The Barrel

Being about 9 months new to Oklahoma City, I was fortunate enough to have found the barrel within walking distance from my house. The staff is all fantastic and friendly with stand out professional bar tending ability from Martin and Jeff behind the bar.
The very first night I tried it out, I thought why not, I’ll have an old fashioned. Jeff delivered a masterpiece that evening and I cannot stress how perfectly that cocktail was delivered. The best part is that I receive the exact same cocktail from other bartenders as well. As soon as I walk in the door, that cocktail is already being made. I have had many other drinks from them over the past months, and every cocktail has been delicious and crafted with skill.
The food is far above average for a bar, whether it is an order of hot hand cut fries with dipping sauces or the salmon appetizer with the fried pita, capers, soft cream cheese tomatoes and onions.
If you ever make it there and you have a love for a good bourbon, do yourself a favor and order an old fashioned.

Popped over after having sushi at Neko for a couple beers. I’ve been here a few times, only for drinks — I have not had the food. Fantastic beer selection with many local options — so drink local! Good service and ambiance. Good TV setup, with one viewable from about any seat in the house — so good place to catch a game. Menu looked solid, will definitely work it into the rotation at some point. Brunch menu looked especially fun & tasty. Located in one of OKC’s better entertainment districts, so many other good spots are walkable.

Great food. Although it would have been better hot. Seeing as though our table of 6 got served 2 at a time with a 20 minute gap in between. Idk if it was the kitchen or our waitress. on the upside food is priced well and drinks are good.

Fantastic strawberry mimosa. Good for brunch with several options and a pretty solid happy hour. I haven’t tried lunch or dinner here so I’ll have to be back for that.
It looks much better than it did when it was Café Nova; more seating and open feel is a good upgrade.
The service is a bit slow, or was for brunch and happy hour, so don’t be in a hurry when visiting. Has a chance to move up in stars if other courses are as good as brunch.

I’ve visited this place twice, with completely different results. The first was great, I ate at the bar and had a few beers. The bartender on that day (blonde girl) was a real sweetheart, very friendly and helpful.
On my second visit, I was greeted by what I can only describe as a passive-​aggressive troll. Between that guy (red-​headed bartender) and his Asian buddy, who is either a regular or another employee, chit-​chatting and being dismissive, I’ll never come back. Don’t troll your customers, idiots.

This place is 3 stars all day long. There is nothing terrible about The Barrel, but nothing that I believe truly sets it above similar establishments.
I really liked the atmosphere and found it very welcoming. The staff for the most part have been polite on my visits, but there are a few bartenders that have looked me right in the eyes as I was trying to ask for another drink. Sure, I understand that I’m not the only person at the bar, but I think that being ignored 5 and even 6 times is a bit excessive. With that being said, the beer selection is quite nice, complimented with a host of local brews.
The Barrel has your standard pub food. I’ve only had a few bites on my visits and wasn’t unimpressed. Overall, The Barrel is nice for a few beers if you’re in the area, but I don’t think it’s somewhere that I would go out of my way to visit.

The Eggs Benedict was amazing! I am so in love. Also, the only place I have ever been offered a shot at 11 AM. Thank you to this staff for being so awesome!

Friday night drinks. We were sweet talked into this place by a crafty über driver who saw the opportunity to take us 7 miles from downtown and we were too drunk and weak willed to notice or protest. If you were born in the 80s you’d definitely appreciate the music. 90s hip hop and stuff from the early 2000’s. It really brings you back. Come here with a 21 year old though, and you might be swaying to the beat alone while fielding some awkward looks. Despite the good music, they don’t have a dance floor. FAIL! And the crowd was mediocre and not very interesting. It’s also not a huge place so you’re kind of stuck in a smaller area. This is probably more of a restaurant than a bar.

