My sister and I had dinner at the Scarlet Oak Tavern in Hingham after seeing a terrific performance of Abbamania at the Company Theater in Norwell. See my separate review of this wonderful musical performance. The Scarlet Oak Tavern is situated in an historic colonial house that has a fireplace and outdoor seating. The atmosphere here is always charming, wide plank wooden floors, cozy rooms, and plenty of them, and a charming bar. The servers are always polite and smiling. I have been here many times over the years with many different people, friends and family and it is fairly consistently wonderful. I don't recall having a bad meal here ever. There is a lovely room that has a fireplace when you first enter the establishment. It is especially nice in the winter when the fire is roaring and we have a toasty drink to make everything extra cozy. However, it is equally pleasant in May! My sister and I shared several appetizers, which together constituted a delicious meal for each of us. We ordered an appetizer called Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Ribs that came with four very meaty flavorful ribs. We ordered two separate sides of the delicious mashed potatoes that they serve at this establishment. We also ordered one very large crab cake appetizer we ate the crabcake first. We then placed the ribs on top of the mashed potatoes with a couple of the delicious pickles that were served with the ribs. It was absolutely scrumptious. See the photo! For dessert, I ordered a flourless Flourless Chocolate Cake with crumbled peanut brittle served with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The cake was moist and delicious with almost a rich pudding consistency inside it contrasted amazingly well with a flavorful crunchy topping of peanut brittle and a smooth cold refreshing mound of ice cream. In a word this dessert was as maddeningly delicious as it sounds. Highly recommend! read more

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This place holds a special place in my heart and my belly. Anytime I think of cozy, warm and delicious - this is where I am. The food is so damn good, the vibe is comfy in the bar area or more upscale in the dining area. The drinks are on point always and the staff really know what they're doing. read more

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I'm so bummed about this place as it has always been my go to. But the last few visits the food was not great and it is not cheap (which somehow makes it worse). We ate in the bar. We ordered some specials on the menu that were not good. I ordered a shrimp and cavatelli appetizer and when it arrived at the table, I could smell the shrimp were not fresh. I took a bite and had to spit it out. I flagged down our waitress (she didn't check on us after the food was delivered and finding her took about 10 minutes as she had vanished) and so I asked them to switch the appetizer to the Mexican corn dip. This was also not good. It was so overcooked that it was dry and not the slightest bit creamy as a dip should be. My dining companion ordered the swordfish special and it was mediocre and she did not like the dense polenta cake it came with or the tomatoes that were covering it (she said they tasted canned and we are in the height of tomato season). For desert we got the coconut panna cotta that had no coconut flavor and was bland. I don't know what is going on with the food here lately but I unfortunately have to take this place out of our rotation. read more

Scarlet Oak Tavern - Mexican Corn Dip was overcooked and dry - New American Near Me - Hingham, Massachusetts

Excellent food, service and location. Solid gluten free options and tasty food in a tavern style restaurant. Easy off the highway too

Met my brother and his wife for lunch This place is huge with lots of little eating areas and a large variety of. It is a converted house. My wife and I split a lobster bake pizza which was plenty of food. The only downside was that was the most expensive flatbread pizza we have ever bought. read more

Scarlet Oak Tavern - Lobster bake pizza - New American Near Me - Hingham, Massachusetts

My sister and I split the tuna and the salmon entrees. When the food arrived, we thought we'd have a lot leftover. But no, we ate both entrees. They were both so delicious. My favorite part was the rice that came with the seared tuna--but honestly, everything was great, including the service. We also split the mixed berries and vanilla ice cream dessert. We went last minute, after a very long day, and it was the perfect way to relax. We don't live around here, but are around from time to time and will definitely come back. read more

I absolutely recommend this establishment! I have been a frequent customer since it opened and have never had disappointing service or meal. The ambiance is quite nice too!! read more

