The Red Oak Restaurant

My girlfriend and I stopped here for Valentine's Day and I'm glad we did! The food and service were both great! Not the cheapest place to eat, but the food is worth every penny!

Crew (7 year old regular customer) “This is my favorite cheeseburger, the service is good and the people are very very good. I love it here. This is my favorite place and the music is awesome.” - photo credit to Crew Young

Wonderful food, great service, cozy ambiance, sustainable, strong drinks, you can’t go wrong with this place! Will definitely be coming back, our new favorite restaurant!

It has an inviting atmosphere, and the Food and Drinks were Amazing! They take Great care of their employees and guests! I Highly Recommend Coming Out and Enjoy An Amazing Meal and Atmosphere, With a Great Staff!

A great experience, food was fantastic. Enjoyed listening to the other customers talk about how much they enjoyed everything.

Found this place by accident. This turned out to be the Bob Ross of restaurants "happy little accidents". Great atmosphere, great food, service was friendly. If you have young children, make sure to order them right away because it does take a while.

Weekday Dinner? Special Date Night? Sunday Breakfast? or Wedding Rehearsal Dinner? There is no other place in Southeast Wisconsin I'd recommend before The Red Oak Restaurant. As permanent resident of Chicago, my fiancée and I have spent the majority of the pandemic staying at our lake home in Racine County. Our choice was a no-brainer for maximizing our outdoor space during this time, but were certain our options for great culinary experiences that we were accustomed to in Chicago would be slim to none. This was immediately dispelled by our first visit to The Red Oak. The wait staff, manager, and bartenders provided top-level service, which common throughout Racine County, but the food and cocktails were out of this world. Over 2020, my fiancé visited the Red Oak 10 more times and we fell in love with the vintage bar, extensive cocktail list, rotating menus, staff and quaint yet elegant dining room. We enjoyed our experiences so much that we decided to hold our rehearsal wedding dinner and welcome party at the Red Oak. The manager, Heidi, was extremely easy to work with and accommodating of our needs. Our guests, which were about 150, had an awesome time and could not stop raving about the food, drink list and awesome outdoor space. Some personal favorites are first and foremost the Chicken and Fish and Chips, which are menu staples, but seasonally rotating menus and locally sourced ingredients make for great new options every time. The Red Oak is a culinary gem and their staff is so welcoming. We are so lucky to have come across it and can't wait to be back next.

This restaurant has become the go to place. I bring lots of friends and family to enjoy the homemade freshly prepared beverages and delicious food. Family run owners and servers are attentive and engaged. The menu changes with seasonal ingredients. Must try any of the salad greens that are so super fresh. Chicken liver moose tasted so gourmet. Request to please put it as a regular on the menu. Desserts are homemade and cheesecake flavors change. Splurge because it is worth every bite. I ordered egg nog cheesecake with peppermint sprinkles and whipped cream. Go early and enjoy the comfortable couches and inviting bar area. The restaurant is an old house and it is very welcoming and decorated. The gratuity is part of the the check which is more progressive and I like that. Go out of your way and try this restaurant. It’s wonderful and worth it.

Delicious farm to table fare. Many different options and a gluten free menu! New menu every 2 months :)

Tonight was my first time visiting The Red Oak. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a warm and inviting atmosphere that continued throughout the evening. For drink I had the Safran Side Car. It was very well balanced and was a delicious cocktail to enjoy with my meal. For appetizer my girlfriend I and I ordered the fried goat cheese. It is a MUST order. Seriously if you do not order the fried goat cheese you are missing out. For dinner I had the Grass Fed Grilled Pineapple Burger. It was Delicious. I would order it again. I tried a bite of my girlfriends Mushroom sliders and again I was very impressed, the flavor combinations of the seasoning in the meat,mushrooms,cheese, the aioli and the toasted bun were delicious. The best part, this is truly a local restaurant. By eating here you are not only supporting this one business but multiple Wisconsin businesses that the food has been locally sourced from. I give this restaurant a 10 out of 10. I will definitely be coming back. Seriously though…. The fried goat cheese 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Nice place. I'd go back. Had a great breakfast.

We don't go here often but should. Great service and menu. I had the lamb meatballs along with a pumpkin old fashion.

We really liked the citrus infused water. Farm to table food was so delicious and fresh. We all ordered something different and tried each other's. We had lox and poached eggs, ham and gouda crepes, breakfast sandwich, and avocado toast with scrambled eggs. The service was awesome, very attentive! We will be back again to try dinner.

Chris, our bartender, was absolutely amazing. I brought my girlfriend up from Texas to show her my home city, and he was insightful and fun to talk to. I would absolutely be back to see him again. 10/10 food and service. Thanks again Chris!

Drinks were delicious and strong. The shepherds pie and chicken with risotto were also amazing!

Fantastic Drink Selections, Surprising amount of tables and seating. Great Environment

Bartender was knowledgeable, friendly. Made good suggestions. Food was phenomenal. Our server, Heather, was great. The one and only negative was it was a bit stuffy. Maybe some lively but soft music to give it a happy vibe.

