Jack T.
Yelp
We had a 7:45 reservation. I checked in at 6:45 and told the hostess we were early to visit the bar. At 7:43 I received a call from the hostess that our table was ready, and I literally looked to my right and 20ft away she saw who she called. Oak, take note of your customers, were there spending money, arriving early to buy drinks. Drop the technology, focus on personal service, and don't treat humans as numbers.
We ordered still water, and two glasses of a red blend wine. We decided to order the shrimp cocktail ($19) for appetizer and it was worth the price. Chilled, not cold but I *think* there were 7 fairly decent sized shrimps. No complaints.
We then ordered:
2 small steakhouse chopped salads ($8) and asked for the Gruyère Popovers ($7) to be brought at the same time. The salads were very good....not exceptional but certainly acceptable. We were served standard rolls, despite ordering the Gruyère Popovers. The server checked on our table, didn't notice the error so I had to remind her. Of course she apologized and offered to bring us the popovers... but that's simply too awkward to wait for the kitchen to prepare them while our salads were already served.
For entrees we each ordered the 16oz Prime Ribeye ($83) and shared the Shells and Cheese ($13). It's a steakhouse, expect only your entree and everything else is a la carte.
The Shells and Cheese were delicious, the cheese sauce wasn't overly cheese, nicely balanced. They did top the dish with additional cheese which hardened upon cooling so when I plated some shells I also plated a somewhat 3"x3" cheese, what I can only call is, shingle. Unappealing, nonsensical to try to cut, and deserving to be tossed to the side. Again, besides that the Shells and Cheese were wonderful.
The ribeye was reminiscent of steak half its price. Probably 16oz, I won't argue but I did question its precook weight. I should say we did inquire as to their dry aged steaks but were told they were 86'd. The steak cooked to the correct doneness but lacked any crusting, and really was grey, some browning but more monotone in color. Again, no crusting. The ribeye fell very short of a good steakhouse standard and honestly it would be forgivable, to some degree, if it wasn't $83.
We regularly spend $200-$500 on a night out, Oak was no exception. Other non-steak items on their menu look appealing, and I may consider Oak for those items. But in the future we'll refer to it as Oak Restaurant, not Oak Steakhouse. $83 for a ribeye I'd be happy to pay...and have and more; but please leave the insults for patrons who you treat as numbers, lack of attention to details, and the attempts to serve stakes worthy of half the price. It doesn't fly here.
A good note is that our server was genuinely concerned to provide good service, and we appreciated that. The bar is nicely stocked and service was acceptable.
- Bar spend: 4 drinks, $100 incl. tip
- Dinner spend: $324.12 incl $80 (if my memory serves me correctly) tip.
- Car Valet: $20 tip in, I think the fee was $14, $20 tip out. They kept my Mercedes out in front.