The Oasis at Joe Pool Lake

Fathers Day and they did not have enough staff and said it would be a 2 hour wait. We were told this when we opened the door. We were not even in the restaurant but in the air lock between the two doors. All we wanted was a cold beer at the bar. The hostess was very firm she could not seat us per the manager because they did not have enough staff. We ask about just getting a beer and she said it would be a two hour wait. There were numerous tables and several bar stools open in the bar area. Oasis you have lost my business. You need to find another manager as well.

The service is extremely disorganized. The food is really good, but good luck getting what you ordered and getting it at a reasonable time. I had a double cheeseburger today, and four of the five other people at my table were all done eating when I finally got it. The last person at the table just got her food about 2 minutes before I got mine. Food is not brought out by your server, and it is not uncommon for someone to come and offer a food or drink item at your table when no one there had even ordered it – this happened to us twice during our meal.

Food was good. Had to change seating to get anyone to wait on us. Food presentation was excellent.

I was amazed at the low ratings which have been given to The Oasis, but I am confident in the saying: «You can’t believe everything you read on the internet». We were looking for a restaurant with a lake view for a relative who has been out of the U.S. for over 30 years, and being a displaced Minnesotan, she misses lakes. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and were seated immediately. Our server, Kristin, took our drink order, and food order when she returned. The Sampler Platter was much more than we expected, but for two it was almost a meal in itself. We also ordered an 8 oz rib eye steak with 2 sides each. Kristin frequently checked that everything O.K. The other staff who delivered our orders were courteous and excellent. The steaks were tender and perfectly cooked as we had ordered them. Of course we had to request take a «take home» box.
I find it very hard to comprehend how there can be such a big difference between our experience and that of those who have given low ratings to The Oasis. Certainly no eatery can turn 180 degrees in less than two months, if indeed the low ratings were true and all employees were as described., Or everyone was fired and replaced.
We definitely will be returning to The Oasis with our relative in the very near future, confident that she will not only enjoy the view, but also the food.

Waited over 1 hour for food tonight. Manager and GM gave many excuses and really didn’t care. After 1.25 hours, we left and will not return for food. We have been patrons for 20+ years.

Went there last night. Sat at the bar on patio ordered drinks and a chicken quesadilla. Bar tender was very attentive, served good strong drinks and food was good too. Music on patio was nice. Small dance floor but seemed like everyone their was having a good time! Would definitely go back!

