Excellent food and atmosphere. Service was fast and friendly. Looking forward to going again.

My husband and decided to take a friend to this restaurant on a Saturday evening. We had talked to a lot of people how nice and friendly this restaurant was. Last night there was a huge difference. Of we understand that on a Saturday night and the bar is busy. They did have three bartenders. Both my husband and I went up to an open spot at the bar and all three bartenders completely ignored us. We stood there for about 20 minutes. The female bartender then came out from the bar to get a bottle of liquor behind me in the glass case. She looked right at me and didn't smile or say excuse me at all. She 100% ignored us. We were embarrassed about how much we had talked up this restaurant to our friends. We told the hostess that we understood they were busy but we were upset that they didn't even acknowledge us by saying something like I'll be with you soon. The hostess try to give us a voucher for dinner and we refused. Not spending my dollars or time at this restaurant. read more

I have always had such a great experience here. The food was always delicious and decently priced, ambiance is rustic and cozy. But the past time we ate here I got so incredibly sick after my meal (steak).. for days from their food, I wont provide details but all the symptoms pointed to straight to food poisoning. I am very disappointed because this was one of our favorite restaurants in town but now I am iffy to ever eat here again. read more

Was very disappointed. Kids were looking forward to burgers. First we were told they were out of kids burgers. But had regular ones. So we said ok. We will have those. Then we were told oh wait we are out of those also. After working hard to find another option. We made our decisions. I had ribs. Which were black and burnt. Kids chicken tenders were strange but okay. Then we went to order a brownie sundae. But they were out of brownies. I don't think I have ever experienced a restaurant being out of such basic items. read more

Went here last night and was extremely disappointed. Cold food poor service. Had fish and chips. Fish was almost all bland batter no fish. Tarter sauce was mayo with cayenne pepper. Another in our party had same dinner as me same deal. Burgers were obviously frozen pre made patties. Food runners were confused as to which table to bring food to. Go here if you like wasting money and leaving hungry. read more

Just got back from after work drinks at the Oak Barrel. I don't think I will be going back. The beer prices are RIDICULOUS. Mind you, it was my fault for not looking at the prices but who would have thought a pint of beer would have cost $13. For a pint of beer. Really. That equals about a $400 profit for that keg of beer. The space is nice, pleasant, yet another "lodge". Our server was attentive and perfectly fine. Much like previous posts the food is good but the menu is pretty much a duplicate of the Deagan's menu. The calamari is still excellent, the pork rillette was good but basically pulled BBQ pork and not pork rillette, the dates were good although $8 for 3 bacon wrapped dated is a bit crazy. When I pointed this out to the manager/chef he stated they were so expensive because of the bacon and cheese. Well since haloumi cheese retails at abour $6.99 a pound and you only need a half slice of bacon per date I thought that was a pretty lame reason. Perhaps this is why the restaurant was half full at 7:30 on a Friday night and there were 10 servers standing around. I did speak with the manager/chef about the beer prices and he told me that if you went anywhere else in the city the beer mark ups would be the same. Well that seems like a crock to me as I go to the Beer Engine, Lizardville and Fat Heads fairly regularly. I hope the Oak Barrel gets it together as it is nice to have a "not chain" in the Independence area but If they don't I predict they will be gone in less than a year. Perhaps the manager/chef should be overseeing the wait staff and kitchen rather that drinking with family or friends in the bar. read more

My mom and I had dinner at the Oak Barrel Restaurant last week. We were pleasantly surprised because we thought the other restaurant (Hoagies) still existed. We are so grateful for the Oak Barrel instead! Service excellent! Food fabulous! I had the traditional burger, but with the sweet potato fries with brown sugar! Yum! My mother had the Amish Chicken and Sausage with garlic mashed potatoes and the best roasted root vegetables ever! Topped off with delicious key lime pie! Go and check this restaurant out tonight!! read more

Ate here twice last week. Once for taco tuesday, which was amazing. I loved the spicy shrimp and the tuna tavos. The arugula salad is spectacular. Moscow mule was delicious but pricey. Second night was wine Wednesday where bottles are half ofd. Can't beat that. Also Sunday kids eat free for every adult meal. A great choice for delicious food, but family friendly read more

What a great find while in the area from out of town. The ahi tacos and the calamari were fantastic. The service was great and very friendly. I would highly recommend it if you are in the area. read more

Dr pepper braised pork shank is consistently awesome. Kids like the homemade mac and cheese.

