Oxenfrē Public House — Restaurant in Brookings

First time and last time eating here.

My friend and I visit Brooking's all the time and we usually eat sushi. But we wanted to try something different. This place had some excellent reviews and always smelled so good when we walked by! Boy, looks and smells are deceiving.

Staff was excellent. So friendly, so nice, checked in, but service was not timely and the food is definitely not worth what you pay for it. When you pay $15 for a Reuben sandwich, you expect it to be top notch, excellent, delicious, amazing. My friend ordered the Chicken and Waffle meal which was also $15. I ordered a Peach Tea, which was $4, SO OVERPRICED for a little bottle I can buy at the store for a couple bucks cheaper. My friend ordered a beer, which as ironic as this is, was the cheapest thing on our bill.

No waters were served to us. It took them about 20 minutes to even bring us our drinks. We ordered Pretzel bites for an app ($12 for 6 little pretzel balls that are not special at all, and should cost maybe $5.) and ordered our meals at the same time.

The wait was SO LONG. It was unbelievable. It was about 30-40 minutes before we got our food. We got our meals before we got our appetizer. I reminded our waitress we had the pretzel bites coming out. She then later returned to us and said she forgot to put them on our bill. So she was kind enough to not charge us for them, and did bring them out. Food is good, don't get me wrong, but it is definitely not worth the price you pay. $15 for a few pieces of pastrami on a pretzel bun? Really?

Oh, and I forgot to mention they charge for maple syrup which they do not mention. They asked "do you want maple syrup on the side?" For my friend who got the chicken and waffles. He said yes. Turns out it's an extra dollar for a teeny tiny little cup of syrup. Why?? Why would you charge for that? And why don't you let your customers who are paying for it that it's an extra charge?? C'mon guys!

This place has potential, but they just need to pick it up a little bit and get it together. I won't be returning...

A truly shameful experience. I waited in line at the bar for 30 minutes for my first drink. I then set my drink down near my friends and went back to get everyone some water. I waited 45 minutes before I got the water, and was ignored by the bartender multiple times in favor of others drunkenly cutting the line and waving at her. Once I finally had the water, I returned to find my drink gone, as it had been taken by a waitress. I returned to the bar and informed them the full drink they took was mine and I expect a replacement. They replaced my drink...with a virgin one. I tasted and had others taste the drink to be sure, but there was no alcohol in my drink. I went to the bar and informed the tenders, at which point they became defensive and denied having given me a virgin drink, and assured me there was alcohol in my new drink. Long story short, they treated me poorly, effectively stole the money I paid for a drink I never got, and treated me like a drunken troublemaker despite my acute sobriety. Conclusion, legendary aweful treatment of thier customers and slipping them virgin drink whenever possible appears to be this places MO. 1/10 would not recommend, plenty of other bars.

Update: I have contacted the owner via the given contact information, and have recieved nothing in response. No acknowledgement, no reply, and apparently no remorse about how they treat thier local customers. I has been at least a month since the incident and the owners response. It would sadly appear that this place is more concerned about convincing people it doesn't sneak them virgin drinks than actually addressing the fact that they did, denied it, and became hostile. All this towards someone who had not had a...

My wife and I arrived at Harris Beach State Park late yesterday afternoon. By the time we settled the RV, it was after 7 pm on a Saturday night. After traveling all day with only a bagel since breakfast, we were starving and too tired to cook. We were surprised to find most regular dining spots in Brookings closing at 8 pm, even on a weekend!

Luckily, we found Oxenfrē Public House, one of the few places open later. What a fortunate discovery! The place has a great, authentic bar atmosphere, but it offers so much more. They boast a great draft beer selection and an impressive shelf filled with excellent Scotch, bourbon, and rye. I had one of the best Old Fashioned cocktails I've ever tasted there. Plus, the staff were wonderful!

And the food? Definitely not your average bar fare! The short ribs were delicious, the fries were super tasty, and my wife declared the mac & cheese exceptional (and trust me, she's an expert!).

We went in looking for any open restaurant and ended up having a fantastic meal with great drinks and service. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for quality food and drinks later in the evening...