Bakersfield has been on my list to try for awhile now. I was curious to see how it would compare to Barrio since it is such a fan fave. We went for a girls night with 3 of us and unfortunately already had full stomachs when we got there. We had to wait a bit for a table and stood at one of the high tops and ordered drinks while waiting. They had a lot of nice waiting areas that were surprisingly serviced too.
We ordered house margaritas to start. My immediate thought was that they are 2 bucks more than Barrio, but had a little bit more flavor and a lime wedge to go with it. We also ordered the Queso which comes in a cast iron skillet and tasted really fresh. The downfall of coming just for drinks is that they do not give you free chips and salsa to snack on, everything much be purchased. We decided not to have tacos because none of us like corn tortillas and that is all they have.
**special service note: There was an incident while we were there involving a couple that brought in a pizza and thought that they should be allowed to eat it in the restaurant (obviously a huge NO, you'd think that would be obvious..) The staff handled the situation very calmly and professionally, even though the customer was losing his mind and calling him names (very mature). Once the man left, they even brought the couple that was sharing a high top table with them free drinks for having to deal with that. A very nice touch.
Compared to Barrio: The margs were better quality though more expensive. The atmosphere is a little more upscale and more suitable for a date night. They had more of a broad menu food wise to choose from. TBD on the tacos but I would believe barrios are better (basing this off the tortilla)