Oak Reel - Detroit

Let me just say that if I 'm ever unlucky enough to be on death row, a meal from Oak ReeI would be my final request. Our meal here was one of the best meals that we have ever had. I apologize for the small amount of photos. The food was so incredibly complex and delicious. The range of flavor profiles that my wife and I experienced were extraordinary. We began our journey with the Crudo Tasting of 3 crudos- Snapper, Tuna, and Hamachi. The Chef is a master with the flavor palate. If we had left after the Crudo Tasting, we would 've still been happy. Then we had the best Branzino, ever. When you see salsa verde on the menu, I just don 't expect to be wowed. However, the salsa verde was life changing on the Branzino. We had a side of Gnocchi. The server told us that if we don 't think that the chef 's in-house gnocchi is the best that we 've ever had that he will come out and have a talk with us. I was looking forward to lying and having the chef come out because this meal was so extraordinary, I wanted to personally congratulate him. However, it was the BEST gnocchi we 've ever had. Finally the two desserts, Panna Cotta and the Cheesecake...I grew up in an Italian household and have had Italian baked goods from some of the best bakeries in the USA. These two selections brought huge smiles to our faces. Thank you. The service was excellent. The mixed drinks and the wine list was perfect.

Very cute looking restaurant. Loved the aesthetic. They have a covered seating area outside which is always a plus! This restaurant also has a parking lot, so no need to have to look for parking on the street! The service was wonderful and their food tasted amazing. We had quite a few dishes that ranged from sea food, to chicken, to steak, and they were all cooked perfectly and tasted great! Their drinks were very strong and very good! The prices are not bad for everything you?re getting. I highly recommend

The perfect menu meets perfect service! The atmosphere sets the tone for an elegant date night or a fine way to catch up with friends/family. I highly recommend ordering family style to share, like my group did. The servers are so familiar with the menu, they'll probably convince you to try new things. It might be pricier, but worth it.

I was pretty bummed. I had high expectations for the food for the value. But now I know to expect to spend on food that tasted ????????????????????. The portions were very small even though I selected large entre sized pastas. Everything from salad, entre, and dessert were over seasoned! Salad was very fishy and unpleasant. Lamache was dry and looked and tasted like a bunch of leftover seafood was scrapped and thrown on a plate. Gnocchi flavor was there but gnocchi was overcooked. Desserts looked pathetic: nothing more than fancy names for simple things, like Bomboloni is yogurt with oats and Panna cotta is donuts. Both had very strong rosemary flavor. We tried to bare through it, but ended up throwing most of it away. Overall, disappointing.

This place is spectacular, I mean really spectacular. It's a shame that Michelin doesn't have a presence in Michigan because this place deserves that level of recognition. The 4 course tasting menu was an absolutely amazing dining experience. The wine was amazing and the drinks in between the courses were exceptional. Too bad I was only in town visiting friends, otherwise I'd come back as often as I can.