Oak & Olive — Restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls

My husband & I stopped in to Oak & Olive within the first week or 2 that they opened. We LOVE a good cocktail & frequent many of the bars & speakeasies in the CF & Akron areas. Plus from seeing videos online the atmosphere looked really cool (that entrance, right??). In general, things seemed like they didn’t quite know what they were doing & our experience boils down to a few small things & one big thing.

We arrived when they opened & were told that it would be a bit before we could get in because the hostess had just seated a “large” group. No problem. It does take some time (a longer wait than any walk-in we’ve had anywhere before but it wasn’t outrageous or anything). She pulls back the curtain to seat us & the place is nearly empty. Not sure what they “big group” was about, but whatever. One of the bartenders greets us with a nice smile & we sit at the bar. It takes a bit to get our waters & menus, but again – my husband & I are used to the speakeasy vibe & we’re patient when it comes to waiting for good cocktails.

Also behind the counter is an older blonde woman (I overhear someone call her Erica?) who seems like the manager. We ordered our cocktails with our bartender, but the place is filling up so the manager moves our original bartender to the floor & makes our drinks herself. My husband ordered the Sazerac with coffee in it & I ordered an old fashioned. His drink was fine & the better of the two. Old fashioneds are one my favorites but the one she made me was AWFUL. It made me sad that the Buffalo Trace in it was wasted. Both of our cocktails had luxardo cherries in them & the cherry juice was seriously dripping (almost pouring) into both drinks as well as all over the glasses, making the glasses, our hands, the countertop & anything else that the glass or our hands touched really sticky. My husband got cherry juice on his pants from his drink. My old fashioned had a cherry in it but no orange, & it needed it. I asked her for some & she cuts a huge slice, twists it around a pick & jams it in there. Not what I or most bartenders would have done, but okay. Since the orange wasn’t really “in” the drink it sadly didn’t make the drink any more drinkable.

Our biggest issue was the energy & demeanor of Erica the manager. It was just so frenetic & almost…mean? We both felt bad for everyone that was working for her because orders were being barked at them left & right & she was just moving around behind the bar so chaotic. Witnessing all of this & feeling a little unwelcome in the establishment ourselves was a huge turn-off. I know that they had someone unexpectedly call off that day & someone else working there got injured, but there are better ways for a manager to handle these types of circumstances rather than making her staff & customers want to leave. We pounded our drinks just to get out of there & our check couldn’t come fast enough. Personally we’re in no rush to go back, but that’s mostly because of the drinks. (Another reason is because my husband & I are both vegan & we couldn’t try about half the menu anyway plus there was ZERO food that we could get. This isn’t the case with the other nearby places that we go to.)

I see that the reviews here are positive in general but like I mentioned earlier, my husband & I frequent the other bars in the area & everyone (seriously everyone) that we have spoken to about Oak & Olive that has been there has had a similar experience as us. If you’re looking for a great cocktail, venue, & experience, go to The Watson (our favorite), Cashmere Cricket, Tiki Underground, Asterisk Coffee Bar, the newly opened Vacancy, or in Akron there’s the Northside Speakeasy.

Oak & Olive really nailed the secret entrance & the décor though! The review star count would be lower but I gave them some more grace because they were fairly newly open & the unusual staffing circumstances. Aside from sub-par drinks (the main reason you go to any bar, right?) the biggest issue was the manager’s energy making us feel uncomfortable...

The atmosphere and service were great. The food and drinks were great. I want to comment on the 90 minute table time. It’s bad and was poorly handled in our case. We knew we had 90 minutes at our table based on the reservation BUT the servers who took care of us were laid back and they never brought it up. Our reservation was for 5:45 pm and we knew we needed to be done by 7:15 pm. No one ever told us differently and did anything to update us on our time remaining. We were in the middle of paying our bill and almost done. We just needed to sign our credit card slips and finish our last drinks. We were told that it was time to leave as the next party for the table was present. Part of our party arrived before 5:45 pm and they were seated early (although they were initially told the table wasn’t ready; and when they walked in, many tables were open). We weren’t informed until we were told to leave that our “timer” was started our time once they were seated but no one ever told us. We were so close to being done and it was before 7:15 pm that it was ridiculous we were even approached. Would Oak and Olive prefer us to not sign our credit card slips and not leave a tip? Oak and Olive needs to come up with a much better way of handling the 90 minutes. Or maybe extend the 90 minutes. What if we wanted dessert? Seems like Oak and Olive has no interest in selling desserts – maybe desserts should be taken off the menu. If Oak and Olive insists on keeping the 90 minute limit, they need to help the customers “speed up” the ordering process instead of acting like it's all laid back. And they should keep customers apprised of the time left for their table. Being told abruptly that your time is up is rude. Add to that the fact that there was a hidden time for us (not our reservation time) made the experience that much more unpleasant. Not sure I can recommend the place based on this. If you go and have a reservation, do NOT sit at your table until...

Saw a social media post about Mattiolis Pizza shop and the hidden speakeasy within. I decided to take the Misses and daughter out for a nice evening on the town. This restaurant is located in a nice mixed use neighborhood in Cuyahoga Fall. We had a bit of a wait as we did not make a reservation prior to our visit. We walked into the pizza parlor, figured out how to enter Oak & Olive, and got on the waiting list. We were told it would be an hour, and it was pretty accurate at about 45-55 minutes. By the time we got in, people were being told the wait would be appropriately two and a half hours to two hours and forty-five minutes. So I would recommend making a reservation. The food was delicious. Nothing was sub-par. We ordered two pizzas, two appetizers, three salads, and between the three of us six drinks. We all were very satisfied with everything. This is a wonderful spot for a nice night out with friends or family or a date night with that someone special in your life. I definitely recommend giving this place a visit.

My only complaints would come in the service department. They were just a tad slow in getting around to us. But with how packed the house was, I won't hold it against them. They acknowledged it and were gracious and apologetic about it. They are just getting underway, and there are always a few kinks to work out.

Also, bring hand sanitizer. I personally always visit the restroom to wash my hands prior to eating when out, as you have likely touched a million surfaces. I could not find any hand soap or paper towels in the restroom during our visit. So bring your own sanitizer.

• Update* On my second visit, I found the hand soap and hand dryer There is a sign on the back portion of the sink area below the mirror that explains the setup. The left spigot dispenses soap and water, and the right spigot is a hand dryer. All are...