Ever since our trip to Portland last year, we’ve been on the search for quality Cuban food in Vancouver. Unfortunately, there’s a distinct lack of Cuban restaurants in the area so we’ve been expanding our search to various Latin cuisines. That’s how we found ourselves at Baru Latino on Alma Street this summer.
It was a decently warm monday night, and Vancouver was looking cloudless and relaxed.
[Lots of photos!]
I took the bus from UBC thinking that it would take 25 min (Google maps you silly goose) but it only took 10 min. So I took my time and enjoyed the neighborhood (cool bakery nearby!) and then walked in. The food is really well crafted, with lots of flavor. The place also had a great ambiance. If you would like more detail of what we ate (we ate a lot!) check out my review!
One-liner: Great taste of Latin American cuisine
Highlight: Ecuadorian Red Ceviche
Recommended for: Date nights, latin nights, and Tangoo nights
Would I go back? Yes.
Check out my blog post for the full review!
Always passing by here on my way to UBC while taking the B-line, never got the chance to taste their food but finally I got to come here and do a special tasting with them for dinner. We ordered a few appetizers and mains to share. Everything was well put together and the latin flare really stood out in all the dishes.
Overall, the dishes were a bit hit and miss at Baru Latino. It was a full house when we were there but a lot of these dishes are on their regular menu so they should have no problem making them in a higher volume. Looking back, our 2010 experience needed some more ooomph in flavours. Six years later, it still hasn’t quite captured our hearts.
Excellent Experience. My girlfriend and myself came here to celebrate me getting a new job! We had a late reservation at 9 PM and were the only ones there for most of our time (it was a Tuesday so that's to be expected). The food was top notch; we had 4 tapas and 2 desserts and every one was excellent. The quality of food did not suffer one bit even though we were the last ones in the place! The owner was awesome; we shared some cool stories! I would highly recommend Baru Latino to anyone; makes a great date spot!
Great Service & Scrumptious Food!. Finally tried Baru after many recommendations from friends and wow they exceeded my expectations!
(We were a party of four for a Birthday celebration).
The service was fantastic, the attention to detail was flawless and the food was quite spectacular.
Everything we ordered from the menu couldn't have been better: Prawns, Chorizo, Mussels, Scallops, Latin Empenadas, the warm chocolate cake and the sweet wafer crisps with caramel centre.
Every plate, with multiple components, seamlessly blended into little culinary masterpieces.
Our server knew exactly what she was doing, she helped us with our selections and suggested the proper order for the tapas.
The owner was totally approachable and seemed genuinely pleased that we were so happy with our evening.
Will certainly return!
Start your night off right!. Went to Baru for the first time, the food, the price, the location, the atmosphere are amazing.
Whatever you decide to have it will be simply excellent. All the staff are warm and made me feel as though I was walking in to visit family.
When you make your reservation and head over you should really consider trying the ceviche...a highlight of my Friday night :) If you have gluten allergy don't hesitate to tell them they are very accommodating.
Looking forward to planning another night out at Baru!
Consistently Great Food. I have been going to Baru for 4 years now - it was the chosen restaurant for personal celebrations, dinners with parents, and romantic dates. It is consistently offering great tasting food, with generous portions and good quality, fresh ingredients. Totally recommend it for a taste of South America, with a twist.
Outstanding service, fabulous food and the basil mint martini is heaven in a glass. Will definitely be back!
Wow, plantains, mussels and the ungodly good chimichurri steak. This is the most unbelievable place point grey has to offer. Dave and Rene make some of the wildest and most tasty drinks on the west side, I cannot say enough about how amazing the entire Baru Latino experience has changed my opinion on not only Latin food, but food in general. You must come out, you must eat, drink and be as happy as I am right now. Just simply wow. Thank you Baru, thank you Dave, your hot sauce and jerk sauce are divine, again, amazing....wow... thank you!
Interesting. Very hospitable and accommodating. Really good food, interesting menu. Will return for sure if not for the dessert quesadilla alone, mmmmmm.
Superb!. The duck was delicious, and the plantain was perfectly baked. The paella was perfectly filling and the service was splendid. If you're up for their desert, ask for their flan! It's delicious! My boyfriend from latin america even compared it to his mother's secret recipe!
