The Oasis at Joe Pool Lake

Reviews 3

CA

Catherine Jones

First of all let me state these statements are true and detailing my recent visit to the Oasis Restaurant. It is in a beautiful location and great idea. I AM a frequent visitor of this establishment and have been since the beginning. Once again I find myself having to be on the not so good side of this establishment. On my recent visit on last night to this restaurant I am forced to complain about several issues I personally was subject to. First of all I feel that they are guilty of PRICE FIXING & PRICE GOUGING. Which unfortunately I have experienced before at this establishment. On last night they had the live entertainment of Mr. Dave Whiteman, who I have seen & enjoyed previously. I had invited a group of singers out to hear Mr Whiteman so I called ahead before 1:00 P.M. to verify the cost to go out on the patio to hear him. No one answering the phone would advise me after talking to 2 employees answering the phone, what time the cover would apply. One stated, she had to wait until the manager arrived to provide me with a time (a manager should have already been there and I am sure she was). The next time I called approximately 3:45 P.M THEN I was advised the cost started in 15 minutes. (4:00P.M.) this employee stated they "ALWAYS" started the $10.00 cover at 4:00 on Saturday. I then asked to speak to the manager & the employee DRILLED & DRILLED me as to "WHY". Finally she placed me on HOLD and NEVER came back to the phone. Normally with that type of unprofessionalism and disrespect I would have chosen another establishment, but since I had already planned an evening with my group I went along with my plans. Once i arrived I spoke to the manager & she tried to seem interested , but not very sincere. She NEVER "right the wrong", she just gave me the standard "customer service pitch" saying Im sorry you experienced that that of treatment. Never, I guess thinking I deserved ANY" type of consideration. I am a Dallasite & there are very FEW restaurants Iam not familiar with from 5 Stars down. I am also Retired from the airlines and have traveled over the world. (Domestic & International). So I am VERY familiar with GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE"!! And last night was not it, sorry to say. This is my second bad experience with this restaurant & as you can tell Im not pleased. ALSO the Ladies restroom was "DEPLORABLE"! No list showing the last time it was cleaned, and it wasnt!. No disinfectant air freshner or anything. Lastly, I ACTUALLY saw one of the guys helping the waiters and wait staff bring some food to a table (looked like popcorn shrimp) on a tray and a few fell on the tray and the gentleman "simply" poured the shrimp that had fell off the plate, ON THE FLOOR! For the rest of the night everyone that walked that way constantly stepped in the mess he made, not to mention the flies it created. (There was a trash can just steps away, if he had respect for himself and the patrons, he could have simply dumped it in the trash) SAD!!. SORRY for the long review but I couldnt sleep well last night after that experience. PRAYING for a change. Too nice for this type of things. PLEASE STOP THE PRICE "FIXING" ( when there is a popular artist making the customer have to come 3-4 HOURS prior to the show starting! UNBELIEVABLE!!! I like going to the lake. Hoping for a more POSITIVE EXPERIENCE in the future.

A

A Private User

If a 0 star were possible it is exactly what I would have given this place. I have never and hopefully will never have to write a review like this again. Ok well lets get started from beginning to end, we arrived and had to park in the dirt on the outskirts of the parking lot, it was a Friday so not that big of a deal. We have a party of 18 and one of our guests is handicapped and we requested a table downstairs. Well we were then informed that that wouldnt be possible so our handicapped guest had to endure the walk up the narrow stair case. It took about 30 minutes to complete the drink order. Our server Trent was incompetent and a flat out liar. I will get to that part though. After the first round of waters came to only half of our guests the other drinks came much later. Only to find that my beer was warm. At this point my patience was starting to wear. We arrived at 7:30 pm mind you and by the time I got my beer it was about 8:15pm. Ok, so then another server came a taller blond teen with longer hair he assisted "Trent". At about 8:30 they finally took our order. Trent said he would take it in order of how we were paying so it would be easier on him at the end. I agreed that it would be easier that way. It took him about 15 minutes to take our order. At around 9:20 the food finally came out. Only to have my meal missing completely and my wifes salad completely wilted and disgusting and her sisters meal completely wrong. Upon dropping off the food they had to auction it off, even though Trent supposedly put the order in, in sequence. This was after I had to go down to the bar to order a drink because it was taking so long in between service visits. Im sorry but I have been in the hospitality industry for five years and have never seen such a disorganized situation. My food finally came out at around 9:50 after telling them I didnt want it anymore. Trent continued to insist and blamed it on the kitchen, and said he had put it on the ticket. Lies lies lies. One thing i have learned in restaurants is to tell when a server is bullshitting someone. And poor Trent sucks at it. So in the end I never saw a manager once, Im not sure a manager even exists here. Wouldnt you think an 18 top with so many issues would have attracted managements attention. Well at the end he had to ask every single person how they were going to be split up even though he supposedly did that in the beginning for that purpose. This place was a joke the food made me sick, literally and the service and food would have probably been better at a Long John Silvers. Save yourselves the trip!!!!! And I hope they hire a manager that cares more about their patrons. F-

TO

Todd Doster

We stop in at least once a month in the winter and multiple times in the summer because we keep our boat at the Marina. The place is a diamond in the rough and could be amazing if they invested and reconfigured the restaurant and bar. At 26 years old, the Restaurant and Marina are both at that difficult age where time is taking its toll and they spend a great deal of time and money patching things in a continual and cyclical process. The problem is they are charging upper scale prices for 4 star amenities, service and product, but only currently only able to offer 3 star at best. But… Location, Location, Location. The location of the Oasis is one of the top in the DFW Metroplex offering water views and true nautical feel with great ambiance. There are no standouts on the menu with the food being average in taste, though some recent menu changes are a marked improvement. Service is hit or miss as staffing/stocking is particularly difficult at this type of restaurant where the weather is firmly in control of the crowds. Our favorite time is early on a nice weekday and sitting in the bar booths (aka Happy Hour). The employees who really care and have been there for a long time are many times working double shifts and may get understandably cranky close to closing time. Visiting from the East or West Coast, this is not the Charthouse or Rusty Pelican, but something akin to a local dive bar / restaurant with a location surcharge. Albeit, you can tell they are trying to stay mildly profitable and making investments as best they can. Again, not an easy task when age creeps up on you. The big issues seems to come on weekends with entertainment. The configuration does not lend to being both a great bar and restaurant with the bar and entertainment patio being separated by the restaurant. There is a great upstairs that is rented out, but could lend itself to better full time use. Having an indoor fishing area is fine, but that is area that could be better served with casual easy less expensive and seasonal dining to compliment the large crowds who just come down to feed the fish or take in the ambiance. The boat rental and club with new management including an onsite boat brokerage is a great way to bring people to the lake. The marina is without doubt the best on the lake and almost completely full with slip rates around the industry standard of $8 - $10 a foot. Truly not bad, but still a diamond in the rough that could take advantage of the up-scale growth around it and cater to all audiences both in and out of season.