Double Barrel Wine Bar

Thank you to the AMAAAAAZING staff at DB! I’m horrible with names but I would like to say a special thank you to the morning crew who worked on June 4^th! I proposed to my bridal party there (dorky I know) and they all helped me execute the entire thing, no questions asked! I’ve always had a wonderful experience with them, but this was by far a true showing of going above and beyond to make their guests feel welcome and taken care of. I can’t thank you all enough!!!

Great spot for live music, great food, and carefully selected wine list! I love the space in the back patio for a bottle of wine on a hot summer night or cozy winter evening with the heaters on. It’s great they serve beer too for the non wine enthusiasts.

We have been into Double Barrel numerous times, and always end up having a great time. Whether it’s just my girlfriend and I showing up for a quick glass at the bar area, or lounging in the back patio with our groups of friends, we never leave disappointed. Just recently my girlfriend wanted to have a fun night out at Double Barrel for her birthday, and they accommodated me with all our set up for the outdoor area. Burgers are
too

I have been here numerous times and never fails.
Their food — delicious. We recently had the burrata caprese salad. OMG to die for. The fried chicken and waffles had the best fried chicken I have ever had. You need to get both.
The ambiance is always on point, almost feels like you’re hanging out in your friend’s backyard. The live music never seems to fail either.
Great for a group of friends or date night or any time really.

Large wine selection and pre set wine flights. However, no Livermore wine flight? That’s just wrong… The menu is limited but nice. The problem is the prices… Way too high on price. A burger is $ 18 and garlic fries are $ 9. Wine prices are a bit too high also. The place is beautiful and there is a panic for live music. Great place but to expensive.

Busy place with some great atmosphere. Super crowd too — not a bunch of kids but a group of people looking for a good spot to spend their money.
Staff is friendly and everything is clean. That said to 100% honest I am compelled to write this because I ate their burger last night… actually 2. The menu item is called the drive in burger. It’s nothing short of the BEST BURGER THAT I HAVE EVER TASTED. If you want to visit them for everything else I mentioned but skip the burger, you’d be missing out on a little slice of heaven. Simply EPIC!

My fiancé and I decided to try it after wine tasting in Livermore. We both had the French wine flight which wasn’t bad but would have been better served if they had some local flights instead. We also ordered a cheese hors de oviour which had a great pesto cheese on it. We also ordered some sweet potato fries which were really tasty as well.
Our entrée was a burger with blue cheese, which was cooked really well.
I have no complaints about the food but I do feel that it’s way over priced. We shared our entrée and apps and each had a wine flight and our bill was about 120.
I am giving 2 stars bc of price and also I saw a few things here that made me feel uncomfortable. The hostesses told us we couldn’t sit on the patio out back because it was all reserved and that we couldn’t even go out and listen to the band. Secondly when we had to sit at the bar which was fine there was a seat between us and the two girls next to us. When a party of 3 girls showed up the host who knew them asked both us to move and the 2 girls to move to make room for the 3 new girls. The 2 girls were previously asked to move for someone else as we heard from one of the bartenders saying that kind of rude to the host.
When we ordered we wanted to order the sliders but we were told that was on the patio menu only so we ordered our burger instead. The 3 girls who came ordered the sliders and it was brought to them without issue.
I dont see how you can tell us one thing and give it to another customer. You should be consistent with how you treat and serve all your patrons. Also offering a band but not allowing us to even listen to them seems kind of shady. I won’t come back to a place that doesn’t appreciate my patronage and discriminates its customers

