Barroco express

I don’t usually write reviews at all, but my experience here was laughably bad the last time I stopped in.
I know a Friday night on west 6^th street would generally be a very busy night for any restaurant open late, so I made sure to go before midnight (a few hours before they close). The only two people in the restaurant were the employees, two dudes staring into space, clearly ready to go home, half the lights off, no music playing. The food trays had no lights on either, the visible creamy corn dip looked pretty dry and gross, like a whole day’s mess had just built up across the counter and been left to dry.
I already felt weird but asked for a veggie arepa. Guy at the counter says, «uh, those… square things right? I don’t think we have those.»
So…you don’t know what an arepa is and you are probably out of your central menu item, okay…
I asked if they were out of anything else and he said «what do you mean?»
I just started laughing and told them to have a good night. I’ve had decent experiences here, maybe two years ago, but I really doubt I’d be willing to try it again.

When this place first opened it had the same quality as the location in Lakewood, however when I stopped for lunch today I was very disappointed. My chips and Arapa were both burnt. My advice is to skip this location and head to Lakewood.

I had a great experience when I was here
For lunch. I had an arepa it was excellent. Good flavor from the jerk chicken to the rice beans queso and etc. The two guys up front where very knowledgeable about the food and made my experience very welcoming. They did let me know what the arepa was made of and they are freshly made I tried the spicy peanut sauce and I tried the chimmichurri sauce that was outstanding if you like some heat definitely try the spicy peanut sauce. Its just a perfect amount of heat and spicyness well balanced. Mike up front recommended that I try all the sauces so he gave me a sample of the other house sauces they were all outstanding! I love food and this place is by far the best for a downtown lunch so I would highly recommend going there for your next lunch break or outting. I work downtown and I definetly will be going back on a consistent basis the food just wowed me especially for the prices you can’t beat it! It seems this place is up and coming whoever has not been there it is a must try!

I’m a big fan of Barroco’s original location in Lakewood, and the food at this one is pretty solid. It’s not as good as Lakewood, but it’s a tasty lunch option. That’s why the consistently poor service at lunchtime is so disappointing. I’ve only been here a few times, but on all three occasions there were issues. Sometimes it’s surly employees, but this last time it felt like I had interrupted the staff between bong hits. Barroco serves almost everything on arepas, so I was a bit surprised to find that none were ready… around noon. OK, it happens. It did take a while to learn that, because one employee was wandering outside in front of the place, one was yelling at their father on a cell phone and the other was yelling at his co-​worker. No wonder a few items were 86ed on the menu! My quick lunch took a good while to make, but at least it was tasty.

Horrible experience. Went there to get an arepa, they were out of arepas. Are you kidding me? No arepas and out of the majority of the sauces. I must agree with the reviewer who also gave it one star. If this place is indeed separate, it reflects negatively on the orignal Barroco. I chose to eat elsewhere, and recommend anyone else to do the same.

Pittfully I spend at least 45 min finding the place due directions are wrong, when finally arrived despite it says sat 11am to 2 am there was not service and it was close. (6pm) shame due I want to try their food since many people recommend it.

Where to start… super clean supee friendly great authentic fair priced food. I am from venezuela this is the closest i can get to home. PS if Unilocal is not rating fairly i too will uninstall and begin the boycott. Vamossss Berracosss

Note for anyone who loves the Lakewood Barroco: This 6^th St. location is run by someone else. The story as I understand (second hand, mind you) is that the two are technically not related any longer, just share a name and I guess some menu items and sauces. If you go to the website, you’ll notice there’s no mention of the downtown location at all anymore, which I’d guess isn’t a coincidence.
A recent trip to this location by my boss to pick up to go and bring back to us at the office left us with stories of the horrific customer service received — the restaurant was empty, and even though the order had been called in 20 minutes previous it had not even started yet, and then the boss was left to wait on the order, standing there while one person working there literally just stood there and the other was on the phone.
Again, second hand info, as I wasn’t there, but I kind of trust my boss. And I can testify he was gone far longer than he should have been to pick up a to go order.
And all of that would be easily waved off if it hadn’t been for the food — bad service in the downtown area during lunch really isn’t that rare. But the food sealed the bad feelings. Several of us ordered the Cubano, knowing just how delicious the Cubano is at Barroco in Lakewood: it’s this delicious pressed concoction with melted cheese and warm garlic sauce and it’s just a perfect sandwich… What we got was a cold ham and pork sandwich, with a little smear of garlic sauce that you could barely taste (which might have been a plus, because the extra garlic sauce I asked for tasted like it had gone bad) and cold cheese. According to the boss, the dude preparing the order (when he wasn’t on the phone) looked like he was putting the sandwiches in a press, but I am here to tell you that these were not pressed or warmed in any way except that maybe the bread was smushed a little… so… we guess the press just wasn’t turned on, but dude failed to notice this.
Overall, the sandwich was no worse than a typical cold fast food sub, except that even the fast food places will toast ‘em for you now and they seem to be able to manage to tell that they’ve actually toasted it, rather than sending it out cold… Besides, for $ 10, I expect something a lot better than a fast food sub.
The fries were OK, and the pineapple sauce seems to be the same (which is yumtastic), but this location puts their to go sauces in these teency little cups that are pretty useless — two of those were worth about half of one of the to go cups of pineapple sauce from Lakewood. (I REALLY like the pineapple sauce.)
I’m glad to learn it’s NOT related to the Lakewood location any longer, as it’s a blight on the good name. I still adore the Lakewood Barroco with fervor — but I will never bother with this location again.

