OK, I really hate to bash places but I've now been here twice and the service is about as poor as a place can offer. The first time I stopped in for breakfast and was not in a rush, just had an hour to kill and wanted to relax, read the paper and enjoy a cup of coffee. Well the breakfast sandwich was very good but getting a refill of coffee, I got impatient and served myself. Not something you should need to do at $30 breakfast for one. 2nd and last time, stopped in with a friend for a nightcap after a nice dinner across the street. Slow night in the place, about half the tables were occupied at about 9pm memorial weekend. 15+ minutes after being seated to order drinks, they arrived in reasonable time but we sat there trying to find a waiter to order a 2nd drink to no avail. Had the company of old friends so we weren't in a rush but we are not in a rush to go back. They lose @ $15 a drink, we would have had 2 or 3 but we moved on tor a 2nd nightcap elsewhere. I think the general management has been replaced with less experienced folks... no shine to the place, no towels in mens or women's restrooms, just not up with the details of operating. To many other options in the area to waste time on a 3rd attempt. read more

The restaurant ambience and decor is fantastic. The experience started out w/ a fantastic hostess who sat us at a quieter section of the restaurant so we good hear each other. The waiter though was condescending and impatient. When i sent a martini back that was dirty ( menu didn't say it was dirty) I felt like it was my fault so when the food came out extremely salty I was afraid to say anything again so just barely ate anything even though I spent. 300 for 4 people. In retrospective, i would go again but be careful to ask about everything and be specific when ordering. The ambience is wonderful. read more

AMAZING!!!! I can't say enough good things about oak long bar and kitchen but I will try to fit it all in here in chronological order. I went on a Saturday night around 8 o'clock in December 2013. Decor: it's so chic and WARM! There is a fireplace, a place to hang your coat near the tables. They have captured looking old fashioned and classic with a slightly modernized feel. My boyfriend made a reservation a few hours in advance and asked for "the best seat in the house". They made us feel so welcomed and taken care of over all and I was so glad to see that we were seated at a table right by the fireplace in two high back chairs. So comfy. Also the table itself was made out of a wait oil, thick dark wood. Food: I don't know how to out it other than this, I was extremely hesitant all of the next day to eat something/make food because of how much it would pale in comparison to the last meal I ate. I had the bass and had some bites of my boyfriends duck dish. Delicious. Both were Perfectly seasoned, had perfect accompanying sauces and vegetables, and were perfectly portioned according with the price. It's a fairy costly place so I hate it when you pay a lot of money for just a little bit of food. This was not the case here. Had a large portion of food but not enough that I felt that "my stomach is going to burst" feeling afterwards from eating it all. P.S YOU MUST GET THE BREAD! I love a good bread basket and always get it at restaurants. This was like no other complimentary bread experience. It's served in a cast iron pan and seasoned with rosemary, salt and some other spices (I don't really like rosemary but I LOVED this). Perfectly crispy on the outside but not too crispy, soft on the inside, just the right amount of cooked into it, and somehow it tasted savory and sweet at the same time (I'm salivating at the memory). As for dessert, I don't like chocolate so that cut down on most options for me. Also I wanted something light (or else I would have gone with the apple option) so we got a pumpkin flavored whoopsie pie. The pumpkin ice cream was lovely and my boyfriend ate the flavored thick cookies that the ice cream was between. Service: hostess and wait staff were impeccable. I felt so taken care of and attended to. Everyone there was so nice and down to earth and the waiter gave us great, honest suggestions about the menu and wine selection. Overall: Hands down the best restaurant I've been to in Boston and I can't wait to go back! read more

Could not have been more unsatisfied and left feeling ripped off. Everything is pre-made so no special orders. Service was slow, uninformed and unappreciative of its customers. He made us late for a show when we specifically told him we needed to leave at a certain time. For what they charge, meals should be made fresh and to order and they should be able to serve the general public. Another example of how a nicely designed place charges crazy money for moderate food and expect no one to complain. I'll never go back...too many other fantastic restaurants in Boston to deal with this. read more

