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| - DRINKS - I dropped by Stoke on a Thursday after work for a drink and quick snack with a few girlfriends.
We work just across the street, so it should have been pretty easy to find. And, it was...and it wasn't. Confused? Yeah, we were too. You see, the signage isn't clear outside where the entrance is located. There's a sign by Coco - but, that's not Stoke. We ended up walking in through the Marriott entrance. We got there, but it felt awkward and if I were doing it again I'd go in through the atrium area.
Once inside, the bar and restaurant are beautiful. Seriously, this is a gorgeous venue. The restaurant side - we were not there - has a beautiful open kitchen with tables surrounding it. The bar is trendy, but not over the top.
The cocktail and wine menu has a great selection of not outrageously priced drinks. There are local beers on tap, with my favorite Wooden Robot Good Morning Vietnam currently available. The bar menu is small, but with selections ranging from chips to cheeses to oysters and a burger. We had a small selection - everything was tasty.
Our server was helpful, unobtrusive and available when needed - perfect!
There are no happy hour specials - I would like to see that change to compete with almost every other high-end restaurant uptown that runs specials from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Overall, it was a great experience!
LUNCH - I went to lunch at Stoke on a Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. When I arrived, there was one other table in the restaurant. I always find it a little awkward to eat somewhere that is nearly empty - but, nevertheless we went forward with the plan.
We both ordered the wood finished smoked chicken, i got a gem lettuce salad as a side and my friend got the carolina gold rice grits. The chicken was very tasty and juicy, but the skin was way too salty. The gem lettuce salad was small and unimpressive. The carolina gold grits stole the show - they were so very flavorful and creamy.
The service was prompt and helpful. A manager stopped by to check in on the food and service and a server offered us some banana bread, that we didn't take her up on, (that she raved about) at the end of the meal.
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