my visit to barroco is totally unplanned. last year during the f1 grand prix festival, i was just taking a stroll along st. paul street to soak in the atmosphere, as the restaurants and merchants along the street all brought out their terraces, and lots of people were just sitting in there sipping champagne , relaxing and people watching, booze was flowing fast and loud music was blasting out of the windows of restaurants and cars , you can feel the energy and vibes in the air. while i was approaching this restaurant, i noticed a larger than usual crowd in in its terrace with smoke billowing from two charcoal bbq grills and the smells were just too good to resist. so i stopped to check out what's going on, and saw grilled steaks and whole fishes were served on wooden board on a few tables. i asked the guy who was working the grill if i can order some to go, he said the food is only for consumption in the restaurant , only then did i notice a small sign with the name "barroco" hanging beside the front door. so i walked in to the restaurant and asked the receptionist for a table in the terrace, but she said it's full, instead she assigned me a seat beside the bar, since i was a bit in a rush, i accepted it.
once i sat down, the bartender greeted me right away and handed me what seems to be a thick book like bible, and i asked him what's it for, he told me it's the cocktail menu. i opened it and browsed it briefly, indeed, it's a book that documented various cocktail recipes, some even with drawings and a little history of the drink, some maybe the creation of this restaurant, at the beginning are a few pages that introduces the history of the restaurant, important figures and events along the way. i suddenly realized this must not be an ordinary restaurant as it paid so much attention to its history, culture and traditions. since my main goal is to try their food and the cocktail book was too overwhelming for me to just pick one drink out of it, i opted to skip it, instead asked for their foodmenuand a glass of spanish wine when the bartender told me this is a spanish restaurant. as i was drawn in by their grilled steaks and fishes outside, so i directly told the bartender i needed one of them, at the end i picked the steak just because i felt a bit hungry, i asked the bar tender to help me pick an appetizer, he strongly recommend the mac&cheese with truffle. i was a bit hesitant at first, as i 'v tried mac&cheese many times before and i was never impressed, but i decided to give it one last try.
while i was sipping wine and waiting for my food , i quickly checked out the interior of the restaurant, the over all ambience is that of a classic and romantic restaurant as it is inside a stonewalled house, which makes you feel like inside a castle, chandeliers are hanging from the ceiling, and there are a few other ambient lights around the room, vases and flowers can be seen in a few places, a small wine rack was carved into the stonewall and candle lights are burning on each table, there is even a vip booth at one corner of the room with curtains and draperies which added a touch more romantic atmosphere, the only thing that's a little out of place is the moose head hung on the wall. of course, right in front of me is the bar, which is quite small but is well lighted and organized.
a short while later, the mac&cheese was brought to me. to my surprise, unlike most mac&cheese i had before, this one is served while it's still hot, i fell in love with it right after the first bite. the mac was cooked perfectly to the the point of al dente and there is just enough cheese to make the mac creamy but not overpowering it, the truffle sprinkled on the top made it much more flavorful, and it also seemed a perfect pairing with the wine i was drinking. to put in one word: amazing. this was no doubt the best mac&cheese i've ever had and is still is. i only wish i could have more as the portion is quite small. before i could finish the mac&cheese, the rib steak was also brought to me on a wooden board which added a touch of fun to the whole experience. maybe i liked the mac&cheese too much, i felt a bit underwhelmed with the steak, it was good, but i felt the meat wasn't thick enough to have the cut through feeling, and the top of it still quite wet, i would like the outside to be a touch more crispy and brownish, maybe it's just the meat wasn't top quality cut. nevertheless the source seemed quite unique, which seems to be made from all green veggies. although the steak was not perfect, but it's good enough for me to enjoy it especially with a glass of red wine on hand. over all it's quite an enjoyable experience for me, not until the bill was brought to me, did i realize all good dining experience come with a steep price, my bill was over 80$.
on my way out, i noticed that this restaurant probably has a cheaper sister restaurant right next door, which doesn't look as swanky, but i'm quite sure it belongs to the same owner, as the grill was serving food to clients of both sides.