Barrio Cantina

Very good food — the Barrio Burger was sublime. Friendly staff.
However
50 minute lag between the order and the appetizer, and a 1 hour lag between order and the entrees. Asked to speak with the manager and he would not speak to my party.
Given the poor service coupled with substandard management I would avoid Barrio.

Not worth the money, plain and simple.
The food was pretty good, but not worth the inflated price tag. Even with a deal we had, it was still overpriced.
I had the chicken fajitas and didn’t get tortillas to put them in (every other Mexican restaurant provides them). We also didn’t get any chips and salsa like another Unilocaler said.

Mehh. My friend’s boyfriend used to work here so I stopped in once for drinks and once for food. Both times, it was nearly deserted!
Granted, once was over Labor Day weekend, which might be a slow time for a bar in a touristy area of the city, but my last visit was on a Saturday night. I’d gone to the effort of taking a shower, putting on makeup, wearing a skirt even, and planned to have a fun night out and hopefully meet some people (read: hot men), and instead of hitting up a happening spot, we went to Barrio in the hopes of getting some cheap food.
I tried the nachos (not bad) and fish tacos (ok), and on my drinking excursion the time before, tried their spicy patron margarita. That was pretty good and I’m pleased to now know that spicy patron exists.
I guess if you were in the area and craving Mexican, or need an overflow spot during/​after a busy Sox game, the location is strategic, but I didn’t find the food anything to write home about, and the ambiance left something to be desired. Meh all around.

Good service, cute ambiance, yummy margaritas, terrible food.
I was sorely disappointed when I was expecting some delicious «Mexican» food. I don’t know if maybe I’m used to Americanized Mexican food that has tons of cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and guac in it, but this place had a completely different stance on whatever they were trying to cook.
First we got the tuna tartare, which was not bad, but that is a random dish for a Mexican restaurant.
Then we got the chicken tacos. The chicken was really dry and there were carrots in it.
I got the steak fajitas… with no guac, cilantro, sour cream, or cheese. The rice was incredibly dried out and hard. They charged me extra for a side of sour cream.
Just really bizarre and lackluster food.

This place has the WORST SERVICE EVER. Seriously. Bar in Fenway, World Series game six when the Sox are up 3 – 2 and how many bartenders do they have?
One.
I’ve been waiting 40 minutes for a drink and there is no hope in sight.
The problem with this place is that the food is delicious. Shrimp perfectly cooked. Great burger. Delicious salad. Amazing shrimp tacos.
So I just keep coming back. Despite the terrible service.
Dear restaurant owner, if you ever read these reviews, please can you improve your service so you don’t go out of business and I can continue enjoying the taco salad with shrimp.

I had a Living Social coupon for Barrio Cantina and wanted to check out TIm Schlow’s new restaurant. The atmosphere and vibe are pretty cool, except, there was hardly anyone in the restaurant at 8pm on a Tuesday night. It might be the Fenway area during a non-​game/​non-​concert, but it was pretty dead in there.
The pros:
–the salsa is pretty awesome (but this was complementary… but I can still give it cred right?)
–the stuffed poblano peppers: stuffed with chipotle, cheese, and some other stuff. I asked the waiter and he was suggesting the chicken mole, but said that the stuffed peppers was a customer favorite. Good thing I decided to do both.
The cons:
–the margarita – the house-​made sour mix was definitely sour, and not in a good way. It was way too tart and just not that great. How can you be a mexican-​ish restaurant and not have good sour mix or just do it right, and squeeze some limes in there.
–the chicken mole – okay, but not the best chicken mole ever. Sol Azteca’s is better.

First I’d like to stress the fact that the staff was very helpful & awesome when it came to dealing with my one of a kind family.
Moving on, the dining area & bar have a really great atmosphere to them that makes you feel like you’re in the city but not the hustle & bustle of the city at the same time. The food was on point, absolutely delicious. I’ve personally only been for brunch but, would easily recommend almost everything they have for their brunch menu. Especially the chips with guacamole and salsa. Boston has very few sit down Mexican restaurants, with that kind of pressure on them I’ve got to say, Barrio’s really delivers.
This place is perfect for brunch or dinner. Would highly recommend.