I wasn’t impressed to be honest. The arepas take a long time to grill. Plus, they are dry and too hard for my liking. Since they are dry, I could barely taste the cornmeal, maize or corn flour– whatever it is they use. I’ve had them at several places and they didn’t compare. Firstly, they stack (starting on bottom) all of the ingredients in a tight rectangular pocket so when you eat it, you are basically having 1 – 2 items at a time and eating from top to bottom. Once I got to the beans, I was done because I was also getting into the rice, which I didn’t care for. I prefer arepas to be round, soft and layered so all ingredients can be tasted in one bite like a sandwich or taco. My favorite bite is warm with pork, white cheese and avacado, which they don’t offer. Secondly, the plantains were way over fried IMO. Lastly, I thought they were very expensive. I don’t recall ever paying over $ 5 – 6.
I am not an expert on Colombian arepas nor have a traveled to Colombia. I know they differ from Venezuelian ones (which tend to be thicker), but the texture, bite and offerings didn’t do it for me.
Side note– I dined with my three kids and three of us didn’t finish our arepas. My son, on the other hand tore up his burrito like no ones business! The burritos were huge and worth the price.

A rare gem in Cleveland for their central american food. I’ve had arepas in Columbia, many times, and this is nothing like it – for the better! Never been a big fan of arepas, but the way they prepare it here is quite good. Compared to the arepas I’ve had in other cities in the U.S., it’s still one of the better ones. Maybe I’ve had back luck in the times I’ve been to Columbia, but I digress.
The dishes are quite filling. Most of the arepa dishes I’ve had here were above average. I always enjoy the chips and their sauces — some were a little over-​the-​top, but there were others that were savory ones were quite yummy,
For those who haven’t had central american food outside of Cleveland, this place is above average. You should consider trying it at least once. I’ve only had the arepas dishes, and cannot comment on the other menu items, though they seem to be serviceable.

Been going here almost weekly for lunch since they opened and have had mostly positive experiences. However, in the last month or two, things have really really gone downhill after the shorter younger guy left (sorry, never got his name. Super friendly dude. The owner, maybe?).
Then today, I walked in for lunch and a health inspector was there. I didn’t really think anything of it, until I somewhat jokingly asked the inspector if they were passing. She replied dead serious that they were not passing and said not to eat there today.
Sorry Barrocco, but today will be the last time I grace your doorstep.

Came here on a Friday evening around 7 when we weren’t in the mood to bro out with the locals. Surprisingly empty! They were out of arepas AND guacamole, which was a major bummer — but the super friendly guys working were really apologetic.
I ended up getting a loaded rice bowl, and the obvious comparison to Chipotle arose (Barroco’s chicken is more flavorful). Fresh and satisfying but nothing mind-​blowing. My husband got the pulled pork sandwich, I believe, which again was satisfying but not spectacular.
Okay, I just added one more star because the dudes working were just so delightful. They gave us a free heap of creamed corn cheesy plantains, which was ridiculous and a heart attack but fun to try.
I’d return to try their arepas and guac — and because the prices, though a bit higher, do rival Chipotle’s.
Apparently, it’s attached to a liquor store, and the smell of cigars was pretty intense. But I guess it’s convenient!

It’s really good. Went there for lunch during work downtown. Nice workers, quality ingredients. I got a bowl, huge portions if you want. Try the spicy chicken.

Dear Barroco Grill,
Thank you for being open in the middle of a snowy night.
Your Barroco Loco Sandwich was nothing short of superb.
The staff was friendly and helpful, despite the fact that every customer was indeed heavily intoxicated. The rice and black beans were increíble.
Big ups for adding some South American flava to Cleveland.
I will be back.
Your friend,
Winslow.

