The Barkley Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in South Pasadena

Just to paint the picture - I've never given a yelp review before, I am a 30 year restaurant career manager so I know what it is like dealing with restaurant complaints. I have had some bad experiences but this tops all of them. So bad, that I had to write a review: so here we go. Started off okay, nice jazz music in parking lot but each guest had to buy a meal. I get it but we just ate so, we ordered 1 meal and brought some wine. We ordered more drinks and wine. We had no issues the entire experience but noticed the waitress had a little bit of an attitude. When we asked her about corkage she said she would check but, never told us how much? She dropped off the bill and corkage was $40. No one charges that much for corkage, not even a high end Steak House. My guest wanted to speak to the manager which was actually the new owner. I guess the original owners son took over the place because the original owner would of never handled the situation the way he did. He said, we only ordered 1 meal and it's Covid so we charged $40. Then he said, with an attitude it could of been $50. We end up paying the bill and my guest says to me which the server overheard, "I guess the server isn't getting a very good tip." The server drops off the check and says, "I don't need your $20 tip." I am the least confrontational person I know but I told the server, "I have never had a server with such a bad attitude." She told me to, "f off." I told her she could do the same. Then she yells over to the manager that I told her to "f off". At this point the owner thought we were a threat and had 2 busboys, a bartender, and himself surrounding our table, as if we were going to leave without paying or start a fight. It was so overtop unprofessional and ridiculous. The owner yells at our table not to ever come back. It was unbelievable, how poorly this was handled. I even made a comment, they have the entire staff surrounding our table like we are not going to pay. The busboy decides he is going to jump in and said, "we can get more people." So now they are threatening me with violence because, we were not happy about being overcharged for a corkage fee. I would give this place 0 stars if I could. If you want substandard food, a serving staff that has an attitude because the owner endorses it, and a really bad experience this is the place for you. I never mentioned that I have been going to this place for over 30 years. If you are an old school guest, this is definitely not the place it used to be. Save your money, there are some bad characters...

I am not a drinker but this restaurant slash bar has been around since long before I was born under a different name actually has been several different ownerships but it is always been a very high class place to hang out. It's located in a very high-class community and you will find a lot of old people from South Pasadena that have lived here their entire lives just getting together and meeting old friends and linking up with new friends it's just a very friendly atmosphere with much entertainment. Very cool to hang out even if you don't drink. Any bar is going to be pricey as far as beers this is not a beer bar if you just want to get beer at cheap price you will not get it at any bar LOL let alone the Barkley when you walk into the Barkley you know it is very exclusive. They tried to keep up this exclusive five-star feel as they have since I can remember. South Pasadena is a really nice community I grew up here my family grew up here and it's one place where there seems to be very little racism and everybody just all get along regardless of status or race or anything. The Barkley is not going to judge they just want you to have a good time and if you're going out for a night out this is definitely a good place to hang out! I sometimes put the Barkley as my location on Instagram because I live so close it shows up just kind of visit joke because I do not drink but this bar is so well-known across the country that people just consider you living it up five stars for saying you were there...

I came in today, for the first time, on Thursday, 04/10, around 3 PM. There were two patrons at the bar top and a cool, friendly bartender, Kiara, came out and took care of me. She was very warm, attentive, and easy to chat with. The place was clean, the bathroom was clean, chill vibe, the locals were friendly, and I felt welcomed. The happy hour prices are very fair and the happy hour nachos were so good! Shout out to chef Pancho! I was told he has been there for a very long time and I know why!

They are cash only (there is an ATM) although I understand you can start a tab with a matching ID. Just pay cash to make it easier for everyone involved. Clean bar top, clean bathroom, plenty of space inside, easy and plentiful parking, and it just seems like a cool place to check out, especially on the evenings and weekends. Once again, the service and food were amazing and the happy hour prices are totally legit!

I am a bar guy, I've been to plenty of bars, low end, upscale, and everything in between, and this place is on my list of places to come back to. Thanks again to Kiara (bartender) and Pancho (chef)! I'll be...