Recording Label

If we weren't mixing, shaking, zesting and garnishing... we'd probably start a record label! Specialising in songs originally composed in Spanglish... how mucho fun that would be innit Amigo!?

Sons of B*****

It's not only the bars that are having a make-over... the adopted sons of Super Barrio Man, Los Super Hermanos Barrio some would call them, are sporting their new outfits!

Their distinctive markings will surely send clear warning signs to any opponent... as a tag team, they're unstoppable!

-- "you mess with me... you mess with my familia!"

50 First Launch Dates...

Anticipation is mounting and more and more of you are asking exactly when Barrio Central will be opening it's doors. Well, please be patient with us as we work on getting the bar ready in good time...

Dates for our special preview events for friends, families & fans, local business & industry have shifted a couple of times as you may know... still TBC!

We know some of you like to organise your social calenders weeks if not months in advance. We'll be locking in those dates very soon, so put that holiday to Barbados on hold! ;-)

1 2 3 4, I declare a thumb war...

We're not exactly twiddling our thumbs here at Barrio Central, with the refurb in full swing, but we've been think about forming our own Thumb Wrestling Federation (TWF)
- lucha libre style!

They say idle hands are the devil's playthings, imagine the power you could unleash with your thumbs..?

The basis of a great thumb wrestler is a great persona.  A good stage name will intimidate and a good mask design should send clear warnings to your opponent...

El Diablo vs El Fantasmo... you know there's gonna be some smack-down in that pair up!  Drop us an email with your wrestler name and the one we'd most like to face will win a bottle of bubbly!  shout@barriocentral.com

Let's get ready to rumble!

A friend indeed...

Have you signed up for your Friends of Barrio card yet?

Whether you're a Barrio regular or think it'll become your second home, we look out for our friends. As well as Mates Rates, we also put on dedicated events throughout the year, so watch out for announcements! 

Keep your card close and you'll feel the love whenever you're in the neighbourhood... North or Central, nice!

Sign-up now right here: www.barriocentral.com

If I had a hammer...

After 6 longs weeks of taking possession and waiting and waiting, we have finally taken some big hammers to the walls.  With a tight budget to manage, we donned overalls and dust masks ourselves... there's nothing like a bit of demolition to wipe away the Monday morning blues!

At the end of day one: 80 bags of rubble, 20 cups of tea, 2 bruises and 0 sign of builder's crack... roll on day two!

Cocktails & Dreams...

We've been test driving our new cocktail menu that will be launched in parallel at both Barrio North and Barrio Central and the feedback has been great!

We've arranged our menu around regions of the world... from South, Central and North America to The Caribbean, Europe and The Far East.  We're taking the flavours from these regions and creating some pretty special original concoctions as well as some twists on a few much loved classics.


There's also our signature cocktail, The No Brainer, served in a Mexican Luchador's mask (thanks Cheeky Tiki).  The exact recipe is a secret but expect a blend of premium tequilas (thanks Herradura), exotic juices, citrus and some added sparkle.

Next stop the wine list... we'll be tasting our way through 50 wines next week... spit or swallow!?

Thinking outside the caravan...

Well the debate rumbles on... do we put a caravan in Barrio Central?  We're steering clear of cars and motorcycles (excuse the pun), we're not an American diner.  How about a plane wreck in the Amazon jungle... and re-enact scenes out of the last series of 'Lost'?  Why not a Tube carriage... it's going to be placed in the basement anyway... A packed carriage is the last place you'd want to drink after work!

We're trying to think outside the caravan, hence 'The Launderette' idea... and Dtwo Design have proposed a nice picnic area in 'The Woods' with a seating area 'outside' the caravan and an awning providing shelter from the elements... hmmm

Well, you can have a chuckle at some video footage of when the caravan at Barrio North arrive on Essex Road and was squeeezed through the doors!

Visualize this...

Some early concept 3D visuals to feast your eyes on from the lovely peeps at Dtwo ( www.dtwodesign.com ).

More here: www.flickr.com/photos/barriocentral

If you think these look a bit crazy, wait until we actually finish building it... it's all in the details... Pass the hammer!

Get on the case...

You can tell by the walls of Barrio North that we're a fan of retro luggage and we're well on the case with Barrio Central.

Cooking up some interesting alternate uses... check our Flickr Photostream of pics we've snapped or grabbed that are providing some inspiration...

How to make a caipirinha...

A short film about how to make a caipirinha cocktail from our good friends at Abelha Cachaça. Enjoy an Abelha caipirinha at Barrio today! :)

Roll out the barrow...

We love the idea of WheelBarrow Sound System making a special pre-festival guest appearance at Barrio...

Who knew heavy-weight beats and serious booty-shaking could be delivered on one little wheel?

www.wheelbarrowsoundsystem.co.uk

Leave your mark...

The section of wall with individual tiles painted by your good selves is a much talked about feature at Barrio North. It's a permanent fixture and the lucky few who nabbed a tile will go down in it's history :)

With so many of you wishing you had a tile to call your own, we're probably going to dedicate a section of wall for you - get creative people! We've been cooking up some other ideas of something a bit more fluid and changeable - what about a Post-It Note Art Wall?

You could spend some idle time at the office working on your Post-It Note masterpiece, then bring it down to the bar for all to admire... We could set a theme that changes every couple of months and prizes for the ones that make us laugh the most!

What's better than a caravan, huh?

So plenty of discussion around whether Barrio Central will have a caravan... well there's talk of a tree house, check out one caravan enthusiast's idea of a tree house!

What about booking The Launderette for your birthday?

Answers on a postcard to:

That bar with a "____" in it

c/o Barrio Central

Soho, London W1

A taste of the Caribbean...

You may get volcanoes at Trailer Happiness, Mahiki has it's treasure chests and Callooh Callay lays on the gramophones...

What about a Barrio blend of Caribbean rums, fresh juices and citrus served in a steel drum???

The calm before the storm...

If you work or play in Soho, you may have noticed a peculiar little shop display... Building works are due to start next week. We can't wait to get our hands dirty and start knocking down walls and ripping things out!

Hello from Barrio Central!

Barrio Central coming soon to Soho!

Watch this space for regular updates as we take an empty premises and give it the Barrio treatment - awww yeah!

Hello from Barrio North!

A warm welcome to everyone!

Watch out for regular posts from Barrio North... but all eyes are on the new member of the Barrio Familia :-)

Barrio North

45 Essex Road

Islington

London

N1 2SF

Tube: Angel | Buses: 38, 56, 73, 341, 476

t: 020 7688 2882
e: shout@barrionorth.com
w: www.barrionorth.com