Barred Owl Butcher & Table — Restaurant in Columbia

The egg nog cocktail is like Christmas in your mouth all year long! And the Yasss Peche cocktail is so fresh and refreshing. Oh the food? To die for! So delicious, the meats are the star here.

Update Aug 6 2021 5:45pm Jacob was our waiter. He was marvelous. Charming, funny, knowledgeable. He gave us terrific information about the products, made excellent suggestions, and responded with care to an issue we had. (See below) My friend and I decided to do a meat sampling meal since it is a butcher shop. She has eaten here about a dozen times and always raves about every item. I have been here once before (see earlier review) Our order: Pork Rillette Hand pie $8 Albondigas $12 Mixed Grill $32 205day dry aged 10 oz Wagyu ribeye $67

Hand Pie- hands down the Star today. We discussed buying them in bulk and freezing them. Jacob says they aren’t always on the menu, FYI. Beautifully baked crust. Flaky, buttery & tender pie crust felt like a croissant in my mouth. Great ratio of crust to filling. Filling was generous, not soggy but moist. It held together well and was the perfect vehicle for the pepper jelly, which is delightful and just the faintest hint of spicy. Overall it was so flavorful, balanced, and well seasoned that I would return and order two of these and a shrub and make it a meal. Albondigas: meatballs with Spanish flair. These are wagyu meatballs. Boy are they tender and savory! Nice portion size for a small plate, enough to share. Notes of cumin, olive, and salty cheese play on a platform of chunky, garlicky marinara. The roasted bread is sturdy…and a little tough. It’s an afterthought. The meatballs stand alone here. Mixed Grill: this was an exciting dish! The Maple Grilled pork chop was Seared to perfection. Gorgeous grill marks. Seasoning was on point. It was juicy and glistening when cut. The chorizo is delicious, not as spicy as more traditional preparations, but still flavorful. The Butifarra Negra was a delightful adventure for the senses. A black blood sausage is in dark contrast to the striped white pork and orange chorizo on the plate. Seasoned with Catalonian spices, and clove it tastes like my moms stuffed peppers and Christmas in my mouth. Sadly we could only eat the ends because the center was cold, squishy and uncooked. As a microbiologist and a person who loves black boudin, I know a raw blood sausage can be dangerous. This was foreshadowing our final issue. The 205 day dry aged 10 oz Wagyu Ribeye: This is the priciest item on the menu and we thought it would be the perfect finale for our meat bonanza. It was disappointing. Now we too thought that maybe we were hyping it in our minds so we sat back and analyzed the issues from a logical perspective. The price point on the Wagyu ($67 for 10oz) told us the grade was going to be lower. We’ve sampled the Wagyu at other restaurants and paid hundreds for premium cuts. Also, the menu would have stated if it were grade A or Prime. So when the steak was a bit tough to cut we knew we could expect less marbling or at least a less even distribution of fat in the muscle. We ordered the steak medium rare. It arrived very rare. Like it just kissed a skillet and had no crust on the outside. It was red, cold, and fleshy edge to edge. I returned it. Jacob was very helpful. When it returned, it was clearly just dropped in a pan and left on one side as it was cooked half through on one side and raw at the top. Ok, well someone on the meat station is clearly struggling. Undercooked sausage and this unfortunate failure suggested there was an issue in the kitchen. It should still be tasty, right? Not exactly. We tasted black pepper, but no salt. At all. It was very flat and didn’t even have a meaty flavor. ??? Like what? The marrow on top had no flavor either, it felt more like a blob of tallow than bone marrow. (I’ve had marrow at other restaurants and it’s beefy). There was also a flavor that we couldn’t put our finger on, but I thought it tasted like pencils. This is the highest priced item on the menu, save your money and buy more hand...

Celebrated our anniversary a little early with a night in Columbia, including dinner at Barred Owl! This spot came recommended and did not disappoint - solid bar menu, cozy vibe, and delicious food!

