Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh but there really isn't anything special about Oak+Violet. The food is okay at best. Nothing screams freshness or character. They're all down the middle, and it is passable food. But then one wonders about the mid-high price point and whether it is worth it. The atmosphere is "happening" and feels like a modern industrial yet cozy garden. I really wanted the food to be at the same level of vibe. But again it just feel flat. Go to this place for a date night, for the mood, and to liven up your evening. Just don't expect magic. Wagyu steak was bland. Pulled lamb had zero character. Beef tartar... just mushy. Strawberry salad was quite good but couldn't save the day.

Yes!! This place is spendy, but that's not a surprise given the location. Great outdoor patio. Delish good and top notch, professional service. Great cocktails. We had a salad, sea bass and charcuterie board, with paper plane cocktail and Aperol spritz. Lovely dinner.

Love this place - one of the best in town. Vegetables are amazing; chicken is the wonderful; steak is good; fish is so so. One thing don’t like about this place: they put the tips in my bill without telling me (it’s on the detailed price list which is a separate piece of paper) - hate this type of behavior, suggest stop doing this

Really enjoyed date night with my partner. We ordered all the vegetarian options on the menu. Great food. Great Ambience. Staff was really friendly and courteous.

Ambience was fantastic, we had some live jazz music that mixed well with the lovely garden like setting. The food was fantastic - we shared the bone in ribeye that was perfectly cooked medium rare and carrots as well as a great bottle of wine.

Good food, service and live music! Such a pleasant place. However our appetizers were brought together the the main dish ☹️ I will ignore this small inconvenience because food was delicious. They also have a very convenient Valet parking while you are enjoying your time at the restaurant

Delicious food and drink options. Outdoor dining is beautiful for both hanging out and dinner. A bit expensive depending on your budget but the food is quite well done. Gets busy sometimes especially on the weekends so you might want to book in advance. Great service too.

Not bad for a hotel restaurant, Oak + Violet has a nice outdoor patio and they also had live music on a weekday evening. Some dishes were better than others, overall the service was not bad but our dinner took quite a while. I came here with a large group of coworkers and we ended up getting seated at a tall table (which wouldn't have been my preference since I'm petite, so my feet dangled a bit). I really enjoyed the salad with burrata cheese and fresh tomatoes. The brussels sprouts and shishito peppers were about average. We also shared the charcuterie board - the jam was the most interesting part with something surprising about the flavor. I wish the salmon entree had a little more spice to it, the fish was cooked well but a little bland. The New York cheesecake slice with mango was a nice finish to the meal with a super creamy texture.

Great ambience. Awesome roasted peach salad. Steak could be a tad rarer. Wine selection is OK, a bit on the expensive side.

Stylish restaurant with excellent food, friendly and efficient service, and very pleasant outdoor patio dining. I had the branzino, which was terrific -- very tender, but with nice crispy skin, and some deliciously grilled vegetables. Drinks were good as well -- the margarita was nice and stiff. Plenty of heat lamps on the patio.

Great for romance or family dinner.

Lighting is very bright, but good good, fantastic service.

Nice Area!

terrible and overpriced.

Been here twice and always amazed at the quality of the food. Go through all the appetizers!

We decided to go back to this place for lunch. The food is delicious and service is good. It still took a while to get our appetizer. The place was not even busy at lunch. First time we reserved for dinner we waited for 1 1/2hr and ended up leaving after being told our table was not going to be ready for another 30mins for the 3rd time. It is a popular hangout place so people tend to stay and linger even after dessert.

Wonderful space, excellent dining, great service!

Who owns Oak + Violat? Bad news. You're losing a lot of money. It's Saturday afternoon you have a total of four guests and three employees chatting in the bar with absolutely nothing to do. When asked if they would come out and serve their only four guests in the courtyard, the answer was "it's bar service only". When i reminded them that they work in the restaurant and service industry, the answer was "if its such a big problem for you, we can send someone out". Epic evidence why retail and service businesses fail. Poor training, poor values and poor strategy.

Solid cocktails

Patio is stunning. Owner came over to greet us...quite friendly. Food options are outstanding. Highly recommended

Great place to hang out. Super friendly staff. One of the best Old Fashioned I've had (other one was at the Jim Beam distillery in KY).

Amazing!

Very good food, service sometimes slow, other times very attentive

Stellar . I almost didn't write this review because I fear there would be a queue next visit . The terrace dining is perfect after sundown . I also noticed the bar had a bay window seating . Everything we had was amazing but ourduerv size servings . The truffle honey on the cheese plate was like an angel crying on your tongue ? Truely sublime .

Very good food and service, but unpleasantly loud. Will try again, and hope the same gaggle of fat white guys in white shirts found another venue to bar hop.

