My wife and I stopped by yesterday afternoon during the Uptown 23rd Farmers Market. We sat at the bar and tried several different oysters as well as the scallop ceviche. The food was excellent and the service was outstanding. I am looking forward to trying more!

11403 11404 11405 11406

It sounds like Dave Cathey is a fan.

Is The Drake the Goodest Egg So Far? | NewsOK.com (http://m.newsok.com/is-the-drake-the-goodest-egg-so-far/article/5443892)


With the opening of The Drake Seafood and Oysterette, Keith and Heather Paul’s mastery of the restaurant business has become conspicuous.

The Pauls have a pretty simple approach, research heavily, hire the best people and let them execute. The good news for them is, they are two of the best at what they do, too. With the collection of culinary and operations talent they've accumulated, it really does make failing difficult. But it takes a lot of work and attention to detail to create something that raises the bar, and that's what A Good Egg Dining has done with The Drake.

Went again last night with the wife for her birthday.

I have to say, I think I much prefer to visit in the evening. Really liked the vibe. I was really loud, but in a good way. Also, absolutely no smell of fish on this visit.

Got there about 7:30pm without a reservation and were seated right away even though the place was pretty full.

I discovered their Lona Faye's Four 'H'Club hushpuppies - OMG - My absolute new favorite.

We also had the Striped Bass (good, but pretty hard on the edges), Linguini and Clams and the chocolate hushpuppies.

Add in a highball and a tea and the total was $85. Not too bad for two people and a nice dinner.

Will be back, but i think for lunch I may stick with the Lona Faye's Four 'H' Club and a salad. Dinner will depend on my mood.

Went again last night with the wife for her birthday.

I have to say, I think I much prefer to visit in the evening. Really liked the vibe. I was really loud, but in a good way. Also, absolutely no smell of fish on this visit.

Got there about 7:30pm without a reservation and were seated right away even though the place was pretty full.

I discovered their Lona Faye's Four 'H'Club hushpuppies - OMG - My absolute new favorite.

We also had the Striped Bass (good, but pretty hard on the edges), Linguini and Clams and the chocolate hushpuppies.

Add in a highball and a tea and the total was $85. Not too bad for two people and a nice dinner.

Will be back, but i think for lunch I may stick with the Lona Faye's Four 'H' Club and a salad. Dinner will depend on my mood.

Nice! My wife's BD is next week, so plan to follow your lead!

Finally made it to the Drake.

We had a group of six, and we didn't have a reservation. We put our name on the list then went to the Pump for a drink, they said it would be an hour, but we got the text in 30 minutes. We sat in one of the circular booths, which was perfectly sized for our party size. The drinks were outstanding, but took quite a while to get to the table. We had the calamari, which was great, somewhat spicy and very flavorful. Most of us got a half dozen oysters, and they were fresh and very good. They give you some sauces to go with them, and I rarely do more than horseradish, but I tried a couple and they were good. My wife and I split the striped bass and the scallops, and both were perfect. My wife gravitated more to the scallops, as she doesn't really do all types of fish. I thought they were both outstanding, well seasoned, and cooked perfectly. Our friends got paella, and we tried it. I think that's the go-to dish, at least for me, next time. Perfectly seasoned, with plenty of shellfish and chorizo. We skipped dessert to go somewhere else for a drink and dessert,and overall, it was outstanding. I feel like the "family style" is a bit of a stretch, and the drink service needs some work. The server should have easily had another round to us, and the pace probably hurts their check totals a bit. I'm confident they'll work it out. I'll be back, for sure, and often.

Ate there this afternoon with wife and 4 children. Food was great, I really enjoyed the environment. We ordered 3 kids meals(2 chicken finger meals and one kids hot dog meal). The fourth child is 16 months so she just ate off the kids plate. Along with that we had the Calamari, 6 Oysters, Linguine,Clam, Chorizo dish and the whole Lobster. All were very good. Linguine dish was a little on the salty side but not overwhelming. I can say the kids were full and my wife and I found ourselves finishing off their plates. The portions on the entrees left more to be desired as I found myself wanting more. Now we probably should have ordered another entree as the lobster is more like an add on as opposed to an entree, but we were already at $160 so we decided to get an order of chocolate hush puppies which were amazing and call it good. We will go back as this place fills a huge void in OKC!!

