Roak Brewing Co

Drinks are great. Kashmir is my fave.
Got a 64oz. Growler of a new beer called Trippy Meadow recently. It is a Blonde Witbier. Very crisp and refreshing.
Pricing wasn’t bad for the growler. $ 5 for the bottle and $ 14 for the beer (64oz.).
Dining is a lil expensive, but pizza is really good. They have expanded their beer selections recently.
Ambience is Rad. Summers are better with outdoor seating and parking for bikes.
Overall a must visit atleast once if you are not from RO and a must visit every once in a while if you are from RO.

Great pizza with pretzel bites and hands done the best beer! #meanstreet
So if you want a truly unique atmosphere with great beer in a cool town go to Roak.

Absolutely loved this place!
At first when saw that this place was in Royal Oak, I thought «Dang, it’s going to be in downtown», but don’t let that scare you! The location is on the outskirts of the city so there is free parking lot for the restaurant.
We came here as a group for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner and the restaurant was able to accommodate at least ~10+ people, which was a definite plus. The downfall is the fact that they do not take reservations and the dining area is pretty small. And when I say small there are under 10 tables, so it’s a first-​come, first-​serve basis so make sure plan accordingly because around dinner time a wait starts forming. I really hope they plan on expanding the brewery for more dining space because they would receive more customers that way and waiting in line would not be a hassle.
Since it was our first time being at the Roak Brewing Co., we were amazed about the décor and the ambience. When you enter the main lighting is this gorgeous chandelier so the area was kind of dark but had a soothing vibe to it and towards the back was the bar area. Service was decent and the food came out in timely manner (which is a plus in my books, especially with a bigger party). The restaurants serves only pizza, sandwiches and beer so there aren’t many options if you are looking for a individual main course meal. The quality of the food was excellent and the beer was pretty decent.
If you are looking for a chill place to hang and grab a bite with a group of friends, I recommend going to Roaks Brewing Co.

One of our favorite places to go for good beer & pizza.

I’m a fan!
Came here with a friend who suggested we should try something new for beer. I love that this place is not downtown Royal Oak: free parking!
The décor threw me off a bit with this being a brewery but I liked it. I like the 2 Doberman pictures and the chandelier made me feel real fancy.
The host at the time (which I’m assuming was the manager) told us it would be a 20 minute wait but it only took about 5 minutes to be seated. He remembered my name and kept checking in on our table to make sure we were having a good time. Little things like that, makes a huge difference.
My friend and I both ordered a flight, which came with 6 different tastings and cost about $ 13. I was a huge fan of all the beers I ordered. I’m not a huge IPA fan, so I stuck with mostly stouts and ales. I tried the passion fruit white, the Rubia, Tart Star, Powerboat, Devil Dog and the Kashmir.
My friend ordered a personal pizza and I was boring and ordered the Cobb salad; both meals were big enough to feed 2 people. Roak’s house made Italian dressing is soo good!
I’m a huge fan, I want to bring my family here, I want to plan events here and I’m going back to grab growlers.

A friend of ours had been to this place and said it was something to check out. He had prefaced saying that it was «interesting». Since we both work for a design firm, I had an inkling that he was referring to the design of the space.
Well, one night, Husband and I took one of his friends out for his birthday. This was one of the many stops on a Friday night, and one of the last ones of the evening. From the outside, this place looks ginormous, but my, when we walked in, it was so tiny in comparison! lol I honestly was prepared to walk into a space similar to Griffin Claw in Birmingham, but nope, that was not the case.
The giant chandelier in the front entrance is definitely a show stopper. It really is grand in scale, and with the super high ceilings, it fit in well. We all elected to go sit at the bar, and it is a great space. Really spacious and wonderfully lit. The stools are pretty comfy, and the bartenders were nice. Since we arrived on the later side (~10pm), we didn’t get any food, but got a sampler. I didn’t sample much, but of the ones I did, I thought they were just okay. There was one called Tart Star that was honestly kind of repulsive lol. I am no beer expert, but none of us were fans of it.
The food menu does sound interesting, and so I’d like to come back to try some of that. Maybe we just didn’t choose the right beers, but yeah, the space is really unique. :)

Pizza was tasty. Décor was unexpected, with the giant gaudy chandelier, crushed velvet curtains and giant banners with Dobermans on them for some reason. The indoor/​outdoor seating is great. Can’t speak for the beer but my dining companions seemed to like it. Menu seemed pricey but not overly ridiculous. They have their own parking lot which is about as good as it gets in Royal Oak. Definitely worth checking out.

