Barnsider Smokehouse BBQ — Restaurant in Town of Lake George

Unfortunate that some lady that had been drinking at the bar approached my friend, in an aggressive and rude manor, whom has a service dog. This service dog is related to his disability stemming from injuries sustained while in the military. Not only was she extremely rude, aggressive, and created a scene, but she apparently doesn’t understand what questions she is legally allowed to ask pertaining to service dogs. The service dog is well marked and very professional. Before we even got through the door, she made so much of a scene that it was clear we will not welcome there. BTW, she never even identified herself as an owner or employee. But I did notice she came straight from a barstool with a drink at it. We had 5 people and were probably about to drop $150-200 for dinner and drinks. But I will never go there or recommend a place that discriminated against disabled combat vets. It was sickening. I know my buddy won’t pursue but that establishment deserves a lawsuit.

Know your do's and don'ts If you reside in a pet-prohibited community, you may be inclined to question the presence of a dog on the property. If the dog's purpose isn't obvious, there are only two questions you can ask: 1) Is the dog a service animal required for a disability? 2) What work or task does the dog perform? Take note that it is a violation of the ADA to ask about any individual's specific disability, or to require any formal medical documentation to justify the animal's presence. NEVER ask for any demonstration of the dog's capabilities or proof of its training. The ADA requires that animals be trained, but that training can be conducted by the owners themselves. Requesting removal of an animal (limited circumstances only! ADA guidelines stipulate that a service dog must be leashed, tethered or under strict verbal command at all times. If the dog's handler fails to meet these requirements, removal of the service dog may be considered. If the dog is not housebroken, you are not obligated to...

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it’s not what I got. Everything looked wonderful online when deciding to come here. My local bbq place closed months ago and we really wanted to find a new place so after looking around, I found the Barnsider and decided to give it a shot.

I chose to sit on the back deck because I wanted to be outside and it seemed like it would be the quietest option seeing as it wasn’t along side a busy road like the front patio. Wasn’t a fan of the back deck setting. Maybe it would have been ok if not seated in the most dingey of corners next to the kitchen door as far from any fresh air and viewing as possible.

That’s ok. The food will make it worth it, I thought. But it didn’t. At all. This was the most sub-par “bbq” I’ve ever had and my standards are already pretty low. If it’s food, and it tastes good, that’s all you need to be 5 stars in my book! But it was sad. The saddest pieces of “brisket” I’ve ever seen and tasted. My husband’s fries tasted fishy. His brisket was 70% inedible. Mine was just..unappealing. Almost slimey.

But we remained decent customers and didn’t complain and still left a good top to our server, who did seem very uninterested as a whole.

I’m not sure where the good reviews have come from. Either family and friends who are bias or paid to do so. I don’t know. Maybe it’s good bbq to the tourists that frequent here since it’s a high-tourist location. But I can tell you it’s not good. Way too pricey for what was given in the end. I wanted to like it so much! I was excited to have found this place because like I said, our local bbq place closed so we were just looking for a new one to try. I was embarrassed to have brought my family here and I hate saying that. I apologized for the sub-par dinner.

Any pizza place down the road is...

I will preface my review with the statement that my experience may have largely been limited to just my server, and not necessarily a reflection on the restaurant as a whole.

Wonderful outdoor ambience, for starters. However, after we were seated, more than ten minutes passed before our server came to the table. He did walk by the table to get to another table no less than four times. (many trips because the other table was complaining a out something)

The server, at 8pm, did not know what the soup of the day was. How can you not have this figured out by the almost-end-of service time? Weird. Overall he did not appear confident knowing what was on the menu during the ordering process.

Once the food came out, (which took quite a bit of time, but I expect this at a BBQ place, and you should too) I found that my pulled chicken/chopped brisket plate was mostly cold. The brisket portion was quite tasty, and I can tell they know what they are doing with the smoking/BBQ. The mashed potato side was also tasty, but mostly cold. The center of the potatoes in the ramekin were quite hot, but the outside was cold. Unsure if this was a "sitting in the window too long" issue, or a "we microwaved it" issue.

My wife's chicken was quite tasty, and also served at proper temp. She stated that the max and cheese was quite bland, however.

Please note that they add a 4% surcharge to your bill if you pay by card. I do not remember this being stated on the menu so you are informed ahead of time, but I could be wrong. If it's not on the menu, however, this is absolutely a shady tactic. I don't mind paying surcharges, I know why they as passed to the customer, but be up front about it.

All in all I don't think I would return here unless there were no other places to go that had a reasonable...