Is Barrio in Portsmouth, NH Still Worth the Hype? [2025 Review]

After roughly five years away from my home state of New Hampshire, I not-so-triumphantly rode into town on my faltering, aging miniature horse steed for a self-imposed two-month moratorium from Hong Kong. 

The purpose? Reclaim my mojo, spend as much quality time as possible with those nearest and dearest to me, and eat everything under the sun that I’ve been unable to get in the alleged ‘Asia’s World City’. 

Note: I think it’s a bit presumptuous to refer to oneself as ‘Asia’s World City’ when you can’t find a goddamn Reese’s peanut butter cup anywhere. 

In addition to my frivolous daily consumption of Ruffles cheddar and sour cream potato chips, Reese’s peanut butter cups (King Size), and enough locally brewed beer to KO a wooly mammoth (shoutout to Liar’s Bench and Schilling Beer Co.), there was one place in particular that I needed to check up on – Barrio, aka Portsmouth’s build-your-own taco and margarita haven.

But was it the same Barrio I remember from those hazy, “I forgot to put on pants today,” pandemic days? Was the guac still smooth and creamy enough to use as a styling mousse for my thinning hairline? Would the Build-A-Bear taco creations and El Jefe’s curated selecciones still bring the gastronomic ruckus? Were the margs still so delicious and spicy that I’d want to throw back 8 of them before 2 PM on a Tuesday? 

Read on to find out if Barrio still lives up to the hype. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: Writing about Barrio is nostalgic as it was the first review/write-up I ever published on Pale Ale Travel in 2019. It’s unpardonable that it took me so many years to return and publish a more up-to-date review. Well, here it is. This time, I remembered to take photos. 

Barrio: If Dios De Los Muertos & a Millennial Quinceañera Joined Forces

As you can see, it was the thick of winter when my brother and I went to Barrio.

Website, Address, & Details: https://barrio-tacos.com/ 

• Location: 319 Vaughan St, Portsmouth, NH 03801
• Price: $$ – Prices are surprisingly modest and affordable, with tacos ranging from $5 to $7 (the latter being more deluxe tacos). Drink prices are on par with what you’d expect in Portsmouth but can be alleviated by taking advantage of happy hour and brunch.
• Happy Hour: 3 PM to 6 PM: Half-off tequila, $1 off tacos, and $1 off draft beers. 

First, a little back story and eating admin before we get into what you need to know about gourmandizing at Barrio in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

My not-so-surreptitious gustatory affair with Barrio first began back in 2019, one year after its opening at the multi-purpose art and entertainment mecca of Portsmouth, the 3S Artspace. At the time, I think there were only several brick-and-mortar Barrio locations, mostly in Ohio, a state you probably don’t associate with top-tier tortillas and tacos. 

Today, there are over 20 Barrio locations spread across the U.S., primarily the Midwest and New England, with several rogue branches in South Carolina and Florida. 

In our teeny tiny little ‘granite state’ of New Hampshire, one filled with chicken tenders, steak tip subs, and Dunkin’ breakfast sandwiches, Portsmouth has always stood out as a shining beacon of gastronomic light. So, it was no surprise that Barrio would follow in the footsteps of its venerated forefathers Vida Cantina and Margaritas, setting up shop in New Hampshire’s most historic seaport. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: I’ll tell you this right now, if you don’t love Margaritas it’s because you didn’t grow up in New England. In high school, roughly every one in four of your buddies worked there as a cook or dishwasher and it was a go-to spot to toss back unlimited baskets of chips and salsa and draft Coca-Colas (fountain sodas over cans and bottles any day of the week – fight me). It was either Margaritas or La Festa. If you know, you know. 

Is there a better promise statement than that? Tacos, tequila, and whiskey.

At the time, I had just returned from a six-month stint in Europe (and was still very uncultured – still am), was entering my prime stay-at-home-son years as all 28-year-olds do (or don’t), and rejoined my adult men’s league soccer team at the Epping Seacoast United fields (shout-out to the Nottingham Forest). 

It was an incredibly formative time in my life and one of the highlights of the past decade. Not only was I able to spend time with my mother and some of my oldest friends but I got to rediscover my home state along the way as well. 

And what do out-of-shape millennials love more than sanctimoniously opining on bi-partisan system politics, doomscrolling social media and feeling bad about themselves after seeing everyone else be more successful, and open-concept minimalist home decor designs? 

Tacos. 

That’s right. They love tacos. Even the mouthbreathers who harbor an acute prejudice towards the people where tacos originated love tacos. To quote one of my favorite ska bands Westbound Train, “I’m no different.” Not about the prejudice towards anyone south of the border. I’m no different because I’m a taco-fiend, through and through.

And why wouldn’t you? Especially at Barrio, where it’s “an absolute vibe” (quoting that one British fitness influencer who only knows how to describe things as “a vibe”). 

