Barrel 21 Distillery and Dining

We came for dinner with a group of 16 while in town for a swim meet. Some restaurants struggle with large groups but not this place! Our waitress was absolutely fantastic at making sure everyone had what they needed. The atmosphere was perfect for a group. The main takeaway from the entire group was that the FOOD WAS INCREDIBLE! Two of the chefs, Alec and Quinn, came out to the table to make sure everything was ok and even answered questions about some of the dishes. The adults were loving the crafted cocktails and the kids loved the desserts! If you’re looking for a farm to table style restaurant that provides great service and pays attention to all the details-this is it!

Seated quickly but long wait for everything else. They were out of most of the feature entrees, which is what we were hoping to eat, and the meat in our sandwiches was very dry. The burger was ordered medium but was overdone. Dinner service for 2 took over 2 hours.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

Such a nice mood restaurant! The staffs are very kind with good manners!

They have somewhere limited options for lunch, so I prefer to visit here for dinner. Especially, I really enjoyed when there were special menus that may be seasonal. One of the best part is you can reserve.

They have good cocktail/mocktail options.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Barrel Burger

Vegetarian options: Great portobello sandwich!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

We had a great experience there tonight. Service was top notch, food was delicious.

Stopped in for a bite to eat before heading to Beaver Stadium for a concert. Online reservations said "come on it, there is currently no wait". Got there and there was an hour wait. Ended up waiting 20 minutes then sitting in the bar area, 40 minutes later they called saying my table was ready!

I ordered the Cherry Apple Cider, which was good (and cheap - only $4).

Hubs and I both ordered the Barrel Burger (ribeye cheeseburger with brown sugar balsamic onions, and bacon). I honestly don't remember the bacon being on my burger but I'm sure it was there. The burger was super dry and lacked flavor. I also got a side of truffle fries for $1 upgrade - they were good and worth the extra $1

The food was dropped off by what seemed to be a manager, who was nice - hubs was suppose to get French fries and they brought a salad by mistake and he offered to get fries for him (the salad looked good, so he kept the salad and said the dressing was delicious).
Our server NEVER returned to our table except to bring our bill but he was super nice when he was taking our order......so I'm not sure how to tip.

Bathrooms were super clean and the place was decorated nicely.

Really enjoyed the food here, as it was 1 of the better places we have eaten in State College this year. It was rich but very tasty. I would warn to watch out for over-ordering as the rich food will catch up to you fast. Still, it's excellent.

Vive is fine, nothing amazing. Waiter was impossible to hear over the noise of the place. While his service was perfectly fine, we couldn't hear a word he said.

Will be back for sure.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Reservation system sucks. Showrd availability, reserved and said "pending". We show up and the hostess was not friendly, saying "oh we've been reserved for weeks". Next day i get a message that my Reservation was declined. Wow

Rarely do you get great food, great cocktails, great atmosphere, and great service all in one place. Barrel 21 has it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Always super impressed, and never ever disappointed! highly recommend!

We had an amazing dinner here. Our kids gave us a gift certificate because they love Barrel 21 on the their date night!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nice find in state college. The girl on the tasting side was excellent. I ended up buying two bottles from her. 2 bucks for tasting a 3 shot flight! Whiskey and tequila were surprisingly excellent. Who would have thunk it? A distillery in State College, and it's really good?!?!. Worth the stop. Nice vibe. Nice people and great quality! Also the price is extremely reasonable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Had to wait almost 7 minutes to be waited on. Did not feel welcomed at all. The salad was delicious! I will not go back!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Tuna Nicoise Salad

We have been to Barrel 21 four times now. Food has been excellent, drinks just perfect and Service wonderful!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Barrel Burger, Prime Rib Sandwich, Truffle Fries

Barrel 21 is our favorite restaurant without question. We have been there many times but today was our first Brunch. Just really comfortable atmosphere and great food. Add in Lisa as our hostess and you have a wonderful entertaining afternoon. She makes you feel like family.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Enjoyed the Delmonico steak (DELICIOUS!!) and my wife had the chicken Milanese. The drinks were phenomenal, and took advantage of the $5 “barrel” drinks on a Thursday night.