Barque Smokehouse

It was a beautiful sunny day, and when I think of summer food, I think barbecue! Of course, I wasn't about to ask my husband to fire up the grill for just the two of us, so we opted to go to our favourite barbecue place in the city.

Restaurant: Barque Smokehouse

Location: Roncesvalles

Meal: Dinner

Day: Friday

Son's Age: 19 weeks 

I noticed a while ago that Barque seemed to be quite child friendly. There is a TV that more often than not was playing cartoons or kids movies. There is a shelf with random toys, most notably the infamous Sophie the Giraffe (for the record, every baby in the universe is obsessed with Sophie...except for my son, who would rather stick his own feet in his mouth than waste time on that giraffe). Of course, perception changes once you go from being a hypothetical parent to a real one. So how does Barque really stack up?

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had made a reservation and noted that I was bringing a baby. I had no issue getting my stroller through, I had to fold it up and leave it at the front once I was inside, which I was fine with. They had actually set up a high chair and a plastic cup at the table for my son, but unfortunately he is too young for those so they switched out the high chair with a regular chair for me to put the car seat on.

They left the plastic cup on the table, which came in handy later as I have been giving my son his own (plastic) table setting at home so he can pretend he's eating like the grown-ups. The restaurant also has a family washroom that came in handy when my baby needed a diaper change.

As you can see, there is plenty of space as well as a change table and a stepping stool for younger children to wash their hands. What I didn't get in the photo was that there is also a diaper pail in the washroom, which is nice since it helps mitigate the smell of accumulated dirty diapers throughout the day. As far as baby-accessibility goes, this is the best restaurant I've been to so far. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The staff here were very friendly. The hostess seemed happy to watch our stroller for us, and when we were leaving she even confirmed that it was still there where we left it. The server was quick to switch out the high chair upon learning that it was unnecessary. He was very pleasant throughout the meal and I had no issues breastfeeding my son during dinner. Afterward, the hostess held open the door for us to push the stroller out. Overall, the staff are clearly prepared for babies in the restaurant and are very accommodating.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Barque allows you to build your own BBQ platter, so we chose the 12 hour brisket, pommery pulled pork, beef rib, and chorizo. We also ordered two sides: pommery slaw with cabbage, carrot, celeriac, pommery dressing, and parsley, and the grilled Cuban corn with feta, lime, and cayenne.

I am in love with the brisket here. It is so juicy and tender and by far the best brisket I've ever had. The pulled pork is nice and succulent, while the beef rib practically falls off the bone. As for the chorizo, well, who doesn't love chorizo? The slaw was a perfectly refreshing complement to the meat, and the corn was delicious albeit quite messy with the sauce on the cob. There are two different sauces that are on the table as well as a meat brush so you can dress your meats up a bit to enhance the flavour. I didn't take a photo, but I love that in lieu of a bread basket, every table gets a bucket of popcorn to start.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the perfect place to go for a nice meal with your baby. While the restaurant does have a liquor license, it is also very baby friendly and you have to try the food here if you like BBQ. I'm looking forward to coming back here soon!