Goodbye, Barrio in Bellevue, which is closed as of today. the space will become the “primary event and catering space” for the Heavy Restaurant Group (Barrio, the four Purples, Lot. No. 3). Apparently, it wasn’t doing all that well as a Barrio:

“After two years in downtown Bellevue, we realized that the Barrio concept, while generally well received by the eastside community, wasn’t succeeding at the same rate as our other restaurants… After careful consideration we decided that the best long-term decision for our company was to shift the focus of this space and to create a new event venue”…

“The addition of an event venue in downtown Bellevue is a great opportunity for us to grow as a company… While closing Barrio Bellevue was a difficult decision, we are excited for what this new space has to offer the eastside community.”

Our one and only Stranger reader-review of Barrio Bellevue, by Flores0303 just two weeks ago:

Don’t spend your money here because you can’t eat the decor

The bartender could not keep up with a bar half full and the house margaritas made me want to go home and make my own with limeaid. The “pork belly” tacos were not made from pork belly but from pork shoulder. The two meats do not taste alike and it was no what they listed on the menu. The tinga tacos were lukewarm and bland.

The Barrio on Capitol Hill remains open, facing some competition from also-upscale-Mexican Poquito’s. There are now approximately 119 Mexican restaurants in the two-block radius.

7 replies on “Barrio in Bellevue: Closed”

  2. I’ve found Barrio on the hill hit or miss. About a 50/50 split–had some great food and drink there, but also some bland food and very poorly mixed drinks. Really want to like it–great space and good location for me, but don’t know if I’ll go back. Have only tried the dinner menu…maybe brunch is worth a shot.

  3. “wasn’t succeeding at the same rate as our other restaurants.”

    Ha ha ha ha ha. Why do press releases insist on this sort of language?

  4. Poquito’s – smack dab in the middle of queerville – has to attract the straightest crowd of any restaurant on the hill. WTF?

  5. Ate there once when they gave us a gift card when we got awful food/service at Purple. Trying to do upscale Mexican street food is really a recipe for failure. Real Mexican street food will always be better, cheaper and far less pretentious.

  6. “There are now approximately 119 Mexican restaurants in the two-block radius.” And not one of them is worth a damn. Especially Poquitos. (And Rancho Bravo is a taco truck inside a building so it doesn’t count.)

  7. Barrio in Bellevue was horrible, but Barrio on the hill remains my absolute favorite. I’ll take a Bees Knees and a taco al pastor, thanks.

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