Barney's Beanery

07/27/09

Not worth the wait

by kgeary74 at Citysearch

We waited for an hour to get into this place, I will say it was on a Friday night and that normally would have been just fine, if we had been told that was going to be the wait. She informed us when we got there that the wait would only be 25 minutes. The Hostess did a horrible job at keeping patrons informed as to the longer wait.

Once inside, I will say our waitress was on top of things. She got our son's meal out to him first, within 10 minutes of sitting down (very impressive) and actually got our meals out to us within 5 minutes of ordering (appetizers first, then main meal).

The food was not worth the money paid though, I have nothing against bar food but I have definitely had better. The French Onion soup was actually sweet, which it is not supposed to be and the fish in the fish and chips was actually a bit undercooked. My husband's chicken fried steak was the size portion that you would receive at a 5 star restaurant, not at a pub type place. The chips were great though...lol. I do not normally write bad reviews unless I had a really bad experience at a place and unfortunately this was one of those bad experiences.

• Pros: Great servers
• Cons: long wait, horrible hostess, not even above par bar food

07/21/09

try barneys brew!

by thebopper32 at Citysearch

potato skins with cheese, chili, bacon, sour cream, and quac will leave you full for a day

• Pros: close to the beach and great food
• Cons: parking in santa monica can be tough

06/23/09

Best Happy Hour in Santa Monica

by Babs1 at Citysearch

Barney's is my new neighborhood bar...What's not to like about this place. A great selection of food and beer (the burgers and onion rings are my fav.) combined with a laid-back atmosphere. Great Happy Hour specials.

• Pros: An unending menu and Stella on tap
• Cons: Sometimes a little wait - but for good reason

01/27/09

Barney's

by liltamby5 at Citysearch

If you are a sports enthusiast, then this is the place to eat or grab beers. There are flat screen TV everywhere you look, so you can?t miss a second of the game. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees from open to close. Most of their portions are big and offered at a reasonable price. The Belgian waffles are amazing and cooked to perfection!

07/01/08

Don?t pick this Promenade restaurant

by jenheidir at Citysearch

I had high hopes for Barney?s. Their pub style decor with licenses plates and hub caps gave the restaurant a very cool vibe, and their outdoor patio next to the Promenade is perfect for people-watching. Plus there?s the newspaper menu; literally a journal of every type of American classic dish imaginable. Yet food and the service when I was there were incredibly disappointment. My chili was watery and lacked flavor, and my friend?s potato skins were overly oily and too drenched in cheese. What?s the point of generous portion sizes if you don?t want to eat the food? Plus, our waitress forgot twice to bring my guacamole and my friend?s sauce. Next time I?m at the Promenade, I?m eating elsewhere.

• Pros: ambience, menu variety
• Cons: food, service

05/04/08

It Is What It Is

by Azulo at Citysearch

Barney's is not gourmet food. It is not even the Barney's where Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin hung out.

It is a busy sports bar on the promenade. But the food is edible, the helpings are generous, and it's reasonable. It's a good place to go for lunch, if you don't have to stand in line. Therefore, I recommend it.

I like their salads, the tuna melt that they'll put on sourdough if you ask, and I'm especially addicted to their "Wurst Reuben," a tasty, if not healthy, sandwich.

The service is probably what you'd expect from a busy place, but I don't feel ignored. And I'll be back.

• Pros: Reasonable, edible
• Cons: Parking

03/07/08

Barney's Beanery lousy service, lousy food...pass this one by!

by beenthere22 at Citysearch

A while back we enjoyed a very nice meal with good service and an all around good experience. Today was anything but! The waitress didn't even know how to answer questions about the menu and then argued about what was supposed to be on the plate when the "runner" delivered it minus key things! The chicken wings were tough & suspect they were made sometime in the past decade, frozen & then served today. The baked potato was practically crunchy...on the inside! Yuck!

Additionally, in spite of the menu that seems vast, it is truly lacking. One can't even get a simple potato salad with the deli sandwiches & when pickles were requested they bring the sandwich type little slices! GRRR.

My suggestion, next time you are hungry & find yourself on the Promenade, walk right past Barney's Beanery! There are lots of other places to spend you time & money!

• Pros: Convenient, if you are shopping on the Promenade
• Cons: It ain't worth the time or trouble!

11/01/07

Ruined by dumb owners.

by jackncoke at Citysearch

I'm never going back. Barney's used to be the best bar in Santa Monica. Then they got rid of all their good staff. Ryan was a mainstay at that place since it opened. I don't think Lisa works there anymore either. And I heard Jeff was gone too. I don't know how the people that run that place think that people will keep coming if they don't see their favorite bartender when they get there. The service at the tables is terrible and the food isn't that good either. The only reason to go was for the bar staff. And since they're not there anymore, I won't be either - and neither will any of my friends.

• Pros: There aren't any
• Cons: They fired all their best staff

10/05/07

Best Place to watch football on the West Side!!

by pigskinchick at Citysearch

Went to Barney's on the Promenade for the first time this past weekend with some friends to watch the Steelers game - holy s*** is this place awesome!! Not only did we have our game on our own great big flat screen HD tv - but every other NFL games was just a glance away. The bartender on the microphone (I think his name was Brian?) seems to run the show - he made sure everyone in the place knew how to find their teams and was super helpful when my friend asked him to get the Colts game on near where we were seated. With so many tv's and so many fans, I don't know how he keeps it all straight! The beer selection is great and always cold, the food gets the job done. All I know is, we felt like we were taken care of (except when we lost) and we've found our new spot to spend Sundays in Santa Monica!

• Pros: Lots of TV's (mostly HD), every game on, big Steelers crowd, Brian the bartender
• Cons: food was so-so, hard to get a seat if you're not there early

07/25/07

Good beer selection

by leschnei at Citysearch

Barney's is a fun spot if you are looking to grab a beer and hang out. The bartenders are really nice people and even though they usually have a large crowd to look after they are extremely attentive. My only complaint is that it is often noisy and crowded.

• Pros: Great beer selection, fun ambience
• Cons: Noisy and Crowded