Oak and Reel Fall 2026 Menu

9 hours ago

3 min read

Once again, Oak & Reel delivered sheer perfection with its Fall Menu. This was our first time experiencing this menu, so naturally we overordered and ate as much as we humanly could. There was absolutely no restraint happening at our table, but when a menu has this many things you want to try, we consider that completely justified. Eating is our family sport.

One of our new favorites is the carbonara pizzette with guanciale, salsa verde, egg yolk and pecorino. We don’t eat pork, which means carbonara is one of those dishes we rarely get to enjoy. We asked if the guanciale could be omitted, and thankfully it could. It was fantastic and will absolutely be ordered again and again for as long as it stays on the menu. It was also a good reminder that if you have a dietary restriction, don’t be shy about asking what the kitchen can accommodate. Had we not asked, we would have missed out on one of our new

favorite dishes of the night.

Squash
Crudo
Panzanella

The focaccia was another easy addition to the table, followed by the carciofi, which may have officially lost its actual name in our family. Kira can eat artichokes by the pound, and these were so good that for the remainder of the Fall Menu, the carciofi will be on repeat at our table. We also loved having the crudo and squash alongside everything else because one of the things this menu does particularly well is balance those richer fall flavors with dishes that still feel fresh and lighter.

We obviously were not going to visit Oak & Reel without making our way through the pasta section. Since we couldn’t decide between the carmelle, calamarata and agnolotti all made it to our table, and this is exactly why coming here with a group is dangerous in the best possible way.

There are simply too many things we want to taste, and narrowing down the pasta order has never been one of our strengths.

Calamarata
Caramelle
Budino
Agnolotti
Cabbage

Italian cuisine is so incredibly interesting because of how much it changes from region to region, and one of the things we love about every Oak & Reel menu is that there are always flavors, preparations and dishes that are completely new to us. This time, one of those was the calamarata pasta with calamari, pickled peppers and marinara, and it was exactly the kind of dish that makes us want to learn more about where it came from. We eat a lot of Italian food and are incredibly fortunate to have some fantastic Italian restaurants here in Detroit, but Oak & Reel still manages to introduce us to flavors, dishes and preparations we haven’t experienced before.

For the larger dishes, we tried the monkfish and chicken milanese, along with the cabbage caesar with parmigiano. Just amazing but be warned, it is a lot of chicken.

Of course, being full has never stopped us from ordering dessert, and at Oak & Reel it definitely isn’t going to. We are always wowed by the desserts, and Chef Kristen continues to blow our minds with her creations. We finished with the budino and panzanella, because after ordering our way through almost every section of the menu, stopping before dessert is against our family rules. Also, don’t miss the gelato. Emma’s current favorite, funfetti, is on the menu right now.

Oak & Reel continues to be one of those restaurants where we walk in already knowing we are going to eat incredibly well. The Fall Menu has all of the warmth and richness you want this time of year without making every dish feel heavy, and there are enough lighter dishes mixed throughout that somehow we managed to convince ourselves ordering this much food was perfectly reasonable (does not take much).

Our evening included:

Carbonara Pizette

Seasonal Focaccia

Carciofi

Crudo

Squash

Carmelle

Calamarata

Agnolotti

Monkfish

Chicken Milanese

Cabbage, ceasar, parmigiano