Oak Tavern

Really wanted to like this place, as it super close. Came in with a party of 4 and immediately got the look of what are you guys doing in here. We don’t smoke and it is pretty overwhelming here. Staff is that «fake» kind of nice didn’t feel any sincerity. Finished first round and no one came by to check on us again??? Left hopefully enough cash for the beers and bounced. If you smoke and like drunks as part of your night go for it.

To start, the food is impeccable, specifically the tri-​tip burger, I whole-​heartedly believe it was the best one I’ve had in town. The overall eating experience was exceptional, ESPECIALLY in comparison to typical bar food. Also, the unique atmosphere absolutely exceeded my standards as well. The environment has a warm, classy touch while still accommodating the features of a bar. Oak taverns staff is benevolent and friendly. I felt very comfortable while enjoying my time with friends. I’m solely impressed, and will continue to stop by.

We decided to check it out and it was terrible. We sat and waited and we were not acknowledged at all. It was really loud and smoky. We got up and left.

I live only about 5 minutes from this bar and thought I would stop in for a beer after work! First of all the moment I opened the door I was hit with an overwhelming amount of smoke and there were only 5 people in the place. As I ordered my beer the bartender was professional and attentive but I had a hard time getting past the obvious unsanitary conditions of the bar. I was playing the poker machines and it was covered in ash and the buttons stuck from dried up spills. I started to check out the rest of the bar and noticed that there were a number of things in obvious dis-​repair. I also noticed that the utensils on the the bar were filthy and full of finger prints. I finished my beer and got out of there and will not go back! As I was leaving some of the coustomer’s who seemed to be friends of the bartender made rude comments to me! I have a choice of many good bars in this area and will choose other bars to spend my money!!!

Ok. So not only was the bar tender absolutely rude, but she read my ID wrong and refused to serve me. When I tried to correct her she put her hand up to me and said «Whatever, I don’t care.» When the owner came over to look at my ID he asked if we (my friend and I) were in there to bust them. I told him no, I just wanted one of their specialty drinks I saw from Bar Rescue. Instead, the owner threatened me and was extremely rude over the whole situation, and my friend and I left before he could finish his threat. If I could give 0 stars I would.

My friend and I went to oak tavern because she saw them on Bar Rescue. The female bartender did not believe my friends ID so she started asking her questions which was ok until the bartender read the ID wrong and gave it to my friend and was completely rude and said «I don’t care» when my friend tried to show her she read the ID wrong. Then a male bartender came over and started threatening us saying if we were trying to bust him and he got fined then… I got up and left before he finished what he was saying.
I understand that we both look young, and I understand that she doesn’t have make up on in her ID so she looked slightly different, but she really is 23 and I really am 27. If they had politely said they didn’t feel comfortable serving us, we would have been annoyed but we would have been more understanding. You have to protect yourselves and the business which I understand. But there was absolutely no reason to treat us rudely. I was completely embarrassed.

Well, for what it’s worth my review is based on a 30 second visit to Oak Tavern. We came hoping for a decent meal. After walking through the front door to a wave of cigarette smoke, and approached by a stumbling drunk, we politely told the bartender, who was sitting at the bar and not working behind it, that due to the smell of smoke, we were leaving because we didn’t want to eat food and smell smoke. After that, me and wife had half the bar begging us to stay and that we could eat outside, no thanks. Maybe smoke and meat was on the menu. But we never got 10 feet into the bar to find out. What a disappointment as this was a very close bar to our home.

THE OWNER CARES
I was recently in tahoe on business. I was wandering around google and found this local spot. I drove in with not too many expectations. The overall atmosphere was great. I had a little mix up with my order and wanted to speak to the manager.
To my surprise, the owner was there and we had a lengthy discussion. He took care of everything. It really impressed me that he gave me more than the typical 5 minute visit like a typical owner. He really cares about the direction of his business.

