The Barrel Room

My girlfriend loves wine bars and charcuterie boards so I wanted to find a spot that would wow her. Me being a Craft Beer Drinker I did not know a whole lot about wine. So I went on Unilocal and Google to resarch one of the top wine spots and found this place. From the moment we walked in we were impressed how quickly we were greeted buy every employee there. My girlfriend was impressed with their huge wine selection and to my surprise they had several very good beers. We ordered the meat and cheese charcuterie boards and the stuffed dates. We had tried these dishes at many other places but we we’re blown away how delicious everything was. The dates where the best by far we had. The charcuterie board look like a piece of artwork it was so delicious. The staff went out of their way to make sure everything was right. Every employee came to check on us and talk to us about the dishes and the wine. My girlfriend was very happy and impressed with this place if I can give it 10 Stars I would not just for the food but for the superb customer service as well. We will definitely be coming back here a lot more often.

NOTE: NOW WINE-​TASTING ONLY!
The only food Barrel Room serves are light bar snacks. The tasting area has been expanded. They still do the best variety of flights in town, so if you want to learn more about wine, this is the place to do it. They literally have dozens of flights to choose from, every night.
For those (like us) who were devotees of the food, sadly the only full menu now served is at Barrel Room/​SF, in the former Georges restaurant location in the Financial District. It’s a full sit-​down restaurant, so a good place to take visitors or groups.

Super friendly, totally amazing rotating wine selection, and delicious food! I always sit at the bar and Siobash (the Manager) is so cool, knowledgeable and entertaining. I’ve been to the SF location several times as well but I prefer the laid back atmosphere at the Oakland location.

Came here on a date and it was absolutely adorable. It’s got some good small plates, cheeses and a huge selection of wine. It was dark and cozy– absolutely loved the vibe!
**we had gotten a bottle of wine we ended up leaving in a can and they were so amazingly helpful when I called in weeks later to try to figure out which bottle it was so I could get it and surprise someone. I can’t believe the effort they went through!

Had a great time tasting and talking about wine. I was on my way to meet friends at the Irish bar next door an St. Patrick’s day and walking by The Barrel Room as I was seeing and hearing the drunken yahoos at the bar, I wisely ducked in here for a fabulous glass of Heitz cabernet. I texted my friends to come over to the Barrel Room and they were happy with the craft beer selections and I was happy with the wine. I consider this place a «find.» The by the glass prices were reasonable given the quality and the environment was calm without being snobby or deflating. A great experience.

Drove 30 min to get here 2 hours before posted closing time. Went inside to be notified they were closed.

This place is PHENOMENAL. I thought I had written a review, but perhaps not. Anyways, went here for «date night» a couple weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed. I will say they could use another server (they had the bartender/​our server/​hostess and one other guy while we were there… and that was it).
Atmosphere: super cozy and tastefully done. We had a two top by the window, which was nice.
Food: phenomenal. We tried four small plates and one large plate. As far as small plates go, their pozole was out of this world. We also had the tuna poke, which was a solid serving of tuna (both for the price and for standard tuna poke size dishes these days). Huge chunks of melt in your mouth tuna, expertly seasoned. The quail was adorable, but was also kind of typical. Nothing wow about it. Short ribs were awesome – super tender and juicy. We were stuffed, but still made room for some poached apples, which were awesome.
Drinks: can’t go wrong with wine flights.
To be honest, their flavor pairings reminded me of some of the michelin star restaurants I’ve been to – unique, balanced, and dancing on your palette. (especially the pozole. get the pozole, you won’t regret it.)

Food was quite tasty, though portions were a bit in the small size. Good variety of wines by the glass, but they were pricey. A nice dining experience that we will do again, but the prices make it more of an occasional than a regular spot for us.

