We don't drink, and we still like the Barley Merchant
A 50-tap room is an odd favourite for someone who doesn't drink. The scratch kitchen, the pizza dough and a real mocktail list explain it.
- Where
- #101 – 20090 91A Avenue, Building B, Walnut Grove (by the Colossus theatres) · 604-371-2699
- Hours
- Sun–Mon 11:30 am – 10 pm, Tue–Thu to 11 pm, Fri–Sat to midnight
- Cost
- Pizzas $19.50–$23.75, Barley Classic burger from $19, mocktails $7–$7.50
- Website
- thebarleymerchant.com
Fair question: why is a taproom with 50 BC taps on the list of someone who doesn’t drink? Because the kitchen behind it takes itself seriously.
They make nearly everything in-house. The pizza dough ferments for two days, and you can tell; it’s our default order. The gnocchi is rolled by hand, and the pork belly and mushroom version is the one we keep coming back to. Sauces, stocks, dips and the sourdough under the steak frites all come out of the same kitchen. If someone at the table is gluten-free, vegan or dairy-free, there’s a whole separate menu for each, which makes it an easy pick for mixed groups.
As for the glass: we’ll leave the beer list to the people who drink it, and they seem very happy here. On our side there are six house mocktails, kombucha, alcohol-free BC beer and cider, and refillable coffee, so nobody’s stuck with a lonely soda water.
The room is big, open and lively, especially on weekend nights. Kids are welcome with a kids’ menu, but it’s pitched at grown-ups. It’s a real restaurant, too, not a bar that happens to serve food: we’ve brought a family dinner of twelve here and it was a great night. Groups of eight or more should book ahead.
Go if you want a scratch-made dinner in Walnut Grove before or after a movie. Skip if you want a quiet, early-evening meal on a Saturday; that’s not when this place is calm.
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