Fairfield’s Baró New World Cantina Praised for Cocktails, Good Small Plates

A young cantina in the Brick Walk part of downtown Fairfield has garnered much interest from the restaurant community, most recently becoming the subject of a New York Times review.

Baró New World Cantina on Post Road has served Latin, Spanish and Caribbean small plates for less than a year, but excited chatter surrounding the restaurant has flowed steadily.

CT Bites’ first impressions in August 2013 said the cantina is “not too fancy but warm, cozy and relaxed.” 

Fairfield Living magazine called it “one of the bright new spots on the downtown dining scene,” and Connecticut Magazine readers named it No. 1 in cocktails and second-best for Latin American food for 2014.

With the headline “Drinks and Food, in That Order,” Sarah Gold of the New York Times rated Baró “Good” in her June review, on a scale of Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor.

Gold praised the tuna tiradito ceviche and the carne asada skirt steak tacos, though she described a grilled octopus dish as having “the sponge-rubber texture of a pencil eraser,” and a grilled rib-eye “tasted humdrum.”

She wrote the “cocktails and wine are the headliners” but noted drinks such as oaxacan moon, flower of nicaragua and southtown were too sweet for her taste. However, sugar found Gold’s favor in the chocolate flan.

Around the Web

Baró is ranked 3.5 out of five stars on its Yelp page, with users complementing the atmosphere, the creative cocktails and the light foodfare.

“From what I've seen, Baró does what they do and then takes it to a whole new level,” wrote Yelp Elite reviewer Ken S of Bridgeport. “ I left there thinking that I wanted to go back right away and bring my friends.”

The one- and two-star reviews focused on price — $6 to $13 for small plates and $11 cocktails. A few reviewers also complained of food that came out cold or dishes that lacked flavor.

On Trip Advisor, Baró has 11 reviews, and 63 percent of reviewers recommend the restaurant. No users have rated it “poor” or “terrible” at this time.

“I don't [know] what the reviews are talking about it being expensive,” wrote a reviewer from Milford. “Three of us - wine and plenty of food total bill $140 bucks. That's under the average price for a night out. And the food was very good.”

Baró New World Cantina
1229 Post Road, Fairfield CT
(203) 292-9560
baroct.com