Barrio Star

Barrio Star is the default spot where our office heads for lunch, since it’s just a few steps away.
Superficially, the place is nice. I love the vibrant pink décor and the fast and friendly service. Just order at the counter, grab a number, and sit wherever you like (table or bar) until the food materializes.
The thing is… I just don’t think the food is especially good. I’ve tried two different things for lunch so far (the barrio bowl with carnitas, and the tamal de pollo), and they both tasted exactly the same — by which I mean totally bland. It’s amazing that two entirely different dishes managed to taste so generic. They weren’t *bad* per se – just devoid of any spice, texture, or excitement. For a steep $ 14-​$ 15 per dish, I was expecting more. (The plating is nice, which is good if you prefer to Instagram your food rather than eat it.)
The margaritas looked tasty, but I’m not the kind of person who day-​drinks during work hours. Maybe I’ll come back during happy hour, since that seems to be Barrio Star’s biggest draw.

I had dinner there with family last night. The food was delicious, the service was good (especially considering that it was a busy Friday night) and the drinks were really good. It was a bit dark and very noisy, but I will definitely be back.

I love coming back to this place, love the environment, real chill place to hang out.

We came back again because we heard the that they brought back full service for dinner… I was so excited to come back once I found out that the old «Barrio Star» I loved was back… Unfortunately I was disappointed. I’ll keep it short and simple:
— Our food took 30 minutes just to come out. And we ordered tacos, rice and beans. I’m not exaggerating, I watched the clock.
— My food was COLD. Literally.
— Yes we had a waitress but she was spread so thin we barely saw her. Ordering drinks was incredibly difficult.
— Way overpriced for what you get. Barrio Stars food is good. But if I’m sharing a table, barely see my waitress, and my food is cold, it shouldn’t have cost $ 44 per person.
Will I come back? Maybe. It’s convenient and again decent food (when it’s not cold). But I won’t go out of my way. And I’m bummed! I used to LOVE this place. I want to love it again!

I loved the Barrio Star… I went with my husband for our Anniversary lunch and we enjoyed a lot. The decorations is colorful and creative. The food was delicious, I got the carnitas and chicken tacos. My husband loved the barrio guacamole and salsa… every bite was delicious and tasty! I want to invite some friends to enjoy our next visit at Barrio Star…

I want to love this place more than I do, but there are a couple of things dragging it down to three stars. I wouldn’t go out of my way not to come here (ie, if some friends were going out and really wanted to hit up this place, I would) but I’m feeling rather «meh, I probably won’t be back».
Pros: Décor is cute, they have drink specials, the drinks are good, and a good location in banker’s hill.
Cons: The food is decent, but way overpriced for what it is. I was expecting crazy good food at the prices they are charging, and didn’t get it. It is classier than hole-​in-​the-​wall mexican, and the food looks prettier, but the flavors were lacking. We ate in once and got take out once, and the dine-​in service is slow. When we got the take out, I asked for a side of guacamole, and got a small cup (like what you might put salad dressing in at a salad bar) and they charged us $ 7.95 for it! Too bad we didn’t discover that before we went home.
This isn’t a bad spot for drinks, or maybe for taco tuesday, but for the $$, you’ll do better on food elsewhere.

The chips and salsa are a must with the unique blend of seasoning! Tacos are amazingly fresh and vibrant.

Yay… service has finally improved. Great food and now great service!

I love this place. I first started getting the tofu tacos but since moved on to tamal de maiz. Amazing! anyone VEGAN or GF would love it. Yes the place is expensive (wish it came with 2 tamales)…honestly chips and salsa should be free because of how pricey it is but at the end of the day you are eating mexican food in Bankers hill. Their rent is probably insane. Its a bit confusing at first on if you sit down to order or go up to order. but now that i’m a regular I get you go up to the counter. They need to get a system going on having menus on a stand by the door and have every employee tell people on where to order. Hungry people are like cattle. We dont want to think just feed us =). Its well worth the price especially the blood orange margaritas.
I wish wis wish they had a changing table… I would stay longer probably get another cocktail if they offered that to people with little nuggets. meaning me!
woohoo !!! food is amazing!

We’ve been here before my review is overdue. Very awesome Mexican soul restaurant (sister restaurant of Isabels Cantina in PB. The food are incredibly good, fresh n creative. healthier style and gluten free n vegan as well. My faves are the small tacos and tortilla soup. Hubbys fave is the Buddha bowl. Pineapple Cucumber mint Drinks are awesome. Fast service, open seating. Very friendly atmosphere. I will highly recommend this place. The decors are truly inviting, entertaining and colorful. They’re one block away from Balboa park.

AMAZING corn tortillas (best ever – made on site), with equally amazing fillings. We loved the shrimp tacos (big shrimp), the soy chorizo (balanced, spicy, meat-​like flavor, easy on the palate), and excellent salmon tacos. Most likely the best street tacos we’ve ever had. Oy, and the margaritas-​whew, quality!
Great presentation, friendly and attentive staff, –and clean bathrooms – always a bonus!

Great tacos. Got the blackberry jalapeño margarita– really good but be careful there’s a kick to it! Highly recommend. Get 3 – 4 tacos and an appetizer. You won’t be disappointed!

Met friends here a few months ago, what a quaint hipster place with great food, drinks, and energy. The only thing keeping me from assigning that golden 5^th star is the acoustics in the place. Really hard to hear the life updates from my friends. But that just tells you that the place was bumpin’!

