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Oak & Reel

4.4 (325 reviews)
PriceyItalian, Seafood
Closed • Closed

Oak & Reel Photos

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OAK & REEL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Trendy
Romantic

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Recommended Reviews - Oak & Reel

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Reviews With Photos

Doug R.

Yelp considers 3-Stars to be Okay. This visit was a bit better than just okay, but not worthy of four stars. We arrived at 6:24 for a 6:30 resv and were immediately seated. My first impression: Noisy! Lots of hard surfaces. Difficult to hear the hostess, server and my wife. The tables were appropriately spaced for diners and servers to work with no bump & grind. We started by sharing a dozen oysters and the pear/walnuts salad. The oysters were a bit small-ish; but otherwise, excellent. Server took a drink order from my wife, but skipped me. Eh? I flagged down another server to order a Pino. It took a surprisingly long time to arrive. On the plus side, I was offered a taste to insure it was satisfactory - it was. The pear salad w/walnuts was excellent. The pears were sliced paper-thin. One of the joys of eating a properly ripened pear is the juicy explosion and thinly sliced pears defeat the juicy explosion. If the pears were fully ripe, perhaps cube them? Weirdly; the two sides (mushrooms, potatoes) were served before the entrees. The server noticed, seemed surprised and withdrew the sides, returning with our entrees (lamb shoulder, steak). Then the side returned. Both entrees were warm-ish and the sides were hot. The 14-day, dry-aged steak was ordered medium-rare and was seasoned and prepared as ordered. Again; warm-ish, not hot. I expected better beefy flavor for a dry-aged steak. One end was a bit chewy. Tenderness improved as I got to the other end of the steak. I ordered it with horseradish. I will admit to being a weirdo who loves spicy horseradish (and wasabi) that will clean the sinuses - this was "Ohio-spice'd" horseradish ... not creamy, but less spicy than Arby's Horsey sauce. The mushroom and the potato sides were served hot from the kitchen. Both were excellent, no complaints. The presentation of the steak needs improvement. It was a properly prepared, lonely lump of brown, served on a white plate with cracked ceramic glaze. The lamb shoulder was the better entree. For some reason, my wife was expecting Middle Eastern seasoning. The menu did not mention Middle Eastern seasoning and she did not ask, so that's on her, not the kitchen. I thought it was excellent. Gripe: After the entrees arrived, our server did not return to ask if the entrees were satisfactory. She did return later to ask if we wanted a second round of drinks. We did ... We were offered dessert and ordered, but never asked if we wanted coffee or an after dinner drink. Both desserts were excellent. Will we return? Probably ... not. With tip; dinner for two was $286. At this price point I expect better: Less noise, better beef and flawless service.

Cindy N.

Amazing service, delicious food and beautiful ambiance. During my visit in Detroit, I ended up visiting this Italian spot on the way back to Toronto. I visited on a weekend night and highly recommend making reservations in advance. The pasta was amazing quality, the flavours were quite rich and you could tell they put care into their food. The squid ink pasta was my favourite one. I wasn't a big fan of their oysters as they tasted a bit average but it was still a fun try during their happy hour. The prices are a bit steep but totally worth the visit for a special occasion in the city.

Salad
Hannah M.

Came to Oak + Reel for dinner with my parents and were able to snag an early reservation on a Saturday night. I was worried we would be the only diners at that time (5pm) but shockingly it was fairly busy even at the start of our meal and packed by the time we left. Ambiance is lovely with an open kitchen and good lighting/music volume. Conversation at a normal level is possible but there's definitely an atmospheric undertone. Service was quick and friendly and I appreciated the attention to detail with different utensils for courses etc. We ordered the fritto misto ($18), the pear salad ($17), the lumache ($25), the gramigna ($22), the lamb shoulder ($31), and a side of mushrooms ($10). I hate to say it, but everything was just a tad disappointing. The fritto misto didn't seem to match the description on the menu; there was fried lemon slices in it and seemingly no fennel. The bolognese on the gramigna was nearly flavorless and not ample enough. The lumache was good, but not outstanding. The lamb shoulder, which WAS an excellent size portion to share, was delicious...although it was sat on a pile of the wettest polenta I've ever had. Sauces were consistently unbalanced and there were some weird flavors that I couldn't quite identify. The menu descriptions are vague and don't accurately describe the flavors in the dish. Prices I thought were reasonable-ish for a restaurant of its caliber, but I wouldn't return. Luckily they participate in the Chase Reserve promo so I'll get dining credit on my statement.

Rosso Del Bosco

Great atmosphere. Did not feel crowded or over packed. Staff were friendly and helpful. Food was great, felt it was a bit too salty. Had a great time and happy to have date night there. I wouldn't bring my kids.