We really enjoyed our evening at the Drake. The service was friendly and genuine, although there were some funny moments, such as when one of the new hires wasn't sure if we would get bowls for our clam chowder (really).

Nice variety of options, and we went to town. Crowd pleasers were the fish tacos and clam chowder, which was probably the best item we had. The lobster roll was over-seasoned, as was the branzino, which was salted so totally one would think ancient Hebrews were preserving it in a salt cave.

The tomato jam forming the base of the otherwise well-executed cod was rather unflavorful. Surprising, given the lugubrious over-seasoning of other dishes.

The Hiramasa appetizer was quite good.

Enjoyed the oyster selection but was underwhelmed by the mignonette I chose, the jalapeno-infused selection. Also was not a fan of the house-made cocktail sauce.

The atmosphere was chic, if a bit sterile.

Despite a few hiccups, this is easily OKC's best new restaurant, and I look forward to giving it another try.

ON EDIT: I just read Chadanth's review, and I would add that it took a lifetime for us to get our first round of drinks. The server said it was related to "so many people sitting at the bar on Sunday night." That was somewhat funny, because at least half of the bar seats were unoccupied. I guess it's just growing pains associated with a brand new establishment, but we made reservations several days in advance and you would think bar staff would be able to get a glass of wine and a cocktail out faster than 15 minutes. After the long delay on the initial order, we started ordering our next drink well in advance and didn't have any further issues with bar service.

It sounds like Dave Cathey is a fan.

Is The Drake the Goodest Egg So Far? | NewsOK.com (http://m.newsok.com/is-the-drake-the-goodest-egg-so-far/article/5443892)

Are you employed by the Oklahoman?

Are you employed by the Oklahoman?

It seems like you've asked me that before. LOL. I am not and have never been employed by the Oklahoman. I've just been a loyal subscriber for about 50 years. Do you suppose I could find a way to get a little money from them without actually being hired? :)

LOL. It's all good, it just seems like you are their PR agent at times.

...I can say the kids were full and my wife and I found ourselves finishing off their plates. The portions on the entrees left more to be desired as I found myself wanting more. Now we probably should have ordered another entree...

I'd recommend ordering the paella pan with other entrees of your choice, especially with a larger group. It's a massive portion and filling. More importantly...it's delicious!


...one of the new hires wasn't sure if we would get bowls for our clam chowder (really).
...

When The Drake first opened bowls weren't even an option with the chowder. Everyone at the table was given a spoon and expected to eat out of the common bowl it was served in. It was the only aspect of the family style service that we found odd.

Our group was fine with sharing without another, but agreed that it might be awkward on a business dinner, first date, or in general for many casual acquaintances and all germophobes. Not sure if they've changed that default service, but if not that probably was the source of the confusion from a new staff member.

It seems like you've asked me that before. LOL. I am not and have never been employed by the Oklahoman. I've just been a loyal subscriber for about 50 years. Do you suppose I could find a way to get a little money from them without actually being hired? :)

At least get a free subscription.

Had our first visit last night, and I may have jinxed myself by setting my expectations way too high. I don't want to hack on the place, but thought this might provided some balance. I would still recommend folks try it.

We had a reservation, and were seated precisely on time. I was afraid it was going to be really noisy, but surprisingly, conversation was really manageable in the booth. Whether by design or not, the booths do a great job of containing the general noise of that big, open room.

Service was excellent. Our server knew the menu well and was very helpful. We struggled to figure out how much to order, and were really pleased she didn't push us to make our entire order at once. We added a few things on as we ate. Her advice on how much to order (group of 4) was spot on.

Raw oyster selection was nice - we went straight to a dozen Kumamotos, a favorite of ours. I don't recall the exact name, but the mignonette with yuzu and jalapeño was the table winner. The Four "H" Hushpuppies were outstanding. Almost a fight over the last one.

Food went a little downhill from there. Roasted carrot salad, sea scallop ceviche, and lobster roll were all fine, but not exciting. We thought the ceviche was certainly fresh, but a bit bland. The meat in the lobster roll was very good, but it seemed like a lot of bread compared to the amount of filling. The seared hiramasa was a nice piece of fish (and a nice size for an entree if dining alone), but I didn't leave craving more. We all shared the paella, which I found under-seasoned as well. I prefer my paella with a pretty strong saffron flavor, and we couldn't really decide what the "forward flavor" was, but was not saffron. There also wasn't much in the way of socarrat, which is our favorite part. I scraped up what I could, but I was hoping for more.

