I've been living in downtown Phoenix for about 5 months now. I drive past Barrio Cafe on almost a daily basis. It's constantly packed it seems and I've heard nothing but good things about it. Finally, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by for dinner. I have to say, I am a little disappointed. Maybe my hopes were too high, but our meals weren't as great as I thought they'd be, especially for the price. My boyfriend had the carne asada tacos - they were the blandest tacos I've ever tasted. Filibertos has better tacos. I had the duck salad. That actually was fairly good, but there was a little too much duck fat for my taste. The menu also listed grilled tomatoes in my salad, but there literally was ONE tomato! Very odd.
The thing I enjoyed the most though was the artwork by Lalo. A truly talented artist. I enjoyed checking out his artwork while eating. The decor is really cool too, although a bit crammed inside.
I had Chino Bandidos for lunch that same day and honestly, it was far more enjoyable than Barrio Cafe - and much cheaper! I'd rather go there any day over this place. It was good, but nothing like what I thought it'd be. Won't be going back I don't think.