Flint

[Pete]

[category=]Restaurants[/category]
[category=]Downtown[/category]
[category=]Current[/category]
[category=]Central Business District[/category]
[toc]no[/toc]

Address: 15 N. Robinson Phone: (405) 605-0657 Hours: Mon-Thu, Sun 6:30 am - 11 pm Fri-Sat 6:30 am - 12 am Development: Colcord Hotel Status: Opened May 17, 2012 Links: Official Website Menu Facebook Urbanspoon Yelp Eat Around OKC

Information & Latest News

Gallery

[BoulderSooner]

went to the preview brunch on Sat ... very very good they are going to do very well

[Bullbear]

a group of us went for a birthday dinner on saturday.. the service and food was exceptional. we will definately be back.

[BBatesokc]

A group of us tried Flint today for lunch for the first time.

The first thing we noticed was that parking is an issue right now - but we expected that. The inside has been redone very nicely and was quite tasteful. It was 12:30 p.m. and our smaller than usual group of 4 had no problem being seated right away. Actually, we were a bit concerned because the place only had maybe 6 tables of guests while we were there.

Everyone from the hostess to the waiters were very friendly and knowledgable about the menu, specials, local favorites etc.

The 'regular' iced tea was way too strong for us but the 'Flint' iced tea was pretty good. We started with the Jalapeño Hushpuppies and a cup of Buffalo Chili. Both were really good. The hushpuppies were not as firm and crispy as I would have liked, but the flavor was really good. They were served with two different sauces and both were very good and completely different. The chili came with a fresh jalapeño corn bread, and small bowls of cheddar cheese, diced onion and sour cream. The chili was very meaty but still not as heavy as you'd think.

My entree was the BBQ glazed pork sandwich. As with the appetizers, the presentation was excellent.

The (open faced) sandwich was very tasty and plenty for one - but not large enough to share. The meat was very tender and the sauce tasted homemade. The brioche bowl was toasted nicely but still soft in the middle - nicely done.

Others in our group had the burgers and the Thai beef salad.

The salad was the most lacking when it came to presentation (pretty much a beige bowl of noodles and meat), but the flavor matched the rest of our meals.

Lunch seemed to run $13-$18 - which is more than I spend when I'm just out and about, but certainly reasonable for a nicer lunch with a date, colleagues or lunch meeting.

Flint isn't going to be a regular haunt for me, but I'd certainly consider it under the right circumstances.

[Bellaboo]

Okay, I've been to Flint 3 times now, and last night was just a quick stop for coffee and hot chocolate. The waitress said the hot chocolate was a special recipe and that the bar tenders made it fresh upon ordering.

Two of us got coffee and the other two hot chocolate. The coffee came out quick and those that got it said it was fine. They brought creamer but no sweetner or sugar. It was okay, the ones who got coffee just used creamer or black.

After 10 minutes, we saw a server start at the other end and asked every table if someone was expecting hot chocolate. She finally got to us, we were at the opposite end of the room.

This special order hot chocolate was the most god AWFUL stuff I've had in my life. It was luke warm and laced with cayenne pepper and maybe cinnamon, the best we could tell. I had two sips, and my throat burnt for the next 3 hours.

I told the waitress all about it. I told her I knew it wasn't her fault, but that it was absolutely horrible and the worst ever....never again their version of hot chocolate for me. The total bill was only 15 bucks, but she offered no adjustments to the bill, so not sure if i'll ever go back.

[bradh]

So, anyone else visit this place and routinely have issues?

We've been a few times since it opened, including one of the soft opening VIP events. We've NEVER had a smooth experience.

Their hours are not consistent, the patio service is beyond awful, and you just never know what to expect.

This morning on Sports Animal Curtis Fitzpatrick was talking about an awful experience he and his wife had at an "unnamed downtown establishment" this weekend. I tweeted at him "must have been Flint, sounds typical." His response was "ha, no comment..."

It's awfully sad, considering the location and all. I'm wondering if they are just be bankrolled by Devon/Colcord, or if it's actually turning profit.

[Eddie1]

Went to Flint tonight for a drink, meeting a friend in from out of town. Have to give this place props...great mixed drinks, service was excellent and the decor was first class...should become a hot spot as we get deeper into the playoffs.