Came here with the family after seeing a movie at Valley View Cinemas. Really nice meal. Pretty nice bar menu and good variety of food without an expansive menu. Had the lamb burger, italian pizza, big tex salad and kids mac and cheese. Everything tasted great. Service was prompt and very courteous. Overall very happy with the meal and will be back again to try other things. read more

Wrong restaurant, mixed up. This place has the best ribs that you will ever eat. Actually this is the second restaurant we went to was the first one was the one that was closed in Superbowl day. This restaurant oak barrel is always a winner read more

Came to this place 2 years ago while spending the evening in Cleveland and had one of the most delicious burgers in my entire life. The other night, I went on a date to Olive Garden and we had such an awful experience and food that we turned around the next day, and drove an hour and a half just to get a meal I knew I could count on from The Oak Barrel. We had the ahi tuna appetizer, some amazing beer, and I went with the same burger I had two years previously, the Colorado lamb burger with goat cheese. It was even better than I remembered, and our server Joe was absolutely amazing. I've been a server for 6 years and it felt like Joe was reading my mind every step of the way. The moment I found we needed something at the table he was right on it without missing a step. We finished the night with the vanilla bean creme brûlée which was orgasmic and perfect in every way. The Oak Barrel has everything I've ever wanted in a restaurant, amazing and flavorful meals with great ingredients that won't break the bank, a vast but carefully chosen drink menu, and service that has yet to let me down. read more

Nephew and I went there Saturday for lunch. There might have been 6 customers total in the restaurant. I ordered the Oak Barrel Burger with chips and a beer. Server brought a bottle of beer and put it on the table. I was not offered a glass from which to drink it. Since she had no other customers she also did not come back until right before our orders were served so that I could ask for a glass. As a matter of fact, my nephew had to find her to ask. The swiss on the burger was so thin it was transparent and the burger tasted like there were no seasonings at all, just a thick hunk of cooked ground meat. While my nephew made a trip to the restroom the server came back and I told her I was upset that she hadn't brought or even offered a glass for the beer. She said "sorry". I said she didn't seem like she had any intent to change that in the future and again she said "sorry". It might as well have been a robot. To see if I could get something out of her resembling a sincere apology, I asked if she could learn for the future to offer a lady a glass to drink the beer and she said "yes". That was it. I won't be back and did not leave a tip. read more

Our first try at the Oak Barrel was on a Monday evening. The interior of the restaurant has been completely remodeled with a warm fireplace and muted brown tones. There is an extensive heated patio setting outdoors. There were few patrons eating, but the staff was very personable and our waitress, Sarah, was helpful and offered many suggestions. The four of us settled on the Pulled Pork over Cornbread and thoroughly enjoyed. There is an extensive beer,wine, and liquor selection. The desserts were supposedly homemade but we were all too full to try. read more

Just had lunch. Waitress / bartender seemed thoroughly annoyed that we were even there. Apparently a second mini dish of ketchup is a really big deal. Same for place settings and salt. Food good but hard to get passed the service. If you're going to charge $13 for a club sandwich and hold yourself out as a high-end place, then high-end service should come with it. Not happening. Won't be back. read more

I was very pleased with our experience at the oak barrel. Had brie appetizer and sunny side burger. Both were cooked perfect and the fries were delicious. The bacon on the burger was very good and flavorful. Two issues which caused a 4 star and not a 5 was the fact that the brie was served without strawberries and we did not realize that until after the fact. The menu clearly states the brie comes with strawberries. Also our waitress needed a little more learning of the menu. She could not answer a few of our questions about the food. However food alone it would be a five star as the food was well done and good. Nice addition to the area. I am sure the staff issues will be fine tuned. Good job on food. read more

We ate brunch here today. It was fabulous! We ate chicken and waffles, chorizo tacos and a flatbread. The food was wonderful and the service was great.....we will be back soon!! read more

Not impressed. The BBQ park tacos was the best part of the meal. My chicken and sausage was bland. What flavor it did have was greasy. Not again. BRING BACK HOGGY'S! read more

Went here for lunch with a friend. Food was ok but service was slow. They burned one of our dishes and it took awhile to make a replacement. The owner came out to tell us a few minutes before our food finally arrived. I'm not in a hurry to go back but it was ok for lunch. Friend had a fish taco and said it was delicious. I had a flatbread and it wasn't the best I've eaten. read more

Went there yesterday for Taco Tuesday. Great concept, bad delivery. More like Cilantro Taco than any of the fillings they featured on the menu. Not even sure if there was any of the promised main ingredients (ahi tuna, spicy shrimp, carne asada) in there. All I could taste was cilantro. I get that the tacos are a deal ($2 or $3 for one) but I'd rather pay a bit more and actually get something besides greens. read more

