Barnlight Eatery

This is an hidden gem within the plaza where we usually do our groceries. Although it’s a bit on the pricier end, their food was really delicious and their modern barn décor was refreshing. I would definitely come back again!

Ok. So I had lunch here today and my best friend paid, so I’m going to start by talking about the drinks and amazing food.
I had a melon cooler, which is basically like if Mountain Dew hooked up with Chardonnay and had a love child. It tasted great, a good girly brunch drink. My friend had an extra dirty martini because she’s nasty that way made with Tito’s liquor. She said it was excellent.
We of course listened to you Unilocalsters and got the fried green tomatoes and Holy Shnikes! They were so freaking good! I wish we’d have gotten more of that amazing black eyed pea relish but everything on the plate was devoured. We got the pork loin and the mahi mahi and split them. Both were excellent, but I preferred the pork simply because those potatoes were amazing.
We got the warm cookies for dessert and I’m pretty sure I had a foodgasm. It was perfect.
So why a 4? Prices. Even though I didn’t pay for lunch, the prices are not set for a lunch crowd. The price of an entrée here was 15 – 17. The problem is that looking at Unilocal I know that even though I got a lunch portion (I’ve seen the dinner pics!) we paid dinner pricing. I was told they no longer have a lunch menu, yet the portions were way smaller than what you guys are getting at dinner for the same price. Our waitress did acknowledge that the portions at lunch are smaller, and that there is no price change. No fair!
Service was excellent. I’ll definitely return, but probably for dinner so I don’t feel cheated lol. Get the tomatoes!

Came here on a slow Saturday afternoon. service was decent. the whiskey thyme drink I had was good, had to stop at 2. fried green tomatoes. delish…and then came the pork chop.mmmmm.perfect char and cook. all flavours came together really well… Will come again with more room for desert

Surprised by how good it was! Great service too, and speedy!
Had the fried green tomatoes, a chipotle bacon burger, and fried chicken breast sandwich. So so so good! We will definitely be coming back.

It’s a shame this place is tucked away in the corner of a shopping center. It has tons of potential. It would be perfect if it was inside an old renovated house. But, I’ll take it for what it is and appreciate the details inside. Adorable interior, I love the all the distressed white wood, large comfy booths, thick wood tables and chalkboard specials. The desserts that greet you when you walk in look amazing.
Sip: Ginger Peach cocktail. Very sweet. The fruit and syrup replaced any sort of wine taste. Would be great for brunch.
Salad: I had the southwest salad. Dressing was great. Perfect portion size.
Nosh: Pork Loin w/​apricot jam, jalapeño au gratin potatoes and sauteed spinach. Very good.
Pork Slaw sandwich was amazing. Bread was soft and fluffy, the bbq sauce mixed with the slaw was phenomenal. Really well done. Could have used a little more meat, the buns are pretty thick, more breading than I would like. Fries were thick and crispy exactly how I like them.
The couple next to us ordered the Mahi w/​chipotle mashed potatoes and it looked really good. Overall we liked it. Very family friendly. Lots of families and children dining. Then again, that area is Pleasantville, so we weren’t surprised. Great place for lunch. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to come here, but if I was in the area would definitely stop in.

Excellent fried green tomatoes! Over all nice atmosphere. Chicken and rice soup was very disappointing though a tat over priced for the portion size. This was lunch on Wednesday
We went back last night, Friday and had the worst service. The waitress did not put out any cutlery offered us filthy dirty side plates to eat our starter! Incorrect drinks orders 3x. We ate our fried green tomatoes starter with our fingers !! The food for the price very mediocre. I had the Mahi Mahi, the fish portion was very small, over cooked and dry. Food was luke warm. My husband had the pork chop again a small portion, we thought there should have been two … Kids food was awful!
Needless to say this place has been scratched off our list and the waitress got zero tip! Very disappointed as the décor and atmosphere was really nice !

Have driven by here multiple times, always heard it was good but that was from my idiot ex-​wife so I never tried it until recently. I guess I’ll have to agree with her on this one, place is AMAZING!

Pass.
Our initial visit was great, and my wife and I took food recommendations from our fellow Unilocalers.
2^nd visit, not so great. I defaulted to a chipotle burger, and realized that it was very bland. I checked with my wife (who is an amazing cook), and she confirmed that it was under seasoned.
On top of the bland food, the server really didn’t pay much attention to our table. 1, she didn’t take our menus after ordering (not a big deal, but definitely a sign of her ongoing service to us), 2, she didn’t check if we wanted a chip refill (heck if I’m paying for chips I’d expect that at the least), 3, slow refills on drinks, 4, she left our plates that were clearly done, on our table.
I’m really disappointed since we were hoping to make this a regular destination, but I think the options are plentiful, so it’ll be a while before I spend my money here again.

