The Only Place In Town — Restaurant in Sierra Madre

I am very hard to impress, and when it comes to restaurants I tend to be picky. My fiance and I searched diligently for a new, very quaint place with a good atmosphere. I read the previous reviews, and then decided to try for myself. We had breakfast on a Sunday morning at this nice little hidden treasure trove. In my own words, here is my take on the whole matter.

The place was busy and parking was a challenge. After making a u-turn we got lucky and found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. There were people sitting outside drinking their Sunday morning beverages and everyone seemed very happy and relaxed. After getting out of the car, it took about 5 seconds to discover where the entrance was. It was right in between the two outside patio seating area. The moment we opened the door inside, we had a very warm and fuzzy feeling. Regardless of how busy it was, service was great and attentive. The décor is splendidly simple and inviting. There is booth seating as well as table dining areas. Booth seating is very child proof, noise proof, and vibration proof, to the point that you will not be disturbed by the small children make faces at you from the booth directly behind you or in front of you.

The food was absolutely and impeccably superb. The menu is vast but not over bearing. The food items include elegant recipes to fit my sophisticated palate, and range all the way to good ol’ American down home cooking (try the corned beef hash. Your stomach will thank you). The coffee is better than many 4 star hotels I have been to. In a word the coffee is brilliant. The pictures in the booth that we sat sat in will entice you as you are transported back in time to witness the good ol’ American classic cars in their true state. And to see a store from 1907 displaying a Coca Cola sign…just splendid.

Some of the reviews I read stated that it is on the pricier side of food. In reality, breakfasts range around the $9.95 to $15 area; not pricey unless you are looking for a 99 cent menu. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 8 am to 9 pm every day. On Sundays they have a brunch menu up through 2 pm, but all other menu items are still available.

Simply stated, for me it’s the only place in town that scores very, very high in great atmosphere, great service, great food, and wonderful prices. Ironically, the place is called…”The Only Place in Town”. Go ahead, pamper...

Horrible, Horrible, Horrible Experience – Will NEVER Go Back

We had heard good things about Barney’s Only Place In Town from people who had not been there in a while. We journeyed to Sierra Madre (a town super-well-known for its dog friendliness). Our friends said they remembered seeing dogs allowed on the outside patio. We set a date and met our friends at the restaurant expecting a great experience—that’s the only good part of our experience. We had toy poodles housed in a pet stroller (fully contained). The restaurant manager told us that although they had allowed dogs on the patio in the past, that it is no longer true, and we could not have the stroller/dogs on the patio. We then moved the dogs off the patio and onto the PUBLIC sidewalk. We were then told that we could not have the stroller on the public sidewalk either. Now, of all the possible ironies: as they were informing us we could not have the stroller on the sidewalk because it would impede pedestrian traffic and be a safety concern, an elderly woman, using a walker passed by the stroller with ease. I mean there was tons of room for her to pass even with the stroller on the sidewalk, parallel parked to the patio fence. I have included a photo of the extra wide sidewalk. Why they have taken this, IMHO, ridiculous stance against dogs in a town where six doors down, there is a dog bowl full of fresh water for any dog to drink from (set out by the business owner), I’ll never know. Additionally, the public park only a block away had provisions for dogs including, city-supplied, doggie waste bags available. Okay, but you want to know about the food. Mediocre, at best! My Caesar salad was small and less than ordinary, had no anchovies, and seemed to me to be an overpriced dinner salad with a few croutons and cheese. After I started eating the salad, I noticed there was DIRT, in the salad! They took the salad away and brought me a new one.

I write very few negative reviews, but this place really needs to clean up their act. Had it not been for our friends being there, we would have walked away. We REALLY...

Quite frankly it was Charming restaurant and during the covid-19 virus they are serving outdoor do everything they can to protect their customers. The service was excellent the ambiance of the old town was marvelous. Answers to the food it was founded in the menu very eclectic and also most varied I have two soups of the day which was a marvelous lyric chicken noodle redolent with vegetables and noodles in a most rich stock that simply screamed fresh chicken. For my main course I very much enjoyed the braised short ribs to serve beef steps for mouth-watering perfectly seasoned and melted it in your mouth favorite shows tender and that was served with freshly steamed broccoli and mashed red potatoes with the skin beautifully presented and quite an excellent taste combination together. It was who in portions I could barely eat half of what was on my plate so I definitely have leftovers for lunch and even though I was full I had to have dessert. They make their own ice cream on location which is creamy deeply flavored and the chocolate sundae with love chocolate milkshake made with their own chocolate ice cream was delish and huge and I love key lime pie and had to sample their key lime tartlette which was sheer perfection wit a custard that was perfectly smooth and creamy with a slightly tart lime flavor, fresh made whipped cream piped on top and literally dripping butter when you push on the shortbread crust of the tart. All in all, this was without a doubt a wonderful dining experience and one I recommend to everyone at THE ONLY PLACE IN TOWN located in the heart...