District 21 - Oklahoma City

We always make it a point to visit this restaurant whenever we're in town. The steak is consistently amazing. Thursday nights tend to be much less busy. Last week was the first time the students made a mistake with our orders, but we didn't mind at all. The prices are incredibly low, they are still learning, and considering we’ve been here over 20 times, two mistakes is really not a big deal at all. We’re more than happy to overlook it. This place truly is a hidden gem!

District 21 is operated by culinary students from Francis Tuttle VoTech, offering themed menus that change every two weeks. During our visit, we enjoyed the Italian menu, which consisted of a three-course meal: appetizers, a main course with about five entree options, and dessert. The students did an excellent job with the food! All tips contribute to a student fund, so be sure to make a reservation in advance!

However, there were some significant drawbacks. The most notable issue is that they do not serve alcohol. While not everyone drinks, I personally enjoy a good beer with my steak, and I believe many people prefer wine or beer with fine dining. The drink options were quite limited; they only had sweet tea—no unsweetened tea—and the other choices mostly consisted of sodas and lemonade, none of which really suit an upscale dining experience. The waiter mentioned that alcohol couldn't be served because the restaurant is part of a school, but I’ve been to other culinary school restaurants, like Platte College, that had a full bar menu, so this explanation seemed lacking. When our drinks arrived, we received a glass of ice alongside a can of Coke. I know this might come off as picky, but considering the fancy table setting and the patrons dressed nicely for a gourmet meal, a Coke can just didn’t fit the mood and disrupted the ambiance. Regarding the salad, it was labeled as an avocado Caesar, but it consisted of a wilted piece of romaine lettuce with a minimal drizzle of what might have been avocado sauce. It felt like we were just eating raw crunchy lettuce, which was quite disappointing. Now, onto the main courses. The ribeye steak was phenomenal, as I mentioned, and the mashed potatoes were well-seasoned and delicious. I usually don’t care for Brussels sprouts, but these were fantastic! They were beautifully charred, well-seasoned, and cooked with bacon and onions—very impressive. My wife ordered the chicken piccata, which was served in a caper sauce with saffron rice and heirloom tomatoes. It was quite good, though the sauce was a bit too salty for my taste. The rice was plain but balanced the other flavors nicely, making for a well-executed dish overall. Unfortunately, dessert was a letdown. The options were rice pudding and strawberry empanadas. The rice pudding was topped with mango and grapes, but I found it lacking in flavor. In summary, while the main dishes were impressive, several aspects of the experience fell short of expectations, especially given the restaurant's upscale appearance.

The atmosphere was fantastic, the food was exceptional, and it offered great value as well.

We had a pleasant dining experience at District 21. The food was tasty and reasonably priced, and the dining area was pleasantly quiet—no need to raise our voices to chat with each other. The only downside was that the service was a bit slow, and there was an unexpected shouting match filled with foul language between the staff and chef. Despite this, we plan to return, as we had an enjoyable evening, and we assume that the argument was an unusual occurrence.