Birch & Barley

[Environment] The environment is just average, there is no exquisite decoration, and the inside is basically just a layer of paint. [Taste] Most of the dishes are fried, and they are a bit greasy if you eat too much. The vegetables are good, similar to sweet potato leaves.

We stopped in without a reservation and were seated in a high top. Jon was our server and had great recommendations. I had the shishito peppers with cauliflower for starter. Great combo. I was worried they would be too spicy but they were not at all. Main course was seared scallops with watermelon, watercress, and hazelnuts (ie photos). I can't remember ever having scallops with such a creamy texture. Dessert was a trio of ice cream. It was good, nothing exciting. Highly recommend this restaurant.

I love Birch and Barley! Really, I can't say enough about this place because you can get an excellent goat dish in this amazing place in DC. Very nicely spiced and well seared so it didn't come out dry. The Italian food was deliciously creamy without being overbearingly heavy on the old fashioned. Excellent wine selection by the glass and gluten free options are just icing on the cake. I just love this place. Then, a few weeks ago I went for a friend's birthday. I've been going for a few months. Our waitress had a panic attack and we told her for no reason and we were also cold. The pie was excellent and that was it for that night. The rabbit pasta had almost no rabbit in it. The cheese and mozzarella were a complete waste of money. The kale tasted like maple syrup. The mackerel was beyond fish and the pork certainly wasn't accompanied by broccoli. Then, when we called for a bottle of the wine we ordered (which was before telling us we couldn't give a sampling of it because it was bottled only) they ran out of bottles. At this point the manager took over our table. When this happens, restaurants usually offer you something better. We got a subpar bottle from Virginia. > Probably B and B, B had an off day. I thought so too. I missed out on the most amazing meals I expected from Birch and Barley.

You must try the steak here, it tastes very good and is very juicy.

EH. I was so excited to come here for brunch - I had heard great things about it, but I honestly thought it was mediocre. I got the chicken sandwich and my friend got the corned beef. They said the hash was good, but very small - they didn't have all the finished parts. The corned beef isn't really a hash, it's more of a big chunk of meat and a hash brown. The chicken sandwich was disappointing. The waffles were good, but not exactly flavorful. The fried chicken it came with was terrible. The fried parts were falling off and all burnt. It was basically chicken surrounded by burnt stuff. I don't like the syrupy taste of the chicken, but it wasn't enough to save the dish. The polenta, while good, was also good - it was overly salty and didn't have much other flavor. The service was good. Our server wasn't bad, but she was rude. She repeatedly neglected to refill our friends' "unlimited" coffee. She also acted like we weren't drunk brunchers with brunch annoyances. It was not a good brunch experience at all.