The lemon cloud pie was best in show. Our server said it was her favorite on the menu, and it lived up to her recommendation. A bit like Key Lime Pie, and the graham cracker crust was perfect.

Certainly a nice experience, but I much prefer the other restaurants in the group. In fact, ate lunch at RePublic today, and the tuna tartare was (I thought) a better seafood dish than what I had last night. May be just personal preference, and I really wanted to love this place, but it fell a bit short for me.

Had our first visit last night, and I may have jinxed myself by setting my expectations way too high. I don't want to hack on the place, but thought this might provided some balance. I would still recommend folks try it.

We had a reservation, and were seated precisely on time. I was afraid it was going to be really noisy, but surprisingly, conversation was really manageable in the booth. Whether by design or not, the booths do a great job of containing the general noise of that big, open room.

Service was excellent. Our server knew the menu well and was very helpful. We struggled to figure out how much to order, and were really pleased she didn't push us to make our entire order at once. We added a few things on as we ate. Her advice on how much to order (group of 4) was spot on.

Raw oyster selection was nice - we went straight to a dozen Kumamotos, a favorite of ours. I don't recall the exact name, but the mignonette with yuzu and jalapeño was the table winner. The Four "H" Hushpuppies were outstanding. Almost a fight over the last one.

Food went a little downhill from there. Roasted carrot salad, sea scallop ceviche, and lobster roll were all fine, but not exciting. We thought the ceviche was certainly fresh, but a bit bland. The meat in the lobster roll was very good, but it seemed like a lot of bread compared to the amount of filling. The seared hiramasa was a nice piece of fish (and a nice size for an entree if dining alone), but I didn't leave craving more. We all shared the paella, which I found under-seasoned as well. I prefer my paella with a pretty strong saffron flavor, and we couldn't really decide what the "forward flavor" was, but was not saffron. There also wasn't much in the way of socarrat, which is our favorite part. I scraped up what I could, but I was hoping for more.

The lemon cloud pie was best in show. Our server said it was her favorite on the menu, and it lived up to her recommendation. A bit like Key Lime Pie, and the graham cracker crust was perfect.

Certainly a nice experience, but I much prefer the other restaurants in the group. In fact, ate lunch at RePublic today, and the tuna tartare was (I thought) a better seafood dish than what I had last night. May be just personal preference, and I really wanted to love this place, but it fell a bit short for me.

It fell short for me too. Confirm bread:filling ratio to be high.

I didn't get the sharing aspect either. Between a friend and I ordering, I didn't feel like either of our dishes had the portions to consider sharing.

I like republic for sports.

We went yesterday for the first time after visiting the Uptown 23rd Farmers Market. It was lunch, so not sure if there are difference between lunch and dinner. My wife was surprised and happy there was a kids menu for our 5 year old daughter. The kids fish sticks got a thumbs up. The chorizo on the scallops was interesting and maybe not needed, but didn't kill them (I love scallops so much I would rather just have them alone). The oysters my wife and I got were great, I was pleasantly surprised with how good they were. It's definitely a place where I feel like if it was just my wife and I we could easily "accidentally" spend waaaaaay too much money.

Question on the booths. Is the table a fixed location or can one adjust it outward somewhat? Many booths, irrespective of shape, have fixed tables.
Sigh, I miss booths sometimes.

Question on the booths. Is the table a fixed location or can one adjust it outward somewhat? Many booths, irrespective of shape, have fixed tables.
Sigh, I miss booths sometimes.

I'm honestly not sure. I know the feeling - I have to adjust tables most of the time. The table at this booth was just fine. I'm not small, and I didn't feel crammed in at all. Perfectly comfortable seating.

Had our first visit last night, and I may have jinxed myself by setting my expectations way too high. I don't want to hack on the place, but thought this might provided some balance. I would still recommend folks try it.

We had a reservation, and were seated precisely on time. I was afraid it was going to be really noisy, but surprisingly, conversation was really manageable in the booth. Whether by design or not, the booths do a great job of containing the general noise of that big, open room.

