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| - Let's get one thing out of the way first, One Barrel is small. Unfortunately, the scale of the establishment is the main thing holding it back.
My wife and I stopped by on a night that we want some quick bar food and a brew. The space was almost completely empty, and we were greeted immediately at the bar. As a result, our entire service experience was attentive and felt well taken care of. I would be interested to see if service suffers at all when they are busier.
The space was clean and well organized, but it was oddly dark. It felt kind of depressing. I wish there were Italian lights up or something to cheer the space up a bit.
The beer is great but fairly limited for those with less hoppy taste. If you're a malt lover, you are pretty much limited to the Brown ale, which is maltier than it is nutty. Three of the taps are on rotation with three other local beers, which is great. I appreciate the mutual support that Madison brewers seem to have.
In terms of food, I have to agree with Steve L. on this one. One Barrel does not have a kitchen, and to me this fact is its biggest flaw. All of the food on the menu is severely limited to items that do not need a kitchen to prepare. Everything is either made in a very small convection oven or served cold. Choices are hot pretzels, pre-made pizzas that will be heated up for you, and cheese/meat boards.
We ordered a pretzel and a cheese/meat board. The pretzel was very good, but the board was extremely strange. We were essentially given three uncut sausages, a hunk of cheese, some small crackers, and a dull knife. Cutting the large hunks of sausage with the knife was interesting indeed.
Overall, the beer was pretty good but the selection lacked variety. The absence of a kitchen severely cripples the menu of One Barrel. I do not think One Barrel is for me, but I still would like to see some improvements made to this local business.
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