Barleymash (July 2018) - People-Watch from the Sidewalk Tables
My spouse and I
dined at Barleymash for brunch on a Wednesday afternoon in early July. (The
brunch menu was available because it was the July 4th holiday.)
Barleymash is open daily from 11:30 am until 2:00 am, with earlier opening hours
on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10:00 am. You can make a reservation using
the online Open Table reservation system.
Barleymash opened in
2012 on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street in the Gaslamp District
(in the space formerly occupied by Whisky Girl). The Verant Group operates
Barleymash, along with True North Tavern, West Coast Tavern, Tavern at the
Beach, Offshore Tavern and Grill, and Uptown Tavern). Its name refers to the
mixture of grains used to brew and distill beer and bourbon, two ingredients
that feature prominently on its drinks menu (30 craft beers on tap, shelves of
small batch spirits) and in its food items.
Barleymash is a sports
bar by day (lots of TVs positioned around the space) and dance club at night (nightly
entertainment including live music and DJs), with an additional cocktail lounge
(Gingers) on the lower level. The expansive room has high ceilings, two walls
of windows/garage doors, a large four-sided bar, another smaller bar, a few
communal tables, some booths, and lots of regular-height table seating. A
sidewalk patio surrounded by a fence offers al fresco dining at high-top
tables. Interior décor includes reclaimed wood and exposed brick.
We shared the tuna
poke to start (tasty), followed by a burger and a BBQ burger. The entrees came
with our choice of fries (which were actually terrible, chewy rather than
crispy shoestrings sprinkled with herbs) or cole slaw (plentiful and served in
a glass jar, it contained more unique seasonings than a typical slaw). We must
have misread the menu description because the BBQ burger contained nothing more
than a sad splash of barbecue sauce (not shredded pork as we had envisioned). Their
make-your-own Bloody Mary bar looked good as we passed it on the way to the
restrooms at the rear of the space; however, we did not see it until we had
finished our meal.
Although we enjoyed
people-watching from the sidewalk patio at Barleymash, only some of our food
items were successful, so we wouldn’t likely return. (We are always surprised
when a restaurant messes up their fries!)
