Service here has always been amazing. Food has been good and it looks there was a menu update recently. The peppercorn sauce that comes with the steak is really tasty, I always order extra. We keep coming back for the friendly service and cozy vibes. read more

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We live close to this restaurant. The previous restaurant at the location was called the Barrel Room, and it was a good restaurant, great wine, great food, good service. This one doesn't even come close to it. The service personnel obviously lacked training. The tables lacked the basics, not even salt and pepper, although the water sevice was served in cold bottles and glasses, which was a good touch. The menu was limited, best for luch. My wife ordered a salad, which was average. I ordered a chicked pesto sandwich wich was pre-heated, and did not taste fresh at all. It was barely warm. We ordered focacia bread that was served with some garlic cream. The food presentation was amateurish. We did not finish our food and promptly left the restaurant. read more

CUSTOMER SERVICE was EXCELLENT but minus the food. We order the chicken but the batter was under cook. The batter came out somewhat soggy. If they would have cooked a little longer, it would have been tasty. The burger was ok. They put too much jalapeños where the burger was too wet to eat. We enjoyed the fries. It was good. The salad was our least favorite dish. It was fully drenched in dressing therefore we barely touched it. read more

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Was kinda on the fence originally... walked in and the place was kinda lacking energy. No one at the bar or host/hostess check in. It wasn't a long wait til we were greeted and seated. Our friends were there recently and recommended us. We have eaten in the area which has some cool spots, so... here we are. Ambiance is nice and they have a patio as well. Parking is plentiful and not too far off the freeway. Wine selection is abundant and the talo fries are above average! Service got better when the host received some help, and the experience got way better. I ordered a burger ( blu cheese/bacon) Also had a flatbread pizza to start with. Gastro pub style food with wine to boot. Definitely a spot we will re visit. Patio is dog friendly as well. read more

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Learning to love this place. Even bingo on certain Sundays. Food is good gastro pub type food. Delicious. Service is great and personal. The unique part is that the wines an aged and finished in different oak barrels previously used to age a liquor of some kind like a tequila, rum, whiskey, bourbon etc. This imparts another unique layer of flavor onto these easy drinking red, white, rose, and sparkling wines. Great place, good wine and food pairings. Nice atmosphere. Been back several times will continue to return!!! read more

Convenient location, not too busy on a Friday evening. Nice staff though not very attentive. We started off with the brussels sprouts and they were fantastic. Such a wonderful sauce, nice and crispy, plenty of flavor. It was a little odd though when someone came to collect the plates as asked if we were ready for the check. We both got the short rib which, while tender, didn't have much flavor and needed more sauce or something. The vegetables and potatoes weren't anything special. Hardly felt like a $40 meal. Nothing on the desserts menu called to me. There's plenty of other options around with similar menus, so probably only worth a visit for the wines. read more

You seriously HAVE to check this place out. The wine is so unique and so good that I'm still thinking about it weeks later. The food is just as impressive, everything tasted flavorful and high quality. The service was also top notch! We hosted a wine tasting and bites event here for our alumni group and it ended up being one of our favorite events we've done. They set us up on the private patio, turned on the TVs so we could play themed videos, and even changed the string lights to match our school colors. The level of thoughtfulness really stood out. The salad, veggie plate, and french fries were all amazing and they also have gluten free flatbreads that were incredible. Every time food came out, they made sure to call out any dietary notes, which we really appreciated. I've already been telling friends they need to go try it, and I'll definitely be buying a few bottles as gifts this year. It's that good. Perfect spot for date night, happy hour, birthdays, or any kind of get together or event. read more

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GREAT FOOD and WINES! Local owned, great menu variety, cozy vibes and excellent service. And, they use beef tallow and other healthy ingredients. Indoor and outdoor seating and even couches to relax on. We will definitely be back! read more

Food was just ok - nothing special or very tasty. It was the dreary surroundings that put me off this place. We sat on the patio for lunch - dull 'pub'-style brown chairs and tables, no decoration whatsoever on the walls, no greenery (only a sad looking cactus), loud music and a large TV screen. No charm whatsoever; just surrounded by concrete. The restaurant opposite has a similar dull patio. This establishment does not know whether to be a wine bar or a sports bar. Fails at both..... read more

Wine was excellent. Shared a flatbread with goat cheese which was exceptional. My friend liked the fries cooked in tallow. The service was excellent as well. The price was a bit high for my usual afternoon outings, but it sure was good. read more