The food is very good and the drinks are decent. The only issue I’ve had here is that even with an empty restaurant, you wait forever for your order. Staff is usually friendly and inviting. I’ve only had one negative encounter with a waitress that had the personality of a stale tortilla chip.

I don’t understand this joint. At all. My brother says it must be a curse because the restaurant that was here before it, Happy’s, also had trouble and closed soon after it opened. I’ve been here a few times, and had been to Happy’s as well, and, there’s just not many good things to say, but I will start with the positive:
Kevin, the bartender, is great. He is very friendly and polite and he looks like Michael Buble. He also makes delicious drinks (and they were pretty strong). The only cocktails on the menu were margaritas and 3 other ones with just vodka, so I told him what liquor and flavors I like and he whipped up something delicious.
The other good thing about Barrio is the space itself. It’s gorgeous and has an outside patio. I really like the layout, as there are lots of different options, bar, booth, table, cozy nook with comfy chairs and there’s a band in the restaurant where I bet you could go to get out of the riffraff… if this place ever gets busy.
So, my brother and I arrived on a Thursday summer night to an empty bar in Fenway. Right?! That doesn’t sound possible. Granted, the Sox were out of town, but all the other places on that strip were packed. We arrived around 8:30pm, so there should have at least been a dinner crowd.
Weirdness:
–The bartender delivered my brother and I sample drinks, which seemed normal and cool. But then, the manager came over and started talking to me about things I had no idea about and then he said, «Lana, right?» And I said no, not Lana. And then instead of brushing it off as a silly mistake and moving on, he was super awkward and weird and just stood there behind us at the bar. Ahhhhh.
–When we said we were not interested in ordering food, the manager said, «Why?» I’m sorry but… we were sitting at the bar at 9pm and had already eaten. We were just out for drinks.
–TV was showing an infomercial. About sexual dysfunction. What?!
–No music. That is, until my brother and I said something and the manager took out his laptop and hooked it up to the speakers. He took my requests, but it was oddly silent in between songs because he was using youtube to play the songs.
–Ok, after a few drinks, my brother and I took the liberty of talking to manager, since he was so interested in us, about how he could make improvements, like the music, TV, etc. And he responded with saying that he thought the place was doing really well. There, you have it. No hope of this place recovering.

I have come here a couple of times, and although I haven’t had their entrees, I can speak about the apps and drinks.
I love love love any restaurant that gives you freebies to eat while your waiting for food. They bring out nachos and I believe their own homeade salsa and also a spicy sauce too. The salsa isnt bad, but I love that spicy sauce. The nachos are not bad either.
DRINKS, I have had a couple, but the only one really worth mentioning is their blood orange margarita. YES that is the truth right there.
I have read other people talk about their customer service, but all the times I have come (which has been about 3 or 4 times) I have never had an issue with their customer service, and those times have been on Friday nights.
The apps were ok, not the best, but not bad, and the price was ok too. Its a chill spot to go to for drinks and apps if you live or work in the area as I do work around here.
I will still continue to come here, even if its just for that blood orange margarita… SOOOOO GOOOD

This was probably the worst restaurant I have ever been to and never in my life have a tipped so low.
First, they were way understaffed… it took 20min just to see a waiter and we had to flag them down… then we ordered drinks and food at the same time because we were worried we would never see them again…20min later our food comes out… we still hadn’t received our drinks… they kept saying it was busy from the concert at Fenway… but we were 1 of 3 tables… they told us the bartender was still making our drinks… we ordered soda… when we finally started eating the burrito was only ok… and the drinks tasted awful! If you’re a Mexican restaurant learn how to make a margarita! We had to flag down wait staff and ask for our bill, ask for refills, ask to order… we put in all the work! to top it all off we we all got home we had never felt so sick! All 3 of us too… I would not recommend going here, I’m fact stay far away… if you want Mexican go to El Pelon or Sol Azteca.
They won’t last long and I hope a better place goes in soon

My friend and I were in the area for a Sox game, all of the restaurants near the stadium were packed so we wandered over to Barrio Cantina to check it out. There was plenty of seating and we were able to get a table on the patio.
The food is nothing to rave about. We ordered guac to start, I would expect some good chips (maybe seasoned or warmed up) but they were just plain old corn chips. I ordered the fried fish street taco, the «fried’ fish was soggy and there was some weird seasoning on it. My friend ordered the carnitas quesadillas and also complained of a weird seasoning. Neither of us could finish our plates.
The house margarita was really good but we did not receive our drinks until we were done with our apps. shouldn’t drinks come out first?
Side note– I have seen several people on here mention them bringing chips/​salsa to the table? We got a tiny cup of salsa on the same plate as our guac. was that what that was? Ugggg.
They have such a great location, why waste it on meh food?!

