Alex and Ika Restaurant

CLOSED! Converted to a Mexican restaurant now… we came for the weekend and were looking forward to trying Alex & Ika but it is no more… very confusing! Especially when we asked the girl in the front if she knew where Alex and Ika is and she told us the entrance was on the side of the building… but that’s to the Mexican restaurant??? Just say they closed/​converted and you have a new menu, don’t mislead people!

Good news… food is great, service is great, local drafts are great.
Bad news… their days are numbered. The table had a notice that they were closing, and converting to a Mexican theme, with Caribbean and South American touches.
Going to miss this establishment. Had a variety of small dishes, that were actually quite ample. Every ingredient was crisp and fresh. Our son lives in Cooperstown, and has been a regular over the past few years. He figured our Saturday visit would be his last opportunity. Glad we enjoyed it with him.
Fortunately, their other restaurant, Casa de Salsa in Cherry Valley is also very good.

Food that is unfortunately not as good/​well-​prepared as it sounds.
I stopped by with a friend on a Saturday early evening, and we split the fish tacos, the garden grilled cheese, and the bacon-​wrapped pork tenderloin. The grilled cheese was okay but really nothing noteworthy, while the pork was quite dry and without any real flavor. The fish tacos were also decent but generally run of the mill. Overall, a pretty disappointing meal, and I wouldn’t recommend going out of the way to eat here.

I had high hopes for this place. Heard it was the best in Cooperstown and the menu looked delicious. My meal was pretty disappointing.
We had reservations, but still had a wait about 30 minutes after to get our table. Not a great start. I got the bacon wrapped pork, which is my dream meal since it’s pig wrapped with more pig. It also came with a honey cider glaze, sweet potato fries, and honey mustard dip.
I had high expectations for this dish and it was definitely a let down. The honey cider glaze tasted great, but about 75% of my pork was chewy and dry. For every bite of good tasting pork I got, I got about 3 that took me an hour to chew. Not fun. The sweet potato fries were decent, but standard.
Service itself wasn’t great. Our waitress was nice enough, but got confused very easily with simple requests like «can I have more water please» and would opt to talk to the other staff instead of checking up on us. I needed another napkin and I had to wait 20 minutes before she showed up so I could ask her because I saw her in the distance talking to the hostess.
What saves it from 1 star? Good drink selection (including beer) and the pork had some good stuff to it, even though most of it was dry and chewy. Other reviews indicate that their pork was great so it might have been just a bad night. However, I won’t be back to find out.

Our first dinner here when we arrived to Cooperstown.
What a great cozy place to eat at. Don’t judge the outside. Come in through the side door in the back. The place has a real old fashion fireplace they have fired up for warmth.
I had a tropical drink that was strong enough to shake the chills out of you.
The food was great. The service was prompt and friendly.
We would go again for sure.

Went to Alex and Ika this past Saturday after spending a couple hours at the Ommegang Brewery near Cooperstown. I recommend making reservations, especially on the weekends. We did make a reservation and the woman expressed to me that the times were very limited but she was able to fit us in (there were just two of us). When we got there, the hostess was relieved that we had a reservation since apparently several people had tried to come in without one and had to wait.
They sat us upstairs, which was totally fine with us, except we were right next to the condiments and register. Not too fun to look at during dinner and there was a lot of traffic behind us the whole time. The upstairs is small but cozy and dimly lit. I do wish we got to see some more of the restaurant since it seemed like a quirky little place.
Dinner was pretty delicious! I got the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with apples and cranberries. Although a sweet and not at all savory meal, it was still good! It came with sweet potato fries and some sort of maple-​y honey mustard sauce and it was almost too much sweet. I usually prefer savory meals, or at least a combination, but the tenderloin was very good. My boyfriend got steak with french fries and it was cooked perfectly to his liking and was very flavorful.
I do wish that the dinner, especially for the price, came with a house salad/​soup or at least offered either one for a reduced price. We would’ve had to pay a minimum of $ 6 for a cup of soup or $ 7 for a salad if we wanted either, so we opted out.
We got the cheesecake with blueberry compote for dessert. and honestly it was pretty bland. The cheesecake tasted like nothing and the blueberry compote was practically non-​existent. The topping on the cheesecake was good though.
Service was friendly and mostly attentive, so no complaints really there. I’m really leaning more at a 3.5 stars for Alex and Ika, but not quite enough to round up to a 4.