First time going here. Sat outside by the wall fountain. Wonderful waiter. Enjoyed a dozen oysters, truffle fries and drinks. My drink was Southside. Very good. Added boys we listened to live music.

Amazing atmosphere very open and bright with fresh air for outside seating. This restaurant bar is in a upscale hotel and all the drinks were balanced and tasty. Our bartender was Ed and really made our experience excellent. He made specialty cocktails based on our preference and each one exceeded expectations. Thanks Ed!

Cute boutique restaurant in the Park James hotel. We were setup in the bar in the back and selected apps. French onion soup did not have much gruyere but the flavor was otherwise on point. Service made up for the food options which themselves were tasty but did not meet the expectation set by the price points. I did not find a signature dish that would make the foodie in me want to come back for more. Good service and atmosphere are what make this place shine.

Great food, drinks, and service. It was hard for everyone to find the entrance! There's free 2 hours valet parking if you come in from El Camino.

The first moment I stepped into Oak + Violet, I completely fell in love with the atmosphere. It truly is a special place. The staff is so helpful and kind. The drinks are unreal and I cannot recommend the food enough! Easily one of my favorite spots on the peninsula.

Excellent service! Option of modern indoor room or beautiful outdoor setting with lots of seating options and a firepit. We all liked our meal choices, but no one was blown away. Tasty craft cocktails and plenty of wine choices. A very solid experience!

Awesome ambience and great food. Services is a bit tardy or it could have been that we got a server who thought we had lots of time. These are subtle things about eating outside that you can’t control anyway.

An upsetting evening. The staff were really aggressive about serving me gluten free food. A disclaimer fills the bottom of the menu saying no allergies can be guaranteed to be safe and I was told “the kitchen is full of flour” and “eating is at your own risk”. As a celiac, this is always true. But the tone and manner makes for an unnerving start to a meal. Also for the record this place doesn’t make pizza or bread so I have no idea how it could be ‘full of flour’. Service was also really slow to begin with and then incredibly intrusive, checking in every 5 minutes. All of these experiences made us feel unwelcome. Also way way overpriced even for the expensive area. We won’t be going back and I’d recommend anyone with dietary requirements to give this place a miss too.

Slightly upscale but not too expensive, clean and informal atmosphere, well-prepared food. Attached to hotel but not in it.

Disappointed. Posh hotel, okay decor and food. And then young man who checked us in, could not leave his toothpick alone. He took a decent restaurant to ok corral level. He was checking people in, talking to them, with his toothpick smack in his front teeth. It put a major Christmas eve mood several notches down. I looked for a barn and couldn't find it!

The bar is great. Grab a nice drink here in the warm Palo Alto afternoon.

Went for brunch, kinda ok place, imagine they didn’t have their side of potato to serve us, instead offered us fries with truffle oil, guess the truffle oil never made it to the fries, and it kinda took forever to get our food to the table.

Loved this place but wouldn’t go again as they wrote down the tips that they wanted themselves. Wine is a bit expensive - we spent about 250 bucks per person. The thing I really don’t like is when they brought us the credit card bill, they put down the tips themselves. So food is 210 per head inclusive of tax, and they wrote down 40 bucks tips on their own. This never happened to me really. Kinda wired and rude. I just done understand - for customer having 210 bucks of food we won’t generally screw you on tips but why would you put down a 20+% tips yourself? We’re not party of six - there were just two of us.

Good food. Bread pudding was amazing. El Camino drink was great. Lighting could be better

Great interior, great service, free valet parking for the first 3 hours. Food is very high-end, DELICIOUS! Just FYI - small bites are literally SMALL. BITES. the lobster tacos were amazing but literally the smallest things ever. Highly recommended!

Great menu, great atmosphere. Friendly service. Above all, food is great.

Get the crispy brussel sprouts. They are to die for and the reason I come back repeatedly. Crisp, tangy and sweet, just perfect. Other dishes great to and service is good

Amazing menu, great service, beautiful atmosphere! We will be back!

Great food and courtyard is perfect for a nightcap! Came here for an event but will definitely be back.

Best drink and food I’ve had in a looooong while!!! Definitely recommend this place and I’m definitely going to return frequently!!

Yummy food and nice presentation

Lovely outdoor dining terrace

Gorgeous venue. Phenomenal food and great service. What more could you ask for ☺️ Awesome wine list & good cocktails too. The lobster tacos are a must have!! Highly recommend

Nicest outdoor dining experience I've ever had!

The food is GREAT!!! The drinks tasted good but didn't give us a buzz, even after 3 drinks. Basically not enough booze for the price of the drinks ? $20/drink.

Good food

Fri

Amazing food and atmosphere!

Good food and good ambiance.

Beautiful venue, interesting food, very good service.

Delicious food and drinks. Excellent service.

Nice quiet spot at the bar for a late lunch