The Tipsy Oak — Restaurant in Arlington

IF YOU WANT TIMELY SERVICE AND CLEANLINESS DO NOT GO HERE!!! I rarely leave reviews because one experience hardly paints the full picture but my experience was so awful I had to leave a review! I came to the tipsy oak on 8/2/25 for a girls night expecting a 2 hr at most catch up session. Instead I spent at least 4 hrs STUCK there because our waitress kept forgetting about us! I ordered a glass of water while I waited for my party, just to be given the most filthy glass of water ever, with dirt and water dripping down the side, things floating in the water, and get this, a thumbprint right on my straw!!!!! I sent it back to receive a new one that I was too scared to drink. As my party arrived we ordered 2 drinks and an appetizer for my party of 4. Little did I know that would be the last time Id ever see my server, bless her wherever she was because IT WASN'T AT THE TIPSY OAK! We had finished our 2 drinks and nachos and starved without so much as a check in or anything at least for an hour. We had waited so long I told my party we should just leave, but they're sweet girls and wanted to give her a chance to come back hence another 25 minutes of silent unanswered prayers. I decided to flag someone down myself and told him my waitress disappeared. Even after he went to find her another 10 minutes at least had passed before she came back. No apology just what would you like. We ordered all of our foods and I ordered 2 shots of tequila. The tequila comes out a few moments later and what do you know, another FILTHY cup. At this point im just praying for the food to come and GUESS WHAT? MY SERVER DISAPPEARS AGAIN! I hate to say it but the music wasn't good enough to cure starvation! I hadn't eaten all day just for this girls night and it's already about 9 pm at this point. I arrived at 6:30. We waited so long AGAIN that we had to hunt down someone to get our server again to which she comes and says the food is coming they're just waiting on the mac and cheese for our kiddo's plate. An hour has past what do you mean you're waiting on the mac for an hour? We finally get our food at some point and I couldn't tell you when because it was dark outside and I came when there was light but whatever. Halfway through the meal the waitress brings us the sauces that goes with our food. I didn't know why the sauce came out separate and way later but at this point I don't expect anything from this place anymore. The only thing the server was fast about was collecting our cards.

Summary: NONEXISTENT CUSTOMER SERVICE, FILTHY DISHES, MID FOOD, NOT WORTH THE...

*I have held off on going here because I have heard through the grapevine that the manager does not treat her employees well. *

It gives off a cool vibe at night, with all the outside lights. During the day, not so much.

I came because I was hungry & curious about the food. It was very crowded, inside & out, but staff was super friendly and helpful in terms of getting me seated. Inside, the tables are a lot closer than I would prefer. I was waited on quicker than I expected due to the late lunch crowd. Waitress was outstanding!

I ordered a chicken Caesar salad,which was really quite good. Hard to find a restaurant with a decent Caesar dressing. Had the fried pickles. They win in terms of presentation and amount. A bit hard kind of crunchy, though. Like a dry hard crunch. If I could cross these with the fried pickles from Flying Fish, they would be perfect!

Tried their Texas mule. Had TX whiskey in it. Not a fan. I am super picky about the ginger beers used in mules - am a Fever Tree fan. Not liking the TX whiskey used either.

Food was good enough to come back, but a word to the manager - potential customers pay attention to employee complaints and not all employees are jaded ex employees. You have a good situation - treat your employees well.

**Came back a couple of weeks ago and ordered thesame items. Not pleased this time. The Caesar dressing had no real flavor. It was just a bland dressing. The pickles seemed even more hard textured and no seasoning. Definitely won't order these again.

I also felt badly for my waiter. It took about 15 minutes before he showed up. Turns out he was waiting on a 17 top outside, plus his manager also assigned several indoor tables to him. That 17 top was super needy and his manager should have not assigned him tables inside. His counter parts were only slightly helpful. A couple sat at a table next to me & another waiter did stop at their table, but when my waiter finally came in, the other guy had a few words for him. If you know a fellow employee is being hammered, help them out. Better yet, a good manager would have stepped up to the plate and either had another waiter take the indoor tables or waited on the tables himself. Poor management...

We had a great time at the Tipsy Oak on a Friday afternoon. It is first come first serve open seating. The atmosphere is fun and chill and has a very local vibe, but not uppity, more friendly, and like everyone knows each other.

Our waitress was great, and they had a good selection of drinks. I had a new local blonde lager called The Buzz. It was nice. I am more of an IPA guy, but since it was the middle of the day and I was already dehydrated, I figured I should drink something lighter. I would probably try something else next time.

My kid and I split the jumbo pretzel, I also got the kids grilled cheese with fries and an order of spicy fried pickles, which were delicious. The pretzel Was really good, lightly crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The mustard on the side was also tasty and we got cheese on the side as well, which was great.

I am vegetarian, so there’s not a ton of options, but if you are scrappy, like me, you could cobble together some thing. Hence, I got the kids grilled cheese sandwich with fries, a pretzel and the fried pickles. It was actually too much fried food, and I did kind of overdo it, but that’s just me. They had coleslaw, and I was tempted, but went there carbohydrate fried way instead.

My wife and her mom both got fish tacos and they said it was the best they’ve ever had. And they can be quite picky lol. Also, we are from Southern California and there are many spots in San Diego California known for fish tacos, which my wife and her mom used to eat frequently, but they said these were even better here, so that’s really saying something.

Our oldest son got the buffalo wings and I didn’t hear any complaints.

Our server was nice and attentive. Some of the local residents at the bar were really enjoying themselves and shouting back-and-forth so it had a fun and friendly vibe. Like everyone is all the local friends who just meet up and hang out here all day lol. Think a more upbeat Cheers.

The outside patio looked really nice, shady, and lots of places to sit and chill and enjoy good food and drink. We ate in the restaurant which was also really cool atmosphere. The food and drinks were priced well....