Red Oak Bistro

We went yesterday for dinner and drinks. The décor of the place is very cute and I like it a lot. It is warm and welcoming and you get hit with the scent of something delicious when you walk in the door. The server was new I think but nice and attentive. We started out with a bottle of tangley oaks merlot, delicious wine and a great price at 28! We started out with the calamari and the crab cakes appetizer. Calamari was breaded and fried just right but a little heavy on the pepper. Crab cakes were lumpy and amazing. I did not try the slaw with it. We got the lasagna and filet for dinner. Filet was two thin sliced chunks crusted with what seemed like season salt. To me, this ruined the steak. It was salty and dry. And no sauce was served with the steak. Lasagna was not bad but nothing special. We finished our night off with a strawberry cocktail and a Manhattan. Both were outstanding. Will definitely be coming back and trying some of the pizzas next.

I was very surprised at the poor service I received. I went there to meet with co-​workers, the waiter was absolutely rude to the point that I refused to even place an order. I was not about to show my support of a restaurant that employs a waiter that was so disrespectful by making a purchase. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. It was obvious to me that the waiter had personal issues.

Great happy option. Lots of options especially in the summertime they have the patio in the back open. I love their drinks but watch out it does get pricey. Food is also great here, I’ve tried several options and liked all of my choices. Enjoyed the new Moscow mule drink with fresh blueberries

It’s Memorial Day weekend and we stopped in for a few drinks and a sandwich it was crowed but not crazy busy it was like around 6:30 and we walk in got a nice table and waitress came right over for drink order and she said because of all the rainy weather that are having Happy Hour prices all day! Wow sounded good! Then we are asking her what’s good and she looked at us like she had no idea! So I said well how’s the Reuben? She said oh that’s really good a lot of people order it! So I got that with some kind of strange Cole Slaw Sweet & Spicy! My hubby got the Sub called the Cuban or something like that he got Fries with his! Well we drank are drinks and my hubby got another Beer and the FOOD came OUT! OMG it didn’t even look good but I have never seen a Reuben look that bad ever at any Resturant! It wasn’t even grilled I got Picture of that thing I did try to eat it but it was all tuff strings of a mess! Knew we should of drove up the road to Bobby Rucci to eat there Subs and Sandwiches are the bomb! There Rueben at Ricci’s is so tender and huge I can’t even eat it all! But that thing at Red Oak was not fit for a dog! Even a dog wouldn’t of been able to Chew! I told waitress she can have that back and give it to the cook to chew! She wanted to get me something else! No way we left went over to Roy Rogers and got a hamburger and it was Delish! I had been there before and did not write review cause I was on the fence about that place so I thought I would try again and then write review! But they changed there menu! So it was different back in November! Won’t be back! Oh bout the Happy Hour Prices were a joke too my glass of wine was 7.25 and my hubby’s Beer 3.75 a bottle! Don’t mind paying higher prices for Drinks if I am enjoying my MEAL! I gave Two stars for the waitress she was nice and I do believe she knew there wasn’t anything Decent on that menu! Needless to say won’t be back there! And if you reading this you shouldn’t go either! Maybe sit at bar for drinks but stay away from that FOOD! GO TO BOBBy RICCI’S up the road in White Plains! Can’t go Wrong! Best Reuben’s in this area! And there Meatballs are the bomb!

Sat at the bar for a late lunch and was really impressed with the service. They have an extensive cocktail list with a lot of interesting combinations.
Cream of Crab Soup
Got a cup which was creamy and delicious with the essence of crab. The cup resembled more of a portion size of a bowl but I’m not complaining.
Crab Cake Sandwich with Asiago Truffled Fries
This is where things went downhill. The crab cake was small and super dry. The asiago truffled fries were rubbery and the cheese was inedible. It tasted like it had been nuked in the microwave.
I did like that they offered a couple wines on tap and the bartenders were very attentive. Unfortunately the food didn’t stand up to the service.

More Expensive than most places in somd, but worth it. Food was great. Service prompt. Drinking menu extensive and tasty.

Great Spot — Love the cuisine, Love the drinks, Love the atmosphere

Another great experience! Great beer selection! Great service! And great food! Brussels sprouts Are a must and as a Reuben lover… fantastic!!! Love blues band tonight was awesome! Making it a regular stop when we are in the area!

I recently returned to La Plata after being away for 4 yrs and came across this place when looking for a place to eat and catch up with a friend. This is a refreshing change for Charles county being the land of chain restaurants. The food is good, slightly higher priced for entrees but average for sandwiches and pizzas with discounts on Thursdays. I will definitely return when in town.