We didn’t even get to eat here. We came in to have a meal before walking into December nights. There were 2 lines going. We are looking at the menu standing in line to place our order when the register girl walks away and starts serving drinks to other people. We stand there a bit confused with other patrons standing behind us wondering if they’ll be back when the guy at the other register tells us there’s 1 line and we have to get in the back. The people behind us quickly jump in the other line taking us from next in line to last.
Bogus. The menu didn’t look that impressive anyways. We left.

This was my first time to this establishment. I walked past a few times and just looking through the window the inside décor really draws you in. I sat down at the bar and asked Erin what I could expect being a brand-​new customer. She informed me that the bar seating was full service and all the other tables you needed to order your food first pay and then you’d be given a number then you were welcome to sit anywhere in the restaurant. I thought this was a cool concept and embraced this unique way of doing things. At this point I signed into Unilocal to check in and was rewarded with a free appetizer from the restaurant that I quickly redeemed. I then proceeded to order a drink from the full-​service bar and enjoyed my appetizer chips and salsa. The entire experience was great and Sean who also worked the bar was very attentive and made sure I had everything I needed throughout my stay. I left here extremely satisfied happy and willing to come back again.

Barrio Star and I are very good friends. I almost never go anywhere else for Taco Tuesday these days and if that doesn’t say enough — then I don’t know what else to tell you.
Here are your must haves — in my not-​so-​humble opinion:
Steak taco — bomb. It’s so good. The steak is juicy and tender and perfect.
Spicy Chicken — also delicious. Yumm!
Salmon — yep. it’s nomville.
Carnitas — I’m also pretty about it.
Red Sangria — scrumptious. Just exactly what a sangria should be.
Jalapeño Raspberry Margarita — this. this is AMAZING. Sweet, spicy — the ideal marg.
AND SHOUT OUT TO THE Unilocal CHECK IN OFFER — the Cucumbers are almost my favorite thing on the menu. The sauce is INCREDIBLE. I’ve tried to recreate it but it’s not the same. I suggest always ordering these — they’re awesome (and free! at least for now)
Also — I’d like to make a special shout out to the tortillas for being amazing. Perfect really. From scratch — and tender. Yes. Thank you for all you do.
Now then, lets go on. Recently the ordering process has changed — it is now counter style. Pay first and then you wait for your delicious tacos and tequila dranks. This works fine — the service used to be kind of a miss here, so I’m not opposed to the change. It’s annoying to have to go back to the counter through when you decide you’re going to over do it and order more tacos. Maybe I should take this as a deterrent, but I don’t.
Price — yes, it’s a bit pricey. Even during happy hour/​taco Tuesday you can easily throw down some serious cash for an item known to be pretty inexpensive. I only come on Taco Tuesday — and probably wouldn’t spend the full price, but not because the food isn’t good — it is! But it can wait for Tuesday.
Oh note — please don’t order the queso. It’s like a solid ball of cheese and the biggest waste ever in life. You’re welcome.
Now, go get your taco-​ing on!

I have been a loyal attendee of your restaurant for many years. I loved the vibe, I loved the energy, I loved the waiters and waitresses. And above all I loved the food.
Until however you go back to your old restaurant setup I will no longer venture down to SD from North County to eat at your restaurant. Or should I say fast food eatery. The vibe was lost. The energy was lost. I felt rushed (it took me exactly 25 minutes to order, get my food and eat). I could not appreciate the food with the speed at which I ate. When I wanted another drink I had to wait in line to order.
I am actually kind of depressed about the whole affair. I do not know why you would try to fix something that did not seem broken.
BAD BUSINESS model !!! BAD DECISION !!! Bye-​Bye!

This place is has such tasty food and an adorable atmosphere. I use to live down the street from Barrio Star and I would go all the time!
Breakfast or dinner, anytime of the day really, the food is always on point. The portions tend to be smaller but everything has such flavor.
This isn’t your regular Mexican food spot, it’s trendy and unique making the experience that much better. The staff here is so nice and are cool to talk to especially if you’re sitting at the bar.
It tends to be pricier but then again you’re paying for an experience not just what’s on the plate. I think the drinks are well priced though.
Overall I would recommend this place a million times over.

I never write a review about this place because i’m always torn. On one hand… the food is amazing. On the other hand… the service is horrible! 10 minutes for a drink, better order 2 at a time or you’ll be waiting for a while!
The past 2 times i’ve gone i’ve had bad service and cold food so I had to give 2 stars.
its a love/​hate relationship with this place :(
If you decide to try your luck, order the pozole, the cucumbers, melted cheese with chorizo, and the chile relleno. All the tacos are good so you cant go wrong there.

I’ve always been a fan of Isabel’s Cantina in PB and had really been lagging on coming in to try Barrio Star. I finally came in last night with a large group for Happy Hour.
We were able to make a reservation for 10 people earlier that day. When we arrived our table was ready. It’s super cute and has a bright décor inside.
We did some major damage: Rounds of white Sangrias & Micheladas. We ordered a bunch of tacos off the Happy Hour Menu (tacos are available for HH from 5−6pm, other HH items & drinks are available 5−7pm)
We also ordered the queso fundido, carnitas nachos, the seasoned sliced cucumbers (free with Unilocal check-​in) guacamole, the Guadalajara corn, and a salad among other things.
I love a place with a good HH. I was happy to see multiple drink & food options with a HH that ran until 7pm
The service was fast and friendly. Ray took good care of us, and I would def recommend this spot for Happy Hour.
I’ll be back again to try the full menu items.

The Breakfast Torta with added soy chorizo. It’s so muy delicioso that, I never seem to order anything else!