The Red Oak Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Paris

We tried this restaurant for the first time yesterday. We were excited about the Farm-to-table concept. Here is an honest review of all things we experienced.

The server was kind and attentive. She explained before even taking our order that there would be an automatic 20% added to the bill for sustainable wage.

We ordered a “mocktail” and two entrees. The mocktail prices are not included on the menu so make sure to ask if that is something you are interested in.

The Pork Orzo entree came and it was not up to fine dining standards…the orzo was overcooked and the meatballs were dry. They were actually hard and dry and looked “old” when the dish was presented. It was also not particularly hot in temperature…maybe lukewarm. After one bite, I asked the server if I could see a menu and she took the dish away. The roast chicken was good and we kept it and finished it. The flavors were very good. The cream sauce served with the veggies was not as warm as we would have liked it to be.

We ordered an asparagus salad to replace the pork orzo. One of the reasons I chose a salad was because I was hoping it would come fast (since nothing needs to be cooked) and we could eat the entrees together. It took an extremely long time to get the salad…we were done with eating the chicken before getting the salad. The salad was fresh, and the asparagus and mushroom components tasted good…but the dressing and salad as a whole had very little flavor. I asked our server for salt and pepper.

We decided to forgo dessert and asked for our bill. When she brought it to us…although the pork orzo price had been taken off the bill, the tip amount had not been changed to reflect the salad replacement. So we were actually being charged a 30% tip for the food we had consumed. We pointed it out to our server. The system wouldn’t allow them to change it to 20% so they ended up taking it off completely and we added 20% back onto our card for her tip.

We were surprised that a visit to our table from the manager/owner after having to send back the food did not happen…no checking in to make sure we were satisfied as customers or an apology from higher management for the inconveniences and the wait that our salad took. We did receive an apology from the server, she was very sweet, but for a high end restaurant with these prices we expected more…sometimes, at other restaurants, even a free dessert or comping a drink is offered and none of that happened in this instance. We left feeling like nobody really cared if we came back again.

This was our first time visiting this establishment, and it will...

Our neighbors told us good things about the restaurant, so we gave it a try. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll come back. The food was not prepared well and they missed on 5 pet peeves. While the Red Oak is differentiating itself with an elevated farm to fork food source and menu, the staff and kitchen are not delivering on the expectation (or $40+ price for 2 breakfasts). #1 Nearly ignored at the hostess stand. (We were quickly greeted with "I'll be right with you" as the hostess(?) was doing something with the bartender near us. After several minutes waiting, she repeated the greeting and walked away. After several more minutes, we asked the bartender if we could get a table. So she summoned the hostess who returned (appearing miffed). #2 "Do you have a reservation?" she inquired with a tone. Seeing the restaurant was 2/3 empty ... why does that matter? #3 She walked us to the far corner of the restaurant and suggested we sit at a lonely table, as if we were on a "time-out." We opted for a 4-top next to ta window. Thank goodness, a trained waitress came by to take out order. Very nice. She returned with our tea and coffee, with 2 complimentary slices of banana/blueberry/cheesecake bread. Unfortunately, we couldn't eat the bread. It had a chemical ingredient taste the begged to be taken out of your mouth. #4 Then they checked the box for one of my top irritants: they serve hot food on cold plates. My hot coffee was poured into a refrigerated(?) cup that turned the coffee cold by the time I was done. Complimenting the hot/cold strategy, my wife's dish was served on a cold plate with a bed of hot potatoes topped with a bed of cold lettuce greens topped with two hot poached eggs topped with cold lox. My dish with 2 fried eggs (ordered medium) were served well-done. No liquid yolk could have bee squeezed out of them. So I politely asked for a re-do... and the new pair was better. #5 Then we tempted ourselves with a dessert menu. And when asking the waitress if she preferred the tirimi su or bread pudding (out of the 5 choices), she replied that she hadn't tried either of them. And so we decided that we shouldn't either. PS. Hope you have better luck. I'll just keep dreaming of the good old Denny's...

Well, sad to say we were disappointed in our experience last night. The Red Oak had been on of our favorite spots, we even had our wedding reception here. The last couple times we’ve went we were a bit disappointed, so we held off and haven’t been back in almost a year in hopes that maybe they turned things back around. Unfortunately, once again we were not happy and spent over $100 on our meal!

The last time we went, both ordered a filet ($50 each mind you, so not cheap!). Both came out well done instead of medium-medium rare as asked. We sent it back and then they came out properly cooked. When you’re paying that much, that shouldn’t happen!

This time around, first off it took a while for anyone to come to the table at all and in between visits, it was a long wait. So the service itself was pretty slow. We ordered a charcuterie board as an appetizer, and were disappointed in this, was missing items that were listed on the menu, and it just seemed like there was not much on there for what it cost!

Then for entrees… I had salmon and my husband had a burger. I believe the bun for the burger was from some local bakery shop which was literally crumbling as he ate it, that in itself was a frustrating experience. While we appreciate the fresh bun, it should be able to hold up with the burger! The burger itself was also VERY salty! My salmon was alright, but it too was crazy salty, and the risotto did not have any “Parmesan” flavor whatsoever.

I don’t know if Chef Josh is still there, but the last couple experiences have not been good. I love the fresh farm to table menu, however, I almost think they’re trying to be too fancy, and even so, overly salted proteins, missing items, and crumbling bread, those are basics that shouldn’t happen! I’m Sad to say we probably won’t be back again, at least not for a while, which is so disappointing since this once was our favorite...