Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria

Best pizza in town, best bar in town, fantastic building, excellent patio, great music venue and awesome pool hall upstairs.

I am from california and I have traveled throughout over 20 countries in the world. I have never been to a bar that has been worse (to say the least). If you are trying to have any type of fun, whatsoever, in this small town in… Tennessee… Make sure that you don’t not only stay 100 feet away from this place, make sure you tell all your friends and anyone they know, to stay out of this place. I wanted to give $.01 tip on a 30 dollar tab, but I chose to be classy. I gave nothing. Never go here. Stay away. Worst place I have been in the world.

This place makes the best pizza in town! If you like a bit of a kick grab a Georgia Dry Rub pizza. You’ll be hooked.

I went to Barley’s on a rainy Saturday and sat on the porch with my dog. I got a pizza and some chicken fingers (per the recommendation of another Unilocal user) and I was not disappointed. The beer menu was not huge, but I enjoyed the craft beer that I selected. The food was great. The atmosphere, I can’t really speak too since the rain changes the dynamics on the porch quite a bit I would imagine. I will definitely be back!

Food and service always good. Always have great drink and food specials. Outdoor dining area very nice. Only problem is fighting off the pan handlers who will acually follow you in the resturant or approach you on the patio. Informed bartender who took care of it. Maybe more of a police presence in the old city would help. Certainly recommend this old city hot spot.

Went in at lunch and had a bad experience. Slow service, waited like 15 minutes to get our drinks ordered then another 10 to order food. The people next to us had a worse time then us, they waited an hour and a half for their food to get there! Soggy undone pizza. Hard as rock pita chips. Worst margarita ever. The Maryville one kills this place with the quality of food and quality of service. I wish it was a better experience :(

Very spacious inside.
They do have handicap access! Side door from the parking lot near the back side. Elevator in the back takes you upstairs–
Old building. Smells of whiskey. huge bar with lots of liquor–
They have quite a few pool tables upstairs.
VERY good Pizza!!! The crust is thin and awesome!

Pretty good spot lots of people enjoying good live music beer on tap and pool tables up stairs. Great place to spend the evening enjoying music and drinks. Didn’t try any of the food but hopefully it’s good!

It’s good to note if you’ve never been here before that the downstairs is a dining area, with a live band and self seating, while the upstairs is a bar/​nightlife area, with pool tables, some arcade games, and a lot of beers on tap. We checked out both. First we had dinner downstairs, where they card you at the door so you must be 21 to enter this place. The self seating was a little different, but there were a few tables available at the time we went (around 8:30pm on a Friday). It is definitely loud with the band and not the best place for conversation. We ordered the black bean hummus and pita, which were really good, and definitely a good portion. They also provided enough of the hummus that you didn’t have to ration it to have enough for each pita, which was really nice. I’d recommend these. We came for the pizza, and there were a lot of options and toppings available. We ordered half basic cheese and half All American, which were both really good– a little crunch but not burnt crunch, not too thin and not too thick in width, and the right amount and distribution of toppings. Probably one of the best pizzas you’ll get in the city. The pizzas come in three sizes, which are by inches, but in reality they translate to personal size, 2 – 3 people, and family. Our server, who’s name we never got, was really good as he came just when we needed him, provided quick service, but didn’t come too often either, so we had time to enjoy ourselves. I’d give the dining area 4.5 or 5 stars. We dropped off our leftovers and then went back to check out the upstairs. Fairly decent scene, but some bar seating and high top booths by the bar could have served useful. Everyone was standing around the bar crowding it, even those who already had drinks, and making it difficult to get to the bar. Three pool tables were provided, and some arcade games, which were untouched at the time. We would probably return again for the dining downstairs, but not for the bar scene upstairs.

When you are looking for a place with a great patio that everyone can agree on, you go to Barley’s in the Old City. The patio is big, it’s dog friendly, and a majority of it is covered. It’s the best kind of place to meet up with friends for a beer or three. Speaking of beer, their selection is top notch. They pride themselves on a ridiculous draft selection.
Now this might make you as uncomfortable to read as it does for me to write. Barley’s chicken tenders are amazing. There, I said it. Judge me all you want, but once you’ve tasted them, you’ll understand. Chicken tenders. Who knew?! I am also a fan of their salads (with creamy feta dressing). Their pizza has never disappointed me. Their wraps are also one of my go-​to items on the menu. (Try the Southwest wrap. You won’t be sorry.)
I’ve had some seriously spotty service at Barley’s in the past. You accept it and expect it and it’s fine. After all, you’re there for the patio usually for the patio anyway. That being said, my last few visits the service has been exponentially better. I don’t know if it’s a fluke, but I’ll take it!
Moral of the story: Grab your dog and your friends, meet on the patio for beer and chicken tenders (without judgement), and be pleasantly surprised when you receive pretty decent service because you’ve gone into it expecting less than a stellar experience.

48 beers on tap. Over a dozen breweries in Knoxville — this place has 2 local beers and our server didn’t know any.
Menu offers sourdough but server said they do not offer that. Ravioli not made here.
Wednesday is trivia nite.

