Cocina De Barrio — Restaurant in Encinitas

HAPPY HOUR REVIEW

We made reservations for 3pm on Black Friday. Family is in town and we wanted to try something hot and new that still had positive reviews. I had been keeping my eye on Cocina de Barrio and the new Mas Fuego in Carlsbad. Mas Fuego turned out to be a dumpster fire, but Cocina seemed to be having a strong start.

We got seated at a booth which was very comfortable. Note: as far as I could see, all of the indoor tables and booths had padded seating. This is a big deal to me and I always call it out if a place refuses to make their guest's comfort a priority. I did not check the patio seating but so far Cocina is five stars.

We basically ordered most everything on the happy hour menu: Tacos de Birria (lamb) Tacos de Camaron (shrimp) Tacos de Trompo (al pastor) Tacos de Pescado (salmon) Mango Habanero Aguachile Ceviche Guacamole Oysters (12) Margarita (2 Blancos, 1 Rosa, 1 Agua Santa, 1 Jalisco Express)

THE GOOD The drinks were good. The best was the La Rosa by far. Imagine if a sangria and a margarita had a baby. The second best: Jalisco Express, which had a little kick to it but was delicious. The other drinks were either too sweet or had too much sour mix. Not great.

The table-side guacamole was nice. We gobbled it up though they only give you a few "chips" (hard blue corn tortillas) with it, which was odd. The other plates we ordered came with chips as well so in all, we had plenty - but if you're just getting the guac you might want to ask for more. You also have the options of adding "chapulines". If you don't know what this is, look it up first :-)

The tacos were good, though the tortillas were cold. The birria was not seasoned. I thought the shrimp tacos were the best. They put little dabs of sauce on the plate (some white, green or orange). You can add these to your taco if you choose, but the best topping might just be a little salt. Presentation is outstanding I must say.

The oysters were good too, although quite small. Normally they come served on a bed of ice at most place. All twelve were placed on a small plate with salt and Tabasco and limes on the side. They looked really nice though the microgreens didn't add much flavor-wise.

Service was good, though we did have trouble hailing our server to get more drinks. We always had someone pouring water, or taking dishes away.

THE BAD The Aguachile is hands-down the worst version we have EVER tried. Wow. Do not get this. It was sickeningly sweet with zero heat. This is not authentic aguachile. I really should have returned this as it was inedible.

The Ceviche was also just weird. This wasn't as bad as the aguachile but this was also the worst ceviche I've ever had. The green sauce made it hard to identify what was what. It was overly thick with a weird consistency.

These two dishes pulled the entire experience down. I'm curious to see what others think but this was eye-openingly bad to us. My mom was with us and she had never tried aguachile before and for this to be her first time was a let down. The temperature of the plates needs to be improved also. Our plates and tortillas were cold which really detracts from the flavor even though the presentation was beautiful.

They do not serve chips & salsa - which I think is a bummer. I think most people expect it. Plus, the salsa could add more heat to the other entrees as they come out. They do put a small dish of Chile de Arbol on the table, but it is not "salsa" in the traditional sense.

Our total after tip was about $200 after tip, which was not bad considering the sheer amount of food we had. I still think their happy hour is a good deal overall. Just get the La Rosa, the Jalisco Express, the shrimp tacos and the guac and you'll be one...

