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Went for Desert and Wine, so I cannot speak to the food (though the bread service was less that impressive), but the desert, wine, and service were all delcious and i was happy when i left.
I would return for a meal, with expectiations of a satisfying outcome.
Giraffe Friendly...TO THE EXTREME! seriously, very wide tables, first place I have been to in a while that could actually afford to reduce table space.
I have been going to Barrio for a while now. I have experienced inconsistent service and bland food. So I decided to give up on it for a while. Today marks the date of my return and a decision to go back for dinner.
My bf and I decided to try Barrio for lunch. It was so good that I couldn't believe it and as I was contemplating my star rating I was taken a back that I might actually give this place 5 stars! It was 5 stars until our waitress ignored us after our food was served.
I tried the spicy fried chicken sandwich. You can choose between fries and a salad. I chose the salad and I was not disappointed. Now I am used to dry fried chicken. I was pleasantly surprised when I cut into the chicken that it was juicy and had a kick of flavor. It was delicious! The salad was light and delicious. It had sun dried tomatoes in it which was a treat!
My bf had the pepperoni and salami sandwich with french fries. It was so good! The french fries were curly and had a great taste to them.
The only disappointing thing was our waitress didn't come back to check on us or refill our drinks. Thank goodness for the other waiter who came by.
Going back for dinner so stay tuned. I only hope that the food is as good for dinner as it is lunch.
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Went again as a Sunday night treat. We were treated like gold and the food was astounding. I got the stuffed pepper appetizer and the venison entree on recommendations from other Yelpers and I was richly rewarded. The stuffed pepper is transcendentally good and the venison was succulent.
And yes, as mentioned by others, the truffle dessert should be illegal.
Even the scotch tasted better. And it bears repeating that we were treated like gold.
Much good has already been spoken of the Barrio Grill here, so I'll be brief.
If you are skimming…
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Eight of us arrived at Barrio last night to celebrate my brother's birthday. We left nearly two hours later with empty stomachs and an amazing story of incompetence.
It all started with a martini: My aunt ordered a martini from the maitre'd because our waiter hadn't bothered to stop by and take our drink orders yet after sitting down for almost 10 minutes. She was told that they were out of vodka because the owner had let the liquor license expire last week. They had it back now but hadn't received their order from the distributor yet, and apparently had forgotten where the supermarket was as well.
Finally, the waiter showed up and we ordered; four rib-eye specials, and four various pasta dishes. My wife wanted an airline chicken dish but the waiter said they were out of the airline chicken cut and that she would be happier with an alternative dish. No big deal but still, strange. Even stranger was two minutes later when the waiter came out and said they only had three rib-eye steaks left and asked if someone would change their order. It was only 7:20pm, but apparently they'd been selling like gangbusters! We laughed and started to wonder what the hell was going on back there.
The restaurant was only half full but the staff was completely panicked the whole evening. The bartender and busboy were running food, the maitre'd was bringing us drinks from the bar and our waiter was running around like a mad man. After about 20 minutes, some 2-4 tops that had arrived around the same time we had were starting to get their meals and we hadn't seen anything but bread.
After 30 minutes we started to ask what was going on with our meals. The busboy appeared from the kitchen and told us something amazing: "the food was coming but they were really busy back there and the MANAGER WAS COOKING." ...We looked around at each other and started to joke about going to the place down the street instead. The maitre'd came over and apologized profusely saying he'd provide us with free desert and that our food was really coming like, right away.
After 45 minutes, several tables that had arrived AFTER us were getting their food. We started making calls to other places.
After 50 minutes they brought out two bland dinner salads for the table to share and once again assured us that our food was "coming up any minute now." We were so hungry that we devoured the salads anyway, despite their flavorlessness.
A full hour after placing our orders we threw in the napkins, stood up, and walked out.
On the way out the maitre'd and waiter apologized profusely and expressed their embarrassment that no one in the kitchen could execute eight of the simplest meals on the planet. The maitre'd told us the food was really ready this time and that if we'd like to stay it would, of course, be on the house. However, when my wife looked him in the eye and told him that there was no way in hell all eight dishes were going to be anywhere near fresh or cooked properly, all he could do was demure and nod, "yes, that's true." As a last ditch effort, he then offered to take down my brother's information and mail him some gift certificates for a later date with the hope that this experience didn't "hurt our opinion of them."
At no point did the "manager" come out from the kitchen to explain or apologize for his colossal screw up. He just left his entire staff pissing in the wind and all of us starving and dumbfounded.
We had all had good experiences there before and were really looking forward to having a great meal but instead it was a waste of almost two hours and no dinner. What a shame, that steak sure looked pretty good on other people's plates.
I have eaten at Barrio Grill a number of times over the last 15 years, and the experience is always fulfilling. The menu is creative, and meticulous attention to detail paid to all dishes. The specialty cocktails are creative and each is unique and worth trying. The overall experience is wrapped in a sophisticated and stylish, happening yet subdued space that is right downtown but feels secluded. One of my favorites in Tucson
Okay, so I may be slightly biased---I live across the parking lot from Barrio in the Julian Drew Building, so whenever I have the hankering for excellent food and delicious drinks(or is it the other way around?), I stagger, er...saunter across the lot into Barrio.