On a beautiful Fall day, we had such a great lunch here! The waitperson was so friendly and welcoming with no push to order even though we arrived at 1pm, the height of lunch rush. One thing I've always liked about Scarlet Oak, is the menu that doesn't change from lunch to dinner, so there's always something delicious, always something just the right size! Dover sole called my name today, a portion enough for three. A delicious and different zucchini flan accompanied the fish that was atop red peppers. One of us had a huge turkey sandwich with fries and one had dessert for lunch that looked so good. As usual, the noise level was up there until about 1:30 or so, and people went back to work, leaving the noise at easy-to-hear levels. All the while we got caught up on what we had going on. and ate a wonderful lunch, our very professional waitperson checked on us, brought that delicious SOT cornbread for us and just generally made everything go smoothly. We hadn't been back for a while as one of party refused to return after a disappointing meal but after today, all is well and SOT is back on the "approved list!" read more

Came back a second time and got to see more of the menu - lots of great food to choose from! Really enjoyed the potato crusted cod over corn chowder, and the steak frites was a hit. Also enjoyed the two cheesy appetizers (baked brie, cheddar dip) were quite good. Margherita pizza and fried chicken were a tad boring, but they looked good, so they'll look good on your Instagram feed before you dig in. We'll probably be back again. read more

We've been coming here for years to celebrate special family events but it's a great place to go for a drink or a nice meal in a beautiful tavern. Consistently great service, warm and inviting atmosphere and top notch food make this a special dining experience. read more

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Ughhh. It pains me to write this because I love this place but I had a less-than-stellar experience here recently.... My girlfriends and I came here for our annual Christmas dinner. We all ordered salads to start. I got the scarlet salad. While the flavor was delicious, the salad felt "cheap & flimsy." Like they were afraid to put too many ingredients on my plate. For my entree, I ordered the filet mignon (medium-rare) with mashed potatoes and spinach. The steak was cooked correctly but dry as a bone. Not juicy or flavorful. My friend got the same steak and commented that she wished she ordered a sauce with it and I agree! For dessert, I ordered the maple bread pudding. Even though it was good/average, it was the best part of my meal... read more

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It's just OK. I've been here few times in the last 5-6 years in different contexts and have relatively good experiences. Ie: Girls night put, drinks & apps A++, Family dinner with kids B+. Just came with hubby for an anniversary date night & would probably give it a C. . Made a reservation for after the Derby. When our waiter came to rhe table, he noted how everyone had cleared out after the race. We ordered drinks and an app and he mentioned he'd send bread service. Got our drinks, they were great. Our appetizer came, great. We noshed, no bread service ever came. Waiter came by eventually and took our dinner order. I ordered the Shrimp and Grits special and he noted how good it was. Didn't mentioned the missing bread service, but figured we had time. After a little while, our entrees were delivered by the food runner. My shrimp & grits was served with the heads on the plate but severed from the bodies. I moved the heads to an appetizer plate and removed the tail meat from the shells for the 5-6 shrimp on the plate. Once deconstruction was complete, I tasted the dish. It was a bit bland. I used s&p to season the dish, but it was still underwhelming. Our bread service never came. I finished my cocktail and would have enjoyed another. I continued to eat my dish, despite it being disappointing. My husband really enjoyed his meal. When the waiter finally came over, I voiced my disappointment in the dish, which still had 50% untouched, but since I'd deconstructed the shimp first, it probably looked like I ate more thaN i did He didn't really acknowledge my comment about it being underwhelming and then took away our plates and brought the check without any attempt at an accommodation. We would have been open to another cocktail and possibly dessert, but we weren't asked about those options. We paid and left. This Experience solidifies that we will not be back. read more

We were greeted with smiles. As we entered the restaurant. Very busy staff always attentive,food is very delicious and the ambiance is great.homey feeling with the fireplace. read more

