Barrel and Fork

Some times on your second visit, a restaurant that scored a five the first time loses its "first time" excitement. Not Barrel and Fork, another wonderful experience. Try the Elk Rib Eye, it was amazing.

I wanted to take my hubby on a nice dinner date. I searched on Resy for a nice restaurant and found Barrel and Fork. I first noticed the 4.5 star rating but as I delved deeper, I read some exhilarating reviews regarding this restaurant. The more and more I read the reviews the more I became intrigued by the restaurant. I booked a reservation on Global Dining by Resy. We drive about 30+ minutes to Cornelius where the restaurant is located. Our reservation was for 5 PM. We got there about 10 minutes early and noticed a line had formed at the entrance of the restaurant. We waited outside until they opened at 5 PM on the dot. We were seated promptly once we got to the hostess stand.The restaurant is in an old house built in 1906 (if I am not mistaken). The floors creaked as you walk on them and you can feel the floors moving as people walked by. Our waiter came over to go over the cocktail menu. My hubby decided to opt for the smoked Old Fashioned and I opted for the bourbon flight (I did not modify it although you can). We also ordered a caesar salad and candy pig (bacon). Our drinks came first followed by the salad and bacon. The flights I ordered were 80, 104, and 95 proof respectively. The brand of bourbon is called Penelope. They were strong but satisfying. My hubby stated that his drink was "interesting" but good. It had a nutty flavor. The salad was delicious and the candy pig was basically pork belly. It was fatty and sweet, but very flavorful.We ordered our entrees next. I ordered the brazina fish which came with rice and veggies and my hubby ordered the wagyu meatloaf with mashed potatoes and succotash. My branzina was charred and seasoned to perfection. Although boney (I had to pull a ton of bones out of mouth so be careful when ordering this dish), it was delightful the sides were good too. My hubby loved his meatloaf. He said it was definitely one of the best meatloafs he has ever tasted. He loved his veggies and mash too. Finally, we ordered dessert. I chose the passion fruit cake and my hubby opted for the key-lime cheesecake. The passion fruit cake was like a strawberry shortcake that included passion fruit. It was sooooo good. It was the favorite dessert between the two. The key-lime was good but average.The service was good as well. We were checked on by the manager and by our server, Joseph constantly. Joseph gave great recommendations. My hubby knocked over my empty flight glass by accident. Luckily it did not break, and the manager came over promptly to see if we needed anything to be cleaned up and/or drinks "topped off".Once we finished, they brought over one of the most unique things. It was a tincture made with boiling water, dry ice, assorted plants, and spices. It smelled so good and made for a great photo. Hubby's Ratings:Smoked Old fashioned - 3.5/5The Burrows (Manhattan) - 4.5/5Caesar Salad - 4/5Meatloaf - 4.5/5Key-lime Pie - 4/5Passion fruit cake - 4.5/5Customer Service - 5/5Ambiance - 4/5My ratings:Flight - 4/5Candy Pig - 5/5Branzina - 5/5Passion fruit cake - 5/5Key-lime pie - 4/5Customer service - 5/5Ambiance - 4/5Overall, I would highly recommend Barrel and Fork for couples looking for a nice romantic meal in a quaint restaurant with great cocktails and flavorful cuisine. And don't forget to get a slice of that passion fruit cake. You'll thank me later.

First, make sure you have allocated for an expensive meal before deciding to come here. It is going to be costly, so if you are a tight wad like my brother, prepare yourself! After checking out the seasonal menu for over a year we decided to get this spot a try. The service was excellent! Our server was fast, efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly. We started with the gnocchi and it was arguably the best part of our meal! The texture was unbelievable and unlike any other gnocchi we have tried. The sauce that night was a beef white sauce and it was so very savory and rich. We both had salads - they were tasty and good, but not necessarily memorable. My wife had the scallops over risotto - perfectly cooked and well seasoned. I had the meatloaf and it was an umami bomb in your mouth! We finished the night with a slice of key lime cheesecake - it was good but they do not make in house. The seating is intimate, so if you don't like stranger danger, prepare yourself! We are not drinkers, so my wife tried a ginger mock-tail and she loved it! Again, prepare yourself for a pricey meal $$$$! Then don't stress because you budgeted for it! We will definitely be back! To those about to dine, we salute you!

