» off.
The burger came with «chips.» Basically over fried slices of potato that not only taste as if the oil it was fried in hasn’t been changed in a few days, but that they were fried at least a half hour before serving — soggy and tasted soapy.
Visit 2
So every restaurant/​cook/​waitress has an off day. The waitress was nice and that was the only saving grace from my last visit.
Ordered the Chef’s Ruben and a salad (no to anything fried from here). Salad came out. Not bad. Baby greens, baby portion.
Then the Ruben came out.
How can you screw up a Ruben so badly? It’s literally corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing. The corned beef was sliced thick, not shaved. I counted the slices. Four. It also came out looking like someone mashed it on the grill with a spatula or pressed it.
I get the artisan, hand made food, but this was the saddest Ruben I ever seen. I felt so bad, I ate half, boxed the rest. I had heartburn the rest of the day. Threw it out.
Visit 3
I am literally the biggest sucker alive. I asked my co-​worker that if I ever decide to go to this restaurant ever again, he is allowed to punch me in the head and say «no.»
I ordered the Grouper Tacos. Nay to the fries/​chips. Ordered a Cesar salad. Both came out at the same time.
I tried the Cesar salad. Decent portion this time. Healthy looking greens. Dressing was spot on. Then I bit into a «croûton.» It literally was day old corn bread that was so poorly toasted I thought they were stale. Cornbread croutons. Wow.
Then the tacos. Two to be exact. What restaurant in the world only gives you two tacos? Every single time I’ve ordered any type of fish taco, it was three. At least they are consistent with the saddest portion sizes ever.
They had really good flavor. However, the «nuggets» of fish were not grilled, they were seared on the griddle. Yes, I get that is called a grill — but come on, we all know it’s not.
I picked one up to bit into it. The taco literally turned into a pickle juice waterfall and poured out of the tortilla. Come on guys. Come on.
So, two measly tacos, a mediocre Cesar salad, and about 10 minutes later. I was still hungry. The topper? Paying $ 22.00 (drink, meal, and $ 4 tip).
As I’m writing this, I’m waiting for a microwave meal to finish up. You read right, a microwave meal. Surprisingly, a Healthy Choice bowl has a larger portion size than what you would get at Café Kokopelli. All this and it only cost me $ 4.
Take note Kokopelli. I doubt you care enough to do anything and that’s fine. But I remember the first time I walked into your café and the last time. There is a drastic difference in the amount of patrons — and not in the good way.

Went during the kumquat festival, so it was crowded and loud, and they were out of a lot, but ordered the prime rib sandwich. It was tender and juicy. Fantastic. Great ambiance.

We went here with friends for the first time. Kinda of a trendy place with up scale type prepared food. It was very good food just not my favorite kind. We tried the beer cheese soup to start. It was fresh, hot and good. We then decided to try the steaks. They were surprisedly quite good. The service was very good and efficient. We passed on dessert since we had no more room. I can’t give this place a bad review just because I don’t care for this kind of cooking. Very nice place to eat just not for me.

Whimsically decorated, this charming spot in downtown Dade City is reminiscent of days gone by when a sense of hospitality was the hallmark of excellent service. Everything we had was good with the bonus that most of it seemed house made. It is definitely worth the trip to a small town where time moves more slowly.

I love this place I wish it was closer. Everything I’ve tried so far is excellent. I’ve been back 5 times now, so worth the drive. The Manager was wonder to take my group on a tour of the place and tell us the history of the building.

We started with soups. The beer cheese soup was all business up front and party in the back. You taste the beer at the beginning and the last thing to hit your palate is the sharp cheddar. Delicious! My husband, who would marry any type of a seafood bisque, if he weren’t married to me, had the crab bisque. And while it was delicious, he hesitated to admit that the beer cheese soup far surpassed it.
For the entrée, we shared the braised short rib and New York strip with a butternut purée and roasted Brussels sprouts. Every bite was wonderful. We both agree that the braised short rib made the whole dish worth it.
For dessert we ordered the pistachio brownie. This is his department. I’m not a dessert person. He felt that it was just ok. He wished he’d tried the goat cheese cake… next time.
And last, let me say that our server KURT, brought our dining experience to a whole new level. He was by far, one of the best. Very personable, attentive, and knowledgeable. Make sure you ask for Kurt!

