Two experiences in one: Mine: I'm an out of towner-we were looking for something different. We were directed here buy a local who raved about the chef. I was a bit disappointed when we came to discover it was a bar/grill sports themed. It. Was. Packed. There was some type of convention in town and we hit it right at lunch. We struggled to not yell at each other over the crowd. Positive, we were seated right away. The menu was huge. They have lots of drinks on tap. Our waitress was very funny. She was sarcastic right along with us and didn't take any smart talk from my husband. She brought us drinks right away ....and then cause they were so slammed kinda disappeared for a bit before we got our order in. The waitress talked me into the pulled pork sandwich. (Slow roasted pork tossed in sweet bbq sauce and topped with skinny onion strings on an onion bun) I got mine with a side of cottage cheese. My burger loving hubby got the great river stout burger. (Seasoned burger topped with onions sauteed in the Great River Brewery Stout and mustard, black forest ham and Swiss on a pretzel bun. Both meals were okay. Maybe we had our hope higher, but they came out hot and tasted good. Here's the extra star story: The table behind us got seated. An older couple. They sat forgotten for the length of time our waitress was missing at other tables. Another waitress swing by asked if they had been helped. They were clear that they were unhappy and no had not been helped. I could feel the unhappiness radiating from the table. In no time a requested appetizer came out. Soon the manager came to check on them. Then their food and apologizes were brought over. This all happened in excellent time considering how busy they were. In the end I heard that the manager had comped not only the app but the drinks. I think this was outstanding. I would like to think that all establishments can do this but I know better. So I know part of our experience was average, but knowing how they handled the other table let me know they were start worthy. read more

First time eating here omg I cannot Ive been here 2 years and never once thought to try it out. I ordered a chicken avocado wrap and it was very delicious I am still eating now it's so delicious that I had to put in a review now ! Highly recommend read more

Barrel House - American Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Very friendly service , chicken nachos had fresh grilled chicken , beets were cold , atmosphere fabulous!

The food is great, best pretzel sticks in town. Their breakfast buffet on Sunday mornings is great as well, love the choice of mimosas they offer! Never have had any meal from here that I didn't enjoy. Only giving 3/5 stars because their service has been horrible each time I have gone. The most recent time, we sat at the bar and the bartender didn't acknowledge us for a good five minutes despite just standing there doing nothing. Then when I asked how much one of the drinks were, she just shrugged her shoulders and said "don't know". Service is typically extremely slow, although we have had nice servers each time besides the time we sat at the bar. Haven't gone back and don't plan on it just because service is so slow every time. read more

WHAT WE ORDERED: *The '2 AM Burger' ... Barrel House seasoned burger patty topped with potato rounds, cheddar cheese, bacon and a fried egg. Served on a brioche bun. OVERALL IMPRESSION: *Even though we ordered the '2 AM Burger' at 7 PM ... it was excellent! This is a risky burger to serve for a burger rating, but it worked really well. Kudos to the creator of this recipe as the proportions of each ingredient was spot on and did not distract from the fact that it was a burger. HIGHLIGHTS: *Brioche Bun was phenomenal ... the absolute perfect burger bun. *Burger was well done, but still moist, with very good texture, and great flavor. *Potato Rounds sound like they would make the burger too potatoey along with the bun, but it was not. It added a nice crunch and soaked up some of the yummy fried egg yolk. *The egg was cooked perfectly and added the expected richness to the burger. *The bacon had a healthy dose of smokiness, almost bordering on too smokey for a burger, but our pit master loved it. He thought the smokey bacon had a fresh essence to it, which made its lingering flavor extremely enjoyable (and not bitter). read more

Service was somewhat slow. My burger wasn't bad. I liked the fact that they use portobello mushrooms on the mushroom and Swiss. An couple orders mixed up but we did have a big party. Others didn't care for their food yet I didn't have what they had and everyone's tastes aren't the same. I would like to try other items on the menu though. I would give it a second or third chance. read more

Very nice place for a drink and a sandwhich. Wait staff was very nice and helpful. Lots of space to spread out.

Shrimp wrap was delish!!! Definitely be back for more! Extensive menu. Great service

I have been trying to get the waitress's attention to oder a second beer for more than ten minutes. It's not even busy.

Good service, fast workers and great food! I recommend the cowboy burger or 2 AM burger!

