Matchstick Restaurant & Spirits — Restaurant in Stillwater

When we walked in, we were offered a table in the hallway to the lobby that another table was using a coat rack. We asked how long to wait for a better table, and the hostest offered to clean a high top off for us. We sat down to a wet table. On the way to the table I almost tripped off dark-step/drop off between the bar and a part of the dining room. It was not lit at all, and is a serious trip hazard. Someone is going to get hurt.

The menu is dwarfed by the wine/liquor list telling me this is a bar first. The tiny dinner menu listed side vegetables first and center of plate options afterwards. The selections were uninspired and everything was similarly priced. So does that mean these are overpriced small plates, or entress with small portions that require a la carte sides?

When we asked the waitress to introduce the menu, she led with "The food comes out when it comes out", which led us to believe that there was no sense of urgency in the kitchen. We said were really craving a good burger to share and have a couple drinks. Her response was "whats on the menu is all we have" and that she would have to check with the kitchen to see if they could make a burger off the lunch menu.

Clearly, we were an inconvenience, so we left before ordering drinks.

Matchstick doesn't know what it wants to be. If you want to be an upscale restaurant, put the food front-and-center in your menu, and dress/train your staff accordingly. If you want to be a family-friendly bar & grill -like one would expect from a restaurant in a hotel- then the menu should be logical and unpretentious, and the staff should be more amenable...

For a hangout with friends & shared plates, great. The space to hang coats? Non-existing. It’s coat season. I love when my new coat hits the ground five times. Chairs are lounge-y, and noticeably short.

The food was overpriced for the quality & amounts. I would say you’re forking out for atmosphere. Except for coat racks. Hooks would be nice?

Service? Meh. I had to ask for more coffee, which is a thumbs down. Sober options? A few options.

I guess overall, it was a decent experience, but nothing wowed me. There’s a lot of punctuation in flavors for those seeking flavor. I enjoyed the presentation of the meal. My steak was cold before I had a chance to get through much of it, admittedly I am a slow eater, but warmed plates would help. There was a lot of effort put into the design of dishes. Lots of good work put forth on vegetables and selections for meal pairings. Smaller sides or possible requests weren’t obvious. My friend’s pork chop was obviously raw. My steak was good enough for it’s size and price. For mushrooms lovers, the acorn squash is good. Table raved over the brussells sprouts. The spare ribs my friend was served were thoroughly charred and frankly, he was too nice to say anything and should have sent them back, I would say, inedible? Other mentions, the sweet potatoes were done perfectly. The beets were lovely. Wedge salad? I would go back for it. The salmon seemed to be fine, did not hear otherwise.

Desert menu needs more chocolate. Life is chocolate....

We made a trip to Matchstick to celebrate, and right away, we were warmly greeted. We were quickly seated at a table and waited for our server. While waiting you can look around and see hundreds of bottles of whiskey from all over the world. The seating is very comfortable and cozy. We patiently waited at our dimly lit table as one of my all-time favorite servers approached. Holden came to our table and greeted us and provided great recommendations for the evening. He clearly explained the new menu since it had been a while and then got to work.

We started with a crab and shrimp cocktail that was absolutely delicious, then we moved on to the wagyu, my all-time favorite. It was soft and tender and cooked to perfection. The next item we tried was the cauliflower fritters. I'm not a fan of cauliflower, but the crispy outside laced with their cheese cream sauce was divine. The carrots are never a disappointment and give a sweet and smokey flavor. The crab cakes were excellent and rich in decadent lemony flavor that leaves you wanting more. To wash it all down, what better choice than a few bottles of bubbly.

Holden was very prompt and checked on us, as well as other staff members, to make sure we had a positive experience. Matchstick provides valet parking, but there is generally lots of street parking a block away and...