Barren's Distillery + Restaurant

Your bartenders are trash. Literally ignored us like we were not there. But had no issue with others walking up and getting their orders. Walked right out and won’t recommend this place ever.

Service: 1

Great food. Had fish & chips excellent. Home made blueberry pie was the best. Great location down by. Docks on the waterfront.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The establishment had some highs and lows. Highs include an unforgettable outdoor experience. Right on the water with a dynamic outside space as well as a cool hybrid indoor/outdoor bar. The bar boasts an impressive mix of liqueurs. Also, we got a flight of their distillery gins (more on this below) and we were impressed. The Dorolenna Gins are particularly well done. Someone/their distilling team knows what they are doing. I hope they do well with these.
Now for the unfortunate lows, When our flight of gin was brought out to us (and it took a long time), the first clear gin had a solid teaspoon of sand-like particles at the bottom of the tasting glass. There was so much of it I thought it was meant to be there but asked our server. She looked confused and brought it immediately back to the bar. I saw her interaction with the bartender who clearly appeared not to care during their interaction. The explanation was that they use those same glasses for some sort of oyster seasoning and it was missed. Totally fine, things happen but there was barely an acknowledgement it was a mistake or an apology. Just an “oh well, here is a new one”. Again, things happen, no big deal but neither staff seemed to really care. In addition to this, service was very slow to start (they seemed to be well staffed) and our server had the same laissez-faire attitude throughout the experience outlined above.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 1

Fun atmosphere and good drinks! Definitely recommend the lobster bruschetta!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Sipped liquors

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 4

Beautiful place to sit and have a drink. We had the nachos, which were delicious. The pretzel was cold and chewy and had a weird cheese sauce which did not add anything to the pretzel. But great to have a beer with a gorgeous view and the staff were very friendly.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

My wife and I were in town from Delaware so we were getting hungry. Arrived 4 minutes before closing and expected to be turned away. We were greeted and told to come on in! The staff was so nice and the food was top notch!!! I would totally recommend this place any time.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Service and atmosphere were excellent. My husband had the pasta with chicken and while the flavors were good the pasta was way undercooked. The clam dip and fries were good. I had the fish n chips, the fish itself was fresh and tasty but the beer batter was too thick and the flavor overwhelmed the fish. We would go back for maybe apps and drinks but not main meals.

Food was good. We sat outside and the view of the marina was very pretty. Great cocktails. Good vibe.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

The view is great, drinks were delicious. Waitress was sweet. But the food was almost inedible. I got a haddock chowder and garden salad. My first bowl of soup was cold, my second was so salty I couldn’t finish it. And the salad had so much dressing it was basically soup. My partner’s BLT was also incredibly salty. Overall, would return for a drink (maybe) but not for food.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 4

Great view of the harbor from upstairs dining, and excellent drinks

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

The atmosphere and setting are beautiful, and the service was great, but the food and drinks don’t match. Ate her twice, first visit was not bad, the 2nd was poor: “jumbo” shrimp that were tiny, drinks that seemed like a bad experiment, lobster roll without much meat, burgers that were average, at beat. For a limited menu I expected more palatable fare.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

We went on the recommendation of a local, and it was delicious. Plus the view of the harbour was lovely. Don't skip out on trying their own distilled gin, my husband said the pink gin was delicious. We started with the lobster brushetta, and we're so glad we did because neither one of us would have thought of this combination. Then he got haddock chowder, it wasn't too salty, and he enjoyed it immensely. We also got the mussels which were so fresh and delicious. The garlic cream sauce was decadent and perfect for dipping bread into.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

They have a large variety of dishes. Their burger is one of the best. Waiters are very friendly. It’s really nice to sit outside or inside.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

From sitting down to getting a drink was 40 minutes. (It was a Tuesday night and not that busy). I was excited to try a fun drink, ordered the Blue My Mind for $17. I didn't care for it, but no sign of time server to say anything. Ended up trading drinks with someone else in my party
who didn't mind the taste.
Ordered crab dip to start, but got deviled eggs instead. It was explained that they ran out, but the eggs were complimentary. We then watched the couple at the table across from us (who arrived at least 30 minutes after us) enjoy their crab dip.
My son got the fish and chips, which he said was great. Fries were good to. His girlfriend ordered the apple scallop salad. She had it last year and really liked it. This time they ran out of apples and substituted frozen blueberries. This changed the whole flavor of the meal.
They did give us a complimentary shrimp cocktail in exchange.
While it's always nice to get something complimentary, we didn't ask for eggs or shrimp. I think coming over to our table and explaining that they were running out of food would have made more sense. At least give us the opportunity to make another choice or go elsewhere.
We would definitely go back, because the bar has a great vibe, but only for drinks, I probably wouldn't eat there again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 2