First, I want say I was happy to see the restaurant reopened after being closed so long after flooding last year. There were some new items on the menu and these were a welcome change.
An order of chips and queso was delivered and our party of 5 shared eagerly. When the waitress returned several minutes later and offered to take our food order, one of us asked, «when will we get our drinks?»
«Oh, let me get those,» she said, before walking over to a table behind us where everyone’s drinks literally had been sitting for who knows how long. We shrugged and rolled our eyes a bit… but it it gets worse.
When the food came out, they delivered my bowl of clam chowder, my salad (absent any dressing), and my main entrée all at the same time. There was literally no place to put all the food, so they sat my entrée down in front of my 5 year-​old. I immediately complained that everything should not be served all at once. The young men delivering the food, said nothing and continued to push items around the table to make room for the excess plates. My father-​in-​law then realized that his gumbo appetizer had not been delivered at all (and obviously not before the arrival of his entrée).
I looked up and counted 4 – 5 servers all standing around near the bar, some for them looking down and typing on their phones. I called one of them over and asked to speak to a manager. A moment later another server comes over and asks if there is something she can do to «fix» the problem. I replied, «No, there seems to be some issues with training of staff. I would like to discuss them with a manager.» And she said, «Well let me see if I can find one.»
When John, «the manager,» arrived, I began to explain our many mishaps. I got as far as to say all my food was delivered at once when he abruptly asked, «Well did you say you wanted them before your entrée?» I told him I was never given a choice, but I could not understand why anyone would want a soup, a salad and a steak all served at once. He simply said, «Well people do.»
At this point, I looked up at him and asked, «Are you arguing with me?» He said, «Yes, I am, and you are being very rude.» I could not believe my ears! I then told him, «You know what, I now understand what the whole problem is. You can leave our table now.» But he wasn’t about to let me have the last word. He said, «No, you can leave! You can pay your bill and leave right now. Or I can call the police and have you escorted out.»
Now my whole table started getting involved because this terrible excuse for a manager was totally out of control. We told him, «We aren’t leaving till we finish our dinner,» even though he had ruined it. Then he had the nerve to ask me, «So what do you want? You just wanting something free?» «No, absolutely not,» I said. «I just wanted someone to address the lack of quality service and poor meal planning. But once again, I have found the source of the problems.»
After John stormed away to the kitchen, we sat there dumbfounded at what had just transpired. A table near us sat wide-​eyed and shaking their heads. The couple told us they had never seen anything like it before. Neither had we! No further service was extended to us. No drink refills. No offer for dessert. Heck, I never even got a dressing for my salad.
A second and third uncomfortable exchange with John occurred before we finally had the privilege to leave. A final weak attempt at an apology quickly turned confrontational again when I agreed with him that he had indeed handled the situation poorly. And his parting shot as we walked out the door…“Don’t come back!” I got to say, that tops ‘em all!
I recommend avoiding this place until some quality management and staff training can be obtained. The food was otherwise improved from prior visits, but the horrendous service and insulting, immature, argumentative manager (ie. John) soured the whole experience!
And if upper management is reading this post, do yourselves a favor and fire this guy now before your restaurant sinks
…again.

I went for lunch today because I wanted to enjoy the patio. It was a perfect location for the weather!
Service — my server was attentive and friendly. She kept my drink full and checked on me throughout my meal to see if I needed anything. Sure, it was about 1:30 in the afternoon, so they weren’t too busy. I felt like it was good service.
Food — I had the catfish basket lunch special. Everything was OK — nothing that I would crave. I felt that 1 catfish fillet in a basket that is $ 9.95 is a little unexpected — I thought it would have 2 fillets. There were a TON of fries though, so there’s that.
Nothing bad and nothing extraordinary — except for the awesome patio. Sure, it’s overpriced for the food and quality, but to enjoy the breeze and pretend I’m on a beach, it was worth it today.

I must say I’ve avoided this place due to the poor reviews however my husband and I had a great experience. The prices and wine are overpriced, however my sage raspberry mojito was really good! Fresh muddled fruit and sage, fresh lime, a lot of rum and soda water… can’t go wrong with that! The calamari was good but nothing special. The crab bisque was amazing! Our entrees were good as well (fish seared to perfection). Service was great. Staff was very friendly. We will be back. I am very confused about all these bad reviews… I hope we have the same experience next time.

A note for any person making reservations here… ask if today will be «cattle call self serve» or traditional sit down and order. Also, make sure about pricing! $ 30 per person for a buffet, equivalent to any continental breakfast is criminal! Not to mention the 18% gratuity they FORCED me to pay for serving myself, having to ask for drinks and refills, and absolutely no service at all. Best Mothers Day brunch ever. I’m sorry I put my loving mother through this experience; I can only hope she forgets.
Thanks

We finally arrived on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve had this place bookmarked for several months and procrastinated due to the negative reviews on Unilocal.The weather was beautiful and I decided to give it a try.
There was a 30 minute wait so I ordered a beer & two Long Island ice teas for $ 27.50 (1^st impression was that the drinks prices were pretty steep).
We told the hostess we were going to walk outside and wait so we watched the boats and sipped on our drinks. When we came back into the restaurant we were reprimanded by the staff for taking our drinks on the deck? Huh? We told you we were going out there but ok… Not going to let that ruin our day.
When we were seated things quickly changed. We had a young lady named Rachel as our waitress. I think she said she was 22 or 23. Rachel was the best waitress I’ve had in a long time. She was outgoing, prompt and on top of her game. She kept our drinks full and regularly checked on us.
The weather was beautiful on this particular day and they had a band playing when we arrived. The weather & the setting made it a relaxing day of food and drinks with friends. I will definitely be back and hopefully Rachel will be working.

