OAK Eatery — Restaurant in Medina

Updated review after being out of state for a couple years. Place is still a winner - only change is the service model.

Food is still really good! Their menu still has nice variety of easy and accessible food options for most audiences (including gluten free). The atmosphere inside and out is really delightful. One change I'll note is the service model is now full service, wait to be seated (for dine-in) with an awkward way of presenting it. The reason I'm noting this is that the current setup led to a very awkward service encounter in my most recent visit, and a couple tweaks in layout, presentation, (or customer grace) may help avoid this.

As you step into the restaurant, you're visually and physically drawn to the large service counter at the left with a couple of registers and 3-4 huge menu boards behind it listing available food and drink options. (Note: See Dan or Chad's reviews for entry-way pictures.) With the large menus behind the counter, I immediately I started looking at available options to order and was called over to the counter by one of the staff to begin the process. What I missed (and it sounds like others often do too) is a small dark A-frame chalkboard, knee-height off to the right, that says wait to be seated. As called over by the staff, I was asked dine-in or take-out. I said dine-in, expecting to start my order. From there I was informed that dine-in was a full-service offering. I imagine I looked confused, as I was retold it was a full-service offering, and then was pointed to the chalkboard behind me informing that it required me to wait to be seated. I mentioned I was sorry I missed that, and she indicated, you and everyone.

None of this interaction is going to keep me from coming back, but the exchange was enough that it left a sour taste. It's also something that can probably be solved (or at least bettered) by thinking about existing process can be modified. Does the sign placement need to change to better meet line of sight? Does the sign height need to change? If all staff is waiting behind the registers when customers arrive, should the expectation change that staff come out behind the counter to greet customers as they arrive? Should there be a greeter instead? Just a few questions to ask if the expectation for dine-in is that customers are supposed to wait to be seated.

Surprise winner here - great for young families! Wasn't sure what to expect from exterior but the interior was bustling and lively. Order from the counter and food delivered to your table. Great burger and fried fish. Flat bread could have benefited from a crisper crust (IMHO) but was still very tasty. Gluten free options were plentiful and really tasty said my party. We'll be...

Not sure how many friends and family gave this place 5 stars...HUGE disappointment. Should be zero stars. This place failed on ALL aspects of a restaurant. Which is sort of amazing in its own right. I hope they’re better at lunch/dinner than they are at breakfast. We went for breakfast at 9am on a Sunday after the wait for Pegs Countryside was too long. The fact that we walked right in and had multiple tables to choose from should have been our first clue. The woman behind the counter was clearly annoyed and overwhelmed. Someone else showed up later and she had a terse exchange with him. Then there was our order. 2 coffees @ $1.75, breakfast burrito $9, Oak Breakfast of 2 scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast and two slices of bacon, and lastly a cinnamon roll. Well the hash browns were cold and under fried, the eggs were fried instead of scrambled, the bacon was under cooked and cold. the burrito was something I could make at home and for $9 was half the size of a chipotle burrito (which is much higher quality). They took a tortilla tossed in cold hash browns, eggs, store bought Colby jack cheese, a cut up sausage link or two and a spoonful of cowboy caviar. No sides - one plastic cup of salsa. I can get the same quality and quantity from the McDonalds dollar menu for $2....they should be embarrassed. They ran out of coffee too. Then there was the cinnamon roll - which they forgot to bring/give. Then when they brought it in the prepackaged container we had to ask them to take it back and warm it up - which they did in the microwave. I really want successful non-chain restaurants around here - but this place isn’t it. Again, HUGE...

This place is a real gem of a find.

Walking into the place is like walking into the TARDIS from Dr. Who. It's much bigger on the inside.

We walked up to the counter and asked what our next steps were and the lady behind the register gave us a couple of menu's and gladly explained to us how everything works! The menu has something for everyone, they have plenty of healthy options, but they have wonderful standard fare too.

We ordered a Reuben sandwich and a Cuban sandwich both with fries. They were both spectacular. I will make one caveat here, I saw they had a French Dip. Way back in the day there was a place called the Lincoln Del. I asked if they could make a French Dip with the corned beef. I looked like I stunned them all right in their tracks. They were very courteous about it though, just a small dream.

The Reuben was spectacular. I might have used a touch more sauerkraut but only a touch. The sauce was very creamy and the corned beef was especially tender!

The Cuban was a delight as well. The ham was spectacular and the mustard they used was excellent. The fries for both were delicious and what fries should be.

There was an incident with a child who had an upset stomach. The staff took care of this in a quick fashion and were very respectful of the family and the rest of the diners.

The food was simply awesome. We...