We started at the bar while waiting for a table; we did not have a reservation, but dined in on a week night (so assumed it would be slightly less busy than a weekend). It was going to be 10-15 for a table, but the hostess said we could sit at the bar and grab a drink until a table was ready.

The bar was gorgeous to look at (made a great photo back drop!) and the menu was extensive! Lots of wine options - bottle and glass, basically any classic cocktail, and a selection of speciality cocktails. I had the pitter patter - a seasonal drink that seemed to be a play on a whiskey smash with citrus/egg white twist. It was fabulous! My husband had an old fashioned. He asked the bartender for his bourbon recs - he knows his preferences, but loves seeing what others recommend. He ended up with a four roses select. We definitely would have had a good time just staying at the bar and chatting with the bar tender.

We did get seated fairly quickly after our drinks were served and took in the menu. It was different than online, but some amazing looking choices. We opted to share a few things, picking an app, a small plate, and an entree. Our waitress had it brought out in phases rather than all at once, which we appreciated.

Our appetizer was the milk and honey rolls. The bread was fresh, with a good crust on the outside and soft and warm inside. The fresh butter was perfection on the toasty buns, and the honey butter was easily our favorite. Our next course was the gnudi, a cheese dumpling (fancy cheese curd) and was delicious with the autumn sauce and balsamic drizzle. Our main was a porterhouse; it was so tender with a good bit of seasoning to the outside. It was served with some potato, peppers, and a few slices of sausage. We also had a side of the mac and cheese because we can't resist anything with Hemme Brother's cheese. Overall this was a perfect amount of food for us!

Ended up splitting a dessert, which was an eggnog creme brulee. It was so good, with the flavor notes of eggnog without tasting like straight eggnog - which is the impression we got from the menu (my husband doesn't like eggnog, but liked this). It also had two sugar cookies on top - a little 'bonus' dessert!

Overall an amazing space and a delicious meal! They had colorful lights strung up for the holidays that added a fun bit of cheer to the space. Our server didn't check in a ton most of the meal - there were several larger parties - but we also didn't mind as we were enjoying an anniversary date. There was hardly an empty table the entire time we were there. With bar seating, and groups of 2 up to 10, it seemed to be a popular spot. Seemed to be a small patio too, which would be fun in...

This restaurant is so detailed-oriented, and has staff that is so well-trained — it will provide you with a coordinated experience from your appetizers, to when your wine is delivered, to making sure your water glass is not empty, to including biscotti with your dessert when you order coffee- coming from a major Metropolitan city and food Capitol such as Cleveland- The Barred Owl is unmatched. Let me just describe my experience: the Butcher Board is so varied in complexity with color and taste- cured meats, pickled vegetables, mustards and pates that your own inner Gastronomy awakens and comes alive; the Cucumber Gazpacho with Corn confetti was not only seasonal but both creamy and soothing with a flirt of crunch again continuing your path to umami; the Rabbit Confit course was my Plats du Jour- the saltiness crunch of the green beans, the earthiness of the reductive oyster mushrooms, and the squirt of au jus that lathers your rabbit legs in a succulent sauce paired with the Yakima, WA Lone Birch Dry Riesling was utter perfection; and finished with Mocha Pot du Creme and Coffee that satiates your heart & soul in chocolatey comfort. I must also shout out to the curator of their wine selection- this restaurant gets it right- wines are varied from around the US and the World - not just from regions like France and Sonoma County (which are not to be disparaged) but your selection at the Barred Owl challenges you to try something different- Granache blends and peppery Tempranillos from Spain; Dry Vinho Verdes and Rieslings from Portugal and the Pacific Northwest- I can rest assure you this restaurant at some point will provide you Chenin Blancs and Pinotages from South Africa, a Sancerre from France, or a Tannat from Uruguay. I love everything about this restaurant- it is comparable to a fine museum with an exquisitely curated exhibit - that only delights and feeds your mind and stomach with an...