The only reason for 2 stars is the location.
Servers and hostess looked and acted as if they hate life. They look miserable and disinterested.
Table for 2 outside. No problem. No wait time. Live band outside around 4 pm.
Host barely looked alive. My fiancé was a little behind me while the host was walking us to our table. He didnt bother to look behind. He walked ahead and didnt notice we werent behind him. We caught up to him as he was walking off after placing the menus on the table. He said, «enjoy your dinner,» while passing. Sat us at a crappy table. We moved. He didn’t notice.
We waived down our own waitress. She wanted drink order quickly. We ordered a piña colada anf long island ice tea which SUCKED. They were served in plastic glasses with cracks. If you like pina coladas do not come here. You will be disappointed. The long Island Ice Tea wasn’t much better. $ 20 for 2 drinks.
We ordered 2 appetizers. The shrimp cocktail was sad. More sauce than shrimp. The shrimp wasn’t cleaned very well. They served lime. I think it’s a little issue that they served lime instead of lemon because lemons are more expensive. We were gypped! Seriously though the shrimp should’ve been thoroughly cleaned. For the steep price it should have been clean.
The crab fingers was really something strange. It was little baby crab claws that were swimming in some garlic butter oil. It didn’t look like butter. I have no idea but it was very oily. They served it with 2 slices of bread that were floating in the oil. Nothing special. Really not very flavorful and the bread was chewy. I wouldn’t order this again or recommend it.
We were confused by the music. They had jack playing in the speakers while the live band played some CCR. It was very confusing.
The restaurant was packed. It was a beautiful day. I’m sad. I spend $ 60 on crap. I could’ve gone somewhere else but took a risk on this place.
I’d return just for the location and order beer. Who knows… I don’t like spending my hard earned money on terrible service and food.
If u come here avoid the $ 10 drinks. Buy beer. Find suitable appetizer and split. Go somewhere else to spend your money on dinner.

I have been going to the Oasis for years, I keep my boat in the marina there. Their restaurant service has declined significantly in the last few months. After the flooding in November, 2015, ever since they reopened, their prices have increased, their food portions have been reduced, they have eliminated several of my favorite dishes, their service personnel are new and clearly not happy to be there, and their manager was rude and disrespectful to me and to the lady I was sitting with. I was told that they are «under new management», and this management is not good. Until things change, I suggest that everyone find somewhere else to eat.

I’m only giving it two stars because the server we had was very quick and on top of things and the dining area was not bad either because the view was really nice. We went during lunch, although I have heard it is much prettier at night.
The food itself was not something i would come back for. I am not a fish fan so I just got a simply BBQ sandwich and it wasn’t too bad. Personally, this is going to be a little TMI, but you’re gonna be running to the bathroom constantly. My friend and I went here and both of us experienced this. Thinking about it now makes me nauseous.

How you talk to people, and your attitude, matters.
The hostess and bar tender this afternoon were sweet as can be. The manager, assistant manager, or whoever she was however, was tacky and unfriendly.
I went in to scope out the place before planning to hold my birthday celebration there, along with renting a boat from the marina. Her attitude was enough for me to be incredibly grateful I went alone before inviting over a dozen friends and family members to the joint.

I’ve been here several of times and I always remembered it being great but they have fell off! I hax the jalapeño shrimp with dirty rice and black beans. Sounds great right? Well it was horrible. All of it tasted like thawed out frozen food. And they have to charge Pappadeauxs prices. I won’t be going back of its my decision.

