My spouse and I dined at Oak
steakhouse for an early dinner on a Sunday afternoon in late September 2018.
Oak is open for dinner only on Tuesdays through Sundays from roughly 5:00 pm
until 9:30 pm, with earlier opening hours on Sundays and extended closing hours
on weekends. You can call to reserve a table. (Oak does not participate in any
online customer management software like Open Table or Reserve.)
Oak Steakhouse opened in
mid-2017 on Northampton Street in Downtown Easton, between the State Theatre
and Centre Square, next to the Easton Public Market and adjacent to the
pedestrian-only part of North Bank Street. The owners of Oak also operate
neighbors Ocean and the River Grill.
The four-story Oak Steakhouse
offers a different setting on each floor. In the basement, you’ll find the
dry-aging steak room, a private dining room that can accommodate about 20 guests,
and restrooms. The main floor (street level) offers a grand entryway with a vaulted
ceiling and huge oak tree sculpture; this floor offers table and booth seating,
a service bar, and an open kitchen in the rear. On the second floor, a balcony
area offers the choicest seating (be sure to request it when you make a reservation),
with the bar behind it adjacent to small round tables. In the back of this
floor, a private dining/event space is separated by sliding barn doors. On the
fourth (top) level, a lounge space with retractable glass roof offers a al
fresco place to drink and dine. In addition, a small outdoor dining terrace on
the Bank Street alleyway is also available in appropriate weather, surrounded
by foliage and topped with white string lights overhead.
The hostess first led us
upstairs to a smallish round table in the bar area, which seemed more suited to
cocktails and appetizers than to a $250+ dinner. When we inquired about sitting
at one of the empty tables on the balcony, she told us that she had
reservations arriving who specifically requested that area. When we said that
she could cancel our reservation and that we would return at another time, she
asked us to wait a moment while she went back downstairs to see whether any
tables were available on the main floor. Eventually, she sat us at a square
table for two; which was roomier than the round table upstairs. Note that
diners on the main floor are directed to restrooms on basement level; however,
a handicapped restroom is available on that floor. There must also be restrooms
on the second floor, because we didn’t see a steady stream of people descending
to the basement, plus the restroom in the basement was designed to accommodate
just one male and one female at a time (which seems undersized for a restaurant
that can seat 120+ guests at a time).
The cocktail list at Oak
Steakhouse didn’t offer any drinks made with mezcal (one of our favorite
ingredients, and one that seems to be very hot at the moment); when we asked
our server to inquire whether the bartender could make us a mezcal and
grapefruit drink, she said yes and walked away, but then her co-server returned
to confirm that we wanted a “moscato” and grapefruit. When we explained the
situation, the co-server informed us that although the restaurant offers
several types of tequila, they do not stock mezcal. We settled for an
Okie-Dokie instead (rye whiskey, ginger liqueur, lemon juice, bitters). While
we waited for our drinks to arrive, a server delivered rolls (which would have
been excellent had they been served warm) and three spreads/sauces (olive oil,
honey butter, and a house-made steak sauce).
As appetizers, we ordered the
crab cake (described as “sizzling” [which it wasn’t] and “lump” [which it also
wasn’t] and the seared sesame tuna (great sashimi-grade quality and deliciously
crusted with black and white seeds, served with a seaweed salad). As our
appetizers arrived, we asked our server whether we could change one of our
steak choices (10 oz. filet mignon) to the pricier but less-common 14 oz.
bone-in filet ($57 instead of $35), but she said that it was too late, which we
found perplexing, since our steaks should not yet have been fired because we
were just beginning our first course and still had our second course to eat. We
shared the blue cheese wedge salad topped with frizzled onions, cherry tomatoes,
and bacon, which we requested to have split onto two plates; disappointingly,
it arrived on one plate, along with metal tongs and two share plates so that we
could divide and plate it ourselves. Next, our filet (medium rare) and the 24
oz. porterhouse (also medium rare) arrived; both steaks were perfectly cooked,
served on a warm plate atop a pool of melted butter and garnished with two
onion rings. (The onion rings were overdone and ice cold, clearly prepared
ahead of time and left to sit, dissatisfying because onion rings are actually
one of the side dishes that the restaurant offers.) To our steaks, we did not
add any of the special crusts (like blue cheese), sauces (such as Bearnaise, demi-glace,
or au poivre), or toppings (including lobster, shrimp, or crab/Oscar), and we
appreciated that our servers did not promote those upcharges. As sides, we
shared the buttery whipped potatoes (delish!), the creamed yet still chunky
corn with tiny bits of Vidalia onion and bell pepper (fantastic!), and the Brussel
sprouts with bacon (overcooked and mushy). The dessert offerings were disappointing:
we expected to be offered at least one baked-to-order dessert (such as a
soufflé or soft-centered cake), but the choices were rather mundane: (brownie
sundae, cheesecake, chocolate layer cake, crème brulee), so we were left to
decide between the key lime pie and the upside-down apple cinnamon cake
(although the menu proclaimed it to be upside-down peach bourbon cake). We went
with the cake, which was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnished
with a piece of brittle. Because both my spouse and I were celebrating our
birthdays, the apple cake and a plate of complimentary mignardises both arrived
with a candle. The prices were typical for a steakhouse, with appetizers in the
$10 to $15 range, steaks in the $30 to $50 range (excluding the $120+
tomahawk!), sides (which feed 2+ people) about $7, and desserts $9.
We liked the atmosphere at Oak
Steakhouse, but would be hesitant to return due to the myriad of small issues
we encountered.
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