Barrel House - Dubuque

Absolutely fantastic food! We both enjoyed their burgers and soft pretzels. The staff was incredibly friendly. The dessert, chocolate bomb cake, was simply amazing.

This restaurant has a lot of potential, but it does have some drawbacks. The setting is impressive, featuring a beautifully renovated historic building in a charming downtown area, which creates a really cool atmosphere. However, once inside, the authenticity feels a bit lacking—it seems more commercial than genuine. On the positive side, the beer selection was good, with some nice local choices. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. It tasted more like reheated, pre-prepared dishes rather than fresh, homemade meals, with the exception of the mushrooms, which were excellent. The burger and fries I had were the worst I've ever experienced. If they can improve the food quality, they could really have a winning place on their hands.

Our dining experience was far from great. We waited an eternity for a pizza for half of our group, only to find out it had somehow been dropped in the kitchen. Throughout the wait, our server didn’t check on us to see if we needed anything. Once we learned what happened, we had to wait for a new pizza, which felt rushed and lacked sufficient mozzarella or pepperoni for the price we paid. The kids were starving and practically ready to eat their own arms! The burger was mediocre at best—nothing special—and definitely not worth the wait. To make matters worse, the fries were ice cold, and the replacement fries were just as bad. Overall, this is not a restaurant we plan to revisit.

This place is awesome, food was great and large portions. We were in and out within an hour! Fast service!

I travel often on business and loved the Barrel House in downtown Davenport and saddened that it is closed. I was ecstatic to find one open in Dubuque and I could get my Firecracker shrimp taco fix. I ordered the wings first as a appetizer. Food was good but not great but what dropped the review to 4 stars is the tacos came out first. 5 minutes later the wings showed up. Apparently they have problems timing appetizers and main courses. I would definetly dine here again and they have a great craft beer selection. Definitely missing my Dubuque Star Big Muddy Red...the finest beer ever brewed in the state of Iowa