This place was such a fun find! It’s in the middle of Cooperstown Main Street among other fun little shops as well as the Hall of Fame. I came here with a friend for dinner. We ordered a small plate of lamb rack that we split as an app. The lamb was cooked to perfection. The meat was incredibly tender and fell right off the bone. It was glazed in a delicious tamarind sauce and served with a side of wasabi yogurt which added a nice kick. I ordered the Alfredo, shrimp, and bacon pasta which was creamy and delicious. This place is a must try if you’re in the neighborhood.

I would give just short of 4 stars.
Alex and Ika is a darkly lit space (so dark in fact I cannot recall the exact composition of the restaurant) with walls full of mirrors within which you can see yourself from any angle that fancies you. I suppose it conjures a sort of Alice in Wonderland kind of feel (whimsical is what I’m getting at).
The fish tacos are what receive songs of praise. Two flour tortillas topped with lettuce, slices of avocado, a corn tomato salsa and beautifully fried cod dressed with a chipotle aoli and cilantro. I haven’t sampled the dish myself but have seen it up close when those in my dinner party have selected it for dinner.
I opted for an asian fusion dish, the star anise roast duck, which is duck leg (2 pieces) in a thai coconut curry with a crunchy carrot slaw and roasted peanuts (I held the rice pilaf). The duck skin was infused with star anise (I wouldn’t mind it a bit stronger) and the dark meat upon the bone was moist and tender. Although duck meat tends to make me think French (duck confit) or Chinese (peking duck in white steamed buns), the Thai version worked well. The complexity of the flavors, particularly from the sauce, and the textures, from the moist duck to the crispy peanuts, made the dish interesting and delicious.
On another visit I had the tuna tataki, which I felt lacked balance of flavors. The seared ahi tuna was as expected — seared raw fish with sesame seeds minus soy sauce. Perhaps some wasabi concoction or a dressing to moisten the fish would have helped the dryness. The tuna was paired with a carrot kimchee salad (supposedly the same slaw in the duck dish), which was an overwhelming pickled flavor. The salad was not kimchee in its traditional way (in fact I wouldn’t use the word kimchee to describe it at all) and didn’t seem to mesh well with the tuna. They seemed like separate entities sitting on a single plate. I will say that a friend of mine really enjoyed the dish. But that’s how reviews go. They’re subjective.
I appreciate the accommodations that the restaurant made for me when I asked for the rice to be left out of the duck dish. My water was refilled a few times during dinner, also another great touch of attentive service.

Literally minutes from the Hall of Fame and no line because it’s tucked away a few feet from the street. I’m so glad we came here though, because it was really tasty.
I ordered the chicken sandwich — avocado, cucumber, and kimchi. I’ve never heard of such a combination, but it was delicious. The flavors were dancing on my palate with a phenomenal mix of sweet and pickly. I really wish more places will pick up on this combo.
The joint is no frills — there are no sides, which was fine by me because I didn’t want to get too stuffed before heading back to the Hall of Fame. That sandwich, though, that’s one I’ll remember. Can’t imagine a better lunch around.

