White Oak Tavern
“Definitely coming back here to try the brunch, oh, and their happy hour prices were fabulous as well!!”
“It's an oasis of adult classiness in NYU-land–but it's also a perfect date place for the aspiring young student who wants to impress that special someone.”
“If your mom's chicken pot pie is half as good then you were a lucky kid!”
White Oak Tavern
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I was reminded of a sign I saw on a townhouse being refurbished that said "good as new is easy, good as old is hard" when eating here. This place does a good job of looking old while obviously being new without any kitsch factor.
Only had brunch so limited viewpoint of food as fairly easy to make breakfast food. That being said my blt with fried egg had really good bacon and a just right amount of runny fried egg. They also have some non standards like pulled pork hash.
Had a sangria since on their happy hour which is done on Sunday. It is less fruity and actually more tart than standard one was still good. If like your Bloody Mary on the spicy side than you are in luck. If not then they do not have regular tomato juice to lower spice level.
No problems with service.
So we had 10 ladies and thank goodness they take reservations. A friend booked it and didn't even have to wait…..great service from the beginning.
Location is literally next to NYU….I must say hailing a cab on a Saturday night is not easy….we even walked to Broadway and it was hard to find a taxi.
The restaurant is very cozy….dark…candles lit….service was very attentive especially the fact we had a big party. The background music was great too….playing 90s…my generation.
I ate the following:
Coconut Curry Mussels – OMG sooooooo good! The broth was perfect…nice kick to it (Lil spicy and I love it). They threw in some homemade croutons….soak it in the broth and eat it with the mussels….mmmmmmm!!
NY Strip Steak medium – cooked perfectly ….seasoning was great! The onion rings it came with was crunchy and not greasy…..really delicious! Green beans were good too.
My friend had the pork rib eye and I thought it was too rubbery and the seasoning wasn't tasty. She regretted not having the strip steak.
Now for dessert they had 3 homemade donuts for 1 serving…fresh!!!!!
Chocolate – Fave
Lemon Creme – Mmm
Bourbon peach – not a fan
Donuts were fried perfectly….great balance on the sugar on the outside…not drenched….it was yummy.
There was also a crack in my glass with black label which my friend noticed later that night and they were nice enough to change up the glass and pour new black for me.
Manager checked on us and I really enjoyed our visit there. I was able to find an outlet near our table to charge my phone yay lol.
I would definitely come back again.
I am a lucky girl to have visited so many places I rate 5 stars lately!
We LOVED the decor here. Very homey with beautiful light fixures, antiques, something to look at in each corner.
I was recovering from surgery the day before and starving after not having eaten in over 24 hours. I decided upon the blackened chicken sandwich. The chicken was spiced to perfection and the toppings were very unique! It's served on a nice soft roll with lime mayo and pickled watermelon rind. Who knew that the flavors would complement the spiced chicken so nicely!?
For a drink at first, I ordered the cava- usually a very dry sparkling wine but this one was overly sweet. So next I decided to get The Blood and Spice Margarita which was jalapeno infused tequila with blood orange puree and lime. Another perfect complement to my meal!
My husband order a Goose Island IPA (one of his favorites) but they had a lot of other beers to choose from in bottle or on tap. Beer flights were also available! For lunch he chose the BLT which was served with avocado and on challah bread. My husband is not an avocado fan so he ordered it on the side and I added it to my chicken sandwich. If I go back, I'd ask them to add avocado to the blackened chicken sandwich. SO GOOD!
This is another restaurant we will run back to if we're ever in the Village while visiting the city. I would love to return for dinner or their live music! I would be nice to bring my son since the music was listed as beginning at 5 pm- not like a lot of places that start after 9 pm.
I went on a Tuesday evening with a friend. We unfortunately missed the HH (11am – 7pm is what we were told, drink deals only), but grabbed a beer, a salmon entree, and the chicken pot pie. We also got an order of their Sriracha Lime Popcorn ($4). The food was done right, but there was nothing thrilling about their menu. I would pass on the $4 popcorn- the flavor profile sounded really interested so we thought we'd give it a go but the Sriracha/Lime butter made the popcorn soggy and we got a tiny "cup" of popcorn. Regular buttered popcorn please! Thanks
Pros:
-Server was very friendly and knew the food/beverage menu inside and out.
-They offer a HH deal so if you're in the area- go for it.
Cons:
-This could be a pro for some depending on the situation but it's one of those restaurants that are very dark. It was dark enough that it was impossible to check the doneness of the salmon without tasting it.
Perfect for: if you're craving some solid, well executed "comfort" food (chicken pot pie, mac n cheese) or if you're in the area during HH and can go for a stiff drink.
What a fantastic find! White Oak Tavern not only looks cool inside, they also have excellent brunch food, drinks, and service.
To start off brunch, we ordered some $1 oysters and boozy doughnuts. The oysters were fresh and wealthy. The boozy doughnuts were the true star though. Get all 3 of them. My personal favorite is filled with chocolate. The donuts were huge, fluffy, and just downright delicious.
For drinks, I absolutely loved the rose' sangria. They even have happy hour specials from 11-4 so it was only $8. Next time I'd get the pitcher though! It was so refreshing and perfect for the warm weather. The Natural, with basil, was also great.
Now for the main courses. All of the dishes were familiar options with a twist. The eggs benedict is served on top of their ale bread. It tastes like sourdough (my favorite). They even smoke the salmon in house. Unfortunately the eggs were cooked more like a soft boiled egg than a runny poached egg. The avocado toast is on the same bread and looked amazing too, but also had over-poached eggs. Looking for a lighter option? The burrata with grilled peaches is a perfect choice!
To top it off, service was excellent and the prices were surprisingly low for the area. Way to go White Oak Tavern!
The White Oak Tavern is a great location for live music, great cocktails and beers and even better food. They offer a wide choice of beers from tap. The small selection of cocktails is not a standard one you can find everywhere. We shared butternut squash with goat cheese and kale and mussels in coconut/coriander sauce as starters. Our mains where: Portobello (Vegi) Burger with salad, Bacon-Cheeseburger with fries and Pasta with duck. All dishes where really good. The service was also very friendly and courteous. Even though the White Oak Tavern doesn't have the prices you would expect from a Tavern or Pub, it's a great place for a night out with great food and drinks.
Only a block away from NYU Stern, White Oak is a second home for many students!!! I've dropped by before/after classes/meetings for drinks. There's always a good crowd- not so packed and loud that you can't hear your own voice or get a drink, but not a ghost town. They have your typical NY drinks on tap and some surprisingly yummy cocktails as well. I tried the Penicillin ($12.50) last night and really liked it. It's light, refreshing, and comes with a dried ginger candy.
I'm giving these guys 5 stars for a number of reasons, and I rarely give 5 stars, but they've shown the couple of times I've been there that they deserve it. I was there on a Friday night for a friend's birthday. He was able to get some tables reserved no problem, and it was a good vibe. I attribute some of it to the fact that NYU is still no back in session so we didn't have to deal with students.
The manager in the middle of the night, popped by, and bought the entire party kamikaze shots, just because. Frankly that's a classy move right there, and totally unprompted. Our bartender was attentive and quick with the pour, oh and she knew how to actually pour a Guinness, which is surprisingly hard to find in NYC.
The previous time I was there, I had brunch with a buddy and it was crushed avocado on toast and it was something for the ages. I mean truly delicious. Maybe I was crawling back from an aggressive and it just hit the mark … time and the gods only know … but as someone who doesn't frequent the Washington Square Park area that much, I would totally reccomend popping into White Oak.