Thanksgiving 2025... On Wednesday we made the last minute decision to go to Scarlet Oak Tavern for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a small gathering (just 4 of us) and this seemed like a fun thing to do. We've been to SOT a few times and it's always been great. I checked the website to see if there was a Thanksgiving menu, and there wasn't. This suited us just fine because we love the menu. Our out-of-town guest brought desserts, so the plan was to have dinner at SOT and dessert at home. Imagine our shock to arrive and find an unappetizing and expensive prix fixe Thanksgiving menu. I had the Caesar salad which was utter slop. It was like a packaged Dole salad, but far worse because there was too much dressing and too much cheese. Upon further reflection, I'm not sure this *wasn't* a bagged salad that someone tried to spruce up with more dressing and cheese. Blech. Two of us went against our better judgement and got the $72 (!) Thanksgiving entree and it was slop too: Slices of dry turkey piled atop gross stuffing with a pile of squash on one side and a scoop of mashed potatoes on the other, all slathered in nasty brown gravy. The cranberry sauce was the only good thing and it helped ameliorate the shabbiness, but there wasn't enough of it to save this unappealing orgy of brown food. It was sad that there was no vegetable in this entree, but I guess vegetables would have been too difficult to pull off for the crowds they had. Two of us got the haddock and said the corn chowder with bacon was much too salty. Dessert was nothing special. Before being seated, there was the chaos we encountered at the front of the house. The restaurant was clearly overbooked. We got there at 5:05 for our 5:15 reservation to find the area from the bar to the front door packed with people waiting to be seated. A senior citizen was sitting sadly on a chair by the front door, getting blasts of cold air every time the door opened. When she and her party were seated I had my mother (80 years old) sit on the lone chair. People just kept piling in... it was loud, stressful, and dangerous. KUDOS TO THE STAFF FOR ENDURING THIS LEVEL OF CHAOS WITH PATIENCE AND GRACE! The second star is for them. I have to ask: Did someone at SOT decide to foist a Thanksgiving menu upon everyone at the last minute? If I'd seen that menu I wouldn't have made a reservation. I've always liked SOT but I'm not sure we'll ever go back. We had fun together because the atmosphere there is always festive, but we truly felt insulted by that dinner, and bamboozled by having to order from a menu we didn't expect. Our dinner came up to $316, $386 with tip. If the food had been spectacular we wouldn't have minded, but this was shameful. The owners will have made a killing yesterday, but this experience killed our Thanksgiving. NO THANKS AND NEVER AGAIN. read more

The first impression was a county Inn! With lots of nooks and crannies to sit and enjoy a meal or drinks! The wait was not long and we got the best table that was near the entrance for at least 5 and very secluded from other diners! The staff waitress Giada who was super attentive and pleasant! Our guest host ordered for us and was happy to do so! When the food arrived it was plated perfectly and yet it tasted better than perfectly! The whole dinning experience was enjoyable and the atmosphere perfect! I can say that the menu was varied and interesting! read more

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Atmosphere: 4/5 Busy on a Saturday night. Fireplace is a nice touch, but I wish it was more central within the restaurant. Definitely get the tavern vibes. Service: 3/5 Fairly average service. Nothing bad, nothing spectacular. Food: 1/5 A) Kids pizza (1/5). This was just inedible. Probably one of the worst pizzas I've ever tried. A frozen pizza from the grocery store is better than this B) Kids mac and cheese (1/5). This was just Kraft Mac and Cheese that I could have bought for 99 cents at the grocery store that they are selling for $10. A restaurant like this should make their own mac and cheese. Disgrace C) Coq au vin (1/5). Chicken was way overcooked, dry, and lacking any flavor whatsoever. D) Pork Chop (3/5). Flavor was decent, but the pork chop was overcooked. E) Chocolate cake dessert (3/5). Didn't taste homemade or freshly made. I suspect it was made a long time ago and microwaved before being brought to the table. The peanut brittle was the only saving grace, albeit a bit sweet. Overall: 2/5. This place has vibes and potential, but seems to have fallen victim to complacency and uninspiring food. We've given this place 3 tries and all have been similar to this experience. We will not be back. read more