My husband and I visited The Oak Barrel today after a movie. I loved the atmosphere and the deliciousness of the smoking scent (which surprisingly you don't smell of when you leave) when we walked in. We were greeted by a friendly face of a server handling seating mid day. We took a table in the bar. Again, I personally enjoyed the atmosphere and choice of music. Also loved the extensive choice of bourbon, which was a pleasant surprise as the hubby and I enjoy bourbon. Also impressive beer list. Our server wasn't the greatest unfortunately. She was definitely friendly but very forgetful, resulting In having to ask her a couple times for things and got some of my order wrong. Her descriptions of food were definitely in need of refinement and education but to her defense she did tell us she was newer to the restaurant. She was upbeat and patient with me trying to make a decision for my meal. Menu had a lot of options I was interested in. Looking forward to going back to get what I didn't get to try today. During our meal, our server's shift was over and in came the pm bartender. I was happy that she came to tell us. However the transition was so great. The pm person came over once and that was after my husband went to the bar to get her attention and get rid of some of our dirty dishes. She never came to introduce herself and still after, very poor attention, considering there was one other group of four people in the bar. Food- the mussels were ok, was kind of disconnected in the ingredients. They lay on a bed of fries, soaking in the ale broth..... I don't like soggy fries, so half of that meal was a waste and the pico de gallo was not in the family of flavors. Regular diced tomatoes would have sufficed. Husband got the chicken tacos, those were tasty. The truffle fries were good! And we also tried the "bleu cheese mashed potatoes" or so I thought. Ends up we got garlic mashed potatoes even though I ordered the bleu cheese. It wasn't a terrible mistake as they were yummy, I was just really looking forward to the blue. Dessert was mediocre. Bill time- we were charged for additional beverages we didn't have, thank goodness we checked, they were happy to take it off. This was the only time the bartender showed us any bit of attention. Overall, I think the Oak Barrel has a lot to offer and I definitely want to go back to try some other options, plus their drink prices aren't terrible, for bourbon lovers lol. I would definitely suggest trying this place at least once. Hopefully you get better service. I would technically give them. 3.5 but since I can't I am giving them a 4 in hopes of a great next experience read more

On Saturday June 21, 2014 a companion and my self, visited your restaurant at approximately 5 PM for dinner, we were greeted in a very friendly manner and assisted into the restaurant and seated next to the kitchen entrance, which seemed to be the gathering place for all employees who were not busy to discuss their daily lives. Our server, Elias K, was pleasant, but not very attentive and paid more attention to joining fellow employees at the gathering place. Our drinks were served in a timely manner and our appetizer order was taken, my companion ordered the Crab Balls and I the Chicken livers. The Crab Balls, according to my companion, were good but lacked that wow factor one would have expected. The Chicken Livers however were excellent, a little more belly pork would have made the dish outstanding. For our main dish my companion ordered the Roasted Chilean Sea Bass which he felt lacked an accompaniment that would have enhanced the flavor of the fish without overpowering it. I ordered the Baked Brie with local Honey Comb and Seasonal Berries, The Honey comb turned out to be a small amount of regular honey in a container, NO Honey Comb was present and on mentioning this to the , what appeared to be the floor manager, I was given the look as if I was stupid. The Seasonal Berries turned out to be One unripe strawberry cut in half, Berries having a S on the end denotes more than one, this was mentioned also and some more berries arrived at the table. If there is a change of items on the menu the server should inform the customer when the items are ordered .The Baked Brie was not heated enough and the Brie was slightly melted on the inside of the crust but the center was cold and hard. On my arrival home I took a closer look at my receipt, WOW I could not believe it, I was charged $3.00 for a bread roll, I don't know of any restaurant that charges for bread, talk about nickel and diming the customer, this is something that is always included in the cost of the meal, the bread is not on the menu, the server did not mention there is an extra charge for bread. My first time dining at this restaurant has left a bad taste in my mouth, if I was to rate my dining experience that evening it would be between 4 and 5. read more

Super friendly and sincere service. The food was delicious; the wall-eye sandwich was perfectly cooked, and the pulled pork on jalapeno cornbread with shoestring onions was out of this world. Nice ambience and very reasonable prices. read more

