If you want to be among the first to dine at Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva, one of the Valley’s most-anticipated new restaurants, get your dialing finger ready. Gran Reserva begins taking reservations at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
That’s also when you’ll find out the 27-seat restaurant’s opening date, which chef Silvana Salcido Esparza so far has refused to divulge.
“We’ve only got 27 seats in here,†says Esparza, who’s been nominated four times for the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. “Dinner might be booked out for weeks.â€
What Esparza has revealed is Gran Reserva – which takes over the former Bragg’s Pie Factory on Grand Avenue, just south of Roosevelt, in Phoenix – will have a few of the longtime favorites, such as the cochinita pibil, from her flagship Barrio Cafe.
But, unlike Barrio Cafe, it also will offer rotating tasting menus of elevated Mexican dishes in the $35-to-$60 price range. Some of the dishes will be available for one night only.
Look for house-made masa from heirloom corn, six types of house-made chorizo, 23 kinds of dried chiles, and even a salsa made with worms. The drink list promises mezcals and boutique Mexican wines.
Besides Barrio Cafe and Gran Reserva, Esparzaalso has a smaller version of Barrio Cafe at Phoenix Sky Harbor. She’s no longer associated with the Barrio Queen restaurants in Scottsdale and Gilbert.
