My husband and I ate here last month (for my birthday). Tonight we returned to celebrate our son's college graduation and had a spectacular meal (with one exception I'll detail in a moment). The antipasti were terrific across the board: the octopus and the burrata were the standouts, and we also enjoyed the artichoke hearts and langoustine. We shared two pastas which were both marvelous (the buccatini with preserved lemon and the capellacci with oyster mushrooms). I may find myself dreaming about these pasta dishes...they were that good! Entrees we shared were the halibut with morels (delicious), the lamb shank (also delicious), and the orata. Of everything we ordered, the orata was the one disappointment. It was *so* fishy tasting and unpleasant so perhaps there was a problem with it (as in past its prime?). I just don't think it's meant to be that strong tasting. I started to say something to our server (it's a $52 entree) but felt kind of awkward to ask to send it back. No one at our table of four enjoyed that one and we left half of it on the platter. But I would not hesitate to come back to Oak and Reel. The service is superb, the atmosphere is elegant but laid back. Very highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
GP
Best restaurant in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Russo
The specialty drinks are excellent! I try a different one every time I'm at Oak & Reel. Service is top notch.
I’ve had the fortune opportunity to patron this establishment twice. While the first time was amazing (Special shoutout to the bartenders) this second time has exceeded all expectations. From the moment we arrived Craig offered a customer service level that reached the pique of hospitality. He was knowledgeable, kind, and present. The food is some of the best in Detroit. Don’t walk but run to this place. If it’s for a girls night out, do it. Birthday/graduation, do it. Whatever it is, DO IT!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Gabrielle D
Amazing food and service is always so so nice and professional.
Tom Lipinski
This is my 6th visit and you have continually improved. You are now my favorite restaurant in the metropolitan Detroit area. Now ya gotta stay there :-)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fadi Elisha
First-time visit to Oak and Reel and overall a delightful experience! The oysters were decent, but the octopus stole the show with its incredible flavor. The bucatini pasta dish was exceptional, a definite highlight of the meal. However, the orata fell short for us, lacking seasoning and flavor, leaving it a bit underwhelming.On the bright side, the cocktails were delicious, adding to the overall enjoyment of the evening. While there’s room for improvement on a couple of dishes, our experience was still fantastic. With a few tweaks, Oak and Reel could truly shine even brighter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Octopus Bolognese, Half Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell
Kayla DeMiro
Dined here on Easter Sunday with my family. Everyone left feeling full and happy. Service was great and attentive. Our food came out in a timely manor. Atmosphere made us feel comfortable, and the hearth with the live fire is a very unique touch. The food… was INCREDIBLE. We ordered the octopus, burrata and they sent us out a special grilled artichoke dish served with an anchovy mayo I think, all three apps were perfect. Next we ordered the ravioli with smoked trout, lumache, and the mafaldine with lamb sausage. Again, all three were very tasty, and well seasoned. Next we ordered the Easter lamb special and the Orata. At this point we were getting full, but we were not about to let this go to waste. We LOVED both of these, the lamb fell right off the bone, and the sauce on the orata paired with the smokiness from the grill was fabulous. Lastly we got dessert, bomboloni and gelato. The bomboloni was not doughy at all, like most I have tried at other restaurants. I will be back just for the bomboloni. 10/10 highly recommend!
Great restaurant. Great team. Professional cooking happening here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Todays Present
Sadly, another overrated restaurant. The decor and visual experience were superb. The food was a major let down for our group. The octopus was very chewy; we could not even finish it. We wasted half of it. This was after the waitress guaranteed us that this would be very tender. Both pastas were wonderful. I am used to orata having a clean taste, but we all tried it and the orata was very fishy. There were lots of bones in it as well - just would have been nice to know. For dessert, the donuts were doughy. As someone who makes bread items often, these were definitely doughy. For the wine pairing, we weren't informed the name or type of wine. It was just brought out and the runner didn't know. I had such high hopes and was supremely let down here. I would never return or recommend to others.