I was craving La Verdad one day. When I went there, one of the wait staff said they were having a private party that day and they recommended I go to Barrio instead down the street. And I kind of want to retract one of the stars I gave La Verdad in my review because of this horrible recommendation.
I ordered a coronita, and they didn’t have holders for the bottle. I had to hold the bottle like I’m feeding a newborn. I can barely pay for the drink, and these guys want me to pay child support already.
The salsa FAILED to gain the slightest touch my delight. Watery, too many onions, disgusting.
And the burrito itself… ughhhh. The cheese looked like hardened wax. I felt like peeling it off, but then I remembered I’m here for Mexican, not a Brazilian waxing session.
This place needs to pack its bags and remove itself from the Fenway barrio immediately. What a let down.
And for the record, I’m not the father of the baby.

We had been wary of this place after a friend warned us about the pushy wait staff. That must have been an anomaly, though, because the waiter I met was really nice. He seems a bit frazzled, but was very accommodating with all our questions and my continual request for more chips and salsa.
Along with pico de gallo, BC serves an ancho chili house sauce with the complimentary chips. It’s got a really interesting sweet peppery, smokey flavor that really grows on you. The way you crack grows on you. We scarfed down two buckets of chips with three bowls of that sauce.
They have a large selection of Mexican draft beers at competitive prices. They are especially proud of having Pacifico on tap, which is apparently very rare. I didn’t like their margarita, though. Usually, what I dislike is that the margarita is too sweet, but that wasn’t the problem here. I’m not sure if there wasn’t enough lime or too much lemon, but there just didn’t seem to be a sour-​salty kick to it, no matter how much salt I licked off the rim of the glass. It just tasted bland.
The shrimp, bacon and avocado tacos were delicious. However, they are only about 6 inches in diameter, which seems quite small considering the $ 9 price for the pair. You can add an additional taco, but it’s not as if three would fill you up. The entrees are pretty pricey ($ 12-​$ 20), but are served in much, much larger portions. I would recommend ordering an appetizer and an entrée to share between two people, but hats off to you if you can actually finish a plate of fajitas in one sitting.
The interior is spacious and decorated with interesting trinkets (teacup chandelier). From the patio, diners can enjoy their meal against the breathtaking backdrop of the Fenway Shaw’s. Maybe that’s why it was completely empty on a Thursday night. It doesn’t seem like the easiest location to run a restaurant successfully. I wonder if it’ll survive the winter…

This place is a straight up ripoff. Do you want 2 minuscule tacos for $ 9 at cheapest with zero sides, sparse service and not much else than that? Well this is your place.
Sorry Barrio Cantina, Most people don’t want this. The Fenway area IS known for being more expensive and more gourmet than its surrounds, but where Barrio Cantina gets it wrong is portion size. Most other food in the area is comparably priced, but are more successful because the fill you up for what you are paying.
Yes, the food is good, I’d say some of their items are downright delicious, but their markup is deplorable. Shame. Shame.
This place can last past the 2yr mark if they change the way they sell their product, because their kitchen has right what the guy with books has wrong.

Pricey? YES! Worth it? TOTALLY
Please run to this place for the best fish taco! OK, I paid $ 8.95 for two fish tacos; expensive indeed but they were so damn tasty! I never had good fish (lightly battered, not noticeable) tacos before. The sauce (similar to the spicy mayo) was a plus because the tacos were filled with chopped onion. I am not a fan of onions and I would normally remove them but in this case, it was not necessary. After shoving two fish tacos down my throat in less than 10 minutes, I went ahead and ordered two shrimp tacos. Also delish! Because we had a huge group, the waitress brought us chips and salsa for free.

