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As the ever relevant Spice Girls once said; When you’re feeling sad and lone, People of the world, Spice up your life. And so, with their philosophy ever present in my mind I went to Barrio Soho to check out their exciting re-launch.  This re-launch boasts a new interior, new menu and a new Chef. The interior’s warm colours and raw finishes set the tone for an evening of food, drink and fun that lacks pretension but not tequila.

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As I am a girl with her priorities right, the first thing I did was order two cocktails. The ‘Wonky Donkey’ and a ‘Handgrenade Highball’ were my tipples of choice. The Hand Grenade Highball was a delicious mix of tequila, pomegranate, lime and agave.
Don’t be fooled by the pretty pink exterior; this drink packs a punch and doesn’t shy away from the tequila flavour. If the Hand Grenade Highball is the extroverted party girl, the Wonky Donkey is her slightly more chill and sophisticated friend. The blend of tequila, lime, ginger, elderflower and soda makes the Wonky Donkey crisp, light and refreshing, a perfect palate cleanser for the dishes to come.
 
The new menu offers a good array of platters and sharing plates and my first cPicturehoice was the calamarismall plate. If I’m honest, I was being sneaky here, calamari I think is often the test of a good chef; done right it is delicious but done wrong it can be like chewing on car tyres … old car tyres. Thankfully the squid was fresh and a pleasure to eat, a light batter with the perfect bite, topped off with some lovely spicy chipotle mayo. I also tried the Ancho Chicken taco as well as the Lamb chilli taco. The lamb – flavour wise – was a real winner for me; rich in warm spices with a cured egg yolk all nicely balanced with juicy pickled cucumber. I would have liked a little more diversity in texture if I were being picky, a bit of crunch somewhere would have added to the very soft texture of the taco.
 
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I was also quite a fan of the pickled carrot and cabbage used with the pineapple salsa on the Ancho chicken taco, it added a freshness and vibrancy to the fried chicken. The pineapple salsa also popped up on the Shep’s Delight tacos however I felt it was vying for attention against a lot of other components including a gloopy cheese sauce that I personally wasn’t much a fan of. My final dish was the Choripan Sliders, served with an argentine chorizo sausage in little soft burger buns with chimichurri. Whilst I was a fan of the smoky paprika flavour, the Choirpan did leave my mouth a little dry and I can’t for the life of me understand why you would serve a cocktail sausage sized sausage in a slider bun.

Barrio Soho is a pretty fun place with good drinks and a lively atmosphere. With a nicely designed menu that encourages sharing, it’s a friendly venue to grab a couple tacos and cocktails with friends and watch things escalate.

www.barriocentral.com

6 Poland St, London W1F 8PS
020 3230 1002

Piece by Lucy Gorman, FoodGoblin Central Correspondent 

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