We live an hour and a 1/2 away in Wisconsin. Came to Dubuque for The Band Perry concert. Stayed overnight at a nearby hotel and ordered carry out from Barrel house. Liked the vibe here so much we stayed and ate at the bar.Neely was super!! Work to double and still such a pleasure. Thank you Barrel house for a great ending to a great night. read more

Barrel House - Came to town for The Band Perry concert. Neely:Best bartender EVER!So fun & real. Thank you Barrel house. - American Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Just walked out with 4 other families. No seating hostess and the server told us she was too busy counting change to seat anyone. Extremely rude!! read more

Very good great wait staff would recommend this place great location the portobello mushrooms are gr at

A group of friends visited Dubuque in July. As we entered the restaurant we should have turned around. They charged a service charge for using a credit card. Food was bar food, nothing over the top. Service SUCKED !! Our server was rude and pre-occupied. After he charge the service charge and we paid cash and wanted an adjustment he was really put out. There are a lot of local downtown places to go, walk pasted this one. read more

Amazing food and great service from Travis. our waiter Travis was amazing. Our food came fast, our beers were kept full and Travis was very charming. Will come back again. read more

This was a GREAT spot to stop for lunch, especially since my family and I came in from out of town just to walk around and see what we could find! I got the Diablo Burger. Definitely not too spicy for me but it had just the amount of a small burn while not compromising taste, which I really appreciated! If I'm ever back in Dubuque, I'll definitely stop back in for a brew and a look at all of their TVs to catch the game! I'd recommend anyone do the same! read more

This is a fund atmosphere with god service and a good selection for drinks. The food is the only place where there is needed improvement. There is plainly an inconsistency in the kitchen ranging from botched to aced. read more

Stopped here on the way through Dubuque. Decently quick service and good food. Recommend trying a firecracker shrimp item from their menu.

Food was good. Service was excellent and expedient despite how busy they were. So nice to see a restaurant responding effectively to sudden volume in this employment environment; and clearly caring that their customers have a great experience. If you're in Dubuque, treat yourself and enjoy a happy meal at this worthy local business. Cheers to you all at the Barrel house! Thanks for a lovely evening. read more

Came in to order a pizza to go and have a couple of beers while I waited. This was my first time in & I wanted to check it out. I ordered a TG Dorothy ' beer, they were out. So I ordered a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, they were out of that too. Since the 3rd time is a charm, I went with my ol' standby Guinness which was bottled & delicious. Their pizza selection was pretty good but I was surprised they didn't have the equivalent of a supreme-style pizza on their specialty pizza list. The closest I could do was order "The Entire Garden" (which consisted of wild mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, spinach, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, red onion, artichoke hearts, banana peppers, & cheese) with a slight modification. Rather than having the kalamata olives & banana peppers, I asked if I could substitute pepperoni & Italian sausage instead. I could, but there was an up-charge of $1.50 per item. I went with it even though I felt the ingredients should be substituted for no extra charge. Or at least a partial charge. However, the pizza was absolutely delicious and had a fantastic flavor. One of the best I've had in town. So all in all, it was a good experience but there is definitely room for some improvement. I sat at the bar & the service was mediocre. The place was fairly busy but not slammed like I've seen in other places. I saw a lot of the wait-staff walking around but eventually some other folks came to assist at the bar. I will definitely go back & it's got a nice vibe. But just be aware of these things. BTW, I'd ordered a large (16") pizza. The crust is thin crust. Give it a try! read more

I have been here so many times and each time I order something different, and am impressed every time! Their amazing appetizers, salads, tacos, shrimp... are just full of flavor and tasty! I have also gotten a different servers and I cannot say a single bad thing about any of them! They are all super attentive. I will continue going here. One of my favorite spots! read more

Had dinner at The Barrel House with Rich. Great beer selection and Bloody Mary. Ruch had a Black & Blue burger & I had a Steak Burrito. Food was meh. Nice knowledgeable waitstaff. Decor & atmosphere appropriate. If we return I'd try appetizers only(1/2 price after 9:00pm) & Drinks of course. read more

The food was good, but the service was just meh...if you are going for the bar, it is probably a great place. We were there for dinner. Go for the food, not the service. read more

Rating is low by locals trying to keep you away. Excellent service, ask for Montana at the bar! They don't skimp on quality, haddock (not cod) for the fish and chips, homemade mustard... read more

First time in Dubuque (visiting for a wedding) and decided to come here since it was close to the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food; my initial impression was that the food would be mediocre, typical bar fare. The service was prompt, professional, and friendly! I had the Portabella Mushroom Fries appetizer and Fish and Chips as an entree. The only thing keeping me from giving this place 5-Stars were the Portabella Mushroom Fries. They tasted great, the dipping sauce was good, but there was way too much breading on them. It made it difficult to keep eating them. The Fish had just the right amount of breading, crisp & not very greasy. It comes with coleslaw & fries. The coleslaw dressing tasted on point and was not overpowering in either sweetness or tangibles & had a nice crunch with each bite. Nothing to complain about the fries! read more

Went to Barrel House today for the first time. Our server was very friendly and helpful with the menu questions. Ordered the Fry nachos and was in and out in 40 minutes. Will go again. read more

Was here for school credit and stopped in to see what was like. Had live music and great food variety. I had the mac attack the burger was cooked to were I liked it and the mac on top was just icing on the cake. Loved the flavor and the decor, well done. read more