Excellent food and service. It is our favorite restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Prezmjnix Nixon
Food was good. Portions was small. I enjoyed my food thanks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Octopus Bolognese
Kate Schwartz Palmer
Ate here while in town from Chicago and it felt comparable to any great restaurant there. The food was memorably delicious and the service was top notch. Hope to come back again and highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christina Alicea-Richard
Incredible flavors, incredible service, incredible overall experience.Everything that was prepared for our table not only had a gorgeous presentation, but also exquisite flavor. From the scallops, to the steak, to the octopus, and even the mac and cheese made for a picky toddler, it was an amazing dining experience.And the dessert! Just WOW! Their pastry chef is truly gifted.A must try!!!!!Kid-friendliness: They were able to make specific accommodations for children
One of the best in Detroit. A fine variety of Italian inspired dishes with wonderfully inventive pasta and worthwhile prie fixed choices. It can get a little loud when it is crowded though.Parking: Fenced parking next to the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Gnocchi, Half Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell, Focaccia, Panna Cotta
My husband and I ate here last month (for my birthday). Tonight we returned to celebrate our son's college graduation and had a spectacular meal (with one exception I'll detail in a moment). The antipasti were terrific across the board: the octopus and the burrata were the standouts, and we also enjoyed the artichoke hearts and langoustine. We shared two pastas which were both marvelous (the buccatini with preserved lemon and the capellacci with oyster mushrooms). I may find myself dreaming about these pasta dishes...they were that good! Entrees we shared were the halibut with morels (delicious), the lamb shank (also delicious), and the orata. Of everything we ordered, the orata was the one disappointment. It was *so* fishy tasting and unpleasant so perhaps there was a problem with it (as in past its prime?). I just don't think it's meant to be that strong tasting. I started to say something to our server (it's a $52 entree) but felt kind of awkward to ask to send it back. No one at our table of four enjoyed that one and we left half of it on the platter. But I would not hesitate to come back to Oak and Reel. The service is superb, the atmosphere is elegant but laid back. Very highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best restaurant in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The specialty drinks are excellent! I try a different one every time I'm at Oak & Reel. Service is top notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Octopus Bolognese, Squid Ink Pasta, Salad
I’ve had the fortune opportunity to patron this establishment twice. While the first time was amazing (Special shoutout to the bartenders) this second time has exceeded all expectations. From the moment we arrived Craig offered a customer service level that reached the pique of hospitality. He was knowledgeable, kind, and present. The food is some of the best in Detroit. Don’t walk but run to this place. If it’s for a girls night out, do it. Birthday/graduation, do it. Whatever it is, DO IT!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Amazing food and service is always so so nice and professional.
This is my 6th visit and you have continually improved. You are now my favorite restaurant in the metropolitan Detroit area. Now ya gotta stay there :-)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First-time visit to Oak and Reel and overall a delightful experience! The oysters were decent, but the octopus stole the show with its incredible flavor. The bucatini pasta dish was exceptional, a definite highlight of the meal. However, the orata fell short for us, lacking seasoning and flavor, leaving it a bit underwhelming.On the bright side, the cocktails were delicious, adding to the overall enjoyment of the evening. While there’s room for improvement on a couple of dishes, our experience was still fantastic. With a few tweaks, Oak and Reel could truly shine even brighter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Octopus Bolognese, Half Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell
Dined here on Easter Sunday with my family. Everyone left feeling full and happy. Service was great and attentive. Our food came out in a timely manor. Atmosphere made us feel comfortable, and the hearth with the live fire is a very unique touch. The food… was INCREDIBLE. We ordered the octopus, burrata and they sent us out a special grilled artichoke dish served with an anchovy mayo I think, all three apps were perfect. Next we ordered the ravioli with smoked trout, lumache, and the mafaldine with lamb sausage. Again, all three were very tasty, and well seasoned. Next we ordered the Easter lamb special and the Orata. At this point we were getting full, but we were not about to let this go to waste. We LOVED both of these, the lamb fell right off the bone, and the sauce on the orata paired with the smokiness from the grill was fabulous. Lastly we got dessert, bomboloni and gelato. The bomboloni was not doughy at all, like most I have tried at other restaurants. I will be back just for the bomboloni. 10/10 highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Focaccia, Panna Cotta, Lumache, Squid Ink Pasta, Salad
Great restaurant. Great team. Professional cooking happening here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sadly, another overrated restaurant. The decor and visual experience were superb. The food was a major let down for our group. The octopus was very chewy; we could not even finish it. We wasted half of it. This was after the waitress guaranteed us that this would be very tender. Both pastas were wonderful. I am used to orata having a clean taste, but we all tried it and the orata was very fishy. There were lots of bones in it as well - just would have been nice to know. For dessert, the donuts were doughy. As someone who makes bread items often, these were definitely doughy. For the wine pairing, we weren't informed the name or type of wine. It was just brought out and the runner didn't know. I had such high hopes and was supremely let down here. I would never return or recommend to others.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent food and service. It is our favorite restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was good. Portions was small. I enjoyed my food thanks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Octopus Bolognese
Ate here while in town from Chicago and it felt comparable to any great restaurant there. The food was memorably delicious and the service was top notch. Hope to come back again and highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible flavors, incredible service, incredible overall experience.Everything that was prepared for our table not only had a gorgeous presentation, but also exquisite flavor. From the scallops, to the steak, to the octopus, and even the mac and cheese made for a picky toddler, it was an amazing dining experience.And the dessert! Just WOW! Their pastry chef is truly gifted.A must try!!!!!Kid-friendliness: They were able to make specific accommodations for children
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Octopus Bolognese, Squid Ink Pasta, Scallops
One of the best in Detroit. A fine variety of Italian inspired dishes with wonderfully inventive pasta and worthwhile prie fixed choices. It can get a little loud when it is crowded though.Parking: Fenced parking next to the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Gnocchi, Half Dozen Oysters on the Half Shell, Focaccia, Panna Cotta