El Barzon

Definitely overrated. Nothing special with all the amazing choices in Detroit. Service was disappointing and WAY over priced, could get much better food, service and environment for the price.

Love this place. Love the concept — how often can you get great Mexican and great Italian in the same place? Staff is always friendly and the food is always fresh and delicious. The poblano soup is pretty much to die for.

An energized, convivial atmosphere with warm and attentive service, the staff at El Barzon welcomes a diverse crowd of locals and visitors. You can’t go wrong with the array of margaritas that are expressive – hibiscus in the «Jamaican” – balanced and won’t knock you to the ground. The food is sensational. We found the chicken marsala to be tender, the camarones a la diabla to be hot-​hot-​fabulous and my native Italian mother-​in-​law said the tiramisu was (almost) better than hers. Love El Barzon!

The food is absolutely delicious. Whether you’re having a Italian or Mexican you can never go wrong with this place. The only downfall I had with this restaurant is that the service was really slow and also they can pay more attention to the customer. We had to call the waiter a couple times to see why the food was taking long. But it was well worth the wait. The goat tacos are a must try. Also the guacamole is excellent. Great dishes. Service just needed to be a bit better and maybe try and find a way to get food out quicker. Hope this helps :)

Wanted some Mexican food in Detroit, so we decided to try something different than the Mexicantown standards. El Barzon was a great choice. Loved it.
Had the ‘poblano nogales’ special — a poblano pepper stuffed with pork and dried fruit, covered with cream sauce and pomegranate seeds. Delicious. Washed it down with a perfect margarita, and had Mexican flan and chocolate cake for dessert. Can’t wait to go back in the summer when their back patio is open.

This is my favorite restaurant in Detroit. The menu is interesting but not overly-​complicated. The gnocchi is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m serious-​if I’m on death row, I will request it as my last meal. Ben got the enchiladas with green sauce which he said had a nice flavor with a spicy finish. I got the gnocchi and it’s like pillows of potatoes swimming in cheesy goodness on your tongue. Then Ben got them to bring me a birthday surprise dessert and they sang to me! The final delight was a birthday shot of tequila followed by an orange slice with cinnamon. Best birthday dinner ever.

The Service and ambitious was nice, the food somewhat different than what I expected flavor great experience.

I’ve been to El Barzon a couple of times over the years. I had recently stopped going because I thought the food wasn’t as good as it has once been.
Well, last night it was back to being great. I started with a classic margarita, which was fresh and well-​balanced. Not one of those fake-​tasting, syrupy margaritas.
For dinner, they were very accommodating of my gluten-​intolerance. I started with their house salad, and then had a gluten free pasta with seafood.
Spaghetti allo scoglio — Spaghetti with fresh clams, mussles, calamari, scallops, shrimps in olive oil, white wine, garlic, fresh tomato & pepper flakes.
It was DELICIOUS. To top it all off, I ordered their peach sorbet. It was served inside of a carved out, large peach — on top of cream. It was so good. My friends kept stealing bites of it.
It remains a pricier option for dinner, but I definitely think it is worth it, once again.

I’d give another ½ if I could. I’d been wanting to go for months, and a friend’s birthday arrived so it was perfect timing. We were able to sit on the patio and it was perfect weather. We were seated at a more private table over by the bar next to the waterfall, which was less noisy than the patio area. It’s very busy on Saturdays. Apparently my Open Table VIP was flagged on my reservation so we got that table. Bonus!
The food: it was restaurant week, so I was disappointed that the 2 choices I had chosen online were not available. I opted for the Arugula Salad/​Mozzarella/​Tomato, Lemon Chicken, and Tiramisu. My friend went for the italian sausage, skirt steak and tiramisu. He loved all of his entrees. Mine all needed a little help. The arugula salad was super plain and lacked flavor. The lemon chicken, seared spinach and scalloped potatoes were good, but not great. I began to wonder if everything on restaurant week menu was made in advance, but everything needed just a little more flavor. The seared spinach was good and garlic filled, but the chicken needed either a kick or a little more lemon flavor. The sauce tasted like buttery white wine with a few capers. On to the Tiramisu. Seemed like not enough marscapone, and the lady fingers were soaked too long in the espresso, making the entire cake soggy and kind of limpy. Flavor wise, it tasted like espresso, which was its saving grace.
I wanted to like this food. The atmosphere was really wonderful, the sangria delicious, and my company terrific. Our waiter was gracious and kind, although a little slow. We kept feeling like people forgot about us due to the location of our table.
I will definitely go back, but I’m going to wait for the full menu. Restaurant week is almost over.

