White Oaks Saloon Bar & Dining — Restaurant in Melbourne

The White Oaks Saloon is an incredible restaurant run by two incredibly attentive and affable gentleman. You couldn't ask for better.

The moment you walk in the door you are hit with the sound of smooth blues music playing which will make your feet start taping and the smell of southern cuisine cooking in the kitchen which will make your mouth water. Your attention is then immediately drawn towards the walls where you start to take in genuine Americana art which revolves around the centerpiece of restaurant which is an enormous floor to ceiling display shelf jam packed with the widest and finest selection of whiskeys, rums, moonshines, and other beverages.

Last night we dined there to celebrate my birthday. As soon as my family and I sat down we were greeted by a gentleman named Thomas. Thomas had an incredible amount of knowledge about both the food and cocktail lists and was so helpful recommending the perfect food and drink combination for the evening. Also throughout the evening we were introduced to Nicholas. Nicholas served us our food and beverages and came by regularly (as did Thomas) to see if there was anything we needed throughout the evening. It wasn't until we had finished our meals that we found out that the two outstanding gentleman who had looked after us all evening were in fact the owners of the venue, and other venues that I regularly frequent (and love).

I could not speak more highly of these two chaps. Little did I know that prior to dinner my sister had called White Oaks and asked if they allowed parties to bring in their own cake to the venue for birthday celebrations (which they do). So towards the end of the evening to say Happy Birthday both Thomas and Nicholas brought out the cake and served it to us which was very kind and then they even joined us for a round of delicious Melbourne Moonshine Apple Pie shots (my favorite).

So, long story short this is an extraordinary venue, managed by the kindest people you may ever meet, in a stunning part of Melbourne, and they serve the finest foods and beverages. I could not speak more highly or be more impressed. Thank you very much for making my birthday so special. I will...

Our experience goes back to Thanksgiving, November 28th.

We had a booking for the second service (9pm) for the Special Thanksgiving Roast Dinner. The Atmosphere of the venue was real nice, our waiter at the start was good value, entertaining & welcoming so we were off to a good start.

The entrees came out which were decent.

Then, the downfall began. After a long wait, and being served long after everyone else (this was a set menu so you would think it would be easy to prepare and time) the food finally came out. The stingy portions was just the tip of the ice berg. The Turkey was SO DRY & barely luke warm, with NO gravy being served AT ALL, insanity considering how dry it was. The carrots and potatoes were cold & not cooked properly at all. The corn bread was the best thing on the plate but still very below average. My partner had a vegetarian option, the Chilli. It came out inedible & was served so cold. 90% of that dish was not eaten.

I was going to leave it alone and not leave this review pointing out how poor the efforts were for what is a special occasion for a lot of people because when we got our receipt all the meals had been wiped from the bill. We thought the staff must have agreed how bad it was as we informed them of this and comped our meals.

I have just found out today that our family members who booked were charged in advance for this meal and ended up being charged full price. These dinners were $60 each, I'd still be unhappy if I paid $15 for that, it was on par with Qantas Aeroplane Food from the early 2000's.

I am baffled at how bad this was, especially the Roast veggies, a 14 year old could do a better job & there is absolutely no way you could be remotely pleased with your efforts on the food that night. It was my first thanks giving experience & it definitely wasn't a good one. Not to mention it was so disappointing sharing this "meal" with my American brother-in-law. Aren't you American themed? How could you mess this up so bad.

If you want the 1 star removed, refund the money. Like I said, I was going to leave it as I thought it was zeroed out on the night & just found out it wasn't.

No Gravy? Are you kidding?...

This was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we have had in a while: Service was sloppy, probably not helped by the fact the staff kept jumping back and forward from this and the other venue across the street (which we guess is managed by the same team?). As an example, our waiter clearly forgot my wine order, which took forever to get to the table, and was the wrong one when it did (Pinot Noir instead of Pinot Gris). The cornbread was very dry and lukewarm, but the flavour was alright. The gumbo looked like it had been sitting out for a while, with even a congealed layer already formed on the surface. It was, indeed, very cold. It was also really bland, lacking even some basic salt and pepper. The coffee-rubbed steak was cooked to our liking but, once again, lukewarm. The side sauce was quite tasty, but quite a small serve. The chilli mac and cheese was probably the best tasting one of the dishes we ordered, and it was pleasantly warm. Being nit-picky on this one, the texture of the sauce was somewhat weird, grainy and lumpy. Although these are all "minor" grievances, the sum of them all really made for a bad experience, made even worse by the overpriced tab. Won't be...