Brick & Barrel — Restaurant in Bridgeport

Underwhelming, BUT….

I came here for dinner on a Saturday night around 7pm and after looking over their rather inclusive menu, my company and I ordered our food at 7:31pm. Pictured below is their “jerk” salmon and garlic Parmesan fries. My company ordered the Barrel burger (includes 1/2 lb party with onions, regular fixings, but NO CHEESE…very strange in our opinion). Although the salmon was flaky, juicy, and incredibly tender, it was obviously from a ShopRite freezer and never marinated. The “jerk” flavor came from a minute slather of oil and jerk seasoning most likely added while the fish was in the pan. Incredibly disappointing for an $18 plate, BUT…those fries? Baby THOSE were the best garlic parm fries I’ve ever had TO DATE!! The garlic was creamy and authentic and I could actually taste the Parmesan! They cost $6 and we’re worth every cent. My company reported that their burger was juicy, but we could both see just how small the patty was (it was smaller than the size of my palm and I am a petite woman).

The service was lacking-one of only two people were on the floor, both bartenders but only one taking orders and she was mostly on her phone not paying attention. The drink ordered was reported as being “good” but not anything to run towards. The ambiance is what drew me to this location and it doesn’t disappoint once inside. The small crowd of people were all cool and definitely a preferred bar crowd-not too loud but friendly and easily enjoyable.

Overall, I would not eat here again with the exception of their fries, but I would definitely come back...

Absolutely atrocious. Unfortunately, I will never be back. My barber is right next door, and I've always seen this place and wondered about it. I finally came in alone in my Chef coat, and was only there for an after work drink. All I wanted was a Cosmo with extra lime. A few minutes after I sat down, the bartender explained to me that he was slammed and would need a little while. Not thinking too much about it, I said "okay, no prob!" About 18 minutes passed before he came back to me and asked me what I would like to drink. I gave my order, and it took another 7 minutes for him to start making my order. All the while, he was running checks to tables, and literally taking shots with friends at the bar. By this time, I was about ready to walk out, until he started making my drink. My Cosmopolitan was made/garnished with lemon instead of lime, and because of the 30 plus minutes that I had already spent in the bar, I just wanted to pay and leave. Unfortunately, he wouldn't accept my prompt payment and had me wait an additional 10 minutes, so he could take my $20 bill and give my change. Needless to say, after waiting over 50 minutes for one drink, I did not leave a tip for the first time in my career.

PS... I only had a drink at the bar, snd no food. Keeping that in mind, I can't possibly give a star rating...

I drove from Long Island to Bridgeport to see Ghost at HHA. Had about an hour to kill and wanted to grab something to eat. Our original plan was to go to Grill II next door but it looked like they were hosting an event and it was absolutely packed. Maybe I’m just spoiled by the speed of NY’s restaurants, but the service here was horrible. The bartender was fine, apologetic regarding the wait time but the food took an eternity. Our meals came out one by one with 15 minute intervals between each dish. I waited so long that I asked for a refund of my last dish because they never made it. Also, they did not have most of the things we ordered, and we had to substitute pieces of our dishes for something else. Kind of annoyed I paid full price for everything....