Oak Barrel is close by work, so have been here several times for lunch and a couple times for dinner. For lunch, I would categorize it as very good food, decent service and just OK value. The problem is they have a "one menu fits all" approach with no smaller portion (and price) lunches, so portions are ridiculously large for a lunch. The servers were good and reasonably attentive, but poorly trained. It is common for them not to remember the daily specials and mix up orders (even for tables of 2)! It is a better value to come for dinner with a big appetite. The parmesan crusted chicken salad is fantastic and the BBQ is great also. I would steer clear of the fish tacos. Not that they taste bad, but again a poor value. you get 3 very small tacos that would barely qualify as an appetizer at a regular dinner order price. read more

My family and I tried The Oak Barrel out for the first time last night for dinner. The restaurant itself is very neat inside and even has a family style table in the center, which I find very cool. Three of the four of us had the crableg special. The crab was cooked perfect! I was even more impressed with the sides that came with it. All the vegetables were fresh and not just your ordinary "side of broccoli". The fourth person in our party ordered the turkey burger, and even though I didn't get to try it, it looked amazing! Our server was super friendly, and knew a lot about the food we were eating. It's refreshing to see a restuarant take the needed time to train their staff about the ingredients in the food they are serving. I would love to come back here, two thumbs up! read more

This is the first review I have ever given and we had such a great experience at this place I came home and wanted to share it with others! My husband and I , born and raised in Cleveland have dined all over the area. We like that this restaurant is not too formal and not too casual either. We have eaten there two times now and everything is TO DIE FOR!! The menu is very unique and even a picky eater like myself was able to find something. The vegetarian lentil soup, veggie burgers & Cole slaw is delicious! SO full of flavor. My husband has tried the Cuban and the smoked sausage flatbread and there wasn't a crumb left on our plates!! We had an excellent server both times, Doug, he was very attentive and he knew all about the food on the menu in detail. Their drink list is huge over 200 beers & also a cocktail/wine list. It is like no other restaurant in the area! We will keep coming back!! It is our favorite restaurant!! read more

Food, drink, and service were all first rate! My husband had the mahi mahi and I had the shrimp and asian chicken tacos on special for Tuesday taco night. We shared the dragons milk ice cream sundae for dessert. Thoroughly enjoyed everything! read more

I have been here 4 times, all 4 times I had the SLOWEST service of any restaurant of anywhere I have ever been. The servers would not refill water, take drink orders, or check on our table. The food came out extremely slow even though 2 of the times that I visited, my table was the only table in the entire restaurant. The food and drinks are delicious, so I keep going back, however I suggest not going if you are in a rush or if you are hungry when you get there because it will take over an hour to get your order. I thought the drinks were a bit pricey too, but the food is amazing. read more

It was our first time there. restaurant was full. Our server was excellent, very knowledgable of all the items on the menu. She took the time to fully answer any questions we had. the food was excllent. I did not expect that quality of food there A+++. More of a menu you would expect to see in The Warehouse District, Ohio City or Tremont but without the 2hr. wait & the $150. check. read more

Great! The food was amazing the wait wasnt very long and the atmosphere was great. I would reccomend coming here. The indoor and outdoor seat with the fireplace outside was amazing read more

We have eaten at the Oak Barrel several times and it has been consistently amazing. I think that speaks volumes for a restaurant when you can go more than once and receive the same exceptional quality food and service. It is in our top 5 favorite places to eat. The pulled pork over jalapeno cornbread with onion straws and apple slaw is my absolute fav. My husband loves the Dr. Pepper pork shank. Would definitely recommend read more

Yeaah, sorry. Our waiter was really cool (Bob) but the food sucked! Gross! Undercooked calamari with hot sauce on it? BBQ ribs salty & overcooked, dried up chicken w/ sausage. They just take your order, don't ask what you prefer for a side, sorta strange. The menu, wow, makes no sense at all. Not trying to be mean, but we came from out of town ( W. New York) We make and know good BBQ & maybe the folks around there don't know any better? Another thing..having to walk into a restaurant and smelling nothing but cigar smoke is sorta gross.. Sorry! Locals can stick to it.. read more

For bar. I ate here when it first opened and all i remeber was service so poor I didnt want to come back. This time my friend told me he wanted to come sample beers for beer week. He told me a different restaurant name, so I thought we where going somewhere else. I was excited to see their beer selection. We ordered a beer to share while reading the beer list and dinner menu. Staff friendly at first, then blatently ignored us at the bar after delivering the beer. They ignored us even after an older gentleman (manager? ) pointedly asked one of them to help us. That bar tender finished what she was doing and left without a glance in our direction. Two other bar tenders chatted and counted their tips. Finally one came over to ask if we needed anything. 30 minutes after our beer. I can imagine how it would have gone after that. We asked for the check. We where going to order dinner and had decided on several beers to try. We left and went elsewhere for beer and dinner. Probably not going back. Owner:train your staff better or you will fail eventually. The bar was pretty empty. There are too many other places that have a great beer list to treat customers like this. read more