Baked Alaska
Danielle S.

Everything was spectacular, from the chic ambiance to the attentive service and every tasty bite in between. I appreciated the vegetarian options, and the Baked Alaska was the best way to top off the meal!

Carolyn E.

Wow - what a beautiful restaurant and delicious food. After this Sunday meal, we already booked another reservation to try the Chef's Tasting menu. If everything is as good as what we ordered this time, I can't wait to try more! Firstly, the natural lighting in here is just fantastic, and I really like the layout - you have a bit more space than some of the other downtown restaurants, and it's fairly quiet. Nice cozy booth seating as well as chairs. The gated parking lot is also a huge plus downtown and service was absolutely excellent. We came on a Sunday to try their all day happy hour, and it did not disappoint. $2 oysters meant that we ordered 2 dozen, and while the east coast varieties tend to be our favorite, their west coast selection was also top notch. Just lovely, salty, briny fresh oysters with a great mignonette. We also both ordered dirty martinis, and they're perfect for $8. We also had the focaccia which comes with this amazing tomato pesto - it tasted like pizza concentrated into a sauce. Yum! And the focaccia is perfect - the kind of bread that makes you remember why bread is so good. Pillowy and soft inside, toasted crispy outside; an amazing app. For dinner, we had the squid ink and seafood pasta, the wild striped bass and the lamb. Everything was absolutely so delicious and perfectly cooked. They split the pasta for us, which was very nice, and I just can't get over the delicious unique flavor of that dish. Outstanding. This pasta is the kind of pasta you want to order when you go out. Lots of yummy seafood, perfectly seasoned al dente pasta, savory sauce. The bass was the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've had in a long time - crispy skin, tender moist flesh, buttery sauce. And lastly, I was super impressed with the lamb - it was tender yet crispy on the edges, savory and satisfying. If a seafood restaurant is doing lamb this well, I've got to see what else they have to offer. Can't wait to try the tasting menu. Even hubby was impressed and had zero complaints about anything, and he's tough to please. What a gem of a restaurant.

Linxing Y.

My friend traveled a long way from San Diego to Michigan, so I decided to go visit her in the long weekend of Labor Day. We spent a day visiting Detroit zoo and we were amazed. It was the restaurant that she booked for us to celebrate my birthday. It has a small entrance facing the road but with a very large parking place. So you do my worry about parking at all. The restaurant offered seasonal French-based menu when we arrived as it was Italian restaurant originally. We ordered foie gras, a dozen of oysters as side dishes and trout as my main dish. The trout is so well cooked and the meat is very juicy and tender. Oysters are very well prepared and fresh. The foie gras I don't like very much as the combo is not the thing I was looking for. Maybe I have an unusually high standard for this dish. Overall, it is a very solid restaurant with plenty of options to choose from. Recommend to anyone who wants a decent dining experience in Detroit.

Spaghetti.
Brandon W.

Beautiful restaurant in Detroits New Center area. Love that they opened a restaurant on East Grand Blvd! The layout and design is a industrial feel with huge floor to ceiling windows and a great vibe. Heard great things about the food and I'm sure it's good to some, but for me, not so much. I had the Burrata and Spaghetti. Staff was great though.

Tasso di Miele and Sole Rosso
Munzer R.

The ambiance and service here is incredible, they have attached parking which is super convenient, and reservations are definitely recommended as they can get busy. To start, we ordered the oysters (quite a bit cheaper with the happy hour deal), brussel sprouts, and burrata, as well as two mocktails, the Tasso di Miele and Sole Rosso (my favorite of the two). For our entrees, we ordered the bucatini and the orata, which was the perfect amount to share between my wife and I. While I thought both were good, they didn't blow me away. We ended with the budino for dessert, that was fantasic, definitely not what I expected, but really enjoyed it. In general, definitely recommend Oak & Reel for a good night out or date night.

Thyme Mocktail
Ainsley E.

Had a lovely meal here for my birthday! We tried the tasting menu, which was fabulous, but there were a couple components I wouldn't choose for myself and didn't enjoy. If I were to return, I'd order a la carte. So be sure to take a look at the tasting options before you decide -- everything may be right up your alley! My favorite items were: - focaccia skewers and fish croquettes as part of the first course. The pesto on the skewers was just incredible. - crab corzetti. I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life. The sauce was DELICIOUS and the pasta had the perfect bite. The pasta is on point here, as you'd expect, all made in-house. - cavolini with rhubarb. Nothing like a pastry with fresh cream, am I right? Such a lovely way to end the meal, and I was stuffed! The portions for the tasting menu were definitely correct. My least favorite thing was the shrimp-stuffed squid -- the texture just doesn't do it for me and it was overall very mildly flavored (intentional, possibly). My partner did the wine pairing, and while many of the wines were lovely, only a couple pairings really stood out and we weren't convinced it was worth the value. I'd love to return here sometime and explore their other pasta. Cocktail/mocktail list also brings a strong game. Cheers!