I came here with a large party and was pleasantly surprised that this dark corner restaurant was a gem. Three of us got the salmon salad and it was exceptional. Someone else in my party got chicken Parmesan and said it was overly deep fried, that’s the only negative I heard from anyone else but then again I was too busy shoveling my salad down my throat as if I hadn’t eaten in ages to notice/​care about how anyone else felt. I got the watermelon jalepeno martini and it was tasty. Our waiter was also very friendly and attentive.
The décor in the place was odd, like a cross between a college dorm and a hunters basement. But frankly I’d rather sit in a restaurant with tasteless décor than spend one more dime on an overpriced «trendy» restaurant that delivers crap food and service, thinking that the pleasing interior makes up for it.
Overall a great experience and I would love to come back.

Been a patron here for over 10 years, 3 or 4 times a year we would make the drive from Tampa to eat here.
Tonight was the last time I will eat here.
Prices have gone up, quality has gone way down, both in food and service.
We ordered a New York strip it was tough and overcooked.
The Entre Cesar Salad was bland, small and the lettuce was warm and wilted.
The Prime rib was almost cold and mostly fat
Worst of all my mother-​in-​law ordered the Egg plant Parmesan (vegetarian) and was served Veal Parmesan!!!
When we eventually got the attention of another server (ours had not been seen since delivering the plates) she was nonchalant and dismissive.
Finally the original server came back and tried to tell us that we had ordered the Veal, no apology was offered.
When the. correct meal was finally delivered it was overcooked and tasteless.
The waitress did remove the cost from the bill, but this error deserved more than a comped entre.
Even the coffee was weak and tasteless.
It seems the new owners are cutting corners and are not concerned about the consequence.
Tonight there were many empty tables at 8pm on a Saturday night? The two tables closest to us also had problems with their meals.
It sad to see a once reputable business having its reputation destroyed.
Do yourself a favor — do not go

Normal restaurant like this in the metropolitan area will increase each dish price by 20% more. Being the small town, they have to make it affordable to the local. The restaurant outside is crawl with green plant and cover the entire window. The green environment provides cooling to the building. Good concept. However it makes the interior darker. They can improve the darkness with electrical light feature.
During the lunch time they have offer sandwich, lunch combo and lunch entrée. The lunch combo can pick two or three. The items are two set items from appetizer, salad or soup. We did go for it. My coworker picks the Cuban sandwich with potato chip. The Cuban is assembling with mojo pork.
I have order the seared Atlantic salmon. They have a choice medium or well done. I have it well done. The side dish are sauté spinach and quinoa salad. The spinach is well prepared and the quinoa salad is a perfect match for the dish. The salmon is delicious to dip into the balsamic reduction.
Overall this restaurant should not be at 3.5 stars. I am grading it 4 stars. The service is good. The interior is too dark.

Who in the world is Kokopelli, & how on earth did he find Dade City?
You walk into this restaurant, & will find a setting in another world. Animals like tigers, bears, and pigs, or hogs are staring at your every move. Watch it, & be good.
Forget about what’s around you for a second, and just focus on the menu. Everything that you see on the menu not only takes you to a future heaven in your belly, but you will also see that every ingredient has a local twist to it. For example, Fried Green Tomato Napoleon with Kumquat Marmalade. Oh yes, I tried it, & yes it was so good. Local Fried Gator is another example. They could have just picked the gator from my backyard, who knows.
For lunch entrees, we selected chicken marsala with home made noodles, & petite braised beef short rib. The latter of the two was the better one. The crisp variety of purple, yellow, and sweet potatoes were what made that entrée the max it could be.
Our server & service was spot on and sweet. (Count the s’ s & add superb). I have endless questions when I go out to eat. She guided me through them.
So, back to Kokopelli, & his animals. He was known as the fertility god of humans & animals, prankster, healer, & story teller. Fittingly enough, his flute playing brought the warmth & the spring. So, Happy Spring, & happy future dining at this all around amazing place. You surely will be happy.

I found myself a very cozy spot, cuddled up with a happy hour glass of Merlot. Along with my wine was a king sized salmon salad. The salmon was palm sized, which appeared disappointing at first glance. I asked for croutons and my waiter graciously brought me two kinds of croutons (nice!). I liked both types — Cuban (salty) and cornbread style (dried cornbread muffins; sweet). The salad was primary lettuce but filling and the salmon was excellent. It was accompanied by sliced almonds and dried cranberries. Better than expected considering salads can be on the ‘meh’ side of things. King salmon salad was around $ 13.
For the more sweet and savory, there are plenty of other options. Items that caught my eye were: The Brie appetizer, the goat cheese cake (ginger snap, goat cheese cake and wild berry compote) and the beer cheese soup equally sound fantastic. Happy hour is 1 – 7 daily.
The café is next to the courthouse, has it’s own lot and had a unique enough setting to bring someone for an easy conversation starter. Lastly, the servicer was well educated with the menu and worth the tip.
Returnable: 100%