Barrel Riot recently took over the space that used to be The Barrel Room. Just to be clear, the two don't appear to have anything to do with each other, although the interior structure still feels very similar to what was there before. We stopped in for drinks but didn't try any food, so I can't speak to the menu. I ordered both the red and white wine flights and, unfortunately, only really enjoyed two of the wines. The rest just weren't very memorable for me. My husband tried to order a glass of the Zinfandel (only available in a 200 mL pour). He really didn't care for it. The service was attentive, and the girl helping us was very sweet and friendly. She did seem fairly young and wasn't able to offer many helpful suggestions when it came to choosing wines, though she was definitely trying. Overall, it was an okay experience. The space is nice and the service was pleasant, but the wine selection didn't quite hit the mark for us. It might be worth another visit down the line to see how things develop. read more

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The food was excellent and my husband and I have been there several times now. The service was great and they were very knowledgeable about how to pair wine or whiskey with the food that you are ordering. The ambience is casual. They have a large selection of wines. My favorite has been one that they call the Mom wine. It's a chilled rosé. We also got to meet the owner who is very nice. I highly recommend giving this a try. It will not disappoint. read more

Barrel Riot - Gluten-free flatbread pizza that I highly recommend - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

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Met a group of friends here. It was nice to be able to have separate checks. They have an extensive wine list. I never heard of wine aged in a tequila barrel, but they have several. They have a nice Happy Hour menu. Food is delicious! I had one slider. It was a small little burger but boy was it tasty! It just comes by itself. It wouldn't hurt for them to give you a small handful of fries with it. Will be back. read more

So I have really struggled with this and how to rate/review. I'm happy to see another wine bar replace the Barrel Room, on the other hand it's nothing like the Barrel Room. I will definitely go back, but in a way I think positioning it as 'cozy' and a wine source are challenging descriptions that don't come through, for me. What WILL draw me back is the food and service; outstanding! Both the Fig and Goat Cheese Flatbread and the Garlic Edamame were out of this world delicious. All day long I'd eat them both. Based on that I'm looking forward to exploring more of the menu! I was there on a weekday shortly after they opened so they weren't busy but they were attentive and very engaging. Super job. On the not as favorable side, for me, is the self labeled wine. "Barrel Aged" to me, doesn't necessarily improve wine that's was already finished and then put in a barrel to impart an addition flavor. Tried both a white and Merlot and they were enough to know that the style doesn't suit me one bit. They have some local beers and I think a local winery or two and I'd stick to that with the great food. I also struggle a bit to call it cozy .... inside is cool and dark with hard floors and hard seating. Ok, there is a couch but that is far from 'cozy' in my book. Again, in summary, epic food, perhaps you'll enjoy the wine. I'll be back to enjoy the food with anything but the self-labeled wine. read more

I needed 30 minutes to kill in a city (Rancho Bernardo) I am not totally familiar with. I found Barrel Riot. I loved it from the second I walked in. I was greeted by the owner Dan and his staff. A very warm welcome. I had a beer and the recommended "Tallow Fries". Holy cow! Dang these were yummy! I loved the atmosphere. There is a very nice outdoor dining area if you don't want to sit inside. But inside, they had a TV almost bigger than the wall! I will absolutely be back next week! Check it out, you'll dig it! read more

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The food was really delicious. We had a group and absolutely everything that was ordered was great. The service was okay. It was busy and they were under staffed but everyone was helpful and friendly. Personal preference, but I didn't love that everything is fried in beef tallow. Not very food friendly for people who avoid beef. read more

This was our first time here and wow, we were so happy we finally made it here! We were greeted by owner, Daniel, who was so kind. We chose to sit outside since it was a beautiful day, their patio area is great! There's heaters throughout the patio area and fans overhead. Their menu offers a decent variety and kids choices. We weren't super hungry so just grabbed the truffle fries, but they knocked it out of the park! Easily the best dang truffle fries I've had at any restaurant/bar. For drinks we ordered their Mexican lager and the Pure Project Tropical Bliss. Both beers were absolutely delicious and we ended up ordering a second one. Our waiter was very on top of things and our beer came out, I kid you not, a minute after ordering them. The beers didn't come out at the same time which isn't a big deal at all but the owner apologized and brought the second beer out immediately after. Service was hands down 11/10 and the food + beer was 10/10. We will definitely be back for more! read more

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We had a delicious Mother's Day breakfast. The food was fantastic and a nice glass of champagne and cab. The service was fantastic read more

Barrel Riot - Shawna and Scott - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

Cozy wine bar that actually has great food! We have tried the cheese sampler, and just tried the chicken pesto sandwich with fries. I'm not a big bread or fries person, but this was outstanding. Great service too, they aim to please. It's my understanding that they make tallow fries, which use an oil that is far better than seed oil....perfectly seasoned. The focaccia bread that they make for the sandwiches is so fresh and delectable. My husband enjoyed a great light beer selection, and I enjoyed their Malbec reserve wine. Give this new place a try in Rancho Bernardo! read more

