barrio cafe

this place is tough to review. the food is incredible! most flavorful mexican cuisine i've ever had. unfortunately theservicedoes not match the food. waited 30 minutes just for the check at the end of the meal only to finally find the waiter sitting in the lobby playing on his phone! as a former waiter, thats totally unacceptable. props to the chef but management needs to lock down theserviceissues.

if you’re a real mexican food lover (not southwest, not tex-mex, not fast-food), looking for an upscale and sophisticated rendering of mexican cuisine fused from all of mexico, needing a place to take out-of-towners for a delectable meal… then here’s the place you need to be! if you are looking for chips and salsa, find somewhere else. taste, authenticity,serviceand enjoyment is what you’ll find here! from the facility created from sweat and tears, to the décor and settings, the fabulous tequila selection and the passion that’s been put into this work of love is indescribable but shows up in the meal you will enjoy here. barrio was given birth by the amazing, renown and award-winning chef silvana salcido esparza who trekked alone across mexico, bringing that knowledge to phoenix and in 2002 opening barrio café with business partner wendy gruber. “…i wanted to introduce people to the food i had eaten backpacking my way through mexico” she has said. chef esparza’s creation is now the epitome of “modern mexican cuisine” in phoenix! in our multiple visits to barrio, i can only say that we never tire of the incredible food. whether it’s breakfast, lunch, happy hour or dinner, you can’t go wrong. in our visits we’ve enjoyed beverages the likes of jamaica margarita; dos xx amber beer; bohemia beer; and a fantastico sergio el suave milagro añejo tequila with pineapple, and fresh lime juices, agave nectar, cilantro and candied jalapeño. our dinner and lunches have included, but not limited to: tableside guacamole del barrio, served and prepared table-side during your meal; a delectable cochinita pibil which they marinate with achiote, sour orange, wrap within banana leaves covered in red onion and pico de gallo; their posole verde is the best i’ve had ever and is jam-packed with pork, hominy, roasted tomatillo with poblano chiles, cabbage, radish and onions; the chiles en nogada that’s a roasted poblano filled with chicken, apple, dried pear and apricot, almond cream sauce along with cilantro, queso fresco and pomegranate seeds is to die for - one of the best poblano renditions i have ever had! in the desert arena, one of our fantabulous tries have been pastel oaxaca; and to wrap it up their coffee is barrio café’s blend of chiapas izapa coffee, pressed at the table – all completely recommended, yet they have more! i could not walk away on our first visit without purchasing their apropos ‘comida chingona’ t-shirt - a tribute to esparza’s “bad-ass food”! i go barrio whenever i can, ‘cause their consistency never fails to satisfy us. if you really want a great meal that’s like being in someone’s mexican home, this is as close as it comes. kudos to the chef, staff and cooks! bon appétit!” or you might say “buen provecho”!

met a friend here for lunch. the atmosphere feels authentic right down to parking on the street where the neighbors stare as you park. theserviceis helpful. the chef is famous for making mexican food with a french flair. she is worth the hype. i had the chicken mole enchiladas and they were excellent. enchiladas was a new take on chicken mole and an interesting one at that. they brought out a delicious french bread and olive tapenade prior to serving our meals. i could have eaten it all my self because it was the perfect blend of oily and salty. i can’t wait to go back.

horrible manager. the guy by the name ron white needs to get some real customerservicetraining or if he doesn't like the his job need to leave.

apparently, we've never had real mexican food before! we loved it, you must go to barrio.servicewas amazing, the mexican food was like nothing we've ever tasted before in florida. we were instant fans and wished we were staying in arizona longer so we could go back. the wait staff were informative and took great care of us since we had no idea what to order. they make guacamole fresh at your table man! prices were reasonable. cool paintings on the buildings surrounding the neighborhood. fun and relaxed atmosphere. and busy! they are popular because of their great product and staff.

i came from california just to eat here... i was extremely disappointed. the food was ok, but waaayyy overpriced!!!! your talking beans and tortillas... i love paying for goodserviceand ambiance. however this was a nightmare. you'd be better off going to a mom and pop joint where you can feel the spirit of mexico!!! not a place where they're trying to get rich and the customer is the last priority!!!

perfecto!. had dinner ther last nite for our anniversary. food andserviceoutstanding. layers of flavors, high quality ingredients - our new favorite authentic mexican restaurant.

i was skeptical because of all the hype. but i got the seasonal chiles de nogada as my waiter recommended and my mind was blown. amazing combination of flavors. a bit pricey for me but it's worth the splurge every now and then.servicewas great as well.

we arived at 1050 for their sunday brunch and was suprised to see a line forming for there 1100 opening. when we got our food i understood why. the chef put a modern spin on old fashion mexican dishes as well as creating some altogether new dishes. i would recomend anything with pork; it is like nothing i have ever tasted. theservicewas friendly and enthusiatic. highly recomended.

this was the worstserviceexperience i have ever had. i never complain about service, but felt compelled to write a review about the horrible service. i had heard of barrio before, but never had the opportunity to go. friends who recently moved out of state came to visit for the holidays and picked barrio cafe for dinner. we had a little over an hour wait, but were able to get sit on benches inside the restaurant. once we were seated, our server ricardo took our order. i ordered the tilapia in banana leaves or mojarra de san augustin. all of the food took about half an hour to come out except mine. when it arrived ricardo asked me what i ordered again and said he would check on it again. he came back and said that it was taking longer to cook because it was wrapped in banana leaves and needed to be grilled. he came back and told me twice that it was still cooking. after my husband finished his food, my plate arrived an hour later. i was offered no apology for the extreme tardiness of the meal. i was asked if i liked the dish, which was acceptable but not worth waiting 2 and a half hours. when we received our bill we had two additional drinks which we did not order on the bill. i did not want to complain because we had visitors from out of town. i will not be returning there.

tres bien!. attention duck fans!! pato en tamarindo is the dish you must enjoy!servicewas tremendous... endless tequila list. dont short yourself, its a must!

this has a nice atmosphere. it is cute and the small space is used well.servicewas lacking. we ordered the table side guacamole. the server seemed almost bored. the food had no spice or flavor.

best real mexican food in phoenix. living in phoenix you'd think all mexican food comes swimming in melted cheese and deep fried shells. barrio cafe shatters that stereotype. this is as good as the mexican food i've had in mexico city or puebla.

to start with, there are no chips and salsa (hooray!) instead it's bread and a tasty tapanade. there's an excellent selection of mexican beers.

my favorites are the cochinita pibil, a slow roasted pork dish from the yucatan, and chilis en nogada, a scrumptious stuffed chili with chicken, covered with a walnut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranates. it shames the chili rellenos served at most mexican restaurants.

i love the food and i've always found theserviceto be quite good, but this is one of the noisiest restaurants in town. when it's crowded, which is most of the time, the sound of other diners can make it hard to hear your own table mates. but that's a small price to pay for some of the best mexican food in phoenix.

overall a good experience. saturday evening meal and the place was packed.servicewas solid, and live music playing in backgound was enjoyable. 3 of 4 dishes were rich, complex, and flavorful. the halibut was light and tasty. star dish of the night was the seasonal special (available sept-april), pobalno nogada. get it! margaritas were just ok and a little spendy. the tapanade style spread served at start with fresh bread is wildly delicious. had flan for dessert - dense, rich and pretty good. show up early and plan to wait in line. we will return!

this place is nasty. the mole is disgusting. the food is very overpriced and theservicewas horrible. the waiter came by the table once or twice and never refilled the drinks. the only good thing is the pomegranate guacamole but it was very overpriced and you can make it at home just as good as they do