Barley Vine lists itself as a Gastropub and while the menu was small-ish,it was interestingly laid out. It had sections for air/land/sea and appetizers listed under sweet/salty/savory. I didn't see very many gluten-free options right off and it didn't specify on the menu but when I asked my waitress she seemed fairly well informed and, when she didn't know, was happy to check with the chef.
Another bonus for the waitress - she was happy to play along with my husbands shenanigans, which can get quite silly at times. Don't quote me on it but it's possible he claimed to be a "food wizard" at some point during the ordering process. She was such a good sport.Anyhow, back to the menu... I decided for an appetizer I would try the orange marinated olives because I love olives and everyone else was having delicious looking soft pretzels with spicy mustard. I was very happy with the flavor of this dish, it was well-balanced and great to nibble away at while waiting for supper to come.
Since it's a gastro-pub I suppose I should mention that they had a very extensive beer menu. They had one type of hard cider (although I can't remember which) and two types of GF beer as well. I hadn't ever had either so of course I had to try them... both... for you of course. Because the waitress said they sold significantly more of the Lakefront New Grist beer, made of sorghum and rice, I had that one first. It was an extremely light Pilsner (5.1% alc/vol) with very little hoppiness but it was tasty and easy to drink. It tasted like beer, honestly, very light beer but beer - not fruit or molasses. I could see this being a beer I would enjoy in the summer time on a patio or by the pool. Yes, I know you aren't supposed to have breakables by the pool, I'll put it in a plastic sippy-cup to be safe.Although I could have happily ordered another bottle of New Grist I decided to be adventurous and try the other GF option, Omission Pale Ale. I had heard of this beer several times both at restaurants and from friends who are interested in brewing but had never taken the leap to trying it. It is supposedly made with barley but put through a process that removed the gluten from the finished product. It sounds really cool right? I have to admit to you though, I was very disappointed by this beer. It had an okay front-flavor but it had a very bitter finish and I found myself sort of forcing it down. I have tasted this bitter-molasses flavor in other Gluten-free beers in the past and it's the thing I am always trying to avoid. I suppose if you're the type of person who really enjoys bitter flavors it may be for you but I found it a bit too much for my enjoyment.
Eventually I even got around to eating food at the Barley Vine. I promise drinking if not my only concern when going out - although don't ask my hubby, he may argue with me given my love of wine. There was only a few options for me here but they all (both?) sounded nice. The first thing I almost picked was the vegetarian "lasagna" which is made with eggplant slices in place of the pasta in a normal lasagna. I almost got this one but when I'm out drinking beers I just feel like eating meat so I had the waitress double-check with the chef and then bravely ordered the wild Texas boar ribs with ratatouille. I was, overall, fairly pleased with my meal if not blown away. The veggies were a bit soft for my taste but they were tasty and the ribs were falling off the bone. The biggest down side of the food was the lack of ANY dessert I could even try. Alas, my waistline at least was thankful for that.I may go back to Barley Vine in the future, especially if looking for somewhere fairly nice and inside Bristol since choices there are limited but I'm not dying to get back. A few more GF options on the menu and maybe a little symbol showing me whats safe and I could easily be swayed though.
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