Rapp's Barren Brewing Company — Restaurant in Mountain Home

Response from my wife: Food and service seriously lacking on our second attempt to eat here. It has been about 3 years since our last visit. Big family of 6, so we tried a lot of options. Felt like we were imposing on the staff while ordering. Walked right in and were second in line, so definitely not lackluster service because they were slammed or stretched thin. Brunch menu seemed to have a good selection, but upon orders arrival, Just disappointing. Cold French toast orders x2, and ridiculously ridiculously sweet. No way for the flavors to shine because it was soggy and drenched in the bourbon carmel sauce. Tasted more like state fair vendor food. Poke nachos were an insanely small portion with even smaller toppings amongst bare wontons chips. Not even remotely comparable to the poke bowl - which was a substantial dish. We know because a server tried to bring two to our table (we didn't order them.) There was maybe 1 Tablespoon of actual tuna on the poke nachos. Kids meal sliders were the only thing not receiving complaints. But I only knew there was a kids menu after I tried to order sliders (from the row of menus hung at the counter) and modify them for my daughter. The girl at the register asked if I just wanted the kids version, to which I replied there's no kids menu even listed anywhere. ‍ I ordered the buffalo chicken salad and asked for honey mustard dressing - waitress came to our table and handed me dressing and said "Sorry. They gave me buffalo sauce." and was clear she knew it was wrong, but wasn't correcting it. Equivalent of one chicken strip cut up on the salad. Blueberry lemon pancakes were just okay - again, overdone with sugar. Everyone did like the extra breakfast potatoes they added a la carte to our order. When ordering 6 waters, they asked if we had a bar tab open. I'm visibly 9 months pregnant, dining with my husband and 4 kids (17-10yo) They only gave us two glasses with ice water and said we could get paper water cups on the other side of the counter. This place is just not worth the hype if you are expecting to eat a meal. The restaurant is set up pretty cool. With seating outdoors and a whole other section upstairs. There was a big chess board for the kids to play with but was missing over half the pieces. I suppose if you're going for alcoholic drinks and appetizers than this could be satisfying. But that's not been our experience either time. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Literally avoided the headache of asking for a manager because the staff seemed so put out by simply working, I wasn't expecting anyone to care about our complaints. I wish I had taken pictures of the dishes we experienced. But the whole ordeal was meh. Especially when we tip well but basically serve and clean up...

Got this place recommended and I can't say how right they were.

We ate downstairs at a bench table (upstairs has more room available). Our party was large enough to take up the entire table on its own. When you order, head straight up to the counter (or the bar for alcohol).

Obviously I tried the beer. Flights are 4 beers (currently $9). I had two trying 8 of the beers. Lights Out Black IPA stood out the most as an interesting flavor that made me want more. The Continuum Saison however paired best with the food.

I had the Pork Belly Reuben. I've never had pork belly, but this did not make for a good Reuben. The sauce was too strong and the sauerkraut (made from purple cabbage) was not strong enough. Pair that with the pork belly and it all blended into the flavor of the cheese.

I did also get the pretzel and beer cheese appetizer. It was delicious.

My daughter had the chicken tenders with garlic fries. And this was so good (chicken and fries). The chicken seems like it's been brined and is perfectly cooked. The fries are not just fries with garlic salt. They have actual minced garlic in the topping.

My wife had the Salmon BLT and she loved it.

My father had the Cajun Chilli Dog (apparently made with gator sausage). He loved it.

I could go on and on. The Reuben was the only miss, and one member of our party did end up...

Never had a bad meal or a bad beer at this place! The salmon club sandwich is totally gourmet and the burgers/chicken are all first rate. Fifth visit and we just tried the carne asada fries and street tacos with chipotle beef: all flavorful and of excellent quality.

I’ve enjoyed the garlicky parmesan fries on past visits but was thoroughly disappointed with the plain fries I ate in July, ‘23. This is because the french fry cooking technique has been modified resulting not only in overcooked but highly desiccated, completely inedible fries. Whether double fried or pre-cooked, the kitchen needs to return to traditional frying methods or folks like me will return them without hesitation. (As I should have.) Technique aside, the fries are served in consistently generous portions (easily enough for two).

Another sign of a great restaurant is their evolving menu and updated food options. The new “mini donuts” were quite good with its slightly thin but tasty berry syrup (though it might be a bit of a misnomer to call them “donuts” since they’re more of a dense cake-mix/deep-fried pastry ball).

Not a big fan of the self-serve pager, pre-pay, food-separate-from-bar service model — but if it works. Especially when the live music is good and the staff are always upbeat and...