This has been on my short list of places to try. I visited there for lunch today and was not at all disappointed. I walked away happy and full! The place is small with seating for roughly 15 people. As other Unilocalers have mentioned, the service area is set-​up like Chipotle. I ordered the spicy chicken arepa. My order started with a grilled corn tortilla sandwich pocket. The bread was a cross between corn bread and a corn tortilla. There are numerous options for filling your sandwich. I opted for brown rice (there was also white rice), spicy chicken (there was also creamy chicken, pork, & steak), fajita veggies, mozzarella cheese, black beans, salsa, guac, romaine lettuce, sour cream and the kicker… plantains (which I requested, in a separate container on the side). My sandwich was filled to overflowing. Each cold option was cool and refreshing and each hot option was piping hot and fresh. I opted to dine-​in. I started eating the sandwich as hand held, but there was so much «stuff», I had to finish with a fork (no complaints). There are 4 sauce options on each table. I opted for a sauce that was orange in color and slightly sweet (kinda like thousand island), which was the perfect balance to the spicy chicken. The bread was the perfect vessel for the ingredients. Even though the ingredients were wet and juicy, the bread never got soggy. I ate every bit (and enjoyed!), of this sandwich. I saved the plantains for last and oh, what an ending. They were ripe, sweet and perfectly carmelized! The counter staff was very friendly and super nice. This was a GREAT experience, and a little less overwhelming for lunch, than Chipotle. I am a fan, and can’t wait to return.

I just moved into downtown and I was very excited about having Latin food so close to me. The best thing they have is the Pork bowl. The condiments in the pork are very flavourful and they are very generous with the amount of protein they put on all their bowls. The jerk chicken is really good too. The maduros with cheese are very tasty, good combination of sweet and salty.
I cannot wait to try their sandwiches and arepas (al though I am not a fan of arepas I would give them a try)
The price on this place is right! Less than $ 7 and you get a healthy flavorful meal.

I had heard really awesome reviews about this restaurant, including things about the different awards it has won for its menu items. Working downtown, I knew I had to try it, so I went one afternoon with a coworker. We went at the right time – there was no one in line when we got there, but the line was getting fairly long once we were leaving – about 1 pm. The limited seating is very close together, so be prepared to have someone listening in on your conversation and vice versa.
I had no idea what to get, and the guys working there were so great about making recommendations, explaining the menu/​how things were cooked/​the flavors, and didn’t rush us on making a decision. The both of us ended up getting the arepas. I did not care for it AT ALL. There was way too much bread, or tortilla, whatever the shell is called. It was very dry, and didn’t have flavors or seasoning the food other mexican fast casual restaurants, such as Chipotle.
I didn’t care for it, and I really doubt I will be going again. The menu at the downtown location is somewhat different from the Lakewood Barroco, so its possible that I will check out that one in the future – but not any time soon.

Barroco is a great place when you are in the mood for something completely different. The flavors are wonderful and yes, the sauces are really as good as everyone says. My favorite is the cilantro lime. I tried the cheesy corn dip per my fellow Unilocalers’ suggestion and while it was definitely good, I would not get it again. I did not care for the fried corn triangles that you eat with the dip. However, the Montanera arepa was amazing and easily a new favorite dish. A perfect blend of mild savory flavors and not spicy, and topped with a fried egg. Yum!
Service and atmosphere were great. Overall, a very positive experience and delicious food. A bit pricey for the laid back style, but still worth a visit.

When you see a Groupon for Barroco… MOVE. Slap that credit card down… and quick.
There’s so much to recommend here… the Arepas… the Cheesy Corn (don’t miss this… seriously), the steak… it’s all good …
Word of advice… they use garlic. A lot of garlic. So, if, like me, you’re heading off to see a show at the Beck Center, your pores are going to ooze the sweet smell o’ the stinkin’ rose. It will cause those around you to shift uncomfortably at the sweet scent.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’ve been a big fan of Lakewood’s Barroco Grill and am MORE than pleased to have an even closer location!
The new downtown location is situated more like a Chipotle or Qdoba — everything is laid out in front of you and there is an easy ordering process detailed down to the steps.
Step 1 — you should absolutely chose the Arepa. It’s a fluffy Cuban, grilled corn «tortilla?» that’s adds both flavor and a wonderful holder for all the yummy things that are available to go inside.
Step 2 — Protein. Everything is well flavored, simmered and delicious. Even just ordering the veggie leaves you happy with your choice.
Step 3 — Toppings. Get everything you can — you won’t be disappointed!
Then on top of that all, they offer several sauces which always blow me away! Chimichurri, pineapple, ranchero, spicy peanut — they’re all good and I like trying a little of each. It’s like having a completely different taste explosion each bite!