Went here the other night with some friends and within 10 minutes of being there a fight broke out. Apparently they are regulars and it happens frequently. The drinks were ok — their well was out of CO2 and the drinks were straight syrup. On a Saturday night there was no cook onsite so no food. We were even approached by a regular who said we were giving them dirty looks. Won’t be back to this bar.

Honestly the worst place I have ever been too. I had 1 beer, it was finished. On the table and was going to have another except that no one came by for about 20 minutes with the bar not even being full that is insane. After this all I wanted was to pay for my drink and leave, but silly me I had told them to leave my tab open so they had my card or else I would have left without paying. Finally I had to get out of my seat and go to the bar and still had to wait for the girl to finish my ticket. Who by the way made eye contact with me a few times and kept walking past. I will never go back to that place again.

This is my local bar, but I don’t think I will be spending too much time here. Went here after work for a quick drink. 5:30 pm and the smoke was unbearable, even after they turned on the smoke-​eater! I was under the impression that they didn’t allow smoking inside until 8pm. No way would I want to eat in that environment. It’s too bad that they are leaving out a very large piece of the local population by catering only to heavy smokers. On the plus side, Jessica was very friendly and attentive!

: Phenomenal Burger (more on this below)
: Ridiculous Fish Tacos (more on this too)
: Perfectly poured, perfect temperature Guinness
Oddly enough, I’m a huge fan of Bar Rescue, but I had no idea this place had been on there (been without TV for a few months). My wife and I just bought a house a couple blocks away from this place and wanted to check it out, when we walked in, I immediately saw the telltale signs of Bar Rescue and got curious. In any case, we sat down, the manager/​bartender on was super friendly and quick to get to people around the bar. We ordered a couple of pints and looked at the menu. Pints came out, perfect amount of head, perfect temperature. I was very pleased.
So, we ordered the special, Fish Tacos, for my wife, and I ordered the «B & B» burger. I saw that this burger is made a lot like the way I do them at home (bacon and beef ground together), so I figured it would be a good way of seeing how the overall quality of everything was.
Serve time was normal on the food. Tacos were ridiculous. I mean that in a good way, but seriously, they are the size of a Qdoba burrito each. My wife couldn’t finish the second one, but they were really good, and the sauce they used on them was amazing. The burger was perfectly cooked, juicy, tasted amazing, and was served with Boston lettuce, which I find to be a major plus.
The only downsides that I saw were a few minor things: 1) Obviously due to contractorial obligations, they have to promote specific alcohols (Smirnoff, etc.) which were… well… yeah. I would love to see some of their signature drinks promoted with better quality stuff. 2) Menu was great in terms of meals, but would benefit from having a few apps on there. My guess is they don’t have a fryer, but I was so happy with the food I got, I didn’t really think about it at the time. 3) This place is really well set up to do some sports night stuff (Monday Night Football, etc.), but it sounded like they hadn’t really gotten a plan together for that sort of thing.
In any case, the negatives were pretty minor, so ⁴⁄₅. I would definitely go back again. Next time I’m going to try their tri-​tip though… that’s my specialty on the bbq, so I want to see how they do. :)

Definitely the best cocktails I have had in the Reno/​Sparks area.
I was lucky enough to visit this bar back in April (right after re-​opening and before the show aired). When it comes to drinks, I love creativity. I was able to try both ones on the menu and ones that weren’t on the menu. A bartender that can suggest more than a vodka cranberry when I am not sure what I want is pretty awesome in my book. I sadly don’t remember the bartender’s name but he was awesome! It wasn’t too crazy when we went on a Friday night, but sadly we missed the kitchen being open (Hopefully next time we make it during the day to try some food). The bar is also in a perfect location that’s quieter and easier to access than downtown. Can’t wait to return!

