The Half Nelson - Davenport

Ate there for a company get together and had to drive from Peoria. Was definitely worth the drive. The food was excellent. The menu isn't large and I can actually appreciate that. It was a large group so almost everything on the menu was ordered. Everyone had nothing but praise for their meals. If I had to make one critique, it's with the bar. I ordered an old fashioned for desert. As an avid whiskey/bourbon drinker, it really annoys me when I get a glass full of crushed ice. I would highly recommend getting an ice ball/large cube maker for those types of drinks. Would really set you apart from the competition. They still get a 5 star because the bartender made the drink perfectly (we were sitting across from the bar so I got to watch him make it : .

Whenever someone is visiting from out of town I always recommend Half Nelson. I've never had food that compares! You can tell everyone on the staff team cares about the service and quality of the food and drinks. The atmosphere inside is incredibly interesting and there's nothing like this in the QC. Eating outside on the patio is one of my favorite Summer time activities. Getting food to go is also 10/10 as it's fast and the quality is the same as dining in.

The good food in this restaurant and bar is quite diminished by the extremely poor acoustics. It is not a restaurant to consider if you want to have a conversation with 4 table partners. The garlic salad is the best in the area served in a chilled bowl with crispy greens. The flat bread and risotto is a nice offering. Simply, 1/2 Nelson needs large area rugs on all hard floors and some wall and ceiling acoustical treatments. This place is a big echo chamber. We will return some time during the week only and our return will be early like 4:30 pm when just opened.

The ambience was nice and cozy. However on entering the airport we had to wait for 15 minutes at the door before walking in to find someone and ask for us to be seated when the restaurant was almost empty. We ordered a couple of cocktails and a pecan chicken and Korean BBQ cauliflower. It was a dry piece of chicken with a thick layer of breading on a bed of decently cooked cheddar grits, and a side of steamed brocollini. The steamed brocollini was my boyfriend's only favorite part of the dish, that was sad. My steamed cauliflower was bland, no salt or flavor whatsoever on a bed of totally lackluster white bean puree. It was a tasteless disaster in my opinion. The side of sweet corn was dry too.Having read the reviews about this place on internet and many articles quoting it the top restaurant in Davenport, I had high hopes for this place. I drove almost an hour and a half to try it out and was utterly disappointed. I have had bad food before, but this felt like they didn't even make an effort to try and make it a decently edible plate. With the extremely limited menu they have, I would expect high quality on those limited dishes. I personally wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

My husband and I went in to get a beer and an appetizer. We were met with a friendly face and seated quickly. We requested to sit outside. The waiter, Jeremy was so friendly and gave us good advice to find what we wanted. The menu had so many delicious options that we usually don’t see with a good selection of beers. We got the fried risotto. Scrumptious! We will definitely return for dinner! Loved the atmosphere, service, food and drink!