Barley Pop Pub & Restaurant

Poor service, food so so. I wrote 5 words 1 month ago. Apparently that is not enough for a review. I stopped in tonight and the comments are the same. There were no more than 20 people in there. Service still lacking and food still so so. New owners? They have done a nice job of partial remodeling but did not touch the food or menu which was the big reason I quit going after the original owners. They have no identity and can not do one of their many menu items well because of it, you still do not see an owner or manager in there. Bartenders and waitresses still ignore you so they can take care of their REGULARS. No sanitation

The new owners are cleaning up a once run down establishment into a must go sports bar in Gtown. TV’s everywhere! Good vibe and very friendly staff! Good has always come out at a good time.
The menu has a little bit of everything and the nightly specials have been a hit throughout are table the many times we have dined there.
Friday night fish: MUST HAVE THE GROUPER!
With the weekly specials and live music on Friday night, I see the Barley Pop doing very well for itself for many years to come!

I love the renovations, the food is vastly underrated and they always have a decent beer selection. They had a beer pong tournament on the night before Thanksgiving and they got 22 teams to sign up; it was a blast. Barley Pop has done its part to improve downtown Germantown!

Ok, so I have to qualify that this review starts at four stars. The reason may seem silly, but the all you can eat fish fry does not have all you can eat fries. I love fries and as an American I just don’t understand why the fries are not all you can eat.
I had the pollack. It was pretty good. I would have preferred a crispier beer batter on it. It was a little soggy, but tasted good. The fries came in an inadequate amount.
My lovely wife had the cod. I tried it and it was really good. Crispy and delicious. The tater tots were also very good.
Service was warm and friendly, but a little slow.
I would come again. It was a pleasant dinner.

We’ve been coming for their steak and fish fry specials for nearly 20 years! The all-​you-​can-​eat fish fry is only cod but they do the cod well. The extra orders of fish come out quickly and taste so hot and fresh. They have plenty of side options (tots, fries, baked or mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, etc.) and a great beer selection on tap.

We had a large group when we went (over 20 of us). We were given a private room and our own staff.
The Barley Pop is known for their burgers so I ordered one. It was pretty good.
The staff did an excellent job keeping our group satisfied — tea, sodas, napkins etc.

The décor is dated and could use an upgrade, but the place is clean, the staff is prompt and friendly, and the food and drinks are excellent. The bartender makes a great bourbon old fashioned. I’ll definitely go back!

Stay away. Many better places in the area… even Applebees. Really slow service and bad food that is over priced. The waitresses run around but nothing moves. It makes it even worse and gives the impression of disorganization not urgency. Ordered the stuffed shrimp egg rolls appetizer. Mostly cream cheese blend. Found almost no Shrimp. Cod was like fish sticks. No wonder it is all you can eat. No one wants seconds and it would probably be another 30 minutes. Chimmicanga wasn’t terrible but small for 10.99. Smaller than a soda can. Guacamole that came with it was brown and tried to hide it with lettuce base. It was over 2 hours from getting in to leaving. They were running out of baked potatoes by 7:15 on a Friday. Pretty empty by 7:30 but the 4 – 5 tables left were still waiting for food. I will never go back. Eaten at Bubs across the street and that was better.

Spacious «corner» bar in the middle of Germantown ’ s Main Street. Stopped in on a Monday night on the way home to Milwaukee. Not much going on, but I like to sit at the bar so I like it that way. Great beer selection with a nice variety of Wisconsin brews! Snacked on the Corn Nuggets an Bosco Sticks ($ 5 apiece for their bar apps) and both were delicious! Bartender was nice and very attentive. I felt like the beer was a bit pricey and we didn’t receive an itemized receipt for our bill. Overall, I would say a nice place to stop for a pint while in town!

Stopped in on the 4^th of July for a fish fry, the resturant was not to busy, the service was prompt and attentive. I had the all you could eat pollock and my wife had the cod, both dishes were served promptly and very hot, we enjoyed both, I would recommend this small town bar atmosphere to anyone.

After a strikeout at Bubs we decided to head here for food.
The beer deal that day was $ 3 for Ale Asylum Hopalicious on tap — fairly solid deal for an amazing beer.
The food menu was extensive, ranging from Mexican to American and everywhere in between.
I got the burger, friend got enchaladas. Both were ok, not good, not terrible.
The bartender was nice and the service was good. The TVs were located in a near perfect spot for viewing from the bar. This place was somewhat divey, but not terrible. I’d go back, but not for the food.

Had a horrible Fish Fry experience tonight. Arrived at around 5:15; 45 minutes later still no food. Our waitress never came back to check on us for refills, and we sat with empty glasses for at least 15 minutes. The final straw was when three tables that were seated way after us received their food before we did. We put a $ 10 bill on the table (MORE then enough to cover our three drinks)…unfortunately by doing so we gave our waitress who failed to acknowledge us for at least a half hour a hefty tip (you’re welcome Tabitha). The wait WOULD have been bearable if the service wasn’t so God awful. I can’t comment on the food since we never got a chance to taste it! We will NEVER be back again.

Went here for the fish fry, I would not go back. The bar was pretty crowded when we got there and kind of noisy, so I was glad that we made reservations for the dining room. That was my first mistake. I think there was a private party that we were not invited to. Most of the people were standing around talking, very few eating. The noise was incredible. It was the quieter in the bar. The waitress had a hard time finding us after we were seated.
The appetizers were all fried and they arrived cold. The fried cod tasted good but it was also cold. Not really sure how they could serve such cold food that was still crispy. My wife had the broiled cod, and she said it was also cold, my sister-​in-​law also ordered the broiled cod and it was raw in the center.
We left without dessert, our voices were gone from trying to shout over all of the noise in the dining room. They should have moved the birthday party into the bar. They were not eating, and as they drank more they just got louder.
We would have complained but the waitress just kind of blew past out table with the bill, and we never saw her again.

