The Half Barrel

Second time stopping in for lunch during a Mayo trip. The fries have a wonderfully weird shape and are awesome.
The Reuben is perfect and worth the trip alone. I like this place.

Nice change of pace for Rochester. I had the barrel burger and it was very good. Would be a good place to go off you like to try different drinks they have a lot to choose from. Nice pleasant comfortable atmosphere.

Do you like whiskey? Look no farther. Half barrel has something like 400+ whiskeys, bourbons, and scotch.
Don’t like whiskey? Cocktail offerings are lovely and the beer selection is good. I had a Surly Furious on tap which I had never had before but enjoyed immensely.
The spinach artichoke dip is very good and my dining partner and I enjoyed our flatbreads.
Minus one star for the ice inside the windows that made our booth very cold.

First time in Rochester and used Unilocal to find a place. So glad I did. They had about a 20 minute wait, so my wife and I sat at the bar for dinner. The whiskey selection is like none I have ever seen. Was able to try some that I have been wanting too, but have been unable to find. Bartender service was attentive, friendly and very informative of various whiskeys they have. Will defiantly go back.

Nice restaurant in downtown Rochester. The food is well prepared and the service is friendly. We tried the Reuben, a cooked to order burger and the seafood special and all were very good. Service was friendly and efficient Dessert was great too.

My fiancé and I went here for New Years Eve dinner. Loved the environment, cocktails, and food was pretty good, but the restaurant was FREEZING. There were plenty of tables in the back further away from the door but they didn’t want to move us because it would «mess with the servers,» so that was somewhat frustrating. Thus, we left earlier than we would have had we been more comfortable. Would still probably come back at a different time and try to sit further away from the door. But in Rochester, MN, restaurants should know how to keep their place warm in the winter!

Great atmosphere and a huge variety of whiskeys. A group of us shared a number of flights. Other cocktails were excellent. Food, not so good. The small prime rib slice was really really small and when I commented it looked way more cooked than medium rare the waiter told me the cook had browned it on the flat top before serving (???). Never heard of that before. It tasted like they’d pulled it out of the cooler and warmed it up but it was still cool in the middle of that very thin slice. Definitely did not taste like it was cooked that day. The veg had great flavor but wasn’t quite warm either. The Mac and cheese side was the best part of my meal – it was excellent. I’d recommend going for drinks but get your food elsewhere

Just stopped in for a quick Fulton beer, very cold, very nice beer, the place was clean and immaculate, very expensive environment feeling but the beer was priced good. I didn’t have time to try any of the food out but will next time. The Bartender David was great, very friendly and polite!

A singular experience. We thought we knew a fair amount about whiskies and that is what made us interested to visit the Half Barrel. But the selection here was at least 400 whiskies. ??? We never knew.
And the owner, Chris, figured out our «palettes» very quickly. As a result we were treated to an entirely new set of tastes. And the culmination was his own version of an Old Fashioned that smells and tastes like the best Christmas ever.
Oh, we also have an amazing beet salad and walleye fingers that are as good as we have ever had.
Our congratulations to those of you who live nearby (we don’t). This is something you should not miss.

Welcoming. This place has class and is in a great part of downtown Rochester. Looking for whiskey? They have 400+ to choose from. Not interested in whiskey? They are bold in their selection of taps and other fine craft brews. Make sure you grab a bite as well, they are one of the best places to eat, chill and enjoy overall nightlife in Rochester.

Favorite spot downtown with a balanced selection of well crafted cocktails and beers. Favorite food picks include the barrel burger with the fries (second to none in Rochester !) as well as the flatbread pizzas. Their steak salad is delicious.
Oh and the whiskey, by far not an afterthought. Best selection in town.

Great service and the food and drinks are better than I expected they would be!
Highly recommend the Knobs & Hollers (whiskey cocktail) and the Mac & Cheese.

Came here for the second time. I had a nice experience. The food is good. Loved the flat breads and hummus that comes with delicious fried pita pieces– yum! I ordered a steak salad, which was good. The décor is rustic and trendy, with loud music. Their patio is gorgeous though we sat inside. The service was a little slower on a Saturday night, and my water didn’t get refilled the whole 3 hours we were there. Maybe it was just a busy night. Nonetheless, I’d come back, and hopefully even up my rating.

So much yes. Our server, Angel… was an angel :)
Food and service are always outstanding. I had the steak, friend had the ravioli… Both were awesome! I’ve had the pork pinwheel as well, very tasty! Plus, they have WHISKEY FLIGHTS. you can’t go wrong.
Highly recommended.