This place has beer and pizza and is therefore difficult to not like. Location away from downtown is awesome for those who like parking easily, but the outside ambiance is weird. Inside, the décor is fancier than most microbreweries.
Place always seems to be packed. Wish they had more room. Also wish the menu was different as I usually don’t like thin crust pizzas because I’m fat and like actually gluten-​laced food in my belly.
Beers are interesting and fairly unique. Melon wheat beer was on the menu which I have never seen before.
Bar not your scene? You can buy Roak Beer all across town. But really, if the bar isn’t your scene why are you reading this, weirdo?

I went here today with some college friends, to try it out; they had been before but I had not. I had heard good things about it so even though I’m not really a beer person, I decided to try it.
THE GOOD:
–Pizza was very good (as it should, based on the enthusiastic recommendations of the other Unilocalers on here!), although pricey. We got the «supreme» one although they called it something else, and it had sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, and green peppers — we asked for no anchovies. (I’m kinda wondering how many guests ask for no anchovies, too, because our waiter asked us if we wanted all the toppings or not, ha.) A medium was like $ 17.95 but it’s HUGE, I’d say it’s more of a large pizza.
–Ambiance. Kind of hipster meets rich/​old school? It’s in a big warehouse but they also had this GINORMOUS chandelier which I liked. There’s also a little patio with heat lamps, since it was unseasonably warm out today a lot of people were sitting there.
–Location. It’s on Lincoln off of Main St. so they have their own (free!) parking, which is unusual for Royal Oak.
THE MEH:
–Waitservice. It took forever for our pizza to get to our table and I never got a water refill all night. My friends said that they might have been shortstaffed tonight though.
–Beer, but like I said, I’m not a beer fan. I got the raspberry white ale, and it was okay … I still drank it all. My friends both liked their beers.
I’d actually like to come here again for the food! They had a mozzarella tomato salad that sounded awesome, as well as paninis and other pizzas. The baked brie appetizer sounded fantastic too.

This place is, uh, interesting.
Came in late on a Tuesday night, it was virtually empty around 9:30. That kind of surprised the two of us because it is Royal Oak and people seem to be drinking somewhere every night.
The first thing you notice, after rolling in off Lincoln Avenue, is that the place looks like some industrial warehouse. Then when you actually walk into the joint, it’s a small space that looks like a set from a Kill Bill movie or something. There’s a huge random chandelier, some sword and ninja-​like items on the walls, a giant curtain covering essentially nothing (or so we think). The square bar has a nice tone to it, and there’s a decent amount of tables.
It’s kind of funny when you look to the side and see a huge space, separated by a glass barrier with kegs and industrial space. Why not expand it and be a huge scene for beer drinkers? I don’t get it, man. What is the reasoning behind this?!
Anyway, since the bar was closing at 10 p.m. and the kitchen closed at 9:30, I didn’t try any food. I did have the Livewire IPA, though, and it was among the best beers I ever had. So smooth and a great after taste. Kind of reminded me of the time I took my first sip of Two Hearted — instant memory. Then, the waitress said Roak sells its beer in stores. I will have to find Livewire and drink more, since RO is kind of far from me.
All in all, this place seems to want to be a fancy brewery with shareable food items and some entrees. It’s on the pricier side ($ 7 for my IPA), and the food was on the upper end as well. I would say it’s worth a try and make your own consensus.

We came in for lunch just after they opened the day of the State/​Michigan game. The décor took me by surprise a little… it wasn’t what I expected but it was interesting. Long purple velvet drapes the wall and an almost obelisk onyx center inlay runs up the back of the bar with two Doberman banners hanging on each side… their trademark? A large chandelier brightens the space and the overall vibe is dark, minimalist and modern. Sam almost makes a good point… bring a jacket, it wasn’t very warm in there. That said, the staff was warm, really friendly and helpful, walking us through their beer list. We ordered a couple flights and a couple lunch entrees to try. The Fresca Turkey Panini and their Pizza Bianco sounded like solid options.
The food took a little while but we were kicking back with our flights but very happy when it arrived. The Panini with the option of coleslaw which was really good and/​or chips which were your standard Ruffles. Admittedly I expected a better class of chip out of a new hotspot brewery but so it goes. The Panini was good but they don’t butter their bread when they press the sandwich?! The turkey was quality though and I liked the Granny Smith apples on it.
The pizza was OK. I liked their crust. For our two flights and two lunch plates it was around $ 55 and although it was good it didn’t make me want to rush back there to try more of their food.

