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The Oak & The Iris
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Ft Hamilton Pkwy (F)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Breakfast, Lunch
- Alcohol:
- None
13 reviews for The Oak & The Iris
I've only ordered coffee and muffins here, both of which I thought were good. Not spectacular, but good enough to not have to trek anywhere else. If I recall, the muffins had actual blueberries, not those weird blue specks you get in some places. Though their large ice coffee is like a small anywhere else. Maybe that is a reflection of management , and agree with other posters that it is a bit off. The staff, while always friendly, lacks pep.
Others mentioned the decor. Yes, it could use improvement. But it is comfortable and there is ample space. And they have outdoor seating in the warmer months which is rare for the area.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
Have to agree with a lot of the people here who say this place leaves a lot to be desired.
Positives: it's local, convenient, there's always a seat, and I like their breakfast sandwiches. I've found the people who work here to be really nice as well.
Negatives: absolutely terrible coffee. I mean, come on, this is supposed to be a coffee shop, and they can't get the basic thing right. Plus, the decor is really awful.
The Crossroads Cafe has good coffee and just introduced a new brunch menu, which is good. Although the place feels a little cramped, and O&I is a better raw space, the Crossroads does much better with what it's got than O&I.
I guess I'm a little confused by some of the reviews because I actually really like this place. I think that for the area its really nice to have a place to sit down and get a cup of coffee and a little dessert. The coffee I had was great, and its fair trade which is nice. I also had a muffin which was pretty good to. I guess if all your used to is Starbucks then your probably going to be let down.This place is great and I support small business and I think there set up is good, they have outside tables and pretty good size tables inside as well. The girl working was super nice and very polite . Their menu is great and I'm looking forward to trying out more stuff from the menu soon...
The other (negative) reviews have summed it up pretty perfectly. My boyfriend and I were so excited to have a convenient coffee shop that it's hard to believe we refuse to patronize the Oak & the Iris. But they've failed in so many ways that, like other reviewers, we make longer trips to other, better coffee shops, or we make coffee at home.
The atmosphere in there has been awkward from day one. They play the radio, not CDs, for the background music, so you're barraged with commercials while you wait for your coffee. On Sundays, they play Christian radio, which annoys me to no end. Their menu is disgustingly cutesy - how could they have had "famous crunchy paninis" from the day they opened? And their baked goods look like something a grade school home ec class would churn out, not something that adults should be paying good money for. It's like they refuse to acknowledge that they're operating in a real city, and selling products to real adults.
Walk to Park Slope or Ditmas Park. Make your own coffee. Don't bother with the Oak & the Iris.
People thought this was:
- Useful (4)
- Funny (2)
- Cool (2)
Upon further review, this place kind of sucks.The last three times I've been there there's been something wrong. Cold soup, cold/poor coffee, bad service. I understand there needs to be a place for people to bring children, but I don't want to feel like I'm having breakfast at Chuck E Cheese either. I'd rather go across the footbridge to Crossroads.
Jonathan, I hope you told the owner. He wants to hear suggestions, criticisms, and compliments so he knows what people like or don't like. Nothing changes if you just complain here.
3 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
6/21/2009
I had ANOTHER delicious meal at the Oak & Iris tonight. I had grilled chicken cutlet (two cutlets),… Read more »
I agree with all the negative points that have been made thus far. But one very important thing hasn't been mentioned yet. This place has a crappy espresso machine. No matter what kind of coffee they run through it, it's going to taste like shit. This is the one thing you CAN'T cheap out on when you're opening a new coffee shop.
I live right around the corner, but I actually walk 25 minutes uphill both ways to Southside (6th Ave and 19th St, South Slope) for coffee. The stuff at Oak & Iris is absolutely undrinkable.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
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- Cool (1)
I agree with several people here. I really, really tried to like this place, but I've come to the conclusion that it's not really possible.