Went here once for dinner last year, this is your typical bar food place. I would say the food here is a hair better than your typical bar fare. Definitely a major step up from the place across the street. I am pretty cheap so I like that they have reasonably priced specials. I had the steak on Thurs I believe and it was quite good. This place definitely has the feel of one of my old favorites from when I was living on North Ave. That favorite I speak of is McBobs on North Ave. If only this place had a game changing specialty like McBobs corned beef I would be back here a lot more.
As for the bar this place seems like the real deal. I could see myself hanging out here and racking up a fairly nice bar tab just like the old days.

If I could give zero stars I would!

first of all what kind of German brew haus serves an overwhelming selection of Mexican fare, and how can they expect to do it well? They can’t! I ordered the guacamole. it was just «ok». but the chips were from a bag, not freshly made. And the app plates, well 2 of the 4 had dried food on them! My fork was dirty! my husband’s fork was badly bent!
The worst of all was the chicken taco, a special on the day. it was pre-​cooked diced chicken with melted shredded cheese in a soft tortilla. that’s it! I make better at home! It came on a plate accompanied by chopped up lime green lettuce
salsa, no sour cream.
I will never come back here, what a waste of time and money! This place needs to be gutted and completely revamped by a restaurant professional.

Local neighborhood small town bar with friendly, knowledgeable staff, good snacks, and variety of beers and spirits. 3.5 stars
Drinks: 3, atmosphere: 3, service: 3.5
Cost to worth it rating: 4 (on the cheaper side with snacks $ 4)
Return worthiness: yes
Highlights:
— Bartender: seemed to know her stuff and made some fun shot concoctions. One was called a scooby snack
— Bosco sticks: never had these but liked them a lot. Breadstick stuffed with a pizza-​like filling of mozzarella, pepperoni, and tomato sauce
— Cheddar nuggets: pretty much like cheese curds and a decent rendition at that
— Flavored vodkas: had a adequate amount. Mostly Smirnoff and Absolut, but spotted a Van Gogh and Ciroc coconut which are 2 of my faves. Also got a caramel flavored chocolate martini which was a unique creation.
— Sat ladies night: free «rail» drinks which I believe Wisconsin for «well» and certain standard beers from 8−11pm which sounds nuts to me as a Californian but guess it’s common around here
Mid lights:
— DJ: played an odd mix of music from rap to 90s top 40 to classic MJ to country which I don’t mind but seemed pretty random. Also turned on the fog machine even when the dance floor was empty which made the area smokey
Lowlights:
— Margarita: mix was too liquidy and sour, but $ 12 for a pitcher is a deal
— Empty: I didn’t need much action just there to spend time with my sis, but it was quite dead on a Saturday night
Simple place for a mellow night to catch up with friends. I’d come back.

A Bison Burger — yum. The fries are great too. Service was good and the Bloody Mary on Sunday morning (I am not a fan of Bloddys but that was the best I’ve tasted) was great.
Typical Wisconsin bar setting for what you could expect «up north» woodsy; open and well lit with plenty of space for dining and drinking.

Ambience is typical wi bar. Nice number of tv’s do you can see what’s on. They were open on Easter saving my wife and I from having to do a buffet or fast food do that’s worth a star right there lol. I had the sirloin and my wife the French dip. My steak was cooked perfectly medium rare. It had a nice pepper sauce with slivers of mushrooms and it was really nice that very finely chopped parsley topped it. There was fresh vegetable medly cooked perfectly. The baked potato was nicely done too. My wife’s French dip was good too. The roast beef was nicely carmelized with crispy edges. This made the meat dry but the au jus fixed it. The au jus was delicious and very flavorful. Portions were very good. I really enjoyed our meal and will be coming back.

We stopped in to Von Rothenburg first as we are fans of German atmosphere and culture, but the vibe was very quiet on a Saturday lunch and the bartender couldn’t even tell us for sure if the kitchen was open, so we headed down the road and found the Barley Pop.
There were several apparent regulars at the bar or playing video games.
I had the French onion soups and the Berry Pop salad which was seemingly bottomless, filled with berries, nuts, bacon and cheese.
The bartender gave us great service with both our food and our beers.

Well, I ventured to our old favorite The Barley Pop again and have to say that I am saddened by the decline here. The staff actually seems to be better than before. All the staff was smiling and quick and attentive. What lacks now is good food execution and tap beer selection.
Nothing against Sprecher, but you cannot have Sprecher Amber and one seasonal on tap and consider yourself a decent beer bar. Gone are the New Glarus and Lakefront taps (why?) and gone are the other interesting taps that used to come and go. It seems like Miller/​Coors owns the tap lines now and beer drinkers in these parts will suffer now.
The menu has changed also. Gone is the big newpaper, never ending selection of the past «hot items» from the last 15 years and in it’s place is a simple, smaller menu with some fine selections. I was actually kind of excited thinking maybe the old «ok» bar food had been replaced by some simple, well executed dishes. Does not seem to be the case.
The food items we got looked to be actually made on site and the ingredients seemed to be decent quality and fresh, but the execution was just off. Way off. Fried fish seemed to have either been reheated or at best sat under a heat lamp long enough to take any texture out of the breading. The breading was under seasoned too. The result was a dry, chewy filet.
The onion soup was again terribly under seasoned.
I am hoping that I was just there on a day that the chef was out or sick or something. As for the beer selection, they just need someone who actually likes beer to be making those calls.
On the upside, the service was great, the place seems cleaner, most of the cheap beer signage and video games are gone. I have hope, but The Barley Pop did not deliver this time.