Cask Strength Bar and Kitchen — Restaurant in Bakersfield

Met here with a small group of friends (7) because one of them really loves the chef there. Most everybody liked what they ordered, but we were frustrated (admittedly it was our fault to choose the place) because there were no paper menus, you MUST use The QR code on the table, The music was so loud that we couldn't hear ourselves think, and as the place got busy, ambient noise got way louder. Bless her heart there seem to be only one server, and she was running her butt off. They use a point of sale device for payment, and because of her sincere attempts to address all customers, two people of our party of seven managed to pay, and then she didn't come back to us for about 20 minutes. That single point of sale device is an extreme bottleneck. We will probably not return soon. The table tops aren't extremely large, but once you have a plate of chips and salsa and two Waters, in gigantic (24oz?) mason jars, there's no room left on the table. My meal was acceptable, one of my dining companions raved about their tacos. All in all a mixed bag of...

Quick Summary Drinks were good but inconsistent. Food was above average. But their major need for improvement is the way (I get being short-staffed during the pandemic, but they could get another body from their Zama staff next door).

Food- 4 stars We ordered the lamb chops, maple burger and cobb salad. The lamb chops were juicy and had good flavor. Maple burger was pretty good and the fries were double-fried, so that's always a treat. My girlfriend wasn't a big fan of the cobb salad, so would avoid healthy options here

Drinks- 4 stars I enjoyed my Cask whiskey sour and old fashioned, but one of my friends at the table received a whiskey sour that was missing the lime juice. That was the only flaw regarding drinks

Service- 3 stars The servers were really nice but they were understaffed. It took about 45 minutes to get our food and drinks were delayed.

Bottom Line Food was pretty good but avoid the healthy options. If you're willing to wait about 30-45 minutes to get food here, the food and drinks are somewhat...

My co-workers and I came here for dinner. Never heard of the place, and wanted to try somewhere new. We had amazing service from our waitress(s) and the owner, which was running around with his team since they were so busy. He was able to come by to check on us a few times (great dude). The chefs even stopped by and asked us how our meals were. We had it all............ Started off with some great drinks and amazing smokey old fashioneds, then apps. with the truffle fries, steak bites (highly reccomend), and mac n cheese, to the burger and filet mignon entrees. Topped it all off with a dessert of fried oreos with three different dipping sauces which left us wanting more. What an awesome place with exceptional service, and quality, craft food. This place is a MUST when your in town. Looking forward to seeing the team here again when...