The Oak - Raleigh

I came with 5 other people, none of whom I knew ahead of time. We got our table and were served water with more water in empty Elijah Craig bottles. Nice idea. My entree was the pork shoulder, which was pulled, with a lot of crispy Brussels sprouts, and southern Mac and cheese with a BBQ drizzle on top. Excellent plate for $21. The sprouts were good, but they were really brown from being charred. But they were definitely crispy. Very god BBQ sauce, nice and smoky. For drinks, we got 2 flights of 3 random bourbons. Now none of us were experts, but our server had a lot of enthusiasm and certainly knew the products backwards and forward. I thought with over 100 bourbons on the menu, it would be helpful to have a few pre-made flights with different themes to them, just to make it a little simpler. I did have an old fashioned; I was intrigued by 30 kinds of bitters. It came with the house bourbon with hints of orange and honey and I opted for pecan habanero bitters. They had a nice earthiness and only a little touch of heat, nothing overwhelming at all.Fun place to visit, although parking can be a little tight!

The Oak is tucked into a packed in shopping mall right along Lake Boone trail in the "Rex Hospital" district if you will. I normally get there by 440 to the Lake Boone Trail exit then a left on Wesville Court. You then take an immediate right into the very busy main thru way with businesses on the left and right. The oak is on the right in the middle. You can rarely park there at lunch. So you then take a left on this other thru fare and back there you can usually find something. Then you walk back and up a small alley way and its tucked in there. Its right next to two roosters which is a bit easier to see from the street. Give your self a few extra minutes the first time to work thru all this. Once you walk in the door they ask if you want to sit inside or out. Sometimes the greeter is busy serving so you have to wait a minute but be patient they will be there shortly. The staff is super passionate and bright about the overall Oak offerings and the bourbon in particular. Their knowledge and passion stand out and make it super fun. So let me stop here and make a key point. I am NOT a bourbon drinker. I did not come here for the bourbon. I came for the food. The limited menu is superbly seasoned and flavored. The burgers absolutely stand out that way. There are many gourmet burgers being offered. But its not only about excellent quality meat. Its also did you season the meat BEFORE cooking it so the flavor really cooks all the way thru. Salt alone in the triangle will make your burger stand out, along with high quality ingredients of course. The Oak goes beyond salt and beyond the high quality ingredients. Its fully seasoned thru and thru and cooked in. Same is true of the mac and cheese side. I can't think of many places in the triangle right now that burst with flavor like the Oak is going right now. But what about the bourbon? So for the visit I will focus on here I brought my nephew (27 year old adult with masters degree which means, yes, I am old) on March 12th who was in from out of town to come with me to the Hurricanes playoff game, which we won btw. It was my christmas present to him. He is also not a bourbon drinker but he gave a flight a try. Thats 3 bourbons you and the server pick out in small shots to try and learn. What fun!! The server told great stories of the bourbons, how they were made, why they are different from each other. In Devon's case he got Coopers, Hookers House, and Barrell Bourbons. He could not stop talking about the stories and what he had learned about bourbon. So go for the food, but stay for the bourbon and TALK about it with your server. You will not be sorry. The servers are picked for their passion and knowledge about Bourbon. So for this night we had the flight, the lamb burger, the beef and bourbon and 2 mac and cheese for $76+ tip. How was it? His florida team is no longer in the playoffs, my Raleigh team is still going and when i asked him to concede my team is better he replied: "If that means I get to come back for bourbon, and sliders, ... well of course they're the best! "

All I have to say is... go to the bar, order the best French Pinot or a rich red if you like, the 3oz filet and fries... steak frites. All you need... taste to calorie ratio? All food is great. Service is impeccable. And even their take home banana bread etc is amazing the next morning. Wonderful steak house and more.

Farm to table and absolutely delicious. I usually don't like all my food mixed together but the pork shoulder, Mac n cheese and Brussels sprouts combo was amazing. The duck my brother got was perfect. Out waiter was extremely attentive and nice, he gave great recommendations and answered out questions. My brother has a peanut allergy and they were really great about asking the chef and walking through the menu with us. I also got the Bourbon flight which I enjoyed, I will say the house bourbon is extremely sweet so be warned. The restaurant was nice plenty of seating for a large group or small group. The bar area is nice and has a ton of alcohol for you to choose from. Highly recommend and would definitely go back.

