The Oak Room

We stumbled into the Oak Room on accident, we were in awe of the Plaza and wanted to just dash in and have a drink, we were not overly dressed and were in flip flops but my mother and I were greeted like we were movie stars. We sat at the bar and everyone was friendly, joking and telling stories. Ronnie our bartender made amazing drinks and kept us entertained. We learned about other people at the bar and really just felt like we were enjoying the best that New York had to offer. I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting, this place was amazing!

I’ve been here for dinner a few times — it’s really nothing amazing. The food is okay but the ambiance is very cold. Nothing to go out of your way for.

Came in for a drink on their closing night. I read on the NY Times Blog that they would be closing on Wednesday July 27^th.
The space is very grand and agree with all the other posters that it does represent amazing old New York tradition. The walls are wood paneled with large murals in the bar space. The Oak Room itself is grand with very high Gothic arch ceilings, elaborate wooden crests, and sqaure columns.
They had a limited selection since it was their closing night, but I still enjoyed a Heineken. In hindsight, perhaps a Manhattan would have been the most appropriate choice for a last drink here.

Came here to meet our friends who used to come here pre-​renovation, back in the day, and wanted to check it out. Pleasant enough. Par for the course expensive cocktails, decent service and a stuffy crowd.
Lovely room, worth checking out — we came here prime time on a Friday evening and managed to get a table within about 10 minutes.
Good spot to meet someone and then pile on somewhere else.

Nice ambience and great food & desserts! A great place for business lunch or relaxing afternoon brunch on weekdays with friends. I love the lobster salad there!

Wow! This place was really nice. Really classy, with beautiful furniture, great ambiance. just a really nice place. We had a great bowl of spiced nuts, and the bread basket was incredible. Since this is obviously a very expensive place, we went just for some appetizers and drinks. I got a plate of delicious fries and had a classy scotch. It was a great place and I really enjoyed the ambiance.
Oh yeah! And its in the middle of a pretty celebrity-​packed place. As we exited the restaurant, we saw Joan Rivers walk by! Stalked her for about a block or two to make sure it was actually her. It was. Cool!

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE OAK BAR — NOT THE OAK ROOM.
Boy, did they ruin this once great institution. If this was a pre-​renovation review, it would have gotten five stars, easily. I used to love to come here to luxuriate amidst the oaken paneling and tables, the high backed, overstuffed antique leather chairs and the (mostly) dignified clientele. Red jacketed waiters would bring you a chilled martini glass and pour from a shaker the most excellently blended drink you’ve ever had in your life, right at your table.
Not anymore. I stopped in here last night for a postprandial libation and while the classic paneling remained, I was saddened to see the oaken tables replaced with plain, square, black, Formica numbers that would be better suited to the John Jay College snack shop. Also missing were those great antique chairs. In their place were these horrible, low-​backed, uncomfortable, cloth bucket seat jobs that had my (substantially strong and healthy) back aching like crazy, making me want to split the scene after a mere 20 minutes. My date remarked that they would be more at home in a Holiday Inn rather than the venerable Oak Bar.
The staff, while more casually dressed than they used to be, remained as efficient and as professional as they formerly were. The clientele on the other hand featured a good part more «grown up» frat boys, huddled in groups, gulping bottles of Miller Lite, whooping and shouting at full voice. The drinks were decent, I suppose, but they’d better be at over 20 bucks a pop. Not as good as they used to be. The bar did not feature the brand of gin I requested.
What a disappointment. I will not be be back and that is a shame because I used to enjoy so much treating myself to the Oak Bar’s classic luxury from time-​to-​time on a regular basis. What the new management has done to this establishment is akin to taking a Lamborghini Countach and replacing its engine and suspension with that of a Ford Taurus — gorgeous shell with drek guts.
Second star is for the servers and the walls.