Service was excellent. Our server knew the menu well and was very helpful. We struggled to figure out how much to order, and were really pleased she didn't push us to make our entire order at once. We added a few things on as we ate. Her advice on how much to order (group of 4) was spot on.

Raw oyster selection was nice - we went straight to a dozen Kumamotos, a favorite of ours. I don't recall the exact name, but the mignonette with yuzu and jalapeño was the table winner. The Four "H" Hushpuppies were outstanding. Almost a fight over the last one.

Food went a little downhill from there. Roasted carrot salad, sea scallop ceviche, and lobster roll were all fine, but not exciting. We thought the ceviche was certainly fresh, but a bit bland. The meat in the lobster roll was very good, but it seemed like a lot of bread compared to the amount of filling. The seared hiramasa was a nice piece of fish (and a nice size for an entree if dining alone), but I didn't leave craving more. We all shared the paella, which I found under-seasoned as well. I prefer my paella with a pretty strong saffron flavor, and we couldn't really decide what the "forward flavor" was, but was not saffron. There also wasn't much in the way of socarrat, which is our favorite part. I scraped up what I could, but I was hoping for more.

The lemon cloud pie was best in show. Our server said it was her favorite on the menu, and it lived up to her recommendation. A bit like Key Lime Pie, and the graham cracker crust was perfect.

Certainly a nice experience, but I much prefer the other restaurants in the group. In fact, ate lunch at RePublic today, and the tuna tartare was (I thought) a better seafood dish than what I had last night. May be just personal preference, and I really wanted to love this place, but it fell a bit short for me.

I thought their lobster roll was tremendous and I have heard several others say the same. Curious what you didn't like about it?

I thought their lobster roll was tremendous and I have heard several others say the same. Curious what you didn't like about it?

Specific to the lobster roll, loved the filling. I just thought there was far too much bread. My group had the same thought.

I thought their lobster roll was tremendous and I have heard several others say the same. Curious what you didn't like about it?
From the quoted post:


The meat in the lobster roll was very good, but it seemed like a lot of bread compared to the amount of filling.

I thought their lobster roll was tremendous and I have heard several others say the same. Curious what you didn't like about it?

Sorry i missed your comment on the lobster roll. I agree with you on the paella. Thought this would be highlight of night but for us the lobster roll won out. Along with clam chowder. Looking forward to going back to try out some other options.

Sorry i missed your comment on the lobster roll. I agree with you on the paella. Thought this would be highlight of night but for us the lobster roll won out. Along with clam chowder. Looking forward to going back to try out some other options.

No worries. It was a ridiculously long post - easy to miss.

The clam chowder and fish tacos remain our two favorite dishes. One thing i really like is the diversity of options. If you have the bucks and the will to do so, you could dine there very frequently and have very different experiences.

I ate here for the first time tonight. I have to say, this is the first time in a long time I have had a meal that I was really blown away by. Excellent, excellent restaurant.

Have they put up some acoustic panels yet? We've really enjoyed the food, and I appreciate the energy. But every group I take from early 20's to mid 60's all complain about the sound level. And I'll concur it's very harsh and everyone in the joint is forced to speak louder...and louder...and LOUDER, all of a sudden everyone in the room is shouting, the service does a good job of yelling their faces off without breaking character. Then sometime around 9:30(depending on the night) the crowd dwindles and it seems fine. At some point we all wondered about the occupational safety of the staff. Hearing damage occurs at something like 85 decibels over 8 hours, high 80's in 6, 90 in 2 hours, and 95 in 1. I always leave with a ring in my ears. I'll have to try it on a weeknight.

Have they put up some acoustic panels yet? We've really enjoyed the food, and I appreciate the energy. But every group I take from early 20's to mid 60's all complain about the sound level. And I'll concur it's very harsh and everyone in the joint is forced to speak louder...and louder...and LOUDER, all of a sudden everyone in the room is shouting, the service does a good job of yelling their faces off without breaking character. Then sometime around 9:30(depending on the night) the crowd dwindles and it seems fine. At some point we all wondered about the occupational safety of the staff. Hearing damage occurs at something like 85 decibels over 8 hours, high 80's in 6, 90 in 2 hours, and 95 in 1. I always leave with a ring in my ears. I'll have to try it on a weeknight.

