City Barrel Brewery + Kitchen — Restaurant in Kansas City

I did not have a positive experience despite my excitement. I am giving Two Stars because service means as much to me as the food and drink experience, and it was poor during my two visits, the first of which I was not even able to make a purchase.

Briefly, I arrived in KC late Wednesday evening and headed to City Barrel looking for food and beer. At about 8:45pm I entered, waited for a long time to be seated at the bar (!), and was informed by a server (or maître d'?) that last call for food had just passed. I asked if she could recommend a local eatery nearby, which she did, and assured me if I returned by last call for alcohol at 9:45pm, I could still get a drink. I left, found and ate some food, and returned at 9:32pm, where the same person informed me they had already had last call. I said, "but it's not 9:45PM yet" and she commented that the bartenders had stopped serving a bit early. She offered to sell me a six-pack, to which I stated I did not want to buy a beer I hadn't tried yet. She suggested I return the next day.

So, I did return the next day, at 8:30pm, to be seated at the bar, then to have the bartender inform me that last food ordered had been taken for the evening. I inquired as to why, as I had thought last call for food was at 8:45pm, but he said, "Sometimes the kitchen closes early based on customer demand." He suggested that the kitchen did not always communicate well with the bar staff about their plans. I have to believe this makes it very difficult to guarantee a specific cut-off time for food, which is what I thought I'd been told the previous day. I was quite disappointed.

I obviously ate no food during my visits, so I can't review it, but the beers I ordered, Phantasm Juice Party, and tasted, City Pils and BOOM, were mediocre, being over hopped and without a decent body (for the IPAs). I am curious about the food, but probably would not return in its current state. I think the location and concept is great though, and if things change for the better in terms of service quality, communication, and organization, it could become a...

I liked the beer, but I thought both the beer and food were overpriced and I was put off by the space.

City Barrel Brewing is a restaurant and brewery in the East Crossroads area of Kansas City, MO. The name implies that they are focused on beer, but despite their massive, 465 gallon fermenters, they only offer a limited selection of beer that is generally available to the public - there are a couple of beers that are only available to customers who purchase an annual membership at a cost of $35 or $100. Of the beers they serve, the quality is good, but the prices are inaccessible. Their full pours are somewhere between 8 and 12oz and will cost you $6.5 to $9. Their tiny pours are half the price and a third the size, honestly not even worth ordering. They do have other beers on tap, not from their brewery, but cocktails make up the majority of their drink menu and will run you $8 to $15.

When you walk into City Barrel, the first thing you will notice is that there isn't any designated standing bar space. The bar seating is limited, so your options will likely be to stand wherever you can find open space or to be seated at a table and waited on. Unfortunately, it can get very busy, with projected wait times that can be upwards of an hour and a half around dinner on the weekend. If you plan on eating, you'll want to plan accordingly, and if you want food, expect to pay for it. Starters, soups and salads are roughly $10 to $20, while full entrees are in the $20 to $35 range. The food was in the same class as the beer, good, but felt overpriced. And the dining area was drafty and noisy - the front wall is a garage door and there is a metal walk way directly overhead.

Ultimately, this is not the type of brewery that's designed for you to drop in casually. You'll find more beer variety and affordability at nearly every other brewery in town, and you should expect to wait. But if you're looking for a nicer meal with drinks, City Barrel...

I would like to go back to City Barrel Brewing and give it another try. I think I was there on an off night. I love the vibe and the location. They seem to lean towards IPAs and sours, which are each not my particular taste, so I don't know if I'll ever love it here for their beers, but they do offer a selection of spirits as an alternative. I had their chicken sandwich and the bread was dry and flavorless, the chicken was very dry. I did love the flavor of the chicken, though. I'm definitely going back to give it another try. I really liked the bar manager we met and chatted up that night. Overall, I just really liked the vibe of this place.

Second try was worse than the first. Wanted to give the benefit of the doubt since they were newish the last time. I was served a charcoal briquette for chicken and then told that's because I asked for my grilled chicken without the sauce. I also ordered asparagus as a side and it literally came out after everyone else was done eating. It was a solid 7 minutes after our table was cleared my...