This restaurant is a hidden gem with great ambiance & food. They have dollar oysters every Monday. Service at the bar is always warm & inviting & they usually have a fire going in the colder months. read more

Absolutely charming spot, I loved the ambiance there, you can smell the fireplace when you enter. We were seated by the fireplace and had an excellent waiter. We ordered baked brie and carbonara ravioli for apps, caesar salad and hangar steak frites for entree, and I ordered the bogged down drink. Everything was really good, if they had more vegetarian options, it'll be a 5 but this restaurant isn't catered to vegetarians, regardless my boyfriend said the food was really good. They also had complimentary cornbread. read more

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my wife and I were fortunate enough to get two seats at the bar in the back. It was during the Kentucky Derby, so the bar was busy, but that had no effect on the service, exceptional and appreciated. We had the garlic shrimp and the barbecue ribs as appetizers dipping the bread in the juice of the garlic shrimp was my best part. The ribs just fell right off the bone When the rest of our party arrived, we sat down for dinner. No one was disappointed the steak tips, and Caesar salad Was scrumptious. my wife cut the Abi tuna it was cooked to perfection. It was a large portion and tasted as if it just came out the ocean. I highly recommend this place whether you're at the bar or seated in the restaurant you will have a wonderful experience read more

We held a family dinner celebration here very recently. A dozen adults and two children in a private upstairs dining room. Everything was perfect, from delicious hot hors d'oeuvres to a 3 course meal with a few choices and a fixed price per person. A kids menu for the youngsters. Stellar service from Rachel. All the food was delicious and enjoyed by everyone. I highly recommend Scarlet Oak for a delightful dining experience! Katie, Director of Private Dining and Events, was great to work with. read more

Very nice place, it's busy so make a reservation. Hunted this place down after finding out it has the same folks as Gibbet Hill running it. Many like dishes on the menu, but then some different ones. Good dink selection and wine list. Everything was very tasty. Albeit the crab cheddar dip could use some lump crab meat to put it over the top. My filet was good perfect and the onion rings were spot on. read more

Scarlet Oak Tavern - Menu - New American Near Me - Hingham, Massachusetts

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I really do not like to write negative reviews but sometimes it is necessary. I took some elderly folks for a nice lunch on a beautiful day. There were 4 of us. Ned was our server and was spot on from start to finish. Now for the food.. 2 Reubens, 1 Cobb salad and 1 watermelon/feta salad with candied walnuts. The Reuben's barely had any MEAT IN THEM.. I mean they were as flat looking as flat looking could be..we both literally removed everything from one half of the sandwich and put it into the other half to make a decent sandwich which still was not what I have had so many times at other restaurants. Ned asked how everything was so I told him. He asked if I wanted something else.. I said no I wanted a good Reuben. The watermelon/feta salad was not at all to her liking and she said she would not order it again. The elderly gentleman enjoyed his Cobb salad thank goodness. The manager did come by to speak to us and I told him exactly what I am writing in this review.. that it was a flat with no meat and he responded " well we do put a press on them on the grill!" The sandwiches were flat because they HAD SO LITTLE MEAT IN THEM! Ugh it will be a long time before any of us visit Scarlet Oak again! To be honest we all expected so much more! read more

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Absolutely tremendous from beginning to end. Great food, great ambiance, great service. Our bartender was knowledgeable and kind. Our food was perfect, seafood prepared perfectly. Would come here again in a second. read more

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Scarlet Oak Tavern is a nice place for grabbing a few drinks or choosing to sit down and have a nice meal. Feel comfortable coming in casually or for a dressier occasion. They are located in Hingham, MA. I like that they source produce from local farms. They also have a variety of options like local seafood to brick oven pizzas, vegetarian dishes, seasonal sides and homemade desserts. I believe this restaurant used to be an old house. Loved the layout and decor. You feel at home here with its warm & cozy vibe. I ordered the steak & lobster tail. Although the steak was very tender and tasty, the lobster tail was a little too chewy for my liking. The service was great. Our waitress was a good sport and friendly. Overall good experience. read more

