Oakes & Evelyn - Montpelier — Restaurant in Montpelier

We've been going to this spot regularly for about seven months now, and it’s become one of our favorites. The staff is always friendly and welcoming — there’s clearly low turnover, which says a lot about how the place is run. It’s refreshing to see familiar faces each time, and they do a great job making you feel at home.

The menu rotates periodically, with new specials showing up often enough to keep things interesting. There are definitely some recurring dishes, but we’ve appreciated the way they balance consistency with seasonal updates. The ingredients are high quality, and the flavors are consistently well balanced and creative.

Some of the negative reviews mention things like pricing or having to wait longer at the bar. That hasn’t been our experience at all and those reviews are all pretty old. It seems like any earlier kinks may have been worked out — or we’ve just had consistently great visits. Either way, it’s worth noting that yes, prices are higher everywhere these days in general, but what you're getting here is more than just a meal. The presentation, the thoughtful flavor and texture combinations, and the overall dining experience are what make it worth it for us. If you're looking for a bargain or a quick bite, this probably isn’t the place. But if you’re looking to enjoy a full dining experience with multiple courses, it absolutely delivers.

We often choose to sit at the bar, and yes — the pace can occasionally be slower like some of the negative reviews reference, but that’s true at pretty much any bar, where the bartender is handling drinks for the whole restaurant. We don’t mind it at all. In fact, we enjoy it. The bartender here is especially friendly and fascinating to watch mixing drinks, and we’ve had some great conversations with both staff and fellow diners. It’s always a fun, relaxed atmosphere, and we’ve met some fantastic locals just by sitting at the bar.

Overall, this place has become one we keep coming back to because it offers something rare: a thoughtful, well-executed experience from start to finish. The cocktails are beautifully crafted, the food is consistent, interesting, fresh, and well-balanced, and the atmosphere always feels just right...

It was our first time at Oakes and Evelyn, and we were excited to try something new for a special dinner out. While the food was fantastic, we were a little disappointed in the experience. We each had a bao bun (I the mushroom, my husband the pork belly), and they were absolutely delicious! Highly recommend them. For our entrees, we had the NY strip and the bolognese. My pasta was very good, but my husband's food was barely warm by the time it got to our table. And that was our biggest issue - service was incredibly slow. That's not something we'd normally complain about; we weren't in a rush and they were obviously training new staff. But it seemed like we were being ignored. There was a certain customer who must have been some sort of VIP, because that table was obviously being favored at the expense of the rest of the customers. Our waitress spent a lot of her time chatting him up (as did the restaurant owner, very loudly I might add), showing him multiple bottles of wine and laughing at his jokes while I had to wait 15+ minutes for a simple beverage refill. Eventually the host finished taking care of our table because our waitress was so absent. The atmosphere was cozy, perhaps overly so. We had a relatively early reservation, and while we were seated right up against the back wall next to the bathroom, we did have ample room away from other guests. By the end of our meal though (1.5 hours later), the restaurant was packed full and there was very little room between ourselves and our neighbors. They were so close, we felt that we had to awkwardly make small conversation with them and acknowledge their presence to avoid being rude. They also commented on the close quarters as they were being seated. All that being said, we'll likely be back, as we're assuming this was just an off night for them. We believe in second chances, and they're definitely worth giving...

2.5 stars. Overpriced and overhyped. We had crispy octopus, lamb pappardelle, five spice tuna, pumpkin tiramisu, and chocolate tahini cake. Service was 2 stars, we were at the bar and the bartender didn't greet us or offer menus. The bartop where we sat was not wiped prior to our seating and the bartender just put silverware on the unclean surface. We wiped the utensils with napkins before use. The octopus was the highlight of our order. It was tender and not rubbery. Flavor was excellent. Lamb pappardelle was 3 stars. Though tender, the lamb was given in stingy portion. The pasta was too flat. Part of the pleasure of fresh pasta is biting into something that has spring and substance. The pappardelle was anticlimatically flat. The tuna tataki was 3 stars. Four slices over a bed of black "forbidden rice." My favorite sushi bar sells 6 slices of tuna tataki for $14, not $34. Plus the presentation left something to be desired. dark food in a black bowl. I was turned off before eating. Black rice is not worth $20. Pumpkin tiramisu was 4 stars. tasty, although a bit soggy. Chocolate tahini cake was 2 stars. The concept is interesting, but it was as dry as cardboard. Would have paired better with gelato. They didn't have ice cream or gelato. They offered whipped cream. It was so dry, whipped fluff would not have helped. We wanted to like this place but we have eaten better and been treated better...