DTLA: Beer Hall Barrel Down Is Now Open

Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout

A new beer hall, Barrel Down, has opened in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s right in the 7th Street Corridor along with Seven Grand, Bottega Louie, B.S. Taqueria and Sugarfish.

beer dough pretzel

We ordered a bunch of things from the social hour (happy hour) menu including the beer dough pretzel which turned out to be pretzel bites. In an unfortunate case of klutzy fingers, I lost my ball but I got a bite in before hand. Its seasoning is very much an “everything” bagel. If you like breakfast anytime, these are for you. They are served with three mustards including an interesting miso mustard.

shrimp bao

We didn’t order the shrimp bao (buns). We had ordered the bacon sliders from the happy hour menu but out came the shrimp. Apparently the bacon was no longer being offered. We felt the restaurant should have told us the sliders weren’t available any longer. They hoped we would eat them and they kept it on the bill which we had to ask about. The seafood lover in the group tried one but decided it wasn’t worth having another so we left the other two on the plate. The bacon lover was very disappointed he didn’t get what he ordered.

cauliflower popcorn

Calling the breaded and fried cauliflower “popcorn” was a cutesy move. These definitely needed the ginger aioli dipping sauce and should be treated like tempura. Best to eat ’em hot!

crab dip

I was a little unsure about the crab dip. The chips were nice and thick but I felt the dip was a bit watery. I would have preferred just a touch of cream. Or gasp, mayo.

Brussels sprouts

We enjoyed the Brussels sprouts. It’s a good side. And we still love you even if kale has stolen your thunder.

sweet and sticky ribs

I ordered off the regular menu and got the ribs. These were the best dish of the night. You got a pile of ’em and had a good sauce that was a little bit Thai in flavor profile. I’d order these again for a meal.

BBQ carrots

Being an anti-carrots person, I almost didn’t try them. They were a little mushy which was great for me since I particularly hate the way raw/ish carrots gets shredded and puffs out your cheeks like a squirrel. Wait, no one else feels this way? Okay, well, these were fine.

Overall, Barrel Down is a welcome addition to the block. Give them some time to work out the kinks. We felt the pricing was a little bit high for beer and shots ($25 for Whistlepig rye?!) but this is the Financial district of DTLA.

Barrel Down