Restaurant Review: Double Barrel Wine Bar

On Sunday my friend, Amanda, and I had the pleasure of having an exquisite lunch experience at Double Barrel Wine Bar in Livermore. Not only was the conversation and company stimulating, but the drinks and plates were definitely worth raving about. Since I live in the South Bay Area and Amanda is in Stockton, Livermore ends up being our meeting place because it is right in the middle. I found Double Barrel Wine Bar simply by using Yelp.

I made a reservation the Wednesday before, which was simple to do using their online service. I received a quick response back, saying that my seating request was reserved for Sunday at 1pm. At the time of the reservation, it would have been most helpful if the restaurant staff would have warned us about limited parking on Sundays because of the farmer's market that was being held right in front of their location. I had to drive around for quite some time looking for a parking space and ended up parking in garage on the other end of the downtown area. When I left the house I was wearing heels but after parking ridiculously far from the restaurant, I opted for the flip-flops that I had packed just in case (and am I glad I did). I had made a reservation outside but when I arrived there, Amanda was waiting for me at our saved table, which unfortunately was located near a screaming banshee child. The waitress was very accommodating and relocated us inside, which was much cooler and calmer.

The tapas menu was one page, while the wine menu was a nice booklet size collection of the many tasty glasses and bottles they had available. We started our meal with the delectable Artisan Cheese Board, which features three types of cheese from the local Cowgirl Creamery, as well as mixed nuts, flat bread, and port-infused grapes. The cheese was heavenly and we enjoyed every last bite of it. Along with our cheese board, we enjoyed some bubbles, me a sparkling rose from France and Amanda, a prosecco from Italy. Both were light and refreshing.

Artisan Cheese Board and Sparkling Wine

So many tasty options!

After about an hour or so, we decided to order some tapas, or small plates. Amanda ordered the Runny Egg Sandwich and I decided on the Tomato-Mozzarella Empanadas, which were a new item not yet on the menu. Our food arrived fairly quickly and the plates were simple, but beautiful. Everything tasted fantastic and were a perfect accompaniment to our glasses of bubbly.

Runny Egg Sandwich

Tomato-Mozzarella Empanadas

After our lunches, we explored the dessert menu and toyed with the idea of just sharing one dessert; however, there were so many heavenly choices that we opted to order two desserts. Amanda ordered the Meyer Lemon Tiramisu and I decided on the Campfire, which was an amalgamation of chocolate mousse, molden smoked salt, toasted marshmallow, and milk chocolate crumble. It even arrived on a wooden plate, which transported me back to my childhood, sitting in front of the campfire, making s'mores. I also tried their sparkling wine flight, which was a trio of tasty, international bubbles. My favorite, of course, was the $21.50 glass of NV Henriot Brut Souverain from Champagne, France. It was everything a good champagne should be, yeasty and crisp, almost like baked bread. It went beautifully with my chocolately dessert.

Campfire with the fabulous champagne

Meyer Lemon Tiramisu

Despite the hectic parking situation and my flip-flop breaking on my walk back to the parking garage (forcing me to walk back with one barefoot), my experience at Double Barrel was great. If you're looking for a good place for tasty small plates and a great wine selection, check them out. If you come on a Sunday afternoon, be sure you give yourself extra time (and patience) to find parking.

Cheers and happy eating!