I can't take this last point seriously. LOL.

I think osha takes it seriously. People who work in factories must wear earplugs. They legitimately go deaf over time.

Have they put up some acoustic panels yet? We've really enjoyed the food, and I appreciate the energy. But every group I take from early 20's to mid 60's all complain about the sound level. And I'll concur it's very harsh and everyone in the joint is forced to speak louder...and louder...and LOUDER, all of a sudden everyone in the room is shouting, the service does a good job of yelling their faces off without breaking character. Then sometime around 9:30(depending on the night) the crowd dwindles and it seems fine. At some point we all wondered about the occupational safety of the staff. Hearing damage occurs at something like 85 decibels over 8 hours, high 80's in 6, 90 in 2 hours, and 95 in 1. I always leave with a ring in my ears. I'll have to try it on a weeknight.

I've been there with groups ranging from 4-12 on 6 occasions now (and 2x with just my wife). Not once has anyone mentioned the ambient noise level being too high. I've had people comment (and I concur) that The Drake is not a 'quiet' restaurant, but never that it's even approaching being 'too loud.'

That said, I know people that literally take ear plugs to every movie they ever go to and even outdoor sporting events.

I've been there with groups ranging from 4-12 on 6 occasions now (and 2x with just my wife). Not once has anyone mentioned the ambient noise level being too high. I've had people comment (and I concur) that The Drake is not a 'quiet' restaurant, but never that it's even approaching being 'too loud.'

That said, I know people that literally take ear plugs to every movie they ever go to and even outdoor sporting events.

It was somewhat loud in the restaurant when I went Friday, but I'm sure my group was contributing to it :tongue:

I think osha takes it seriously. People who work in factories must wear earplugs. They legitimately go deaf over time.

I work in high noise areas every day. (Airport).

I just don't think it's ever been loud enough in any restaurant I have ever been in to warrant hearing protection.

A temporary ring in your ears does not equal hearing loss. Unless it's like my hearing loss and is a continuous ring every moment.

They put some sound absorbing panels on some walls in Guernsey Park after complaints. Not sure how much it helped, but they did something at least.

It doesn't seem to be an unusual problem. I had dinner at Mickey Mantle's last week and commented to the people I was with that I wondered how the waiters kept from losing their voices because they had to talk so loud when serving us.

Virtually every newer restaurant now has concrete or hard wood floors, hard ceilings and very little upholstered furniture and almost zero floor coverings.

And many also have open kitchens which brings a whole new level of noise.

I was in Pei Wei for the first time and with the entire open kitchen and constant activity of the woks and other kitchen equipment it was an absolute cacophony; the food was decent but the dining experience was unpleasant.

lol, I'm not saying I damaged my ears from eating there. We were all just speculating if working there on the weekends could lead to hearing loss. I've lost plenty myself from playing drums for 20 years. Several years ago I started cutting foam plugs in half when I perform or go to music festivals. Just a little bit helps, and actually cuts some of high frequencies for a better sound.

Like Pete said, the times I've been to drake have been slammed packed and just a little uncomfortably loud for a dining experience, ambient gets louder, we get louder, wine is flowing, it turns into a shout-versation, and after yelling for 2 hours it rings my bell a bit. God I'm sounding like a cantankerous old man.

I helped a friend put up some 4x8 fiberglass acoustic panels in his event space that had a tin ceiling and terrazzo floors, it was miraculous, but the panels were pricey.

lol, I'm not saying I damaged my ears from eating there. We were all just speculating if working there on the weekends could lead to hearing loss. I've lost plenty myself from playing drums for 20 years. Several years ago I started cutting foam plugs in half when I perform or go to music festivals. Just a little bit helps, and actually cuts some of high frequencies for a better sound.

Like Pete said, the times I've been to drake have been slammed packed and just a little uncomfortably loud for a dining experience, ambient gets louder, we get louder, wine is flowing, it turns into a shout-versation, and after yelling for 2 hours it rings my bell a bit. God I'm sounding like a cantankerous old man.

I helped a friend put up some 4x8 fiberglass acoustic panels in his event space that had a tin ceiling and terrazzo floors, it was miraculous, but the panels were pricey.