Excellent service! Delectable cuisine– a fusion of Mexican and Italian Flavors! Need I say more!!! The outdoor patio is great. Visit it before it gets cold outside. Request the table by the waterfall if you are dining with two.

Restaurant was very quiet for a weekday lunch. To get to the restaurant, you go down a small alley along the side of the building to a secure parking lot. I was a little nervous about the location, but so glad that I decided to stay.
I walked in to see enclosed outside seating with white table linens and napkins at lunch — perfect for a beautiful fall day. There is also inside seating, but outside won out today.
Service was exceptional throughout. Couldn’t ask for better — attentive, but never over the top. Fairly large menu, but seemed a little odd to have Mexican and Italian at the same place. Chips were warm and fresh, served with a green and a red salsa. Red was a little spicy (just the way I like it, but may be a bit much for some). I couldn’t decide between Barbacoa tacos, Camarones Diablo, or Enchiladas de Mole Poblano. Server recommended the enchiladas and it was wonderful! There were both lunch and dinner prices on the menu, with lunch approximately $ 2 – 3 less.
Great experience all around. Can’t give it 5 stars because of the area, but darn close.

Decided to try this place during Detroit Restaurant Week. With so many restaurant to select from we are super glad we hit El Brazon! We were happy to see a secured, dedicated parking lot and opted to sit in the outdoor patio which is very nice. Service was impeccable and frequent and Luis did a great job.
Chips and Salsa:
Great free chips and salsa were a great touch. The green mild salsa was better in my opinion. The red, spicier salsa seemed to be a fusion of salsa and a tomato sauce. Interesting and unique and with perfect heat.
Apps:
We tired the calamari app and it was very good. I’ve had better and it was a tad on the bland side but not anywhere near bad. The marinara sauce also didn’t do it for me with the calamari.
Entrees:
I had the lobster ravioli with vodka sauce and it was spectacular. Incredible flavor and they did not skimp on the lobster. Some of the ravioli had black stripes on them with some sort of unique and amazing flavor. Really, really good.
My wife tried the Chile en Nogada. OMG! It was incredible and one of the best dishes I tasted in a long time. Lots of different flavors and textures in this dish. Please do yourself a favor and order this amazing dish.
Desert:
Flan and Tiramisù were ordered and both were incredible. I preferred the Tiramisù since it had a fantastic flavor.
Overall: We will definitely be back to sample more dishes. By far one of the best dinners we have had in the D this year. Don’t hesitate to check this place out!!!

Absolutely fantastic. The serivce is SUBLIME! My friend ordered a Bombay Sapphire and tonic. It seemed to take forever. The waitress finally arrived with the cocktail and seemed out of breath. We asked her why and she said she had to run to the store to get the gin. What??? We could of changed the order! Oh no, she said, we go to any length we can to please our guests
The patio is beautiful. Go go go go!
WOW. Try the cactus soup… It’s spikey.

If ambience and service are important to you, chances are you will love this place. The patio is simply gorgeous, and filled with people wanting to be seen and see.
Do you feel price equals value? Do you like exclusive venues, and feel more comfortable when the other restaurant patrons also drive a 50k+ car & wear designer clothes? Do you get a thrill telling your friends of new food finds in the edgy city of Detroit? You know the ones who introduced you to Xochimilco’s, Mexican Village, and Armando’s a few years ago? You will absolutely love this place!
The Mexican food is authentic and very pricey! $ 23 for chicken mole with a very dry overcooked chicken breast. The mole sauce was good, but slightly unbalanced with a strong star anise flavor. The goat barbacoca was delicious but for $ 25 the portion was tiny. A $ 7 appetizer of a single chili relleno stuffed with a soft curd like cheese and topped with a delicately flavored tomato sauce left us wanting more, and wishing we has paid less. At this price point I expected the corn tortillas to be hand pressed or at least slightly toasted; but they were slightly tough & unimpressive. Be prepared to pay $ 1 for four extra tortillas. The «house made Clamato» made for very tasty Micheladas. We paid $ 73 (without tip) for two drinks, an appetizer, and two meals. Luckily I am not a big eater and was full, but my friend left feeling slightly hungry.
Bottom line: if you’re comfortable eating in one of the small authentic reasonably priced no frills neighborhood Mexican restaurants; order the Italian food. I’m sure it is delicious.

