Michelin-trained husband-and-wife duo Alejandro Huerta and Galia Valadez are preparing to open Barro in Adelaide, a Mexican restaurant the couple are describing as “an extension of their home”.
Opening in August, the restaurant is setting out to showcase the couple’s culture and memories that shaped their early years and culinary journey.
Huerta was born and raised in Mexico City, and honed his skills at Pujol under renowned chef Enrique Olvera. He later travelled to Spain, working at Quique Dacosta, EspaiSucre, and Fundación Alícia, before gaining experience at Noma in Copenhagen, and Alinea in Chicago.
After moving to Australia, Huerta established the taco program for Maybe Sammy Group at El Primo Sanchez, before joining Comedor in Newtown. He’s also held a head chef role at Lottie at the Eve Hotel and recently at Blaq.
“We don’t want to create a fine dining restaurant, we want to create a home with each plate prepared with the same care, generosity, and sense of occasion found around a Mexican family table,” says Huerta.
He says in Mexico, food is never just food – it’s about how they celebrate, connect, and show love.
“Some of my happiest memories are of spending entire days cooking with my grandmother and family. That’s the feeling we want people to experience when they walk through our doors,” says Huerta.
That philosophy will shape every aspect of Barro, from the menu, service style, interiors, and beverage program.
The food menu
The menu will include family recipes and dishes that shape everyday life across Mexico. A small selection of tacos will feature, but the focus extends beyond the familiar, with traditional offerings such as atole, consomé, and mole sitting alongside regional Mexican dishes.
While the restaurant will celebrate their Mexican heritage, it will incorporate local produce, resulting in dishes such as blue swimmer crab toast with capers and chile morta.
“We’re proud of our heritage, but Australia is our home now. We’re lucky to have some of the world’s best producers at our doorstep, so we’re excited to bring these two worlds together,” says Huerta.
With a background as a sommelier and later as a celebrated pastry chef, Valadez will inform some of the restaurant’s defining features, including the wine list and dessert menu.
The desert menu will celebrate the traditions, flavours, and nostalgia of Mexican sweets, while bringing a contemporary approach.
The opening menu will feature a cheese and persimmon tart based on “Ate con queso” – a dessert readily made by Galia’s mother.
“The Barro version will feature a goat cheese-filled shell with custard set and caramelised to order, much like a crème brûlée finished with layers of permission paste and slices,” says Valadez.
The drinks
The cocktail list will combine traditional Mexican spirits and techniques with locally sourced Australian ingredients and producers, says Bartender Eduardo Conde.
The drinks will explore the rich diversity of Mexican spirits – such as lesser-known regional expression like sotol and bacanora – rather than focusing solely on familiar tequila brands.
Conde (Diageo World Class Australian Bartender of the Year 2023) says Mexican spirits and drinking culture are about harmony.
“Drinks aren’t created exclusively on their own. They are created with the food and flavour profiles in mind,” says Conde.
Barro, in the Adelaide CBD, will open on 1 August.
Photography by Arne Studio.
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