A lovely, cozy place. We had the Grilled Cheese and the Butternut Squash Flatbread. Both were out-of-this-world delicious. The French fries were the best I’ve ever eaten. Loved the Bloody Mary and all of the accoutrements. I will definitely drive over an hour to eat here again. Truly farm-to-table and environmentally sustainable.

Hands down my favorite restaurant. The ambience, the local foods used, the hospitality. Truly a diamond in the rough. And the food is glorious on the palate.

Love the feel of the restaurant and their philosophy. They use fresh ingredients and have a seasonal menu so they can source food from the community. They charge a 20% hospitality fee which is the tip for the entire staff so you don't have to even think about math at the end of your meal. The food and drinks were incredible and we will definitely be back. Probably the best dining experience we've had in several years!

We had a wonderful meal. Possibly the best fillet I have had. Wonderful.server very nice a m d kept checking on us! I am terrible with names but she had blond hair! The bartender was also wonderful. My husband absolutely loved his pork belly gouda burger. Wonderful experience all around!

Dinner was excellent! Cooked perfect and very well seasoned. Fast and very friendly service. We would've liked to see some kind of pain chocolate deserts though. Also did not personally like that we where handed a survey to fill out after dinner. Would recommend and will return again. Overall great dinner!

My favorite restaurant in the area. Farm to table, locally sourced ingredients. The soup is always amazing! The soup always changes but everytime it's one of the best soups I've ever had!

Service was warm and welcoming, the house rules on tipping were explained right away so no surprises at the end. Really appreciated that. Food was delicious and those cocktails were amazing. The Hard Truth Piña Colada was probably my favorite sip of the year! I’ll be back in warmer months for a spot outside, it looked cute, too!

Had a wonderful experience at Red Oak! The Brussels sprouts and seared walleye were outstanding! Thank you Melaney for your excellent service and attention to detail!

Visited Red Oak for their Pours and Pets on the Patio event. Great time, thank you for putting it on and fundraising for a great rescue. Stayed for lunch and the food was fantastic. Really like the focus on local food and drinks. Kind of reminds me of a Clarkson Farm Farmers Dog pub/restaurant local focus, except Red Oak did it first!! Keep up the great food!

Great food, great service. We love it every time we go.

I went to this restaurant for a bridal shower yesterday. The food was absolutely amazing! So fresh & flavorful! I enjoyed everything that they served. The workers were so polite & helpful! What a beautiful, welcoming atmosphere too! Thank you for a very relaxing, enjoyable experience. I will definitely be back! So appreciative, Jenise Floyd

Food was amazing! They work with local farms to provide everything, so the menu switches frequently. We sat on the patio and we were able to enjoy the smell of lilac bushes. The service was a little slow on a few things but was a great experience overall.

First time guest. Food was delicious and fresh! Service was pleasant but very slow, despite the dining room not being busy @ 715pm. Server asked if I preferred baked potato with my meal instead of the fries. I happily accepted but it came with the fries anyway. 🫤 Drinks took forever to arrive, although again the house was not busy. Server never asked during the meal if I wanted another drink. Server explained at the beginning that there was a service charge added to the menu. Unfortunately (for the house) it was less than I would have tipped if it hadn’t already been added.

Great farm to table food, delicious menu that shows the source of their food. Great interior decor. They also are a no tipping restaurant. Been here several times just for the food quality. However, the depressed hostess/waitress with the multicolored hair, grotesque piercings, needs to leave. Literally speaks in a monotone voice and acts annoyed whenever you ask for something. Oh boo hoo, you have to do your job rather than sit on your phone.

We had the rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding at Red Oak in September. Heidi and her crew did a wonderful job. Heidi helped me put together a menu with wonderful offerings from their delicous walleye and beef tenderloin, to the unique surf and turf offering. As always, their selection of drinks from the bar was outstanding. Serving 40 people as one group is not easy when you also have your usual crowd. Red Oak did a nice job. The Peach Tart appetizer and Truffled fries were great.

Had high expectations of this farm to table restaurant. It has an inventive menu and a great cocktails/wine/beer list. Unfortunately, both food and service were disappointing. Service: ordered beer twice - before and during dinner. Waited for the first beer for 15 minutes (it's just a beer in a bottle, not a cocktail, which needs to be prepared). During dinner ordered the 2nd beer - same story. While i was waiting for beer mid-dinner, the waiter stopped by and asked if we wanted deserts (we still had half of our meal on the plate) - very odd timing. Food: Bison burger tasted great (and was cooked to the right level), but the brioche bun was literally fried in butter - to the point that it was hard to cut with a knife - instead of being lightly toasted. I wish the amount of mushrooms was triple, so that i could at least taste them. Fries were unevenly cooked - some light and slightly soggу, others burnt. So at the end, what seems like a promising restaurant did not deliver on the most simple thing - burger and fries. I can not recommend this restaurant

In Appleton, WI on business trip. Stopped for dinner. Beeftips and mashed potatoes. Menu says beef tips and sweet peppers, try bell peppers instead with absolutely no seasoning and tough. And the mashed potatoes were inedible, but French onion soup was okay. A1 please. Service was very pleasant.

