Barley’s Brewing Company

Tasty beers and very tasty burgers.
Had sam I am burger which excellent
The blurred bike ipa was really tasty and we’ll balanced.
Good spot for fun and food

This is a great place to get BBQ and the wait time after ordering is not long at all! I have been here a handful of times and have never had a bad experience.
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅
Menu Options: ⁴⁄₅
Food Quality: ⁴⁄₅
Prices: 3.5÷5
Overall I would recommend Barleys to anyone who enjoys BBQ and wants a little change up to the chain restaurants. I would say this is a slightly more upscale version of city BBQ.

You’re average pub. We usually stop here while in town as it’s directly across from the convention center. Their beers are all delicious and the food is pretty good for the most part. If you’re looking for beer and food at an average price near the convention center, stop here.

I was here during the 2015 Origins Game Fair. I found it in the Origins program since they were having some events, giving away Origins Pint Glasses, Selling Origins Tankers and had special menu items themed towards the gaming community. We all thought it would be a good place for lunch since it was directly across the street from the convention center in front of North Market. I suppose that there is street parking or utilize the parking deck nearby like we did for the convention.
It was really crowded as you could imagine during a convention and the place is pretty small but they did their best to keep a clear path to the podium. We put our names in and it was about an hour wait. The hostess suggested checking out North Market while we waited and that the would text us when the table was ready. Being familiar with NM we took her up on the offer and left out the back exit. It only took about 45 minutes to get a text. Under promise, over exceed. I like it.
We were sat and got drinks. I had the Rye IPA which was very good! My buddy got a flight of beers that we sampled from but the Rye IPA was my favorite. I’ll definitely try more on my next visit when it isn’t as crowded and I have more time. We all decided to order off of the special Origins menu. I ended up with a burger called the Angry Ogre which was just massive! Check out the photo I posted! At almost $ 15 I was glad. It was 2 Angus patties, American cheese, sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, lettuce and tomato. It really hit the spot after walking around at the convention all day. It also came with fries which were standard fare. If they can make a burger this good on a busy day like this and as a special item, I’m certain their regular menu items are just as good or better.
The service was very good and friendly. Our waiter told us about all the beers and talked to us about the convention. They do this every year for the event according to him. Some staff were even dressed up. The food came out quickly and was hot. We didn’t get our free pint glasses because they ran out but it was the third day of the convention. This place and décor remind me of a comfy English Pub. If I had one complaint, it’s that the place is pretty small and you are in very close proximity to other patrons. Even the aisle is pretty slim. But that is nitpicking.
I go to a lot of conventions in Columbus and I think this will be a regular stop from now on when I am at the Convention Center.

I searched Unilocal for a place to eat for my visit to Columbus and I was guided here. Reading some other reviews I think people who eat at places like this all the time don’t get it. Im from a small town with very limited option but I know damn good food and service when I see it.
To start off with the drinks. I got a 6 sample flight of beers. All of those beers were fantastic. I also tried the Stone’s Throw Cocktail. It was strong but good.
Tonight I tried the wings with chipoltle sauce. As far as a «traditional» hot wing these are definitely top quality. The chipoltle sauce was sweet with a slow creeping heat that gave just the right amount of pain.
I also ordered the fish and chips. The beer battered cod fillets, fries, and slaw were all amazing. As far as fish and chips go its the best I’ve ever had. Generally I hate slaw and tartar sauce but I absolutely loved both.
I am staying at the Hilton hotel which is a 3 minute walk. Im glad I came and I highly recommend you give this place a try.

Both the beer and food was really good here. Service was slow and seemed in a rush to get me out even though they still had open tables. TV’s are kind of in weird places and made it hard to watch the game.

Group of 8, excited to get some breweries in while in Columbus. With that said we automatically have a 20% gratuity added to our bill. Service was neglectful and the server forgot an appetizer and messed up one of the meals. In exact words, the waiter says, «sorry we have a bunch of amateurs back in the kitchen». Way to go! Throw the kitchen under the bus. Two of my biggest pet peeves in not owning up to your own mistakes and poor service.
As for the beers, I enjoyed the imperial stout and Christmas ale. The blood thirst tasted like orange house cleaner.

The sauerkraut balls are on point! Definitely the best I’ve ever had, and keeps me coming back for more. The food is great, and the beer selection is fantastic. I’m a fan of wheat beer and was pleased with the selection.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because it gets crazy crowded in there. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get around the bar area to be seated. Overall, I keep coming back and really enjoy this place.