Ask for a pitcher of mararitas! Not on the menu but they are happy to accommodate. This place is actually owned by the same people as Tico and they have the same delicious blood orange margaritas we fell in love with at Tico!
For some reason all three of us ordered quesadillas. Granted, this menu is pretty limited. Were they good? Well. My companions got the veggie one, I got the chicken and jalapeño one sans jalapenos (what can I say, I’m a wimp!). Mine was yummy, but greasy. Like, grease dripping out, greasy. I think theirs were normal. In my case at least, it was pretty good fuel to start our night of drinking.
Our waitstaff was fine, nothing remarkable either way! The place was hopping for the Saturday night after the lockdown. Seemed like everyone was out celebrating! The ambiance was happy and upbeat. The walls were decoupaged with movie posters which was pretty cool.
All in all, the menu is too limited. The food is ok. The drinks are FANTASTIC. The ambiance is good. Really 3.5 stars, but I’m a nice person so I’ll bump it. A nice touch for the Fenway neighborhood.

Here’s the rundown from my first (and only) visit to Barrio Cantina.
The Good:
— Delicious shrimp tacos with bacon and avocado
— Complimentary chips and salsa that you want to eat not just because they’re there
The Bad:
— A shrimp and sweet potato tamale utterly lacking in flavor (and sweet potato, for that matter)
— A wait of 30 minutes despite a reservation, and no apologies for said wait (or the fact that numerous parties of walk-​ins were seated before my friends and me) from the manager
— A rickety table shoved in the corner
— A hair in my friend’s pickled vegetables
— A fire alarm going off repeatedly, which went unacknowledged for the length of our meal
— A bland, lukewarm, 12 dollar (!) burrito
I applaud the owners of Happy’s for recognizing that their venture wasn’t working and trying to do something different, but opening another mediocre Mexican restaurant in a city filled with them isn’t going to win them many new customers.

I was in charge of date night this week and was thrilled to find out this place had finally opened! I got there before my date and was a little hesitant about staying due to menu prices and the unusual menu selections.
The atmosphere like the menu seems a little scatterbrain as well. There is what you would consider traditional «Mexican restaurant» décor in the main dining spaces and then bottle caps smashed on the pillars behind the bar to look «chic». It’s very confusing to say the least.
We ordered the chili peppers and 2 tacos. I had read reviews before ordering and honestly am confused by the prices people mentioned because none of that was the case. The place has good food but its not worth the expensive for the proportions. I was still hungry after words and I regret not going to Lolita instead.
The service was spotty, friendly but they hung out with themselves far too much and I had to ask too many times for my waitress. I’m going to have to pass from making this my usual movie dinner spot.

I was SO excited to try out this place after a couple of social media sites informed me that Barrio Cantina was opening in Fenway. I’m from California so I really, really miss Mexican food. I did realize that this restaurant is considered Tex-​Mex, so I didn’t get my hopes too high, but after reading a couple of articles about the owner and the restaurant itself, I had a general idea of what to expect.
I went here on Valentine’s Day around 08:30 or so. It was crowded, but not packed. The bar definitely had a good amount of people at it, and the restaurant as a whole felt energetic. The restaurant is nice and spacious, has a lounge-​y feel to it with lots of comfy looking couches and chairs, but is still very casual. We were offered a Valentine’s Day shot upon arrival… but declined because, let’s be real, I’m a #superlightweight.
They have a good menu with a lot of variety for people who are vegetarian, which is nice as I tend to veer in that direction sometimes. I was feeling some fish tacos though, so when I saw those I knew I was getting them. My companion had a hard time choosing between the tongue n cheek taco and the burrito, but went with the tacos. We also ordered a veggie and black bean quesadilla to share as an appetizer, as well as a shrimp and sweet potato tamale. He ordered a porter (they had run out of his first choice) and I ordered a Dark n’Stormy, which was incredibly boozy (not a bad thing!)
They brought us chips and salsa which, obviously, I would not say no to. Our tacos arrived before the quesadilla, and there were two tacos to each order. I don’t want to say that the food was bad, as it was presented quite nicely and there was definitely thought into what went into (or on top of) each dish. However, the food was BLAND. How do you make Tex-​Mex bland? Is that even possible? I guess it is. #sadface
It’s unfortunate that the food was bland, because their price point is really good for the Fenway area. Presentation was good, staff was friendly, attentive, and helpful, vibe was energetic, but unfortunately that just didn’t make up for the food. Don’t think I’d eat here again, but would consider it for drinks.