This is a Restaurant Week review.
I have to say that I wasn’t very excited about many of the Restaurant Week offerings in general and after perusing many menus, the Oak Room was not even on my list. But, when Audrey asked if I wanted to join her for a RW dinner here, I figured, why not? It’s the Plaza… I wasn’t even looking forward to the food. The real reason I even said I would go was to hang out with my friend and to check out the hotel. So, with low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised that the food wasn’t as horrible as I imagined.
We thought we’d make a little event of it and swanked it up for the evening. We all dressed up and I even donned a LBD so that our attire would match the classiness that surrounded us. Yes folks, I wore a dress again. Seems like this is the year for breaking that I-​only-​dress-​up-​once-​a-​year routine I usually have.
For the appetizer, I selected the lobster and sweet corn bisque. The soup was velvety smooth with ample chunks of perfectly cooked lobster meat and the sweet corn didn’t taste like it was frozen. Since corn’s not in season, I’m not sure what they used. Canned? My one qualm with it was that I like soups to be hot — like, burning hot. This soup was just warm, so overall, it was just eh.
For the entrée, the crisp organic «brick» chicken. I’m not sure why the brick is in quotes. Though the chicken was tender and juicy, I missed the crisp part of the dish that was promised in its title, as the entire entrée was sauced with the jus, which could have contributed to the soggy sliver of skin that encircled the sliced rounds of chicken on our plates. The chicken sat atop the accompaniments of collard greens and a wild mushroom gnocchi. The plus — the gnocchi was fabulous. They were soft, tender and seemed to just melt away.
For dessert, the Oak Bar was a chocolate, wafer and peanut butter nougat layered bar served with a scoop of caramel maple ice cream. While good, the milk chocolate made the dessert too sweet and the ice cream contributed to the cloying nature of the dessert. I would have really preferred dark chocolate to add a bit of bitterness.
While the food did have some misses, overall, I enjoyed the meal. Service was great and I loved that we were allowed to linger. Though I’m not sure I would come back for dinner, I would probably return for a drink. After all, the Plaza’s just so pretty to look at.

came back here because of their regular price fix menu (not for restaurant week)
ROCK SHRIMP AND CALAMARI– it wasnt too crispy! the calamari was moist, if that makes any sense at all. the shrimp was small but that made it so cute!
ORGANIC BRICK CHICKEN– kind of on the salty side. but the chicken! i loveeee moist chicken! and it was mostly white meat too. mashed potatoes were creamy! everything went well with the gravy. except. it was just a little bit too salty for me.
FRIES– had some ketchup flavor? i dunno. my sister confused me. but its not thick. it’s thin but not like crunchy thin. i guess size wise. most similar to mcdonald’s fries.
SPAGHETTI– it had corn in it? haha yea kinda odd but surprisingly not too bad.
YOGURT PANNA COTTA WITH BASIL ICE CREAM– i lovee panna cotta. i loveee basil ice cream. and i furthermore loveeee dessert that finishes off the essence of fine dining. (look at my pictures)
BREAD PUDDING– i am a big fan of bread pudding. but give it to me next to panna cotta. yea sorry. didn’t pay too much attention to this. :((it wasn’t bad but not outstanding. i’ve had better. for instance. ZAMPA’s bread budding. better than the oak room.

The girls and I came here for a classy lunch during restaurant week this summer. The waiter was friendly and attentive, but didn’t hover. The food was delicious. We all enjoyed everything that we ordered.
Décor was really nice. Very warm, cozy room. The crowd was interesting. A mix of locals, business people, and tourists. We sat by the window so we got to people watch too. I’m sure the view of the park in the winter must be nice. I’d gladly return.

The wonderful T (who is a professor at my undergraduate university) and I brunched here the other day — I’ve been here before and the food has only been a quasi meh. The super tall hostess definitely made me question my decision to re-​try Oak Room. (Am I going to spend the afternoon hating myself and my midget status?)
But… let’s just say — five stars for to-​die for food. Soft, supple and delish! (are those adjectives used correctly?) Who cares — it was a good day for the chef at Oak Room. I am never going back — just in case it reverts back to crap food and cold bread. (Yes people, this time my bread was warm!!!)

**from the viewpoint of a middle income Astorian** :)
This is the kind of place you go once, preferably with out-​of-​town guests (one of whom, hopefully, is picking up the tab). Yes, I understand the historical significance and see value in being able to say or text or Facebook status update «…having drinks at The Plaza». So…
— Prices that aren’t outrageous… if you wanted to come here and have one drink to say you did, it’s completely do-​able
— An unimpressive cocktail list that leaves you wanting more (only five or so «signature cocktails — none of which inspire and «OOOO» or an «AAHHH»)
— Excellent, attentive, classy service
— Great, big tall windows that allow for one of the better people watching experiences you can have in this city (looking onto Central Park South)
— Unique and expected ambiance — I mean you’re sitting sipping a martini at The Plaza… it should feel good and it does
As a local, would I go back on my own and/​or with local friends? Nope. Would I go back if an out-​of-​town guest says «hey, let’s check out The Plaza and I’m buying.» A resounding «YES, please!»

