Barley Swine has long been one of my favorite restaurants in Austin. It’s on most Austin foodie lists to visit and for good reason. This restaurant focuses on local cuisine and delivers it creatively. If you’re looking for a unique dining experience and some great food, keep reading!
Barley Swine and Our Long History
Way before I was a food blogger, I was a Yelper, which if you compare the two, are pretty similar. We share our thoughts and photos, we try to be clever, and we love food. The community was the best part about Yelp and I shared many meals with strangers I met on the Internet who loved food and the Austin food scene as much as I did. All of this to say, my first experience at Barley Swine in 2011 was with a friend I met through Yelp (Hi, Errol!) and it has stuck out in my mind as one of the first experiences where I truly transformed into a foodie. I ended up writing this glowing review of our experience.
If you know the history of Barley Swine, you know it started in a tiny space on South Lamar now occupied by a Thai restaurant called Super Thai Cuisine. It was a cozy restaurant with a few tall tables and a short menu. Dining at Barley Swine was one of my first experiences with shared small plates, which seemed to be a growing menu trend then. With limited space, the restaurant filled up quickly and being among the hip and elite that had experienced the restaurant left an impression on me.
In 2015, Barley Swine moved to their current Burnet location. Thankfully, it’s a much bigger space with an open kitchen and a spacious patio. I’ve been lucky to have enjoyed a few happy hours and dinners there since.
It was a simpler time back then. I didn’t have a good camera phone so I rarely took photos of my food. I couldn’t tell you now what the dishes looked like or the specifics of the dishes. Eating back then, I would live in the moment, tasting, then rush home to put the experience into words, hoping to keep the memory of it forever. Now we’re lucky; we can use our photos to recall the dishes, flavors, and details. I might not have any photos from those dinners at the first location, but those impressions still hold true today.
Barley Swine’s creativity in combining complementary ingredients and flavors, their impeccable service, and their overall vibe of care-free and playful yet serious food continues to impress me. Their focus on seasonal ingredients and local farmers and ranchers is something near and dear to my heart.
Tasting Menu at Barley Swine
Barley Swine has a solid happy hour and a la carte menu, but the experience is best with the tasting menu. If you’ve followed along with my blog, you know I have a thing for tasting menus. They’re usually the chef’s choice and you don’t know what will hit the table. This enhances your experience because you have fewer expectations and you’ll end up trying things you didn’t think you’d like. You get to see taste the team’s creativity too. Here’s one of Barley Swine’s Chef’s Tasting menus:
Barley Swine has a menu of ingredients. It’s one of those where you read the ingredients together, ponder it a bit, and then go for it anyways. You might grab onto one ingredient, usually the main ingredient, you really like and hope for the best.
Barley Swine’s Chef’s Tasting is nine courses for $95 and an optional $55 drink pairing. I’ve noticed some similarities in the tasting menus the last few times I’ve dined, which takes a bit of the intrigue out of the experience. However, each dish is still delicious. Dishes like the dumpling, the duck, perfectly cooked fish, and a granita palate cleanser stand out.
Details for Your Visit
I rave about Barley Swine because it sets the bar high for dining in Austin. I’m captivated by the creativity of the menu. While it’s considered finer dining, the restaurant and menu are approachable and comfortable.
As of October 2020, Barley Swine is only serving their tasting menu ($95 per person with an optional $55 beverage pairing) in the restaurant. They also have a weekly Barley Q menu for take-out.
- Cuisine: New American
- Ambiance: Homey, comfortable, intimate
- Attire: Dressy Casual
- Noise Level: Average
- Reservation: Recommended
- Groups: Reservation required
- Outdoor Seating: Yes, patio
- Parking: Complimentary valet, lot, and garage parking
Barley Swine
6555 Burnet Road, Suite 400 Austin, 78757
Dinner: Friday and Saturday 5 – 9 pm; Thursday and Sunday 5 – 8 pm
https://barleyswine.com/
Have you dined at Barley Swine? What dishes did you love?
P.S. Want to read more about restaurants? See my restaurant posts here.
Follow my food adventures! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.
You might also like
