Barrington Steakhouse & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Halifax

Food was ok, service was interesting. However I highly suspect that both of these would have been significantly better had the staff, GM, and chef not been preoccupied with attempting to “assist” a belligerently drunk woman out of the restaurant for well over an hour. The whole dinner was she was yelling, stumbling around and walking up to random people at different tables to start a fight as well as verbally attacking anyone who glanced in her general direction. Sadly she was there with another adult man who at one point was accusing the serving staff of providing bad service while the woman attempted to crawl out of her booth having her 2 children desperately try to keep her in the booth while sobbing and begging the man to help them control their mom. She also grabbed and hit one of her children at one point causing the probably 8-10 year old to start screaming “let me go” and crying uncontrollably. Unfortunately, the staff’s response was way too little, way too late. The GM apologized to us towards the end of our 2hr dinner, which was appreciated. However, throughout the dinner the server offered jokes and attempts to lighten the situation and we were continually given non-stop refills on our wine during the entire debacle (without being told the pour size or pricing, and then casually handed a bill for whole bottle afterwards. I’ve been to many high end restaurants in different cities and have never seen this happen. Unless I’ve explicitly ordered a bottle of wine, i’m offered another specific sized glass of wine once the previous glass had been finished)

Which well, therein probably lies the problem. (This seemed to be the case for other tables experiencing this drunken situation around us as well)

As this whole thing unfolded there was another couple behind us that also had an overly intoxicated woman. Who struck and smashed a glass on the floor and proceeded to yell at and throw racially motivated comments towards another nearby couple who got sprayed with her broken glass while they tried to look at it with a phone flashlight. I should mention that the couple that were sprayed in broke glass, left without any staff realizing, as 30 minutes later their food arrive from the kitchen and the server had no idea why it was going to an empty table.

2 steaks, an appetizer, an unplanned bottle of wine and $300 bill later we’re left with a pretty awful taste in our mouths.

We went to 3 other establishments after leaving to try and find a fun place for dessert, and although it was late on a Saturday and downtown was filled with people drinking, the barrington steakhouse was the only place I felt unsafe.

I doubt we will ever return or that I’ll ever forget those little girls...

It took me a while to get around to this, but the experience was so memorable that I couldn't let it pass. We visited Halifax about a month ago - May 2023. In spite of our terrible dining experience, I've heard others defend the place. Even one of our 3-person dinner party that evening, a local resident, was surprised and said it's usually quite good. I guess we got them on the wrong night then, the weeknight B-Crew. The service & food were equally abysmal. The hostess was unfriendly, the waiter was a wise guy who thought he was funny (I wish he had been), and possibly 1-2 of the dishes we had between the 3 of us rose to the level of average (not the steaks). That's just not acceptable at their price point. We were 3 and spent about $500-600, I don't quite recall exactly. Only the wine was good.

Now I could drone on about the details far more than you'd care to read, but a picture is worth 1000 words. I will take a moment, though, to advise you against ordering the wedge salad. Unless you think a wedge salad is bibb lettuce, a boiled egg, and some kind of dressing I couldn't identify. If you do, then definitely order the wedge salad. The wise guy waiter was certain it was correct. It was at that moment I realized things were not going to get better and I should enjoy the wine. How this steakhouse classic could go so off the rails at a posh place like Barrington's, I can only guess. In hindsight, I should have taken a picture. But wait, I did promise you a picture. Check out whatever it was that arrived when we ordered another steakhouse classic, Creme Brulee. The over blackened top was hiding a blue surprise. I have no idea what it was, but it was disgusting. I think what bothered me the most was that they didn't think there was anything wrong. They were completely unaware of their incompetence. The last time I had an experience even close to this bad was in the height of covid, when you were lucky to even find...

Went here in mid November 2022 but only getting to write this review now. It was our 2nd time at the probably the best steakhouse in the city.

Firstly, I must mention that we came back due to the amazing service we received. The service at Barrington Steakhouse is second to none in Halifax. Everywhere else seems to always lack the professionalism, but this restaurant is doing everything right. Their waiters know exactly what each dish and beverage is, and are able to reliably answer any queries.

Now onto the food and drinks. We simply had 2 entrées and 2 drinks. My partner had the sangria that she described as the perfect concoction. I had a tropical fruit mocktail. I was pleasantly surprised to find 3 non-alcoholic drinks on the menu. All I wish is that there were more because my mocktail was that good! But living in Halifax, you take what you can get since there are not a lot of non-alcoholic options at restaurants. Most don’t even have a non alcoholic option on the menu. I ordered the striploin with fried, while my partner had the cigar tenderloin with whipped potatoes.

Both steak were done medium. However, my striploin was not as flavourful as I expected it to me. Maybe I should have gone for the rib eye instead. Surprisingly though, my partner’s cigar tenderloin was a lot juicer than mine. Must have been the way it was cooked. The whipped potatoes was exquisite. Great flavour and felt like a cloud when you ate it.

Price-wise, it is on the expensive side. Expect to spend at least $70-$80 per person. That’s the main reason for the 4 stars today.

All in all; my partner definitely made the better choice this time out. However, I could not have given any less than 4 stars due to the level of service. Will probably come back as a treat at least...