El Barrio - Downtown Birmingham — Restaurant in Birmingham

Birminghams food scene is largely underrated. And why wouldn’t it be? Now the third smallest city in the state after Huntsville and Montgomery (how????) with a population largely comprised of students it was unlikely for Birmingham’s food scene to thrive. But here we are, sitting a bar with what seems like 1,000 other people gorging on new riffs on old standbys.

I was recommended here second hand from a friend of a friend. My knee hurts from a not-cool-to-explain injury, I’m tired, and have a headache. So why am I in a crowded, and frankly loud, Mexican restaurant in third most populace city in the twenty-fourth most populace state? For this Barbacoa Quesadilla, and it’s worth the drive….or the flight for that matter.

I heard a gentlemen to my left pondering out loud if he should venture away from it and try something new. He didn’t. My order was already locked in, but it was reassuring to hear someone imprisoned by their past run ins with that meal. It arrived hot. Very hot. No complaints on that front. Served with a creamy chipotle sauce. I wasn’t exactly impressed with the sauce, but I do understand its merit as a de-facto dipping sauce for the masses. What I WAS impressed by was the flight of house-made hot sauces placed in front of me. I don’t pine for spicy things, but do enjoy them when done well. The third “spiciest” option wasn’t overbearing and was brimming with the flavor of Habanero. Very hard to do without scorching your diner’s tongue but very well executed.

Make no mistake though, the quesadilla had no trouble being the star of the show. I think it’s tough to do a quesadilla on an exemplary level, but if there was ever an example of that it’s entering the preliminary stages of digestion as I type this. The Barbacoa was tender without being soft, the onions were rich with flavor and also had fantastic texture. When bathed in the afore mentioned hot sauce, I was in love. In fact, I’m still in love. My fiancé will be frustrated at best, and furious at worst to learn I’m leaving her for a tortilla based Mexican food. But I’m not sure I care…

The service was fantastic and the drinks were solid as well. I wish I remembered my bartenders name as she was a delight.

Pricing wasn’t astronomical or inexpensive. Very well suited to the environment.

The restaurant is on the louder side at the bar where I ate, but once again something that I believe comes with the territory.

Will I come back? Yes. Weren’t you listening? I’m marrying a quesadilla and adopting the last name Barrio….

Should you go? Only if you can pay alimony because this mistress takes...

Food was delicious. We came here on a recommendation from someone in town, we are from Huntsville area. We would have never eaten here if not for the recommendation because it is very hipster-esqe. Gender neutral bathrooms, tomato cage light fixtures, one chicken dish on the menu features butternut squash, pride flags on the exterior and on the ends of the tables that we didn't notice until we were seated and had placed our drink order. We were making fun of the place expecting very "white pipo" Mexican cuisine, and, while it wasn't what I would consider traditional, for the most part our meal was great! I got the green pozole and was in love with the first bite, we finished with the tres leches cake and it was divine. My sangria was not, however, and the fancy queso with the tequila wasn't fancy enough to justify the price. I did appreciate the warm chips. My partner got the chicken enchiladas and also enjoyed his meal. We had a pretty good experience overall. Not a fan of the marketing choices but I guess to stand out from the fifty million other mexican restaurants in town you'd have to have some kind of "theme", El Barrios theme happens to be queer. Definitely changed our entire perspective on the restaurant when we tasted our meals. In conclusion, Bravo, chef. Service wasn't awesome, but our drinks were refilled promptly. That's about it. Wouldn't recommend to my Christian friends, but maybe to a college student. Also, NO PARKING. That part was super frustrating...

The one thing that makes me give it 3 stars is the horrible layout of the place. It’s obviously thriving, invest in a larger place or a secondary location; everything is so clumped together that we had to literally move tables out of the way just to get in and out of our seats. We could pretty much hear what our neighbors were talking about. They do not take reservations so be ready to wait anywhere from 20 to 50 min for a table if showing up for dinner. The food itself is good, definitely worth four stars from my perspective, and although it’s not authentic Mexican food, they never claim to be an authentic Mexican food place. I personally like their take on Mexican dishes with their own twist. We had the chicken enchiladas, the goat cheese dip, tacos al pastor(I’m still processing why I was served deconstructed tacos, nothing bad about it it’s just not what you’d expect when ordering tacos) and the tres leches cake(which could easily be served without the apple butter, although delicious, it overshadowed the taste from the cake and the candied pecans, to me, those flavors do not do well when combined). Overall, I still recommend this place for lunch or date nights. Service is friendly and courteous, and the menu is fairly priced. Their current space is their...