I give three stars for not-​so-​informative waiters and staff, a $ 30 corkage fee — even for the retail bottles of wine they sell!— and overall pricey dining experience with not overly amazing food.
First, we asked our waitress about the charcuterie plate and cheeseboard. The waitress did not know what meats or cheeses were being served that night, and she didn’t offer to go find out. Umm, ok.
Next, this was our first time eating here so out of curiosity, I asked what their corkage was and the manager (?) said he usually charges $ 30 but they prefer to sell their own wine. Fair enough, but do you always charge $ 30 or is it $ 40 when you feel like it? Then I asked about the wines along the wall, and he said it’s their retail wines they sell and there’s a $ 30 corkage added. Really? And that’s for the wine you sell? Maybe I should have known about the retail side, and I get they want you to buy their wine, but then they add that high of corkage on top? There’s no incentive for me to buy their wine that I’m not even sure I’ll even like.
Last, the wine and food prices are pretty high, and the feeling I took away is that they have a conflicting identity. Their prices are more like a special occasion restaurant, but then they have rotating menus, wines and events to encourage returning visits. Maybe I’m not in their demographic to be able to afford $ 200 dinner for two multiple times a month. That’s fine, but the food and wines weren’t good enough to draw me back at those prices even if I was in that demographic. I can go to plenty of places for $ 100 – 150 for two with better food and seemingly lower markups on the wine.
BTW, we ordered stuffed dates (just ok), pasta with scallops (decent), and game hen (by far the winner of the night). We opted for a bottle of white wine because the starting price of reds was a bit too high.

This restaurant has been open for over two years and I regret not having come here sooner. This is a lovely restaurant with understated but elegant décor, excellent food and amazing wine. Perfect for a date night with the hubby. We opted for two different wine flights and enjoyed both. As part of the experience, you can purchase the wines that are on the menu. Our server was always attentive and very helpful in explaining the wines. He clearly enjoys working with wines and sharing his selections.
And the food was delicious! We loved the stuffed dates, arugula salad and especially the poke tuna. My husband ordered the stuffed quail small plate and I ordered the scallops and house made tagliatelle. Unlike other reviewers, we thought the portions were perfect and reasonably priced for the quality of the food.
We will absolutely return to this lovely local restaurant/​wine bar.

My husband and I came here on a Thursday after work for happy hour. It was open seating. We opted to sit at the bar. The hubs and I enjoyed a glass of red wine for $ 6 per glass. The wine wasn’t great, but it was decent. It was an italian table wine. I really wanted to try the stuffed dates, but we were on our way to dinner so I didn’t order them.
I’d definitely come here again for happy hour, but next time I’ll order a few small plates. Give this place a try if you are in the area.
Factoids to help you out:
Happy hour is EVERYDAY from 3 – 5:30pm.
Everyday 3pm-​Late, Dinner starts at 5:30pm
Tuesday is Bottle Night! All night long. Save $ 30 corkage on bottles from their retail shelf!

We came here right before Christmas for a get-​together with friends. This review is mainly for their dinner food offering. They have a very extensive wine offering, but since I don’t drink alcohol, I can’t comment on their wine offering. Their dinner menu is on the short end — they have maybe about 4 entrees where you can order from. Why is the rating so low? First of all, their portion size is pretty small for how much you pay for. I’m a pretty small person and I was able to finish my food and more. My boyfriend and several of my guy friends were not full by the end of dinner (and this is on top of us ordering appetizers). Aside from portion size, the service was inattentive and super slow. It took them about 45 minutes to take our order. It took over an hour for us to get our food (the restaurant is not that big or crowded; there were less than 20 people dining). We sat down around 7:30 and it was close to 9:30 when we got our food. After we finished our entrée, because some of us were still hungry we were waiting for the dessert menu. The waiter didn’t offer us the dessert menu (even though they have dessert offering) and just gave us our check. I would like to think the service was so bad because it was the Monday before Christmas and maybe they’re short staffed. But a couple of the waiter/​waitress were just standing behind the bar and drinking wine. Maybe the service for our table was bad because we didn’t really order much wine. Either way, will not be coming back unless I absolutely have to.