Not what I was expecting when I walked in – from the exterior, I expected a quaint restaurant with tablecloths and floral-​printed dishes. Instead, I found eclectic décor, staff just on the good side of hip, and an ambiance that welcomed everyone from baseball families (if your kids will eat more than just burgers & dogs) to middle-​agers out on dates. It’s cozy-​bordering on tiny and pretty welcoming. My biggest complaint was the lack of fans or A/​C on a pretty humid & rainy night with a packed house; I was sweating for most of my meal!
Alex & Ika is pricey, but isn’t going to break your wallet, which you might expect upon first glancing at the menu, which has a fairly wide array of cuisine – usually I believe a place should pick an area of the world to focus on; instead, they have focused on dishes they seem to love and can do well.
Service was the good kind of slow, although it flirted with being the bad kind of slow. Right after ordering, we were brought hot crusty rolls with butter. The butter was pretty hard, but there was a sprinkle of salt on top which was a really nice flavor touch.
I ordered the Pork Dumplings and Sweet Potato Wedges. I’ve had a lot of both of these in my day and can tell you without a doubt these were the BEST sweet potato wedges/​fries/​whathaveyou I’ve ever had. I suggest every restaurateur eat these to know what they truly aspire to. The outside was crisp, the inside soft, and I swear they soaked the wedges in saltwater before frying because there was a salty flavor that was INSIDE the potato to really enhance the natural sweetness. My wife was a bigger fan of the dumplings than I – they were good, but nothing fantastic; the seaweed salad was great though, and was the first time my wife has ever liked it, so they must be doing something right.
My wife ordered the Tuna Tataki, which is a pretty standard order for her. I thought there was too much pepper, to the point my mouth hurt, but she said it was a fine amount – who am I to say she’s wrong? It was served with a Carrot Kim Chee salad that had a kick without actually punching you in the face, which I appreciated.

Stopped in mid afternoon for dessert with a very big dessert fan. 3 Crème brûlée and an excellent bread pudding with Cherries! Outstanding
Good strong coffee
Just right
Also nice that it was open between lunch and dinner time.
Not baseball, a very welcome find in any town

Don’t remember much (this review is about a month late), but I remember my dish (a past dish) being a little too salty for my liking. The dumpling appetizer was just a small batch of fried gyoza. My friend’s dishes, especially the masala, looked good. It does well in this small town for good dining. It’s more expensive than pretty much anything else in the area. Or maybe it was because of the Hall of Fame weekend.

The food was just outstanding. We had the goat cheese and plantain salad, fish tacos and chicken tikka masala. All of them were great. The atmosphere, excitement of the staff and owner about their food and Ommegang line of beer completely rounds out the experience. Must try.

Such a cool little restaurant. We came here late one night last week and it was still pretty busy. It had a trendy, artsy vibe to it and innovative food. Some of the dishes we tried worked well, and some didn’t, but they all were interesting. Like a lot of other reviewers, I loved the fish tacos (crispy, with a tangy slaw, lots of cilantro, and a really good aioli dressing). But the plantain, goat cheese, and olive salad (on a bed of arugula, for an extra couple of bucks) was a bit of a miss for me. The plantains were good but they just didn’t pair well with the cheese and olives. At least the ingredients were high quality, though.

I’ve lived in Cooperstown for ~9 months and I’ve been meaning to finally eat here. I came here with a couple friends on a Friday night and the wait was about 30 minutes overall (this was in March when the tourists aren’t really here). We were able to sit at the bar and grab a drink in the meantime (decent selection of cocktails, wine, and Ommegang brews). The complimentary bread is really good and it was baked fresh. I got the fish and chips with the fingerling potatoes since I was told that the fingerling potatoes are their specialty. The fish was crispy and perfectly cooked and it came with really good tartar sauce. The fingerling potatoes came with a chipotle aioli that was pretty amazing. The potatoes themselves were very tasty, but they ended up being way too salty to eat more than a few. Service was a bit slow for what looked like a fairly slow night.
Overall it’s a pretty good place and I would probably stop in again for a meal.