The Barrio Vibe

I always feel a tad awkward taking pictures with people in them. Then again, I’m probably in the background of millions of other people’s photos.

The building itself feels as if it could have come from a Nordic shipyard (or maybe just the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard) thanks to its rust-colored garage-y and weathered wood exterior. Barrio’s inside is something out of a CDMX thrift and antique shop, with its centerpiece chandelier coming in the form of an upside-down Williamsburg-looking bicycle. 

Green tabletops strategically placed across a calming crimson floor elicit feelings of a Doctor Seuss-esque land, which is eye-catchingly contrasted with a gaggle of black and white Mexican Calavera mariachi guitarists and dancing skeleton brides painted on the walls.

It’s Day of the Dead meets millennial quinceañera, a gastronomic coming-of-age sanctuary where brain cells are ceremoniously killed off with each passing sip of jalapeno-infused tequila and blackberry bourbon lemonade. 

Those are some happy skeletons right there.

And don’t even get me started on the outdoor patio. Is there a better place to post up during the summer than here? 

The only thing that would make it better is if the terrace was down on The Decks. But then you’d inevitably get caught in the crosshairs of a pilled-up Newcastle mom in Velour velvet sweatpants on her fourth martini or that early-forties 101 tailgater who always rocks a mesh polo one size too small and plays up a Boston accent like he’s Ben Affleck in The Town while tossing back hard seltzers. 

Buddy, you’re from Rye and went to St. Thomas in Dover. Take it easy on that accent. I think my confrontational New England side is showing. 

I’m glad I cleared that up. 

The point is, Barrio is one cool spot to hang out. Inevitably, it became a go-to haunt for the Ruff Ryders of men’s league soccer past and not-so-Premier-League-future for mid-week taco symposia and weekend margarita Bacchanalia. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: My most recent several-month stint in New Hampshire (my home state) was the perfect excuse to explore some of the best beer not just in the United States but across the globe. I drank and drank, and drank some more, carving all corners of the state with my brother to find the ultimate Czech-style lager. I found it. Here are 5 of the best breweries in New Hampshire for hoppy suds excellence. 

Barrio Happy Hour: 3 Hours of Unadulterated Libation Bliss

I’m not a great photography but tell me this ain’t sexy.

A 3 PM to 6 PM happy hour, boasting half off tequila, $1 off tacos, and $1 off draft beers fueled these raucous millennia convivia (sans hired consorts), alleviating the stress on a wallet only filled with $20 handouts from my mother and spare change I would find outside of the Newfields Dunkin’. 

This time around, ya’ boy, of course, ordered a frozen mango margarita with a healthy coating of salt around the rim. God, I feel like such a capital D…you fill in the rest… saying ‘Ya’ boy’ but I did hear an Instagram influencer use it recently and she has about 90,000 more followers than me (her 91,000 followers to my 100 followers). 

It’s tangy, it’s sweet, and it’s ice-cold. Unlike a healthy chunk of other margaritas out there, it feels like it quenches your thirst.

I know that’s not true because I did wake up that night gasping for air and wondering why I was so sweaty, then I remembered I pre-gamed my day with several of these margaritas before skulling roughly 8 Kölsch-style beers at Liar’s Bench. 

Look at all those taps.

And for roughly $9 to $13 per margarita (pitchers available as well), I ain’t complainin’. Other cocktails like their Jame-o-Rita (Jameson, triple sec, sour mix, and lime) and Figgy Bourbon (Woodford Reserve, fig syrup, lemon, plum bitters, and lemon peel), all range between $10 to $15. 

A whole repository of Reposado, Anejo, Blanco, Cristalina, and Mezcal is available as well, with prices clocking in around $10 to $15 and some change, depending on the quality. 

I have zero baseline of what good tequila or Mezcal costs. 

Finally, if I hadn’t already planned on drinking copious amounts of beer at Liar’s Bench, I would have snagged a local brew from one of their fifteen-plus taps. I saw they had one of my favorite breweries ever, Schilling Beer Co., on draft, which made me love Barrio even more than I already did.

Pale Ale Travel Note: Unfortunately, Hong Kong has pretty atrocious Mexican and South American cuisine. So, you can imagine how happy I was to be back in the States and eating my fill. 

The Million Dollar Question: Build Your Own Tacos or Go With the Classics?

We got a bit carried away in the lead-up to our tacos.

Something, something, something, unlimited chips and salsa at Barrio. I could really write anything here and it wouldn’t matter because we all know you’re stuffing yourself silly with corn tortilla chips and salsa roja before you even so much as put pencil to paper for your order.

Sweet, sturdy, and warm, Barrio’s free-flow tortilla chips are addictive and just may leave you feelin’ like Tyrone Biggums at the post office after snorting anthrax. 