Pageselected . Alison GreeneOAK Long Bar + Kitchen Just now · . Writing a review. Ate here last night. After a very bad start we ended up happy. 1. Not enough bar seating. Probably the worst layout ever of a bar/restaurant I've ever been in. 2. Total chaos with the servers. 3. The most ridiculous pour of wine in an oversized-dirty-glass. 4. Stupidly limited menu and way overpriced. This is not New York City. Now the good news. 1. After mentioning the chintzy wine pour I was comped in a lovely way by the manager. And the server also mentioned that the bad pour is continually mentioned by patrons. 2. Our server, who turned out to be fabulous, said he had been working there for 21 years and has been frustrated since the remodel of the bar with its identity. Is it a bar? Is it a restaurant? He said he has been fighting since the remodel for better food choices and food choices oriented to Boston. He says there isn't one thing on the menu that would suggest that you were in Boston-no chowder, no seafood choices, no raw bar, He is right. 3. Won't go on and on here-we ended up with a great meal and excellent service, but not after throwing a hissy fit. Flatbread was average and way overpriced $22.00? Come on. Ceasar salad variation was good, raw tuna was great. We felt appreciated FINALLY. Last thought-if the waitperson who has been working there for over 21 years and the manager are frustrated-think of how your customers feel, LISTEN to your people and make the changes necessary to make this C+ place into an A+ place. You have the location-make this place GREAT. Thanks for listening. read more

Oak Bar is my JAM. Cannot say enough good things. I frequent the bar quite often and love all the staff. Their drinks are so good and their staff is SO nice and thoughtful. If it's your first time visiting Boston, make sure to stop by Oak Bar at least for one cocktail! read more

A very sad departure from its predecessor, the Oak Room. It stands to reason that the food at a restaurant is only as good as the service provided insofar as you can only eat that food if someone serves it to you. We arrived on a friday at 8:30 with a reservation for two. We were greeted by 2 hosts, one of whom said she would ready our table immediately. While we waited, 2 more, and completely different, hosts came up and asked how they could help. Sign one of a completely disorganized and poorly coordinated restaurant. We are eventually seated. Second sign this is going to be a bad experience is that it took our HORRIBLE waitress approximately 5-10 minutes to even come over to us to give us water. It is beyond this point that things got VERY bad. After waiting another 5-10 minutes to just make a drink order, my fiancee asked a softball question that any amateur waiter should be able to answer--"what do you like on the menu?". This amateur waitress clearly out of her league taking orders at a second rate restaurant fumbled a very simple question and STRUGGLED TO NAME ANYTHING ON THE MENU! The waiters at the old OAK ROOM were seasoned career waiters that were professional. It was personal service, not the sonic drive threw economy experience it has become. We got our drinks and eventually managed to get our waitress to get us a cheese plate. I can't really attribute any value to the fact that I liked the cheese plate because its an effing cheese plate. After receiving the cheese plate our waitress disappeared to, I **** you not, have a smoke break. Gone for 20+ minutes we were consoled with the line "oh, i had asked someone to watch your table". Ultimately, we did not bother to order an entree. We had asked another waiter to get our check because we had waited so long. Finally, I guess I am confused whether or not this place was meant to be a night club, or a high end restaurant, but generally you should allow folks to buy wine by the bottle if you wish for your establishment to thrive--an option either not available, or just stupidly omitted from what appeared to be an incredibly abbreviated drink menu. Avoid this place like the plague. You get better service at IHOP. read more

Disappointing....OMG, the prices are outrageous for Papa Razzi quality food. Service is just as bad, old tired bartenders who couldn't be bothered. No comparison to the old oak room, this clearly is not the oak room anymore. We tried it once since the new and gave it another chance and it was just as bad. Both the service and food. I can't get over what they are charging for that food. read more

Horrible, horrible service in the Oak Room! What a huge disappointment and a waste of time and money. A few of my friends and I decided to have a cocktail and a bite to eat after the concert in Copley Park yesterday. We were greeted by the hostess and sat right away. It took our server over 15 minutes to greet us...(I'm a server...It wasn't that busy)....he took our order and then he disappeared. Another 30 minutes passed. A kind gentleman who worked there must have noticed that we were getting frustrated and came over to check on us and ask how everything was going. I told him we've been waiting a very long time for our drinks and cheese platter. They appeared on our table within 2 minutes after speaking with that gentleman. The drink was warm and watered down because it was sitting there so long and cheese/meat platter was just okay. 2 Gentleman who were sitting next to us...arrived maybe 30 minutes after we did...waited longer for their order to be taken and drinks to be delivered. Unacceptable! I do not recommend this place to anyone. read more

