ongoing

 There's something to be said for hip, new and trendy; and there's something to be said for an institution that maintains its high standards. That was the case recently when we spent a luxurious evening at the Oak Room - no one is hurried here - starting with a martini in the front room, with a jazz pianist playing. We entered the main room and had a sumptuous meal - steak, au gratin potatoes and spinach for me, swordfish and lobster ravioli for my fiance and we both were in heaven. The 30-foot high ceilings, Waterford chadaliers, the architecture, the ambience. All a world away from the chilly one we left in Copley Square.

We'll make no claims to be a "restaurant critic," one of those shadowy figures which every chef in the city knows by sight - but isn't supposed to. We identified ourselves to the Oak Room's general manager Ruben Estrada. We also had quite a chat with Pasquale Caruso, who went to culinary school in Sicily and ended up in the front of the room, as a server, rather than behind the scenes in the kitchen. Very much by choice. "I want to be in front of people every day," he explained. His history includes working on the infamous Achilles Lauro, which was taken over by terrorists. He got hurt, his face punched in. He also noted that the Sept. 11 terrorists who flew out of Boston dined the night before in the Oak Room with stolen credit cards. There's a twisted compliment in there somewhere. If you're going to have a last meal ...

"It's a very formal place," said Estrada. "People can get involved with the room. We want you to have a dining experience. We don't care about turning the table. Even though the servers are polished, they want to bring a personalized service to the table." They have 10 servers and 17 tables. (This would explain why Caruso picked up on our journalistic selves and told some stories - we encouraged it.) Estrada says that kind of service can quell any intimidation factor people might have about dining in such a classy place. They've entertained "all the socialites you can think of," says Estrada. "Gov. Patrick had his dinner here when he won the nomination. David McCulloch has been here, Adam Vinatieri, Keith Lockhart." Estrada says he has had to turn away NBA players who broke the dress code with their baggy blue jeans. (We wore straight, clean black jeans; they passed.) One of the players later wrote the company, and said "I've never been told 'no' in such a nice way."
Estrada says the breakdown between natives and tourists is about 60-40. He says he doesn't consider the Oak Room - downstairs in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel - "a power room." "They do like to have meetings here and impress their guest," says Estrada, "but no." The Improper Bostonian recently called it the "Best Hotel Bar and Most Romantic Bar." No arguments here. A sublime experience. Entrees are $26-$45 and a (large) martini will run $15. Open: Lunch 11:30 a.m.- 2 p.m. Dinner: 5:30 - 10 p.m.

138 St. James St., 617-267-5300 fairmont.com