The Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva has reopened and is New Again and PRETTY DARN AMAZING! The James Beard Nominated Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza offers the most unique and WONDERFUL menu. Many of the ingredients used come from Mexico and not all but MANY VEGAN items are offered. Whatever you try vegan or non-vegan the food is DELICIOUS and is lively with lots of FRESH flavors. Not all but some of it is spicy and it might be a good idea to let your server know about your heat preference so the kitchen can serve you what you want.
On my visit they offered two tasting menus. One was vegan versions of the other menu and optional Mexican Wine Pairings. They were flexible in our selection and allowed us to mix it up. They also offer ala carte options of vegan and non-vegan.
The Chef welcomed us in and made us feel welcome as well as our amazing server Philip that recognized us and also welcomed us back. He did a phenomenal job of explaining the menu items to us and we decided to do mostly the main tasting menu with wine pairings.
I imagine the menus offered will change with what is in season so you might get to try different things than what I had.
The first dish was sort of magical and hard for me to describe with attractive vegetables and produce. ( a scallop or not) It was spicy and sweet and so interesting. It's unlike anything I ever had anywhere...but it was full of flavors and delicious!
Another course was made with Delicious Sweet Grilled Pineapple, Unusual Cheese, A Leaf, 14 chile oil. Very yummy!
We also had a Taco Course that I keep thinking about.....Everything about it was expectational.....and the Smoked Sweet Potato Mash was stellar. Often I don't like smoked things but this was carefully made and delicious..........
Halibut Dinner was mouth watering with a delicious char. Loved the cactus fruit salsa and beans.
At this point I was pretty full but both the desserts was also incredible so I had to indulge.
The meal wasn't just great it was EXTRAORDINARY!
This truly was among the BEST DINNERS I had all year!
I do note that this is a very small but beautiful restaurant and you need to make a reservation. Parking is easy either on the street or in a good size lot next to the restaurant.
If you are a local or a visiter to Phoenix this is a must do!