Service was fine. Several menu items not available. Kitchen was running slow with only 1/3 of tables occupied. Oak smash burger is really a patty melt. Bread soaked with oil and nothing on burger to cut through all of the oil. Shrimp tacos were ok. Ordered one of the thee available beers and waitress came back and said they were out.

I've had The Oak - Raleigh on my list of places to eat for over a year, and I'm glad I finally had dinner here. I made a 7:15 reservation for my daughter and I on a beautiful Saturday evening. We were seated right away in the dining area next to the bar. It's a pretty open place with indoor and outdoor seating. They have a couple of sections in the main dining room. The vibe is great and the music is great too. The service was awesome, you never waited or wanted for anything. If our water was low, someone came by and filled it. If we were finished with a plate, someone came and cleared it. Sean was our server, and he was awesome. You could feel his passion about his job and the food there. He made it sound just as good as it was. We started with drinks and appetizers. The Heritage Farms Pork Belly was good. The salsa, elote and the cheese added a nice touch. The sprouts were so good, so light and crispy. So much flavor. The Mac n Cheese was rather tasty as well, so very cheesy! For our entrees, I ordered the seafood special, sea bass with an asparagus fondue, gnocchi and spinach finished with a Parmesan crisp. Every bite was delicious. The favor profile was perfect. I'm so glad I ordered it. My daughter ordered the bourbon sliders, with the black pepper aioli on the side. The sliders were cooked perfectly and were very good. And we saved room for dessert! They had two desserts, Turtle Cheesecake and Sweet Potato Creme Brulee...we ordered both and they were both perfect! I l definitely enjoyed the food and the ambiance at The Oak - Raleigh and I will definitely go back.

So I was on the way to a concert and happened to stop by this spot and I was not disappointed. The people there were super nice and friendly. Because of the show that I was going to there was a lot of people already there so they have to kind of make do and we ended up having to sit outside. But they have heaters outside so keep that in mind. Also which is really cool, they give you blankets if you're not okay with the heaters. So you can send under a heater and then have a blanket on your legs and you can be totally comfortable even if it is a little bit chilly out. Of course it's walled in by the plastic walls that restaurants put up to say that they are indoors and outdoors, but on the right type of night you can really feel the breeze so I thought that the heating lamps and the blankets were a good addition and that's a plus to them.Everybody was super nice, the lady came by who was managing and talked to us for a while. Not just a regular high and buy, actually has some real conversation. I really really liked that. It gave a humanistic feeling to us that we weren't just a table but we were people.The waitress came over and talked to us and she gave us the rundown of the whiskey's and Bourbons. What I loved about this was the fact that she asked what we normally go for and prefer and she tried to match up what we prefer to the specific alcohol on the list. So the fact that you listened to me and then came back and asked my opinion on it, it let me know that you really cared enough about your company to learn about what they serve and you care enough about the customers to learn about what I like.The presentation was great, I have no complaints about the presentation of it, I only got a drink but there was a flight on the table as well and everything was laid out to where you knew exactly what you were drinking. I got a sandwich, steak, and it was really really good. The bread was a little crispy but that crunch definitely added to the meal itself!I wouldn't do plan on going back to this spot when I'm in the area!

What a fun little restaurant! It's hidden in the back of the plaza but offers a wide selection of bourbon and whiskey. Their old fashioned is renown with a wide selection of bitters. I'm not normally a drinker of old fashioneds but was very accepting of their version. Food wise, it was great, I ordered the shrimp po boy with a side of fries and Brussels sprouts. Everything was delicious! Service was stellar too. Definitely will revisit next time I'm in town!

Best drinks ever! The food 8/10. Great staff. Felt warm and welcoming. I would have loved to see some cozy seating. The current seating was cold and uncomfortable. Over all i would recommend for a quick meal and drink.

We had a great experience at the oak for lunch. The only item they were out of was the nachos but that didn't deter us. Our big group was seated at a long table and had prompt and courteous service. Our food came out beautifully prepared and delicious. We were the only patrons on a random Thursday afternoon but couldn't guess why because the staff, food, and atmosphere were great. I also really love that their bathrooms are labeled as "Whichever" because it's hard to wait in line for the women's restroom to ever slow down so this made life easy. We will certainly be back.