Not sure if this might be a bit clichéd but this is what I expect a bar/​restaurant to be like in America. Good food, easy and relaxed staff, good assortment of beers and wine (well…In the interests of proper reviewing, I’m trying to sample enough to guide my thinking), and sport on the many screens around the bar.
lThis is a lively, friendly downtown bar with no airs and graces. Straightforward food, loads of taste and good sides, helpful and friendly bar staff, just perfect for a lone diner, far from home.
Am here for the week. I’ll be back. For food, for a few drinks, for company.

Yes, it’s just that good. I mean come on, I have been to this restaurant many times, sometimes to eat at the bar, and other times with large amounts of friends or family and every time has been excellent, great, and at worst a guest of mine complaining of an erroneous hair fallen on a fry.
The Cuban Sandwich is spectacular. So is their Salmon Sandwich! A side of hot Broccoli? So fresh! Blood Thirst Wheat beer? Perfect!
This is the example of a restaurant that just keeps on making Columbus good. Don’t expect the world just reading my review and ratings, but I think most people will be just as impressed with this establishment, and how it is ran, and the attention they put into their menu! Prices are fair, but if you enjoy a good beer, well you know how it adds up! Recommended.

This place is a fantastic bar with great food is amazing the service is good as well. I will come here every time after going to char bar. Excellent!

I am in a hot, illicit affair and Barley’s is to blame.
Ale is my paramour; Barley’s the tempter.
It has been a few years since I tried the ales here, rich and flavorful brews made in vats below the bar. Although I’ve had ale before that fated day, I was a faithful lager man. Coming here, the occasion of my initial review (my third ever on Unilocal), ended my relationship with the bottom brewing beer. Since that day, I have been moonstruck by various types both local and imported. Irish thick droughts the exception, I am almost exclusive to ales now. Even though there are several breweries in Columbus and elsewhere, Ohio with top yeast brews that I adore just as much, I consider Barley’s as first among equals. Ranked at the top of my ale chart is their striking Scottish Ale.
It was the Scottish Ale that attracted both Mike G and I too Barley’s once again. I beat Mike there (since he is a slow, aging man and I am young and nimble ;-)) so I decided to try Hoptoberfest, a seasonal ale. It was very good. Sweeten down a notch by the hops, it was reddish, heavy, and activated diverse taste buds.
Later, we both ordered the Scottish, a must for anyone who wanders in here and drink under the classic white molded ceiling and the surrounding slick woodwork and brass trimmings. This ale is redder, a tiny more bitter than my first. This brew seems near a pale. It so flavorful, cold, and blasting that it makes me desire it just writing about it. No wonder it has been on tap for over 20-​years.
Food here can be inconsistent, but there is a catch. The fluctuation is from five-​star food to four-​stars. My original review gave too high accolades for their dishes. Several other trips have found lesser meals. But still, the food here is great, no matter if they hit the top or fall short a star. This trip I had a pork sandwich, the Cuban Sandwich Crisis, featuring pork loin, ham, and pulled pork. The loin and ham was highly done, and smoked delicious flavors. The pulled pork was acceptable and added to the heart clogging goodness. The swiss and a IPA mustard topping the sub solidified it into a whole, accenting the flavor. It was five-​star. On the downside it is too small; I felt it needed to be a bite or two bigger to be a full meal. I am not one to ignore the economics of this, at $ 11-​$ 12 dollars the quantity is justifiable. I would pay an extra dollar for a bigger Crisis.
The bartenders and servers here are professionals. That is the highest compliment I can make. They know the product, are always in a great mood, and have impeccable timing.
They are building a barcade upstair. I wonder if that is a mistake, a clash of cultures. This bar seems more uptown, cosmo than young adult funland. We will see.
Barley’s is a fav of mine, a place in an attractive space in an attractive spot in town, and a destination for anyone with the hots for hops sweeten ales.

This place is pretty dope if you are o to craft brews. They have a pretty decent assortment of in house brews and growlers for $ 13. (Cheaper than an actual beer flight) I decided on a flight because I have an early work training in the AM and I’m trying to work out tonight. A growler might significantly impact my ability to do both! Especially with a 9% beer! For the flight I had Cask Dark Matter, infinity grand cry, centennial IPA, Blurry Bike, Russian Imperial stout, Scottish Ale… with the latter being the best.
Improvements? More diversity. Seems like more and more I’m the only person of color at this place with exception to the folks that work here. The more reviews o do, the more apparent it is. What am I Jacque Cousteau? Charting the unknown?
Why this place is dope:.
Lawyers lamps at the bar! …Old school wooden booths with the brass bars above them with old school coat hooks, pretty legit alcohol related posters above said booths, original vaulted ceiling and wooden buttresses behind the bar with the ornate hand carved wooden frame around the mirror. Granite bar surrounded by wood and brass and a cute lil light skinned girl with an nice arse that likes to dance apparently … (I had to give the full description) they sell food but don’t ask what because it was all about the beer this time around. Happy drinking!

