Farmer & Pig pizzas and the largest self-pour tap wall in the area have arrived.
Oak & Stone made its highly anticipated Cape Coral debut on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
“This area is the perfect fit for us,” Sam Aguilar, brand president of Oak & Stone, said of the new 7,000-square-foot location at The Cove on 47th in South Cape. “We want to be part of the neighborhood, part of the community. People can gather here, have fun, relax, sample, share.”
And the space for it all is quite impressive.
You’ll find roomy high-top tables filling the bar area, rows of comfortable booths running parallel to the tap wall (more on that in a minute), and low-top tables in a quieter second dining area. More seating can be found — including oversized beanbag chairs and umbrella-covered picnic tables — in the fun (and our favorite) outdoor area, complete with a tabletop fireplace, cornhole and more lawn games.
“This is also the first location to have a private dining room area, too,” said Mickaila Smith, the assistant general manager. “It seats about 35, and the doors can be closed.”
Large banks of windows running down the SE 9th Place side of the restaurant wash it all in a warm, natural light during the day and bring the outdoors in at night.
One of the focal points is the large, open and modern bar, greeting customers as they enter from SE 47th Terrace. Seating is available along the L-shaped indoor bar and in a handful of chairs set up outside along 47th Terrace and 9th Place, looking in.
One-of-a-kind tap wall
The other eye-catcher is that gorgeously reimagined self-pour beer wall with 36 taps.
“We try not to have stuff everyone else has on tap,” Aguilar said.
The variety is impressive, ranging from a few local breweries (Fort Myers Brewing, Palm City and Scotty’s) to state breweries and beyond, plus a few ciders and a mead.
There are also two taps offering cocktails (a cosmopolitan and a whiskey sour), as well as seven bourbons and eight wines.
“We just launched the new system (for the wine),” Smith said, referring to the WineEmotion dispensing and preservation system. “(The wines) have already been a big draw.”
So are the bourbons. Individual barrels from Kentucky are handpicked for Oak & Stone.
“When those run out, we will go back and pick out more,” Aguilar said. “(Customers) can explore bourbons they ordinarily couldn’t.”
And don’t let the tap wall intimidate you. Just four simple steps separate you and your beverage of choice.
Grab a card (from the warm and friendly servers, bartenders or pretty much anyone working there) and a glass (various shapes and sizes are available below the taps). Choose your beverage, tap your card and pour as much or as little as you like.
Prices for the beers begin at about 35 cents per ounce, while cocktails are $2 per ounce.
When you’re ready to try another, rinse your glass right at the wall. Easy peasy.
Pizza, wings, handhelds and more
Foodwise, Oak & Stone is known for its gourmet tavern fare with scratch-made dishes — think pizza, handhelds, wings, salads and bowls.
The Farmer & Pig pizza (imported prosciutto, arugula, mozzarella, hot honey, herbed evoo, fresh shaved pecorino romano) is the most popular item, followed by wings (with a 24-hour brine). Smoky Gouda mac ‘n cheese, voodoo chicken sandwich, griddle burgers and of course, the other artisan pizzas are also best-sellers.
We’ll be heading back soon for the Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, one of seven appetizers available.
Oak & Stone, which debuted in Sarasota in 2016, has locations open in Estero (10191 Estero Town Commons since late 2023) and Naples (2270 Logan Blvd. since 2020). The Cape Coral location is the eighth in Florida.
It’s open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and has brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
And welcome to the neighborhood.
Oak & Stone, 4720 SE 9th Place, Suite 400, Cape Coral; (941) 363-6254; oakandstone.com or follow on Facebook.
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Highly anticipated and casually cool restaurant debuts in Cape Coral
Reporting by Robyn George, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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