What a fun place to hang out. We arrived for a late lunch/​early dinner which was good because they weren’t very busy. That was good for us. The service was good and we loved the atmosphere. There were four of us and we were in a casual — need to find a cool place to chill for awhile and grab a bite to eat.
I ordered a burger and a Guinness! My favorite combo! The burger was great and Guinness never disappoints! There is a long list of really cool brews but Guinness is my heart. I look forward to more visits so I can try other on tap beer.

I have always loved the pizza and craft beer served at this establishment. They have wings on Saturday that are top notch! With that said, I will never go back.
The reason is this. On my last visit I left the server a $ 7 tip. While balancing my checkbook I found that my charge was off by $ 3. I called today and the manager (Marshall) looked into it and said it happens often. He is crediting my card and talking to the server! Too soft!!! She attended to steal from me and should be fired. Shame on them both

This was our first visit to Knoxville and we had a blast at Barley’s. The beer selection and food were fantastic. The service was great; our waitress was friendly, attentive and informative.
We stayed in the downstairs portion for the most part, which is more bar/​restaurant. The upstairs had a bar but was louder and had pool tables, pinball, etc. This area seemed to attract a younger crowd, more college age.
If we ever return to Knoxville this will definitely be one of our stops.

I always hear good things about Barley’s but never end up going bc the fact that it’s right across NV always threw me off. Lolll
Anyways, we came here for a lil bday dinner and it was great. They have a ton of beer on tap, the wait wasn’t awful considering we had a group of 7, it was 8 pm on a Friday night, and the entire upstairs was rented out. Our server was sweet and the overall environment is so comfortable. On to the food ~
Black bean hummus sounds pretty ordinary but it was super flavorful and they give you a ton of pita bread. Garlic knots were warm and buttery… but guys… the onion rings.
I don’t even like onion rings but these were SO perfect. You know when you bite into an onion ring and the onion doesn’t cut and you end up pulling it out and you’re left with a sad, empty shell? These don’t do that! They break off perfectly and are so crispy and *i could cry just thinking abt them*.
Pizza and chicken tenders both came out super quickly and were awesome. I wanna go back already: p

We take our 3 year old here while watching a quiet band and having fantastic pizza and a beer while wondering who the other parents there are. And it’s good for all of us. We also come here for shows we wouldn’t take our kid to, and have 3 beers. So they really play to a very diverse crowd and we love it!
Killians is only $ 3 a pint, and they go up from there with a well played beer list. The pizzas are mostly 22 $ for the large, so really it’s a fantastic deal and we get dinner, a show and beers for around $ 30 plus tip. Considering I would pay at least that for a sitter, it’s well worth it to bring a little along for the ride and flip for who gets the second pint and who gets the keys and a water.
The interior is well set up and spread out, with smoking outside, and non rediculous vaping upstairs. Apparently some goobers showed up once and vaped so hard upstairs filled up with vape cloud and it was a nusience… so yeah ask first about vaping upstairs and prove you can be respectful.
I don’t play pool often, so I can’t remark on the condition of the pool tables upstairs, but they look classy. The row of video games, normal, but ahhhh the pinball… South Park pinball anyone??? YES!!! 5 DANG STARS.

Grotesque is a word I rarely use. But that is how I would catagorize Barleys’ service to be. I came in on a empty Monday night when I was met by a doorman who was more attentive to his phone and with his headphones in his ears while watching a show/​movie on his tablet.
I really wanted to make my first Barleys’ experience a good one since I have heard only good things from this establishment, but I was wrong. We sat two stools to the left from the bartender, watched him carry on a deep one-​on-​one conversation, ignoring the rest of the bar (us two) while we politely sat and waited for him.
We proceeded to say «excuse me» to get his attention, but ten-​minutes later he walks by us without even taking a glance at us. Once again, I said «excuse me» and he said «I’ll be with you in a minute» (rudely) and went to the other side of the bar.
We spoke with the manager, and unfortunately he seemed to care as much as the doorman and bartender did. But for an empty night, a little basic service is all I asked for.

Me and The Squad rolled up lookin real fly in our matching t-​shirts and I know we were lookin good because all the ladies were checking us out and asking us about our Dilly Bar Squad t-​shirts (seriously like EVERY girl in there) Anyway the food was great. Also I would give it 6 stars if someone would have drowned all the people screaming Take Me Home Tonight upstairs. Ladies if you saw The Dilly Bar Squad at Barleys get at me.

I’m bumping this place up a bit. They have the best happy hour in town and along with Mellow Mushroom, think they have the best pizza as well.

Barley’s is a magical place. Its consistently the same, all while ALWAYS having a great selections of beer. It is also one of the few restaurants that stays open real late (2 am m-​sat) during the week and doesn’t allow smoking. Also the RANCH. I don’t know what it is, but there is nothing like it, honestly the best ranch I’ve had. The pizza is great, and one of my favorites is the spinach con queso with extra extra jalapenos. I also enjoy their fish and chips. Barley’s is two floors and has a patio with seating on the first floor. Both floors have their own bar and seating, upstairs you can find a pool tables, darts, and arcade games. They usually have bands playing at night, so make sure to call ahead to make sure there isn’t a cover for the band! And if there is, you can either sit on the patio or upstairs!