Not clean! Table next to us asked fir napkins so they could wipe off their seats! Staff watched them! Plexiglas by booths was filthy. Ordered a plain burger w cheddar and bacon. He brought me one that had two kinds of cheese bacon and BBQ sauce. It was $1.50 more than the burger I ordered. Don't worry it was reflected in his tip! read more

Came to Barrel House today. Seated myself at the bar. Was immediately greeted by a waitress they looked extremely busy with as many customers in the building but both my appetizer and entree order was taken in a timely fashion. The food was great and my waitress Holly was very helpful. I will return the environment had great vibes and the music was lively. read more

This place was decent. Nothing extraordinary. It seems as though they use the same food distributor as most other sports bars in the area so the quality and flavor is basically the same. Our waitress was good, considering it was pretty busy at lunch. One thing that was kind of annoying was the amount of managers/chefs/other staff that kept coming over to check on us... I get that they are new and wanted to check in but we were being interrupted every few minutes. The apps, meal, and drinks were delivered promptly but when we ordered desserts they took another 20 minutes to arrive, and they were definitely of the frozen sliced kind, so not sure what on earth took so long. I'm interested in stopping back to try more, but it wasn't anything new or innovative, unfortunately. read more

So glad we stopped in for a Sunday brunch. Everything was amazing! The staff were able to fit us in without a reservation on Mother's Day and were so friendly and hard working. The French toast was my favorite and the prime rib for my husband. We will definitely be making the 2 hour drive from Wisconsin in the future! Oh, and bottomless mimosas for $7.99 with a variety of flavors read more

Barrel House - American Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Great service awesome food and very clean. Swing by and grab a beer or bloody to start the day! Highly recommend the jalapeño poppers!

Menu is WAY too big, it's like reading a book, I am in no way exaggerating. I think a giant menu is a bit overwhelming when trying to order food. Food is mediocre, nothing special. Plus the restaurants management complained about the live music from the bar below ("the venue" is the name) and it caused them to stop having live bands at one of the only decent music venues in dubuque. I can't support that. The bar was there first for one and two the last restaurant that was there had no issue with the music. Don't support this business. read more

When we look at what's in town we read a lot but this time we just pick at random just to find this amazing corner spot with amazing friendly staff and great food! They are FAMILY FRIENDLY and are a SPORTS BAR! All in one easy parking off the street and not only that; if you ever feel like bar hopping there's a full great options down the street and a club right under the Barrel House which is called the venue! We ordered beer and drinks and delicious appetizers. We had spinach dip, guacamole and chips and a side of sweet potato waffle fries! And everything was so good hot and delicious! Now for dinner I forgot to take pictures and I just eat lol but I modified my order to a two fried chicken patties stuffed with lettuce and pickles and a side of sweet potatoes, also a portobello hamburger which was amazing as well. They had so much to offer we will be coming back for more !!!! Thank you so much for the great experience keep up the good work! read more

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Happened upon this place by accident on our way to a traditional "diner" for breakfast and the sign for "Brunch" caught our eye. We were skeptical because the whole section facing windows on MainStreet were empty. We were so pleasantly surprised. Love the atmosophere and style of this bar (open, airy, industrial, fun music) and the selections on the brunch buffet were diverse and plentiful: They had a build your own eggs Benedict station (roasted red pepper hollandaise was to die for). A build your own omelet station. The most delicious prime rib I've EVER had , breakfast pizza, fresh spinach salad, excellent French toast and many more items. Many bloody mary and mimosa variations also that sounded yum! 15.99 per person is soooo worth it!! read more

Second trip to the Barrel House. They sat us at the same table! Weird! The food had great flavor. The pizza crust was not as crisp as we would have hoped for,but the owner who was helping us box up our leftovers said that they had an oven problem that happened yesterday. Murphys law says that this will always happen on a weekend. We also had the breaded portobellos. They were excellent! The breading was very light and very crunchy. Yumm. Still a little longer wait for food than I would prefer, but food is great. read more

Barrel House - Portobello mushrooms. With some already gobbled up! - American Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Half price appetizers after 9pm was awesome. I ordered the spinach artichoke dip and it was amazing. Our waitress was super friendly and that definitely makes the experience that much better. I had the quesadillas which were also delicious. Their drink menu is great also. Would definitely come back! read more

All I can say is service SUCKS slow and pay no attention to you! On a business trip went for drinks and dinner took 3 hrs!!!! Never again!!! Bartender was a total looser in my opinion he would barley qualify to work at McDonald's..... Do not go here not worth the service read more

Really good food! We had the Miami and the Mac Attack burger- fries and house made chips were also very good Service was a bit spotty but nothing to complain about. read more

This place is new, having opened just today. The food is really good and the dinner hit the spot. They have a good selection of beverages here. The staff is friendly and attentive. read more

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