Oak Bistro — Restaurant in Cambridge

I hate to give a poor review but as a constant regular who has been coming here I can’t believe the way in which I was dismissed coming in for an early dinner (early dinner hours are usually fairly empty in restaurants).

The reason I couldn’t be seated—

Staff: “we have a reservation there” [for a reservation at the table that was in 1hr 40min]

Me: What if I know my order and I’ll be in and out in 30min-40min? I’m a 1-top. I won’t be long.

Staff: “I’m sorry. The table is already set for the reservation, so if we sit you then we’d have to reset the table again after you leave.” (The implication was extra work required…)

I stated that I would not feel rushed out, but was told they don’t want to rush people. That it was not possible for me to have dinner that fast. I stated that I regularly do at the restaurant. When I asked to speak to the manager, to give feedback and possibly recognize a face, it turns out one of the staff replying was a manager. She told me that this is how they do things.

As someone who worked in restaurants years ago, including many fine dining establishments,

1. you bend over backwards for regulars,

2. turning over tables multiple times per night is desirable. It is generally key for a restaurant to make enough revenue to survive and thrive,

3. even if a service staff is following rules you don’t double down and treat me like I’m stupid in your tone of voice.

You look for solutions. You offer me a different table or bar seat. If the Queen of Sheba is coming with a huge party you explain and apologize profusely, inviting me back another night, as opposed to making it my fault for not reserving.

I hope the owners impart to their managers and staff that a neighborhood restaurant builds its reputation one customer at a time. It’s unfortunate that such reviews are the way to give feedback since when I tried in person it was received poorly.

*side story: When I was very young at my first hostess job, I made a similar mistake when a solo regular came in at the start of service and asked to be seated by the window. I told her firmly, but kindly she couldn’t sit because we were full for the evening (true in my eyes because we had everything reserved.) She was very polite as she looked around the empty restaurant. My manger came out, mortified and sat her immediately without looking at the reservations. She later explained that this woman always came in early, we would sit her with her book and her regular order and the rest of the reservations would work out because she would be fast as a 1-top with a regular order, there was some squish in reservation times since tables clear and fill not perfectly, and her patronage was important to the restaurant. I learned.

Maybe I’m annoyed because I’m on the receiving end of the same thing I did. It sucks and feels absurd from where I’m standing. But I was humbled and corrected and hope the owners managers reflect on what they want their policies to be. If this is indeed it, I am...

We were looking for someplace cozy to go on a Saturday night and Oak Bistro is a block from me yet I’d never gone in. It is so charming. They hold some seats for walk-ins so we only had to wait

This was a Boston highlight for me this time around. My top-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality and I stopped by last Saturday for brunch after a very nippy walk on the other side of Cambridge. I required warmth and sustenance, both of which were delivered in droves. It was pretty packed when we came in around 2ish but we were immediately seated at a high-top table near the bar to begin increasing our body temperatures and consuming calories.

In what's becoming a bit of a trip tradition, we decided to go a little bougie and get an edgy mimosa situation. Oak Bistro had a flight option in the $55 range where you got a bottle of champagne and I think three or four juice options to mix it with. Not a bad deal. Based on what we sampled, I don't see a reason for them to get too creative here - dance with the one you brought, right? In this case, orange juice. There was a berry-flavored one that wasn't bad but both of us kept relying on the mainstay orange juice. One of them was a cider that just didn't hit at all, and I'd remove that from the flight options. It flat out doesn't jive with the champagne. But honestly, that cider was the only miss of the adventure in my book.

I'd built up an appetite braving the New England wind gusts, so it felt appropriate to go straight to the Benedict section. It's one of my favorite brunch entrees but I especially like it when it's not the dictionary definition version, aka with Canadian bacon. This was a very solid alternative, featuring short rib. Delicious and really hit the spot. The short ribs themselves were a LITTLE dry but I think it cancelled out with the hollandaise sauce. The home fries were great too, perfectly cooked and seasoned. A very solid dish in my view. My chum was tepid on them, but we will respectfully agree to disagree.

The service was fine from what I recall. We were in a "good" area in that respect, in that we were pretty visible and not tucked away in a corner, so our waitress came by fairly regularly. We weren't on the clock so if the visits were more on the infrequent side, it wasn't noticed. The high-top tables ARE a little small especially given the plate sizes - we had two entrees and a mimosa flight and it was a very tight squeeze. If they have the ability to replace those with ones that provide more space to play around with, I'd do it.

Was this mind-blowing/off the charts? No, but it was very solid and you take...