I was in Atlanta last week and ate at a place called LocalThree. (Very good if you get to ATL). Small packed room with hard finishes. We notice though there were large acoustical panels suspended from the ceilings. I am sure it helped because there were a lot of people but we were still able to carry conversations

The stuff I mentioned is suspended over large areas in whiskey cake. Just remembered. It really makes a difference.

11787

Finally had a chance to eat here today...

Had the special, which was grilled shrimp over arugula and fried polenta with vegetables and a light tomato sauce. Fantastic.

The boyfriend and I ate here a few weeks ago for his birthday... I can definitely agree with all of the comments about the volume of the noise. It is almost uncomfortably loud when the place is busy. Despite that, we greatly enjoyed our dinner; We shared a dozen oysters, lobster bisque, fish tacos, linguini and clams, and the seafood paella. This place is definitely all about quality over quantity. Everything we tried was simply fantastic, even if the portions were smaller than we would have liked - especially considering how very expensive our meal was. All in all, though, it was a special occasion and the Drake totally lived up to the hype for us. We'll be back when our budget allows.

hMy wife and I are visiting from North Carolina and decided to try some of the new dining options in OKC. We dined at the Drake this evening prior to attending the Thunder game.

Observations are:
Great location
Much needed seafood option

Some suggestions:
Change the concept of serving items (appetizer or entrée) separately vice together (entrée items).
Our entrée was fish and side order was grilled asparagus, asparagus came first.
Because Oklahoma is landlocked and many of the items are "new" to this market include a description of the entrée e.g type of fish or other seafood, where caught East/West/Gulf Coast. Texture of entrée e.g meaty, flaky etc.
Description on Menu of concept ie shared entrees that are served as prepared rather that together.
Our appetizer of grilled oysters were good however, small and too few for two people
Menu is limited -consider expanding to a few additional options for main dish

My wife and I are doubtful of the potential success of the current concept in OKC but hopefully we are proven wrong. We rate the Drake a C.

hMy wife and I are visiting from North Carolina and decided to try some of the new dining options in OKC. We dined at the Drake this evening prior to attending the Thunder game.

Observations are:
Great location
Much needed seafood option

Some suggestions:
Change the concept of serving items (appetizer or entrée) separately vice together (entrée items).
Our entrée was fish and side order was grilled asparagus, asparagus came first.
Because Oklahoma is landlocked and many of the items are "new" to this market include a description of the entrée e.g type of fish or other seafood, where caught East/West/Gulf Coast. Texture of entrée e.g meaty, flaky etc.
Description on Menu of concept ie shared entrees that are served as prepared rather that together.
Our appetizer of grilled oysters were good however, small and too few for two people
Menu is limited -consider expanding to a few additional options for main dish

My wife and I are doubtful of the potential success of the current concept in OKC but hopefully we are proven wrong. We rate the Drake a C.

Why are we not surprised?

hMy wife and I are visiting from North Carolina and decided to try some of the new dining options in OKC. We dined at the Drake this evening prior to attending the Thunder game.

Observations are:
Great location
Much needed seafood option

Some suggestions:
Change the concept of serving items (appetizer or entrée) separately vice together (entrée items).
Our entrée was fish and side order was grilled asparagus, asparagus came first.
Because Oklahoma is landlocked and many of the items are "new" to this market include a description of the entrée e.g type of fish or other seafood, where caught East/West/Gulf Coast. Texture of entrée e.g meaty, flaky etc.
Description on Menu of concept ie shared entrees that are served as prepared rather that together.
Our appetizer of grilled oysters were good however, small and too few for two people
Menu is limited -consider expanding to a few additional options for main dish

My wife and I are doubtful of the potential success of the current concept in OKC but hopefully we are proven wrong. We rate the Drake a C.

Lol, good thing all your previous posts have rendered your opinions valueless.

A "C"!!?! Hahahahaha!!!

My wife and I are doubtful of the potential success of the current concept in OKC but hopefully we are proven wrong. We rate the Drake a C.

lol

^

Opinions on restaurants couldn't be more wildly subjective but there is simply no way to doubt the future success of The Drake, regardless of how any one person may feel about it.

In fact, all indications are that it's likely to be one of the most successful restaurants in town for a long time.