Olive Oil Cake

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Reviews are largely positive. Diners highlight the creative Italian dishes, house-made pasta, and excellent cocktails and wine.

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5 months ago

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26 days ago

The Service was excellent. The Ambiance was great. But the Food was not the star of the show. Overpriced not a lot of selection

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Oak & Reel Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Oak & Reel

What does the (+ $) next to some menu items mean?

It has to do with the Prix Fix dinner selections. Slight up charge on those selections.

Is bar seating open for walk-in dining?

Yes, we do keep some bar seating open for walk-ins. Thanks!

Is there an outdoor patio where one can enjoy dinner?

Yes there is a very nice patio.

What's the dress code here? We didn't want to show up tonight too casual. Thanks

Nicer casual or slightly dressed up would be fine. I'd skip the jeans and tennis shoes. But if you want to dress up even nicer you would not feel out of place.

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On a whim, and somewhat a dare from one of my coworkers, I decided to try Kareem's. So you readers…read moreknow, this particular coworker frequents the area and likes the women who work in the Popeyes and the KFC in Highland Park. Then again, in my opinion, he has poor taste in women, considering he has paid certain women paltry sums in exchange for sexual services. I've passed by Kareem's a few times, but I will be one of the first to admit I do not frequent many businesses in Highland Park. At any rate, I decided to stray from the beaten path and try this one. So you all know, in this particular review, I will stray from my usual format and start by mentioning the positives before going into where there is room for improvement. First, I like the location. It is at the end of a shopping plaza, at a major intersection with another shopping center across the street. This is important to me, considering the fact that this is a carryout, and I like something to occupy my time while I'm waiting other than making phone calls. Second, it has one of the most diverse seafood menus I have seen in a long time, and they offer a variety of side choices with your dinner, other than the usual fries and coleslaw, and generous portions of food. Third, they operate a rather clean establishment, which is sometimes a bit much to ask of a carryout seafood restaurant. Fourth, they prepare your order freshly and quickly, thus not keeping you waiting long (also a bit much to ask of some carryout seafood restaurants, especially on a Friday). Now, I will say this about the establishment: parking is a bit problematic, especially when several cars are attempting to enter or leave the shopping plaza. Additionally, if I were them, I would not carry ice cream for sale (though it is not uncommon for businesses in less desirable neighborhoods to carry two unrelated, unlike lines of merchandise). And, I do not recommend the smelt unless you feel like pulling the spines out yourself (though it is tasty).

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I had a great dinner at Freya with my parents last week when we were visiting Detroit for a few…read moredays. I was drawn to Freya, because my mom is vegan and neither my mom nor my stepdad had ever experienced a tasting menu before. The cool thing about Freya is that it's a five-course prix fixe with omnivore, pescatarian, and vegan options for each course. (They also offer a 9-course tasting menu for omnivores and a la carte dining Tu-Th.) My mom is vegan, and my stepdad mostly eats seafood, so Freya was the perfect place for all of us to enjoy a tasting menu. The menu changes regularly with what is seasonal and fresh, so what we ate won't be what you eat even if you went tonight. But I can say that I enjoyed everything I ate, with some dishes being standouts among the courses. Across the board, their food was creative and fun and still (it's got to be) delicious. At $95/person, I felt it was a great deal for the quality and inventiveness of the food. I also loved that guests can choose from several options (no chance here of getting a course that just isn't something you'd choose were it not on a tasting menu!). I left more than full, so I didn't find it to be too precious or the courses to be too small - definitely enough if not too much food for a tasting menu! I also chose to do one of the wine pairings. They offer a wine pairing for $60 or an elevated wine pairing for $98. I did the elevated pairing, and I thought it really added to the experience! On top of all of this, the service was spectacular. Every single person who touched our table (from the host who seated us, to the two servers who were assigned our table) was friendly and helpful and chatty in the best way. They explained each dish in depth but quickly enough that we weren't starving and dying for them to stop so we could get eating! The service is probably what I will remember about our dinner at Freya, as much as any individual course. The restaurant is cool and modern (kind of hidden from outside (just a small decal on the glass door tells you you're in the right place), and the ambiance was great. We left full and happy, and I think my parents really enjoyed their first tasting menu experience. It's easily the best tasting menu with flexible options for different diets than I've ever been to, and the experience overall was really nice (that service)!

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