Filipino food is easily one of my favourite styles of cuisine, with its blend of East Asian flavours plus the Spanish colonial influence, and a strong penchant for garlic and pork, it has always checked a lot of boxes for me! So when I saw that Barrios had made the jump from being running the kitchen at Bearly's to having their own restaurant in the old Star Anise space, I had them as my target for a mid-week birthday dinner with my wife.
The space is still quite nice, with its soaring ceiling and exposed brick, and Barrios' interior design choices felt a little less haphazard than the previous tenants'. There were a few other people dining in, and some takeout orders coming and going, but it was a relatively quiet evening, perhaps to be expected for a Tuesday.
I'm not familiar with Barrios' menu in their Bearly days, but it still feels heavily influenced by that - items that are fixtures of Canadian pubs across the country (burgers, poutine, tacos) take up a good amount of real estate, and pork ribs are still to be found. I was here for the Filipino food though, and eventually landed on the palabok (shrimp and pork belly on rice noodles) and lechon kawali (yet more pork belly with rice), while my wife opted for the pancit guisado (a mix of rice and chow mein noodles with stir fried veg) and had chicken as the protein with it.
We didn't have to wait long before our generous portions were before us.
Everything was plated beautifully, and it's impressive the way a dusting of sliced green onion and sprigs of micro greens can elevate a dish, but there was also a deliberateness to the plates that isn't always there at casual restaurants.
My palabok had a fan of boiled egg slices (slightly overcooked, but not noticeably sulfurous), with a good-sized hunk of crispy pork belly on top, with chunky shrimp dotted throughout noodles that glistened in their sauce. The pork was spectacularly crispy, with the unctuous fatty pieces melting in my mouth and the plump shrimp were nice and tender, with no hint of rubberiness. I love my long noodles, so chopped ones lose points, but the garlic-heavy shrimp gravy packed so much flavour that it was easy to look past this noodle faux pas.
Having doubled down on the crispy fried pork with the lechon kawali (it also allowed my wife to have some without me sharing mine!), we indulged further in its crispy, fatty goodness, adding dabs of the soy and onion sauce for more flavour, as well as sprigs of the pickled carrot and daikon.
My wife's pancit guisado was a lovely stir fry of noodles, veg and chicken, with a great char on the exterior of the breast meat, and a squeeze of lemon brought some acidity to cut through the rich, sweet and salty flavours.
Luckily I planned ahead and brought some food storage containers, as this was way too much food for one meal, and provided for a couple lunches for us during the week.
A return visit had me dining solo, so I couldn't try as much food, but that was the only downside of my meal!
My server suggested the pork sisig, which I had been eyeing up anyway, and that was all I needed to tip the odds in its favour.
The dish is what I'd think of as a sizzling dish, as the diced roasted pork and raw egg come on a hot iron skillet. You stir it all up to cook the egg and get the hot mess ready to eat with a side of steamed rice.
The pork was crispy and unctuous like good pork belly or shoulder, and had a hint of sweetness, plus a hit of salt from the soy. Paired up with the egg, crispy onions and green onion, it's a deliciously rich dish - one that I dove into, to the regret of my slightly burnt mouth. I never learn.
Shout out to my server Richard who was super friendly and attentive, and really passionate about the restaurant.
Barrios has a fun, creative menu that's doing their Filipino culture proud with beautifully plated, well-executed dishes that are loaded with flavour, and your taste buds will thank you for stopping by....as long as you wait for the pork sisig to cool down a bit. read more