Fair enough to say that the food didn't meet your expectations or whatever other criticism someone might have, but the comment regarding the outlook for the place at best demonstrates an ignorance of the market and how it has embraced The Drake, and at worst demonstrates an agenda. I'm guessing the latter, since it read to me more like a slam on OKC than it did the restaurant itself. No big surprise there. For the record, The Drake is absolutely SLAMMED seven nights a week, and has been since the doors opened.

I would rate the Drake a solid A-. It's one of the best meals I've had in OKC actually.

^

Opinions on restaurants couldn't be more wildly subjective but there is simply no way to doubt the future success of The Drake, regardless of how any one person may feel about it.

In fact, all indications are that it's likely to be one of the most successful restaurants in town for a long time.

Did you factor the cultural inferiority of Oklahomans into your analysis?

Lol

Meh. dcsooner isn't that far off. I need to give it another shot, but I was unimpressed with my first visit. Great addition to the neighborhood, beautiful space, but it certainly was not exceptional. B- or C+. And I've heard more reviews like mine than like what's posted above.

You have to grade OKC seafood on a curve. If you go in expecting K Paul's in NOLA of course it's going to be a C. The limited menu is smart. Too many items leads too big prices, or a cut in quality. Do 5-10 things but do them great.

I wasn't extremely impressed with it, but it was pretty good overall. I'm a picky eater and just went with the catfish, so I really can't say much. Amazing vibe and feel though!

With all the vitriol coming as a result of my grade, would anyone care to comment on the suggestions made? thanks for your feedback, not butt hurt at all

To each his own but my wife and I thought the Drake was one of the best dining experiences we've had in OKC. I honestly wouldn't change much. Everyone I know who has been has been super impressed.

Whether you loved it like we did or thought it was simply meh I have no idea how anyone could doubt the success of the place or its long-term outlook. I live nearby and I've never drove by and not seen it packed with people. Not liking it is one thing (and completely subjective). Doubting its success has almost zero basis in any thing I've ever seen.

With all the vitriol coming as a result of my grade, would anyone care to comment on the suggestions made? thanks for your feedback, not butt hurt at all

You realize that no one has a problem with your differing opinion on quality of the food and/or service from The Drake, right? People have a problem with your comically condescending and negative posts. You've lost lost a lot of credibility. If you still don't understand then go back and read the second-to-last sentence of your post.

Did you factor the cultural inferiority of Oklahomans into your analysis?

like -- +1 -- whatever
(220, 221, whatever it takes)

With all the vitriol coming as a result of my grade, would anyone care to comment on the suggestions made? thanks for your feedback, not butt hurt at all

Pretty sure the vitriol didn't come from the review of the place itself but instead from the derisive condescension we all read into this one commment:


My wife and I are doubtful of the potential success of the current concept in OKC but hopefully we are proven wrong.

The "in OKC" qualifier made it read like - even thought it actually isn't that great (so says you) - this concept might work in other cities, but was a little bit much for us Okies. Perhaps we were all wrong about what you meant..?

Pretty sure the vitriol didn't come from the review of the place itself but instead from the derisive condescension we all read into this one commment:



The "in OKC" qualifier made it read like - even thought it actually isn't that great (so says you) - this concept might work in other cities, but was a little bit much for us Okies. Perhaps we were all wrong about what you meant..?

Eh maybe, if he REALLY wanted to be condescending this what he should have said.

Limited menu, food is just ok, plates are too small, and the "new" food that isn't really anything innovative, concept will only work in OKC. Any other city would know better and they would be out of business. Good for you OKC, got a place that would pass as average or below in other cities.

If I could change anything about this place it would be the environment. It's simply too noisy for what is supposed to be a fine dining experience. In terms of the food, it's excellent. I hope its success paves the way for other seafood establishments in OKC because this proves that seafood does sell here. McCormick and Schmicks in Bricktown would be awesome.

I've always commented on the noise. I had a date there a couple weeks ago. Late dinner. Single glass of wine. So we just ordered 2 halibuts and a brussel sprout. Like AP mentioned: our veggie came out a solid 10 minutes before the protein. We just plain didn't want to eat it first so we had cold sprouts. Our waitresses mentioned (as they always do before the meal) again the way it comes out of the kitchen. Didn't care. It works better with a 4-6 person table that's for sure. Which makes the noise an issue all over again, impossible to talk across the big table. I've yet to sit in one of the cylindrical booths however, maybe that helps.