Barros Luco

Still exists???

Wow, I’m sad to see this place go. Great empanadas, a comfy dining room, solid service, and tasty, cheap Chilean wine… what’s not to like?
Midtown East is so sadly devoid of interesting food… why did you leave, my Chilean friends!!! Now I wish I’d eaten there more often, just to do my little part to keep the place open.

I actually went into this place by accident. I was looking for the ramen place Hide-​chan, but saw this one as I was walking. Having never had Chilean food before, I went right in.
This place specializes in the Barros Luco sandwich (which is mainly steak with melted cheese), named after the Chilean president who enjoyed eating these. The menu is mostly variations of this sandwich. I had the Chacarero Completo which came with string beans, banana peppers, tomato, mayo, cheese, avocado and banana peppers. The cold string beans I could have done without. Other than that, the sandwich was huge and delicious. They are pretty cheap as well, around $ 6-​$ 8. And for $ 1 more, you can make it a «grande» size instead of regular size. I can tell you that the regular size is already big enough, and I ordered the «grande» (because I am a pig) and I could barely finish it.
Though the sandwich was great, I will have to admit that Mexican cemitas and tortas taste much better. But this is still a great place to try something new. I would recommend it just for lunch though, as it is a casual place with a few tables upstairs.

After resisting that second spring roll at the $ 1 Thai Food street fair stand, my vampiric hunger for fried-​food began to trouble me alarmingly. My eyes lighted on the «Empanadas Made Fresh Daily» sign at Barros Luco. It was a losing battle, and I knew it, so I trotted down the block towards the intense green building and ambled on inside. I had a big meal coming up, so I decided to limit myself to one empanada. It was a foregone conclusion that it would be a fried empanada, and I let the lady at the counter choose my filling, given her expertise on Barros Luco’s fare. She smiled at my query and responded, «Definitely the shrimp and cheese.» ($ 3.25)
I sat on the little red bench to think about the last time I had shimp and cheese empanadas. It was at a kilo buffet in Rio, and they were works of art. Delicately crispy, golden brown and bursting with well-​seasoned shrimp and cheese. My fantasizing quickly triggered the usual physical response, and I felt my belly grumble petulantly.
The lady at the counter came to the rescue with a freshly fried shrimp and cheese empanada. I requested some hot sauce and the kitchen delivered a wonderful salsa picante. Eating the empanada and salsa picante during my walk was a thrill, evocative of eating real street food in South America. The shrimp were seasoned to an interesting orange color, but the fontina cheese and taste were flawless. This was a very enjoyable empanada with great hot sauce. I’m looking forward to trying more.

They’ve expanded their menu with some more choice items and have table service now on wkds. I feel for the waitress having to go up and down the stairs constantly but love the fact that we can walk in, go up and grab a table and relax.
Hadn’t been back for a while and they now have their sandwiches in 2 sizes: reg and grande. The old reg was good but you usually had to pad it with part of a baked empanada (*YUM*). But now with the grande??? it’s HUGE! shared one and was totally full. Didnt even touch our baked empanada and ended up taking it home.
*chicken chacarero completo (grande): same delicious bread, white meat chicken was moist and well marinated, veggies were refreshing and string beans seemed pickled this time.
*ace: sliced steak on their hot dog bun topped with pebre and aji verde sauces (bf would rather have had it on their sandwich bread)
*choripan: grilled chorizo on a roll with pebre sauce. This one tasted very much like a kielbasa and not the chorizo flavor we were looking for.
Next time we’re trying the new tasty options they have. How can you go wrong with a sandwich topped with a fried egg?!? Plus the bogona sounds so good, i must try (chilean sangria — red wine punch with strawberries).

I ordered the Chacarero completo — veg option w/​string beans, tomato, banana peppers, avocado with hearts of palm for 7.49.
This sandwich was a very fulfilling size. It was nice and toasty and stuffed with veggies! The type of bread is what makes this sandwich good. Plus they have a promo where you get $ 5 when you spend $ 50.
I also tried the Empanadas — spinach and fresh mozzarella for 2.89
It was still good even though I had it cold. It had a nice crispy outside and flavorful inside.
And the last thing I tried was the Sweet potato fries for 3.19. I also had this cold because I ate it a few hours later, but it was still good. It didn’t get too soggy and it came with their homemade ranch sauce. It was a decent portion.
Overall, the sandwiches are yummy!

The Bad
— Small place
The Good
— Spinach and Mozzarella Empanada (nice and cripsy on the outside, not too oily, inside nice and hot)
— Shrimp and Cheese Empanada (nice and cripsy on the outside, not too oily, inside nice and hot)
— Steak/​Chicken/​Veg Chacarero Completo (bread is nice and cripsy, not too much dough, which lets the steak and chicken taste take over, perfect amount of spice – recommend the aji rojo)
— Rewards card member ($ 1 = 1 point; 50 points = $ 5 off next purchase)
The Bottomline– Definitely worth checking out. So much to try but stick to the basic ones first (Chacerero Completo). You will not be disappointed. Well, I never tried a Chilean sandwich so I think it was awesome here. Good portion, not greedy on ingredients and fast service. Yummies! I’m salivating just writing about it. Yum.

Barrrrrrros Luco! Roll those R’s baby.
A friend pointed out this Chilean sandwich shop in Midtown East. I had noted it, but wasn’t motivated to dine there until I noticed their Chacarero Completo made # 97 on Grub Street’s 101 Best Sandwiches in NY list (
).
So in early June, a couple of friends and I picked up the sandwich as a quick bite to eat before a roadtrip. It’s a very hearty portion. The steak version of the Chacarero Completo was very tasty. The steak isn’t the best quality, but it works with the sandwich. I like pickled veggies and was surprised by the soured string beans. Some people feel that too much string beans are loaded in, but I’m fine with it. The Completo version of the sandwich adds cheese and avocado to it. It’s worth the extra $ 1. Most times I prefer whole wheat items over the white, but here I like the white bread for the sandwich.
Here’s their menu:
I’ve also tried the Barros Luco Italiano, Baked Chicken Empanada, & the Sweet Potato Fries. I am sticking with the Chacarero Completo. The fries are good too.
They have seating upstairs with a TV, so is not a bad place to go to catch sporting events. They do close earlier than a typical sports bar does though. If you have time to relax there, act like a 16 year old and try the Fanchop (orange soda + Coors Light). We were told that it’s common for kids in Chile to drink this combo as they sit at sidewalk cafes. The bright orange color throws off the police, so the kids can get away with drinking their beer-​infused Fanchops. I tried Estrella Beer, but didn’t like it all that much.
It’s funny how this restaurant is named Barros Luco. It is named after the sandwich, and not the man. Ramón Barros Luco was the president of Chile from 1910 to 1915, but he’s more famous for the sandwich that was named after him. That is too funny.
If you go frequently to Barros Luco, ask to join their membership program where you earn points for a $ 5 credit for every $ 50 spent, so you can enjoy some more Barrrrrrros Luco!

My first Barros Luco lunch today. I followed the restaurant staff’s recommendations and ordered Baked Beef Empanada and Chacarero Completo, which is a steak sandwich with guacamole, tomato, and string beans. I really enjoyed the empanada — it had chunky beef, raisin and olives. The crust was very thin. The sandwich was also good — the steak was tender and was tasty, but it had a bit too much stuff.
The empanadas are not as good as I remember from South America, but I will probably go back to try different empandas.