The Oak Barrel

I have thought long and hard about this... but I am gonna go with 5 stars. My first visit back in March was very good so I gave it 4 stars. The food and beer were great and the ambiance enjoyable. I went back again yesterday and the beer was even better (they had a very hard to find local brew on tap...Columbus Brewing Co.'s Bodhi) and the Cuban sandwich was perfect. The atmosphere was decent, not real bustling but it was early. (It is a little uppity but I was completely comfortable wearing shorts and t-shirt.) What put this experience over the top was the cornhole boards out front along with the outdoor bar they had set up. That is enough to win me over everyday of the week:) Great job Oak Barrel!!

I went with one friend on a Wednesday night. The place is huge, but not sterile. There was a pretty good crowd at 6:00. We were seated promptly and I was pleasantly surprised by the cocktail list. However, the aviator was not worth the $13 I paid - it was good, but not to the level I would expect for $13. The service was solid--friendly and attentive, but not intrusive.

We ordered a bunch of stuff to share: the Kentucky bourbon barrel onion rings, the sausage flatbread and the duck confit mac and cheese. The onion rings were good, but disappointing (I guess I should not have expected "Kentucky bourbon" to be anything other than normal onion rings). The best part of the meal was the flatbread - very fresh toppings and the sausage was quite good. The duck confit mac and cheese was heavy on the cream and light on the duck. I would go again if asked, but am not eager to return.

Would have been nice if there was something not fried or loaded with fat. Abstained while the rest of the table ate.  The server was excellent.  Not a beer person, but they gave samples at the bar while waiting so that was good.  Was busy at 7:30 on a Friday evening but less than half full by the time we left.