This restaurant has both Mexican and Italian food. Um, sold. I’ve been here twice and both times I ordered this pasta dish with sausage and leeks. Unfortunately, I forgot what it’s called! Skim the menu, and if you see it, get it! The desserts were delicious, too, and I’m not a big dessert fan. Our whole dining experience was great. I can’t wait to come back and try more different dishes :) Happy Eating!

Second time here. Patio is beautiful HOWEVER, our experience this time was not the best.
Our server must be new or something along the lines… I hope. My husband ordered woodford reserve bourbon for his drink. The waiter did not know what that was and my husband had to point out the bottle at the bar.
When the drink arrived it had a lime in it, which it shouldn’t have. My husband said it was jack Daniels and tasted like jack. Now, maybe It was the lime, but this threw off the taste of the drink. A manager had to fix this.
The chips were stale and greasy and our caprese salad had bruised tomatoes.
The main dishes were great and no complaints about the rissoto and the goat chops.
Going back to our server… he came to the table excessively forgetting to ask something or give us something — which was hard when your trying to have a conversation.
Overall, I was not happy with the experience and it was for our wedding anniversary– Which was a big bummer!
All and all it was mediocre.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while based on what everyone else has said. I was not disappointed.
The location is down Michigan Ave past Mexicantown. When you reach the restaurant it looks as if there’s only street parking, but if you pull in to the alley right before the restaurant (closest to Michigan Ave) they have a fenced in parking lot with an attendant.
The place was packed for a Friday night but the two of us only waited 5 mins for a table. They have a beautiful outdoor terrace with a wooden roof covering half of the seating area strung with hanging lights, perfect for a date night! There is a decent sized bar outside where you can get any number of their twists of margaritas. Although a bit pricy and small for Detroit drink prices, you won’t be disappointed. I recommend the cucumber cilantro margarita — sweet but had a little spice from the cilantro.
We ordered all 4 of their varieties of meat tacos and the Pollo alla Pizzaiola. I have a personal rule that I don’t order chicken entrees over 14 dollars, but with scalloped potatoes and spinach as sides I couldn’t pass it up. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the red sauce smothering the chicken and cheese was just the right balance of savory and sweet. The tacos were not bad, but you can get better for cheaper a mile or two down the road.
Overall, fantastic place to take a date, and I was very impressed with the wait staff and quality of the dishes while they were so busy.

High end Mexican/​Italian located in a weird sketch of town. They have a small parking lot in the back that is patrolled by someone who is associated with El Barzon. We arrived shortly before 6pm and it looked a bit deserted. I was like eh. I hope this is good. They mentioned that they closed down a bit and reopened recently. The service was pretty good.
The reason we came here was because their menu looked really extensive and they offered a lot of dessert items. The prices here are a bit steep. We both ended up getting a non-​homemade pasta because its a bit cheaper.
Chips and salsa– complimentary. Two types of salsa red (spicier) and green (mild) Pretty good.
Bread with garlic infused butter — I believe its complimentary. We got this when we got our pastas.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara — I got this. When it comes out, it looks small because of the huge American portions. This was actually the right amount of food. It was very flavorful. A little too salty. If it was toned down a bit it would be perfect.
My friend ordered an eggplant pasta, she didn’t like the eggplant part but she finished her entire dish.
They really do have an extensive dessert. They didn’t have a dessert menu but our waitress came over with an iPad to show us pictures of their desserts. Many of them are homemade. We got the tiramisu. It was really good.
When we left around 3 hours later (yes we like to have fun) the place was pretty happening

Great drinks. …good food… live music… food served vert quick. …good flavor. The mole sauce was a 10! Great upscale mexican! Had the sangria which was great… hard to go wrong with that… the person next to me had a basil margarita which she said was awesome… will definitely come back! !
Parking and entrance. In the rear… very secure!

Wonderful Mexican food and delicious Italian. Don’t find that combination as beautifully done and freshly made as you will here. Everything is delicious! I love the seafood dishes and everything I’ve had here. Mexican isn’t my favorite food but my husband loves it. He loves the goat tacos which I agree ate fabulous. I have a few dietary issues and they go out of their way to accommodate me. The Italian dishes are amazing. My only complaint is I feel they are priced to high for the portion size. Service is slow at times but the staff is very friendly and the food impeccably fresh and made to order. Great drinks and the patio is beautiful.
The area throws some people but they have an attendant in back who secures the parking lot. Never had an issue. This is definitely one of our go to restaurants.