The Barker Hotel — Restaurant in Mount Barker

I’m a brand new Mount Barker resident, and I was interested in trying out The Barker Hotel with visiting family. My group’s experience was mixed, and I feel the need to warn people that this is most likely not an allergy-conscious venue.

The food was good and the restaurant was nice, but despite the fact that we clearly communicated that two people in our party had serious food allergies (and that fact was entered into the ordering system), the food was delivered to our table with both allergens clearly visible right on top of the dishes. One dish also contained peanuts that were not disclosed on the menu — which we discovered AFTER notifying the staff of the allergy (luckily for the allergy-sufferer, there were clearly-identifiable peanuts in the dish when it was served).

On top of all of this, we also asked if any of the bread options were vegan (as they were not labelled as vegan or vegetarian, despite many other things being labelled VE/V/GF/etc) and were told that they were not — only to be served bread as part of a vegan-labelled hummus dish, which was very confusing.

The experience made both allergy-sufferers in the group quite nervous (and glad to have epi-pens handy), but in the end all of the food was fixed and nobody had a reaction. However, the fact that our allergies were clearly communicated and entered with the order (only to be ignored by the kitchen) means that I don’t feel that anyone with allergies can trust the food. Additionally, the staff not knowing what was and wasn’t vegan adds to my concern for anyone who has reason to care about the what specific ingredients are in their food.

UPDATE: I got a very thorough and appropriately-concerned response the General Manager, and the Barker Hotel is updating their allergen and dietary practices in response to my review. I wish all legitimate critical reviews resulted in positive...

Just had a great lunch here (Sunday afternoon) and it's become one of our go-to places for a lunch treat. The menu is combination of standard pub fare (schnitzels, battered fish, pasta) and some really interesting 'explorations' with a fusion of styles. I just tried the venison with parmesan polenta. The venison was lovely (a bit undercooked so ask the chef to burn it a bit more if you don't like reddish) but the polenta and salsa verde was unexpected and a real awakening for me. I think it was done with a fine-milled polenta, so like creamy mashed potatoes but with strong maize taste that goes with meat and green salsa tastes.

Service was quick and friendly. The bar staff seem to know a good amount about the various drinks on offer and they go out of their way if you have special quirky asks (it seems that dry martinis now fall into that category). My venison with polenta was on the expensive side ($35) of the menu but better value and quality than I would expect for a bespoke restaurant.

The background music was cool and didn't interfere with dinner conversation. Nice not to have to shout across...

Went for dinner that was booked the thursday before easter, they didnt even have the name written down and i made sure to ring them 2 times before to check its defiantly booked. The girls were rude as hell when i asked simple questions. Service and food was very average and then didnt listen when all 6 of us asked the kids meals to come out the sametime as the adults. Kids meals came out 30 mins before the adults so the kids complained of being bored while having to watch the adults eat. When asked why the food for adults wasnt out i got a rude girl snappy saying " its really busy so it will come out when it does". Waste of money and the 15% surcharge for a saturday before easter public holiday was not worth going there. The servers have no respect and shouldn't be working with customers if they cant answer a question without being a rude immature child about it....