The Oakdale Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Indiana

After our visit today, I remember liking it more... before. My apologies, this is a short novella. Mind you, I like what they've done with the restaurant and bar area, and especially the outside area. Looks like they're making the inside more open to each other, as much as you can, and it looks pretty nice. The more stream-lined menu is great too, but sorry to see a lot less fish. That was the great pull before, because it's hard to find great seafood restaurants. First off, we came around 8 pm and they close at 9, and were told to sit wherever we wanted. There were no placemats or silverware. To drink, we said we wanted an Arnold Palmer and an iced tea. Then we were informed that there was no iced tea. Then she came back and told us there was only enough for one iced tea, put it on the table, and asked me what I would like to drink. I asked questionably, ginger ale? She wasn't sure if they carried it. Which caught me by surprise, since it's a bar. She came back with my drink and we ordered the soup of the day (she wasn't sure what it was), and then she said she wasn't sure if there was any left, since it was close to half an hour before the end of the day. She'd go and see if there was anything left. When she came back she informed us that there was enough soup for one, so my husband ordered chili. The soup would probably been amazing, had it been warm. Hubby said the chili was good. We ordered the breaded mushrooms for appetizer. Mind you, at this point, our waitress, brought out our basket o mushrooms, and took away the soup bowls and resting plates. We still have no silverware or napkins. Luckily, I keep napkins in my purse for such occasions. I also had the forethought to reserve my soup's resting plate to function as my app plate. Then she finally realized we needed silverware. Ta-dah! At which time, she decided to put silverware at the other empty tables around us. Nice touch, I thought. So, my husband ordered a burger with fries, and I ordered the breaded tenderloin sandwich with fries. The burger was great - juicy and delicious. My tenderloin was a bit tough in spots, gristle in one or two spots, and just a little over dry for my liking. The french fries were also meh, so as much as I really looked forward to our visit here, I have to honestly say that it lacked on quite a few...

I've been going to Oakdale a few times per year for many years. So I'm definitely not what you would call a regular customer. Unfortunately my latest visit will probably be my last. I'll start with the positives, there was plenty of seating & every thing was clean. The hostess was very friendly, asked our preference of booth or table, & got us seated immediately. Our waitress was excellent, she was very prompt taking our order, made sure we had drink refills before we needed them, & in general had a very pleasant and upbeat attitude. The excellent service is what made this review 3 stars instead of 2. On a basically neutral note the food was okay. Nothing wrong with it, but definitely not impressive in any way either. Now for the downsides. The first major hit is that the menu has shrunk considerably, the whole reason we went initially was that my daughter wanted frog legs, & they along with several other dishes are no longer on the menu. The final nail in the coffin is the increase in pricing since the last time I visited. For myself and my 13 & 8 year old children our 3 meals (2 Smelt dinners, & a 2 piece Catfish filet dinner) plus 3 soft drinks totaled just over $80. Seeing how our waitress was excellent I went 20% then rounded up to the next dollar for tip. This brought our total up to $98. Unfortunately when you combine the cost with the just average food, the price is much too high! There are a lot of very good places to eat in the area with better food & more reasonable pricing. So, as much as I hate to say it, if you're looking to really get your money's worth for a meal you should probably...

Under the previous owners this USED TO BE a place to go and get a good meal at a decent price with good service...not any more. We are full time, year around people in this summer resort area and at one point this was our "home away from home" but now with the serious raise in prices, lack of a well stocked bar, average service (at best), we will not return and definitely will not recommend it and in this area, word of mouth can be a killer! The food is ok but for the price you pay I definitely expected better. The menu as shrunk considerably and the prices definitely not for this area. Maybe Lafayette / Indianapolis or towards northwest Indiana (Merrillville, Crown Point or further north) but not here. We went there as a family based on our past experience with the Oakdale Inn and almost left after seeing the menu but after already receiving our beverages and the time of evening it was, we decided to "bite the bullet" and stay...never again. Things better change or this place won't be here long! Overall rating...2 thumbs down! By the way, it takes a lot for me to write a review but this one needed...