Oak Barrel Tavern — Restaurant in Worcester

Visited on Saturday and was just ok. Atmosphere is cool. Hostesses were friendly and excited to show us the features of different seating areas where we could sit and have a drink while waiting for a table. Bartenders were also nice and seemed to be having fun (in a professional way) despite it being busy and probably pretty stressful. Always nice to see people happy and enjoying their jobs.

Waitress wasn't the best. She never made eye contact and would look at the door when interacting. It felt a little like she was waiting for someone to arrive, but ended up making us feel like we were a bother. While we were waiting for apps to arrive, I grabbed my purse, got up and asked her where the restrooms were located. She said, "Oh. I thought you were leaving." Kind of a weird thing to say.

The food. Shrimp plank was reeeally borderline and would have been better if it had been grilled for just a minute more. The garlic bread underneath seemed suspiciously like Texas Toast you can get at any grocery store. My steak tips were tasty and my husband enjoyed the fish and chips even though he commented that the crinkle cut fries were in all likelihood your average, grocery store frozen type. Just seemed like many accompanying items taste alot like what you find in your local freezer section.

Looking through reviews, it seems like the owner is very customer service oriented and open to feedback which is appreciated. This place really does have alot going for it and I think with some menu tweaks, could be...

We went to Worcester after having many great experiences in Sudbury. Unfortunately, I will not be coming back. Service was ok, the waiter was very young and management non existent. I was very disappointed with the food. I got a half wedge salad to start, that was good. Then I ordered the country fried steak for dinner. It looked a little over cooked when it arrived. After trying my first bite I could taste that it was burnt and also had this terrible aftertaste. The waiter then came by and asked how everything was. I informed him that it didn’t taste right and did not like it. He then apologized took the plate of food and walked away. A minute later he came back and said his manager said because “I didn’t like the food” they would buy me a dessert if I would like one (I don’t eat desserts). If I would of realized it was supposed to be burnt I wouldn’t of ordered it. The manager never came over. The waiter never offered to give me another piece of steak that wasn’t burnt or anything. Mind you I informed him at the beginning of us recieving our dinner so while everyone else ate, I sat there. Oh and on top of it they charged me for the county fried steak dinner. I’m just very disappointed and hungry. I talk up this restaurant establishment a lot and am now going to make sure I specify what location. So...

Very pleased with our dinner. Me and my mother stopped here on our way back from our Montreal trip because we saw them on Phantom Gourmet.

I got the pulled pork sandwich ($15) and for $2 extra I had onion rings on the side. The pork was tender, the bun was great and it was a decent size.

But the onion rings were out of this world! So crispy and it had that nostalgic, diner taste to it.

We shared some chicken wings for an appetizer ($13). 8 wings came with the order and they were cooked well and juicy. However, we didn’t like the BBQ sauce they were tossed in. It almost didn’t taste like BBQ sauce and it was way too heavy on the ketchup. If had no sweetness.

My mom’s entrée was the tavern harvest grain bowl ($15). It had a bunch of healthy stuff on there, but the portion was huge and I had to finish it for her. It would be kind of boring if it wasn’t for the amazing ginger sauce they serve with it.

My mom ordered a peanut butter stout for $6.50 and I ordered there shark bite cocktail for $10. The stout was really good, but I wasn’t a fan of my drink. It tasted water down and I couldn’t taste the alcohol.

This restaurant is a really cool place to hang out and our server was so sweet and...