Finally a GREAT pizza place around Royal Oak. (Yes this is a brewery first, but the pizza stands out more than the beer). The dough is what really differentiates it. I usually don’t eat the crust off pizzas to cut the carb intake, but really good dough/​bread is tough to pass up, and I couldn’t in this case. I had the Il Demone Pizza (Hot Peppers and Hot Italian Sausage with a Spicy Pizza Sauce) and each bite was followed by a big ol’ smile plastered on my face. The sizes run a little large, which is not a bad thing, but something to keep in mind when ordering. The pizza pricing is on the high end, but given the portions, it’s not so out of whack. Got the small size to share for two, and still didn’t finish it.
The beer was OK, had a flight to sample their multitude of beers, but nothing stood out. It’s hard to compete when you’re going up against Kuhnhenn DRIPA and Dragonmead Final Absolution. They’ve got a variety of beer styles to suit your tastebuds: IPAs, ales, stouts, etc.

On a recent trip back to my hometown I was excited to see that the old industrial area down the street from where I grew up became a brewery! After a day of walking around Arts, Beats, and Eats it seemed appropriate to take a short walk over to ROAK and try out some beers!
My review is solely based on beer since I didn’t get any grub. I ended up getting a flight and it was the biggest beer flight I’ve ever had in my life. Some notable beers included Devil Dog and Live Wire. I highly recommend the flight, I liked 90% of the beers I tried and the price was great.
The only thing I didn’t dig on was the ambiance. Although the chandelier was beautiful, it didn’t really fit the aesthetic. The overall look of the place is a tad confusing: it can’t decide if it’s super classy, hipster-​ish, or industrial.
Maybe next time I’m in town I’ll stop in and try some food. I’ll definitely be back for more beer though!

This is a pretty cool local bar. Came across the bar when I was literally running by. Space is limited but well decorated with a giant chandelier in the dining hall. The beer selection is pretty good with something for everyone– I personally enjoy the saison– lots of flavor and smooth.
Unless you like pizza and salad, there’s not much the food menu offers. Pizza is pretty good not great though. I came here during the day when the crowd wasn’t heavy. I would come here again for the brews.

A few blocks from the main area in Royal Oak. An industrial bay building rebuilt with a brewing area and a main bar opening with bay doors onto a patio. It has its own parking.
Great pizza, great beers with a wide selection, friendly fast staff.
As said, the pizza is great, the sandwiches are okay. The beers are really good. Really good. The outside is nothing to look at, the inside is very nice in a dressed up industrial sort of vibe.
Strongly recommend.
Update: We stopped in the night prior to New Years Eve. The hostess was rude, and she later became the second bartender. We were served pizza so well done that the crust had black spots and we needed knives to cut the slices. We told the hostess/​bartender and she got snarky and said the owners and cook wanted it that way.
My wife contacted one of the owners the next morning, and he is addressing the issue and was very apologetic.

Location/​Ambiance: ROAK is a great spot off the main street in Royal Oak. Definitely has an eclectic vibe with the décor in an industrial park. But overall, the feel I think is great. Super different and fun. The actual dining area and outdoor patio are pretty small, and I feel that they could expand a little into their distribution area. We went around 7:00 on a Wednesday night and had about a ½ hour wait because there were so few tables.
Food: Started with the pretzel sticks and the baked brie. The pretzel sticks were great! They were served with a whole grain mustard and a beer cheese dip — both were good. The baked brie wasn’t so great. I wouldn’t consider it «baked». When I order brie, I want it to be oozing and messy. This looked like the popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds and called it good. We then got the carne pizza (meat lovers) and the pizza bianco. The carne came with a grease pool in the middle of the pizza — yuck. I couldn’t eat much of that one. But the pizza bianco was fabulous. And the crust for both pizzas was really good. Just the right amount of crunch to chewy ratio!
Beer: I started with their summer beer (melon wheat) and it was pretty good. I didn’t get much melon flavor, but for a light summer wheat beer, it was pretty tasty. I then had their Belgian wit ale which was also good, not great. The others at our table enjoyed their beers. No one was saying «this beer is amazing», but no one was complaining either :)
Service: Our waitress was great. She was very attentive and nice. The best part about the whole experience was having one of the owners (John) come to our table for awhile. It was getting late and there weren’t many customers left, and he came to our table to just chat and get our honest opinions about the place. He was super friendly and loved hearing what we had to say.
Overall, I like ROAK. I’ll definitely keep going back as it’s just a feel good kind of place (esp. on a beautiful summer night on the patio!). No their food and beer isn’t AMAZING, but it’s good and made me happy!

