Oak at Fourteenth

If I could review a smell, I would give five stars on olfactory level alone. The incredible scent that doesn’t waft, but rather smacks you in the face comes from the wood fired grill. Order the crispy ancho-​glazed pork shoulder and do not look back. Another bonus for this establishment is that the appetizers match the main course meat offerings in taste and appearance. The food here is PERFECTLY cooked. If the Michelin guide visited Boulder, I would recommend one star for sure. Unfortunately, the waiter kept calling me «bud.» For a few hundreds dollars, my name is «sir» This is unacceptable for the caliber of restaurant that OAK certainly is.

This is a really lovely and 5-​star place. What makes this a 5-​star place is mostly the people who work there. The chef looks like the main singer from Maroon 5 and the wait staff are all so accommodating and jump to the rescue when things like a storm happens and people have to move inside. The food is really good and quite fancy/​intricate creations. It is not really my personal style (I prefer vegetarian restaurants or more ethnic ones) but I think most people would really enjoy it. We shared 3 tapas — the octopus/​sausage/​potatoes tapa, the kale/​apple/​candied nut salad, and the chicken liver pâté.

The ramen… oh the ramen.
One complaint is that this place is very pricey. A little arrogantly so.

Some days Oak is on the spot, some days it’s off. I’ve tried at least 75% of the menu. Stick to the shrimp and grits, meat entrees and sandwiches (even grilled cheese with tomato soup). Steer clear of the salads (overpriced and under portioned), chicken and dumplings and meatballs. The bone marrow is pretty good but Brasserie 1010’s is better.
The huge shared meals are worth the money and the fried pickles are delicious. The «Across the Atlantic» cocktail is a winner every time. It’s loud and you’ll smell like a smokey grill when you leave (so don’t wear your best silk or cashmere) but it’s worth it. Wait staff was great, then got shoddy but is back on again. Yum!

Lunch review* Really lovely restaurant. The lunch menu is varied and very fairly priced. I’d suggest making a reservation because the restaurant was full on a Thursday lunch hour. I almost sat at the chef’s table but moved to the bar because the oven was about 5 feet from the seat and anyone sitting there would bake to a crisp in about 5 minutes. They should probably get rid of 3 – 4 chairs at the chef’s table because I can’t imagine anyone wanting to sit there. Otherwise, if I’m ever in Boulder, I’ll surely be back.

Traveled here for business to meet clients. The town itself is fun, and this restaurant fits right in.
Open, spacious, lively, visible kitchen, all create a vibrant atmosphere, and the staff is fun and upbeat — the vibe is really good.
It is a bit loud, so not a spot for a quiet romantic dinner — but great for fun and good food.
The sommelier was most helpful, and we snagged a bottle of Sagrantino not on the list that perfectly paired with our meals. The wine list has good depth and is reasonably priced.
Their menu offers a wide ranging selection of tastes, small plates, pasta — something to suit any mood & craving. Must admit the kale salad mentioned by other reviewers — generally not my go to veg — was really really good.
Would be a regular here if we lived in town.

Without a doubt, this is up there in my top 5 favorite restaurants, anywhere! I have been here multiple times and the food has never been short of amazing.
I love that they have menus for lunch, mid-​day, dinner and late night. Their bar staff are seriously impressive, and really know their stuff. Seriously, test them to make you an off-​menu cocktail and they look so happy to be up for the challenge.
The restaurant itself is open, laid back, contemporary, with an open kitchen. The food is all fresh, local where possible, ingredients. If they have a pasta dish on the menu, give it a try, their housemade pasta is always to die for!

Easy 4+ stars if they fix the execution issues that we experienced. Good room, good bar (though small), and nicely conceived menu. We walked by Oak during CU «parents weekend» last Fall, and based on the look and the menu posted in the window, vowed to return on our next visit. This weekend, we were in Boulder to help move our son home for the summer so the place was packed with families celebrating graduation, but our service was very good (albeit a little «aloof») regardless. The cocktails were delicious, and thankfully the waiter asked if I *really* wanted the Manhattan with Whistle Pig as it was «$ 25 a pour». I quickly switched to a more modest brand…
As a first course, we shared the spring pea and crab soup. It looked beautiful, but sadly was very under-​seasoned. I bit more salt, a drizzle of a nice finishing oil, and this would have been truly amazing. It was clearly made with very fresh, high quality ingredients. Our second course was the Hamachi crudo, with avocado, grapefruit, and what tasted like a spicy cilanto purée. This was hands down the best part of the meal. Fresh and delicious. For the entrees, my wife ordered the roast chicken with the «gruyère and spring onion garlic bread pudding», and I ordered the Halibut with the «rancho gordo beans, spinach, baby artichokes and chili almond jam». The chicken dish was generally good, but my wife found this one actually pretty over-​seasoned, and the portion size was huge so she didn’t even come close to finishing it. The Halibut sounded great and looked beautiful. Sadly, the fish was pretty dry, the baby artichokes were undercooked to the point of being crunchy, and the «jam» added nothing but a bit of texture and color. No. Flavor. At. All. With the quality of ingredients, and the very good service, this meal had the potential to be absolutely fantastic. Sadly, given the execution problems in the kitchen, it was mediocre at best. We’ll probably give it another shot, and hopefully will have a better outcome.

