First and foremost, the only reason I continue to frequent this place is because it is next door to Ella’s (my 8 1/2 year old) dance studio where she has a 45 minute tap class, which is just enough time for 1-2 drinks or glasses of wine and some snacks. So, it would be really helpful if this place had great food! I will say that their bar area is has a nice vibe and the bartenders are extremely nice and remember you over time. It is a bourbon bar too, so clearly they have a great variety of bourbons (flights are offered as well). Hubby enjoys this, but I don’t drink bourbon.
The owners of The Oak also own Taste, which is conveniently located to my house, so I really wish these two restaurants rocked. My gripe with both of them are that the food (especially for the price) is eh…..not great and portions are small. I don’t mind paying a decent amount for small portions if the food is amazing, but this is sadly not the case. Therefore, I have resorted to ordering wine or a my standard Tito’s and soda water and a side of fries. Their fries are quite good and the aioli dipping sauce it comes with makes me tingle inside. 🙂
The first time I went I ordered a salad that was missing at least 3-4 of the ingredients listed on the menu and when I mentioned it to the server, his response was that they must be out of some of them. WTF! Therefore, the salad ended up being very plain and the salmon I ordered on it was quite expensive for the very small portion that was provided and was just okay. The service in general can be somewhat spotty if you are not at the bar (perhaps the stations for each server have too many tables), or they just are not well trained before being put out on the floor.
My son Dylan often comes with us on these mini-dates and all three of us love mussels. The Oak serves bacon bourbon mussels, which again, are okay, but not great. Fairly small portion, not enough sauce or flavor, but does come with some grilled bread that is a nice touch. If you want good mussels, go to Vivace or Coquette (both in North Hills and both owned by Urban Food Group). I am getting hungry thinking about them! You will see below the portion and presentation.
They also have these three cheese nachos on the menu – holy shit do I love some good nachos. Here is the description: slow cooked black-eyed peas, red peppers, cilantro and red cabbage. Served with chipotle sour cream and tomatillo salsa. Again these are not bad, but not amazing and a very small portion for what it is. They are literally the chips I buy from Costco or other supermarkets covered in black eyed peas (the texture of refried beans) and I guess they were out of tomatillo salsa because these did not come with it. I will eat them if they are there as they are decent, but not holy crap amazing and nor would I ever crave them. This is literally the full portion below for $8.
We went this last week and they had a new menu item of lamb sliders (slow roasted lamb, fennel slaw with a cabernet aioli) for $9. You will see below this included two small sliders. I was pretty excited as I am a big fan of lamb and was hopeful there would be an item I really liked here besides fries. I refuse to order the entrée items because none of them sound that appealing and I know that I will disappointed in the quality and portion size with the price. Look, I was raised Jewish and I am a CPA by training, but I assure you I am not cheap (I feel like this is sort of reading that way). Those that know me know that I am willing to spend some big bucks for good food if it is worth it and there are plenty of places in Raleigh and nearby to do that….this is not one of them. Back to the sliders – the lamb was dry and unless you ate a piece completely separately from the bun and other ingredients, you would not even know it was lamb. When you eat it separately the flavor is lacking and like I said, it is quite dry (served pulled pork style).
I think this picture makes the sliders look large, but they are indeed small sliders like you would expect. I guess I should take pictures of other things that people would like to appear larger with this camera. 🙂 Yes, I have a very dirty mind.
So, I continue to go to this place on Thursdays and hope to be able to eat before going and just stop in for drinks as it is a nice place to do that both inside and outside (great outside seating). I wish the owner would get this place and Taste to a new level….perhaps it is time for a change in talent in the kitchen? Do go and get some drinks, some bourbon flights or wine, but do eat beforehand if you do not want to end up disappointed. Guasaca (an arepa and salsa grill is in the same center and is delicious, so grab a quick bite there beforehand.
