Iron Barley

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

A small, intimate setting with an unobtrusive front. Entering, the bar area was along the right wall. The restaurant area was to the left and featured standard restaurant tables and chairs. Kind of an eclectic décor. Outstanding food, all prepared on premises and much of it smoked. O'Fallon Smoked Porter on tap (one of the few draft accounts) as well as O'F 5-Day IPA on cask. Hill Pig Sammiche (note spelling and pronunciation) with peppers, ham sauce. Wow!

Beers: Seven (7) draft plus one (1) cask. Fifteen (15) BTs plus the usual domestic suspects.

11-25-2009 01:06:04 | More by woodychandler

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.56/5  rDev -17%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Stopped here after reading an interview with Adam Richman in Draft magazine where he mentioned it. It is located on Virginia Ave right off I-55. Street parking appears to be the only option in the vicinity.

The inside is rather rustic looking with table seating on the left and the short bar on the right. The decor is kind of like an old five and dime, with antique-looking knickknacks tacked up all over.

Iron Barley's beer selection is on the small side but has some decent selections. There are 10 taps with offerings from Six Row, Left Hand, O'Fallon, Cathedral, Goose Island, Boulevard, and New Belgium to name a few. As for bottles there are 10-12 with a few of the same brewers plus some of the standard stuff you see everywhere.

Service on a weekday early afternoon was decent. The place was slow and I didn't get the sense that there was a lot of beer knowledge, but then again that is not the focus here.

I did not try any of their famous food but the menu was definitely unique enough that I want to go back sometime.

Overall this place is a little out of the way from downtown but the eclectic decor and local brews should be enough to warrant a visit for someone visiting the city.

08-10-2010 20:44:18 | More by Dogbrick

86sportster883

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -12.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

The Iron Barley is a cozy, small neighborhood bar/restaurant in St. Louis with a character all its own. It's a simple two room place with one room serving as the bar area and the other as the dining area. The bar area was mostly full on a mid week evening when I stopped in, so I seated myself at a small table in the dining room. There was a sole guitar player strumming an acoustic guitar and drawing applause from the patrons.

On tap (3.50 + tax):
O'Fallon Smoked Porter, New Belgium's 1554 Black Ale & Blue Paddle Pilsner, AB's Bare Knuckle Stout, Schlafly's Hefe, Goose Island's Honkers Ale, and Griesedieck's Golden Pilsner.

In bottles:
Tucher Hefe Weiss, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Hoegaarden, Bell's Two Hearted, SN Pale Ale, Ayinger Celebrator, O'Dell 90 Shillings & Cutthroat Porter, Sam Smith's Nut Brown, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, Guinness Draft bottles, Huyghe's Floris Apple, New Belgian Abbey, Monchshot Kellerbrau and your usual domestic macros from AB.

The barley salad ($8.95) was very good and was just what I needed to take the edge off my hunger as I waited for my entrée, the seafood risotto special ($22.95). The main menu offered Soup, Salad, Dogs, "Sammiches" (to include the Ballistic Elvis) and Entrées that included chicken, pasta, roasted pork, schnitzel & spaetzle, NY strip, prime rib (oak roasted), barley paella, salmon and trout.

The O'Fallon 5 day IPA on cask went very well w/the barley salad and I had a pint of Blue Paddle with the seafood risotto (scallops, mussels, little neck clams, shrimp and calamari w/sun dried tomatoes in a red cream sauce).

The food was excellent, the service was friendly and the beer list offered a wide range of choices. The Iron Barley is definitely one of the better places for food and beer in St. Louis.

03-29-2008 20:29:27 | More by 86sportster883

Jason

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This bar made me feel at home right from the start. Or was it the prime rib the size of my head that seduced me to think that way? Little road house, a little beer bar and a lot of American bar comes from here. Seven beers on, all craft at the time and they even had some O'Fallons BA Smoked Porter in the bottle ... oh yeah and a cask ale on as well. The staff treated us like family in a way, very casual and friendly. Come here with an appetite and thirsty or don't come at all. Beef and beer, what else do I really need?

06-05-2007 04:56:43 | More by Jason

orbitalr0x

Illinois

4/5  rDev -6.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped by here last time I was in St. Louis after searching Beerfly here for good places to check out. Farily unassuming place off the highway that's easy enough to find if you keep your eyes open. Looks like a classic old time roadhouse restaurant once you enter. Lots of old wood and memorabilia on the walls. Long bar on the right with seating on the left and a window to the kitchen straight ahead. Nice and homey...everyone was very friendly the minute I walked in!

The brew selection wasn't huge but it was a nice variety of locals including Schlafly, O'Fallon Smoked Porter on tap and 5 Day IPA on cask (which was unfortunately out when I went), along with some New Belgium taps as well. Our server was very nice and quick to refill drinks and place our order. My girlfriend attempted to order the crazy Elvis sandwich with bacon, peanut butter, bananas and more...but they were out of something and had to 86 it. She ended up going with a reuben and I went with the veggie reuben.

The Smoked Porter went well with my meal and I enjoyed the food. Good roadside grub that satisfied both of us before our journey back to IL. Overall, I enjoyed this place. There was fun live music as well. If you're in St. Louis it's worth making a stop here and enjoying some good local brew and grub!

