Lunch time just got a whole lot better
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year at one of Sydney's top mexican joints
Learn to cook like a master chef
Oh my god! It’s another! Mexican! restaurant! This one is brought to you by Peter Lew and Nicole Galloway, the couple behind Potts Point Canto-diner Fei Jai. Barrio Chino, named for the various Chinatowns that exist in Latin America, is smack-bang in the middle of the action on Bayswater Road in the Cross.
The front part of the space is taken up with the bar, which is pretty damn good. The bartenders are working with an excellent list including Palomas, Micheladas, and Tommy’s Margaritas by the glass or pitcher. There’s also a large range of single village mescal and if you want to go super povvo, there are tinnies of Tecate served with wedges of lime coated in chilli salt. Fresh!
Out the back you’ll find the restaurant. It’s a big space, filled with communal tables and booths with an open kitchen. The walls are painted to look like exposed, crumbling bricks. There are tanned guys in extremely low-cut vee-neck tees ripping into tacos as far as the eye can see.
Food-wise, we’d probably suggest ordering the tuna tostada (a round corn chip topped with chipotle mayo, raw tuna, avocado and deep-fried leek) and the albondigas - pork and beef meatballs in tomato sauce. Having tried every taco on the menu, we can tell you that they’re not really worth your time. The barbecued corn with chipotle mayo, cheese and lime we order gets lost along the way somewhere so we can’t vouch for it, but the guac and chips are worth ordering with a few beers in the bar.
Your best bet, really, is sticking to the bar and not bothering with the restaurant out the back. The drinks are great, the bar staff are nice and you can order snacks right from your barstool. Plus, anything lacking in the department of zing is easily covered with a veil of really great tequila.
Kings Cross 2011
Telephone 02 8021 9750
Price per person including drinks up to $50.00
Open Tue-Sun 6pm-late
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Are you kidding me? Is this supposed to be Mexican? The only thing Mexican about this place was the name and that is marginal at best: 4 tiny corn chips with a salsa that tastes like potato salad for $12.00 so not worth it. Oh yeah, the "tacos" are laughable. They are not much bigger than 50 cent pieces. I hate to disappoint you but Mexicans do not put nuts and brown sugar on tacos! The lighting was so dark I had to borrow a cigarette lighter to read the menu and even sign my check. The limited menu was unimpressive, over priced and the food tasted bland. I ended up eating two bowls of corn chips (another $12) and went to McDonald's as it was so late that was the only thing open!
Posted on Sun 19 Feb 2012 21:56:48
Hey Myff! Tell us then where the good taco's are at! We found the tostado collection really good. Having eaten at exquisite Mexican establishments in NYC, we find this the next best thing here in Australia. Food was fresh, tasty, innovative and plentiful.
Posted on Thu 05 Jan 2012 10:44:52
The single worst restaurant experience of 2011. Over priced, no substance at all. Marketing and PR. Plenty of staff but no idea. I didn't rate Elloco or the Norfolk but the Taco's at both are large and well priced. Wine list please.... who is this girl with the red hair? She's lovely and attractive but is NOT a sommelier at ALL. Stick with the Asian food you're doing down the road.
Posted on Mon 10 Oct 2011 16:22:25
Very nice and fresh Mexican food. Great corn chips and salsas. Best thing was the ceviche. Left very full. Cost was fine and the vibe was sunny. Thank you
Posted on Sat 08 Oct 2011 17:04:12
Clearly Andrew is a bit confused - the salsas don't cost extra, there is no 'carpaccio' on the menu and he should 'definately' start running his comments through spellcheck. This is by far the best mexican I've had in Australia and call me crazy but I'd say the wait for drinks had something to do with the fact that it's a) in kings cross, b) a new venue that was only last week reviewed in smh and c) serving quality margaritas rather than vodka redbulls. Try going to Mamasitas in Melbourne and waiting hours for a table?! I think people need to grow up, be realistic, relax and stop focussing on the negative.
Posted on Sun 11 Sep 2011 01:33:06
I don't think this restaurant will last too long -- people do not like poor service and overpriced food... we certainly won't be going back.
Posted on Thu 08 Sep 2011 16:28:48
Seemed to start great - cool venue. Fell apart when drinks took 20 minutes to arrive... we waited over an hour between starters and mains and gave up waiting and asked for the bill when our plates hadn't been cleared 15 minutes after we finished eating. Service was terrible and slow. The staff were friendly but clearly hadn't been trained - seemed as though there was no front of house manager. The food was a bit hit and miss - nice guac, tuna carpaccio, and the special was a snapper and squid ceviche - all good. The tacos for mains lacked flavour without a smothering of salsa (which costs extra). What surprised me is that everything seems to have corn chips - the carpaccio and ceviche were both served with corn chips. In the end the bill for 2 of us was over $100 even when our mains were free due to the time delays. Definately over-priced! At least at Hugos Pizza over the road you pay a bucket but love the food!
Posted on Thu 08 Sep 2011 06:27:37
To be fair it was latin to some sorts but failed in the review that it was south american in terms of attitude and spirit. Service is of upmost importance and thats where it all fell apart.
Posted on Sat 30 Jul 2011 03:03:16