The Old Oak Tap

Is closed. This ship has sink.
I could of been there probably 20 times but l choose not to ever go back again due to the horrid host staff. And lack of management.
You deserve failure…

Old Oak is one of our neighborhood staples. We have a 3 year old so we eat on the earlier side. I’ve always liked the food and believe the black bean burger is one of the best in the city. It has also been very consistent.
Good beer selection.
In the summers, the patio is awesome. Large but charming and shields you from direct sun at sunset.

Similar to many of the reviews here I genuinely wish that I enjoyed this restaurant. It is well decorated and the food is certainly a step up from standard «pub fare». However, I have been here twice now and had identical experiences of excellent food with abysmal service. The kitchen runners and bussers seem to do the bulk of the work while the servers sit around and chat.
On my most recent visit, it was close to 15 minutes before any server came to take even a drink order. We were already annoyed and grabbed menu’s ourselves and so ordered our food at the same time. It took the waitress/​bartender the same amount of time to pour two beers and make a bloody mary as it did for the kitchen to finish our three entrees. The wait was timely for food and it was well prepared (not delivered by our waitress) but no bloody mary I have ever made takes the same amount of time to prepare as three entrees.
I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt but after two nearly identical experiences and the reviews here this seems to be the norm. It is also worth noting that they were not busy in the slightest. It is a HUGE restaurant and there were maybe three tables filled in the whole place on a Sunday afternoon. I saw at least 2 waitresses on shift so I think that the owners may want to reevaluate their staffing decisions if they would like to continue to have any customers.

I’ve never written a nasty review, I think people should make their own decisions, but this really warrants the review and should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of eating and drinking here.
Had lunch here today and I really liked the food (pastrami rueben with fries and a salad). Rueben was not greasy at all and I really did love it, also had some of the best fries I’ve had in ages. Well done chef!
Now let me tell you why I will never come back.
Our server was AWFUL. We were politely seated, they accommodated our request for the Bears game and I really felt we were off to a good start. Got our water quickly. And then sat there for 11 minutes before we saw our server. When she came to our table she mumbled, «do you know what you want?» Not «hi», not «how are you?» She barely made eye contact.
We placed our drink order and she said, «do you know what you want to eat?» So we ordered our meal. The food came out very quickly and as I mentioned it was very good. The next time we saw our server was after we had finished our meals, our drinks were empty and our plates had been cleared by another employee (he was was quite friendly) and she brought the check.
Best part is, she didn’t even come around to our side of the table. She dropped it on the far side and started to walk off. I handed her my credit card, she didn’t say a word and returned it after she ran it. Again, didn’t say a word.
I seriously thought about leaving no tip, but after asking the busser how he was compensated and he said the servers tip them out I couldn’t screw the support team (who did an awesome job). So left a tip that is not my normal 20% but was pretty close and I was angry to do it.
Message to management — if you have a server who has no personality, seems angry to be doing her job, is antisocial and is really not a great server, it might be worth evaluating her for a non customer facing role in your otherwise enjoyable business.
Also, if you contact me I’ll gladly share the servers name. But I seriously won’t be back.

This review is solely based on customer service.
The food here is amazing and I highly recommend getting the Mac N Cheese and/​or the Old Oak Burger. Both are extremely filling and taste wonderful.
Our waitress, on the other hand, was not wonderful. She clearly was annoyed because it showed during the entire dining experience.
Here is the story. My boyfriend and I sat down and ordered some drinks. I had some raspberry drink and it was Very good (tasted very tarty). About 20 min later a couple sat right next to us. Clearly they were famous or VIP because our waitress served them to the nines. They were given the best seat in the house and got their entrees about 15 min before we were even served our apps. We had to wait another 30 or so minutes before we even got our entrees. Why would you serve the patrons next to us their entrees before giving us our appetizers, beats me. No apology. No explanation. Nothing.
Finally after the couple who got their food before us finished, WE FINALLY GOT OUR APPETIZER. I was livid.
Our bill was 72.something. My boyfriend works in the food industry and always tips our servers in cash. He grabbed 15 dollars from him wallet and sacked the three 5 dollar bills on top of each other. The waitress probably thought she was just getting a 5 dollar tip because she snatched up the bill so fast without even a thank you We were both shocked. She huffed walking away, offered No goodbye, no thank you and didn’t even say anything as we obviously filed outside a little shocked. How rude!
Dear chef, your food is amazing. The service here sucks. So you lost business. Take your cooking skills and go elsewhere because the waitresses here with their nonchalant attitude and lack of friendly service, will drive business away.

I don’t know if our waitress was hung over, stoned, or a zombie but either way it was terrible service. We waited almost 20 minutes for water. She gave it to us after our food even arrived. Also everything she said she had to repeat because she was staring off in the distance and whispering. Food was good though.