I had the opportunity to visit three breweries in Columbus and this was my least favorite. It felt like a bar first, restaurant second, and a brewery as a distant third. That may not be a problem for others, but if you go to a brewery then it should look and feel and act like a brewery. I wish I could have told that to the girl next to me that ordered a Miller Lite rather than partake in beers that can only be had onsite. There was nothing special about the atmosphere. I think this place will appeal more to university students than to the beer connoisseur.
Barley does not actually serve a flight, but they will provide you a 75 cent thimble to sample. I tried five thimbles of beer. All were fair. Not bad, but nothing special. Overall, this felt more like a university bar for Buckeyes than a brewery that should have been featuring its homemade brews.

Consistently good food
Competent Service
Quality house made brews — Scottish Ale is A+
Relaxing atmosphere*
Barcade upstairs
I like this place, a lot. It’s kind of a shame that there are so many other dining choices in Columbus as this place gets lost in the shuffle. I had lunch with Mark K. there recently and had their excellent Grilled Salmon Sandwich which came on a Ciabatta roll with a spinach artichoke spread. It came with a side so I choose the mixed green salad. My take on the price vs what you get? That $ 12.49 I paid was money well spent. I would get it again in a heartbeat.
Just for reference: I’ve also had their Cheeseburger, Reuben, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Fish and Chips and Pretzel Sticks — it’s all been good. I’ve never had a bad meal or a bad experience here.
*They are currently putting in a barcade upstairs, should be done soon but for the moment, there’s a lot of noise and construction to deal with. It should be interesting to see what they do with it.
Solid 4 stars every time.

Consistently good food
Competent Service
Quality house made brews — Scottish Ale is A+
Relaxing atmosphere*
Barcade coming in March ‘16
I like this place, a lot. It’s kind of a shame that there are so many other dining choices in Columbus as this place gets lost in the shuffle. I had lunch with Mark K. there recently and had their excellent Grilled Salmon Sandwich which came on a Ciabatta roll with a spinach artichoke spread. It came with a side so I choose the mixed green salad. My take on the price vs what you get? That $ 12.49 I paid was money well spent. I would get it again in a heartbeat.
Just for reference: I’ve also had their Cheeseburger, Reuben, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Fish and Chips and Pretzel Sticks — it’s all been good. I’ve never had a bad meal or a bad experience here.
*They are currently putting in a barcade upstairs, should be done soon but for the moment, there’s a lot of noise and construction to deal with. It should be interesting to see what they do with it.
Solid 4 stars every time.

Excellent tourist location– pretty much next to the Hilton and across the street from the Convention Center.
It’s deceptively big inside –the front door is on North High STreet, and the back door is a block away, near the North Market, so its like a long narrow rectangle inside.
I sat at the bar and ordered a six beer sampler (5 ounces each) for $ 13. I went with the Barley’s Pilsner, Barley’s Scottish Ale, Barley’s Blood Thirst Wheat, Alexander’s Russian Imperial Stout, Barley’s Infinity Grand Cru, and a one year bourbon barrel fermented dark.
I liked the lighter beers– the Pilsner and Scottish Ale were mild and very drinkable. The Blood Orange Wheat was very good, and was my favorite.
I didn’t care as much for the other three, but I guess that’s just a reflection of my personal taste.
I also had a go at a Happy Hour special of six Saurkraut Balls for $ 6. They are described as «Spicy sausage, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, onions, garlic, and herbs». They tasted like a big hush puppy with sauerkraut inside. If there was any sausage in there, it must have been a few molecules, because I didn’t notice anything.
The atmosphere at the bar was great, lots of friendly folks on both sides of the bar.
All in all, it was an A-​OK place.

I can’t believe I haven’t already reviewed this. I’ve been coming since they opened, though not very often. Every couple of years, it’s a handy fallback or someone wants to try it out. Maybe the last time was pre-​Yelp.
Mike G. and I went at lunchtime on a weekday, and they were almost empty. A Dead song was playing as we walked in, which was a good sign, though construction noises partly obscured that and our conversation– they are in the middle of adding more room upstairs, so that might be an issue for the next few months. Service was excellent, start to finish.
I was on the way to work so just split a beer with Mike, but the scotch ale was tasty and I remember all of their beers as pretty good. I started with the sauerkraut balls, of course. Bigger than I remember, stuffed with cabbage and sausage, and almost a meal on their own. To keep up the health food theme I had sausage and pierogi next. An assortment of very good sausages, surrounded by great pierogi– pillows of dough and potato, sauteed with onions. Filling and tasty.
I’m sure I’ll be back; it’s just one of those places that slips off my radar when there are so many interesting restaurants nearby. But they have kept their standards high and it is worth a visit anytime.

