First of all, let me say that everything was really good on our first visit to Barrington's. All of the accolades fit and are justified but I really can't give them 5 stars. Our friends had been there on a few occasions and he had set up the reservations for the 4 of us. I had heard that it was a small restaurant but was still shocked at how compact the dining area and bar were.
Overall the service was good and knowledgeable with the menu, even if we got off to a slow start with drinks and ordering. We certainly did not feel rushed. I started with a potato leek soup, which was packed with a lot of flavor and delicious. The wife had a salad and it was alright, nothing spectacular she said. We both chose the Arctic char, which had a nice presentation but again nothing spectacular to the point that I would order something else next time. Others at the table chose the mussels and fois gras as appetizers. The mussels also had great flavor and I would highly recommend. The fois gras, for me, was not enjoyable on this occasion but then again while I like it, it's not something that I would order regularly. The other mains chosen were the duck and a pasta if I remember correctly but can't remember which one. I recall the pasta being good and the duck being very good having just tasted a little bit of each.
What really blew me and the whole party away was the desserts. We ordered 3 with the berry rhubarb cobbler being by far my favorite. They really nailed it on the desserts, which usually I don't even order but glad that I did on this occasion. We even had a little excitement when the table next to us set some paper from a birthday card on fire and we were thinking that we would have to evacuate. The flames were quickly put out and we resumed eating as the smoke cleared.
Barrington's is definitely a good restaurant for a special occasion and I would return to try other dishes.