First time visiting today, overall I’m leaving feeling unsatisfied. Our group of five were seated quickly in a booth section: The booths were super comfortable but a little cramped for a group of five. After sitting for a what seemed like forever we were finally brought water and our drink order taken. I specifically asked our waiter “Do you have Coke here?”. His response “yes we do.” Our appetizers came out and everyone’s drinks at the table came out except for mine. It took forever for my drink to come out and when it finally did it wasn’t Coke but Pepsi. I got the servers attention and asked him if it was Pepsi “yea it is sorry we don’t have Coke.” I sent it back. A waste of product and time, if he had told me no when I first asked I would have then ordered another drink no problem but because I was lied to and because it took forever for a soda to come out I told him I would be cool sticking with the water. We placed our food order and again waited a while, it wasn’t the biggest deal for us because we got to chit chat and catch up with friends. If you are looking for a fast lunch I wouldn’t recommend eating here as the are in no hurry about anything. I personally ordered the Chorizo Breakfast Hash with a side of sour cream and a side of tortillas. Everyone at my table was five bites into their meals before my meal finally showed up. The server left and wasn’t seen very much of as the serves liked to hang out talking by the kitchen/bar area. My tortillas never came which again wouldn’t have been the end of the world if 1. I was given a spoon or 2. The hash was a hash instead of watery stew. The plate itself wasn’t a bad base, eggs were cooked to perfection on all purpose plates and my potatoes were cooked perfect, I’m just unsure of why it was so so liquid-y, it also didn’t taste like chorizo to me, it lacked flavor. Two friends were discussing over who would pay and the server took my bosses card before giving us a receipt or anything ,he tapped the card and handed the card over along with the handheld POS system so he could be tipped and walked away. We pushed print receipt and a few moments later our server dropped it off at the table. After reviewing it I noticed we were charged for the side of tortillas I never received, meaning it shouldn’t have been forgotten as the restaurant only had a couple tables and a ton of workers. I was able to flag down the server and ask him to please refund the tortillas as at this point I was ticked off, for the poor service I received. $3.25 isn’t going to kill me but it was about the principal of the matter at that point. He said apologized and said yes he would fix it. After standing a few moments at the cash register he comes back to the table with three dollars in cash. He didn’t actually give us a refund. The cost of the tortillas was $3.25 + tax which would have been a refund of $3.50. I don’t like little games like this when going to eat. It also could have been the servers not being trained properly on how to give refunds, whichever one it is it’s not my job to sit there and have to go back and forth. There’s plenty of restaurants I haven’t tried yet in Encinitas so I don’t think our group will be returning. Best part of the meal for everyone was the salsa and aguachiles. Our actually meals were brought out hot but lacked flavor. The one plus that we thought was the sides of sour cream we ordered were a decent portion for the price. Also parking was easy and plentiful as they are in a...

My birthday dinner at Cocina de Barrio in Encinitas was an absolute blast, filled with moments that made my taste buds sing and dance, possibly off-key but who’s judging? The service was so outstanding, I half expected the staff to join us at the table by the end of the night. They didn’t, but a girl can dream, right?

Let’s talk drinks. They had this spicy pineapple concoction that I’m convinced was crafted by a bartender who moonlights as a wizard. The name of the drink escapes me, but not the magical experience of sipping it.

I’m a huge aficionado of Oaxaca’s cuisine, and let me tell you, the tableside guacamole with crickets was a crunchy surprise I never knew I needed in my life. It’s like they knew my diet was lacking in the cricket department. And the black ceviche? A dish so good, it was like finding treasure at the bottom of the sea, recommended by our waitress who must have been a culinary treasure hunter in a past life.

For the main event, we split the short rib mole, which was so tender and flavorful, I nearly proposed to it. The crème brûlée and tres leches cake duo for dessert was the kind of pairing that makes you believe in soulmates. And yes, they brought out a tres leches cake for my birthday, making me feel like the belle of the ball.

Combining the tres leches cake with the crème brûlée was an experiment that I’m pretty sure broke several laws of dessert physics, in the best way possible. Can’t wait to go back and maybe this time, I’ll remember the name of that spicy pineapple drink. Or maybe I’ll just invent a new name for it.

In all seriousness, Cocina de Barrio is a gem in Encinitas that’s not to be missed. Their ability to blend traditional flavors with a dash of fun and innovation is truly commendable. If you’re in the mood for an unforgettable dining experience that comes with a side of laughter, this is the place to be. See you there – I’ll be the one asking for more crickets in...