Great selection of wine but average food.
The interior of this place is very chic. It’s dimly lit and the interior is dark… but it’s the perfect décor for a wine bar. Seating is relatively limited so be sure to come at non-​peak hours or make a reservation in advance. We ended up sitting at the bar which was nice, because we could fully see the kitchen and how the meals were being prepared.
The happy hour deals were decent…$ 6/​glass of red or white. The charcuterie and cheese plates were great (but you can’t really go wrong with meat, fruit and cheese). Where they fell relatively short was the entrée (and they only have 3 options so they should really get these right). I got the braised lamb, and the dish was really mediocre. Portion size was decent, but flavors were underwhelming. I just wish the dish had more deeper flavors than simply the lamb stock ladled on top of the meat and vegetables.
Service all around was good. Really friendly and attentive servers.
I couldn’t quite justify $ 200 spent between 4 people for a mediocre meal like that though.
We most likely won’t be back.

Space is a little bigger than the pictures appear but still makes for an intimate experience and it works because this place is still a hidden gem on busy college ave. I visited during their focus on Italian food and wine… the wine flight was the type of delicious you’d expect from a wine bar, and food was on point. Originally thought dishes would all be smaller but some are good sized and just ask the waiters for their opinion. Check out their latest seasonal menu and make it your next date night!

Super cute wine bar with a ton of options to choose from. They also have some ciders and beers if you’re in the mood for something other than wine. I assume their wine selections change every so often, as the current list available online is completely different than what was available when I went. Snacks and small plates are available for when you start getting the munchies as well.

Menu was Italian, but changes every 3 months. Lots of good choices.
Tasty appetizers we tried:
Beet bruschetta
Salume plate
Great mains:
steak and arugula
scallops over fresh tagliatelle.
Interesting wine offering: glasses, bottles, or flights. I had the Nebbiolo, and my friends had the Tuscan red flight.
Parking at 7pm on Friday is difficult — many other restaurants nearby. Had to park 2 blocks away in a neighborhood south at Clifton and Manila. Quick 5 min walk.

The barrel room, interesting concept of a rotating menu of wines flights from different parts of the world. Focus was the Latin region during my visit. Let’s walk in shall we :)
The place is located on college ave in north east part of Oakland. There was plenty of street parking available, free after 6 pm.
Walking in, All I can hear was the faint sound of people talking & every now & then, total silence. To my surprise, there was an absence of music, but perhaps that was by design? I guess that inspires easy conversing.
Cozy, this place is. There were maybe a dozen tables that were all taken. I sat myself at the bar, and promptly was given la menus, «this is the food & this is the wine menu» she said.
The flights of wine looked very interesting, but I did not have the time to sample or try the food, was meeting a friend for a short visit, but I will be back to sample. Price ranges of flights $ 17, single glasses were $ 12-​beyond.
I tried the 2012 a. Cetto petite sirah from Mexico. I’ve actually been to that vineyard and have purchased their award winning wines before. It was light, semi spicy, can taste the berries. Very smooth.
Cool place, great spot for a date or to unwind, I’ll be back.

I ate here twice in the last week. The first time was so good, I came back with my husband for date night. First off, the wines are exceptional, interesting, and we could taste a lot of different wines in the wonderful variety of wine flights. The staff is very knowledgeable about the wines. When we didn’t like one, they swapped it out for something else!
The great wine would be enough reason to come to this restaurant. The food was also excellent, however. The salad, ahi tuna ceviche, and tri tip steak were all exceptionally yummy.
In the past our experience of service was slow but the last two visits we had excellent service, too.
Ambiance is intimate and noise level was low. Great place for date night!
Check it out and help keep this local jewel alive in Rockridge!

We decided on their New Years prix pixe menu. (See photo) They hit it out of the park with lobster tail and filet of beef bordelaise!
The chefs are clearly up to the task, delivering excellent food… oh and well if you like wine, they have a ridiculous selection international and domestic. (Flights!!!)

I’ve been back to the Barrel Room multiple times now and have tried some wine and loads of the amazing food. Chef is truly gifted and everything I’ve ever eaten has been fantastic. Unfortunately, it’s hard to recommend specific things since the menu is always changing. But I have full faith in the chef and would happily eat anything he prepares.
If you hurry, you can try some of the jamon from Spain! It’s awesome.
PLUS, if you like the wine you tried, you can buy it from them at RETAIL prices!