Bourbon Street Barrel Room -- Cleveland, OH


Two weeks ago we met up with some friends at the Bourbon Street Barrel Room in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. Tremont has an amazing food scene and Bourbon Street Barrel Room got high compliments from friends who had been there before. I was even more excited when I saw that they have Happy Hour until 7:00 on Friday nights -- select appetizers and drinks are marked down to $4 apiece.

I started the dinner with a $4 Pimm's Cup -- my best friend lives in Georgia and is obsessed with these. It was my first time trying one and I thought the Pimm's Cup was great! The perfect drink for someone who doesn't enjoy strong alcohol flavors, and prefers something lighter.



Dave and I also took advantage of the $4 appetizers and ordered Sweet Potato Fries and Hush Puppies. Both were served with Bistro Sauce and were very good. I haven't had hush puppies in a really long time and these little morsels were the perfect start to our meal.





Our friend Sarah ordered the Mardi Gras Pasta -- tri-colored rotini, in a roasted tomato cream sauce, with greens, caramelized onions, and oyster mushrooms. She was happy with the meal and I was a little jealous that I didn't order that for myself.




Dave got the Zydeco Wrap with -- red bean salad, citrus slaw, tomatoes, vegetables, goat cheese, and bistro sauce. Served with pommes frites on the side. Dave thought the Zydeco Wrap had good freshness and was well balanced, he was also a fan of the crispy pommes frites. 




I didn't take a photo of mine, it was the Vieux Carre Spinach Salad -- goat cheese, candied pecans, fruit, and creole balsamic dressing (it usually comes with bacon, I ordered it with no bacon). It was a pretty typical salad, I love blackberries though, and was happy to see them included with the strawberries and raspberries.

I decided to order The Hot Cider Bourbon Blend as well -- there was an inset sitting on our table advertising it and it looked delicious -- made with bourbon, local apple cider, amaretto, OJ, bitters, and allspice. I don't even like bourbon usually, but it was an awesome fall drink for a chilly night.




If you're a long time reader, you know that I never skip desert.

One friend ordered Tia's Chocolate Cheesecake...





Two others split the creme brulee...




And although the Red Velvet Torte was very tempting, Dave and I ended up with the beignets. 





Brief throwback to my time at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans during a college trip:




Overall, everything our friends told us about Bourbon Street Barrel Room was true and we were incredibly impressed with everything. The food was amazing and the restaurant itself is spacious and gorgeous on the inside. It's a two story restaurant, floor to ceiling wood, with chandeliers hanging over the lower level.

My only complaint is that they require 75% of your party to be present before you can be seated. I'm a former server and I understand the rule during peak times when the restaurant is very busy, but when we arrived there was plenty of seating available. We have notoriously late friends, I probably would have had another drink and another appetizer if we had been seated sooner. I really just didn't want to go through the hassle of ordering at the bar then needing to pick-up and move my appetizer/drink or ordering and trying to transfer my ticket to my table.

My rating for Bourbon Street Barrel Room:


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