+Their website is phenomenal!
Tasty!. Would go back in a heartbeat! Try the octopus ceviche.
Excellent atmosphere and unique food options. Great for a night out for drinks or a place to grab a great meal!
Good eats. Great place to have a few drinks. Great vibe and energetic music. the price is comparable and the food is pretty good.
overall experience: thumb's up
Great for smaller dishes. I think this place might be better for tapas and tacos and things, rather than for full plates of food, but as a place to enjoy a few smaller dishes, together with a drink or two, it is very good indeed, and it only takes a few of these smaller dishes to make for a satisfying dinner. The service is very welcoming and friendly, and the atmosphere is cool, laidback and funky -- without any hint of aggressive hipness. The lighting is superb.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Lots of variety, very tasty. I went Baru Latino on a Thursday evening and the restaurant had a good level of activity. The dining area is compact but has a large bar. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the options and read recent reviews for suggestions. It seemed like several reviewers tried the restaurant for dine out and were disappointed. We kept in mind that dine out is not the standard dining experience.
We ordered two tapas, soup, tacos and and entree all to share. Short rib tapas: two pieces of short rib with rice and yam chips. The sauce in this dish was really nice so when everything was mixed together it was quite nice. Pan seared scallop on avocado salad: three very nice looking scallops that didn't seem to be seasoned but they sat on a nice avocado salad with dressing. As with the beef short rib, everything mixed together was nice. Pescado soup: similar to bouillabaisse or cioppino, it was a tomato broth with seafood. There was a lot of seafood (mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops and fish). The seafood had very little flavor on it's own but was good with the broth. The broth itself was borderline bland so it was key to have seafood and broth in each bite. There were also pieces of tomato which enhanced the flavor. The portion size was very good for the price. Halibut tacos: three tacos with mango salsa. Each taco had a very large piece of moist halibut. The salsa was spicy but not very flavorful. I thought the tacos were just ok. Duck entree: this was by far my favorite. It was duck breast with rice covered in a delicious sauce. It also had some garnish of fresh pear and a deep fried cassava. I mixed the rice and sauce and ate in combo with the duck.....so good! The skin on the duck was crispy and very nice. The sauce is what really carried the dish. I wish there was more pear as it was really refreshing. I did not care for the cassava though I did note it was hot and fresh upon service.
Overall, I gather that all the flavor comes from the sauces which are delicious. The meat/seafood on it's own is plain so really anything with a "mojo" sauce should be good. I thought the portion sizes were good, unlike some of the dine out reviews but what do you expect for dine out! We were too full for dessert and nothing on the dessert menu was tempting.
The service was friendly and good and there seemed to be an adequate number of staff. I would return again but it's a but pricey for just a casual meal out. The total price with two non-alcoholic drinks and tax was $100.
Neighborhood gem. I feel like Baru is my own little secret. not many people know about this gem tucked in next to limelight video just up from broadway and alma. I've always had great dining experiences at Baru, they have accommodated us with big parties and we have never been turned away for a wait. the mussels with chorizo are very very good and satisfying. I also recommend the baru ceviche and the empanadas (cheese). for entrees im not too sure - i get the pork one everytime, i dont even like pork but the sweet guava glaze and buttery vegetables - it is just a delicious meal. have a lime margarita on the rocks to complement. a bit too pricey for everyday, but a lovely date spot because many dishes can be shared
Baru is fantastic. The food, the wine list, the atmosphere and the staff are exceptional. My favorite dishes are the steak, the short ribs, the pork chop, the halibut and the paella. and the tapas are amazing. and did I mention the marocho (chocolate dessert)
Sambalicious. We had appies, mains and dessert and they were all fabulous, especially the Baru ceviche appy, and I know my ceviche. The mains were served with latino sides and sauces which were both unique and tasty. The ambiance is latino too ... let's just say it wouldn't have surprised me if someone got up on the bar ... in a good way.
Great Spot. Had a great time here sitting at the bar and having dinner. Food was tasty and so were the drinks. The owner/bartender was a great host. Room had a great vibe to it.
