Stock & Barrel — Restaurant in Dallas

I want to start by saying that I’m a huge foodie with experience opening multiple hospitality concepts, and I’ve worked in nearly every role in a restaurant. I understand how challenging this industry is, and I generally avoid writing reviews, knowing that restaurants (and staff) can have off nights.

That said, my family of three decided to try Stock & Barrel for my birthday. I wanted something delicious and low-key, and based on the reviews, this place seemed like the perfect fit.

We were warmly greeted with a smile and asked if we were celebrating anything special. When we mentioned it was my birthday, they acknowledged it, which was a nice touch. After being seated, we were told our server, Matt, would be with us shortly.

Matt arrived, introduced himself, got our water, and gave us a moment with the menu—standard but appreciated service. However, as the meal progressed, it became clear that he was just going through the motions. His responses to our menu questions were vague (everything we asked about was “great”, and his tone lacked engagement. We explained that we like to order multiple shareable plates and a couple of entrées to get a well-rounded taste of the menu, but the interaction didn’t feel particularly welcoming or helpful.

What We Ordered: Malfade – Very good. Fresh flavors with a slight acidity but still well-balanced. Braised Ribeye Cigars – Not good. The meat smelled and tasted off—like it was going rancid. The accompanying sauce didn’t pair well either, making the dish feel disjointed. They did remove this from the bill, which I appreciated, but Matt followed up with, “Oh, they use warm spices like allspice—that’s why it tastes sweet.” While I respect a server trying to educate a guest, his tone came off as dismissive. I’m more than familiar with warm spices like allspice and cloves. While maybe the meat wasn’t going bad, it definitely didn’t taste like that due to those spices. Salmon Tartare Tacos – Not for me. The salmon was inconsistently cut, with some large chunks making the texture unbalanced and difficult to chew. There was also far too much mayo, overpowering the dish. Short Rib Empanadas – Excellent. The dough was flaky but light, and the filling was tender with a great cheese-to-meat ratio. The chili chimichurri served with it was my favorite thing in the entire restaurant—I’d buy bottles of it. Wagyu Brisket & Short Rib Burger – Very good. Cooked to a perfect medium, served on a fresh bun, and incredibly juicy. The fries were hot and crispy. Hanger Steak Frites – Also very good. The steak was cooked perfectly, tender with every bite, and the sauce was rich and savory. I added the chimichurri from the empanadas for an extra layer of acidity and heat, which elevated the dish.

Service Notes: -After Matt brought us the initial bottle of water, we never received a refill, and we had to pour our own glasses each time. I noticed the other two servers in the restaurant being far more attentive to their tables, consistently refilling water. I don’t mind pouring my own, but I do need a full bottle to do that. -When we asked for recommendations, Matt’s answers were generic, and he didn’t seem particularly knowledgeable or engaged. As a server (at a highly rated establishment as this), the goal is to elevate a dining experience by offering insight into the menu and tailoring suggestions based on guest preferences (or even upsell opportunities)—we didn’t get that here. When it came time to check out, Matt brought the handheld machine to the table and literally hovered over my shoulder the entire time I was selecting a tip. It was incredibly uncomfortable and felt like unnecessary pressure.

Overall, the food had some good moments, and the space itself is inviting. However, the service felt lackluster, which dampened the experience. I wouldn’t completely rule out returning, but based on this visit, it didn’t quite live up to expectations, especially for a birthday...

Was excited to try this place after the Michelin buzz! Unfortunately, we found our dinner to be a disappointing experience. After perusing the menu online, we had planned to order, among other things, the brisket cigar appetizers and the braised shortrib entree. Our server greeted us, announced the day’s specials, and took our drink orders. It wasn’t until we were ready to fire off our food order that he mentioned that both the brisket cigars and shortribs were sold out. This was 7:30 on a Saturday night! He mentioned the restaurant regularly runs out of these items by this time during service. That’s something that the website should note and something we should’ve been informed of immediately. (Ideally, that might also be something the restaurant orders more of, but I realize supply and finances could be a limiting factor here. Still, there were multiple opportunities to inform us of this, and it’s bewildering that our server was so unbothered and unapologetic about this issue.)

Another thing we found a bit confusing was, when we told our server we were torn between a few appetizers, he responded not by listing the qualitative aspects of the dish but by telling us how often it was ordered. “The wagyu meatballs are our top seller” is a good plot point, but it’s not ultra effective in describing what the dish is. That’s one of the perks of fine dining, being guided to a knockout dish you didn’t realize you were jonesing for by someone with an extensive knowledge of the menu. That wasn’t our experience here.

For apps, we had the meatballs, mushrooms, and Brussels. Mushrooms were overly oily and fried, but Brussels and meatballs were good. For our mains, we ordered the salmon, which was tasty, and the cacio e pepe and fried spaghetti. Both pasta dishes were meh: they were boring and underseasoned. We had to ask for salt, which happens, but given our bland pastas, this restaurant should probably leave salt and pepper on the table, not make patrons have to ask for it. The shrimp accompanying the cacio e pepe was merely grilled, an afterthought, something you’d expect from a side order or something to throw on a salad.

Also, this is hardly the biggest issue, but the menu features a ton of misspellings! (Malfade? Madiera? Poirve?) Gives the impression of sloppiness and inattention to detail. Run that baby through a quick spellcheck.

Not the worst meal I’ve had but, for the money, was expecting a higher level of service and more interesting, imaginative, better executed food. Cocktails were good, but this was an overall forgettable experience.

I don’t typically leave negative reviews, but I felt compelled to after seeing the way the owner reacts to negative online reviews with snark and name-calling. It’s off-putting and very unprofessional. Wish I’d been aware of that before booking this...

We went to Stock and Barrel around dinner time. This is an Americana type restaurant. They are a mid-level restaurant (cost and decor wise). They tend to have smaller portions as they emphasize quality or quantity.

While the food may be a bit smaller than your typical lower cost Americana restaurant, the food itself was good. Cocktails ranged from $10 - $15. I tend to like the sweeter side for cocktails, but I don't think they quite hit the mark for me; while my friends seemed to enjoy theirs.

Instead of each of us getting a full entree, we ended up getting appetizers instead, which we all shared. This may have been a mistake as I was hungrier that I initially thought. One of my friends ended up ordering additional food. We ordered: Crab drip with potato chips appetizer, which was good but I had to ask for additional chips. Roasted/carmalized Brussel Sprouts, which was really good because of the spices they used. Grilled Artichokes - this wasn't as "meaty" as we expected. But if you like eating this, it may be something to consider. the additional item that was ordered was tuna tacos, which were more like mini-tacos, but if you like tuna, it was enjoyable.

Finally, the inside temperature was quite cool, which was fine for a while, as I'm a bigger guy and I was a bit warm from walking around Bishop Arts District, going from store to store (they had the Mimosa Walk that day). But toward the end of our stay, it was a bit colder, but still manageable (my friends were a bit cold).

They had a modern and contemporary look to the place. The lighting was subdued. They had a choice of tables or booths (which could fit up to four people). I can't remember what kind of music they played, but it was relaxing and not distracting.

While the waiter was respectful and kind, it was sometimes hard getting him to stop by our booth when we needed something. But otherwise, the wait staff was good. So overall, it's a good place to go if you want something a bit fancier than the typical low cost Americana type restaurant....