LiveOaks — Restaurant in Auburn

Recently, I dined at Live Oak and, unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired. The service was notably poor, beginning with an excessive 90-minute wait for our food. This delay was especially frustrating as we had arrived early at 5:45 pm to a relatively quiet restaurant.

The drinks, both in quantity and delivery, were underwhelming. Our server seemed overwhelmed or inattentive, often leaving before ensuring our needs were met. Despite repeated requests, our two tables received only one refill of water, which were insufficient.

Our evening plans were disrupted as we missed the start of a basketball game, held up by the long wait for our meals. The food itself was average, lacking any standout qualities that might have compensated for the service shortcomings. Observing the staff, it appeared many were congregating in the kitchen, not actively attending to guests. Attempts to catch our server's attention often resulted in a belated acknowledgment, yet still failed to improve the level of service.

The interior of Live Oak was smaller than anticipated, contrasting with a larger outdoor patio where guests seemed slightly more content. However, nothing about the atmosphere stood out as particularly inviting or impressive. The menu's variety, catering to both kids and adults, initially seemed promising. Yet, upon closer inspection, it offered a predictable mix of typical college mixed drinks and standard fare.

In summary, the disappointment in service at Live Oak overshadowed other aspects of the dining experience. Given these shortcomings, I find it hard to recommend this establishment for...

Our group of 5 went at 5 while students were gone. We were seated immediately and served drinks quickly. Our food was also served quickly, we were the only people in the restaurant at this time. We got crab cakes, chips and queso and macaroni bites as appetizers. The half off of macaroni and cheese bites and chips and queso was nice and why we ordered so many apps. Crab cakes were "wet" and mushy, macaroni and cheese bites were really crispy but tasted bland. The sauces served with them were confusing, honey mustard and remoulade? We ordered chicken Florentine, seafood pasta, black and blue salad and grilled chicken plate as entrees. Seafood pasta was inedible, too much seasoning especially salt. Chicken Florentine was good, not great. Black and blue salad was okay, and grilled chicken plate was okay, macaroni and cheese side was bland. Side salad was good especially croutons and ranch. We sat in a corner booth with a curious baby so her hands are into everything, window seals are dirty with flies. When picking up dropped crayons spider webs everywhere. The patio, while I know it's off season, was pretty bad, trash in corners, the tap fountain was full of algae water, the hostess stand was rotting and falling apart. Overall food was okay at best, service would have been perfect if we weren't waiting for our check and togo boxes for too long even when we were the only people in the restaurant. And the cleanliness was pretty low. First time we've been and probably the last...

Once upon a time I wanted to go out for a nice dinner with my boyfriend, brother, and my brother’s fiancé. We all decided on Live Oaks because we had never gone there. Well, we step up to the front and request a table which was a 25 minute wait, which IS NOT BAD. I was ecstatic we didn’t have to wait longer for a table. We got drinks, were seated and our orders were taken shortly after. WOW!! It was going great and the appetizer was delicious (we got the fried Mac n cheese bites). BUT our main dishes didn’t come out until 2 HOURS LATER. Look, I understand there can be hiccups in the kitchen. There are just some bad nights in restaurants, but my brother and boyfriend ordered a burger and got COLD FRIES!! My brother’s fiancé hardly got anything in her dish, and my dish (which I did not read anything about it being oniony) was so oniony it stuck with me the whole night. I’m sorry, Live Oaks, it may not be your fault but I am not returning anytime soon to wait 2 hours for fast food quality. I am NOT spending $40 on a wendy’s burger, cold fries, and soggy with an overflow of onion pasta. I’m also sorry to the waiter who had us, you were a nice guy but the kitchen really needs to step up their game. Learn to cook if you’re making people pay this much. Also, my brother and his fiancé were thinking about having their rehearsal dinner at Live Oaks, but this “hiccup” has changed their minds completely. I’ll see you in a few years if things change. I...