My brother and I got ahead of ourselves in the initial stages of ordering, as we thought it would be a good idea to order the ‘Tres Amigos’ starter of three salsas or guacs (or a tri-part mix). I’m a guac purist so a traditional guac was already written in the prophecy.

However, both the pineapple and Tuscan (balsamic, artichoke, and sun-dried tomatoes) guac can’t in any way be a bad choice. 

I have grubby hands so I can never take pics like this. But my brother has normal hands so I was able to take a ‘guac action shot’.

Many moons ago, Barrio used to have a candied bacon guacamole with brown sugar plantains that had my eyes bulging out like Roger Rabbit every time he saw the voluptuous Jessica Rabbit…but you know with my taste buds instead of my eyes. 

The guac’s consistency was right up my alley, somewhat chunky, creamy, and citrusy. It avoided the one major irredeemable pitfall I’ve encountered with so many restaurants (and supermarkets) guacs. Pastiness. I’d feel comfortable putting this one in my hair to achieve that A Flock of Seagulls look I’ve always dreamed of. 

To complete our dip triumvirate, we paired the guac with a salsa verde and pico de gallo – all three “so fresh, so clean clean.” 

Honestly, if I had a night in, wearing my ‘fat pants’ while firing up some episodes of Too Hot to Handle and my only sustenance was these chips and dips (Spread? Sauce? I don’t know the correct terminology), I’d be content. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: This is no slight to my brother as he physically can’t consume dairy, but if I were with someone who could, I almost certainly would have rapaciously ordered Barrio’s buffalo chicken queso. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, queso was the only reason people would ever show up to Qdoba over Chipotle back in the day. 

If the Taco Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

This one is way easier to navigate for my simple mind.

I’ll be honest with you. I’m not smart enough (or creative enough) to navigate Barrio’s ‘build your own tacos’ ordering sheet. I never know if I should do it all on a single sheet or just hand my waiter/waitress roughly 10 pieces of paper with my Scantron answers. 

So, without fail, I order from El Jefe’s Selecciones, aka the list of preconstructed taco combinations for bozos like myself. Or maybe I’m a genius after all? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. These are tried and tested marriages of symbiotic and tantalizing ingredients, beloved by many. 

The El Gringo with chili-spiced ground sirloin, smoked cheddar, and chipotle crema.

You want crunchy? You got crunchy. You want soft, pliable tortillas cradling your protein and veggies? You got it. You want a mixture of both? Say whatttttt!? That’s also on the table.

Ingredients are high-quality, fresh, and thoughtfully juxtaposed with one another, leading to adaptations of tacos that I couldn’t come up with on my wildest California sunshine trip (I think I can’t collect ad revenue if I mention the real name of ‘California sunshine’). 

There’s crunch, there’s give, there’s smokiness, there’s sweetness, there’s aromatics, and there’s spiciness. 

Did I miss something?

The Camarón Agrietado in all its glory. I actually get it without the crack sauce though.

What I especially love about Barrio is that there are ‘permanent staples’ like the Camarón Agrietado, a jalapeno lime shrimp taco in a flour shell, packed with cilantro rice, napa slaw, and crack sauce, and the La Tierra, a Coca-Cola marinated steak taco with portobellos, caramelized peppers and onions, and cilantro aioli, all stuffed in a dual-threat soft flour and hard queso crumbled bacon shell. 

There are also a handful of other rotating and ‘special tacos’ that come and go as the back of the house sees fit. RIP to the Curd Ferguson taco (a fantastic SNL homage), a pineapple salsa Thai-chili tofu amalgam of Asian-Mexican goodness. 

Don’t worry, the pan-seared portobello and pico de gallo El Vegano always stands pat on the menu, along with other rotating veggie favorites like the Impossible Chorizo and Thai Chili Tofu (which slightly deviates from the Curd Ferguson) so vegetarians won’t go hungry.

It proved to be more difficult than I thought taking pictures of tacos.

This time around for Big Body, my ‘dealer’s choice taco’ to round out my order was the juicy, candied, teriyaki pork belly taco with pickled vegetables in a flour tortilla. Chef’s kiss. 

Note: It’s important to clarify that there is no actual crack in Barrio’s crack sauce. I know I mentioned Tyrone Biggums above so I don’t want anyone to think that was subtle (verbal) gesturing. 

I noted in my prior 2019 review that I was a tad disappointed there were no fish or other seafood taco options available on the menu. Well, I’m happy to confirm that is no longer the case. There’s now generally a ‘fish of the day’ that can be selected in the build-your-own-tacos simulation and I’ve even seen a crab stick option reported on previous specials. 

The taco Scantron.

My brother, on the other hand, far exceeds my level of GEICO commercial Neanderthal intelligence and thus, opted for the build-your-own-tacos. 

