Barrio Star
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Barrio Star in Banker’s Hill We’ve made over 100 reels that included a lot of our favorite places to eat in San Diego, but somehow missed one of our VERY favorites. Barrio Star in Banker’s Hill has so much to love. They have great bowls and tamales, and their tacos feature hand-pressed corn tortillas and the perfect sauces that make them ready to eat, but adding salsa can only make things better. Start off with their margarita sampler, and get that +1 option. Their queso fundido is done right and is so tasty and gooey for dipping those fresh and crispy seasoned chips. We have found no better Chile Relleno in San Diego. It’s filled with cheesy goodness, surrounded by tasty rice and sauces, and topped with your choice of protein. We went with chicken. Best of all it’s NOT deep fried. They have great Happy Hour specials 3-5pm weekdays. They just added Birria tacos to the menu so we need to get back to try those! Go enjoy some great Mexican food at Barrio Star in Bankers Hill. Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! 🥳 Follow @sandiegofoodgasm for the best eats in San Diego #barriostar #sandiego #bankershill #chilerelleno #cincodemayo #tacotuesday #happyhour #quesofundito
sandiegofoodgasmsandiegofoodgasm
200
After a long day exploring Balboa park we went to The Market Place for a bite to eat...to our disappointment even though their Open sign was on their doors were locked. But little did we know that it was to our great luck because our next stop was at Barrio Star. We decided to give this a try as it was nearby and we had a coupon for chips and guac...hey why not. It's a nice spot with a bar for people to eat at the counter and watch TV as well as a fairly large sit down area and live music also entertained us halfway through our early dinner. Well the chips and guac were gigantic. I started laughing when the server came out with the bowl huge. To be honest I think I like the chips at Jimmy Carters (just down the road) more than here but my GF preferred these...they are both great. GF wasn't as hungry as me so she got the Grande Quesadilla off the Starters section of the menu and I ordered the Chile Relleno. The Grande Quesadilla was also HUGE, and yes, it says Grande but it's in the appetizer section so we figured it wouldn't be that big. We were wrong...it was a giant quesadilla that I equated to the Costco Cheese pizza equivalent of cheese in it. It was simply one of the better quesadilla we have had. The Chile Relleno was very different from what I am familiar with. I'm used to the pepper having a nice egg coating on it but this one was served just plain but I have to say that I actually really enjoyed it. While not my favorite I liked that the poblano flavor really stood out more since it was drowned out by the coating. I would definitely enjoy this from time to time to change up the version I'm used to. Service was fast and friendly and I really enjoyed the vibe of the place even though I usually don't like bar/restaurants, I think dining early really helped in that regard as I usually don't like noisy establishments.
WillWill
00
The atmosphere was nice. The music was nostalgic, and the food was not bad. I got the red chilaquiles. They didn't have any sauce, really - they were dry but crispy and still had the crunch I needed, just not saucy at all - which is weord because it looks so saucy! The flavor was good, though not at all spicy. The chicken I had added was good. About $21 per person, not including drinks. It was just very expensive for what it was. It was a big enough portion, though. I left a lot of chips behind due to a lack of sauce or toppings left for them. My hubby got the carnitas stack. The portion was not as generous, and for $20, the components were humble...beans, rice, pico. Flavor was good, but these ingredients are cheap, and the cost didn't feel worth it. No kids menu, and we had our 2 year old with us. The waitress offered a quesadila, which worked out, but it's a simple quesadilla. No sides, no drink for $8. The Mexican soda is over $6...and they didn't present an itemized check so we didn't notice they add 4% service on top of the tip we left. I won't be back, but the music was great, and the food was not the worst by any means.
