FINALLY! After being in the Indy area for over 2 years, we have finally found a go-to brew pub and restaurant with excellent brews and decent food. It has a dive-bar feel to it, but we kind of enjoy that feel. I wouldn't mind a little clean up and a little improvement around the place, but the food is really good and the beer is even better. The people who work there and hang out there are super nice too.
Review Source:My wife and I stopped in to have a quick beer. Â We sat at the bar and were pleasantly surprised by the service and the quality of the beer. Â I had an IPA that was excellent. Â They also have a fermented cider on draft (that they don't brew) that my wife really enjoyed.
We'll definitely drop by again when we're in the area.
Beer was good. Quite a pleasant surprise having just moved here. the Burger was very good and I would order again. it is a musty place with a hap-hazard motif.. but it's also part of the charm. If you want an upscale fresh and happening place.. go some place else. You want a nice dinner and a brew.. come on in.
Review Source:Yes,they are a brewery. A midwest brewery. Now,let's talk about their tenderloins. Beerbatter breading,and baby,I'm talking tender and flavorful! I ate mine minus the bun(just my preference) but with lettuce,tomato,mayo and ketchup. And I'm drooling thinking about it! Add those fresh homemade potato chips and. ...Ahhhh.....
Review Source:I really like BI's Dirty Helen brown ale. Â It's one of my favorite local brews and IMO vastly underrated. Â But I do not like this location. Â The smell is off-putting when you walk in. Â I have eaten here before and found the food to be ok. Â The last time I stopped by I just wanted to grab a growler. Â I waited 10 minutes standing in the bar trying to get someone to help me, but the bartender was too busy chatting with a patron. Â My kids were in the car, so I got fed up and left. Â The beer is 4 stars. Â I wish their pub matched the quality of the beers.
Review Source:What a missed opportunity! Barley Island's beer is really good, and as the other reviewers have stated, most people expect something much better when visiting this place.
While they don't allow smoking until later in the evening, it still smells really bad in there. Not just smokey, but a little musty. The smell of this place is the worst part of it. If it weren't for the smell, I could maybe look past the mismatched furniture/fixtures and drab decor. Atmosphere kills this place.
We stopped by on a Sunday afternoon after canoeing and I was worried that I would feel to dirty to go to a sit-down restaurant and brewery. I would have been mad if I were freshly showered and went to this place. So, at least I was already gross upon arriving.
As I mentioned, the beer is great! My husband likes a hoppier beer, I prefer a lighter, fruitier wheat one. They pleased us both and the carryout prices ($7-8 a six-pack) can't be beat!
After seeing how dirty the place was, we weren't too enthused about ordering food, so we just had an appetizer and bolted. Beer bread and beer cheese dip. Food was good, but nothing I would be dying to go back to enjoy in that setting.
This place has potential - a great location and the building itself seems interesting- but they have a long way to go before I would ever want to go back to dine here.
If anyone is a fan of the beers and thinks they are going to visit the actual brewery and be impressed, I feel sorry for them if they are making a long trip - not worth it.
Stopped here before a concert because my sister and I wanted to try something local and we are always up for a good beer. The place was ok- a little dirty- our table was sticky.
The beer was good but not great. We tried the IPA. It was just ok.
The food was OK. I had the Black & Blue Burger with Kettle Chips. There was a TON of blue cheese on this burger. The kettle chips were a little over done. Â My sister had the fish & chips. She said they were pretty good. The homemade tartar sauce was the best part.
The service was friendly and we got our food really fast but it took 30 minutes after we finished eating for us to get our bill and I had to go ask for it.
I'll second in part what other reviewers have said, and update a bit.
First and foremost, Barley Island is about the beer. Their brews are far better than average. My tastes are towards the darker, heavier, more full bodied beers, such as their porter, stout, Scotch Ale, and IPA. If you're going for the beers, and especially if you sit at the bar or go when there is live music, you're going to enjoy yourself.
The food is ok. Just ok. Not bad, not great. Bar food. The service has always been very slow. I've been going here for six years, and no matter who the server is, if you're ordering food and not sitting at the bar, you're going to be waiting longer than you think you should. Friendly folks, just not on the stick.
Management has voluntarily adopted a smoke-free policy. This is a vast improvement, as the place used to be very smoky, and I found that unpleasant.
The beers are good enough to put up with the negatives.
I've enjoyed their beers for some time, and looked forward to visiting and dining. Unfortunately, I expected an Upland, Brugge or Broad Ripple Brewpub food 'n brew experience, but got instead what I imagine Cheers would offer.
The atmosphere is dim and smokey, and it was sad that they only had a few of their own beers on tap. My wife and I each got black bean burgers, which were okay but jam packed with green stuff, we assumed cilantro. The waffle fries were terrific, but the kettle chips were stale.
Server was courteous, though he acted like he had just stepped out of Half Baked - which might explain why he gave my wife waffle fries instead of chips at first.
At any rate, it's a decent place to get a beer and waffle fries, though I won't be back any time soon. They're opening a location in Broad Ripple, but if they hope to compete in that locale, they need to significantly step their game up.
I recommend this place more as a lunch-time or late-evening venue. Â It's a bar, through and though. Â Most brewpubs are just restaurants with exceptionally fancy beers, but this place is a bar that has exceptionally fancy beers (and a real thing for Jager). Â The food selection is terribly limited and the service is incredibly lame if you're not up at the bar, doing it yourself. Â Furthermore, about half of the beers they brew on-site aren't even available on tap; they just pour a bottle into a glass.
The beers themselves are pretty run of the mill. Â The food is pretty run of the mill. Â The service is below average. Â The environment is bar-like. Â Which can be really cool if you're into that scene. Â Where is actually shines is when the place is mostly empty--lunch and late night. Â Then it's fun, friendly and prompt.
It's worth a visit, if only for the really cool building it inhabits. Â This entire neighborhood has been constructed in the existing buildings, and this one is an old barn. Â Don't worry, it doesn't smell or anything, it just looks awesome.
Go for the beer and leave the food to someone else.
That's what I do anyway. Â They brew some excellent to good beer, depending on the style. Â But the food... the food leaves a lot to be desired. Â I've given them quite a few chances and have been dissapointed in the quality each time.
4 Stars for the brewing side of the biz and 2 for the restaurant side.
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