Smoked Salmon Rillette
Barley's Kitchen Tap

Barley's Kitchen Tap

16649 Midland Dr, Shawnee, United States Of America, 66217

Casual • Kitchen • American • Catering


"Two stars here for pleasant service and extensive beer list. But, not sure there's much else to celebrate. Place seems to be trying to be upscale beer bar and grill. Upscale pricing, but rest of the experience left something to be desired. TVs all over the place with sports, but despite multiple live playoff games in progress, only one of nearly a dozen had a live game, like they turned them on at lunch to NFL and Golf Channel and never thought about them again. Requested a channel, never happened. Beer menu (via QR code) had no prices with anything, left you guessing before an order. Food menu has sandwiches a la carte at $10-$15 without a side. Added a $4 side of grilled zucchini to one order and it had like 8 pieces, which for the price was insane (on its own plate, it also looked small). Had it been included with the entree even at a higher price we probably wouldn't have noticed, but when you price everything separately, you expect the portion to match the expense. And, honestly be a quality that is special. An entree salad came out with different ingredients than listed on the menu, only to be told by staff that it was now prepared a new way. Other items that friends had come for were no longer on the menu. Things change, just not sure they are changing for the better here. All in all, the food was not terrible, just not up to upscale standard. Beer selection is indeed impressive. But, feel like there has to be something else in the area that can be worth this expense and be memorable for more positive reasons."

Stella Modern Italian Cuisine

Stella Modern Italian Cuisine

1201 N Walker Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73103, 73103-3736, United States

Wine • Fish • Pizza • Italian


"This was my first visit to Stella.  I read the reviews and they were very polarized--people seemed to love it or hate it.  I was hoping I'd find out what all the fuss is about.  (I will admit, I can't think the name "Stella" without hearing it shouted in the voice of Marlon Brando, but that's another story. . .)So I walked in to the place at dinner time on a Tuesday night, I was greeted very warmly and I asked to sit at the bar, since I was alone.  Todd at the bar was a very personable and enthusiastic young man who proved to be a very good bartender and server. The décor of Stella is definitely hip, clean, cool and contemporary and I liked it.  There was a good dinner crowd with people of all ages.  I started with a nice Chianti reserve ($11) and it was a wonderfully smooth and tasty wine.  Todd told me the specials and pointed out some highlights on the menu.  I love good Italian sausage and I went with the house made sausage/pasta dish, which Todd said was the lightest of the pasta offerings.  I also had a nice mixed greens salad with balsamic and a great piece of crusty bread with some garlic infused olive oil.  Every bite was fantastic.  The sausage had wonderful seasoning and the minimal white wine sauce on the pasta let all the flavor come through.  The fennel was a great touch as well.  It was a unique dish that showed some creativity and was better than I expected.  The portion size was good--just enough for one person with a decent appetite.  I broke down and had the tiramisu for dessert.  This was an enormous, round, stack of tiramisu that resembled a core sample from geological survey!  As tiramisu goes, I would say it was a tad dry and lacking in some of the rich flavor I've come to anticipate, so I would call this dish "average".  I also had some Tuaca to go with dessert and I felt the pour was a bit light for a $10 drink.  (I noted that "Stella" or the woman who seemed to be in charge in the kitchen, was entertaining some friends at the bar with samples of some new things she was conjuring up and I liked knowing that they weren't just resting on their laurels).  All in all, it was a very satisfying dinner and I would go back.  The entire meal was about $50 ($20 of which was liquor).  So yes, the prices are on the upscale side for sure, but generally I felt the quality was there.  I've been in a lot of places charging these kinds of prices where the service and quality were much lower.  I'll be back."