Barrel Heads — Restaurant in Lawrenceburg Township

Easily one of the most unprofessional dining experiences I’ve ever had. When we walked into Barrel Heads, it was unbearably hot, so hot that we were visibly fanning ourselves with menus, and multiple staff members saw it. Still, no one thought to mention they were operating on half power or that the AC and other systems were affected. That alone should’ve been a red flag but we pushed through bc we've heard the food was good.

Halfway through our meal, the power went out completely. We were left eating in complete darkness. No one came by to check on us, apologize, or even acknowledge it. No acknowledgement until we had sat there a good 4-5 mins twiddling our thumbs and the waitress could see we were ready.

When it came time to pay, our waitress told us they were only accepting cash or Venmo which was never disclosed up front. We had neither. She said she’d speak to her manager. That’s when a woman came over, suggested we try the ATM across the street (which also had no power, something she didn’t seem to consider), and then launched into a speech about how she might lose her credit card processing agreement. Only after that did she say, “I’m the owner,” with no introduction, no concern for our experience, just stress dumping on us about her business problems.

Then came the worst part: she asked to take a photo of my debit card on her personal phone so she could charge me later. I flat out refused because how invasive lmfao. She then asked I take a photo of my driver’s license and sent it to her cell, which I only agreed to because I was being cornered with no other options. At no point did she offer a discount, a comp, or even a basic apology. We weren’t offered to-go boxes, either.

This was over a $40.66 bill, a small amount the owner could have easily comped or adjusted if customer service meant anything to her. Instead, the focus was entirely on her potential business loss, not the experience of the guests she allowed to be seated during a power failure with no warning. I understand you can't control the weather, you can control how you handle an outage and what you do in the event of one. Get a square or something, maybe don't seat people KNOWING you're having an issue already and then corner your guests smh.

I’ve since followed up to pay after getting a text from her where she FINALLY "apologized" for the outage, my call immediately went to VM but it was done on a recorded line in the event she attempts to say im "dodging the bill" but that doesn’t change how carelessly this was handled. It was uncomfortable, invasive, and unacceptable. I won’t return, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

Update- Niki did get back with me 7/18 and comped the bill which was much appreciated. Although, my feelings...

The reason for my review is to give a more accurate account of our dining experience than my family members negative review below. I will do so by addressing each thing that he listed in his review. *Upon making the reservation for our son’s last dinner home while on leave from the USMC, I was informed that they had 2 large reservations already and it was their trivia night as well. Yet they accommodated what was supposed to be a large party of 11 anyway. This party ended up being a table of 14 with a few extra people showing up that were not on the list, including my brother. This is not the first time that they have done this as our son always picks BH for his family dinner when he is home, well happily still chose to go. I feel it is important that I was told that not only would their be excess noise from trivia (which we played and enjoyed) but also that there may be a slight wait for not only this reason but also that there were multiple large parties already booked for this day. *I did not see any problem with the cleanliness of neither the table or the restaurant in general, our table was clean and set up for us. *To address the bench seating, there was both chair and bench options for our table. With my brother being one of the first people to sit down, he chose where to sit. And with him sitting at the end of the table, he could have easily asked for a chair to sit at the end if he were uncomfortable, he did not. *As for cold food, I will say that I did receive cold fries. It happens with a party of 14 sometimes. I told the server and not only did she apologize, but got me a new order quickly. My sandwich was perfect. My brother did not mention to either the server or the owner that he had any issues and they were at our table multiple times to check on us and our orders. *Four people in our party ordered the same steak sandwich, including my husband, none other were sick or had complaints about it. *I think that it is sad that people can so easily put reviews on that are inaccurate.

Thank you BH staff and owner for always accommodating our family, as we have had several functions there. We always have an amazing time, fantastic food & cocktails, and amazing service. I look forward to having many more functions there that I assure you that my brother will not be invited to…he can go to Wendy’s or White Castle while we have an amazing...

I had an evening free and was about to hit one of my usual spots when a friend texted me about Barrel Heads—said they had a great pasta dish and solid bourbon selection. I made the detour and headed down Stateline, hopeful and hungry.

As a former chef and bartender with nearly 20 years in the industry, I’d been curious about the place. The photos of the creamy Cajun pasta and drink options sold me. But unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to the hype.

I arrived around 7pm on a Monday. It wasn’t busy—just a couple tables and a bar guest or two. A young hostess eventually greeted me (after realizing I walked in while seated eating & drinking with presumably family) and I grabbed a seat at the bar. It took about 7 minutes before the bartender even acknowledged me, saying “I’ll be with you in a bit.” No big deal—shift changes happen.

When she returned, she asked in a snappy tone “What do you want to drink?” I wasn’t sure so asked for a menu in which she gave a quick “Beer, wine, liquor?” response. I asked for all the above…. Not the warmest welcome. I ordered an espresso martini and finally got to look through the menus.

The drink selection was impressive, as well as the food, and I settled on the creamy Italian sausage pasta with a Caesar salad.

The salad was decent, though the dressing was minimally dumped on like an afterthought. The pasta, on the other hand, was a severe letdown—overcooked noodles, burnt sausage, no mushrooms, basil, or tomato, and barely any sauce. Bread was stale and crunchy like a bagel chip.

Mistakes happen in the kitchen, I get that. But when the bartender asked (after I pushed the dish aside after two bites & 10mins) if I wanted a to-go box, I shared that I felt the dish missed the mark & didn’t have any mushrooms, tomato’s, basil or heck even sausage that wasn’t burnt…her dismissive reply—“Well, I mean it’s just pasta and sauce”— that sealed the deal. I paid and left, disappointed. I hope to give it another try someday, but the lack of care this time was...