Oak Hill Tavern & BBQ — Restaurant in North Kingstown

Change is inevitable, I suppose. I was never a big fan, and now that I'm older I like it even less. SIGH. Sometimes change is good. Unfortunately, I'm a looooooong way from good after revisiting OHT. My apologies for this Swiss cheese of a review, but I hadda pull out the butcher's blade and start chopping! ...replaced with sturdy (and comfortable) wooden Adirondack chairs scattered around the patio accompanied by propane heaters. There are also several high-tops between the outdoor bar and the main building and a small stage near the firepit. Astute individuals will have (hopefully) noticed there's been some changes made at OHT, and not necessarily for the better. [I've dumped the bits regarding the food 'cause one disappointment shouldn't color your perspective on a place you loved.... but] But I strongly believe that it's the small things that make or break somewhere that falls into the 'I Love This Place' category. And it's the small things that soured OHT for me. First, no more Anchor Porter. Sucks to be me, sigh. Second, the main menu has been trimmed, IMHO severely. Seems to be mostly chicken and barbecue items and burgers. (another sux4me 'cause I Loved the portobello dish and...) Third, and probably the last camel that broke its back due to a straw for me. The portions were smaller AND taste, texture, and technique were on holiday. Look, I am fully cognizant of the difficulties involved in acquiring certain ingredients, however, the food I got belonged under a heat-lamp in some gas, sorry, some 'service' station on the border of Nowheresville, USA. CONSISTENCY is important. If a thing is almost unrecognizable from the exact thing ordered the day before, in every sense applicable, it's highly unlikely I'd order it again.

... good atmosphere, family-friendly, outdoor firepit, supersized Jenga game o/s, as well as cornhole, a putting green, an outdoor bar (open seasonally), free peanuts & popcorn (nix the popcorn, nee Covid), and last but not least, Fairly low prices. Sadly, in the universe we currently find ourselves in, low prices mean that the item served no longer adheres to what your palate remembers. Or your brain remembers, for that matter. What I ordered and what was served was light-years from what I'd been ordering for at least a decade...

I have been coming to the Oak Hill Tavern since I was an 18 year old Freshman at URI. 7 years later and it is still one of my favorite restaurant from all my travels. I find it ridiculous that people can say that the staff is rude, that the food was mediocre, or have anything bad to say about the owner. The Fish and Chips here are the best I've had throughout New England, Florida, and Southern California. I've tried dozens of other places for fish and chips and no where else can compare. The beer choice on tap is better than would be expected, and over the past few years I have seen it getting better. The craft beer selection is much better than most of the restaurants around. The barbeque here is also very, very good, especially for New England (sorry New Englanders, but you aren't known for Barbeque.... Every time my family comes to visit we make sure to find time to come to the Oak Hill Tavern. My mother loves the peel and eat shrimp and the ribs, my father loves to try something new (and has never been disappointed), and my little cousins love the pizza. The owner even came up to have a beer with me. my father, my Uncle, and some friends once. He told us some jokes, talked about his passion for the restaurant, and shared a pint. Really good guy.

Anyone with anyhting bad to say about the Oak Hill Tavern is either lying or had a rare bad day here. I have been here enough to know that the norm is a superb experience.

Overall, when it's all said and done, I can confidently say that the Oak Hill Tavern is my favorite restaurant in New England, let alone...

Terrible service! Staff was not pleasant. I asked a waitress at the hostess station how long our wait was going to be for four people and she gave me the biggest attitude and said “I DON’T KNOW!!” Okay...it’s fine that you don’t know, but no need for an attitude. She could have said “I don’t know (in a nicer toner) but I can find out” or something like that). We were very patient and got some drinks and waited outside by the fire pit, which was nice. After 45 minutes we finally got a table and ordered. Our food took a while and came out after the people who got seated after us, which we found to be strange. The waitress dropped off our entrees and did not come back to check up on us. We noticed her chatting away and attending to other customers. I made eye-contact with her and she didn’t even bother to come!! She never came back to refill our waters or asked if we wanted more drinks or anything! We desperately needed napkins because of the ribs, so we had to use some from another table. We even had to get up and ask for our check. At this point it wasn’t even busy so she had time to check on us, but failed to do so. I’ve never encountered anything like this before. Food was really good, but small portions and drinks were expensive for a place that is not fancy. I would not come back because of the terrible service. I’m usually not the type to write any horrible reviews, but this...