Feeling touristy and exhausted and starved from a spree at Barney’s, I thought that hitting up the Plaza for a little steak at The Oak Room seemed the perfect way to end my night. Walking over from 60^th and 5^th, the Plaza looked glamourous and magnificent and I couldn’t wait for my swanky meal.
We sat right away but wound up waiting WAY too long for our drinks. The waiter was rude throughout the duration of the meal and we had to constantly ask for more water, refills on our wine and practically beg to order. So far, I’m not impressed.
I tried the steak because a friend of mine said it was the best steak he had ever had. Good joke. It was okay. It was literally just okay. Nothing good, nothing bad. So mediocre. I wish The Oak Room lived up to the grandeur of the house it lives in, and I wish the waiters had a sense of pride and respect for the history of the Plaza. It made me sad to look up at the soaring ceilings and know how special this place once was, and what a wet blanket it had become.
Bottom line, Don’t bother.

I went to the Oak Room last night for Restaurant Week with an 8:30 reservation, and I really have to say that I was extremely disappointed in the overall mediocrity of the place.
To begin, I have to give them one star for the absolutely stunning décor. The hostesses were kind through a mix-​up (somebody had tried to check in earlier under my boyfriend’s name). Unfortunately, the good stops here.
I don’t know whether it was because of Restaurant Week, but everything from the starters to the dessert was made in bulk. Giant platters of dishes were into the centerpiece of the room. Because everything was being prepared in bulk. it led to less than satisfactory food. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d really rather have somebody preparing my food with care and concern, rather than in gigantic batches.
For starters, my boyfriend had the lobster and corn bisque, and I had the tuna sashimi. His bisque came out lukewarm. It was delicious, but the temperature really threw both of us off. My sushi was made from top-​grade fish, but lacked any kind of flavor (Strange because it was sitting in a pool of ponzu with duck cracklings on top). Overall, I’d give the appetizers ²⁄₅.
As entrees my boyfriend had the steak. He ordered it medium, but it came out rare. Hungry enough as he was, my boyfriend didn’t argue and ate it anyway. The steak and accompanying sauce was superb. I had the «brick» chicken. These were a series of rolls of chicken laid beautifully on top of one another. When I cut into the first of five rolls, the skin cracked ever so lightly, and beautiful juices came pouring out. It was delicious. The second roll was just as great, but then I cut into the third roll. Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink. Pink meat was all I saw. Pink, undercooked chicken. My boyfriend hailed over somebody and pointed it out, but I guess that this person (possibly a busboy) didn’t understand, and rushed to find our waiter. Our waiter looked down at my mountain of shredded pink meat, nodded his head, picked up my plate, and walked away.
My boyfriend and I sat at the table, him with his steak, and me with an empty place in front of me, wondering whether or not I’d get my dish re-​fired or returned. A man, whom I guessing is the manager, walked over and apologized for the chicken. He told us that many people often mistake the chicken for being undercooked, but it wasn’t raw, it was actually cooked «sous-​vide». I understood, and said it was alright. The manager was sweating and extremely nervous while talking to us, and then shuffled away.
I’m sitting there hungry, wondering whether I’d get the other half of my dinner returned. After 15 minutes, my boyfriend gave me his two remaining slices of his steak. As we sat there waiting for my entrée, another man came over and asked if my boyfriend was finished, and took his plate away. I never got the other half of my entrée. ¹⁄₅ for the entrees.
I had the Oak Bar for dessert (an excellent, excellent, dessert). The ganache on top was dark and rich, and the accompanying maple ice cream was to die for. My boyfriend’s key lime cheesecake was mediocre. Cute, but too rich. ³⁄₅ for dessert.
After we finished our dessert, and our dishes were collected, our waiter never came over once to ask us if we needed anything else. We sat there for 20 minutes, waiting, and looking around for our non-​existent waiter. My boyfriend then suggested that we put our napkins on top of the table to indicate that we were done. We did so, and we waited another 25 minutes to receive our check. A total of 45 minutes wait time for a check. That’s more time than we spent eating.
The entire time we were waiting, we noticed the trays of dishes being brought out in bulk. The wait staff/​bus boy relationships were completely disoriented. I’ve been to many restaurants in my life, and never have I seen such chaos. Maybe it’s just me, but at a restaurant like The Oak Room, I expect everybody to have a dress code. The waiters were dressed nicely: vests, blue dress shirts. The bus boys were plain blue shirts. There were other employees standing around wearing the same uniform as the waiters, but were clearly only around to clean dishes. There were two men walking around in white shirts and ties, and the manager was wearing a full on suit. The staff that brought out trays of food wore long, un-​tucked, messy blue shirts. What???
I wanted to like this place, I really did. But I sat through an excruciating 45 minutes for my check, watched my food brought out in bulk, had a taste-​less app, and paid full price for half an entrée that was taken away. Yes, they charged me. Now, I wasn’t looking for any discount, but I was looking for another apology from the waiter, or asked whether or not I wanted a different entrée. Full price, for what?
I won’t be returning here, and I walked away with a very clear idea on how a restaurant should NOT be run.

