A little blurb on the atmosphere and ambiance. As I’m told, this used to be the old “Tweed’s” restaurant and has now changed hands and is under new ownership. I had never been to Tweed’s before, so I have no prior experience as to the its previous atmosphere, but I’m told this is much better and nicer. Oak Barrel Tavern has seen a great renovation and apparently it’s too the liking of many people I was with this night. For me it clearly looked renovated and was clean and well lit with “open” lighting. We were sent to the back room and had our own area for our group. That was nice. It fit our group of 12 people and had room for many more. If you were having a small event, it would be a nice room to have it in.
I ordered the Country Fried Steak. I was thinking, “You don’t see that often on a menu.” Naturally, I had to try it. I’ve had many country fried steaks in my life as I spent a good part of my life growing up in the south. I’ve had some amazing home made country fried steaks and also many great ones from restaurants down south. That being said, I’m a bit spoiled and I’m very aware of this, which means when my country friend steak arrived, I was disappointed. Very small, overcooked and a bit burned on the breading. The breading itself was pretty much nonexistent. I was looking forward to a wonderfully cooked light but fluffy breading, but alas It wasn’t there. It was served with either mashed potatos or crinkle cut fries. I should have had the mashed potoatos. The fries looked like they were poured out of a bag of frozen fries from Orida. It also came with green beans on the side. Those were my favorite part of the meal. My overall feeling of Oak Barrel Tavern’s food is that it is your basic “Pub” food that can be found pretty much anywhere. If that’s your thing, then I think you’ll love it. I admit I’m pretty spoiled and was hoping for something special, but it’s not a place a “Foodie” would go to have a great meal.
Our server was very attentive and helpful. Service is very important to me and I have to say it was very good and friendly.
Overall, I don’t think I would go back to this place for food. It was a nice atmosphere and the staff was pleasant. If you just wanted to hang out with friends and have a drink and have some pub food, I’m sure this would be a fine place to do that. If you are a foodie and are looking for something wonderful, it’s definitely not your place.
