Orange County Restaurants

Enter the bar, scan the extensive beer selection, place your order, grab a number and find a seat amongst the communal tables, private Pullman booths and intimate cocktail seating. Can'™t decide? Don'™t worry! Experienced bartenders - all of whom will be Cicerone.org-certified Beer Servers - will guide you through the vast selection of draft and bottled beers, cocktails, and wines until you find just the right choice. Highlights include options from locally-based Three Weavers Brewing (Inglewood, CA), Bell'™s Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI), and Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene, OR), as well as rotating, seasonally available, and special release items. All draft beers are served in full or half pints from what Barrel Down promises to be some of the cleanest - if not the cleanest - lines in town. Beer not your thing? Try the signature barrel aged Old Fashioned on draft or a glass of wine from one of the featured organic and sustainable vintners, such as Donkey & Goat and The Scholium Project.

Now, for the food. Whether a sandwich, salad, shared plates for the table or a substantial large plate all your own, Chef de Jesus'™ deceptively simple menu offers perfectly balanced, locally sourced, scratch kitchen fare that quells all cravings. The culinary veteran brings an artist'™s hand to decidedly un-fussy food, riffing off the many classic beer/food pairings on a diverse menu that'™s anything but pub grub. A housemade Three Hole Soft Pretzel is the ideal complement to any beer. The Spicy Fried Jidori Chicken Sandwich or Grilled Ham & Cheese On Texas Toast might be your thing, or try the Grains & Greens or Not Quite Nicoise salads. Six-Chili Wings, DIY Tacos, and Cauliflower Popcorn sound just about right to get the evening started. Follow with Meat & Potatoes (grass-fed Colorado beef with Kennebec fries and house-made steak sauce) or Hope Ranch Mussels (sweet potato, coconut, French curry and sour ale) and you'™ve got yourself quite a meal! Whatever your predilection, Barrel Down offers as much or as little as you'™d like to go with what'™s in your glass.