RePUBlic Gastropub is One of My Kids Favs

RePUBlic Gastropub
5830 N. Classen Blvd. at Classen Curve
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone:  286-4577
Hours:  Sun-Wed 11 a.m-12 a.m.
Thurs -Sat 11:00 a.m -1 a.m.

Have you been to Classen Curve yet?

It’s the new place to be and it looks like nothing else in Oklahoma City.  My daughter thinks it looks like an airport terminal.

My first time visiting Classen Curve was my first trip to RePUBlic Gastropub (gastro short for gastronomy which means a cultured eating experience). The RePUBlic emphasis is on PUB, because the homey-good food you’ll get there is reminiscent of an Irish pub gone American.

Now, when you think of an Irish pub, you probably think wooden floors, bar stools and a darkened, belly-up-to-the-bar type of atmosphere. Not so at this pub.

This pub is a highly sunlit (during the day) ,high-tech, blow-the-senses visual when you first walk in.  You’ll see perhaps the biggest TV screen in Oklahoma city showing some sort of sporting event and it’s surrounded by a wall of beer bottles from everywhere you can imagine.  There are over 250 types of beer in all and if that’s not enough, many more on tap (as in I think 100+).

There are countless other flat screens as well, as you can tell my extreme sports-lover son’s expression, for next to us is a bubble retro wall filled with more flat screen TVs above each table.

This is the fun kind of place I love to take my kids…because, well it’s just cool, or as my kids would say, “sweeeeeeeeeet”!

I’ve been to RePUBlic now several times, and I have to say, I have not had a bad experience.  Their burgers are delicious, their appetizers aren’t run-of-the-mill, and I have always received great service.  I usually go during off- peak hours though, and my only complaint is that Sunday afternoon seems to be the best time to go for us, because if you try to get into that place during the week or at night, you will have a long wait!

But I think that in itself speaks wonders don’t you?

Now, back to the appetizers.

I’ve had a few at RePUBlic.  Today with the kids, we ordered the Homemade Pub Pretzel ($6.00).  For what Irish pub would be complete without one?

Oh my.  I’m just telling you, we all “oo’hed” and “aah’ed” over this.  The pretzel is warm and soft inside, and glossy and brown outside, with a sprinkle of sea salt, just like a pretzel should be.  There is a schmear of horseradish-laced honey mustard sauce on one side of the slate dish and a bowl of beer cheese fondue on the other.  My daddy raised me on horseradish so I went for the mustard while the kids loved the fondue cheese sauce (and even slapped the waiters hand for taking it away with the empty plate).  My daughter poured the leftover on her burger.

Look at the two kids trying to see who’s going to get the last bite of this.

I’ve also had the Republic Scotch Egg ($7.00) for a starter.

If you’ve never had a scotch egg before, it’s a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage and usually dipped in bread crumbs and deep fried.

Yeah, I know..heart attack on a plate right?

But it’s good.  If you like hard boiled eggs and sausage.  It came with a ground mustard dipping sauce and a nice little side salad and pickle.  I’m a pretty picky hard boiled egg person and I loved how the yolk wasn’t dried and hard as a rock…I prefer mine just done with almost a tad of softness to them.

I’ve also had the Vermont Cheddar and White Ale Soup ($3.00) which is very good and covered with croutons.

Moving on to the things RePUBlic seems to get the most attention for…

Their burgers.

The thing everyone loves instantly about these burgers are the pretzel buns with their x sliced across the browned top .

My kids both ordered the Classen Burgers ($7.00), which is their favorite.  The burgers at RePUBlic are made of Angus beef and hand-pattied each morning and served on those yummy toasted pretzel buns.  This one had cheddar, port-hickory sauce, lettuce, pickles and mayonnaise.

Sides must be ordered separately and this may be a deterrent to folks on a budget, because your burger cost goes up considerably if you order a side.  My kids are nutty about this one…the Elbow Mac & Cheese with Bratwurst ($3.00).

It comes served in a quaint, pub-feel, cast-iron, mini-crock and is what my daughter says “mac and cheese is supposed to be”.  It has chunks of bratwurst inside a creamy sauce and is topped with a breadcrumb crunch.  Delicious.

I enjoyed the Sea Salt Shoestring Fries (#3.00) last time I went.

They were crispy and sprinkled with sea salt.  Like I said, you can see how your $7 burger goes up to $10 if you want fries with it.   Still, good food sometimes costs a bit more right?

You may think you can’t eat healthy at RePUBlic, but today, I opted for the Rotisserie Chicken Salad ($9.00).  For the life of me, I can’t find where this picture went…I know I took one.  Oh well, another reason to go back to RePUBlic I suppose!

This was really good.  It had baby mixed greens with dried cranberries, and these amazing candied walnuts (which I could have eaten a barrel of) and was topped with pulled rotisserie chicken and a fresh and wonderful herbed vinaigrette.

And this is another salad I love…

I’ve also had this burger on a previous visit due to the hype I heard about it.  The Republic Burger ($8.00).  I’ve had Red Robin’s version of an egg-topped burger, but Republic’s version has a few cheeses that I love on theirs – Bleu and Gruyere and also a bacon-caramelized onion jam that was tasty.  If you’re looking for a giant slab of bacon, you won’t get that with this jam, but it’s good just the same.  The cheeses are nicely balanced, with one that melts beautifully, and one a that’s a little more pungent.  Then, the kicker of that fried egg oozing over all everything?

Well it’s just plain goodness.

For dessert, we had Meme’s Donuts (sorry cell phone picture).

As you can see, we enjoyed these as well.  They are cake-like donut holes that have been rolled in a spiced suagar and that come accompanied by three dipping sauces.  I believe the sauces were chocolate, salted caramel and raspberry, but not entirely sure.  I just know I could have tipped that little silver cup of the caramel sauce up and drank it!

Of notable mention, RePUBlic has a really cool patio where you can watch your favorite game while relaxing al-fresco if you choose.

No uncomfortable wrought-iron chairs on their patio, however, RePUBlic offers comfortable seating for your lounging pleasure.  And hello?  Nice TV’s as well.

If you’re looking for a happening place, where you don’t mind a little noise and technology, RePUBlic just might be a fun experience for you.  Try it on a Sunday afternoon when it’s not so busy…or take some friends on an evening when you don’t mind a wait.

It’s an OKC experience everyone needs to have.

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