But I digress. Barrio does have a reputation for exquisite food, beautiful atmosphere, and professional servers, and it is a highly deserved reputation, at that! I have never once been disappointed, whether I was in the restaurant for a quick cocktail after work, dessert and espresso, or a full course meal. As a sometime vegetarian, I must recommend the salads, especially the fruit salad, with gorgonzola,roasted pistachios and a tasty Madagascar vanilla bean and coconut vinaigrette.
Oh, and if you like Manhattans, PLEASE order one. It doesn't matter who makes it at the bar, as all of their bartenders have mad mixology skills--but you'll thank me in the morning.
I took an out of town guest there for a late dinner on Saturday night. It was not that busy and we sat right down. We had decided to take our time ordering, eating, drinking, and catching up.
When ordering a cocktail from their *cocktail* menu there were some issues as they had run out of mint (I think it was) and two others were out of something else. But the drinks we ended up with were really good, flavor, portion and price. For an app we ordered the fruit and cheese plate. It was perfect! Just the right amount of food and really fresh.
For dinner I ordered the linguine with the scallops, shrimp, and clams. It was really good and the broth had a kick to it that I loved. The shrimp were just on the verge of being overcooked, but still tasted great. My friend ordered another pasta dish (can't remember which), and I tasted it and it was amazing.
For dessert we chose to split the berries and cream and again... fantastic.
The one complaint I have (and the reason it did not get five stars) was our server. She meant well, and maybe she was having an off night, but she was a little out of it. We asked one question on the menu, which she answered and left us to decide. She never told us all the specials or the soup and when we asked when she came back, she said "Yeah, I told you about those... then proceeded to tell us (apparently again)". Maybe she confused us with another table. We also ordered a salad to split. She stated she would be right back with it. Then a few minutes later our meal was there. We told the runner to just cancel the salad. She came back awhile later and said... *The salad didn't get out, did you still want it?" We said no. While waiting for our dessert, I asked if our table could be wiped because there was bread crumbs, she said yes, but nothing happened by the time our dessert arrived. So I flagged down our busser (who was amazing) and he took care of it....
After dinner we went to the bar for more coffee and wine. The bartender was great and the busser we had from our table kept checking on us as well.
Overall it was a great dinner. Just wish our server was a little more on top of it.
There with Tucson Power both times and friends from NAPCO. How great a spot is this. Incredible for lunch or dinner. Great people and I will go back. Thanks Barrio staff.
Service was very friendly and nice. I'd give them 6 stars for enthusiasm and congeniality. That said, several of the bus staff were very new to the restaurant world, and there were quite a few notable omissions and quirky oddities: delivering entrees with the appetizer dishes still on the table, asking us "hey, would ya like some bread?" (that's a first for me in my 30+ years of going to restaurants). All told, we enjoyed being there, and got the sense that the restaurant enjoyed us being there.
The food was mixed in quality and concept, and ended up leaving me a bit confused. The stuffed anaheim chile appetizer had a sinfully flavorful creamy cheesy sauce, though the sauce totally trounced the somewhat lackluster stuffing of the chile (however, the sauce ended up being a convenient means for enjoy the wholly tasteless bread). Two of our party ordered the duck and thoroughly enjoyed it; I found the fish tacos to be a bit weird, with rubbery tough tortillas and black beans, and salmon that was well below par. The salsas on the side of the tacos were really good, however. The menu does not offer any entrees for vegetarians, and is highly weighted towards bird dishes.
Desserts didn't interest us (can't comment on their quality), but the after-dinner espressos were very good.
If the menu were a bit more interesting regarding seafood and vegetarian stuff (sorry, "farmed salmon," ie hormone-stuffed and artificially-dyed Chilean salmon, has no place on a fancy dinner menu, and certainly NOT for $28!), I'd definitely be back. If you like to eat birds, this is THE place for you in Tucson!
great place to bring a date or with your best friend. good drinks good food cute atmosphere.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, whether they had steak, the fish of the day or a pasta dish. The wine was exceptional and the desserts were out of this world (we sampled them all - creme brulee, truffles, chocolate caramel flan, berries in cream). Our group was well attended to, the ambiance was perfect and the meal really lacked nothing. I was amazed that, during the busy tourist season, we were able to get a reservation at the last minute and that the restaurant was actually not completely packed. I think this restaurant may be one of the best kept secrets in Tucson!
the wine, the cut of fish, the company- all fantastic. but the truffle dessert.....i must admit i was a little disappointed that they didn't offer a chocolate ganache or mousse or something of that order but oh oh my god, the world stopped for these truffles. i literally forgot all sense of being and was momentarily engulfed in waves of chocolately goodness. now on a mission to see if anything in the city can beat this. so far, the zone:1, the city: 0.
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boo yah round two- good as ever and the truffles...heaven
The ceilings here are sooooooo high. How do they hang the curtains? And the berry's have soooooooo much delicious creme fraiche. Eat at the bar.
This place was just neat. I'd give it 5 stars if I had tried the food and it was good. I don't completely understand why but I felt this place was a nice place to be. I ate a dessert that ruined my life with sugars and fats but it tasted great. It was some kind of chocolate custard with caramel sauce. I really want to go here for dinner some time. Cool place.
Ambiance and food are great, but the service is consistently below par. For such a fancy place, they should have more professional service. My last trip there will be my last because the service was SO bad.
Tucson, AZ
Category: Greek
Tucson, AZ
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Tucson, AZ
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Tucson, AZ
Category: Restaurants
Tucson, AZ
Category: Pubs
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