Barrel Riot - We split the chicken pesto sandwich and tallow fries. Delicious! - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

Food: Excellent, they have a diverse menu and a Great Chef Service: ALL of the staff are helpful and nice Atmosphere: It is a wonderful place to meet up with friends, have lunch/dinner, a glass of wine (or beer) TODAY they had Music Bingo... it's FREE to play And you can win prizes!! Lots of laughs and 3 of us at our table won prizes I believe they are going to have this Music Bingo every other Sunday 12 - 2pm Check out their website read more

Went here for the first time. We really enjoyed it. We just got drinks and an app. The pretzel bites were pretty tough on the outside -- seemed accidentally over cooked. But, the cheese for it was awesome. We liked the wine tastings a lot. The staff was great and we really liked the owner who took time to check in with us. He was very pleasant and passionate about place which we loved. Will definitely be back. read more

I really love this place. Every element of each dish and every wine feels deliberate and purposeful. Their Riot Burger is easily one of the best burgers I've ever had. The membership is a great value, too. Highly recommend! read more

I met my girlfriend at this venue for lunch. She told me about this location as it was recommended by a neighbor of hers. I had never been here before so I was interested. The venue is somewhat smaller inside, but they have a beautiful patio as well, which is advantageous in the summertime. This venue is more of a winery than a diner although the diner is there, but their focus is on the different wines available for purchase. This is a great venue for a luncheon with girl-friends or a date-night. The indoor atmosphere was quite elegant and inviting. The staff were very friendly, helpful and professional. In my opinion the menu was somewhat limited, but the food was great. I ordered the a "Pickled-Pear and Pecan Salad (without the Goat-Cheese). I would return to this venue just for that salad again! My girlfriend ordered a cheeseburger and fries and prior to my girlfriend arriving. I ordered an appetizer (Acacias Bread with Ice Tea. read more

I didn't get a chance to try Barrel Riot just yet, but I wanted to share our experience. I had heard about them from a very kind woman at the Poway farmers market who mentioned they were new and family-friendly, so we were excited to stop by for dinner with our two little boys. When we arrived, we realized they didn't have high chairs available, which made it tough for us to stay and dine. That said, the staff was incredibly warm, friendly, and genuinely apologetic. They reassured us that high chairs are something they're planning to add soon, which we really appreciated. Even though we didn't get to try the food this time, the kindness of the staff left a great impression. We're looking forward to coming back once they're a bit more set up for families! We called today: 4/2/26 and were informed that they had no intentions of getting highchairs. This is not a family friendly location. This is very disappointing and I feel misled as we were told they would be getting highchairs. I was looking forward to trying this restaurant but will not be patronizing this business. I would like to add the person over the phone was not kind and said "we have no intentions of adding highchairs" the switch up from our first attempt to dine there to this phone call was astounding. I'm very disappointed. Also I would like to say this 1 star review is not because they are creating an adults only space. I fully believe in having adult spaces. It's that I asked if they were family friendly, I was told yes, they were not. Then I was told they would fix the situation. Then I was rudely told they had no intentions of fixing the issue. read more

This was a cool place for a group to hang out. It took over the old Barrel Room. Great updated decor. We ordered the truffle flat bread, fig and goat cheese flat bread, truffle fries and these sweet and spicy chicken bites (forgot the name.) We each also ordered a flight of wine tastings. The food was very good. I enjoyed the truffle flat bread and the fries the most. You could really taste the truffle flavor from both. The fries were sliced into different sizes which gave it a nice crispy texture. The cheese board was delicious. The pesto cheese really stood out for me as I've never had pesto cheese. The fig and goat cheese flat bread was sweet from the figs but also savory from the bacon bits. The arugula on top pulled the flavors together which was a great balance. I felt wine flight was generous size. There were 5 tastings and the rose, Cabernet and Merlot were my favorites out of the 5. The owner Daniel was very friendly and apparently they were still in their soft opening phase. I will definitely return. read more

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I recently visited Barrel Riot in Rancho Bernardo and was really impressed! Located in the space formerly occupied by The Barrel Room, it's such a beautiful, warm and inviting well-put-together establishment. Founded by a winemaker, their approach to aging wines in bourbon, rum and tequila barrels is quite unique. I arrived at opening time (3:00 pm) and they were most welcoming and friendly. I even got to meet and converse with owner Dan who was as nice as could be. They also feature about 8 local beers on tap. I enjoyed a nice draft Hazy IPA to start. After that I had their bourbon barrel-aged Reserve Malbec which was exquisite. There is a small food menu that continues to expand throughout their soft opening. I was hoping to have the Smoked BBQ Brisket Flat Bread but they didn't have their brisket picked up from Smokin J's quite yet. I opted instead for a pepperoni pizza which was outstanding. Perfectly sized for one with a fairly thin, tasty crust and beautifully presented. I look forward to visiting again very soon! read more