I stopped into Barley’s while road-​tripping through Ohio– and it was a great choice! The atmosphere is classic pub, making it a cozy but social setting. I sat at the bar and tried a few brews. They were all delicious and the special of the day is only $ 3 a pint! I used to swear that I hated hefeweizens. Then I tried the Blood Thirst thinking it was just a wheat ale. And I loved it! Now I feel better about being more open-​minded about my beers.
For food I enjoyed the sauerkraut balls– and if you don’t like kraut don’t fret! The sausage and Parmesan make the pickled cabbage take a back seat and it’s so delicious!

Huge fan of Smokehouse Brewing here, so I never really felt the need to head into Barley’s down in the Short North, since to me, they were essentially the same restaurant. My girlfriend and I were craving wings this past weekend, and since I knew that Barley’s and Smokehouse have the same wings, we decided to give it a chance.
First off, I haven’t even stepped foot in here before which is surprising, since I’ve literally been left, right, and above it. It’s actually a really nice place on the inside with a nice warmth to it. Our server was super nice although aloof at times (I had to order my beer a second time, and she appeared to not even know I had ordered one in the first place). She did make a great recommendation on an entrée for my girlfriend. Before I get to those, I’d like to point out that I really loved the pale ale they make here. It has great flavor and is not super hoppy or too light.
We started off with some wings which, in my opinion, are some of the best in town. They’re smoked and then grilled and tossed in a light sauce so the chicken really stands out. I recommend the Chipotle or Buffalo sauces. I’ll say that I noticed that the sauces here are much saltier than the ones at Smokehouse which would make it a hard for me to eat a lot of them.
For my main course, I went with the Dragonfire burger, and this is where I’m deducting a star. It was cooked exactly how I wanted, but it really just didn’t have great flavor. It’s supposedly seasoned with Cajun spices, but I wasn’t getting any of that and the Diabla sauce wasn’t very flavorful either and wasn’t that hot. I added bacon to it which helped a little bit, but overally, it was pretty underwhelming. My girlfriend went with the pierogis and sausage, however, and really liked them. From the bite I had, I’d say she picked the better dish.
Barley’s has an extensive menu that I’d like to dive into a bit more. Unlike it’s former counterpart, there’s not much BBQ going on here, so it’s really quite different, but that’s a good thing. I don’t know if I’d give the burgers another shot, but the other items looked very tasty, especially after trying the pierogis. I’m making myself hungry right now wishing I had some of those wings.

Some coworkers and I were in town for a conference and Barley’s definitely stood out to us as a brewery and restaurant, plus it was close to the hotel! I must say that they have delicious beer and foods and a very spacious interior and friendly staff.
I ordered the crab cake sandwich, with a side of pierogis. The crab cake was delicious, with roasted red pepper crab cake and tomato-​herb hollandaise on a hamburger bun. You can pick from a variety of interesting sides, so I went with the pierogis (you get three with a side order). I was very pleased with my choice. The pierogis are stuffed with mashed potato and served with caramelized onions. I also ordered a Rye IPA and a Blood Orange Wheat, which were both great. They make their own beer on-​site and I think that’s awesome. My comrades ordered the shrimp and grits and the fish and chips entrees and they both seemed to be very happy with their choices. Definitely recommend Barley’s if you find yourself over in the Arena District!

Easy to go to if you are at the convention center. So it’s got location going for it.
I have been in here a bunch of times over the past few years. But I have to say that it’s not great. The beers they have (their own exclusively) are not very good and the selections are limited. The food is bar food. Nothing special. It’s always crowded when I’m in here so service can be a challenge.
Based on all of the other great locations a short walk away, I’d say keep going.

Barley’s was one of our stops on the Columbus Brewery Tour, and it was a pretty neat stop!
We spent most of our time in the underground, which had a really cool feel to it. I don’t know if it’s always decorated that way or if it was just for Halloween, but I loved the look of the lights hanging all around.
We got to try a few beers, and the blood thirst wheat was definitely the beer I liked the best on the whole tour! It was so good. I know we were told it was supposed to be seasonal but the demand is bigger than they expected, so they might brew it for longer; let me echo that with a resounding yes! Please brew it year round!
I didn’t get to experience the upstairs or the food, though it was really packed, so it’s clearly a popular destination! I’m excited to come back.