More of a 3.5 but service was good so bumped it up. Heard a lot about the bone marrow and kale salad. Both are good and worth trying but can’t say it was awesome. The octopus was good and cooked with sausage.
The short ribs were tender but portion small.
They seem to rotate menu so you may not always be able to get what you see on Unilocal

This is a very special place in very special city.
It was a special trip to Boulder for me and my Father, we were celebrating his birthday. Two standouts in Boulder were our hotel (see my review for St. Julien’s) and Oak at Fourteenth.
Before I gush about the food, the atmosphere deserves a special mention. The place is buzzing with the see and be seen crowd.
We started with the Hamachi Crudo. So delicious and fresh. The fish is accented with green curry, avocado, crispy rice and grapefruit. A real standout.
Next up, the Colorado Lamb Bolognese. Honestly, I could just eat this for my meal.
Housemade tagliatelle smothered in tomato sauce, grand padano cheese and citrus rosemary bread crumbs.
The pasta was cooked perfectly and has a rustic feel.
But the star of the meal is the wood grilled bone in ribeye.
The platter, so stunning our dining neighbors were drooling (Seriously, we offered four people a taste).
The stunning meat comes with blue cheese butter and crispy potatoes. This serves two and very likely could be a main course for four.
The ribeye takes a little extra time, so order a couple of starters, a couple of cocktails (I suggest the Oak Martini) and take in the whole experience.
You won’t be disappointed.

Staff is snooty but the food is great!
I went here on a whim and the restaurant was empty. They refused to sit us by the window. We were all dressed up for work so it was really weird.
However, the food was super delicious so I can’t complain too much.
Parking is metered over here on pearl street. It’s across the way from Cheesecake Factory.

One of the best meals I’ve ever had!
The appetizer of bruschetta with charred kale, goat feta, roasted pine nuts, lemon zest was such a feast for the palate.
I had a tart Cosmo… best I’ve ever had!
The spinach, mint, asparagus salad was THE best salad I have ever had!!!
And my sea bass was beyond!
Everything had flavored that complimented each other, never overpowering!
Our server Seth was one of the finest people ever!!!
Service was first rate, acoustics great. We can actually carry on a conversation and hear each other!
In fact, we’re coming back on Friday, our last evening with a friend!

I have visited Oak at 14^th multiple times and I’ve never been disappointed with the food or the service.
The atmosphere is stylish enough without being pretentious. Service is friendly and food perfect.
I like the fact that they have a wide selection of small and shared plates for dinner. It’s always a nice way to try a variety of food.
For lunch, I especially like the apple and kale salad, and the shrimp and grits (I only have grits at Oak, too many places serve very bland grits).
They also offer a late night menu, which is always nice when you want a bite after a movie.

After ordering an extensive amount of food and drink we were forced to give up our table before we had finished our meals! No matter how good the food is, you don’t kick out a well paying table during dinner, ever! No excuses! Such a shame, it was our second day back (in a row), but now we never plan to return and will tell others likewise. Good luck eating here!

Unilocal reviews of this restaurant are really positive, so we decided to try it for lunch. We ordered BLT (apple smoked bacon, fried green tomato, and avocado) and tomato soup with grilled mushroom leek and cheese sandwich plate. Since they bake their own bread in the shop, bread tasted good though unfortunately our bread tended to be burnt. Still our food tasted nice. Seems they have a variety of massive and voluminous desserts. In fact, two women were each eating a huge dessert plate with evident satisfaction behind us. Surely it’s a nice place for sweet tooth people who maybe only want dessert. We anticipated a bread and butter (or olive oil) plate, but that was not offered. Maybe we should have asked about that. But that’s OK because we’re not big eaters and also we ordered sandwiches. Simple and pretty modern décor, faultless service and variety of alcohol items, this restaurant can be said to be flawless. Suffice it to say, as lunch without alcohol, it might have been a little pricy. But considering it is close to Pearl St Mall in Boulder, maybe it should be acceptable.
Furthermore, recently they opened a sister restaurant in downtown Denver called «BriDer –Rotisserie Kitchen» and sounds more casual. Perhaps we well try it soon.