Amazing wait staff. Our waiter, Dave, was quick to give suggestions or to describe anything on the menu or the from the bar. Despite being extremely busy for Thursdays First & Third, our drinks were never empty and we were checked on constantly.
For Appetizers, we had the Spinach and Artichoke Dip served with fried naan and some grilled peppers (not on the menu). The dip was amazing! You must get this dish. The naan was crunchy, the dip had fresh mozzarella melted on top, and it just really hit the spot.
For the main course, we split the Duck Confit Flatbread. It was good, but it couldn’t compete with the appetizer. For $ 13, we felt it was a tad small and we would have preferred getting another Spinach dip (yeah, it was that good).
For drinks, we tried many of their beers on tap. My wife loved the Dragon’s Milk and I was a fan of the Old Dirty Bastard. Both were extremely dark beers and the Dragon one was aged in Whiskey Barrels (which fits with the restaurants concept). They specialize in Whiskeys and offer some great flights if you’ve never tried them. However, we know the type of Whiskey we enjoy (Rye) and had a hard time buying a flight for the same price as a bottle. I tried one of their mixed whiskey drinks and really enjoyed it, but, be warned, their «drinks» are about the same size as a shot. Great for sipping, but rough on the wallet if you want more than one.
Overall, we enjoyed the restaurant. It is particularly great for Thursdays First & Third. One of the stages is right out front of the business and you can sit outside to the side of the stage. However, it’s a tad on the expensive side for regular dining.

Seriously, this is my new favorite restaurant. I always, always get the amablu chicken sandwich with sidewinders. I once ordered the pear and walnut salad and also though it was absolutely delicious, I had complete food envy for my friend’s chicken sandwich.
The sidewinder fries are incredible — moist, flavorful, and the perfect blend of french fry, potato wedge, and seasoned fry. I don’t even know how else to describe it. They are the perfect food. The chicken amablu sandwich is incredibly moist chicken breast, bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, and tomato — the bun is perfectly toasted, the flavors meld together beautifully, and it simply melts in your mouth. I salivate just thinking about it!
The beer selection is fantastic, the flights of whiskey look super cool (I’m not a huge whiskey fan so I’ve never tried it personally), and the staff are just so friendly.

The food menu is not huge but it has nothing but good things on it. The service was very good and knowledgeable also.
This is not called the half barrel because of the food though. They have the largest whiskey selection around and the owner/​bartender knows a lot about whiskeys and manages to get some rare ones in stock from time to time. There are several carefully curated whiskey flights available so you can try samples of several whiskeys at one sitting.
I had the Japanese whiskey flight of Nikka 12 & 17, Hakushu 12, & Yamazaki 12. I really liked the slightly smokey Hahushu.
My wife had the walleye with a side of what may well be the best Mac and cheese I’ve ever had. The homemade tarter sauce was also a standout. I had a 10 oz New York strip that was grilled to perfection with a really good butter and lemon sauce on top.

They are trying but need to work on execution! I was stunned to discover several new places to try during my most recent visit to Rochester. The Half Barrel is where I ended and decided to eat due to the interesting food choices on the menu. This is a whiskey bar it seems and if you love whiskey stop in and have a flight — Yes you can get «flights» of whiskey here.
I opted for a pink squirrel martini drink and it was delicious but expensive at 10.00 and my server had a ton of trouble that night so I did not mention that he forgot to take the 1.00 of for the Happy Hour. I was just happy to finally get a somewhat accurate bill– Because the first one he brought to our table had 20.00 worth of items on there that we did not get. So I am glad that I did not get too tipsy to review that.
My server had a great personality but was struggling a tad. My friend got the pear salad and I am posting a picture it had three very thing strips of pear on top and a few bites of bad lettuce. That should have never left the kitchen.
My burger was alright and had a good smokey flavor. The risotto bites where delicious and the mac and cheese was okay. My friends Rueben was dry and when they ordered coffee it was not even hot – barely warm — Again the cold coffee should have been noticed by the person bringing it to the table or pouring it.
You want your beginning of the meal salad to be cold, crisp, delicious, and pleasing to the eye and the end of your meal dessert with coffee to be leaving a fabulous warm feeling at the end of the night.
This place seems to have a lot of five star reviews by Unilocalers that only have one review so the rating does not seem to be accurate.

A must try in downtown Rochester! Stopped in for a weekday lunch with a couple coworkers and all three of us were impressed. They did a great job renovating the space — love the tin ceilings and pulley fan system!
The food was delicious! Two of us got flatbreads, and another a burger. I can’t wait to come back to try even more!
Friendly helpful service too! Will definitely be back!

High quality tastes and service! This place is nice to have as an addition to the downtown scene. I’d give it five for effort, but the execution didn’t quite hit on all cylinders the first couple of times in. We’ll call it «working out the kinks» for now.
Very tasty menu. Reasonably priced for the quality/​portion ratio. Great draught variety. Holy whiskey variety! I LOVE the concept of whiskey flights, but who can drink 4 shots of the hard stuff and function? Even splitting seems difficult… I’d suggest a third of the liquor and a third of the price on those. I love to sample, but I’m not out to get trashed.