I’ve been to this bar and restaurant several times since I live in Livermore. The patio in the rear is the best part of the experience and the wait staff has always been congenial. Unfortunately, and here comes the purpose of this review, the owner is a different story altogether. My friends and myself arrived during a Saturday evening and attempted to simply walk through the bar into the rear patio area and were stopped abruptly by a woman who I will charitably call a hostess-​without tact or manners. She curtly told us the patio was closed and we were not permitted to go there. I asked if there was a private party or something and she said it was by reservation only and I needed a reservation — months in advance. I remained polite and asked if this was a new policy because I had been seated before without a reservation and could I wait? She repeated it is by reservation only. What I can’t accurately convey in this review is how she lacked in any tact or good manners. Was it a bad night for this hostess? Maybe, but I’m a well mannered professional ex-​restaurant manager and chef so I’m charitable in giving the staff the benefit of the doubt… but then she identified herself as the owner — which surprised me given her nonchalant and dismissive attitude toward her customers. A hostess I can forgive, but the owner? I think not. We went down the street to the Sanctuary and experienced great service with a smile and no attitude.
If I hadn’t met the owner of this establishment I might have returned but I won’t frequent a business that dismisses their customers layered with an air of superiority.

Eh. Disappointing and I likely won’t come back, which is sad to me. I like to support local AND family businesses. I really wanted to like this place. Hubs and I came for a belated V Day. At first I was stoked– adorable back patio, cozy blankets, warm atmosphere, great live music. And THEN it all went downhill…
Service was uneven. Our server was borderline unfriendly and inattentive, from the beginning. We felt like she didn’t want us there. The woman who brought our wine was lovely. Server never warmed up. Either she was having a lousy day, or she’s in the wrong business.
There are about 4 – 5 entrees– burger, fish stew, bacon wrapped prawns, chicken satay, and flatbread. My husband, fresh off of a ten mile run, ordered the burgers: they were out. A little annoying, but fine. Until the band wraps up (around 7; we got there at 6:45) and they bring the drummer a burger. He proceeds to eat it in front of the patio crowd. I actually heard another table commenting– apparently they ALSO ordered a burger and were told no. Not cool.
Ordered the antipasti– grocery store type cheeses and meats. Mixed nuts were primarily peanuts, and all other nuts tasted like peanuts. Mozzarella, salami, a wedge of Brie. Green and Greek olives. I was missing something exotic– truffle honey or honeycomb, a dried fruit compote, anything.
Bruschetta was pretty good, although there were some super hard pieces in the sausage– homemade. We had to drag the table closer to the seating after losing some toppings to the ground.
The server spent more time folding up blankets than checking if we needed anything. Went a while with empty wine glasses. Ordered another round and I asked for what my husband had– she didn’t know what that was.
Asked the busboy for check. Waited. Asked the server (folding blankets) and she acted surprised. Brought check. We bailed and went to Alehouse for burgers.
For $ 100, not worth it at all. We have 3 kids under 3. We don’t get out often, so this felt like a supreme waste of our precious time and hard earned money!

Came here a couple weeks ago with my GF & her mother on a Saturday night, we did have a good time and the wine recommended was pretty good.
My only reason for giving an average rating is because this place is super loud and noisy. So its a bit hard to have a conversations without yelling loudly.
Our server was courteous enough but seemed more interested in severing her regulars than tending to us.
The decorations were pretty cool, the hanging lamps were made of wine bottles and the walls seemed to be made of wine barrels. Very cool.
The bruschetta with sausage is fantastic and so is the Lime Rock «kota» Pinot Noir
All in all i think we would come back but there are several other wine bars in Livermore that we will try first.

A small but extremely well stock wine bar located in the downtown Livermore. I especially like their wood filled interior design, I felt like I was in a historic tavern. Their wine list goes on and on, so its better if you just ask for recommendation.
We stopped by for brunch on a chilly and windy sunday. The interior not only looks warm and cozy, the service was spot on too. Brunch menu is short and simple, 3 food choices and 2 drink choices. Of course you can still order the small bites off the regular menu. We opted for the brunch, and I had the french toast with sausage. Everything was well presented and cooked to perfection. I will return again when there is live band, sitting at the patio and drinking some wine. Ummmm