Service this visit was more about checking off the boxes than great service.
While I appreciate the creative twists put on some of the dishes the chili was too creative for both of us. The cornbread which came with the chili however was OUTSTANDING!
Salads are filling and even the smaller sizes are filling and a great value.

Tonight was the first time we have been to the Barnlight and we live very close. We finally decided to give it a try — so glad we did! We went for a date night and we were very impressed with the restaurant design and layout. Friendly staff and really nice bar. We tried the Fried Green Tomatoes and they did not disappoint. We were surprised with the number of children but it was loud enough that everything blended in nicely. The food was excellent. We had the pot roast and Mahi Mahi. Every bite was delicious and the sauces were all very good and hearty. We are coming back for sure! My only suggestion to the owners — open up for breakfast! You’d own the market, there are no breakfast options anywhere close by. Try the Barnlight Eatery!

It was actually a cool August evening so we decided to sit outside on the patio. There was a very vulgar man on the phone smoking outside. He was using curse words and yelling into his phone. We asked if it was legal to smoke in the patio area and the server was unsure. This went on for half our meal. This was very unpleasant for our dining experience.
The service was spotty. The bartender was waiting tables on the patio. He was incredibly in the weeds and a manager never showed up to help him. The wait time for drinks and to place an order was well over 15 minutes.
The food is another story. I ordered the grilled pork chop. It was amazing with the ginormous pork chop with peach chutney, scrumptious jalapeño Au gratin potatoes, and steamed spinach. The flavors fused together and gelled seamlessly! The hubby had the chipotle bacon cheeseburger. He said it was amazing!
We will be back and hope to have a more pleasant dining experience.

We came here on a Friday without a reservation and it was no problem getting a table. It was a half booth in the corner for our party of 6. The service was great and the food even better. I had the Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwich and it was huge! The only complaint was that it was so thick, I did not know where to start as I certainly could not fit it in my mouth to take a bite.
We also had the fried green tomatoes for an appetizer and they were pretty good. Barnlight also has a decent beer selection on tap. There was not a ton of parking right near the restaurant, it is on the end of a strip mall, but people park on the grass. Great spot for all!

I book marked Barnlight about 3 months ago and wish I would’ve made it here sooner.
Fried Green Tomatoes as recommended by Unilocaler for apptzr was right on the money
I had the Fried Catfish with fries and mango coleslaw. Catfish uses the same breeding as apptzr and it rocked. The mango slaw is a frost for me and possible the best slaw I’ve ever had.
Wife had the fried chicken sandwich and loved it; said it was very juicy and tender.
Service was great.

Overall, I was very pleased with my dinner with my mom today. We are definitely coming back to try all the everything on the menu. We spent about fifteen minutes talking about how impressed we were with the creativity and variety of it!
I’ll begin by saying our waitress was fabulous. The staff is super friendly and genuine. She was nervous, new, but humbling. Wish I could remember her name to give her some credit for our experience! She was very well educated on the menu. Which was perfect because the menu was so different!
Alright to the food…
We started off with the fried green tomatoes. The plate was stunning. A VERY astounding first impression. They were fresh, crisp, and served over tarter sauce with what I think was crab meat on the to. They were cooked in a nice thin batter that didn’t take away from the tomatoes but added a wonderful flavor to them.
I had the grilled cheese with tomato soup, as seen in the picture I took (the plates were beautiful, very visually pleasing), and given it made my stomach hurt, it was still very enjoyable. Just not for me! The texture of the cheeses was strange and the soup kind of upset my stomach, but I think that was all me and not the food!
My mom had the meatloaf and she basically licked her plate clean. That woman was hungry and on a mission! Her plate was beautiful as well. She didn’t really say much to me about it, because she couldn’t stop stuffing her face. She FINALLY let me try a tiny little bit of it, and dear god I wish I would’ve got the meatloaf. It was so clean tasting and filling. Like I said, she licked her plate clean.
We were too full to get dessert, but this is for sure the place to go if you would like to just sit with a girlfriend and talk over a shared pastry. The owners work in the kitchen, the wife is a baker. So you know the desserts are nothing less than perfection. Cannot wait to try them!
In conclusion, TRY THIS PLACE OUT! It’s such an experience!

We always enjoy the food here. Saturday we ordered the Chicken Salad Croissant and the small Avocado Citrus Salad, then we split them both. I like the salad with Ranch dressing, but my hubby likes the Citrus Ginger dressing that the salad typically comes with.
Sandwich was good, but the Chorizo Meatloaf is still the best so far.

