100 Sabra St.
Cranston, RI 02910
(401) 781-9693
March 8, 2014
Twin Oaks is a Rhode Island institution. Hidden within a residential area, the
restaurant started as a speakeasy in the 1930s.
It is the state’s largest independently owned business. Of course, in typical New England Bites
fashion, Mom and I had never been.
According to the online reviews, several people have
complained that the decades-old restaurant has gone “downhill.” Since this was our first time visiting Twin
Oaks, Mom and I had nothing to compare it to.
We just hoped that our visit would be like the many four- and five-star
ratings that Twin Oaks has received.
We pulled into the large parking lot and found that the
place was already packed. There were
people going in, people coming out, cars pulling into spaces, valets walking to
and from their office, etc. To put it
mildly, it was busy. However, once
inside, Mom and I were seated at a table by the window overlooking Spectacle
Pond right away.
We fell in love with the ambiance. The décor is very old fashioned, but in a
good way. Twin Oaks is a very large
establishment with six separate dining rooms.
There is also a small gift shop at the front, and when a restaurant has
its own gift shop, you know it’s a big deal.
Twin Oaks is the kind of place that you can bring a date, bring your
grandmother, have a baby shower or even a wedding reception. It’s definitely a go-to place for functions.
Our waiter (Richard) came to the table to take our drink
order and bring glasses of water. We
ordered two Diet Cokes ($1.95 each) which came with the straws stuck to the condensation
on the outside of the glasses – very cute.
Speaking of waiters, that’s all we saw.
Male waiters. The only female I saw working at Twin Oaks was behind the
counter in the gift shop. The men were
all dressed impeccably in white dress shirts and black ties.
Mom and I perused the menu but we already knew what we
were going to get thanks to their website (click here to view the menu). I ordered the baked native sea scallops
($16.95) and Mom chose the roast turkey dinner ($13.50). We also decided to get the full loaf of warm
Italian bread with butter and cheese ($4.50) for an appetizer.
The bread loaf was huge!
Mom and I had actually debated on getting the half loaf, but decided on
the full. Next time we’ll definitely get
the half. Surrounded by a thin layer of
butter, this hot Italian bread was topped with parmesan cheese and had a crunchy
exterior while the middle stayed soft.
It was the perfect start to our meal.
With all of the customers at Twin Oaks, we weren’t sure
if there was going to be a wait to get our food. There wasn’t.
Our food arrived steaming and was presented beautifully. Mom’s roast turkey plate was humongous. There must have been a pound of white meat
turkey on her plate with another pound of stuffing underneath. The turkey was topped with thick gravy and
accompanied by a cup of cranberry sauce and her choice of mashed potatoes and
cole slaw. Mom felt like she was having
Thanksgiving dinner. You could tell that
the large, thin turkey slices had been cut right off the bird, and Mom liked the
bread stuffing and said that it was nicely spiced. She also enjoyed her side of real mashed
potatoes, and appreciated that they weren’t of the instant variety. She thought it was an excellent meal.
My sea scallops were fantastic. I’ve had bay scallops before which are much
smaller, but the sea scallops had to be cut with a fork due to their size. Topped with a sauce made of butter, white
wine, mozzarella cheese, bacon and cracker crumbs (although I did not taste the
bacon – maybe they forgot), the scallops were very tasty and tender. I chose fries and cole slaw as my sides and
both items were great. I kept dipping
the bread and the fries in the sauce after I’d eaten all the scallops because
it was too flavorful to waste.
As if we weren’t full enough, Mom and I decided on
dessert. She chose a cup of Grapenut
pudding ($3.95) while I went with the Galliano parfait ($4.50). Mom said the cool Grapenut pudding was one of
the best she’s ever had. It was thick
and smooth – more like custard – and was heavenly.
My Galliano parfait was made with Galliano liquor over
vanilla ice cream and topped with real whipped cream. The waiter made sure that I was old enough
before serving me this dish. The sun
must have been in his eyes, because there’s no way I look 21 anymore. However, I appreciated the compliment. Thank goodness for the vanilla ice cream in
the parfait because the Galliano liquor was intense! I liked the punch of alcohol with every bite
of tasty ice cream. It was a cool,
creamy way to end a delicious meal.
(L) Grapenut pudding; (R) Galliano parfait
If Twin Oaks has gone downhill, it’s hard to tell. We had wonderful time and are looking forward
to going back. The restaurant (and
restroom) was clean, the staff was fast and friendly and our meals were top
notch. Our total for today came to
$51.10 – a bargain for all the food we had.
We highly suggest visiting Twin Oaks Restaurant, but you
may want to make a reservation first – especially at night. When Mom and I were leaving there were even
more people coming in than before. There
were also people waiting in the lobby, so although I’m sure you could get a
table at this immense eatery, you may want to call ahead just in case. No one should have to wait for such an
enjoyable experience.