I came to Oak Room for restaurant week and loved it all — the food, the atmosphere, the service, the entire experience!
The dishes were superb — subtle yet flavorful. The lobster and corn bisque appetizer was a standout — the sweetness of the corn contrasted very nicely with the lobster. The bagel-​crusted salmon was also excellent; I particularly liked the hint of lemon in the accompanying couscous. For dessert I picked the oak bar, which was also very good — not too sweet, and complemented well by the maple ice cream.
However, the absolute best part of the meal was the bread basket! My friend and I just could not stop eating the bread, it was that delicious. There was one that was vaguely pretzel-​like, but about a thousand times better. I could eat their fresh-​baked bread all day long…
Great service and really friendly staff. I drink water almost nonstop during meals but they filled my glass back up faster than I could empty the glass. And the inside is just so ornate and beautiful, with floor-​to-​ceiling wood paneling all around the room.
Visiting the landmark Plaza Hotel is always a must, and short of staying a night, there’s no better way to do so than enjoying a memorable dinner at the Oak Room.

If you want to have the lowest-​cost experience, go for brunch and order of the a la carte or bar menu.
Food & service are gorgeous. Lobster Eggs Benedict is haunting me with its goodness. I can’t wait to get it again.
My husband ordered some gorgeous waffle stack. Delicious, rich and beautiful. He tore it down!
It was the tiniest bit Grandma, but Grandma’s got the coins to eat at fancy joints, right?

A date bought me here over the holidays and I was pretty excited actually. Got my hurrrr did, got my dress on with ma heels.hheeheh.
I’ve never even heard of this place before. Not sure what to expect so I did a quick Unilocal research by reading prior reviews. After my read I was still unsure of what to expect. I made sure I dressed well for the occasion. My date came in preppy casual… guess he’s used to eating fancy… meanwhile I came in my sunday’s best.
It’s located in the lobby of plaza hotel. The place def has a feel of $$$ if I may say so myself and I enjoyed the treatment I got from the staff. they were all very pleasant.
The atmosphere was dim but not dark and quiet.
I got a glass of merlot. Got the lobster bisque. Okay, calla me ‘hood, but when waiter#1 first placed the bowl in front of me there was nothing but a piece of lobster in the bowl and my thought was «WAAAHHHHH???where’s the rest?» lol. Luckily waiter #2 was hiding behind me and he reached over and poured the bisque over the lobster… lol.phewwww.
Date got something with shrimps and meat… I didn’t taste it because his meat was rare and I am not one to eat rare meat.
My entrée was the lobster pot pie… that was a miss sorry to say. I shoulda gotten the salmon or sole or something. It just did NOT hit the spot. Forgot what my date got…
Dessert, I had the oak room bar, he had the parfait. My dessert was light, his was sweet and def needed to be shared :)
I enjoyed the meal more because I had good company… would I go back? not on my dime, but sure I’d love to try out their other selections but on this visit I wasn’t WOW’d by any particular item.