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Steaks was great....service was not. My husband asked for a second glass of wine when our food was brought, but the waitress did not bring it over until she brought our check. He stated he no longer wanted it and she gave him an attitude. Will likely not return. read more

Ordered the Marguerite Pizza and was so disappointed ! Tomato sauce looked & tasted like it had been on the stove and allowed to boil down. The mozzarella cheese was hardly melted and the crust was awful ! This was my favorite thing to order at one time. read more

Our family has been going to the Scarlet Oak on holidays for nearly a decade and I can't help to think the Easter fixed menu pricing is a bust. It cost our family ~$150 more than we wouldve normally spent at the Scarlet Oak for unwanted portions of unwanted food. The price did not match the quality and I hate to say that it felt like a predatory strategy. We are people willing to pay a premium for a premium dining experience, but this was not it. We couldn't remember if this was the second or third time they've done this, but unfortunately, it will certainly be our family's last. It felt rigid, expensive, and came with remorse. We couldn't help but notice the restaurant felt empty this year. We've booked around the same hour every year in advance, brunch and lunch. No traffic, no valet. It felt void of children and young families while the Easter Bunny still went around walking past multiple unfilled tables to seemingly smaller parties of much older adults. Yeesh! A couple of slices of ham with french fries and a dessert square that could have been from the airport is not $70. The steak is..good, but not for $75-$80. I get better steak in a $23 sub from a sandwich shop in Brockton. There was a cupcake that was just kind of frumpy, and looked less stellar than something from Whole Foods. It was certainly not a third course. The old desserts were beautiful! These were mostly sheet pan slices cut like.....hospital food (I'm sorry!!) The clam chowder was not good. There were 3 large shelled clams sunken at the bottom of a steep bowl that I hit with my spoon. Near zero chopped clams and virtually zero potatoes. Bacon does not belong in New England clam chowder, and it was gummy to boot. A star for our waitress who was very nice, and a star for the ambiance which is cozy. To each their own, but we were rather disappointed this year and we are sad to arrange new Easter plans for the future. read more

This place offers something for everyone. Upscale enough to have an event (we had our rehearsal dinner here and went off without a hitch) and low-key enough to have a few drinks and appetizers in the cozy lounge area. That said, I wouldn't consider any aspect of the place formal (which I mean in a good way). Staff here is uniformly friendly and attentive, and the menu offers decent variety. Spicy tuna tartare, steak tips and flatbreads are my personal go-to's. Unfortunately, of late, the bartenders have mixed the cocktails too far on the sweeter side for my taste. Slightly more interesting are the amazing amount of rumors that attach to this Georgian-style house at the end of Hingham's Main Street. Whether it is actually haunted or you can have success swinging up to the bar -- you'll need to explore for yourself. read more

Have been eating here since it opened many moons ago. Great staff, great service and historically always great food at a solid value. Met a friend a recently for lunch and as always ordered the seared Ahi Tuna salad. I can't believe they served this fish. It was grey. Not pink. Not red Grey!!! So gross. I'm not one to complain so I didn't return it but wish I had. Won't be back after a meal like this. read more

To start, been dining here for special events for over 20 years. I even had a family event years ago in an upstairs private room. The food was always delicious. Went for dinner this week and it was not the same. The service was great but we couldn't get past how much the food had changed. The presentation of crab stuffed sole was 3 small balls of rolled up fish put on top of garlic mashed potatoes. No sauce...no crumbs - just rolled up grey fish. Another at our table had a filet with a side of spinach. The spinach was drained all around the steak. Maybe consider a small dish for the spinach?? Just a big giant disappointment from a restaurant that used to be a destination. Sad. read more

Ordered steak frites - ordered medium rare and it came out well done, absolutely no pink to it. Not even close and came out cold