Drove down to watch my nephews baseball game and stopped in to have lunch. The food and drink menu were perfect. I am so tired of this places with huge portions and subpar food! I had the tri tip sandwich and the bourbon buck. My husband had the vic vegas burger and a beer on tap. The price was right and we left feeling completely satisfied! We will definitely be back!
Also the bartender was very friendly and easy to talk to.
I am also surprised to see comments about smoke. The place did not smell like smoke at all. I am a no smoker and can’t stand the smell of smoke.

First off, the place looks alot better than before. The bar rescue thing seemed to really help, although the place still reeks of smoke and is not well lit. The burgers they serve are awesome, probably one of the best burgers in reno or sparks. Both my wife and I got the B & B burger. 50 percent beef and 50 percent bacon ground together. So good. The sauce on the burger was good as well as the bun. They do not allow smoking inside up until 8pm. Definitely will be back. Lunch special from 12 to 3 is 20 percent off the burgers. If you were here before when it was the bullpen, it has totally changed for the good. Give them a try

Nothing exciting. We wanted to check it out because we are big Bar Rescue fans, and it is right down the street. I asked for a menu, when the waiter/​bar tender brought it over he stated «This is the bar rescue menu, we are working on a new one but it’s not printed yet.»
There were a few obnoxious guys at the bar that had clearly been drinking a bit. The service was not very good. My husband’s glass was empty for a bit before the bar tender finally asked from the bar (we were seated at a table) if we needed anything else.
They were a bit pricey for us. $ 15 for three beers.
We had been in the place years ago, and it didn’t really seem like much had changed.

Was on a trip to Tahoe with a group of girlfriends and we decided to spend one night going out in Reno/​Sparks. We had heard from a local friend that oak tavern was featured on bar rescue so we went to check it out.
We had a blast! Most bars in reno dont have great tasting, unique cocktails, oak tavern had this amazing «Smoke» cocktail that I must have had 4 of! Coming from San Francisco, where we’re spoiled with really great mixologists at every bar, we were so excited to find a place with delicious drinks, and really nice staff.
Would recommend to anyone in the area or traveling to!

Oak Tavern just got a Bar Rescue complete remodel, it is now an amazing open airy environment with lots of seating. I love how they remodeled the window tables and seating
The new food and cocktail created by Bar Rescue are fantastic. I especially like the new burgers mixed with pork.
We ordered one of their new drinks, a beer and a burger, everything came to our table right away. And when we wanted to leave they were able to give us a total bill immediately.
We are non smoker and this bar is a smoking bar but no one can smoke until after 8pm when everyone has already eaten.
To accommodate all the customers the owners and Bar Rescue installed state of art smoke eaters. The smoke eaters really do the trick.
I would highly recommend this local bar and restaurant.

Since the makeover not much has changed when it comes to the clientile and the customer service. The inside is much improved with wooden accents and an open feel that makes you want to stay awhile. Other than that it still has the same Smokey dive bar feel as before the renovation.
The customer service was average at best, with servers checking their phones more than they were checking on their patrons.
The menu looked appeasing but with the multitude of smokers apparent throughout the establishment it made my appetite disappear quickly.
Overall I would rank this bar and grill below average and would rather visit a bullys or flowing tide where the service and food is more consistent.

Hands down, the best burger I have ever had. I don’t think anything could have made it better.
Let’s talk about the pork infused ground beef patty that was juicy to the last bite, with Tri-​tip steak on top making it the perfect meat blends! Crunchy lettuce, delicious tomato, crisp red onion, smothered with 2 slices of provolone on the softest gluten-​free bun I have ever had. Beyond description, beyond words! I needed to buy this Burger dinner before enjoying this glorious moment!
Add Metro Deli Jalapeño Cheddar chips on the side with pepperoncinis that pop in your mouth, and a Burbon Buck to wash it all down, perfecto!
The atmosphere tops it all off, the Chef comes out to meet you in person, the waitresses are very pleasant and never let your drink hit bottom and getting the pleasure of shaking hands with the owners and management, really makes the whole night!
When, not if, but when you get the chance, enjoy this great Tavern!