You’re likely to find co-owners Matt Estevez or Frank Rooney serving drinks. Matt was previously involved with the Depot in Sparkill and Frank with Noonan’s in Pearl River. They opened Oak Tree Inn as an affordable family-style restaurant.

We’re there for dinner. Beyond the bar area, encompassing about two-thirds of the interior, are two small dining rooms. Walls are pale yellow with green wainscoting beneath. Several attractive paintings are hanging on them along with a large chalkboard announcing daily specials. Fresh flowers are on most tables. Overhead, ceiling fans stand at the ready for the first warm day.

A number of the tables are occupied. We are immediately seated and checked on repeatedly throughout dinner. My husband orders a glass of Merlot; it’s good, the glass is full and it’s only $5. I order an old fashioned; it’s a bit weak on the bourbon and is $6. The menu lists lots of appetizers, a few soups and salads, plus a good selection of burgers, sandwiches and full dinners. There’s also a children’s menu.

We decide to go with the specials, which include BBQ ribs for $12.95, salmon cake for $11.95 and fish and chips for $12.95. I order the prime rib, which comes with a popover, assorted nicely-cooked fresh vegetables and roast potatoes for $15.95. My husband goes for sauerbraten, red cabbage and spetzel at $12.95. We have a choice of soup or salad. The food is good and the servings ample. By the time we leave around 8:00 pm the restaurant is full and the bar noise level has increased to a low roar.

Certain specials are offered each week. Mondays, chicken wings are 25 cents each. Tuesdays, kids eat free with an adult. Wednesdays is corned beef and cabbage, Thursdays fresh ham, Fridays fresh fish and chips, Saturdays and Sundays prime rib. Monday to Friday Happy Hour runs from 11:30am to 6:30pm with drinks $1.50 off. Beer is obviously the hot item; twelve brands are available on tap.

Bottom line, the atmosphere is pleasant, service is excellent, food is good and the prices are reasonable. Oak Tree Inn in Tappan is a welcome addition, priced below a number of expensive local restaurants. There’s parking in the rear and it’s open seven days a week. Give it a try. (Matt reports there can be a wait on Saturday nights so you might want to call ahead for a reservation; 845-680-6575.)

N.B. The building housing the Oak Tree Inn started life in the early 19th century as Barker’s farm. At some point it became a convalescent home then, in 1906, it was turned into Skinner’s restaurant which was a speakeasy during Prohibition. The Sullivans, with eleven kids in tow, bought the property in 1948 and turned it into the Tappan Inn. The family lived over the restaurant and in the barn behind where Patrick Sullivan, one of the eleven, now lives with his wife Kathleen. After Pat’s parents died, he ran the restaurant until 1988 then leased the building. Finn McCool's opened in 1989.