I would definitely say that this is an average restaurant. I came here a couple of days ago with a group of friends visiting from out of town and I can say none of us were too impressed. The service was not great, our waiter was friendly but slow. The hostess was awkward and far from friendly. The food was good, but nothing exceptional. My friend and I got the chicken fried chicken sandwich, which has really tender chicken but again didn’t stand our. In fact, my favorite thing was the cucumbers/“pickles” on the side of my sandwich. My other friends tried the cheeseburger (described as, «normal» and «can’t go wrong with a cheeseburger»), the steak and egg («bland and unseasoned») and the chicken tenders (‘tender, but I could go to cane’s «). I think the most impressive dish was my friend’s grilled cheese and tomato bisque.
I most likely will not be returning because the prices are just way too high for average food I could make at home. Or probably just go to chili’s for…

This restaurant is pretty amazing!!!
As soon as you enter you see a huge display of fresh baked cakes and pastries, these were made with some skill and it’s very clear.
The feel of the restaurant is a mixture of modern and rustic. The staff is very friendly and they have great attitudes. The service is very quick and the food is exceptional.
The only issue that came up was, my card was charged twice. Once for my tab and once for my buddies tab. I called and spoke with the manager to get it resolved, and he assured me that he deleted the charge.
Overall the experience was nice and I will be going back.

Ordered the Lobster, shrimp and crayfish creole. Also, had their fried green tomatoes.
Service was a bit slow. The server was quite busy and had his hands full given there were 11 of us.
The creole was the special of the day. It was 19.99. I consider it a value to have that much lobster, shrimp and crayfish. It was an interesting dish. It was mostly red. It tasted acidic and had great flavor. It was quite spicy. The spice saved the dish. If it wasn’t spicy it would have been mostly one note but well seasoned. Had enough heat, spice, and salt.
I also ordered their biscuits. Their biscuits are very delicious and soft. They were very fresh as well. I decided to order them to go. They were still good the next day. The gravy was pretty delicious. It had a heavier consistency; but i had likened it that way. They tasted fluffy, buttery and creamy.
The décor of this restaurant is nice. It’s very light and has lots of seating. They all had been arranged with a tables /​booths. It had a diner-​like setup; with a fresh rustic look.
Overall, this is a great place to have a meal everyday. The prices of the entrees are more on the expensive side; it’s not like one could afford to come here everyday. It felt like a new twist on the outdated diner concept. It felt very homely and comfortable. Food here is tasty. They offer a nice variety of dishes. Nothing fancy but done right. The service this time was a bit slow though. We were there on a Friday at 5 – 7. So the speed of service is quite reasonable for that time. Regardless, i’d definitely come back and trying some other dishes.

Too expensive for the food you receive. We spent $ 93 for a family of 4 without alcohol and one appetizer, entrees and dessert. If I’m going to spend that kind of money, I expect flavorful and memorable dishes.
To start, we had the crab cakes. It was full of corn! If I’m paying for crab cakes, I expect crab in it!
My husband had the blackened salmon. It was ok. Nothing special. I think I’ve had better at Costco and for less money! I had the chicken fried shrimp. Funny story… I had originally ordered this but then told my waiter that I’d like to have the pot roast instead but to add spinach to my entrée. After waiting 25 minutes for our food to come (our kids were already finished with their food), what did I get? Yup, chicken fried shrimp. Not the pot roast. They told me they could take it back and bring me my pot roast but at this point I was starving. The breading seriously lacked seasoning. It needed salt and other spices. The spinach that came with it was good but I didn’t think the pasta au gratin went with the shrimp. I felt like it was overpriced for the shrimp I ate. I’ve been to other restaurants and have paid the same price for shrimp with Jumbo shrimp on my plate. Not here.
The kids had a hamburger and chicken strips. Chicken strips also needs flavor and the hamburger was just a patty on a bun. No ketchup, mustard or pickles or anything. We had to ask for ketchup.
The desserts were not bad. We had the pecan pie and the kids had brownies. Good but not worth coming back for.

This is a very difficult review for me. I so want to love Barnlight, it is wonderful to have a nice restaurant open in the neighborhood and not have to chose fast food options, and while the customer service was excellent, the atmosphere causal yet a touch of elegance, the food was less than expected. My husband and I have discussed the food at length trying to figure out what went wrong and have come to the conclusion that the recipes are excellent the preparation went terribly wrong.
Husband order was pot roast; the meat had large hunks of fat in it which made it difficult to eat but the flavor was good, the green beans were bland and tasteless.
I had the pork and while the sauce was excellent my meat ran from overcooked at the edges to raw at the bone, my potatoes were refrigerator cold which they did replace but were still not fresh/​hot, and my spinach had salty bites.
We did not order wine because the markup was too much; for example their 14 Hands Cab was around $ 27 for a bottle and we walked next door to Kroger and picked up a bottle for after dinner for under $ 12.
They are offering a Sunday Brunch now and we will be going back to try that but for now I don’t think we will be having dinner there until they figure out what’s going wrong in the kitchen.
Service 4 stars /​food 2.5 stars