As Fairmont travellers throughout Canada and the US, we were happy to read that the stale old Oak Room had been redone..and I use stale in reference to the smell, the menu, and the average age of the diners there. We tried out the new Oak Long Bar today for lunch arriving about 11.50a (they open at 11.30a). The new menu is short, the flatbreads, a couple of salads, some heavier appetizers like chowder, then a hamburger with fries, a bacon/cheese/tomato sandwich with fries, a halibut entree. We both got the bacon/cheese/tomato sandwiches with iced tea and a sparkling water. Then we waited...there were at just after noon 27 people sitting at 8 tables and two positions at the bar. While there seemed to be a lot of staff (we counted at least 10) scurrying around there was certainly not much coming out to the customers. A bistro table next to us hadn't been set with place-settings: one woman came by and gave it a token wipe (leaving circular cup and glass stains on the table) then put down napkin and utensils. Five minutes later another woman came by and cleared the table..figure that one out. Our two sandwiches came out about 20 min with a quick apology...they were both too tall to eat simply but the bacon was good, the gouda cheese was good, the artisanal bread was good but nothing was great. We were offered one refill on the iced tea, then left alone, alone and alone. It is not a place which trains staff to look out for tables which are not theirs apparently. We did ask a waitress to get our check, then had to ask yet another one to take it up. She walked with the payment and my credit card in hand around the restaurant for almost five minutes talking to other staff: either many of the swipe card machines were not working or she did not have access--we finally saw her get a card from a maitre d' after which she brought the check. Two sandwiches, iced tea, sparkling water, tax and 10% tip was $61. Meh. The volume in the place was ok when we were there, but, yes, the floor is now all tile and wood so I imagine if it's full you've got a full din. The new logo is perplexing too...you see an A and a K in loopy script sort of but it's small and hard to read (both on the outside awnings and on jacket lapels). Eventually you can get the O from the design, but the effect is a weird French-scripted cow branding, certainly nothing elegant or easy to read. We also did not find the seating comfortable: the leather tall chairs at the bar looked nice, but the rest of the place has either deck chairs (leather on the back instead of canvas) or plush cocktail bar type chairs. Either one was deep: if you sat back all the way (by preference or to rest your back) you were way too far from the table and your partner, if you sat forward you were hunched over the bistro table in a cramped position. In all, it's better than the moribund previous Oak Room, glad we tried it out but won't be back any time soon: far too many fun places to drop $61 for lunch elsewhere in the area. BTW, despite the heading info there are two TVs set into mirrors over the bar and they do not take reservations: they have an entry in OpenTable but it doesn't let you book and staff told us they both do not take bookings over the phone and also don't know when they will be taking reservations at all. read more

I am extremely disappointed with the renovations. The dark wood is gone, replaced by light wood paneling. I feel like I should be at Bertucci's with the giant oven in the middle of the bar. The new entrance creates a bit of a draft too. The red leather directors chairs are unbelievably heavy. I'm a 20-something, who runs four miles a day, yet I could barely move my chair. The staff wear pinstripe suits with garish logos on the front pockets. This makes it difficult to tell who's staff, management, or guest. The staff is rather curt too. Also, I was disappointed with the menu. I can get overpriced mini pizzas at other "trendy" restaurants. But, remember... this isn't the Oak Room anymore, it's the OAK Long Bar + Kitchen. It's loud and fast now. Consequently, if you remember the Oak Room from your childhood/adolescence/adulthood (eating their with your parents/grandparents/family... enjoying an incredibly peaceful respite from busy city life... afraid to raise your voice and disrupt the other patrons), then don't visit the OAK Long Bar + Kitchen. You'll be disappointed. read more

As a Bostonian living in Back Bay I was most discerning when it came to dining out. Now that I must spend most of the next 2 years in southern California, I am very careful where to eat when returning for my frequent visits. Bottom line, the new Oak Kitchen was terrific, the crowd fun and wines by the glass very pleasing, especially the top line Pinot Noir. The The wood fired oven food is wow - had the lobster and absolutely had to review just to congratulate the Chef. Oh, the biscuts they start you ot with are not to be missed. The service was friendly without being over familiar and while I generally like tradition and enjoyed the old room from time to time, this updating really works. Let me repeat, it really works. Combined with the food quality, this will be a regular stop. Great job all involved! Now, why not 5 stars instead of 4? 5 denotes not only excellence but consistency, so next time.... read more

drinks and food were awesome. we just had a miserable bartender. she was awful.