My boyfriend I have heard good things about a new restaurant called the Oak Barrel, so we decided to eat there last night. It was one of the most enjoyable, satisfying dining out experiences we've had in a long time. Walking in, we were very impressed with the decor, and it's obvious that whoever had the vision for the layout has great style and truly wants the guests to have an amazing time. Our server, Sarah, was extremely polite and pleasant, which is a nice change from some of the lackluster service we've received elsewhere. She knew the menu well, made some great suggestions, and really gave top quality service throughout the meal. The pork shank is absolutely delicious, and I could eat the shrimp tacos all day. Stellar beer and cocktail list, and the flourless gluten free chocolate torte was simply delectable. We will definitely be back, and would highly recommend the Oak Barrel as a wonderful new gastropub that I'm sure will enjoy much success in the future. read more

We were planning on going to the neighboring establishment when we found out they were rented out for a private party. Our family of 4 wandered over and boy are we glad we did. The service was excellent: attentive and helpful and very sweet to our two kids. Our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the beer menu and was able to help my husband navigate their extensive beer menu. I had their chicken and waffles and would've licked my plate if people weren't watching--such delicious syrup! My husband had the ribs which came with the only slaw I've ever known him to not only eat but rave about. My son loved their Ohio Beef burger and they were kind enough to leave off the veggies and put on some bacon for my picky eater. My daughter loved the plain wings (she dipped them in my syrup and wants to do it at home now too!) and the fruit bowl made her happy with it's selection of fresh--not canned--fruits. We will definitely return and try some more from their fabulous menu. read more

First have to say that the food is amazing! Service on the other hand.... not so much. I took some friends from out of town there to eat because I had such a great meal the last time I was there. Apparently it was Beer Week so they were serving a limited menu and ONLY things on the menu. I didn't know this until I asked for a grilled cheese for my 5 year old- something she had ordered our last visit. Our server told me I could order only things off the menu. Is it really that hard to put some cheese on two pieces of bread and grill it? Two ingredients I'm pretty sure they had in their kitchen. The server rolled her eyes when my friend asked what kind of vodka they had and was totally missing the whole concept of service with a smile our entire meel. She told us that she was having a bad night but that shouldn't be taken out on her customers. I had a great time because again, the food was great and the company was amazing but I'll seriously reconsider going there again because I wouldn't want to chance having that waitress again. read more

This was my first visit to oak barrel. Our server was nice, soft spoken, but nice. They sat us at a huge tavle. There were 6 adults and 3 children and the table sat about 25. They put another family at the other end of the table. We ordered our food and it took forever. Finally, we see a food runner walk by with 2 servings of chicken and waffles which we ordered and give it to the group next to us. They must have ordered it too? The rest of the food for our party came out which was wrongly made, and the 2 adults that ordered chicken and waffles didn't eat with us. It came out about 15 minutes later and it was awful. They obviously rushed it. My sister ordered a medium burger with well done bacon. Her bacon was grossly undercooked and her burger was so well done it was like a rock. They also brought her regular fries and she asked for truffle. I had chicken tacos and they were good. No manager ever came over to apologize to us or the people next to us since we all ate at different times. There were 2 managers walking around and they did nothing. Our waitress brought us free dessert and that was all. Never going back read more

Went to the Oak Barrel with a group of my friends last evening to celebrate my birthday and what a mistake it was. We were a seated in the bar area and immediately the regret set in. The live band was playing extremely loud, which forced us to scream at each other to communicate. We quickly established a method of communication utilizing hand signals and yells that would make a Sasquatch proud. We waited 15-minutes for our server to arrive and I finally decided to walk up to the bar and place our drink order. A female bartender (blond hair with glasses) unhappily waited on me and made it clear I was a complete pain in her backside and she prefers I go away - I now wish that I did. As I attempted to place my order with her, she skillfully utilized blunt sarcastic questioning while sporting an imposing scowl on her face and made the interaction as close to a verbal dispute as possible. She hastily walked off to grab our drinks and returned with the same nasty disposition in which she departed. I quickly paid the bill and walked back to my table wishing I would have never stepped foot in this place. I should have taken the advice from the others who submitted a review on the Oak Barrel and described receiving the same level of horrible service. Needless to say, I will be sure to pass on my experience with as many people as I can and look forward to having my celebratory birthday drink next year at the Winking Lizard. read more