Oak + Rowan

Had a good experience at Oak + Rowan. They have a unique spin on their dishes. The sourdough bread with everything butter was a hit. The long island duck had great flavor. The octopus was a nicely balanced dish. But the cookie crisp that came with the ice cream was Delicious! The ambiance of the place is hard- it's a nice restaurant. Beautiful decor but it's loud

Edit: I've left my original review below, but we visited a second time on Valentine's Day and it did not disappoint. The photos are from this second experience which was even better than the first! Thank you to Tara especially for staging a wonderful dinner for us! Save room for dessert! Our dinner was so great, I forgot to take photos! We made a reservation on a whim and, quite frankly, I wasn't prepared for such an amazing experience. This place packs a punch way above its price point for Boston - particularly for Seaport which has some notoriously pricey/shiny hype sometimes. It is incredibly well reviewed and has won multiple awards, but for some reason was not packed on a standard Saturday evening. The food was completely insane. We had a Sea Bass Crudo, the Milk Bread, and a brie cheese plate to start. All very creative. The milk bread is accompanied by a light matcha butter with a zesty spice dusting on top. Not a scrap was left. Had no idea those flavors would be so great with a perfectly baked challah style bread! This first course was accompanied by a good cocktail with ample timing to order a wine glass for our main entree. For that, we tried the trout and venison. Wow. Try them for yourself. We were already saying "wow we should take our friends/fam here" before dessert. But... Dessert sealed the deal. We had a lemon curd tart with rosemary, meringue dots, marshmallow shards, pomegranate seeds, and a homemade lemon-rosemary sorbet. We also tried another dessert that I can only describe as a crystal citrus ice sugar cloud... Yeah. It was amazing. Our waitress and bartender were both great! All around excellent experience and we will be back. I'll take pictures next time... If I remember.

Everything we ate was literally perfect. We had the Julianna cheese plate, octopus app, black cod, pork chop, chocolate torte, and cloud cake. The cheese plate and octopus appetizer were a little small in portion size, but made up for it with flavor. (And honestly it was great because we had room for dessert.) The cod was soooo tender, and my only complaint was that I didn't have a spoon to scoop up every drop of sauce. I had a bite of my companion's pork chop and it was juicy and delicious. Big portion size on that one. The chocolate torte was insane! The cloud cake was delicious but we both liked the chocolate torte slightly better. This place has an award winning pastry chef, so... Yes, definitely get some dessert....

Phenomenal!!! We went after randomly meeting one of the chefs on the T, and he recommended we go. Good thing, too - we got in just before the well-deserved hype wave began. The tableside cocktail cart is more than just a gimmick - the cocktail we got was fantastic, and since it's shaken tableside, you still get some of the temporary aerated lightness that often gets lost during the lag of bar-to-server delivery. Doppio Ravioli with smoked scallop and squash started off the meal right. Wonderfully subtle flavors that stood on their own and complemented each other to bring out new notes. The Lobster + Veal Shortbreads with Gnocchi was on point. There were so many elements to this dish, yet somehow nothing got lost or blended in to the background. The shortbreads were cooked *perfectly* and the portion size was surprisingly generous. The gnocchi were soft and pillowy, and the sauce just clung to them. What really stole the show, though, was the Charred Baby Octopus. My god. It was a beautiful presentation, with all elements working together to elevate these blackened, wonderful little cephalopods. It's hard to describe just how well it was done - you'll have to go and try it yourself. Hopefully this one sticks around on the menu! Our dessert was tasty, but definitely on the weaker side of the meal. It was a bit one-note, and didn't quite have flavors that popped out at us, but this is a pretty minor issue. We can't wait to go back and eat through more of the menu. Definitely follow them on instagram, and definitely don't look at their instagram during lunchtime, if you know what's good for you.

A two hundred dollar disappointment for two. Three stars is generous and only because the kitchen did a good job preparing the food. My friend and I had high expectations based on reviews and word of mouth, but it ended up being a on overpriced and unpleasant experience. Although it was a Saturday night, the place surprisingly was not very busy. Yet our server was confused all night. He could not manage to keep a table of two straight and mixed up our drinks, then our salads, and then our entrees. And while some guests may enjoy having a bartender wheel a cart to your table and narrate the making of your drinks, I find nothing amazing about it--I've seen a thousand bartenders make me a drink. It's a gimmick and a five-minute distraction from the people you are dining with. I ordered a second cocktail but the waiter again got the order wrong and had the bar make the drink my friend had for his first cocktail. A solid 10 minutes later he returned, with the same drink and apologized that the bar was backed up and did I want this wrong drink while I waited. Another 10 minutes passed and another staff person came by and apologized again that the bar was backed up. A full 25 minutes later my drink arrived. What can you do but shake your head? Was it complimentary? Nope. The food was good, well prepared and presented, though the portions were small and the prices steep. In the end, any other place in the Seaport or South End would have been a better choice.

Beautiful, loft-setting with modern presentation of very accessible food. Started with tartar, which featured a deconstructed egg. Nicely seasoned, fun to eat. Also had oysters - cold and warm preparations. Not a bad dish, but the "rhubarb mignonette" was vinegar-y and the oyster flavor was lost. Pasta, beef, and duck entrees were all fine. The cook on the duck and beef looked somewhat over, but nonetheless they were delicious. The desserts were truly the star. (buttermilk mousse, chocolate cashew ensemble) Multiple components with different textures and complementary flavors. Truly a delight! The waiter could have been trained more on the dishes -not articulate enough in describing the food. We were properly greeted upon entering the restaurant, but no one acknowledged us as we made our way out.

Great place to enjoy lunch..beautiful wine list with lots of great by the glass pours. Will definitely be back to check out the dinner menu as well. The skirt steak tacos did not disappoint!

I had the pleasure of dining with Meghan and Tara, and boy was that a lovely experience. I hope Boston keeps the real service model alive like these waitresses have. They set the standard pretty high.