I think in my last review of The Barrel, I was a little generous. Granted, The Barrel had made a lot of improvements since my initial visit, but I’m putting them at a solid 3 stars because my experience has been drastically different each time I’ve been here.
Came for brunch with a group of 9 other ladies. The brunch menu was standard brunch fare. I wish I ordered the veggie eggs benny, because my friend’s looked delish, and my BYO omelette was sad, a touch overcooked, not fluffy, and pretty uninspired. The mimosa pints were A+, tho. Great idea!
What got me was that we came at 10:30 in the morning, right as they open, so it wasn’t too crowded. And yet, we were ignored for half of our meal. I literally had to call out for our server after she kept turning her back to us, took others’ orders (who came AFTER us), and the bartender who did see me (eye contact, dude) trying to get her attention ignored me. Oi. Coffee refills were few and far in between, and when my friend asked if *we* could get more coffee, the guy brought back 1 cup. Uhhhh, whut?
Not afraid to speak my mind (but dripping with sweetness and politeness, mind you. I was raised in the South proper, after all), I pointed out to a server (not our server, just someone who happened to chance by with a water pitcher) that for a large group, we were going a little too long in between drink refills, especially considering there weren’t very many people in the restaurant. Look, there were some grumblings in our group due to the service, but I like The Barrel so I wanted to, y’know, give them an actual chance to right the wrongs. After speaking up, our drinks did come a little more timely; however, service was still inconsistent as then it took a while to get our checks. You can’t have it all, I guess.
So there you have it. At this point, this is my 2^nd review update of The Barrel, and I have reached the conclusion that they are consistently inconsistent and to expect that. And at the very least, don’t bring a large group in again. Oh well.

Great food, great service! Our server had excellent recommendations: we ordered the artichoke appetizer, fried stuffed avocado, bacon caesar salad, sirloin, and reuben. Every bit was deelish! Laid back, hip atmosphere with fun music and perfect lighting.

My husband and I came here for dinner; we got the barrel burger and the chicken tenders and we were in heaven, to say the least. We will definitely be visiting again.

We had dinner here tonight. Not a large selection of beer on tap but a lot of bottles to pick from. Food was good. We both got Bangers and Mash. They do have a happy hour $ 5 menu also that was tempting. Maybe next time. Will definitely go back. We can see thus being one of our regular haunts.

I’ve dined here thrice now and every time has resulted in a bad taste.
My first venture here was shortly after they opened and my wife had a scotch on the rocks. This was not unusual, but when we collected our tab we learned that ice or an «on the rocks pour» was an additional $ 2.
My second dining experience here also had an issue with drinks. A French 75 is by no means a Gin Fizz with champagne on top. Easy fix, never order a cocktail here again.
So I tried again today for brunch. Three entrees, all three were cold.
Lesson learned, I will never eat here again.

Atmosphere/décor:5/5
The barrel has a nice new York pub feel to it. With red brick walls, wood furnishings, modern art, and low lighting, it has a nice ambience. They also have a pseudo — outdoor deck that is enclosed and has a small rectangular fire pit and continues with the theme.
Service: good. The waitress made sure to keep checking in on us and mare sure we had what we needed.
Food: okay. We got the blackened fish tacos, po nachos and seafood stew. Maybe we ordered the wrong things, but were not impressed. The tacos were good but kind of small but were only $ 5 on the happy hour. The po nachos are just basically ruffles chips with nacho cheese and ground beef. They were okay but for me it’s too much (grease, salt, meat). I think I just personally prefer regular tortilla chips if I’m getting all the fixings. The seafood stew was too strong and fishy for me. I know it’s mainly fish, but usually when I get fish dishes they have other flavors to complement better.
They have a lot of items on their menu and probably some of the other things are better. I think we probably just ordered the wrong things.

Not what I expected but looked good on the inside. I miss Café Nova but I guess this place will have to do! We had the chicken salad that was awesome. Great Bar space with TV’s to watch games and the bartenders were on top of things! Really great time!

Unfortunately, this place was something else and not in the good sense. This is only my 3 time to give a review on here and I feel it my public duty to do so.
Our poor waitress had at least 10 – 12 tables, no manager walking around, her kitchen ruining everything. We had a table of 8, 2 of which did not get their food, ever.
We didn’t complain once but it was clear to the waitress that we weren’t happy. No manager came, nothing was comped as it truly should’ve been since what was delivered wasn’t correct.
This place has great potential but the management will absolutely ruin it.

