Oak + Rowan

Visiting Boston, and this was a lovely addition to our trip. Great caviar and drink selection (including Chartreuse), fantastic atmosphere, and our server was outstanding.

The evening began with our server poring water so carelessly that he missed a glass, requiring us to mop up spilled water. Drinks were late because “the bar was backed up,” even though the restaurant was only half full. It took five tries to deliver the correct order to our table, with each misdelivered plate followed by a huddle of all the servers. The most generous explanation of this lack of professionalism was the possible absence of a kitchen expediter, but the most obvious was a clueless staff. All of this chaos detracted from what could have been an excellent meal. We won’t be returning.

Everything went Great from beginning to end. Thank you very much, til we meet again!

Service was off; the restaurant, although attractive, lacked any kind of energy or personality (which included our server). Soulless, is the word that comes to mind.

Soup and starters were tasty! Great cocktails.

The ambiance and decor here is lovely. I really, really want to like this place. But both times I’ve been, the food, while imaginative, bespoke, and seasonal, has just missed the mark for me palate-wise. The starters and desserts are very good, but the mains have fallen short of what I would expect for the price. Perhaps I am just not “getting it.” I really, really wanted to like this place, but I don’t know that I’ll be back for dinner again. However, I would definitely go back to sit in the bar and enjoy a drink and an appetizer or two. Also, the service in the dining room was very, very slow, and the chairs made it uncomfortable to sit for so long.

First time at this restaurant and even though it was Valentine's Day and sometimes even good restaurants struggle on a holiday, the food was very good and service was excellent. Will definitely go there again

Great food, great desserts

Wasn't sure what to expect on a Monday night but this place is definitely doing something right. My friends and I were celebrating valentine's day a bit early and wanted to go someplace special. We were greeted and sat right away and got a great table in the window of the front room. The hostess was really nice and asked if she could check our coats. Service was on point from start to finish with great recommendations including starting with a caviar flight which was amazing. Our server was extremely knowledgeable and walked us thru each one. He also helped us pick out a bottle of both white and red wines that paired well with what we had ordered for dinner. We shared a couple apps including the "composed" oysters which were so good we had to get a second round. We all got something different for dinner so that we could each try a little of each. I'm not usually a seafood person, but the Cod was outstanding and one of my friend's said the duck was probably the best he's ever had. We finished dinner with something called "Chef's 4 Course Whim" for dessert. Four course dessert? Yes please! Each one was better than the one before. My favorite was an apple cake topped with grapefruit and apricot. Still on the top of my list for places to go when I'm in Boston.

The bread, starter, and wine were great. The service was excellent and I liked the ambiance, but the main courses left a lot to be desired. Flavors were fine but everything was tough, hard to cut, and harder to chew. If I’m paying $35 for an entree, I usually expect it to be something great. Unfortunately this was not the case and I don’t think I’d be able to recommend to a friend.

I’ve never written a negative review before, preferring to assume it was an off night. Our evening out with friends was quite possibly one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had in many years. Our party of four arrived on time for our reservation through Open Table though it was clear that they were not prepared for us. We waited about 15 minutes — not terrible. The service was slow. We waited a while for a drink order to be taken. We ordered two apps to share between us. Portions are extremely small — not enough for all four of us to have a bite each. We waited so long for dinner that we asked if the kitchen had lost our order. Dinner portions were also extremely small. A piece of fish a bit larger than your thumb. The prime brisket was unrecognizable as actually meat. Two small pieces of dark magenta something resembling what I imagine you would get as meat from a can. Hard to cut with a knife with a mildly unpleasant smoky corned beef flavor. Just awful. We all expected so much better. Prices here are not inexpensive — $30-34 + entrees. Our waiter apologized, made excuses about two private parties going on and the chef quitting recently — as paying customers, not our problem. Grateful, he took the mystery meat entree off of our bill. The space is nice — industrial, brick, high ceiling but very noisy and somewhat hard to have a conversation. Cocktails were nice. But won’t be returning.

Loved it, the food and staff were terrific. Looking forward to going back!

We enjoyed the new scallops on the menu. They have two offerings for bread get the pull apart monkey bread- so good! Had the brocolli soup and the ribeye both really flavorful. Steak was awesome. We love it here. Really good Cabernets and Keith the bartender was so much fun. Recommend and still believe they are best in area.

