Barrio

There’s a certain kind of restaurant you associate with River North. A huge restaurant with loud, thumping music, full of out-of-towners ready for a night out in the city. There might even be a celebrity chef attached to the concept. In other words, a scene. These things don’t necessarily mean a place is bad - as long as you know what you’re getting into ahead of time, and the food is good, some spots like this can be enjoyable. But Barrio is not one of them.

This upscale Mexican restaurant has all the above-mentioned River North qualities, including a former Top Chef contestant behind the scenes, a DJ booth, and a disco ball in the women’s bathroom. And while to some, these might be understandable reasons to walk the other way, they aren’t the issue with Barrio.

The problem here is the food. The dishes sound interesting on paper, but almost everything on the menu has a component that ruins it. The octopus tacos (topped with potato crisps) taste like someone squeezed a bottle of lemon juice from the grocery store all over them. The achiote marinated chicken in the chicken al pastor has a nice flavor, but needs salsa to bring it back from the edge of dehydration.

There’s also a major consistency issue. Things that are fine on one visit will likely disappoint you the next. For example, the charred eggplant. One time we tried it, it was the right amount of crispy. Another time, it was heavily soaked in oil and charred to the point of bitterness. Same with the housemade corn tortillas. They can be gummy, dry, or rubbery - and sometimes all three, depending on how many come with your meal.

Barrio does have a few redeeming qualities. The nachos are always pretty good. And the servers here are very nice and helpful. They also really seem excited about the food - to the point that you leave hoping they’ll be able to move on to better restaurants.

Going out to trendy spots in River North can be a gamble. There are lots of options - some great, and some truly awful. If you don’t know which is which, you run the risk of falling into an expensive trap. Barrio, with its overpriced and inconsistent food, is a bad bet.