Hadn't been to the SOT in years so when a friend mentioned heading to that area took the opportunity to stop there for a birthday lunch and we were both very happy with the choice. They were anticipating a large grouping so a good section of seating was reserved, but we had a really pleasant time sitting at the bar where we enjoyed dirty martini and nice white wine and several tasty apps and small plates. Definitely returning read more

Was recommended this place from a co-worker and I can see why! Parking is ample though this place can get busy during the dinner rush so be prepared to wait (or come early!). Items we ordered as of 10/2021: - Hanger Steak Frites - $27 - This was a huge hit with me. Steak was well marinated and cooked to perfection. huge portion of steak and fries! You can also sub the fries with truffle fries for a increase in price (I think it was a few bucks). - Seared $10k Tuna - $29 - If you're an ahi tuna lover this is a great dish for you. Lots of tuna at a reasonable price! - Narragansett Calamari - $15 - Not as crispy as we've had at other places but the portions and sauce was delicious. Because of the lighter batter you can really taste the squid. Overall we were quite happy with our meal and our waitress was attentive and informative! We'll definitely be back! read more

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The meal was superb! It was delicious! The service was good, it got busy as we got there so our server was a little short with us but got better with time. They seated us in the bar area and it was extremely loud. There were 4 of us and we hoped to talk but it was nearly impossible! We have eaten in many bars but this one was excessively loud. Again the food was excellent so we will be back but we will be more specific with our reservation request. read more

I visited Scarlet Oak while I was in the area visiting some friends, who had mentioned how much they like the restaurant. There were multiple seating options available, both of for and outdoors. We opted for indoors since it was drizzling a little. Since we had made a reservation, we were seated immediately we got in. The inside was very nice and cozy, a little dark so as well so I think that it will make a great choice for a romantic date night. The seating looked like it could accommodate small parties, as well as larger parties or about 10 or so. The drinks were really nice, I got the jalistic approach which was a sweet and fruity cocktail, and was not disappointed! The meals were also very tasty, with some attractive plating as well! We started with the baby back ribs, which had a mix of sweet and savory ingredients that nicely complimented each other. We also got the sweet potato gnocchi, which was amazing, as well as the salmon and the haddock. I just wished that the portions were a tard bit larger, because I definitely wanted a little more of the entrés we ordered. Our waiters were very nice and attentive, with great hospitality overall! Definitely recommend that you stop by if you're in the area. read more

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Very good food, friendly service, nice atmosphere inside and out, A bit pricey but I would go again

Last minute decision to stop by for lunch , My girlfriend had Chicken Hot Pie... 4.5 excellent I had clam chowder... 3.9-4.0. Very good .. Margarita flatbread 2.9-3.0. I had low expectations. Tastie but ? Just cracker thin, guess that what it is anywhere it's flatbread ... So good visit... Hopefully this year they clean up the outside and give the place a clean up, ( outside!) And paint the house... read more

There isn't anything I don't like about Scarlet Oak. The food, service, ambience and hospitality is wonderful. But I do have two issues. We love the Wine Room but please get some new chairs. You can sink right down into some of the chairs. Anyone height challenged will feel like their chin is on the table. Also depending on the wait staff some will do individual checks while others don't want to handle that. My last time at Scarlet, there were 12 of us and we had a wait staff person who did not want to do individual check so our bill was broken down by food separately from the drinks which did not work out well, (that is on us). In the future unless we get someone who can do the individual checks we will have to find another restaurant. Thank you. read more

Sorry for the update but there must be a new chef. No vegan (whole-food plant based) options except salad. Been there twice since last review when the staff was accommodating. Sadly, they will only give you plain quinoa with a salad. The rest of the menu is lovely for non-vegans. Hoping they will make a shift back to flexible options for whole-food plant based customers. Used to be a favorite option on the south shore. read more

This place continues to be a great value- great food, service and atmosphere. We have been coming here since they opened and have never had a bad experience- quite the opposite. We love the staff. I do wish the menu was a bit bigger, not by much. It won't stop us from coming though. read more