[JarrodH]

The location and atmosphere are great but I've yet to have good service there. We went Sunday for brunch and the service was beyond bad. Our group (12-15 people) were the only ones outside and we had to order drinks as soon as our other drinks arrived so we wouldn't have to wait for the staff to come back and check on us. We routinely ran out of drinks and I even had to go inside and ask the staff to bus our table for us. We were there for quite a few hours and it never got any better. It was disappointing to have such a tab ($1,000+) and feel like you didn't get anything out of the experience beside a beautiful patio.

[HangryHippo]

The location and atmosphere are great but I've yet to have good service there. We went Sunday for brunch and the service was beyond bad. Our group (12-15 people) were the only ones outside and we had to order drinks as soon as our other drinks arrived so we wouldn't have to wait for the staff to come back and check on us. We routinely ran out of drinks and I even had to go inside and ask the staff to bus our table for us. We were there for quite a few hours and it never got any better. It was disappointing to have such a tab ($1,000+) and feel like you didn't get anything out of the experience beside a beautiful patio.

This mirrors my experiences at Flint as well. Great setting, terrible service. Every time I've been.

[Chadanth]

This mirrors my experiences at Flint as well. Great setting, terrible service. Every time I've been.

Mine as well. I've actually had my entire meal comp'd twice due to awful service.

[Pete]

Flint is operated by the same group (Williams Associates) as Vast and all the meeting space atop Devon.

I hosted a big event at Devon last summer for about 300 people and I was not at all pleased with several aspects of that experience, not the least of which was being treated rudely by the gentleman who was managing the event.

[adaniel]

I seconf (or third or fourth) everyone else's comments. I want to like this place so bad but their execution is terrible. Flint is good for a late night drink or 2 and nothing more.

[Chadanth]

Flint is operated by the same group (Williams Associates) as Vast and all the meeting space atop Devon.

I hosted a big event at Devon last summer for about 300 people and I was not at all pleased with several aspects of that experience, not the least of which was being treated rudely by the gentleman who was managing the event.

It's really sad, because the problem is all execution. They have a great menu and good kitchen staff. Food quality is great. They just need better management and wait staff, both of which are awful.

[zookeeper]

Flint is operated by the same group (Williams Associates) as Vast and all the meeting space atop Devon.

I hosted a big event at Devon last summer for about 300 people and I was not at all pleased with several aspects of that experience, not the least of which was being treated rudely by the gentleman who was managing the event.

Well, that says a lot right there. If they are going to treat somebody rudely who had trusted them to offer pleasant service to 300, why would they care about 1 or 2?

[Jeepnokc]

I walked over there a few weeks ago and sat at bar on patio. Thought it was odd they had different limited drinks for the patio area but I did seem to think I could have ordered anything. I ordered just a red wine and it was "red truck" and they pulled it out of the fridge. It was nasty and I didn't finish it. I am not sure the bottle wasn't plastic. I would expect a nicer house wine considering the purported level of establishment I was at. I certainly didn't expect cold red wine.

[soonerguru]

That patio is a waste. So often, they aren't even serving there. I've had to beg to be served there.

I've only visited Vast once and haven't returned. The fake snooty aspect is laughable. Other than the thrill of the view, nothing stood out about the food and the service was atrociously unaccommodating.

i'm hopeful Flint can turn it around.

[bradh]

That patio is a waste. So often, they aren't even serving there. I've had to beg to be served there.

I've only visited Vast once and haven't returned. The fake snooty aspect is laughable. Other than the thrill of the view, nothing stood out about the food and the service was atrociously unaccommodating.

i'm hopeful Flint can turn it around.

have had the same experience on the patio.

it's essentially an over priced hotel restaurant. if i wanted a good hotel restaurant experience i'd stay up on this side of town and go to Avanti

[BillyOcean]

Vast is an absolute waste right now. I will not return there until Williams Associates is removed as manager/operator. He is completely in over his head.

[Pete]

We've talked about this several times now but it's quite apparent the talent pool in local restaurants is stretched very thin.

Not surprising given the huge amount of new restaurants and bars and food trucks that have opened in just the last couple of years, with plenty more on the way.

Plus, the booming economy means it's much easier to find jobs outside the food service industry.


