Barrel House BBQ — Restaurant in Lynchburg, Moore County

The place smells amazing. Upon arrival our group of nine was so excited to come here, but decided to do it after we’d checked out the distillery, bar, and had a tasting. Out of the ten distilleries I’ve been to, this was my favorite, and our group was having a great time! When we got to the restaurant to order, my husband informed the cashier that he’s vegetarian. We know that this is a bbq place, so he wanted a plate full of sides and was really excited to try them all. He was going to put them on his Texas toast and make a sandwich. He checked with the cashier about each side, because even though none of them stated there were meat in them…we’re in the south, so he wanted verbal confirmation. This annoyed the cashier, who told him that she knows the menu and there is no meat in any of the sides. So imagine how disappointing it was when our food arrived, and as he gleefully starts making his sandwich, we find LARGE pieces of brisket throughout the collard greens. And now it’s sullied his Texas toast. He talks to the cashier who seems to think it’s his issue and says that they will refund that side, but by this time I’ve tried the beans and they taste like they have bacon grease in them. So we can’t trust any of the sides because we can’t trust the menu or the cashier, so he paid for an entire plate that he couldn’t eat any of. And they forgot his cornbread which probably would have been his only safe bet. So now he’s hangry, too. My sandwich and macaroni were delicious, but this debacle definitely sucked the fun out of our enjoyable experience. It’s important for waitstaff to know the menu, it’s a big part of the job. This cashier ruined our day, but she could have ruined our whole trip because if he would have eaten the dishes that she rudely assured him were vegetarian, he could have been extremely sick. Honestly, the amazing smells and taste of the dishes were not worth the stress that they put our entire...

My wife and I did a late Valentine’s Day trip to Lynchburg, TN, over the President’s Day weekend (2024). When we asked about the best BBQ in the area, the most frequent answer was Barrel House BBQ. We got to the restaurant at 3 p.m. for a late lunch. The food was outstanding! I had the “Grilled Cheese Crack Jack” sandwich, and my wife had the “small” pulled pork sandwich. Small was a relative term for the sandwich, as my wife couldn’t finish it. The pulled pork was excellent, smoked perfectly, and served in generous portions. They had several BBQ sauces at the table, but the one that hit a home run with me was Scorpion Death Pepper/Ghost Pepper BBQ sauce. Lots of heat, but excellent flavor. I asked if they had bottles for sale, but unfortunately, they didn’t. My wife had the traditional sweet BBQ sauce and said it was one of the best she had ever eaten. We also ordered the pull pork nacho appetizer, and it was excellent as well. My wife only wished the cheddar cheese had melted a little more. We both had French fries with our meal, and they were very unique. They were cut flat into 1.5- to 2-inch lengths, fried crispy, and the seasoning on them was great. The atmosphere was down-home, and the price was very reasonable for the portions we received. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 because nothing is perfect, well, except the Good Lord....

If this were in any other location I doubt they'd still be open, overpriced, slow service and probably the worst BBQ we've had. Took 20 minutes for our order to be taken, when it arrived it was incorrect, took another 10 minutes to wait for the waitress to get off of a phone call to let her know it was incorrect. When she brought the correct order she told us she wouldn't charge us for the brisket she incorrectly brought. The brisket was dry and chewy, the Mac n cheese needed salt, the pulled pork was bland and the ribs had an overly smoked flavor. We were asked 3 times how things were but each person that asked didn't act as thought they really wanted to know, it was more of an automatic question as they were on their way to do something else and most seemed as if they'd rather be anywhere but there. It would be somewhat understandable if it were busy, but it wasn't, 4 of the employees were eating and goofing around. We left just looking anything about the experience and will try the other BBQ place that's on the square if we return. Our bill was $45 before tip for 2 people, we had a 2 meat combo meal with tea and a brisket...