If you are coming for a quick meal with stellar service this is not your venue. The drinks were overpriced as they were charging $ 45 for mimosas made from $ 5 J Roget.
The food, however, is amazing. I highly recommend the shrimp and grits for a taste of South Texas with a kick. I grew up eating cheesy grits and these are not my grandmother’s meals, but they fit my flavor profile perfectly. The aroma was causing instant envy for the rest of my party of 20. The rest of the party’s meals looked wonderful and received high rankings.
From what I understand the service quality was not just because we had a large party, the service is always slow as they have a hard time keeping staff. I hope they can find some accountable employees soon as I would like to continue dining at The Barrel and receive the standard of service I expect.

Came here with a groupon… I should have guessed what I was getting my self into. Place looks very nice and trendy for OKC… Looks like a nice place for a drink… But food is just average flavor with an above average price.

I should really do a Unilocal meets groupon list or something as this was a groupon find… and a great deal.
Hubby and I went to the Barrel about a month ago and I’m just getting around to the review. Bad Jenny… bad.
I cannot remember what this place was before, but it is next to Sushi Neko on Western, near the Drum Room.
I love the space inside. The bar is in the middle, flanked by bar stools. There is a long communal tall table in the front, booth seating on the sides, and the kitchen is in the back. The wall between the kitchen and dinning area has a beautiful piece of art. It is the state of Oklahoma constructed out of wine bottles, bottom side out, and a beautiful pulsating heart light in the center. Amazing. The interior is warm and looks to be reclaimed wood.
This would be a great place for happy hour, early or late dinner. It appears they do brunch too. The staff was welcoming and attentive.
David and I were in the mood for burgers and had the other burger: bacon-​onion jam, smoked cheddar, sunny-​side-​up egg on a sweet bun with fries. The burger was medium well, the bacon-​onion jam really sealed the deal as did the perfectly runny, sunny-​side-​up egg. The sweet bun really cleansed the pallet for each runny delicious bite. The fries were the perfect delivery tool for the curry/​spiced ketchup.
I had the Manhattan and David had a beer… I can’t remember what type. The Manhattan was standard and strong.
The meal was wonderful. We were fat and happy, but then the waitress asked if we wanted desert. Well, we gilded the lily and ordered the brownie: warm soft brownie, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and… wait for it… bacon brittle. The bacon craze was something I never really was on board for… but this was damn good. Picture peanut brittle only with the nuts replaced by crunchy caramelized bacon bits… that’s right… bacon candy. … dropping the mic and walking away now.

Went to The Barrel last night and looked it up on Unilocal to see what others thought. I was really surprised to see it only had three stars. After looking over the reviews, it looks like they had some issues when they first opened last year, but some of the more recent reviews seem to indicate they’ve fixed a lot of their issues.
I have been three times and all three visits were very positive. The first visit was for a work happy hour and we ordered chips and fries with various dipping sauces and it was all very tasty. The various dipping sauces were fun and provided for some nice variety. They have a nice selection of beer and wine to keep everyone happy.
The second visit was for brunch with a Groupon. I ordered the Tomato and Bacon Sandwich. The name isn’t very inspiring, but the taste was out of this world! The «bacon» is actually pork belly making it much more flavorful than actual bacon. They serve it on toasted wheat berry, which helps to cut the sweetness of the pork belly. It’s finished off with a flavorful jalapeño aioli. My only complaint, there wasn’t enough aioli, but can be easily remedied by asking for more on the side. My husband ordered the Corned Beef Hash. He’s not normally a brunch fan, but he liked his dish so much that I think we’ll doing brunch more often. It was warm that Saturday so we sat outside on their patio and they rolled up the garage door walls. The service was great and the manager even came out to check on us and make sure everything was good with our visit.
Our third visit was last night. We had just come from having dinner with a friend so no food ordered on this visit. We sat at the bar and the bartenders are all very attentive and friendly. Tried a new shot called the White Gummy Bear and it is delicious! They have complimentary valet parking, which is nice. They close earlier than the bar does, but will text you when they’re closing up shop so you can come pick up your keys.
Overall, I like the vibe of this place and it’s a great addition to Oklahoma City!