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Excellent food, excellent wine, excellent service! The interior was quite nice. We sat on a comfortable sofa. We had steak fritte with tallow fries, and it was well prepared and delicious. We had a flight of white wines and a flight of red wines. Both were excellent, although we liked the reds more than the whites. We will be back for sure! read more

We tried lunch here and had the fig and goat cheese flatbread, and the pier and goat cheese salad, which we shared; it was good. I like their nonalcoholic beers however we're not big wine drinkers anymore as we get older and on meds . took the whole family there for dinner and the service was great. Dan's a wonderful manager and owner. But the food was disappointing. My son and I had the lamb and we would not order it again and my granddaughter barely touched her salad and my grandson took home half of his pizza but I heard the sliders were good if you eat beef and the tall fries were very good. Pricey for what we got-- $23 for four lamb lollipops of which only one had more than a little bite or two on it. read more

French onion soup and focaccia bread are to die for! Owner and staff are amazing and so helpful explain free whole process! read more

Barrel Riot - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

Checked out Barrel Riot the other day, a new addition to the Rancho Bernardo mall. I have to say the ambiance takes the cake. It's probably the best ambiance in town for a date night. The low key lighting, the couches, you can tell the owners put a lot of effort in creating a desirable atmosphere. The wait staff is younger, attentive and nice, might be a fun place to work on a college break for the Summer. We enjoyed the flatbread pizza, the burger and fries, superb! The wine was strong just how I like it. Will definitely be coming back for another date night. Thank you to the owners for bringing this gem to our community. read more

Barrel Riot is sooooo good! The food, the management, the WINE!!! Everything is made in house and fresh. Get the French Onion soup and the focaccia dip. YUM! Jordie is the best server and Dan, the owner is so awesome! I will definitely be back! read more

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We stopped in to Barrel Riot yesterday, thinking it was a craft brewery. It was about 30 minutes before open but the owner was kind enough to welcome us in. We were pleasantly surprised to find out the focus is on the wine. We tried both the red and the white flights so we were able to sample 10 of the wines. The owner spent a generous amount of time explaining about each wine and his background. We sat on one of the leather sofas. The vibe of the place is super relaxed and the inside is very nice. read more

Barrel Riot - The red flight - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

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My wife and I were looking for a quiet date night after a very long week. We decides to check out this place and the were still in their soft opening phase. The place was warm and inviting, vaguely reminding me of an Irish pub. The menu was understandably limited, but the choices were exactly what we were looking for. Right now, the drink selection is mostly beer and wine. I'm not much of a wine person, but wife tried a couple of different she enjoyed. We tried a cheese board, a BBQ brisket flat bread, and another flatbread with fig and goat cheese. Our server was very attentive and friendly. We looking forward to returning soon. read more

Currently in a soft launch but OMG!! The attention to service and education about Bourbon, Tequila and Rum barrel aged wine is perfect. The cheeseboards and flatbread were delicious and the location and seating was excellent for a couple or group. Definitely bringing our friends and family for a fun night out. read more

Barrel Riot - Fig, goat cheese and artisan bacon flatbread with a fun cheeseboard - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

Must go to place! Excellent service, outstanding food! Dan the owner is very personable and provides great customer service! We had the Pepperoni Pizza and Focaccia bites with the basil dip - great flavor! Also, bought a bottle of great wine. read more

Barrel Riot - Pepperoni pizza, Focaccia bites with basil dip. - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

We tried Barrel Riot for lunch. It was great. We had the small cheese tray, the lamb lollipops with balsamic glaze, a salad and the Parmesan Fries. They were all excellent. They could do gluten free for us, too. I tried a white wine flight, which was fun. Thank you for a wonderful lunch! Isaiah was a great server. The owner/manager even took the time to explain the 5 different white wines I tried. Very nice. We will be back. read more

Barrel Riot - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

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My daughter and I had lunch here last week. Jesus was wonderful. He was working alone when we arrived about 1245p. Several tables were occupied. He was obviously busy the entire time we were there. He was gracious. He never made us feel rushed. Our food and wine were both excellent. read more

Dan and his team delivered an amazing dinner and wine experience! I tried two different Malbecs aged in bourbon barrels and they were both phenomenal! The steak frites was also very good. If you're looking for a cozy new wine bar where all your troubles melt away, this is it! read more

Barrel Riot - Wineries Near Me - San Diego, California

Everything was so delicious! Had the spicy riot burger with beef tallow fries, wine flight, Brussels sprouts and cheese board. It was all so good, I joined the wine club! read more

Great food and drink. And today a wonderful music, bingo event, super super super, and almost standing room only! Everyone having a great time read more