Barney's Beanery — Restaurant in West Hollywood

LAX Terminal 2 location

The one star I give is for the food only. The food is good and usually fast - the service, on the other hand, is the worst I have almost ever experienced. As a frequent traveler out of LAX's terminal 2, I have visited Barney's Beanery a few times. Where do I start....

I was there last night (09-31-2016) and it was moderately busy, but not a full house by any means... When I arrived, there was no host to be seen. I stood there for a few minutes before finally making eye contact with the bartender, who told me to seat myself - so I did. Then the host appeared and asked me who told me to sit there and if I was "allowed" to sit at that table... Luckily, I had confirmed with a server that it would be ok for me to sit at the table, so I assumed all was good. That same server got me a menu and then disappeared, and finally came to see if I had been taken care of about 15-20 minutes later. I placed my order and the beer and food was delivered quickly and it was not bad (not great, but not bad). I was ignored for the rest of my visit there - they didn't care if I wanted another drink, if I wanted anything else to eat, how I was doing, or anything - until I needed the bill... I was there for about 2 hours. And I didn't notice any other patrons get any better service than I did while I was there.

In the meantime, there were about 5 or 6 OTHER servers just standing around watching various programmings on the tvs and BSing with eachother (I assume they were servers, they all wore beanery t-shirts, although I did not see them serve anyone for the whole time I was there). They stood as a group between the people who were seated at the bar and the people seated on the sofas, and didn't bother acknowledging the patrons who were looking to SEAT THEMSELVES, who tried to navigate themselves and their luggage around them. After about 20 minutes, they finally moved... To the airport seats outside of the restaurant, where they sat and watched the tvs behind the bar for the rest of my visit there.

I can't even tell you how many people stood at the restaurant entrance waiting for the host for so long that they gave up and headed elsewhere.

On another of my past visits to this restaurant, I had a similar service experience. I was seated at the bar and asked the bartender to switch channels on one of the smaller side TVs that had the same programming on as the other TVs. I was told that they couldn't do that because it starts fights among the patrons. SERIOUSLY?!?! I wanted to watch a Stanley Cup playoff game... It seemed kinda crazy, but I didn't put up a fight. However, I did get ignored and glared at by that bartender for the rest of that visit.

Needless to say, I don't think I'll...

I have been playing pool at Barney's since I moved to LA back in 2001. Today was the first time I have ever been kicked out. I was minding my own business, having some beer and a pizza. I put my quarter on the table to play some pool. A few minutes later a I noticed some little kids running around the bar and one of them went up to my pool table and took my quarter off the table. I was told by a woman who was also playing pool. I followed the boy and asked for my quarter back. He admitted to taking it and handing it back to me. I walked away, and the father of the boy approached me and said don't approach my kid. I told him what happen but he didn't seem to care. We exchanged a few words and I walked away. A few minutes later I was asked to leave because the father and his family claimed I put hands on their kid. I did not. I left peacefully. Disappointed. I wasn't asked for my side of the story, but I told it. I am pissed. This has never happen and I have been going to this bar for over 20 years. To the owner. This review is the result of tonight. Perhaps you should have your managers do a little better job of asking questions before they jump to a conclusion. And perhaps you should have stricter rules about young children running around a sports bar. This review is a warning to patrons. They will kick you out for nothing. There is no respect. It doesn't matter how much money and how many years. They will believe a pure stranger over a trusted regular. I asked that the family also be kicked out. All I can hope is that the Manager is a man of his word and did ask them to leave. I won't be back for a while. I will spend my money at another location. Take this as a warning. Barney's is not your friendly bar, they are blind and no respect. Take a look at your policies and maybe ask more questions before...

A staple of the LA scene, Barney's has been around for quite a long time. The menu at one point in time was rather extensive, and printed like a newspaper. At this point in time, the menu has been paired way down. One would think this might afford the opportunity for exploring the recipes and improving them, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Take the Eggs Benedict. The Hollandaise is very thick, and although the flavour was okay, do we need another glop of seemingly canned sauce. The poached eggs had a rather strong taste of vinegar that overpowered most of the other flavors in the dish. I assume it was the water used for poaching that gave off the highly acidic tang.

In contrast the chiliquilles, were very red. I always think of this dish as a good way to show some different textural play. The softness of the eggs paired with the crunch of the chips. In this version, the chips seem to be cooked in a ranchero sauce, rendering them soft and mushy. The eggs seem cooked seperately and then mixed in as almost an after thought. I won't comment on the beans and rice as they looked so unappealing that I didn't taste them.

The coffee is strong, and reminds me of old diner coffee. I'm not sure what I mean here. Is it coffee that I remember from diners of of a bygone era that put hair on your chest? Is it coffee that has been sitting on the burner at a diner for 8 hours? Why, yes. Yes it is.

On a positive note, the decor is kitschy and will keep you occupied, as you try to get your servers attention to ask...