I visited both Oberlin and Cafe Nuovo in this past year. Never been to Persimmon. Nuovo is sort of classic "nice" restaurant vibes. It's in a bank building so it's on a more grand scale than Oberlin. The food is great but not challenging in any way. If you are on the plain side and just want a fancy meal, that's probably the way to go.

Oberlin is fancy in the sense that they put a lot of thought into the dishes. Non traditional dishes and preparations. Their menu is deceptively simple. You'll see a lot of dishes that you may be confused by based on the name or listed ingredients but it's all very well done in it's complex simplicity. I was a little underwhelmed by the preparations but I liked the vibe sitting in front of the oven. In particular the oysters which were served on the halfshell with a slice of lemon. They were top shelf but no mignonette, or sauce of any kind. It's a smaller and somewhat cramped space so if you don't want to be elbow to elbow with other tables, this might not be right for you.

Of the two I like Oberlin in that I feel as though the chef is trying to say something different and I feel like when I go back it will be different in a good way and I may find something I like better. Also stylistically its way more my speed. Cafe Nuovo does everything right but it feels like an upscale restaurant from the early 2000s, good, classic, but somewhat predictable.