On a recent business trip to Denver, I came here for dinner and solo-​dined at the bar. I wish I had been with more people so that I could have tried more things, but c’est la vie. I was stuck at the bar between two couples celebrating Valentine’s Day, which was a little weird and felt like a fifth wheel, but at least the chef’s counter had a view of the open kitchen, so I could distract myself by watching them prepare the food, and the rest of the time, I spent on my phone or reading awkwardly between the 2 couples.
The food was really good, and there were a lot of different options to choose from. I opted for 2 small plates, which was enough food for me, since the kale salad was a pretty generous size. I probably could have eaten just the salad by itself for my meal and been fine, but I wanted to try more from the menu.
If you like a good, hearty, healthy salad with lots of flavor — because delicious and healthy all in one is the best — don’t miss out on the kale & apple salad. It has shredded kale, shredded apple, grana padano, candied almonds, all with a lemony dressing in a bowl. It’s probably in my top 10 salads I’ve had, and I would go out of my way to come here to get this salad again. At $ 12, it’s reasonably priced for how much salad you get.
For my second small plate, I went with the lamb bolognese with mint tagliatelle, for $ 15, which to be honest, I could have passed on. Maybe the flavor of the lamb wasn’t particularly my taste, or mint pasta is a little on the strange side. It was fine, but I wouldn’t order this again for myself if I came back.
They have a variety of small plates, and for the large dishes, they had chicken, fish, pork, pasta and probably other things that rotate in seasonally. I love farm-​to-​table dining, and would definitely come back here again — hopefully with more dining companions, so that I can try more things. Reasonable prices for the dishes, good quality of food, nice ambiance and service.

I’ve been to Oak for Happy Hour and for lunch. Both times exceeded my expectations. The cocktail bar is what initially attracted me. Based on the bottles I saw from the outside, I figured that the cocktail program was advanced. I was not disappointed. Cocktails are seasonally-​inspired and excellent. One memorable libation, in particular, comes to mind. It was a spiced apple cocktail that was boozy yet exceptionally balanced, not cloying.
The food? Awesome. Notable was a fried fish sandwich and tots. Both were elevated to an unexpected level. Simply excellent comfort food.
When I’m in Boulder, Oak is definitely on my mind.

What a great experience! The manager, Charles, was welcoming and accommodating. He seated us himself and took his time with us, chatting and getting drinks. Their service is top-​notch and the waitstaff attentive and well-​versed.
The drinks are excellent! I told the bartender to make us whatever she wanted and man, was it good! I definitely recommend telling her to make whatever she would like to!
The food… oh the food! Excellently prepared and presented! We ordered a ton of their small plates and one medium one. That is definitely the way to go here!
Please, please, please don’t overlook Oak. You will be doing yourself a terrible injustice.

We stumbled on Oak, while enjoying the pedestrian street of shops.
We took seats along the open kitchen, watching the magic happen. There was also a row of doughnuts that were lined along the counter. They looked delicious.
Our server Zach was friendly and knowledgable. He helped us with the local draft beer selections.
We ordered the French Dip Sandwich and the Lamb Shwarma Sandwich. The lamb was really good — flavorful and moist, but the French Dip was outstanding! The meat was not dry, even without the dip. Also, very flavorful, without it being salty. The bread had the perfect texture of crunch on the outside and chewy, soak up the jus inside.
Next time, I’m getting the French Dip, too! We ended up passing on the doughnut, as the flavor special was peppermint, and just personally not my thing.

I love this place! Went here for dinner with a friend. Oak had a very cool, artisan, farm fresh ambience. The décor is all glossy wood (is it made from oak?!!) and warm lighting (perfect for Instagram btw!), and the waitstaff uniform is crisp white tops with stylish dark jeans. The ambience definitely sets the mood for the food, which is unquestionably delicious.
I got the hamachi crudo and the grits with mozzarella and meatballs, which were actually two items off the appetizer menu, as well as a strawberry panne cotta for dessert. My friend got a steak entrée and the salted caramel dessert, which I also got to try. All of it was divine! The hamachi crudo was a fresh bite, with a springy, tangy yuzu sauce. The grits were very hearty — that plate definitely did a number on my stomach, but in the best possible way. The dessert was the best part, with lavender-​infused, crumbly shortbread cookies being the perfect accompaniment to the tangy strawberry compote and the cold, creamy panna cotta. My friend’s salted caramel thing was to die for as well!
This place is pretty pricey, but it’s definitely worth it to go on a special occasion, or if you just want to treat yo’self.