I’ve patronized this establishment on multiple occasions, and have always found the food and service to be impeccable. My experience today has truly soured my opinion of this establishment.
Not only did the server, Eric, take more than five minutes to acknowledge us and take our drink order, he only brought us half the drink order, and didn’t return after taking our food order.
I watched him great and serve the tables around us, all the while ignoring our table. After sitting for an hour without receiving our food, I finally requested management, only to be told there was none onsite. So, I spoke to the bartender who acknowledged that our drink orders were sitting in the bar waiting for pick-​up for the past 20 minutes. Even after that encounter, our server, Eric, still did not acknowledge us or apologize for the delay.
Sadly to say, I will not be patronizing this establishment again.

I did not fill out a review the first time I went here because I wanted to believe the problems were perhaps a fluke; but after my second trip I cannot recommend this restaurant.
The first time I went was about a month ago and I was impressed with the décor when I walked in. The atmosphere was fun, lively, with a dash of hipster-​whiskey bar. But the hostess had difficulty figuring out where to seat me despite having a empty large family style table. It became apparent they were using it to stage a party occurring later at the bar and side seating area. Why would you close seating during dinner rush to prep for a private party?
Next I was seated in a section of a very friendly waitress… Who proceeded to take my double order; one meal I requested for now and a second I wanted to carry out. I gave a specific time I would be leaving and she promised to have it ready.
The meal consisted of a mediocre appetizer (three little dips) and the chicken chesapeake roulade. I was excited by its description and presentation. Imagine my disappointment when I cut into the roulade and discovered the chicken was dry and over cooked and the crab filling was soggy.
Next I asked for my carry out order (the homemade wild mushroom campanelle) and was informed they had forgotten to start it on time. So I was forced to wait an extra 20 minutes… Making me late to work.
The pasta was very chewy and the sauce separated quickly. Since I was eating it later the reheating process did it no favors. But I knew (having made homemade pasta and sauce myself frequently) that the delay in eating and reheating may have been the culprit. I decided to NOT write a review until I could go back and have the pasta directly after preparation.
Fast forward a month to tonight.
I ordered the homemade spaghetti and bison meatballs, as well as the buffalo chicken salad. I took it to work and ate it within 15 minutes of arrival; no reheating needed!
The pasta was disappointing again… I make handmade pasta and this was poorly done. The pasta was under salted and over cooked resulting in a mass of congealed pasta which was of poor texture and flavor. The bison meatballs were under seasoned and bland. The sauce was simple marinara with some cheese… Decent but nothing special.
The salad was pathetic; minimal chicken which was over breaded and (surprise) dry. The salad was basically lettuce with a bit of carrot and celery.
So overall this seems like a place to go drink, but not to eat. The front of the house is friendly but the kitchen does a poor job with both basic and more sophisticated dishes. Homemade pasta is an amazing draw but it has to be done well otherwise you are better off with packaged dry semolina based pasta. Flour based pasta needs more attention than they are giving it. The chicken roulade is a phenomenal concept that was so poorly executed that it actually saddened me. If I ever go back I will try the wings and maybe the steak and update this review… But I doubt that will happen.

Thank You Megan for excellent service and thank you manager Joe for taking the time to talk with us as we had such a wonderful experience your menu is always created and new from the fried brussel sprouts lamb stew cream of crab and the Cubano sandwich on a new bread that made a wonderful addition, our time last night was thoroughly enjoyed and we will continue to visit you thank you for making our night special!

This is a nice little restaurant and bar. Great selection of beer. Nice variety of appetizers and I especially like the charcuterie choices. The atmosphere is laid back, but the food is not. Definitely a good choice for a nice dinner with your sweetie. Leave the little ones at home, this is worth the alone time.

So many craft beers! Great service (my favorite bartender is Rachel, amazing!) Wine on tap, amazing speciality food menu, huge patio with corn hole, the lasagna selection is awesome, great flatbreads, live acoustic entertainment. Overall a great experience everytime, OHH, happy hour all day any day it rains!!!

My daughter and I stopped in while driving in LaPlata for a quick lunch. The service (Eric) was good and the food was exceptional. The bison meatloaf burger was great with homemade potato chips. The calamari appetizer was good, some were a little chewy and others were mushy. The wings were thoroughly covered in BBQ sauce so if you like them lightly sauced, be sure and ask for them that way. Overall it was very good and I plan on returning when I am in the area.

It is truly unusual to find a five star kind of place with a reasonable price list. The service and the food quality and thought and time and preparation are outstanding at this bistro! Not only do they use locally sourced Food but they are unafraid to spend adequate time preparing food for the best possible flavor and presentation. The pickle that came with my simple buffalo burger had clearly been cut by hand and pickled in apple cider vinegar. Homemade pickles for a burgers! Really? Yeah it really happened to the Bistro. FOR REALS! The wings were very good. They had a lovely crunch but they are also tender enough that they just came right off the bone. They were accompanied by both ranch and bleu cheese they didn’t ask which one I wanted. I enjoyed the service of a waitress named Siarah who was busy with many tables but was watching mine to see when I had completed my drink then appetizer to serve the next dish. Truly the Red Oak Bistro is unparalleled in LaPlata Maryland and probably much of Southern Maryland aswell! Put it on your foodie hitlist!