Thought i’d surprise the GF with a little relaxed night out and took her to Double Barrel! Really great datey spot if you sit in the back patio, extra points to having live music as well! (make sure to check their calendar for performance dates) The back patio area was beautiful and well equipped with heat lamps and comfy seats. In the event that the heat lamps aren’t cutting it for you, they also have blankets for additional warmth.
We decided to order a few items, and both got different wine flights. the Italian red flight I got wasn’t bad as I enjoyed ²⁄₃. As for the eats, we went with the osso buco wings, sliders, and bruschetta (don’t remember the exact names of each). The wings were phenomenal, super moist and tasty, sliders were pretty disappointing as the meat was tough and not very flavorful. The bruschetta was good but not great. The staff was friendly-​ish, I felt like we weren’t taken very seriously or attended to very well but overall we both had a great time with the live music and general ambiance, food was on the pricier side for what it was. Regardless we will definitely come back.

Loved the twinkling lights and décor in the back patio, and there was live music! Our little group of 4 was able to sit in the larger lounge areas without reservation, and had to move a bit when the large groups with reservations arrived, but it was no biggie. Staff was nice and we appreciated them accommodating us. We were able to enjoy a few glasses of wine and had a good cheese plate. They made quite a generous plate, with 3 large chunks of cheese, nuts, dried fruits, fresh pineapple, and I think some bread, all for $ 20. The bruschetta was pretty good too with the pork, but it was too crumbly and messy. Overall, an excellent place to hang out on a friday evening for wine and snacks if in the area.

The Double Barrel is probably my favorite restaurant/​bar/​anything in Livermore. The First Street area is a lively/​trendy scene, and The Double Barrel is the best of what it has to offer.
The wine list is top notch, with great selections from old world, new world, and local Livermore wines. Being new to the Livermore area myself, I tend to focus on the latter. The food is also top notch with my personal favs being the Chicken Satay (ask for it spicy) and the antipasti board. The Mediterranean olives are a close second.
The atmosphere is great, and I have met a lot of friendly people at the bar. The staff is always welcoming, friendly, and helpful, not to mention experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to the wines. The patio out back is also a great, comfortable place to relax, have a drink with friends on the comfortable couches, and enjoy some great live music. The Double Barrel is quickly becoming a staple of Livermore, and you should definitely give it a shot.
I do recommend making reservations in advance if you plan to visit on a busy night, which is easy to do on their website.

We’ve been here many times and it’s consistently enjoyable. The pluses include:
–A very friendly staff. You feel like you’re in someone’s home.
–A variety of seating areas. A bistro-​like patio area in front, comfy hip outside seating in back, tables and a great bar inside.
–Fairly extensive wine list. They have an actual sommelier and he does an imaginative job finding nice (and not obvious) local selections as well as wines from all over the world. There are too many «wine bars» that shop at Trader Joe’s. This is not one of them.
–Small (by today’s standards) selection of great craft beers. This is a wine mecca but if you have someone in your party who prefers a great IPA, they will be accommodated.
–Great menu stressing small plates and cheeses.
This is just a really comfortable place to relax with just the right mix of romance and warm vibrance.
Tip: No corkage on wines purchased at First Street Wines (next to Strizzi’s across the street).

So I gave Double Barrel a 2^nd try after a three-​year hiatus.
I have to say… either I was totally off base the first go-​around, or they vastly improved their service, wine selection, and customer relations. The paella was still the standout but the wine flights tasted much better and the employees had more details and knowledge to share than before.
I tired some of the other dishes and my new favorite is the bruschetta.
The back patio was also a nice addition-​welcoming to groups that wanted to listen to live music and share a bottle. Overall it’s a great date, drink, and chill spot.
Bravo double barrel. I apologize for my first review and tip my hat to you. I will be back again to try your other offerings.

Why update my review if my star rating is the same? I’m glad you asked. A few years ago Double Barrel felt more like 3.5 stars and now it’s a solid 4.5. Hooray!
The food is delicious and inventive, the wine list goes on for days, the employees are super friendly, and I love how the front and back patios have a distinctly different feel.
Last night I shared many scrumptious plates including a Watermelon & Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($ 13). Refreshing watermelon, oozing halloumi cheese and… no bread. No bread! So cool.
The only reason I still can’t give 5 stars is because the prices are a little too high for the portion size. I’m sticking to my guns on this one. Get it? Guns? Double Barrel? Okay, stopping now.