Well, sad to say we were disappointed in our experience last night. The Red Oak had been on of our favorite spots, we even had our wedding reception here. The last couple times we’ve went we were a bit disappointed, so we held off and haven’t been back in almost a year in hopes that maybe they turned things back around. Unfortunately, once again we were not happy and spent over $100 on our meal! The last time we went, both ordered a filet ($50 each mind you, so not cheap!). Both came out well done instead of medium-medium rare as asked. We sent it back and then they came out properly cooked. When you’re paying that much, that shouldn’t happen! This time around, first off it took a while for anyone to come to the table at all and in between visits, it was a long wait. So the service itself was pretty slow. We ordered a charcuterie board as an appetizer, and were disappointed in this, was missing items that were listed on the menu, and it just seemed like there was not much on there for what it cost! Then for entrees… I had salmon and my husband had a burger. I believe the bun for the burger was from some local bakery shop which was literally crumbling as he ate it, that in itself was a frustrating experience. While we appreciate the fresh bun, it should be able to hold up with the burger! The burger itself was also VERY salty! My salmon was alright, but it too was crazy salty, and the risotto did not have any “Parmesan” flavor whatsoever. I don’t know if Chef Josh is still there, but the last couple experiences have not been good. I love the fresh farm to table menu, however, I almost think they’re trying to be too fancy, and even so, overly salted proteins, missing items, and crumbling bread, those are basics that shouldn’t happen! I’m Sad to say we probably won’t be back again, at least not for a while, which is so disappointing since this once was our favorite restaurant! 🥺

We stopped for an early dinner and started with the flatbread-it was good but not fantastic. I got pan seared walleye. It came layered a bowl with potatoes then spring mix greens and the fish on top. The greens were good but wilty, fish was fine, but the potatoes were as salty as our server. We have been there before and the food is good but nothing has knocked my socks off. I think everything was a bit pricey but I get that because of being farm to table.

mandatory 20% tip. Disappointing, read other reviews about service being slow which is fine as long as you have drinks/apps to chat and hangout with. but our service was nonexistent. Everything was snails pace from being seated to leaving. We tried to be patient as our server mentioned he was newer and we could see the staff was very frazzled. It was busy but not busy enough to where the service was warranted. i truly think they had forgotten we were sitting there. the table behind us, you could see that they were actually going to the bar to get there drinks. the food was delicious which is the only reason for any stars. unfortunately probably would not go back.'

I read all the reviews.. I do not understand what happened with us?? We loved this place when we walked in Waited 1 hour for food, over cooked, mushy cold fries, then was bummed rush to get out because they were closing Rude male waiter and unfriendly female Adding 20% on bill.??.that is for good service, not to keep your employees happy. Very sad to have this happen, Maybe because we are not locals from West Bend?

We tried this restaurant for the first time yesterday. We were excited about the Farm-to-table concept. Here is an honest review of all things we experienced. The server was kind and attentive. She explained before even taking our order that there would be an automatic 20% added to the bill for sustainable wage. We ordered a “mocktail” and two entrees. The mocktail prices are not included on the menu so make sure to ask if that is something you are interested in. The Pork Orzo entree came and it was not up to fine dining standards…the orzo was overcooked and the meatballs were dry. They were actually hard and dry and looked “old” when the dish was presented. It was also not particularly hot in temperature…maybe lukewarm. After one bite, I asked the server if I could see a menu and she took the dish away. The roast chicken was good and we kept it and finished it. The flavors were very good. The cream sauce served with the veggies was not as warm as we would have liked it to be. We ordered an asparagus salad to replace the pork orzo. One of the reasons I chose a salad was because I was hoping it would come fast (since nothing needs to be cooked) and we could eat the entrees together. It took an extremely long time to get the salad…we were done with eating the chicken before getting the salad. The salad was fresh, and the asparagus and mushroom components tasted good…but the dressing and salad as a whole had very little flavor. I asked our server for salt and pepper. We decided to forgo dessert and asked for our bill. When she brought it to us…although the pork orzo price had been taken off the bill, the tip amount had not been changed to reflect the salad replacement. So we were actually being charged a 30% tip for the food we had consumed. We pointed it out to our server. The system wouldn’t allow them to change it to 20% so they ended up taking it off completely and we added 20% back onto our card for her tip. We were surprised that a visit to our table from the manager/owner after having to send back the food did not happen…no checking in to make sure we were satisfied as customers or an apology from higher management for the inconveniences and the wait that our salad took. We did receive an apology from the server, she was very sweet, but for a high end restaurant with these prices we expected more…sometimes, at other restaurants, even a free dessert or comping a drink is offered and none of that happened in this instance. We left feeling like nobody really cared if we came back again. This was our first time visiting this establishment, and it will be our last.

We had reservations for a birthday party at 7 pm. Some of us waited almost 2 hours for a drink. No kid friendly options, prices are over the top compared to what comes to the table. Pics of grilled cheese menu item attached. Huge disappoint for the money spent, we will not be back, please know our server was great! If you’re going to charge high end prices you better bring it and Red Oak failed. Huge disappointment and waste of money.