I can barely give this place a star. We were there this past Thursday night with our family to enjoy some Crawfish. The Crawfish was great! The one star is for the horrible service we received. We got there at 6:30, party of 7, we ordered appetizer’s, oyster’s, drinks and 12 lbs of Crawfish. We didn’t get our appetizers until 45 minutes later and NEVER got our oyster’s. The Crawfish was not far behind. Did I mention we had a hungry 4 yr old, not to mention that we were hungry as well, which is why we ordered appetizer’s first. The restaurant wasn’t even full so that wasn’t a factor. We were very disappointed because it’s a great location on the water with live bands during the summer. It would probably be a good idea if the Manager would walk around regularly and greet people like they do at Red Lobster and Joe’s Crab Shack. Don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon.

Last night I was reminded why I haven’t been back to this place in five years. When I spoke to the hostess she said it should be about 35 minutes I looked around and saw 25 open tables I said why 25 minutes she said well we have campers and we’re short on wait staff after 40 minutes at sitting at the bar and seeing that no tables have been sat. I asked the bartender what was going on poor thing had been there since 9 o’clock that morning it was 8 o’clock apparently this restaurant has never been good about hiring servers every single person I spoke to that evening was very upset with it and unfortunately most of them said this is a normal occurrence so if you’d like to waste your entire evening and still not get food try this place you will also get the shittiest service you’ve ever had in your entire life

Went there for my dad’s birthday and we had a party of 30! And guess what??! EVERYTHING from food, drinks, service was amazing!!! Being we had such a large party, we got to order a variety of items and honestly, everything I had was delectable!
–seafood platter was amazing; I have to go back for more catfish and also catch them for the all you can eat catfish nights (Thursday’s)
–CFCchicken; deeeelish taters and gravy
–wings; very tasty
–brisket nachos; huge portion and perfect to share
Drinks were also great from beer-Rita’s, mojito, to mules. It was all great! We had two waiters for our large party. Inside was great atmosphere and I can’t wait to come back on a nice sunny day since I only live over the bridge!
Everyone should give them a another chance– seems like they got new staff and new kitchen crew Bc everything was really amazing!

Oasis is open. In fact, I called around 6 pm tonight to confirm that they were open and the girl that answered the phone informed me that they have a band called Weekend Edition that starts at 7:30, but the cover is starting at 7 and it’s $ 5 per person. So we go and I am really hoping with almost every ounce of my being that they have it together this time. I’ve invited friends that have never experienced this «cool place on the lake». I sincerely hope that the waitstaff is on it, the food is good, the price is right, but I am yet again, let down. Come on OASIS, for the love of God or bacon or something, get it together! I’m so beat down. This neighborhood restaurant on the lake is overpriced and not up to expectation, yet again. The cover charge for the aforementioned band is $ 10 per person, not $ 5 and they only take cash, but there’s an ATM at the marina, right next door, so we course correct, get cash and attempt entry again. Get to a table on the patio and I order a Ketel One and Soda, which in the fancy downtown or uptown streets of Dallas could set me back at the top end, $ 8. At the Oasis, this very same drink served in a small solo cup is $ 10, ten dollars, folks, ¹⁄₁₀ of $ 100. INSANE! I am not at the MARRIOTT BEVERLY HILLS on Rodeo Dr., I am on Joe freakin’ pool lake in Grand Prairie, TX… HELLO! To add insult to injury, our server, Gabe, tells us he can’t serve draft beers on the patio, but brings 2 draft beers to other patrons. Finally, we have a modified version of shrimp ceviche and an entrée called Bayside Shrimp, 4 vodka sodas and 5 Coors lights and the tab is $ 102.46!!! You read it right, one oh two forty-​six. Nuts! Our friends had gumbo and a «shrimp stack» thingy plus 8 beers and their tab was $ 69.06. We joked about how we could have had a couple of bottles of fine wine, lobster and steak for $ 175! What a joke. Just don’t, no need to even think it’s gotten better. Serious waste of time and money. Good thing we really love our friends and thoroughly enjoyed their company…