The Barker Hotel

I’m a brand new Mount Barker resident, and I was interested in trying out The Barker Hotel with visiting family. My group’s experience was mixed, and I feel the need to warn people that this is most likely not an allergy-conscious venue.

The food was good and the restaurant was nice, but despite the fact that we clearly communicated that two people in our party had serious food allergies (and that fact was entered into the ordering system), the food was delivered to our table with both allergens clearly visible right on top of the dishes. One dish also contained peanuts that were not disclosed on the menu — which we discovered AFTER notifying the staff of the allergy (luckily for the allergy-sufferer, there were clearly-identifiable peanuts in the dish when it was served).

On top of all of this, we also asked if any of the bread options were vegan (as they were not labelled as vegan or vegetarian, despite many other things being labelled VE/V/GF/etc) and were told that they were not — only to be served bread as part of a vegan-labelled hummus dish, which was very confusing.

The experience made both allergy-sufferers in the group quite nervous (and glad to have epi-pens handy), but in the end all of the food was fixed and nobody had a reaction. However, the fact that our allergies were clearly communicated and entered with the order (only to be ignored by the kitchen) means that I don’t feel that anyone with allergies can trust the food. Additionally, the staff not knowing what was and wasn’t vegan adds to my concern for anyone who has reason to care about the what specific ingredients are in their food.

Came in here for new years to catch up with mates.had a really good night though the population was of the older sort

Delicious meals and great service. We sat under the verandah where there's plenty of room to accommodate our pooches.

Been coming here for some time now and it is getting a bit on the pricey side these days and service has definitely lapsed.

It doesn't have the most inspired interior design but the vegetarian food is absolutely fabulous. They always have really interesting and very tasty dishes on the menu.

Helpful friendly bistro staff. Tasty Gluten free options available and allergies taken seriously and accommodated. Nice fresh food and yes we will dine here again. Indoor and outdoor dinning options.

Never Let us down ever! Awesome meal always got both of us! Great Friendly Attentive Staff & Beautiful Ambience in dining room & Pokies really pleasant with tasty treats & Great Coffee from an Auto Coffee Machine which are hard to find they are usually average at best.
Thank you look forward to our next visit!

Had lunch yesterday (14/12/22)
Very disappointing, nice ambience, friendly and fast service but disappointing food, partner had pasta that upset stomach, I had double beef burger, that was the most bland and tasteless burger I ever had, no flavour whatsoever what the burger missed was put on oversalted chips

Great food, the kids were entertained by the Magician and the children’s food was very well priced & they had a free Icecream. We were impressed with the menu and quality of food. Friendly, helpful waiting staff.
A terrific evening. Thank you

Nice friendly place, staff very welcoming and good choice of beer wine and spirits, plenty of options on the menu with good portions

Very noisy pub with bad service and the meals were not that nice either. Would not go again

Fabulous food.
Fabulous wine.
Fabulous coffee.
Fabulous service.
Fabulous decor.
Fabulous town.

Really nice food. Great atmosphere. But a bit rich charging +15% public holiday when it was the Easter Saturday. (Normal day not a holiday) I hope the staff got the bump and not the hotel!

A really nice experience at The Barker. Staff very friendly and the meal we couldn't not complain about. Will definitely be going back to The Barker

Great food and service, nice relaxed outdoor seating, generous servings, even entree could be mains, really tasty, great spot positioned on main street.

Had a friend's birthday function.staff were amazing platters were delish.fab afternoon had by all. T

Don't ask the wait staff or bartenders for any help if you are trying to pay the bill before other members of your party pay. They assured me they would take care of it, took my credit card in advance, then completely ignored me.

Had my daughters 18th birthday at the hotel. Absolutely wonderful. Thankyou to the staff who made our day a wonderful day of celebration. The staff were friendly professional helpful. The food was lovely the service was amazing. Thankyou to all for a lovely day. Definitely will be back

We thoroughly enjoyed lunch on 17 Nov 21 at The Barker. One of the best Vegan offerings I've experienced in a pub and nothing was too much trouble for the friendly staff. We're intending to return regularly.

Came he last week and it was so good we came again this week. For people that dabble in the dark arts, they have a proper Vegan menu which my wife loves. The staff are very friendly and efficient.