Smokin' Barrels Cocina Latina — Restaurant in Northwest Industrial

We tried to call and make reservations for 16 people. We were told they do not take reservations on the week, so just a heads up if that's your plan.

So we showed up around 1pm and asked for a table for 16 people. They were a little blown away at the request but they stood up to the challenge immediately! They worked hard on making room and the head chef came out and asked for our patients. We understood that this is a large party and so we waited. They said it would be about 25 mins to clean and put tables together. We got sat in 20 mins, thanks for the speedy service despite the party size.

Once we sat down it was a reasonable amount of time before we got water, about 5-6 mins. We started to read though the menu and it ALL sounded delicious!

Sofia was out server and she did a fantastic job at structuring and organizing the individual parties that would become the bills, single people, couples, families with kids. She got everything in order right away. Once we ordered it was about 35 mins for our food and most of it came out within 5 mins of each other with the exception of 2 people who waited bout 7-8 more minutes. ALL the food came out hot! With a party of 16 people, I'd like to say the kitchen did the best they could and they killed it! Hats off to the chef! We had one picky child, who asked for a different item and the kitchen got that dish out in good timing!

Now the important part, the food. I personally had the quisabirria, which was amazing! Some of the dishes that were ordered were shrimp tacos, Mexican nachos, tropical chips, birria tacos, chicken tacos, chicken soup and a few skillets. I don't recall the exact name but it was the meat lovers skillet. ALL of the food had great portions and it was reasonably priced for this economy! we will absolutely be coming back! I tired a couple samples of other dishes and everything had so much flavors. Beware the quisabirria is quite large. I had left overs for the dinner the next day and it was just as delicious as when I tried it at the restaurant.

They did add an 18% tip on top of our bills, which I feel is industry and standard and well deserved! By the way, the organization at the beginning of the meal made paying the bills smooth, fast and efficient. No figuring out who owed what! Again, fantastic work Sofia.

Thank for a great experience, and thank you Sofia for working hard and making sure my family had a delicious experience. And a huge thank you to the kitchens staff for handed a large order...

Ordered the birra tacos they’re sooooo good if you have left overs bring it home I thought they wouldn’t be good as they are hot but they were better in the fridge I never eat cold food I ate it so fast it was so good. Food was 10:10 on point really filling you can take it home though big portion’s especially with beans & rice very authentic like how it was in los Cabos Mexico. When we came in there was lots of people understandably they told us 30 min wait time which was fine they’re busy nothing they can do about that only reasons I rate 4/5 was the place was really hot especially waiting infront of the bar window they had air conditioning but it wasn’t doing it & also the wait time to get drinks was longer than expected & finally the sour cream was a very small portion and it was more watery than creamy but that might just be how it’s suppose to be I just wanted a bigger portion for the upcharge. Also another thing was they had no hot sauce at all which was pretty disappointing but regardless the food was so bomb. the rice was really good it was moist and it was seasoned well it wasn’t just plain rice it was red like had super light sauce on it or something it was very good I loved it and the beans I was iffy about at first but it was so good very hot and well seasoned with shredded cheese ontop was very tasty I loved mixing my rice with the beans and dipping my tacos in the rice and beans I wish the soup sauce thing portion was a little bigger like the other place but other than sauces the portions are big so like food items tacos & rice & beans the portions are perfect and big but the sauces for being a upcharge are def significantly small. There was a little bit of a language barrier with some staff but it’s a authentic Mexican restaurant that’s expected and they always have someone who does know both languages fluently I would def recommend this place if you want GREAT authentic Mexican food wish the place was a bit bigger because there was lots of people but that’s because of how good the food is so yes I would def go back also the prices are fair just the sauces prices I feel should def be bigger for what you’re getting or it should come with a side of sauce also they had no hot sauce which is rare for a Mexican food place! But it was...

I’ve been to this restaurant before and never had major issues, but something has clearly changed — and not for the better. The service, cleanliness, and overall experience have gone completely downhill.

It started with trying to make a reservation. While I was on the phone, the staff member literally stopped talking to me mid-sentence, started speaking to someone else, and then put me on hold without saying a word. A few seconds later, I was hung up on. I called back and was told, “sorry, my co-worker hung up on you,” like it was no big deal. That alone already set the tone.

We decided to still go. The service was slow, whatever — but then we noticed fruit flies floating in our margarita pitcher, and not just one. We brought the drinks up to the front. They took them away without a single word, no apology, no explanation, nothing. Then we noticed another bug in a separate glass, brought that up too — still, no one came to talk to us or even acknowledge the issue.

Eventually, they came back with three new drinks, but at that point, we didn’t want them anymore — it was honestly gross. When we went to pay, they only offered a small discount on the pitcher, as if that made it okay. We were expected to pay for bug-infested drinks, which is absolutely disgusting.

To top it off, someone on staff said it “didn’t make any sense” that there were bugs in the drinks — like we were just making it up or planted them in. We were sitting inside, but the front door was wide open the entire time. Even if that’s how bugs got in, that’s still completely unacceptable in a restaurant. But realistically, the bugs didn’t fly in — we’re pretty sure they were already in the juice or mix from the back. We caught them right after pouring. It wasn’t just a random fly landing in a glass.

And while we were eating, a server knocked over a whole container of utensils, napkins, and paper onto the floor — and just walked away like nothing happened. Didn’t even notice, didn’t clean it up. We had to pick up the mess ourselves.

Overall, this place is nothing like it used to be. It’s become careless, unhygienic, and dismissive of its customers. Super disappointing. I won’t be coming back, and I honestly don’t recommend it to anyone...