Spoke & Barrel - Eatery — Restaurant in Mandeville

We have over 100 restaurants on our Pet Friendly Northshore list. We have probably eaten at well over 80 of them, and while there are so many that we adore, we have only eaten at one that we can both say was the absolute BEST dining experience ever.

To say the food was incredible was an understatement. The steak was among the finest I have ever had, cooked to perfection and the flavoring was mouth watering. We happened to come on Steak Night (Thursday nights!), and I dare you to find a better steak for the price anywhere!

The gumbo! Spoke & Barrel has won the award of Best Gumbo on the Northshore as awarded by Taylor who is an infamous GumboSnob.

The Fettucine Fra Diavolo was delicious, with just enough kick to make it stand out, but you weren't needing to gulp down your beer.

Speaking of beer, I LOVE restaurants that have wide assortments of local breweries on hand. The rotating cycle of beers definitely keeps it interesting, and I really loved the Lemon Buffer from #AgileBrewing.

Rupert gave his PupperSteak four paws up with a little drool!

Cheesecake...I'm normally not a huge fan, but Taylor is, and so we order cheesecake. I wish I remembered exactly what kind it was, not quite lemon, not quite orange. It had a unique and refreshing taste and I would definitely have it again!

But I have to save the best of the food for last, and that is the Crawfish Truffle Mac & Cheese. It was beyond good. It was like little Southern Angels came down and created the absolute masterpiece of a Southern appetizer. A straight 12/10!

The location is beautiful, nestled near the Mandeville Lakefront with plenty of parking and a beautiful lighted pergola to sit under.

We saw dogs! We met Bailey and Lupe and it was so cool to see other dogs out and about!

The absolute clincher to our night goes to the one and only Gabbyie!!!! Talk about a personality that makes you feel welcome! We laughed, we talked dogs, we talked snakes, we even met her Mom! I got her schedule because 50% of the reason we would go back is for her! It was an amazing experience and after this very rough week, we left with giant smiles, full bellies, and plans for future visits.

Spoke & Barrel, I'm sorry we slept on you all for so long. Y'all were simply amazing and we cannot say enough good things about the...

When in as the girl at the Front door I ask her to seat me away from the bar ,instead she puts me right next to the bar. I asked her what about the booth she said well you’re only by yourself those are from more people. I ordered a plain iced tea Reuben with fries the Reuben sandwich was dry it was like eating Beef jerky the flavor was good but the meet was dry too much mastered the french fries were supposed to be hand cut it look like the bottom of the batch just a bunch of crumbles not one french fry was as long as the potato she did bring me a glass of iced tea after about 20 minutes I asked her for a refill of tea I asked her not to put any more ice in the glass , she came back with a new glass that was dirty and no ice at all. The corn beef was like Beef jerky the flavor was good but the meet was dry too much mastered the french fries were supposed to be hand cut it look like the bottom of the batch just a bunch of crumbles not one french fry was as long as the potato she did bring me a glass of iced tea after about 20 minutes I asked her for a refill on the TV I asked her not to put any more ice in the glass she came back with a new glass that was dirty and no ice at all. The bill was $12 and a penny I laid a $20 bill on the table she never returned...

Would have been 4 stars except... All started great, friendly bartender, knowledge about the beer. He gave me a list of cocktails to choose from since I'm not a beer person. He also let me know that he could make me anything just to let him know. Nice atmosphere, friendly people sitting at bar.

So here's the sad part - while sitting at the bar people watching my husband and I observed the one bartender eating the sliced fruit and licking her fingers afterwards. Not once but a couple times. Licking her fingers then grabbing another slice of fruit She also continued running her fingers through her hair and playing with it. All fine except for the fact she never washed her hands, ever!!! Then went into the kitchen to grab plates of food and deliver to a table. There were other workers around and not one said a word to her, like a friendly reminder to wash her hands. It really put a damper on the end of our day. Such a nice place, but yet my opinion ruined by one person.

Otherwise- one of the best bloody marys I've ever had. Great idea of crumbled bacon around the rim of the glass. My husband enjoyed...