The White Oak Restaurant

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  My friend and I tried dinner at White Oak for a second time in as many months on 9/17/10. Our first experience was mediocre; this was disastrous and we will not be returning. It was a beautiful evening and we chose to sit in the courtyard, despite the dead flowers on the tables. My friend had looked at the online menu and the one we were presented at the restaurant did not have much in common. We should have known better and just left at that point.
  
  We ordered the spinach salad and when it was brought out there was not a leaf of spinach on the plate. As it turns out, we were given the wrong menu and were told there was no spinach in the restaurant; a different salad was brought as a substitute without consulting with us. and, unfortunately, the greens were far from fresh. I preferred a different salad as a substitute (iceberg wedge) but that lettuce was no fresher than my friend's. Plus, the hard-boiled egg wedge on the side had been sliced with something that had left a gray/black line on the egg.
  
  I asked to speak to the manager, who finally appeared several minutes later. While we did not pay for the salads, he gave the impression of not being too concerned with what we were served nor the condition of the restaurant.
  
  When the entrees arrived, my friend's hamburger was dressed with not only wilted lettuce but slimy lettuce. My grilled portobella sandwich included tomatoes that this time of year, in a restaurant which prides itself on having "Farm Partners," should have been ripe and flavorful. They were neither.
  
  We had a disappointing experience the first time we ate at White Oak but really wanted to like it so give them another chance. A restaurant that wants to provide a "fine dining" experience and asks the prices it does should not have these issues nor serve food of such poor quality. We won't be back.

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  Posted on 09.18.10 Dennis C.

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  Mrs. V: Great atmosphere - simply lovely with the art decor.I tried their veggie plate, which is detailed in one of the uploaded photos - and did not enjoy it one bit. The service was wonderful, however, so two stars are granted.
  
  Mr. V: Love how I felt that I was eating in an art gallery. The menu looked good on paper, however, it did not live up to our expectations. We did order the sweet potato fries for dinner which were excellent. For dinner I had the bison with brussel sprouts and grits - none of which I enjoyed.

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  Posted on 05.16.10 Abbey V.

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  I think White Oak should just serve cheese, fresh fruit and drinks, and convert to a wine bar for conversation and dancing.
  
  The ambiance is superb.  LOVE the artwork, the fresh flowers and candles on the tables, and the cozy feel.  Just a super cool, trendy space.  .
  
  There was only one other party present on this visit, which was surprising.  I was underwhelmed with my selection.  I ordered the stuffed vegetables with grits.  It seems as if the grits were too seasoned without enough cheese, and cold, and the vegetables were just ok.
  
  I will say that the sweet potatoes were excellent in both taste and temperature.  Please read Courtney S. review for more  detailed info on the food.  Most of the people in our party was not satisfied with the meal.  
  
  The server was super sweet from start to finish in dealing with a very awkward food situation. I"m quite sure she wondered why she bothered to show for work that day, but she handled it gracefully.

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  Posted on 04.02.10 Rhea P.

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  The White Oak only uses ingredients from local farms and farmers and is vegetarian friendly.
  
  My coworkers and I came the The White Oak for dinner on 3/30/10. We were staying at the Hyatt downtown and walked to the restaurant, which I don't recommend doing at night becuase it is about a 15-20 minute walk and some areas past downtown are just not that good.
  
  The restaurant is beautiful! It has a covered courtyard with heaters but we chose to eat int he dining room. There is art to purchase all throught the restaurant and it is well decorated.
  
  I ordered the seared sea bass with mango salsa and double green beans as my two sides. I also split a chicken and dumplings with one of my coworkers. My coworkers had the bison steak, grits and sweet potato. My meal was delicous. I was dissapointed in my sides portion, becuase I ordered double green beans and had the same amount, perhaps even a bit less than my coworkers who ordered only one side of green beans. The sea bass was amazing! Seasoned so well and cooked to perfection. They even topped it off with a pretty "edible" flower, though the server said it does not taste good LOL. The chicken and dumplings meal was good, though not what I expected. Since I am a vegetarian, I was hoping to eat the dumplings and let my coworker have the chicken, but it is actually one big fried dumpling and on the bottom of the bowl is cream, shredded chicken, peppers and mushrooms. Since I gave up fried foods for Lent I did not get to try the dumpling, though my coworker said it was good, but I did have creamed peppers and mushroom and it was tastey.
  My coworkers had to send the bison back twice, one for being over cooked when the requested medium (it was cooked medium well/well) and the 2nd time for being rare and they asked for medium rare (hoping to get medium). One of my coworkers whose order was cooked "okay" said it was only seasoned with pepper, and way too much pepper at that. They all complained the grits were too peppery and cold and the sweet potato was cold as well. That seemed to be the theme because after waiting for our food and being starving from the walk, my coworker requested bread since none had been brought out. The bread was cold and the butter was almost frozen. It was practically unspreadable. Only 3 of my 6 coworkers were offered to have their meal free, even though all 6 did not finish it and was not satisfied. There was no manager on site, the owner had to be called about the situationa nd all he said was to get their email address so he can email them about the situation. The server was very nice and kept apologizing that this never happens, but since we are all from out of town, and we walked over a mile to get to the restaurant, we were dissapointed not even a free dessert or visit from the chef to the the table was offered.
  
  I gave it three stars becuase while my meal tasted great, I was dissapointed at how our situation was handled and the portion size.

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  Posted on 04.01.10 Courtney S.

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