Barrel & Crow — Restaurant in Bethesda

The food was decent, but the customer service was pretty bad. I went for brunch and it was pretty busy, but our server at the bar area was very attentive and nice. Our dining service was great! We ordered a couple of appetizers + some drinks and those weren't bad. The thing that stuck out to me, in a negative way, pertains to when we got our entrees. I ordered a breakfast burrito (added steak to it for an extra $5) and ate the first half of it. I thought it was good, probably a 7/10.

The real complaint I had was when I started the second half of it and bit into some eggshells. Not just like one tiny piece, but enough where when I bit into it, it broke into a whole bunch of tiny pieces. I understand how it could've happened, it was super busy at the time and the kitchen was probably trying to get a ton of food out in a reasonable amount of time. I notified our server and told her that I didn't feel comfortable biting into the rest of it since there might be more eggshell in there. She was very apologetic about it and grabbed the manager, who then offered to make another one. I accepted, but told them to go ahead and make it to-go since we were about finished. They give us the check and to my surprise, nothing was taken off the check or even discounted, which I thought was strange, but to be fair, I ate half of it and they made me a new one to take home. I thought they would be a little more apologetic about having a customer eating eggshells that were spit out all over their plate, but again, it was busy and I guess they were just trying to turn the place over to seat new customers.

The real kicker is that when I went ahead to eat the new burrito they gave me later on, it contained no meat. None of the steak (that cost about 1/3 of the entire burrito as an add-on) that they charged me completely for was in the remade burrito. Again, I would be more understanding if they just didn't charge me for the steak, but they did and then ripped me off after I had to throw some of it out due to their kitchen making my food inedible. I don't normally get this worked up enough to leave a review, but I feel like I got completely ripped off and it left a bad taste in my mouth. This was our second time here and the first time was awesome. Nothing to complain about. But this visit is making me reconsider whether I ever...

Great brunch spot with plenty of Southern hearty dishes and craft cocktails. The complimentary beignets were a bit dense, but we enjoyed them. Restaurant week wasn't much of a deal, entree + app for $19 with limited choices. We passed it up.

The pillowy soft gnocchi hit the spot! The luscious texture of the gnocchi comes from Parisienne - the same dough used for the beignets. The wild mushrooms, greens and pecorino cheese added nice flavor to those adorable dumplings. Although I'm not a fan of poached eggs, they were fun to try with the dish.

Skip the mimosa and get the Righteous and Wicked cocktail! It was so goooood that I got another round! All the ingredients blended really well together and packs a punch! The tangy grapefruit, pomegranate, and pamplemousse juices mask and balance out the rye whiskey and aperol. The mimosas are okay, but would go straight for the cocktail!

Belle de Brillet pear cognac is quite potent! Definitely a drink to pace yourself. Fun to try a few sips, but glad I opted for the Righteous and Wicked cocktail instead.

My friends enjoyed their more meaty dishes of chicken and waffles, hanger steak and eggs, and burger. No complaints.

I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of vegetarian dishes and tempted to try the veggie benedict and blueberry pancakes. Next time!

The best part was the service! When I went over discreetly to tell the server about my friend's birthday, he told me he already got it covered. Apparently, he picked up on one of my girlfriend's subtle hints which I wasn't even aware of or neither was she! The chef wrote Happy Birthday in chocolate sauce and placed a candle on top of the apple crisp. So thoughtful and sweet!

The apple crisp was quite tasty and the cognac caramel ice cream definitely had a nice kick! I took a small bite and my friend didn't spare a crumb.

Looking forward to bringing my hubby to a...

Food - Ordered the fried calamari which was good, except it came with "salsa verde" which tasted more like mayo (nothing from what salsa verde really is, except that was green). The grilled lemon on the side was a good touch. We also had the Duck tostadas, which had tamarind chipotle sauce that tasted more like bbq sauce! adding that sauce to confit duck cheapens the duck so much! It tasted like pulled bbq pork :( also, the "tostadas" were made from flour instead of corn, so I'm not sure you can call those tostadas, they're more like mini "buñuelos" - I think the concept of the food has good intentions and tries to be creative but fails to deliver. Food presentation - 2.5 stars. You can't try being pretentious with portion size/presentation when the plate is a bit dirty from placing the food, it's just messy overall. Paying attention to detail is everything!

Service - GREAT!! Everyone was so nice and attentive, they asked many times how we were doing and if we needed anything from them, good job on hiring qualified people.

Ambience - The inside has very poor lighting. I understand their industrial design concept, and while they achieved it, they should consider making it a bit more lively... we had appetizers and left soon, I don't know, it didn't feel cozy, just cold and dark. Gladly outside seating is available! My humble advice is add a bit more greenery, maybe umbrellas for each table or patio string lights and you will have people waiting in line to have a seat in such inviting terrace. You have the space! take...