Barrio - Traverse City — Restaurant in Traverse City

Excited to disappointed in under 90 minutes. Bumma. The energy walking in was upbeat with lotsa people at tables, the bar, and waiting to be seated. Additionally, the atmosphere was visually stimulating both in general, and as decorated for Halloween. Fun. While we were quoted roughly 30 minutes for a table, we scored - maybe in retrospect didn't - at the bar. It started out hopeful, being able to get a seat pretty quickly, but mostly went downhill. I get I'm a "tough audience" having spent many years working in the industry - and still do seasonally; however, we should not have felt the lack of attentiveness, particularly given the number of people behind the bar - 4 consistently. The ratio of bar employees to bar patrons was more than enough to have been more attentive. Maybe there was some team meeting that took place before everyone's shift and left everyone feeling distracted. Dunno. Just recognize if choosing to work behind a bar, part of what goes along with that is building rapport with your guests. Also, there are just some guests should not have to request - particularly with seasoned, attentive employees (including if/when in the weeds). Food was okay. We liked the chips and queso blanco, guacamole, and queso with chorizo. The tacos were also okay, the amount of ingredients in each reasonable. The margarita was also okay. In the end, while the atmosphere is a fun, upbeat one, the food, drink, and service doesn't warrant going back. Well, in particular as there's another Mexican restaurant to which we're partial. We'll probably give it some time and give it another try, but for now... Oh, and I'll hope if/when we go back, the server on the floor is NOT chewing gum period, let alone while talking to his tables. That looked SO bad! (How did NO...

Starting off with the positives..the service we had was amazing. The waitress we had was knowledgeable, friendly, and quick. We ordered drinks that came out within 3 minutes of ordering them and our app was to our table within 5. The restaurant itself was so cute with hand painted murals and cute decor throughout. The restaurant was clean and welcoming.

The quality of the food here was unacceptable and really surprised us- not in a good way. We each ordered a shrimp taco- this was the worst of it all and it was difficult to stomach. The shrimp was Walmart brand freezer section quality that tasted like it was de-thawed and nothing more. No seasoning. The taco was served on a cold, not homemade tortilla, and contained rice inside that was plain , flavorless white rice. The rice was so awful inside this taco it tasted like the white rice used in sushi. The short rib and ground sirloin tacos were equally awful. They were cold and flavorless. Honestly I’ve had better food at Taco Bell. Our appetizer dip trio was basic and at least had homemade guac. Drinks were very weak neither of us tasted tequila in the margaritas, just overly sweet syrups.

Even though the service and atmosphere were great, this is getting a 1-star that’s how awful the tacos are here. We each paid $30 (not including tip) for 2 tacos, 1 marg, and splitting the app. Please don’t let the cute inviting atmosphere fool you. If you want good Mexican food…. Go...

As always the food is good, a little overpriced but it comes relatively quickly so it’s a good quick lunch option. With that said, as always the service is truly terrible.

Every single time I’ve done a pick up or eaten there the service is the worst in town. A bunch of inexperienced servers that all look clueless. There is one manager there putting bandaids on everything just trying to make it through the day, and I feel for her. Everyone there will make eye contact with you but act like they are the busiest person ever and they have no time to help. 2 servers were absolutely buried with 3-4 tables each. My to go order took 30 minutes, when I was quoted 15. That’s totally fine but how about you come communicate that, so the guest isn’t standing there wondering if they have been forgotten.

I’ve been in restaurants a long time, so it’s laughable to see how poor the service is, especially when I write my order down and hand it to the server.

I’ll be back for the good food. I would recommend taking the food to go because you’re basically going to give the server 20% for the one trip they took to your table before they forget about you till it’s time to pay. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BILL, I’ve heard multiple people say random stuff was on bill accidentally, and I’ve had it happen to me twice. There are multiple reviews claiming this so don’t just take my...