The Oak Room bar at The Plaza gives you a true look back a few decades. Beautiful views of the park await you from inside, as well as top-​notch service. A friend and I made a point to come here for a relaxing couple of hours and it was a great choice.
We sat in the bar area at a small table looking out the windows and quickly found that looking around the inside was more entertaining as it is quite an interesting crowd. A mix of tourist couples kissing, older men and women reliving their other times here back in the day, eavesdroppers and people watching it all go around.
First highlight — — the bar mix. Sweet and spicy peanuts, sesame sticks, etc. make for the perfect and neverending bar snack. When it is half-​full, they just bring you a new one, you can not hit the bottom.
First drink — — $ 20 Barbados Julep (Mt. Gay rum, honey syrup, lemon, mint and soda). Pretty smooth drink, a little sweet, but it was made correctly so that the mint balanced out the sweetness.
First bar food — — $ 22 Trio sampler of mini-​tacos (see picture). Lobster salad, hamachi and tuna tacos all were outstanding and when they show up, they look like they were shrunk down to sit in the little holders they come in. All were very flavorful and although they appeared to be tiny, there was a lot packed in each one.
The service was top of the line, the servers call you Sir and you look for your Dad until you realize they are talking to you. They also bring plenty of bread to keep you drinking. This is really a great place to spend a couple hours, but you have to know going in you are also going to spend a couple of bucks while you are there for the ambience, history and good food and drinks.

Full Disclosure: This review is of the Restaurant Week Lunch menu, which may or may not truly represent this restaurant.
Walking into the Plaza Hotel commands a similar respect and reverence as a parishioner walking into a grand Cathedral. The gloss of the floor to ceiling marble, and the opulence of the experience is truly remarkable. Countless international dignitaries, the über rich, and celebrities have passed through the iconic front revolving door of the hotel.
However, the luxury ends as soon as the menu’s are distributed, as the Oak Room’s lunch menu was predictably out-​dated and pedestrian. The menu is reflective of every high end hotel or country club across the nation; a raw bar, lobster bisque, club sandwiches, aged steaks, chopped salad, etc are appropriately designed for the rich but gastronomically reserved clientele.
My starter of tomato soup with a fennel, accompanied by miniature ‘grilled cheese’ sticks was missing some flavor components — as if the Chef forgot to add an ingredient. A little more cream could have filled out the flavor and thickened the watery soup. The grilled cheese rounded out the flavors, but the execution was greasy and soggy.
Chopped chicken salad, a definite throwback to bygone days of cooking, was nothing to write home about. In fact, had I not been surrounded by the dramatic floor to ceiling wood paneling and waiters in tuxedos, I could have mistaken the dish for something out of the kitchen of an Applebees or TGI Fridays. It was filling, but a clunky and boring dinosaur of a dish; a dish that hasn’t evolved with the rest of the culinary world.
Desserts were where the Oak Room started to show deviation from the rest of the (boring) menu. A fig and almond tart was a little too cloying and sweet, but was accompanied by a tasty little scoop of honey ice cream, with a graham cracker crunch. Desserts also featured slightly more innovative items, such as a summer berry and coconut ‘soup’ with a berry sorbet, and whimsical miniature ice cream cones. A perfectly executed soufflé was sauced table side, a welcome throwback to classic fine dining.
Hotel fine dining may never reach the level of execution and innovation that guys like David Chang, Michael Psilakis or a Scott Connant put out (though the prices are certainly at that level), as they need to cater to a very diverse crowd. However, this doesn’t excuse them of serving outdated and at times, poorly executed food. Like a knock-​off Louis Vuitton, the luxury at the Oak Room is only skin deep.

Definitely was excited to get reservations here for RW dinner and get to visit a historic location. Great to get all dressed up in heels and walk through the Plaza Hotel hallways. Had a party of 4 and we were seated promptly. The dining room felt a bit stuffy even though the space was grand with high ceilings. It’s dimly lit and there wasn’t much (that I could see) ornate décor to be wowed. It was a pleasant atmosphere. The service was very attentive and friendly.
The overall food was ok. Highlights were:
— Lobster and sweet corn bisque
— Bigeye tuna sashimi, uni, crackling crumbs* and soy-​piqué vinaigrette
— Garganellli with lobster sausage and broccoli rabe
— Porcini-​crusted filet with crushed fingerlings and taggiasche olive jus.
* «Crackling crumbs» was very interesting… they’re better described as poufy airy fried potato chip. It left us wondering, «How did they make them like that??»