You’re wondering if the décor can actually be as bad as everyone says it is. I know. And I’m here to tell you it’s worse. It looks like Ozzy Osbourne took acid and decorated a room. But it doesn’t matter cuz this is about the food and the booze.
I met a buddy here for some drinks after work, and ended up trying most of their beers in a flight. I have to say they were for the most part great. They really did their Belgians well, I would recommend those over their IPA or wheat beers. Those were a bit bland and lacked flavor. Their trippel they just released, I would highly recommend it at 9.5% it’s worth the $ 7.
I got the Carne pizza which was every meat you can essentially put on a pizza. The crust was the best part of it. Crunchy on the bottom and a bit charred on the crust, tasted great. It’s more of a thin crust type of pizza. But the cheese was a little, well chewy I guess I would describe it. Plus $ 17.95 for a 12″ pizza is a bit pricey even in Royal Oak standards.
The service was good but near the end of our meal they asked us to leave because their distributors from Budweiser were coming and they needed tables at 7 pm on a Friday even though we were still ordering drinks. That’s not an example you want to set when you just started a business.
Overall: great Belgians, pretty good pizza, ok service, and terrible decorations.

Roak is a nice addition to the RO area and nicely situated just slightly outside of downtown. As most other reviewers have mentioned the insides seating area is surprisingly small for when you see how gigantic the outside of the building is. They are utilizing the majority of the building for brewing and packaging.
The parking lot is a bit of a cluster and gets packed quickly but we were able to find a spot all the way in the back.
We grabbed two spots at the bar for lunch and were greeted promptly by the bartender. We opted for a flight of 6 4oz beers since we hadn’t tried any of their beers before. We enjoyed all of the beers we tried with the exception of the Oatmeal Stout, it very much tastes like coffee, and although I love coffee, I don’t particularly care for it in my beer. But if your into that then I think you’d enjoy this beer.
For lunch we ordered a small create your own pizza which ended up costing a pretty penny. The prices for build your own weren’t very clear but oh well, next time I’ll ask better questions. The small pizza was actually quite large and ended up taking two slices home. The pizza was very tasty but we waited about 45 mins for it to come out. The bartender was very upfront and explained that they were having some trouble with their pizza oven and therefore it was taking longer than normal. I don’t mind waiting as long as I’m told upfront and have the option ahead of time to order something else. We weren’t in a rush so it wasn’t a big deal.
Their food menu is quite small, they have pizza, a few panini’s, salads, a meat and cheese plate ($ 23 yikes!!!) and soft pretzels. I really wanted to try the pretzels because they looked amazing but wasn’t in the mood for a food coma today. I saw a few people’s panini’s and they looked ok but not spectacular.
I thought our bill was a bit high at $ 35 for a flight of beer and a small pizza but it’s Royal Oak and apparently that means you can charge whatever you feel like.
I know a lot of people have commented on the interior décor. Personally, I couldn’t care less. I come to a brewery for the beer and food not the choice of window treatments or paint colors. So who cares if it looks like a cheesy Vegas lounge?
Overall, I’d say the experience was decent but certainly not eventful for mind blowing. I much prefer Jolly Pumpkin in Detroit at this point.

I had the pleasure of stopping in this afternoon with my husband and some friends. Our friends have been regulars since Roak opened, and I can see why.
Flight:
A generous sampler of six beers. I don’t recall the exact names, but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors.
I PA — a nice beer with grapefruit tones and not too much bite. I generally steer clear of IPA’s, but this was enjoyable.
Oatmeal Stout — yes, please. And yes, another.
Belgian — a solid choice if you like strong beer (which I do).
Blood Orange — an interesting flavor and a nice change from the stout. But, I prefer the stout ;)
There were two more, but I don’t remember what they were. Did I mention the stout was strong?
We ordered the veggie panini and Michigan salad to go. Yum. Yumyumyum.
The décor is cool and not at all weird. Looking forward to meeting our friends here again.

Awkward décor, but good beer. At first when you pull into the parking lot you see this nice patio with wood and metal elements and it looks like a great place to visit with friends over beers. Then you step into this large tacky room and your comfort is out the door. Tall ceilings, an over-​sized ugly chandelier, purple velvet curtain, large banners with dobermans on them, snakeskin wrapped around the bar. It’s tacky and ugly.
Lucky for them their beer is good. I read an article prior to their opening and they commented that all of their styles would be on the hoppy side and they’re right. Good for me, I guess. But even their amber and their wit had a hoppy element to them, something others might not appreciate.
We just stopped by for a sampler, served in a cumbersome platform, and didn’t have anything on the menu. Paninis, pizza, charcuterie. That’s what I remember. And not the most reasonable prices. $ 9 for pretzels, $ 24 for a charcuterie and cheese plate.
I think I’d be more apt to buy their beer in their store or stop by for a quick growler fill than actually visit this place again.