I'll admit that I still go there occasionally, usually to meet with work colleagues, because it's the only coffee shop in the neighborhood (as far as a place you can sit down). But there are two major problems: (1) unbelievably poor management, and (2) merely decent food at SHOCKING prices. (Neighborhood folks should try Chinos across the street for a great breakfast sandwich.)
These people just don't have their stuff together. They can't decide whether they want strictly enforced waitress-only service or for people to order at the counter. The place has been open for months, yet they still routinely have 2 or 3 people behind the counter running around completely at cross-purposes to each other. It's pretty silly, and the wait time is INSANE. I cannot figure out what they are doing in that kitchen that takes so long when I am the only person in the place. The owners appear to be far more interested in looking pretty than having a clue what's going on.
As for the "churchgoers" menu... well, I'd have no ethical problem walking in on a Sunday right after church lets out and getting that price. Really, what are they going to do? Ask for a note from the priest?
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
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I tried the Oak & The Iris yesterday on my labor day off, and I have to say I am so so. I think they did a wonderful job of creating an amazing atmosphere and the coffee was top shelf, but the prices for some of the food were a bit steep. $7 to $8 for a breakfast sandwich is asking a bit much if you ask my opinion, but I'm sure they have to recoup cost after putting this place together so quickly. I like the breakfast bagel sandwich a little more at chino's deli across the street.
Comfortable wooden benches and selected local artist work on the walls for sale is a cool addition, and a vast improvement when considering this space used to be Jimi's Deli, which never had anything I needed and was truly the most unconvenient convenience store/deli I've ever been to. I welcome this new addition but hope the cost come down a bit more for there breakfast options, and they add wi-fi in the future...
People thought this was:
- Funny (2)
The Oak & The Iris is a brand new cafe in Windsor Terrace, very close to the Fort Hamilton stop on the F line.
It's open for breakfast and lunch (not sure of the hours) and serves coffee and coffee drinks, paninis, pastries, and the like, with an emphasis on natural and organic ingredients.
I went there for breakfast and was surprised to see a pretty full menu. In addition to the breakfast sandwich I had (scrambled egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion on a nice big roll, $6.50), they had such delicacies as banana pancakes, which were pricier. Still, I can't say I'd upgrade to a $6.50 egg-and-cheese sandwich very often, give my proximity to delis where they run $1-$2.
There are plenty of tables inside, and the space is clean and bright (though the windows don't open--bummer!), but most customers took their food to go.
I think it's only been open for 1-2 weeks, so things are a bit slow, and everything on the menu isn't available yet, but it's great to have this in the neighborhood. Next time, I'll pick up lunch and head to the park with it.
I wish that I could agree with all the reviewers because I'm desperate but pretty much everything sucked, from the aesthetics, to the weak, dirty-tasting coffee (I would rather be sucking sweat off of my husband's day-old tube socks), to the church-goer price reduction on the blackboard (are atheists not human?have not we senses? if you prick us [with the sharp edge of a stale pan au chocolat ] , do we not bleed? if you poison us [with shit-tasting coffee], do we not die? The prices were obscene when compared with the quality of the product... and still would have been had I been blessed with one of Jesus' coupons. They really should have paid me, I'm thinkin. That's about how good the coffee was. A big, fat, smurf-colored bummer of a place with a cast of customers that starred shrieking children, and a lot of dreary mothers in practical footwear. Southside Guys: Please open a second outlet at this end of the park.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (3)
- Cool (1)
Fantastic atmosphere, great service. A little bumpy as a new business. However the food is excellent, especially the lunch and breakfast fare, such as my personal favorite the cuban panino.
Free wifi, good coffee, and a *ABSOLUTELY* needed addition to a great neighborhood missing any reasonably shopping / cultural area.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
yay, im turin white. dis is a nice place, my frend from grade school wks here, hes the big footballer that brings your food to you. since it opened 2 months ago, ive been there liek every other day or so, hanging out for hours wking on stuff. the owner is 'appy to cater to the creative types, so dis heres another place to write that novel you been meanin to jot down.
People thought this was:
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