Hooper’s Bar and Grill

4124 Celanese Rd.
Rock Hill, SC
(803) 980-3990

Visited: February 6, 2009

Meals served: Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: American, Bar Food
Dress Code: Casual
Best Atmosphere for: Happy Hour, Family, Friends, Sports

Price: $-$$

Dishes ordered:
We started with an order of 10 wings, 5 cajun garlic, 5 hooper’s sauce (mix of teriyaki, bbq, and mild). Mike ordered the Buffalo Chicken Wrap with fries and a side of slaw (the true test). I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak with onion rings.

Lauren’s Review:

If you’ve been reading our blog from the beginning, you’ll remember my reference to a “neon-light-obsessed bar” in my review of Ouzo’s Pizza. Well, that bar would be Hooper’s and we found it to be much more than your typical Rock Hill bar. After losing a best three-out-of-five battle of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine tonight’s review location, Mike was pretty skeptical about venturing into this place far off the Rock Hill beaten path. Now I will say, the opaque tinted windows with neon beer advertisements and numerous team pennants adorning said windows does make the place seem less than desirable, but we ventured on anyway.

The second we walked in, I knew we were wrong. Kids were running around freely, John Mayer was playing over the loud speakers, and Magic Hat #9 posters were plastered all over the walls. We had made a good decision. After seating ourselves at a table in what appeared to be the non-smoking section (even though I think the whole place is non-smoking now) our waitress promptly greeted us with two menus and took our drink orders (unfortunately they ran out of #9 so we each settled for a Blue Moon). We were both shocked by the menu selection. We thought we’d be choosing between wings or a burger, but found ourselves facing a much tougher decision. Although they did run the normal wing/burger gamut, many other unique options were available including the “Hot Brown Sub,” Tex-Mex Burrito, Kansas City Hog Wild Pig Wings, an array of pasta dishes, Cajun Chicken Rolls, a Hawaiian burger, and something called “crab bread.”

We placed our appetizer order of wings quite quickly (although a few minutes too short of the 1/2 price special) thanks to a recommendation from Skye Maloney (a RHR reader!). Due to the fact that we missed the happy hour 1/2 priced appetizers special, I did make note that their appetizers are quite pricey (most around $8). Our order of 10 wings ran us $7.59. Ouch! However, the taste of the wings justified the price (somewhat). The cajun garlic were like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Very spicy, but still quite flavorful. I know most spicy wings simply taste like “spicy,” and not at all like the actual flavor they’re meant to be. These wings actually had flavor AND a pretty good kick. Their house special wings (Hooper’s sauce) were also quite tasty. The mix of teriyaki, barbeque, and mild sauces is definitely a good mix worth trying.

After taking way too much time to decide what we wanted as our entree and getting recommendations from our waitress Allison, we finally placed our orders. Our waitress also informed us that their fries and onion rings are made fresh, which is always a plus! I’ll go ahead and say that I was very impressed with the onion rings. There’s nothing worse than ordering onion rings that taste like batter and a little onion powder. These onion rings definitely placed emphasis on the onion and not so much the batter. On the contrary, I’ll admit that my philly cheesesteak was a little dry  and the meat/vegetables a little overcooked so I asked for a side of ranch to use as a “moisturizer.” I also added some of Mike’s cole slaw which ended up being a great decision. Mike says his wrap was pretty good, but a little too small for his large mouth. When I took a bite of the wrap, the tortilla was a little too soggy for me, but apparently that’s “the way he likes it.” The fries also had great flavor, but were also somewhat soggy. Again, Mike didn’t mind this. Hmm.

All in all, Hooper’s was a much more pleasant experience than expected. It’s definitely on the same level as its competitors in the area (Sammy’s, Luke’s, etc.) but a little pricier than I’d like. They do have a good selection of draft beers including Magic Hat #9, Blue Moon, Dirty Bastard, Guinness, Killian’s, Stella Artois, Hook & Ladder, and the regulars (Bud, Miller, Michelob). The atmosphere was much more family friendly than Sammy’s or Luke’s which was a pleasant change. No sketchy old men checking you out, no curse words flying around, and no drunk ladies spilling their beers on themselves. Just people having a good time and eating good food. There’s an old adage: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Well, don’t judge a bar by its neon signs.

Lauren’s Ratings:

• Menu Selection: 8
  For a bar and grill, I’d say they have one of the best menus in town.
• Food Presentation: 6
  They at least made an effort to stack the two halves of my philly cheesesteak.
• Taste of food: 6-7
  I’ll give the philly a 6 simply because of it’s dryness. The wings are a 7, getting closer to an 8.
  
• Originality in food choices: 8
  Again, for a place of this caliber, very good options.
  
• Restaurant cleanliness: 6
  Restaurant was decent. Bathrooms could use some work. It looked like a woman had kicked a hole in the wall with her stilettos.
• Quality of staff: 8
  Helpful staff. Young. Fast.
  
• Speediness of service: 5
  Normal. Nothing spectacular. But we weren’t in a rush.
  
• Atmosphere: 6
  Although it got a little loud after a family of 12 sat down next to us, I didn’t mind. It’s a bar. What do you expect? I’d rather it be a family than a bachelorette party!
• Drink Selection: 7
  Good draft beer selection. Didn’t see bottled beer, wine, or drink options.
• Value: 4
  This is my only concern.

Mike’s Ratings:

• Menu Selection: 7.
  They feature quite a selection of sandwiches.
• Food Presentation: 5.
  Nothing special.
• Taste of food: 7.
  I thought the wings were great, as well as Lauren’s onion rings.
• Originality in food choices: 6.
  I’m digging the Pork Shank.
• Restaurant cleanliness: 4.
  For a family restaurant, the bathrooms were gross. For a bar, they were average.
• Quality of staff: 5.
  The service was decent and the recommendations were good. However, our dirty wing plate sat for at least ten minutes.
• Speediness of service: 6.
  We got everything quickly, which was great considering some of the huge parties there.
• Atmosphere: 6.
  It’s a sports bar that’s geared toward families. I liked it.
• Drink Selection: 6.
  They feature a few specialty beers, which is nice.
• Value: 4.
  I paid 20 bucks for 2 beers, a small wrap, a handful of fries (although I liked that they’re homemade), and a small side of slaw. Sammy’s is a much better value, but a much more bar-like atmosphere.

OVERALL RATING: 3/5 loaves