While I could sit here and try and walk you through the zillion combos of tacos you could theoretically create via this ingredient Rolodex, I’ll just drop the build your own taco Scrantron above, along with très tacos of his order.

If I remember correctly, all were heavily bacon and steak-oriented. 

If you want to know exactly what my brother ordered, comment below and I’ll ask him.

It was actually his first time visiting Barrio and he left more gustatorily torqued up than 14-year-old Big Body after I found a decomposing dirty magazine in the woods one summer. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: You receive unlimited chips and salsa roja so unless you’re intent on covering your chips in guac or another variation of salsa, it may be superfluous to order the Tres Amigos. But then again, what in my life isn’t? I think it’s a great option for groups of people who want to try several styles of guac and salsa, probably not two sturdy brothers who planned to order 6 tacos each before a day at Liar’s Bench Beer Company. 

What Don’t I Like About Barrio Tacos?

I’m about to nail my grievances to this WordPress post like Saint Tommy Aquini. 

A complaint I have about Barrio is that they have a location in Cleveland right next to the office of a former client of mine, a client who stiffed me out of several months’ worth of pay. So, I am a bit resentful that even such scumbags as that company get to enjoy the grace and gustatorial divinity bestowed upon patrons from Barrio. 

I guess a part of growing up is understanding that you can’t live your life like a Park Chan-wook movie, thirsty for revenge. Or is it still on the table? 

Let me know in the comments.

My second complaint isn’t specific to Barrio, but rather the side street it’s located on (Vaughan Street). Other than the spelling of Vaughan Street, which I only now just learned was Welsh in origin (like my first name), it can just be straight-up impossible to find parking, even during ‘off-peak hours’. 

Pro tip: Instead of circling the block again and again, hoping that a spot has finally opened up, consider parking at the Worth Lot (it’s crazy that I can’t even call it the Whale Wall anymore since that’s gone) or Bridges Street parking lot. It’s only a 5-minute walk and I guarantee it will save you a headache. 

A third complaint is that I’ve never been for brunch, which seems like one of the best times to go to Barrio. I’ll leave it at this – breakfast tacos, French toast sticks, and $5 mimosas/$7 loaded mimosas (I’m not a Bloody Mary guy but there is a ‘Bloody Maria’ on the brunch menu’ for you hair of the dog fiends). 

My fourth and final complaint is an actual complaint. As of 2025, Barrio still does not accept reservations. Everything is walk-in only. 

So, if you rock up on a Saturday or Sunday, especially for the 11 AM to 3 PM brunch, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have to wait. 

For dinner, show up before 6 PM and you shouldn’t encounter a lengthy wait. 

However, reservations are available for parties (not like parties of people, actual parties) and specific celebrations. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Need to sober up a bit with some caffeine? Make sure to check out my post breaking down the best cafes in Portsmouth for everything coffee, cakes, and cozy vibes. Kaffee Vonsolln is my personal favorite and where you can find me working out when I’m home for extended periods. 

Out From the Barrio, You Hear My Taco Rhythm on Your Radio

I could write an entire post on the 4 to 5 baskets of chips my brother and I devoured.

So is Barrio Tacos still worth it in 2025? Absolutely. 1000% yes. For tacos in Portsmouth, the Seacoast, and the state of New Hampshire, I wouldn’t want anyone else. 

Looking back on what I wrote in 2019 about Barrio, not much has changed in my eating or drinking habits. 

I still crush frozen mango margaritas like they are going out of style and get a debilitating brain freeze in the process. I still opt for shrimp tacos over standard proteins like carnitas, steak, and ground beef. And I still consume at least 2.5 baskets of chips and salsa by myself, filling up before my tacos arrive, forcing me to bring several home for midnight consumption.

Also, like Andre Young, aka Dr. Dre, aka Brickhard, aka The Mechanic, I still rock my khakis with a cuff and a crease. 

I’m extremely proud to be from New Hampshire. Always have been and always will be. For me, it supersedes my Americanness. 

Barrio is just one of the many reasons why I love this state. 

It isn’t just a millennial mecca for upmarket tacos, creamy guac, and spicy margs, it’s a refuge for friends, family, and complete strangers to come together and enjoy a south-of-the-border collective effervescence that felt all too ephemeral over the years in Portsmouth. 

Barrio is especially best enjoyed with your loved ones and ride-or-dies, which I’d be remiss not to mention that day with my brother was one of the highlights of my year. 

The joie de vivre is returning to Portsmouth. And Barrio is emphatically driving the bus. 

I’d love to hear from you what your favorite tacos at Barrio are and if you think it’s worth the hype! 

Finally, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@palealetravel.com for eating or drinking recommendations in New Hampshire.

Live free and eat tacos, everyone. 

Big Body