Barrio

925 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN
612-333-9953
http://www.barriotequila.com/

Category: Mexican

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 7
Service: 5
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Very Good. A mixed bag on the food – many stellar dishes but a few that were ho-hum, but this place sure knows how to mix up Tequila.

Barrio is a Tequila bar brought to us by the same people that are behind La Belle Vie and Solera, and that itself sets a high standard and expectation. Located on Nicollet Mall in a rather narrow space, you would surely walk by without noticing if it weren’t for the large crowd that fills this place nightly. The long bar and high tops fill the street level space, while the upstairs is a little more secluded but gives you a birds-eye view of the whole space and the bar patrons below. Chocolate and red are the primary palette and the dimly lit space gives it a romantic yet vibrant feel. Check out the impressive selection of Tequilas behind the bar and don’t forget to look to the sides to see the dancing puppets.

The menu is Mexican Tapas but it’s the drinks that will first catch your eye. We highly recommend the Enter the Dragon, a Passion fruit margarita with muddled pepper and cava…the flavor combination is exquisite, starting with sweet and fragrant and ending with a nice kick. If you want something a little less sweet, try the Macho Camacho, a blood orange Ancho 1800 Black Margarita with a stronger Tequila bite. If you’re in the mood for a beer cocktail, the El Toro hits you with sweet, salty and sour flavors. Overall, the drinks were A+; complex flavors that any cocktail lover would appreciate.

The Tapas menu allows you to sample all that the kitchen has to offer. The Sugarcane Skewered Tequila Shrimp is served with a lemon-ginger mojo that really shines. We also thought highly of the Potato Sopes that were topped with tangy goat cheese and a spicy red-chili salsa. You can’t go wrong with the Black Bean and Chicken Tostada either. We thought the Barbeque Pork Sopes were good but nothing special, but really didn’t care for the Diver Scallop Ceviche. We had to send the Ceviche back because the seafood just wasn’t fresh and didn’t smell appetizing, and that’s too bad because the combination looked stellar. Barrio also has a nice taco selection. After we were done with our small plates, we ordered four different kinds. Twenty minutes later we were surprised when the server asked us if we wanted anything else…”huh, what about our tacos.” Our server had forgotten about our order and by the time he put it in, we were feeling stuffed and asked him to cut the order in half. The Grilled Skirt Steak taco was nice, tender meat served in a deep fried shell. On the other hand, the Mahi Mahi taco was fishy, but had all the makings of being amazing if served with fresher fish (the batter was light and the accoutrements subtle enough to not take away from the fish.) Dessert didn’t impress us, although the Tres Leches with Scorched Bananas showed glimpses of awesomeness. The problem with that dessert was that the Chocolate Tres Leches was hard, not soft and spongy like we’ve come to expect from this quintessential Mexican dessert. We thought the banana flavor was amazing, the cinnamon flavored milk and malt balls floating in it an exceptional choice…if only the cake were different. We’d recommend skipping the Churros with Hot Chocolate – having been to Spain not too long ago we expected thick Spanish-style Hot Chocolate, not the watery concoction set before us. Let’s face it - it’s a lot more fun dipping fried dough in thick hot chocolate.

Service was average. Even though the upper level wasn’t packed it was hard to find our server at times, and the mix-up with the tacos, without a sincere apology afterward left us unsatisfied.

$$$. Entrees are $16-22, small plates $7.50 and tacos around $4 each.