• 1
• First experience was negative

Barrio is part of a regional chain of restaurants in Northeast Ohio. You can order tacos that are already named and prepared or fill out a form or custom make your own taco. Also available is just the fillings by the bowl. The food was fresh and the service efficient. The Cleveland Heights location, just a few miles east of a University and a few more miles from Downtown Cleveland, is one of the newest ones in the local chain offering. Like other Barrios, it is noisy, even in the earliest hour of lunchtime, which they offer on Fridays only. On our winter visit, the place was freezing, owing to the open floor plan and the blasts of cold from the entrance. Several customers including us kept on their winter coats, the people next to us moved to try to avoid the cold blasts, but to no avail. The tacos are amply filled; the offering by the bowl was small. Filling ingredients are fresh, and crispy tofu squares are available as a filling option along with mushrooms, beans and rice. There is an upcharge for multiple proteins ordered. Sauces and salsas were also good. Food is served with a single plastic spork. The staff were asked for a knife, needed for the bowl fare, but they said they do not provide knives. The concept is high-priced and not cost effective. It mirrors the build-your-own concept found at Mexican fast food chains, the latter which are more affordable and ample. Based on our experience, we will not return. The chain, however, is popular, particularly with the younger cohorts.