Just left Old Oak. Right after our our order was taken the manager came over and said their computer system had gone down for a moment and asked us to confirm what we had ordered. We did, but they apparently lost it again. After 40 more minutes and no one giving us an update or even stopping by, the waitress came over and told us it would be 5 more minutes. Unfortunately we could not wait any longer. They comped our coffees and offered to wrap up the food when it was ready, but we were already running late and had to leave.
I normally wouldn’t write a review for this kind of thing, but this is not the first time we have experienced horrible wait times and poor service there. It seems that service isn’t really that important here. We won’t be going back.

best black bean burger in the city. #gamechanger.

Uninspired. A friend wanted to take me here for a snack and to catch up. Had I known, I likely would have suggested some place else. I checked the menu online before going, and very little was saying «Eat me».
The place was far from busy when we arrived, but our original waitress was plodding through her shift. so it seemed. We ended up moving to another table, more because of the weather than the service. I can’t put my finger on it, but the interior of the place felt impersonal and uninviting.
To cut to the chase, we ordered an appetizer to share and I ordered the Carl’s Cubano with loaded mashed potatoes and she ordered taco’s. Our food came, but not the appetizer. Best I could understand from our waitress, a breeze blew our ticket and the cook missed the appetizer. (???) We didn’t have to pay for it, but still… The description of the sandwich sounded good, but the sandwich did not live up to the billing, in my opinion. The first bite was chewy and pretty flavorless. Disappointment made the rest of the meal, blah at best. The mashed potatoes were reasonably tasty, but cold. Not tepid, cold.
Perhaps we caught them on an off night, but with experiences such as this… I would not expect many «on» nights.

By its exterior look, you might assume this is a pub with the standard grub.
Not at all!
The menu, while not huge, has serious upscale food, including a brussel sprout salad, a mahi mahi dish, etc. They also have tasty sandwiches with Greek fries (the best!).
The mashed potatoes are great too.
I’ve been back and had delicious fish tacos. It’s highly recommended!

This is a local joint that always seems to be packed With people who seem to be enjoying and having a good time so we thought we’d give this a go.
We happened to come for brunch on a hot and muggy day and upon entrance there was no air con on which makes for a less than par eating experience.
We tried the Nutella filled donut holes to start but there was barely any Nutella inside so it was basically dough.
I ordered the biscuits and gravy which was decent. The biscuits were soft and the sauce was tasty. I added extra crispy hash browns which came out mostly as chips. The art of a crispy hash is crispy outside and soft inside which these potatoes were lacking.
My boyfriend ordered the farmers skillet which was also decent but nothing out of this world.
Overall our experience was ok but nothing out of the ordinary.

Came on the $ 5 burger night and didn’t order a burger. This is what happens when you go on a crazy diet for lolllapalooza.
Instead I had the salad which was decent. Everyone else had the burger which they enjoyed but on the same level as parts and labor. Hubby ordered the fries with extra seasoning and it tasted pretty blah. Just stick to the regular ass fries. While we were the only ones in the place, the staff was just ok. Kinda m.i.a when you needed something.
If you live in the area, and aren’t on a crazy diet or feeling cheap, perhaps there’s better options on the menu than salads and burgers.

As far as earth friendliness is concerned… Old oak tap is pretty good!
Positives: All dine-​in orders are served on dish-​ware. Even the little sauce cups are washable. Old Oak Tap’s take out is made from compressed recycled paper (one of the more responsible options out there). This business is one of the few that I have seen focus on water conservation. They conserve water by not over serving it, and only offering more if you request it. They also do not seem to use coasters for their drinks in excess, which is a breath of fresh air to see at a bar.
Negatives: Old Oak Tap uses white napkins, which are most often a bleached, virgin paper product– not too good for the environment. Because Old Oak Tap really loves their comfort food, the deep fryer at this place is a main appliance used. In turn, Old Oak uses sheets of wax paper for many of their fried dishes. Their coffee comes with individualized sugar and cream packets, and toast comes with little plastic jam and butter containers which becomes unnecessarily wasteful.
Something I could not tell from the restaurant, is whether the glass bottles and aluminum cans from all of their liquor sales get recycled. I hope so!
Old Oak has a good head start on environmental sustainability. They could make a few changes to improve though. Get rid of the wax paper on the fried dishes. Perhaps there is a less wasteful option for soaking up some of that grease before it gets sent out to the tables. Their coffee can get served with containers of milk and sugar as opposed to the single serving option, and their toast spreads can be served similarly. If the bottles and cans are not yet recycled — get on that! I however, am happy with Old Oaks current efforts to be environmentally responsible and look forward to seeing other positive changes happen!

I’m writing this review from another restaurant down the street where I sit eating my lunch after leaving Old Oak Tap. The bus boy sat me after the host/​hostess couldn’t be found. Someone then showed up to my table asking if wanted anything to drink besides water. I said no, and that person left and never returned. Ain’t nobody got time for that on their lunch hour.
Three stars because the other times I’ve been here have been really good experiences, but today I’m spending my money elsewhere.

