The Oak Sw11

Excellent deco and food. Slighty pricey but very nice staff and not crowded during Saturday lunch time. They have several tables in the outside seating area in both front and the back but I think seating inside is more comfortable. Only downside is flies but u guess it's inevitable when the back door is open. Linguini is a little small but we're very happy with the rib eye steak and the poached eggs with avocado on toast. Tiramisu is also great but my partner doesn't particularly like the cappuccino. Service charge 12.5%

I’ve discovered this place by “mistake” few months ago, I was looking for the old butcher&grill but I have to say I wasn’t disappointed at all. The place is spacious, well decorated and above all super clean. I came back tonight with two friends for a late dinner...ladies and gentleman, hear, hear, hear: THE KITCHEN CLOSES AT 10 pm EVEN ON SUNDAY, that’s an amazing alternative to the usual pizza, well you can have pizza as well at the Oak but I think the kitchen food is something to try more than a pizza. STARTERS: - Steak tartare 4⭐️: delicious, not too fatty and well seasoned knife chopped steak served with dressing on the side with crispy onion shaves. As a lover of steak tartare I missed the egg yolk and a piece of rustic bread. -Tuna carpaccio 5 ⭐️: very thin sliced, well seasoned with a hint of orange (for me the perfect match with tuna). I enjoyed the fried capers, they gave to this dish the crunchiness that wouldn’t be present otherwise. Chapeau to the chef. - 4 cheeses arancini 4⭐️: as advertised 4 cheeses I was expecting probably a little bit stronger taste but the overall was nice, not too oily and that means a lot when we are talking about fried food. The aioli is not a proper garlic sauce, but I won’t complain about it because I’m a mustard lover and the mustard mayo I think it’s even a better match than garlic with cheese. MAINS: - Baked saffron risotto with mussels and king prawns 4 ⭐️: it’s a good reinterpretation of the tradition Italian “Risotto al salto”, widespread especially in the northern part of Italy. The idea to add something “soft” like seafood to something crunchy like a pan fried/ baked risotto it was a good choice. The texture of the rice was a bit to gummy, probably 1-2 mins overcooked, at least for my taste. Seafoods were perfectly cooked, especially the mussels, soft and juicy. - Ravioli con bufala, pistacchio and datterino (tomato) sauce 3 ⭐️: pasta was finely cooked, the add of the pistachios was a perfect match with the sweet filling (buffalo mozzarella), they give a bit of saltiness in addiction to the crunchiness that I personally love and I’m expecting to find in every well balanced dish. The reason why I gave 3 stars it was the datterino sugo, tomato sauce made from datterino tomato: it was bland and with no personality. In my opinion, it’s missing of herbs both in the filling and in the sauce, mint and basil maybe?! SERVICE 4⭐️ Our waitress was very polite and not intrusive. She offered us water straight away after having given the menus. During our meal all the staff working on the floor came to us, of course in different moments, to check if everything was going fine, it’s appreciable. When we have ordered our dessert we had no water left in our caraffe but no one has notice it, so if you want a water refilling you better ask out for it. Definitely a nice place for all the occasion from a date to a dinner with friends.

Update: I'm pleased to be able to update my initial review. We were invited back to the restaurant by the management team after the shambles of our last visit, and the experience this time was a million miles away from our previous encounter. The food was great, service was attentive and it was just an overall pleasant experience that you would expect from a high quality restaurant. As a local, I'll happily be back again on a regular basis. I was really looking forward to eating here but left extremely disappointed. From the start no one greeted us, waiters didn’t know the menu and the service is below average. The menu reads so well but every item we ordered was below average. The pasta was cooked to absolute mush and it tasted as if the pizza bases are frozen. On a plus the decor is great and the owners have obviously put a lot of time and effort into restaurant, so it’s a shame their kitchen and staff let them down so badly.

Loved the place! As you walk in the hight ceiling and sectioning works very well. The Bar to the left and the lounge to the right and Restaurant seating area further in. The impressive marble table fit like a glove in this trendy Deco. Dogs are welcomed and add the country pub feel to it. The food is good and the wine selection well picked. Good service and friendly staff, slightly on the higher budget side but the in line with the area. Will recommend.