They like to have a good time here, and that definitely shows in the atmosphere with patrons and staff. My bf and I ended up here initially for the Taste of Downtown Livermore food and wine walk. The cherry coke pork slider with a light coleslaw on top took the prize for us. At the end of our walk, we returned for more indulgence.
I ordered a refreshing glass of rose’ and the bf had a beer flight. I love flights! I was at capacity to have one though. For bar bites, we ordered the Antipasti Noshing Board which came with prosciutto, salami, bri, another cheese, mixed olives, mixed nuts and an abundance of artisan flat bread and rolls which come warm! The Peruvian Ceviche’ was okay. The seafood was fresh and good. However, it definitely lacked that predominant lime taste and other flavors like red onion and cilantro taste in Peruvian ceviche’. I didn’t know about the back patio until I visited the restroom in the back. They’ve got a nice outdoor space back there!
We enjoyed this place and would definitely return for some more fun next time we’re in the area!

Had this for my first time last night. It was a busy time to come downtown to eat on a Saturday night, but they sat us down outside in front fairly quickly.
The service was a little slow (again, it was really busy), but the food was amazing!
We ordered an antipasti noshing board with cheeses, meats, mixed nuts, olives, and warm flatbread. Delicious when paired with our wine.
We also had some type of dip with mushroom. It was amazing (think it was a Db signature). Another item we ordered was a nacho, hamburger stack of some sort. Also, amazing!
For an entrée, I ate the BLT with bourbon bacon, lettuce, and tomato on marble rye bread. Yum!
This was a great place to go!
Looking forward to coming back!

*Notice to Unilocalers* I am not a «wine guy.»
I visited Double Barrel Wine Bar with my wife on a Tuesday night — yikes! (I rarely go out on Tuesdays, but it seemed like the right thing to do (especially since the coupon my wife purchased expired on Tuesday ;)
As we approached DBWB, I gazed longingly over at First Street Ale House next door… yeah, I’m a beer guy. Oh well, not to be on this night.
Upon entering, we were greated warmly and offered a table of our choosing — I spied tap handles — the table choice became inconsequential. Mmm, beer choices — I’m beginning to warm up to DBWB. I quickly ordered an IPA and things seemed to be progressing pretty well (my wife ordered a flight of wine).
On to the food…
Small bites, yes, but not tiny like some wine bars. We ordered a flatbread which I thought resembled an oblong mini pizza — oh wow, it was super delish! I seriously considered ordering 3 – 4 more and calling it a night. *Update* It was a chicken pot pie!
Well, we tried a few other offerings instead…
Next up, we ordered something else that was really good (I can’t remember what it was, but it was good.) Yeah, I’m lame… leave it alone, friends.
Lastly, we ordered a «chili burger» which was kinda like a gourmet Sloppy Joe (open faced) and OH MY, Ahhh-​mazing! My wife wasn’t really a fan, but I LOVED it, the richness of the meat, the decadence of the toppings… really good!
Pay attention Unilocalers! DBWB does not offer a vast food menu, but they serve QUALITY food and nice portions. They have wine… meh, not my thing. Great service and a few beers on tap (IPA was SOLID!) are included in what they do. :)
*Bonus* (I don’t do «pro tips» — tired cliché) — music! Dude with broken arm was bangin’ on the piano and singing — really nice (not cheesball).
My final assessment — I loved Double Barrel Wine Bar! As long as they offer a good IPA and awesome food, I’m there! In fact, their neighbor’s food is nothing special and I’d rather drink a quality beer and eat excellent food in a warm setting…*hint* DBWB!
DBWB = 4.74 stars, trending toward 5.
Loved it on a Tuesday night.