Stephanie GutierrezStephanie Gutierrez
00
This was our first and LAST time here. I ordered the fish tacos and substituted the rice & beans for tortilla soup ($4 extra). I asked for my tortilla to be "crisp" and the waiter said, they "hand press" corn tortillas to order. I told him I didn't want cold tortillas. Well, the tortilla soup tasted & looked like baby food with a teaspoon of corn on top. My fish tacos, where do I start,,, the THAI (at a Mexican restaurant, smh) slaw was SO watery is softened the tortillas. I had to pour out the water!!! The fish was cold. The put paprika on the chips and fries. Chile tasted like tomatoe with paprika. When the waiter came to give us the check, he asked if everything was alright. My husband lied, being a nice person. When I told him what was wrong, he got defensive credited my meal and sung a bunch of excuses. I told him the server never checked if we needed anything. I had to flag her down to get an extra plate (which I never got). To me this is a beginner restaurant.
Terri YbarraTerri Ybarra
10
I'll start with the positive because we did really enjoy this restaurant. The food was phenomenal, seriously the tacos were amazing. We also got a flight of margaritas which were delicious also. I highly recommend going for the food but if you're looking for good service I can't recommend the visit. We went when it wasn't packed out busy and it took our waiter forever just to get our drink order and then longer to recieve our food. It was like he forgot about us but the customers seated next to us recieved refills and check ins while we just sat waiting. There were customers who arrived after us who received their food first. For what we paid I expect better service. A little running behind during a rush is totally understandable but they weren't busy on the day we went and nobody came to check on us. I very rarely leave negative reviews but we were really looking forward to this restaurant and unfortunately the customer service just wasn't there.
Ana CurtisAna Curtis
00
$18.00 soup half filled, and missing ingredients with horrendous customer service. The worst part is they took no responsibility! I get it stuff happens but then I had to ask for a manager for him to tell me its not something they can do anything about and that it was on DoorDash because they have to get paid first. What? Doordash didn't make the food and offered me a $7.00 credit so now this is all on the customer I guess. I then had to ask for a credit and he said very rudely I can have some free chips and guacamole the next time I come in valued at almost half of what my order was for originally for just the soup. Stuff happens I get it but to not take any responsibility and or even try to understand how frustrating this was is poor service and deserving of a 1 star. This place is already overpriced for mexican so I would look elsewhere for much better options and for a fraction of the cost.
J PJ P
00
Nearby Attractions Of Barrio Star
San Diego Zoo
Spruce Street Suspension Bridge
The San Diego Museum of Art
Museum of Us
San Diego Automotive Museum
Inn at the Park
The Old Globe
Alcázar Garden
Nate's Point Dog Park
The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park
San Diego Zoo
4.7
(21.1K)Click for details
Spruce Street Suspension Bridge
4.7
(1.3K)Click for details
The San Diego Museum of Art
4.6
(1.2K)Click for details
Museum of Us
4.3
(1.2K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Barrio Star
Extraordinary Desserts
Mister A's
Panama 66
Hob Nob Hill
CUCINA urbana
Jimmy Carter's Mexican Café
Azuki Sushi Lounge
The Balboa
Cafe Bassam
Parc Bistro-Brasserie
Extraordinary Desserts
4.5
(1.4K)Click for details
Mister A's
4.6
(1.1K)Click for details
Panama 66
4.5
(1K)Click for details
Hob Nob Hill
4.4
(976)Click for details
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
2706 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
Map
Phone
(619) 501-7827
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Website
barriostar.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.3
(599 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Creative spins on hearty Mexican eats & craft cocktails in a colorful cantina setting.
attractions: San Diego Zoo, Spruce Street Suspension Bridge, The San Diego Museum of Art, Museum of Us, San Diego Automotive Museum, Inn at the Park, The Old Globe, Alcázar Garden, Nate's Point Dog Park, The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, restaurants: Extraordinary Desserts, Mister A's, Panama 66, Hob Nob Hill, CUCINA urbana, Jimmy Carter's Mexican Café, Azuki Sushi Lounge, The Balboa, Cafe Bassam, Parc Bistro-Brasserie
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