After the success of their debut Potts Point diner Fei Jai, entrepreneurial duo Peter Lew and Nicole Galloway are already branching out, this time with a Kings Cross taqueria.
Taking over the old site of Darley Street Thai, the dynamic duo have turned David Thompson's contemporary sleek design into the interior design equivalent of heroin chic. With slatboard banquettes, exposed brick everywhere and caged light bulbs (to prevent smashing during rowdy cantina fights), the dining room at Barrio Chino looks like something straight out of a Robert Rodriguez movie. Kate Moss would be so proud.
More astute diners may ask what Lew, an accountant by profession, knows about Mexican food. After all, he and Galloway opened Fei Jai on the back of his association with Gilbert Lau, famed owner of Melbourne's perennial Cantonese favourite Flower Drum. It could explain why the duo has engaged the services of Joe Hargrave, he of San Francisco's Tacolicious.
The menu meanders through snacks of varying size, not straying far from its San Fran roots. In fact the Aztec chicken soup, tuna tostadas, baby back ribs and a few other dishes have all made the journey over with varying degrees of success.
Where Barrio Chino really excels is in the booze department. A 70-plus list of tequilas does little to disprove the theory that booze reigns supreme here but it will definitely help enlighten more than one person to the joys of pure agave.
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