I would really like this place even if the food & service were bad, because the décor & environment are hard to beat. In most places, the tables are boring, entirely just a single color. Not here! The tables are covered with a colorful collage of elements, including various kinds of printed material, and it makes for an interesting & enjoyable vibe. Similarly, the walls aren't bare or bland, but have an assortment of different-colored items on them. The entire experience is grounded in these visuals, and it makes me glad that I am there. Even the menu, with its different-colored parts & a full large page describing the restaurant's history, contributes to the effect. It is somewhat amazing that all locations offer the same great feel, even though they are not all identical in layout or content.
--- Although the main-course offerings are fewer than in past years, you can generally still find something you want, either from this limited list or in one of the categories of food such as breakfast, hamburgers, pizzas, etc. I was super-hungry as I exited the AMC Burbank 6 movie theater, and I didn't really feel like eating something American or Italian. I didn't really know WHAT I wanted, so I thought that an eatery with a wide range of types of food would be a wise choice, and nothing around compared to Barney's.
--- I ultimately settled on the chicken fajitas, as it seemed like it would "hit the spot" more than anything else I saw on the menu. I was a tiny bit sad that steak fajitas was not offered, because that is actually my favorite, but chicken is my solid #2 choice, so that was fine. What was not fine is that rice & beans are not included in the meal; you have to pay extra if you want them. I'm not sure whether any other restaurant does this unappealing practice, but to be fair, the going price for fajitas at most substantial Mexican restaurants nowadays is high enough that adding $3.75 (for rice) to $18.50 (for the base meal price) still produces a cost that is less than that at those other places. (I have 2 quirks: I don't like crunchy onions, so I ask for double bell peppers, and I don't like refried beans, so I ask for double rice.)
--- The portion size of the chicken-&-peppers mound was large; I wound up taking some of it home. These chicken fajitas were not the best I've ever had; they could've used a bit more fajita seasoning; but they were good enough. To my taste, I think they could've used a bit more salt too; but no real complaint. I always eat all the bell peppers first ("Eat your vegetables first!!) before I dig into the meat. I like eating in the traditional Mexican way, putting the meat inside a tortilla & making a little rolled sandwich out of it, so that you get meat and tortilla in each bite. The order came with 4 of the thin, smaller kind, folded up inside a paper wrapper to keep them warm.
--- The rice is called "Barney's rice" for some reason, but it turned out to be the usual pale-red color and was Mexican rice. The one weird thing about it, which didn't help, was that several isolated kernels of corn were mixed in throughout the rice. This only served to produce a crunch, something that I'm not looking for when I eat rice. I recommend that they omit doing this, and leave the rice as a consistent soft chew.
--- A minor defect here that is true of way too many restaurants nowadays is that there were no salt & pepper shakers on the table. 50 years ago, no restaurant would even think about doing that, but currently it seems to be the vogue. I don't know why the policy is implemented by any eatery; it can only serve to frustrate customers, forcing them to have to wait until they can ask their server for salt. Barney's, and all other restaurants, should nix this practice & put a pair of shakers on every table.
--- As usual, I ordered iced tea as my beverage. This iced tea was way too strong & didn't really taste fresh. It seems as if they made up a big batch and simply made it too strong; perhaps the person who does this task doesn't taste his/her product, and/or just doesn't really know how to do iced tea. They should really do better on this.
--- My waitress was nice & mostly attentive. For some reason, it was a different waitress who actually brought my food. Soon after, my original waitress did come by again & ask how things were, but she came before I had taken my first bite, so I didn't yet know that I wanted a salt shaker, and that I didn't have one. She needed to come by 5 minutes after the food arrived in order to enable me to get one, but she didn't, so I just ate my food without the desired extra salt. I recommend that all servers come by 5 minutes after the food arrives to see if the diner needs anything.
--- One area in which I can happily report that there was no problem is temperature and draft. The room temperature was perfect, and no cold air was blowing on me from an A/C vent (yeah, I've had that problem at some places).
--- Lastly, know that Barney's is loud! read more