This place was great to take a date. Visiting Cooperstown in February doesn’t leave you with lots to do but now I know if I ever find myself there again, whomever I’m with, is coming here.
I called at 4ish to make a reservation at 7:30. Once we showed up we were quickly walked to our table, it was small and sort of in an awkward end area where we had to sit sort of adjacent to each other instead of across. Maybe if I called sooner we would have had a better seat.
The service was ok, as we sat down our waitress asked us what we wanted to drink but we hadn’t had a chance to figure that out yet. So, after maybe 5 – 7 mins she came back and she was ready to take our food orders, possibly thinking we weren’t getting drinks? So, we ordered our drinks and food at the same time. The drinks took a while to come out but were really good. (Manhattan & Old Fashioned) My boyfriend did say his first old fashioned wasn’t a strong enough pour because his second was a lot better (and stiffer).
The complimentary bread and salted butter were really good, they even asked us if we wanted more (we declined but it was a nice anyhow!)
The food was great. Took a little longer which surprised me for such a small place but worth it.
I got a the mixed green salad ($ 6) which is literally just mixed greens and nothing else. At first I was disappointed but realized dang there was lots of lettuce here and the yogurt dressing was amazing.
I also got the thai clams, there was tons of these little suckers, the broth they were in was slightly spicy but very creamy.
My date got the bacon wrapped pork which he loved but he said he’d rather have something instead of fries w/​sauce, just to maybe class it up. Also, it didn’t have any veggie involved in his meal which he knew but thought maybe including some would be nice.
Overall great experience! Also, possibly because we were visiting from Albany our bill was surprisingly reasonable. I was very happy when the check came but it could be just the 3 call drinks we ordered are usually more expensive.

Great place in downtown Cooperstown for lunch.
It’s a small place so seating can be limited if you come in during peak season.
I ordered the fish tacos and was actually a little surprised at how good they were. I would order them again.
They were short handed on the day I came in because our waitress was the only person working the dining room. Service was a little slow but our waitress was nice and pretty much handled the lunch rush on her own.
The entrance is around the side in an alley so you can’t enter the restaurant from main street.
I don’t get to Cooperstown often but I would eat here again!

I was a bit disappointed. Surprisingly pricy even for lunch. Told my friends I’d treat them to lunch since they were hosting me, so they picked this place for a mid-​week leisurely meal. To start with, we had calamari and while decent, the marinara sauce it came with quite bland. I also felt the amount served was a bit skimpy. My friend and I both ordered the burgers done medium. They came quite quite pink — as in rare. I would have normally sent those back, but the poor waitress jumping between all the tables looked frazzled. We had to flag her down for refills of drinks.
I did love the ambiance of this place — quirky, mismatched small dining room tables, pleasant music, sunlight streaming in.

We came here on a Friday night expecting a tasty meal. We didn’t have a reservation, so waited about 15mns for a seat at the bar. Our bartender came over quickly and served us. Wine runs about $ 7 – 9, beer $ 5 – 10 and cocktails are $ 10.
We quickly decided what we wanted but were unable to get our bartender’s attention. She was busy, I’ll give her that but she also took a few other people’s orders before making eye contact with my intense stare downs.
I ordered the Caesar Salad $ 12 and was excited about the Garlic Lime Caesar dressing! I added ginger grilled chicken for another $ 2. My pal ordered a side of curried cauliflower ($ 5) and the Ginger grilled chicken sandwich ($ 12).
First off, we waited at least an hour for our food. Then, when it came my chicken was incredibly dry. I also couldn’t taste any lime, garlic or ginger. It was an okay salad– but for $ 14? Nope.
The curried cauliflower was not good. The cauliflower itself was just drenched in madras curry powder and in a cinnamon-​y sauce.
The service was spotty. The food didn’t live up to the hype or the expense.
I don’t recommend.

We really weren’t as impressed with this place as others seem to be.
On the surface, it’s a great little place that wasn’t that busy. Most of the people that seemed to be in town for the baseball stuff seemed to be patronizing other restaurants. The hostess was friendly and got us seated with menus, but the service went downhill from there. We were infrequently checked on and spent most of the meal with empty water glasses and no personal service to speak of.
The food is pretty good, but they were out of one of the signature items. This seems to be a theme in some of the other reviews – someone else mentioned they were out of bread when they visited. How a restaurant runs out of bread is beyond me.