The 411: this is a pretty good restaurant that is aesthetically pleasing and pretty unique for the area. The food is respectable.
Prices can be a bit steep if you’re trying to get the most for your dollar.
To me, it seems to be a place that’s trying to be fancier than it really is. It’s just traditional American food with a fancy menu and label.
The Italian sandwich has been hit or miss when I get it.
I’ve had the boss pizza and that was pretty good. Spicy with jalapenos and chipotle ranch with peperoncini, pepperoni and chicken. Didn’t think it was gonna work, but it tasted pretty dang good. Still… it was $ 15 for a pizza that might be able to feed two «not-​so-​hungry» people.
Their appetizers are pretty good. Stick with the calamari and the tacos. Can’t really go wrong with those choices.
They’ve got a large selection of beers if you like that sorta thing
Bottom line: this place is okay, but kinda pricey from the opinion of a broke college kid. It’s a nice place for a date, and they sometimes have live music. If you’re starving and broke, go elsewhere (i.e. Chipotle)

I really wanted to like this place, but it just had to many flaws.
Here are the positives, the décor is pretty nice, especially for a La Plata restaurant. Good amount of parking. Lots of beer options. They have a pretty good organic cider.
Now lets get to the negatives.
We went in on a Saturday night, the sign said «Please wait to be seated» but no one came, so we sat at the bar. The bartender came within 10 minutes. She took our drink order.
She wasn’t friendly, just there.
We arrived around 11pm, so the kitchen was closed, they just had a late night menu. The menu options seemed good. We ordered the Asiago Fries, chicken quesadilla and cheese nachos.
We placed our food order.
Our food came, the chicken quesadilla tasted nasty, like the chicken was old, the food had a microwaved taste to it.
The fries were ok, very salty though.
The worst part of it was the cheese nachos, on the menu, it appears to be vegetarian nachos. So we began eating them, when i noticed it had bacon bits on them. The cheese was cold cheese wiz.
At this point, the bartender, still had not checked on us.
Another bartender came and we told him we didn’t order the bacon bits on them, so he said ok I can bring you something else, so we ordered fries.
Heres another bad part, when he brought the fries, I noticed a huge cut on his hands-​ok, that made me lose my appetite.
After that we flagged our bartender down and asked for the bill, which she did manage to bring it fast.
I would not return here, the food was not good. the service is mediocre, the drinks are ok.

want a casual environment, the best coctails, wine, and beer selection around, incredible food, fun service? Go here. It’s my favorite place around. Keep in mind everything is made fresh & TRUST me it’s worth it, but it does take a little longer but the experience is worth it and you will not be bored. I’ve been here several times and I have gotten the French dip sandwich every time (it’s incredible) but buffalo oysters are incredible, the cream of crab soup is to die for, I don’t love pizza but theirs is good! Great truffle fries… GREEN ENVY cocktail Not a huge fan of the brunch limited menu but it’s still good. I’m not a big brunch fan but I did go on accident Sunday (I forgot about the brunch menu) I got the quiche and it was delish, just a small portion and I was very hungry at 1:30 :)
I still love he place though!

Had heard some good things about this restaurant from friends who lived in the area so we decided to check it out.
Went this past Saturday to partake in their daily Happy Hour $ 1.50 PBR’s or Natty Boh’s that deserves a look see in my book :) Their craft beer selection & prices are great. The bartender was extremely knowledgable & friendly. Those are the only reasons I’m rating them w/​2 stars… otherwise they’d get a big fat 1!
I’ve been to Bistro’s before so I know to expect smaller portions but the portions at Red Oak are down right ridiculously small. We started w/​the fried calamari. It was terrible. Limp and not remotely crispy. As if that wasnt bad enough the portion size was so small its actually insulting to charge $ 10 for it. Right about the time we received the calamari the couple at the bar next to us received their Truffle Asiago Fries a menu item we had discussed ordering… again the portion was tiny (think small fry from McDonalds) $ 8 seriously??? So we decided to just skip anymore food and just have a few more drinks before our movie started.
We were there for roughly 2 hours in that time frame the manager/​owner walked past us or would stock items next to us at the bar and not one time did he ask how we were or how service was or even smiled at us. It was insane. Normally when dining out especially at an «upscale» local place management always inquires about service, food quality, or something. Crazy
If we were to go back it would be to enjoy a beer or two during happy hour and most definitely would make sure I ate before going!