The service was great, the music ecclectic, and the food excellent. We enjoyed the lamb and the paella, but it was the ceviche was especially fantastic. Wonderful experience!
Great food and great service. Amazing presentation and great service. If you like ceviche this is easily the best in Vancouver. It's a small place but the focus is on quality. Waitresses are very friendly and will tell you all about the wines, where to get some of the more exotic rum that they carry and are only there when you need them. High attention to detail and fantastic food. Good value for sure.
Give it a try. Great little bistro place. The food was wonderfully presented and tasted even better than it looked!
Best Ceviche in Town!. Can't get enough of their food...from ceviches to tiraditos...and the best mojitos in Vancouver. Fantastic value for the money...
Go for it!
On my latest dinner out, my guest choose "Baru Latino" as our destination. She made her selection based on a strong recommendation from a coworker, and because I have yet to write about it for this blog. (Sort of a requirement when eating out with me) Heading down Broadway, if you should miss it, a neon red sign above the video shop on Alma hints that you are on the right track. And then the "Red Truck Beer" sandwich board outside that declares, "Yes we do." And that you are at your destination. Walking in, the first thing you notice is the great ambience. It is cultivated through dim lighting and jazzy music. Warmth resinates through the rust painted walls, the amber-yellow lights, and the red lamp shades. We were seated by the natural stone wall, adjacent to where a full sized canoe hung on suspended hooks. It, like the menus were fashioned from a faux leather hide. It didn't have that leather smell, but it came close with the touch. Behind us was an impressively large bottle fil
What a gem in the city ma fellow foodies have found! Baru Latino is totally a spot for foodies to hang out with Latin music and chic-looking decor. Their website reads: “Created by three young Colombians who came to Canada in search of a new lifestyle. Tw
i made a reservation for 9pm for 5 people a day before our dinner itself. anabel, theresa and halim got there first and i was a little late. the servers there were overly hospitable and attentive. they kept joking with us, making us laugh and were so willing to take photos of us. the restaurant's policy for dine out isnot as strict as mistral bistro and did not mind that janet and i were late. i like how the background music is not too loud like 100 days and we can still hold proper conversations. i totally forgot to snap shots of the restaurants because i was enjoying myself but the interior design of the restaurant is pretty cool.
First dine out of the year for the MePlusFood crew, we went to Baru Latino . I picked this place mainly because I wanted to try their paella and other Latin American food. It was good that we made a reservation, because this place was super busy. From the dine out menu I had the Ceviche for appy, and the Paella for main. The Ceviche had lots of shrimp, and halibut. It had a very nice limey taste, good flavors from the onion and tomato. On the side it came with a piece of, I believe plantain chip. I think it was supposed to be crispy, but it was rather soft and stale. It was a nice appetizer, minus the "chip". On our table, we also had the Chili Prawns , and the Empenadas . The Chili Prawns were pretty nice. The hot sauce was actually spicy , really nice kick but not over powering. I had some of the beef empenadas and actually don't remember how the beef filling tasted like because the wrap was really crispy. That was all I could think about, the
Had a great experience! Dined solo at the bar and was able to watch the chefs cooking. They were very nice too and explained the dishes and flavors. Had the sancochito and empanadas and both were phenomenal. A new, delicious take on traditional Criollo dishes. The caramel flan was an excellent finish to the meal. Terrific service all the way around.
Food is amazing! Food is full of flavour and i was pleasantly surprised by Lamp chops with BBQ sauce (?).
Their happy hours are awesome. Good selection of drinks and some unique tapas. Vegetarian options are few so keep that in mind.
Lovely staff who made a plan to seat us on a busy night. It has a romantic atmosphere, perfect for a date night. Portions were small for the price (I know they're styled as tapas, but were scant even for that label), but generally had great flavour. The paella was probably the weakest of the meals we tried. Nice dining experience all round.
Had dinner here tonight and everything was beyond great! Our service was very friendly and attentive, it was so nice to see all servers working come by and and be apart of our dining experience, all were lovely and had great food suggestions. The food was simply delicious! Had the Baru ceviche to start because it’s just the best and then did tapas style ordering - everything came out hot, tasteful and perfect timing in between courses! Shout out to the chefs for really wowing us :) can’t wait to come back!
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes