Oak Street Bistro

My wife and I recently went to the new Bistro that opened in Alfred Maine. It was once Leedys that closed on very bad terms. When i arrived I was shocked at the transformation. Wow, what a job they did. It was real nice and the food was great. I also liked the fact that the owners are there and come to the table and ask how everything is. They are definitely doing it right. I didnt even think I was in the Sanford area anymore. If you have tried the Oak Street Bistro, I strongly suggest you try it. The prime rib was the best I have ever had. And the pricing is very reasonable.

It is so nice to have a quality, restaurant in the area that gives people a chance to casually dine and even go to for a special ocassion. The atmosphere is comfortable for couples and family alike. With a menu price compareable to all the chain restaurants, and much more individual choices and service, we as an area would be foolish not to try to keep it in business. Go! Try it yourself! It's great!

My wife and I recently moved to the area by chance stopped by the Oak Street Bistro. In a word excellent. The wait staff is young and trying hard to do things right, it shows and they are very nice. Very good menu, food prepared to order and excellent - must be one very good chef and kitchen staff. The lounge is very nice and the bartender I chatted with was very good. The owner I met made me believe he did care how my meal was ... prices very good. Nice fit from casual meal, lunch or dinner, or a celebration event.

We really are thrilled to have a first class restaurant here in the middle of town. The food is good. The wait staff is great. The owners are in the store. Its well worth the drive...from anywhere in the Greater Portland, Kennebunk area. They have a large room for private parties also.. perfect for birthdays.

My husband and I had our rehearsal dinner at Oak Street in July. James was extremely accommodating as we chose our dinner picks. We ended up going with a cheeseburger, fried haddock sandwich, and chicken blt, along with several delicious appetizers. We had many relatives and guests from out of state, so we wanted to give them a little taste of Maine while visiting. James put together crab cakes that were perfect. We were so very happy with the prompt and friendly service, along with the delicious meals and drinks. The ambiance and atmosphere of the restaurant was perfect for a rehearsal dinner. The best part of the night however, was the whoopie pie cake James and his staff created. Many of our out of state guests had never had whoopie pies, so James surprised us by putting together an amazing whoopie pie cake to end our meal.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Oak Street Bistro. Thank you so James and all the staff for making our rehearsal dinner absolutely perfect.

This place is a RARITY. James and Donnie have put a lot of heart and soul into this formerly abandoned place. Expect a warm welcome from the owner, a traditional menu (all from scratch in-house), a tasteful mission-inspired interior with subtle music (a grand piano), and a pleasant evening. Don't expect chain prices, but the slight increase over chain prices is reflected many times over in the quality of the food, and presentation.

If you can please me, you can please anyone. Okay, I'm fussy. Get over it. I like good food. I expect good service. I got both. It makes me made when I can't find something to bitch about.

Oak Street Bistro is a comfortable, inviting and stylish restaurant on the town green in Alfred, Maine. I eat there often because of the reliably high quality of the food, the outgoing and friendly management, and the excellent service. I like their clam chowder and seafood, particularly their fried oysters. Deserts are oversized and lavish, particularly the brownie sundae and their popular bread pudding. It's a lovely, unpretentious place to visit often and enjoy.

Alfred is very lucky to have a restaurant of this quality right in the middle of town. I see people from Kennebunk and Portland here on a regular basis. Their Sunday night specials are an exceptional bargain.