07-13-2007 01:38:23 | More by orbitalr0x

Realale

Missouri

4.08/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $

Why did it take me so long? With the recent loss of Bastante, I decided it was time to hit some beer-friendly restaurants that I've just not taken the time to visit. Number one on the list was Iron Barley.

The location isn't convenient for my home or office, but honestly, it only took 18 minutes from my office in Clayton. Ditto my house. A bit less coming back. Well worth it.

I've now been for a couple of lunches and a dinner, and this place is firmly in my regular rotation! The space is divided into a restaurant and a bar area, neither of which is large, but both seemed comfy. Let's just say the focus is definitely on what's on the plate and in the glass. Hurray for that, in my book.

The menu was compact, with a selection of salads, sandwiches, and entrees. There were at least four specials each time, all of which sounded delish. The menu was sparse on details, but our waitress was more than happy to fill them in. My sandwiches and entree have been terrific, and the selections made by the others looked damn good, and got excellent reviews.

Beer selection is also compact, but it's quality through and through. Lots of local micro representation in the form of Schlafly, O'Fallon, and Griesedieck pilsner. A couple of New Belgium taps, and a couple more in bottle. A smattering of imports rounds out the interesting selections. Oh, and one of the Schlafly's is CASK!! That's right. True cask beer at a restaurant. Selection today was Schlafly's APA, and it was in fine form. On a steamy St. Louis night, the cask was a little too warm, but I suspect they might have just turned on the A/C. I'll update on a revisit.

Service was excellent. Informative, helpful, and not obtrusive. Well done.

05-01-2006 18:49:36 | More by Realale

udubdawg

Kansas

4.83/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

I am eternally thankful for BeerFly or I'd never have heard of this place.

Visited on Feb 28th. Unfamiliar with the town/streets, so I went early while it was still light out. No trouble finding the place and early in the evening parking on the street was a breeze.

I could wax poetic about how good the food was - my Oak Roasted Pork was cooked to perfection, and one of the most delicious meals I've ever had. Love the side of barley - would you call that a barley risotto I guess?
I could rave about how well the O'Fallon smoked porter went with my meal, and how much I enjoyed their IPA too.
I could show how little I paid for a magnificent meal.
I could talk about the live music, the friendly staff, the homey feel...

...but wouldn't you rather just go try it for yourself?

Among the ONLY disappointments I experienced was that sitting at the bar I got a blast of cold February air every time someone opened the door - obviously if I'd sat elsewhere this wouldn't have been a problem. And unfortunately, whatever beer they had on cask that night was out. Between the lack of cask beer and being too full for dessert, it sounds like I shall have to go back.

03-11-2007 15:31:04 | More by udubdawg

Vancer

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -9.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$$

Not a bad place, hit it on a Friday nite around 6pm – plenty of space and the service was exceptional, almost to a fault. Our waitress was very pleasant, and not only did she know the menu, she rattled on for 5 minutes with all the specials. Sheesh, I needed to take notes, no way could I remember everything she said.

As the previous reviewers mentioned, only 7 brews on tap, but good locals. Pretty good bottled beers to back up the taps. 5 Day IPA on cask was excellent.

The roasted ½ chicken was my entrée, and it failed BBQing 101. They left the skin on, so all the smoke and rub was wasted when I peeled the nasty skin off, leaving the plain jane chicken underneath. I’ll give this place another chance down the road, but I’m in no hurry to return.

07-01-2007 18:32:19 | More by Vancer

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.18/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 5 | $$

Went here with a couple of buddies on a saturday night. Got there around 7 pm. Should've gotten there earlier. This place gets crowded! but one look at the small wood bar with the cozy dinning room area and you'll understand why. Just on atmosphere alone this place fly's high. The decor is very cozy almost like an old hunting cabin. They had live music with a guy on sax and another on vocals and guitar. Very nice background for the noisy bar area and dinning room. They seemed to blend in so well that you would never know it was a live performance. Very nice.

I ordered the lamb chops, cus-cus with spinach and onions. The chops were done perfect and the grilled spinach and onions was a great surprise. Service was excellent with servers knowing everything about their specials.

I tried the Boulevard Nutcracker Ale which turns out to be one of my favorites from Blvd. They also had Left Hand Milk Stout, GI Honkers Ale, Blvd. Wheat and some other taps that I didn't recognize.

Price is reasonable for what you are getting. Some might consider it a bit pricey though.

Overall great little cozy place. Very unassuming but hiding some great food and beer inside.

12-06-2009 18:48:24 | More by JoEBoBpr

phaleslu

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$$

Went here for dinner on my brother’s birthday. Grabbed a pint in the bar area and headed out to the back patio, where a band started playing. Great summer patio. The inside isn’t big but has a lot of character, a great old south city bar. Nice selection of locals (Schlafly, O’Fallon, Six Row, etc.), regionals, and other micros. Most of Boulevard’s Smokestack series available, though pricy. The food is amazing, huge portions, hearty, just perfect. The service is good- friendly and attentive enough, and plenty of staff on hand. If you’re a meat eater and beer drinker, this place is a must visit when in St. Louis.

05-18-2011 20:24:25 | More by phaleslu