It's got to be a big challenge to find quality chefs, prep cooks, managers, wait staff, bar tenders and and even dishwashers and bus boys.

[BillyOcean]

^^^^^^
No excuse for Vast. They have been open over 18 months, plenty long enough to work out the kinks and find the right staff. Normally if a place is run that badly, for that long, it goes away. Williams is just lucky that DVN has deep pockets.

[Pete]

Right, the labor crunch isn't a universal excuse, just saying it's not surprising that there seems to be an increase in service problems at area restaurants in general. It's not like Devon could chuck Williams and easily plug in a new group to manage their wide-ranging operations.

And we've got a bunch more places that will open this year: The George, Broadway 10 Chophouse, Fassler Hall / Dust Bowl, Daebak K, Guyutes, The Drake, Pump Bar, Flashback, Power House, Slaughter's Hall, TopGolf, Main Event, Tommy's Italian-American Grill, and tons more.

[Pete]

Right, the labor crunch isn't a universal excuse, just saying it's not surprising that there seems to be an increase in service problems at area restaurants in general. It's not like Devon could chuck Williams and easily plug in a new group to manage their wide-ranging operations.

And we've got a bunch more places that will open this year: The George, Broadway 10 Chophouse, Fassler Hall / Dust Bowl, Daebak K, Guyutes, The Drake, Pump Bar, Flashback, Pizzeria Gusto, Power House, Slaughter's Hall, TopGolf, Main Event, Tommy's Italian-American Grill, and tons more.

[Jeepnokc]

I might buy that with Flint but Vast's high per person check average results in higher tips which allows for a greater pool of talent to chose from. It is a higher paying gig so should be able to attract the top notch people.

[Teo9969]

A bad restaurant almost exclusively comes down to bad management. There are certainly skills that need to be developed by entry level staff in the BOH and FOH, but those skills are relatively easy as long as you know how to teach them and incentivize the learning.

Considering the vast (Ha! no pun intended) amount of quality restaurants OKC has, and the continual increase of competition and quality, I have a hard time giving excuses to anyone. When things like Pizza 23 open by relatively obscure and untested owners/managers and they provide an acceptable product, there's no excuse for someone operating under Devon's name to lack quality management and a quality product.

People called me out when I said that they (Vast in particular) were clearly under poor management from the very beginning, citing sundry reasons like "It was a big feat to open up 2/3 restaurants at the same time"…As it turns out, nothing seems to have changed, because Williams Assoc. simply aren't good at their jobs, and never really have been…

I say this reluctantly but with a huge amount of pride: "They're just not an OKC-caliber restaurant operator".

[Dubya61]

We've talked about this several times now but it's quite apparent the talent pool in local restaurants is stretched very thin.

Not surprising given the huge amount of new restaurants and bars and food trucks that have opened in just the last couple of years, with plenty more on the way.

Plus, the booming economy means it's much easier to find jobs outside the food service industry.


It's got to be a big challenge to find quality chefs, prep cooks, managers, wait staff, bar tenders and and even dishwashers and bus boys.

Right, the labor crunch isn't a universal excuse, just saying it's not surprising that there seems to be an increase in service problems at area restaurants in general. It's not like Devon could chuck Williams and easily plug in a new group to manage their wide-ranging operations.

And we've got a bunch more places that will open this year: The George, Broadway 10 Chophouse, Fassler Hall / Dust Bowl, Daebak K, Guyutes, The Drake, Pump Bar, Flashback, Pizzeria Gusto, Power House, Slaughter's Hall, TopGolf, Main Event, Tommy's Italian-American Grill, and tons more.

Pete, how does OKC compare to our peer cities (define that as you wish)? Are we over-populated with restaurants that actually cook (I'm asking you to ignore Olive Gardens, etc.)? Under-served? Just right but only recently? How about if you limit our peer cities to those in fly-over country? Obviously, I'm not asking you (anybody) to do a science/stats doctoral thesis project. Just asking for impressions. I've never lived in any peer cities. My only experience is with OKC. I'm basically OK with our restaurant population and mostly almost OK with the service provided, but then again, I consider myself a philistine, mostly incapable of appreciating finer nuances and upper crust. Even bad food can be reminiscent of good food and succeed on a comfort-food basis.