Dear Customers,

On Thursday October 15, 2009 a customer with a service dog and her grandmother entered Oak Street Bistro. They were greeted and promptly seated at a table in one of our dining rooms. Before any customer receives a menu we wait until they are fully seated and comfortable with the table and surroundings.
To my surprise our server came to me and said that while taking their order that the customer felt she was discriminated against. I went to the table to address her complaint. The customer started to express her feelings regarding the table where she was sat in our dining room.[The customer never once mentioned her unhappiness with her accommodations when I sat her. And actually the grandmother said that she sat at that table before and all seemed fine] I was barely able to speak and when I did, her dog started to growl and bark. The customer told me that the dog didn’t like me. I then left the dining room as I didn’t want to cause a disturbance with the other guests. If you have been to our restaurant you know that we don’t have a backroom, only beautiful and comfortable dining rooms.
I went outside to check on the new lawn that was being installed and within 5 minutes, two of our servers ran out to tell me that other customers were complaining about the customer with the dog, I asked why, and the servers told me that the customer was parading her dog around the dining room from table to table crying and telling everyone she was being discriminated against. We politely asked her to please take her seat as her food was at the table, and her grandmother was already eating. She began to start yelling and was very disruptive to the other guests. Again she was asked to please take her seat and have her lunch that her food was already there. She began yelling to me that she was treated unfairly and I told her if she was going to continue to yell and disturb other patrons she would have to leave. She chose to leave.
Once outside, the customer called the state police. While waiting for them to arrive, my partner noticed her pleading her case to other patrons leaving the restaurant. At which point a group of three ladies told her she was out of line and that she disturbed them. One lady told her she was allergic to dogs and didn’t appreciate her bringing the dog to her table. The police officer arrived and after several minutes of interviewing the customer and me, asked to see the table where the customer was sat. Once outside my partner asked the police officer for his findings. The officer said that there were no laws broken and there was nothing worthy of a report.
First and foremost we never discriminated against this lady or any one else. Furthermore I would like to say to the customer that “You and your dog are always welcome” and we are sorry that she felt discriminated against. We have served numerous people with all different types of disabilities and have taken several steps to accommodate everyone. During our remodel, we enlarged our bathrooms and poured concrete to level several areas in the building to make this restaurant more handicap accessible and comfortable.

Our regreats,

Donnie Collins
Oak Street Bistro

Regarding the lady with the service dog ...

First of all, I want to commend you for actually taking this into the public forum. Good for you! There are people that actually TRY to be disruptive, and charge "discrimination" at the drop of a hat ... the less reason they have for the actual complaint, the louder they get. People like that are LOOKING for a reason, and there's nothing you can do to please them. Nothing. I'm not sure that I would not have had her removed much more quickly - probably as soon as the other patrons began to be disturbed. I would have polite, but quite firm, and would possibly even have called the police before she did. I won't go on and on, but that sort of behavior is *not acceptable*; pandering to it only makes it worse.

Now ... as far as the Bistro is concerned ...

I've been going to the original Leedy's since 1965, and was in love with the place for decades. When they went out of business, I was desolate! When they reopened under new management, the new group had some LARGE shoes to fill, and didn't measure up. I was a little leery of trying the Bistro because of that ...

... however, we were amazed to walk into a gorgeously redone restaurant, with a very peaceful and warm atmosphere. While we were there, there two huge groups celebrating events, and they seemed to be very happy with the rooms/service.

The menu seemed a bit brief, but it only SEEMED that way once things were explained to us. I enjoyed my first prime rib in more than a decade, and it was the tastiest, tenderest prime rib I can ever remember having. It was juicy, since it had obviously been prepared FRESH and had never been frozen, and it was a very nice size, especially for the price!

There were 4 us, and we each seriously enjoyed our meals!:o)

My son has chosen to go back there today for his birthday meal. It's the first time he's ever chosen something that wasn't Chinese!*LOL* He's a chef, by the way. So - we'll be there tonight, and I intend to have more of the prime rib I've been dreaming about since our first visit!

I'm awfully glad that you've opened up the Bistro ... we're going to be regular customers again, just like we were with Leedy's.

Thanks a lot for everything!
Doris Ballard

PS ... only 1 comment ... there were only two desserts the day we went, both were some sort of fruit cobbler. A bit of variety on the desert would be nice, however, the dinner was so good that even if there were no desserts on the menu at all, I would still be a faithful customer.

Sunday, November 1, 2009