The Barrel House Bar & Cafe — Restaurant in Coon Rapids

After a 10 day stomach illness I was about 98% recovered when friends invited me to dinner at The Barrel House. I was excited just to get out of the house, see friends, and eat solid food! I was glad they chose this restaurant because I had been wanting to try it. The front of the house was all female and they were friendly. The menu looked awesome with lots of things I wanted to try. But because of the recent stomach illness I had to take it easy, so I just ordered 2 eggs over medium, bacon, and toast. When she set the plate of food down I immediately noticed the eggs jiggled very loosely so before she even walked away I stuck a fork in the eggs and they turned into a soupy mess. I told her they are undercooked. After she walked away I picked up the bacon and it fell limp in my hand. It was rubbery and under-cooked. I could have tied it into a knot or even a bow with ease. So she brought me a new plate of eggs and bacon. It was cooked exactly the same way except this time the eggs were even less cooked. Even the whites were raw and very watery. She said "that's how we serve eggs over medium." I was kinda shocked, I didn't even know what to say. No cook/chef in the country would call those eggs over medium. In fact, I think they were under-cooked for over easy. She offered me something else off the menu but after being served raw egg soup not once, but twice, I kinda lost my appetite. And at that point just didn't trust the people in the kitchen to cook me anything. When the waitress told the cook I returned the dish again I heard him raise his voice with something like "I just re-made that!" I felt embarrassed. I felt like I did something wrong. I sat there with no food while my friends ate. One friend ordered her eggs over easy. Her eggs looked much like mine. She ate them with a spoon and said she enjoyed them. Another friend ordered shrimp Alfredo. She said she liked her food but ate less than half of it, and even though she boxed up her leftovers, she did not want to take them home and so didn't. That is very out of character for her so I doubted how much she actually enjoyed the food. My other friend ordered a kids meal and she enjoyed it. The service was good. They did not charge me. When I later told my husband that I returned food twice without taking a single bite he was shocked because he knows I am loathe to return food at restaurants. He actually gets mad at me sometimes because I'll just eat it instead of complain. But I couldn't do that this time. I was frustrated and embarrassed. I sat with no food while my friends ate. And even though I was polite about it, returning the food felt so incredibly awkward. I felt maybe everyone in the small restaurant who heard it all thought I was being difficult. Were I alone I would have just walked out, but I was in a social situation that lasted well over an hour. I was starving by the time I got home so even though he had already eaten, my husband took me out to eat at a decent restaurant because he felt...

This was our first experience in this restaurant. I truly do not want to come off mean but this is my honest impressions on my experience.

The restaurant was not the cleanest. The carpeted floors looked like they needed a good cleaning or, at least, vacuuming. The table we were at was also not clean (crumbs) but I just brushed them off. The menus smelled like urine. I'm not sure if a previous customer didn't wash their hands or something but it was very clearly a urine smell. They also gave another table a dirty knife. The couple had both ordered steak and required steak knives and when the server returned with the knives, one of them visibly had stuck food on it. I am not sure how the server missed it. The food was not flavorful. My husband got a burger that had hash browns, bacon, and egg on it and he added mustard just to taste something. I ordered the mushroom & Swiss burger and the burger was burned. The fries were like hospital fries and were completely unsalted or unseasoned in any way. I also overheard the staff talking about them running out of silverware and the restaurant was not nearly busy enough for that to happen. The table that received the dirty knife also had overcooked steak. One person sent it back and when they brought the new one it was still overcooked. Our server was ok but was very quiet and seemed overwhelmed. The prices were too high for the quality of food. They also show a picture of a burger with waffle fries but it is a $3 upcharge to get them. In my opinion, if the labor of creating waffle fries is worth $3 extra, do not offer them. For 2 burgers and one soda our bill was ~$37.00.

As for positives, none of the staff were rude and the server was quick to notice the need for refills.

This place could really use a new cook and a good cleaning service. The menu is promising which is why we chose to go here but, unfortunately, we were let down. I hope they can...

This transition adapted from the former Pappy’s restaurant to Barrelhouse has been successful and has retained a loyal clientele. In fact, it really adapted to striving to become a better restaurant experience overall.

On the restaurant side; folks are hard working and this can present itself as a bit understaffed if really busy. There might be a wait for seating or help with a pickup. So, if you’re in a hurry to get your pickup, you might have to wait 5 or so minutes. Bar side is sometimes similar, but, one can usually be seated and served promptly as well getting the called in pickup order tended to more quickly, but again, during games, bingo or events, they can get really busy, you might find yourself waiting a bit.

The food is diverse Americana with occasional twists of the south or a hearty fair incorporated into daily special's. I honestly have eaten here frequently, and have been hard pressed to have had a bad experience other than a take out order I called in getting the wrong item understood during a busy Sunday and needing to come back and rectify.

To which, I got great service by the staff if a mistake had happened - and compensated fairly. Very good treatment so I always come again. To find a complaint or any thing wrong, doesn’t happen often, but rather few and far in between - which means, mistakes, poor food quality and poor service occurrences are rare.

It’s a favorite for us to visit in the area. Prices are fair and portions are well thought out. Very hearty home type meals, bar food fare and then some. Definitely recommend. ( Even if they might think you a douchebag -you’ll still get served regardless )

Finding a parking spot can suck though if...