Maybe my friends hyped this place up too much for me, but it was, in Unilocal vernacular, «A-​OK» and not any more in my book. Yes, the patio is beautiful; it was a great place to hang-​out on a warm Thursday night. There was a good beer selection. The server was good, though she wasn’t as fun as I might have hoped for on a nice summer night. She wasn’t too familiar with the beer I asked about, though in fairness, I only asked about one. It is possible that she could have still gotten 99% on a beer «pop quiz.» (Or a «shandy quiz,» since that has beer and pop in it.)
One friend thought the mussels hit the spot; another thought the black bean burger was spot on. The Carl’s Cubano was good, though I was glad that I looked at the ingredients before ordering it. It was a far cry from a classic Cubano. The classic has pork, ham, cheese, pickles and mustard on it. This one had steak, cheese, grilled onions and avocado on it, which was perfect for my taste buds that night. Maybe they should just stick with «Carl’s Sandwich?» In any case, that night I would have chosen Carl’s concoction over a Cubano anyway.
If I’m back in the area I might stop by again. Otherwise the trendiness to tastiness ratio is a little high for me.

I absolutely love everything about this place. Well except for the hostess. Other than her, the experience here is great. I’ve been here twice and the food is amazing. I think I’ve fallen in love with their brunch. They have an amazing black bean burger as well. It’s a must. I had the Santa Fe skillet recently and it was perfect. Just be prepared for the non-​personable hostess. Once you get passed her, you will have an amazing experience.
Almost 5 stars!

Note: On the weekends in the summer, get here at 10 or before to secure your outdoor seat!
There is a lot of outdoor seating but after 10:15, it fills up!
Delicious menu with sweet and savory items. Original skillet items that are also vegetarian. Breakfast burrito, check. Chilaquiles, check. Egg sammy, check.
It basically has everything you could want.
Coffee is really good and they give you a nice big cup of it – free refills total $ 3
Iced tea is served in a bottle– green, black, or fruit flavor I think.
Hashbrowns are served by the pound it seems, so you can share or take leftovers home!
I had the egg sandwich but was eyeing the Farme’rs skillet (goat cheese, asparagus, etc.) or the breakfast burrito – but it had chicken in it so it didn’t seem as good for some reason.
Good for groups, large inside, great service. Yum-​o! $ 8-​$ 10 dishes.

I never knew this place existed until recently as a buddy had his bday celebration here.
Due to the fact that they have a patio here that instantly made me wanna try this place. I love the backyard like lighting scheme here as it adds a good look.
I had just eaten @ Parsons Chicken & Fish before making it over here so I was not hungry but everyone’s food looked really good. I did partake in a few drinks during my visit here. The Roseship Gimlet was was definitely something special as I had 2 of them. I love Hendricks Gin along with the roseship liqueur… very nice taste and kept me in my buzzed state that was already going on.
Our server was definitely on point as she made sure she got our group of 14 everything we needed. Good spot to bring a date or a group of pals.

2 out of our party of 6 had arrived before the rest– but OOT wouldn’t sit them until we all arrived. When all of us were there it took 30 MINS to seat us. Yes we wanted an outside table… but here’s the problem– it wasn’t ridiculously crowded, no one else was waiting for a table, and there were a few smaller tables open that the hostess could have easily combined. Bad first impression.
We ordered drinks and a ton of apps. Things I recommend: flat bread, pickle chips, sliders. Things I don’t recommend: fish tacos & the chicken and waffles. Sorry OOT, not coming back anytime soon.

Old Oak is easily becoming the bar where «everyone knows my name and they’re always glad I came.» LOL.
Three first dates later, several friend dinners, and a handful of brunches at the Oldest of Oaks in UK Village, I can tell you that I have become quite the expert on their menu. And this is what you (yes, you) should order.
Seared tuna salad. Delicious. The tuna is perfectly cooked with a slight hint of spiciness and definitely seasoned enough for this sea salt lover to go yay. Ask for the dressing on the side if you’re trying to watch your caloric intake; otherwise, they will drench your greens.
Old Oak Burger. It is $ 5.50 on Monday, say what?! And it comes with fries, mashed potatoes, «grains,» or salad. I chose the salad to feel a tad bit better about myself. The burger was amazing. I asked for it medium well; they know how to cook them according to your request — always impressive. On top came some sort of onion jam? which made the burger slightly sweet and oh so tasty and also cheese. On Mondays, since their burgers are so cheap with the special, they charge 25 cents for lettuce and 25 cents for tomatoes. I opted for these extras since I’m such a big money baller and I’m so glad I did. Definitely two thumbs up for the OOB. ;) the salad was good too and the vinaigrette that came on the side upon my request was very thick and deelish as well (that’s what she said).
Greek fries. These fries are pretty amazeballs, if you ask me. They top regular plain old, basic-​bitch French Fries with feta and lemon and some sort of herbs. Definitely worth the $ 2 upgrade to get these as a side instead!
The drinks: great beer selection, though in the months I’ve been coming here, there have beer no seasonal beers on their menu or something out of the ordinary. Just plain old «regulars» time after time.
I always order a whiskey/​diet and they never try to cheat me of my whiskey — perfectly poured; perfectly tasty.
The staff is all pretty nice and chill; the décor is cute, dim lighting, and kind of has a midieval feel to it.
Overall, a solid choice for a quick bite to eat and have a good drink if you are in the hood.
Go!