The Barley House Restaurant & Tavern — Restaurant in Concord

To start I have been to the Barley House many many times and I have loved it. The Food the service the drinks everything is always amazing. I do not know what happened. Last night I went with two friends for a girls night out. They had an advertisement on the table for these pineapple drinks so we all ordered them. The poor server had to come tell us that those drinks are for Saturday and that they cannot make the. We said ok and looked at the Spring Drink Menu and we picked something else again the poor server had to tell us that they did not have all the ingredients. So, we finally found something to order and got an app. Once we finished the app we ordered food I looked up and saw the poor server walking over to our table looking extremely embarrassed and defeated. The apologized but we ordered MUSHROOM Swisse burgers only to be told that they are all out of mushrooms. The offered to have a manager come talk to us we accepted. Because the GM that was there could not be bothered to help her staff. The manger came over who was the bartender asking what she could do. She only knew about the drink issue and had just come in at four and was just finding out about all the products that had not been ordered. Poor girl I said nope I would like to speak to the GM. The GM did finally come out I told her I was absolute discussed with her and the fact that she couldn't be bothered to come talk to us to begin with and left her poor server and manger out to dry. To have advertisements on the table that we couldn't even order. To which she replied I am removing them from the tables and printing a new bar menu now. I called her out and said no you have not shown your face once and you have your staff running around taking them off the table, after you told our server that they are there as conversation piece's. And then to not have mushrooms for the burgers this is crazy. She asked what we wanted to do. We said nothing and she walked away! Our poor server came back over, and we pray he did not get in any trouble this is not his fault. He asked what we wanted to do for food, we said we are all set we will take the check. He brought the check over and mind you the burgers never left the kitchen where on our bill. Not full price but at a discount. This all took place on Thursday May 29th around 5:30-6:00pm. I feel so bad for the employees as they are the ones affected by the GM lack Professionalism and care...

Meh. It was just OK.

While we were waiting for a table on a busy Saturday evening just before 5pm, I took note of the specials board. I also looked at the pictures of the menu here on Maps. Everything on the menu screamed "we're trying really hard to be trendy".

I said as much to my husband and that I hoped it didn't turn out to be one of those places that strives to look trendy over simply delivering well-prepared, good-tasting food.

I kept my reservations in check as I drank an OK "pomegranate martini".

My husband's curry fish and chips didn't have much curry flavor but the fish was cooked perfectly. My eggplant panini was ... boring is the best word I can come up with. The eggplant was fine. The breading was tasteless, the tomatoes, also tasteless. The bread was a non-event, as well as kinda soggy. Either way, even if it had all been fresh, this sandwich is lacking any actual flavor.

The fries are definitely commercial frozen stuff, which is fine if you get them freshly fried. My husband's fries were screaming hot ... mine were literally just warm and overly salted. It's clear I got the bottom of the old batch of fries and my husband got new ones. In fact, I think my entire plate sat for awhile.

I've worked in restaurants and eaten at plenty. I understand busy. I understand short-staffed. I also understand restaurants are all having trouble staffing right now.

And maybe they were just having an off night, but the menu choices and taste of the food just makes it seem like either there is no head chef at all (and the kitchen is just a few line cooks run by an ineffectual "kitchen manager") or the chef just isn't that great. I don't think anyone there has actually tasted these menu items in some time.

Note: I debated giving three stars based solely on our server. She was friendly, helpful, and efficient. She apologized for the fries - although it was clearly no fault on her part - and brought fresh ones...

After seeing that this restaurant is listed as one of the best in New Hampshire, I have to tell you that we were extremely disappointed with our visit. Our Server was nice, but the service was SUPER SLOW. —So glad that we had our cell phones to pass the time with games and Google News! …And to make matters worse, the people who came in long after us was served their food BEFORE we finally got ours!!! —SO Disappointing!

As for the food, the Chicken Tender Appetizer taste okay, but we thought that there wasn’t much for two people to share, especially for the $14 charge. My husband liked his McBarley burger w/Sweet Potato Fries, but my Bourbon Mushroom burger was way,way too salty. Again, small portions and not much for the money ($17 each). Pretty Disappointing! Needless to say, we passed on dessert. Oh well.

Lastly, if that wasn’t enough, the Server gave us the check and credit card that belonged to the people in the next booth over. Yes, the same folks who arrived after us, who barely waited for their food and who were about to pay for their food, leave and hopefully enjoy the rest of their evening. Good for them, but SO Disappointing for us as we still waited patiently for our check.

So, would we personally recommend The Barley based on this dining experience? …We’d say, No! —Poor value for the money and slow, mediocre service. Definitely should NOT be listed as a “best in NH restaurant” in our opinion. And quite honestly, I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is why we didn’t leave, but culturally speaking and based on my own past experiences, I can’t. Our dining experience was highly suspect for the way ‘less desirable’ guests are treated in some restaurants. Unfortunately, sometimes this is the sad and shameful reality. —Anyway, maybe it was their tavern/sports bar that...