"Meh. I've experienced better."
--The Yelp description for a 2 star review is spot on here.
I've been to the Drake twice for brunch and once for drinks. It's definitely a buzzing and popular west-end spot. You can pretty much count on a line to get in.
The FOOD (2 stars): I've tried two dishes here for brunch. The first time I got the traditional eggs Benedict ($15). The dish came out a bit cool temperature-wise. Most of the components, especially the egg and hollandaise sauce tasted as if they had been sitting around for a while. Plating was pretty careless and it didn't look visually especially appealing.
Round 2 brought the chicken and waffles ($16). The chicken was fairly tasty, a bit overdone in places. The waffles were soggy though. And where was the creme fraiche that was promised on the menu? Somewhere back in the kitchen I think!
The DRINKS: Brunch caesars are expensive ($11) and fairly small. Nothing pickled as garnish...not nearly a match for Tequila Bookworm's excellent caesars. I came for drinks one evening. The waitress didn't give us a menu, which looking at their website means I missed out on what sound like interesting cocktails. The beer list, however, is unimpressive. When "Alexander Keith's" and "Budweiser Shock Top" are your "premium" beers, we're in trouble.
The SERVICE: "Disdain" would be the word I'd use to describe the way the servers interacted with me on all 3 visits. If I could get his or her attention, they looked rather put-out that a customer had a request. Plates were dropped off with as little care as possible to keep the food still on the plate. The waitress for drinks seemed awfully put out that we asked her to recite the beer list when she didn't bring us a menu.
OVERALL, I don't think I'll be back. I've given them 3 tries. This place has a lot of buzz and is definitely popular, so they won't be hurting for customers...plenty of other places to try nearby.