After reading yelp reviews I was nervous about getting a seat. We called while fighting highway traffic and were told they had a couple seats at the bar. We crossed our fingers and said little prayers.We grabbed two low back bar seats, settled in, and cozied up at at the bar with the most amazing mixologists. Dinner, drinks and well received education. We tried a couple new bourbons (they have quite a few) the most amazing gin drinks, and kangaroo. Loved the competed experience. B&F was booming for a Thursday. Great atmosphere and vibe all around. The porch had well appointed heaters. If we didn't enjoy the bar experience we would have loved to sit out on the porch of this beautiful home. Our food came in a timely manner and we cleaned our plates. The exploration of flavors from carrot puree, mustard collards, and softly sautéed mushrooms appeased all the senses. From a last moment chance at a seat this turned into a complete customized dinner experience. We had tickets for another event down the road but were sad to leave. Will be back soon. With more of our family.

This place definitely kept a little piece of my heart with it! It's loaded with character, artwork, knowledgeable staff and soooo many item made in-house!It's a small quaint restaurant with delicious food, a great playlist and a cozy feeling inside and outside! The Pig Candy, Peach, Salmon and Bronzini was fantastic!Matt our server did a phenomenal job taking care of us too! Had a chance to chat with a few other ppl that work there and everyone was so kind, and excited about B&F too!Can't wait to return! Such a great experience :)

Superb food with a great atmosphere and excellent service. We were thrilled with our time and have added this to the top of our list for future date nights

Need to (unfortunately) update my previous review. Came here as a party of six as family was in town. It may be better for a date night or max party of 4. Let's start with ambience: I was the only one in our party comfortable as I was siting in front of the in-window AC unit that was running full blast - I had to put my hair back as it kept blowing it everywhere like a golden retriever with his head out the window. Since the AC was on full blast, the front room we were sharing with 3 other parties meant we were all speaking loudly at each other to hear. I felt so bad for the couple trying to have date night. Secondly, service. Our server, while.....nice, was kind of scatter brained and had zero wine knowledge. He kept running back and forth to ask questions about specific bourbons and wines - white and red options. On top of it, there was an additional service charge for the old-fashioned to be smoked. That was something odd to see for this kind of establishment.The food - 3 people ordered the scallops over citrus risotto and the scallops looked absolutely amazing... and I started having serious FOMO as I had ordered the Wagyu meatloaf over mashed potatoes with a semi-glacé. My brother-in-law ordered the veal Parmesan, which he said was his favorite thing on the menu and he promptly demolished. My husband ordered the and substituted the risotto for the mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, the fillet was cooked properly, and was extremely tender... There was absolutely zero seasoning to be used, fortunately there was enough salt in the risotto to make up for it, but to eat the steak by itself... I make something better at home. For the Lovely price of $62 I definitely expected more especially when it been amazing the last time. Now, onto the Wagyu meatloaf... There's enough fat in Wagyu, that the meatloaf should not have been drier than a hungry man microwavable dinner. Whatever was used as the binder was way too much because the meatloaf was incredibly dense. The succotash was hard with the butter beans and corn having a white freezer burnt appearance two bites and I was done. The Demi Glace was separated, and you could see the droplets of fat. Fortunately, the server was more than gracious and I substituted for the scallops. The scallops were buttery and very flavorful, but the risotto was too salty for me to really give a great opinion on, and you could not taste the citrus notes that were utilized in the cooking process. The server did let me know that they took both meals off of our ticket, which we definitely appreciated. After three alcoholic beverages, a wedge salad, key lime pie cheesecake and my husband's filet our total was still $165 after tax. Even with there being such a lack of fine dining restaurants in the area, I doubt we will return.

Food & Service we're fantastic. It's a great place to go to for a special occasion. We plan to go back again.

Awesome food, awesome drinks, awesome service! This is our favorite date night place to go, we never leave disappointed.

Went to barrel and fork for our anniversary. Have been to restaurant bunch of times prior and had great experience. This time was unfortunately not the case. We were seated next to the bathrooms and kitchen, so needless to say not very romantic setting. Usually don't care where I am seated but for special occasion need to be better location. For appetizer we went with the calamari which was good but wish restaurants would stop putting marinara as the sauce. I ordered the wagyu steak and it was saltier than McDonald's fries which ruined the steak. The side dish risotto was amazing and my wife's scallops were great as well. Overall the food was great besides my steak. Will definitely come back since prior experiences have been great. Only suggestion is when making a reservation and it asks if there is a special occasion and you answer yes it should factor in seating location or why even ask if you do nothing with information.