Very nice and tasty but limited menu and a little pricy

The restaurant is beautiful and the there plenty of space between the tables. Music was nice, however we felt that temperature wise was a bit chilly. Waiter was very helpful and pleasant.
Wine list was extensive, however they did not have the wine bottle we chose.
Bread and appetizers were delicious. Less impressed by the main courses (trout and cod) that lacked taste, and they looked like they were pre-cooked some hours ago.

Food was very average. Started out great but entrees were very disappointing. Service was not great but average.

I would never come back. It was overpriced and the portions were terrible.

The food, ambiance and service were all excellent. Our waiter was very thorough about all the food and gave us recommendations of what to order and what to pair with the food. If I lived closer, I’d be going back often.

Food and cocktails were great. Seafood was perfectly prepared and very flavorful. We had a great time.

It’s very seldom I give a bad review. Menu was extremely limited, food was extremely disappointing and the service was terrible. We asked politely not to be interrupted after ordering as we were having a business discussion, and server kept coming back and then made a completely unnecessary rude comment to my friend. Don’t waist your time or money.

Incredible food and excellent service from Colin. A wonderful dining experience

Went in for dinner with a party of 7 for a birthday celebration. We were seated in a private room that had a large table. It made the meal even more special to have our own space. Service and food were both outstanding. Would highly recommend.

Tucked away on A Street, this restaurant has a big feel, with good space and volume. Would be perfect for a larger group, however my wife and I found it to be private and intimate as well. Food is upscale, menu is limited but good, and the service is good. It's a nice change from some of the more amped up options on Seaport Blvd. We liked it and will go back.

Disappointing. Appetizer flat. No presentation. Meal of duck was below average. And too heavy on the kale. Would see no reason to return.

We love Colin and Keith. The entire gifted staff is amazing.

The service could be better...

2 words.

VENISON / CARPACCIO

A good spot in a quiet part of Boston

Admittedly, it was NYE, but still incredibly slow service. The four course tasting menu took upwards of 3 hours to complete. While everything was good, we were typically finished with each portion in 10 minutes or less, so it was a lot of waiting around.

New Years Eve menu was outstanding along with wine pairing. Noise level is quite high with no acoustics to lower the sound in an older building. Food made up for the high sound level. Service at bar and table was great!

New Year’s Eve

Food and service were excellent. Lovely semi-private room made for a great atmosphere.

Pedestrian, amateur and inattentive service at upscale prices. Bread was delicious- also $6.00. Server Brought unordered drinks and not ones that were ordered. Didn’t know ingredients of dishes. Cleared plates still being eaten, poured sparkling water when still was requested, etc. One and done

We were out celebrating our friend’s birthday, and decided to stop in and enjoy dessert at Oak + Rowan. We sat at a cozy table near the bar, and our server Alicia took great care of us! She helped us pick out a great bottle of sparkling rose that paired really well with our AMAZING dessert spread! Kudos to the super talented dessert team!
Several other servers came to our table to make sure were enjoying everything, including Nancy, the owner! We will definitely be back again soon! This restaurant is a must-try dining gem in the city!

Incredible time! We had chuck as our server and he was very knowledgeable and engaging. We loved our dishes.. the sea trout was fabulous and the duck was outstanding. We truly enjoyed a romantic meal together. Still one of our favorite restaurants in city!

We went on the night of December 26, so it was pretty quiet. I thought it was a bit pricey for what we got.

Great ambiance with the brick, big windows, and open ceiling! Service was very attentive. Food for the most part was very good. The chicken sandwiches were a hit as were the fish & chips. The lamb in the lamb tacos were tasty and tender. However the tacos needed more sauce and condiments. A bit dry. Will definitely come here again.

The food was ah-mazing! The only downside was our server. He brought us water and then didn't come back for over ten minutes, despite walking by our table several times and us trying to get his attention. When we saw him standing at the bar chatting, one of our group got up and asked him to come back so we could order drinks. This was all ok with us, but the server seemed to remain annoyed and continued to speak coldly to us the rest of the night. We asked for suggestions on wine and food and he literally had no more to say than, "it's all good". But, we loved the restaurant and the food! And, I'm only writing this review to offer the restaurant a chance to improve in that one area.

Fantastic food and spirits.... The wine list is really good as well. The space is spacious along with great beet salad and Kale Salad

Food was great. Server was polite, knowledgeable, and attentive without being intrusive. Bartender was very personable prior to seating. Happy I went, will go again.

Food was great but the service was pretty lackluster. It wasn't our server's fault - the kitchen was backed up and they were clearly down a runner (or two), making the experience spotty at best.