Tampico del Barrio Nuevo Latino Cafè and Bar

Why are defunct businesses not removed from Unilocal?Tampico del Barrio was a lovely restaurant, but it is long gone.

There is a for sale sign in front and all the doors are locked. Needless to say we weren’t served. 1 star, because it is closed.

Confirmed. It has gone out of business and that really sucks. We believe it failed due to it’s odd limited hours as it really was the best Spanish food perhaps in all of Central Texas. Every time we went it was packed to max but we knew the hours…
Very, very sad to see.

Ceviche wasn’t what we expected, but everything else we ordered was pretty good. Service was friendly and prompt. I was just about to take an out-​of-​towner there when I saw on their web site that they are now closed. *sigh*

I really, really like this place. It’s chef-​owned and managed, and the attention to detail both in the décor and the menu are top-​notch.
To be really honest, I can’t remember what I had. I remember it was delicious (which is so not helpful). I do remember my boyfriend was super happy with his entrée, and the little trio of appetizers we had (including black bean corn jicama salsa, ceviche royale and tomatillo verde) was fresh as can be, vibrantly flavored and colored, and yum.
The space is fantastic. It’s like a Robert Rodriguez movie set, where the love interests/​protagonists make out, right before everything goes to shit. It’s a little hard to find, and there was construction right in front of the space when we were there, but it’s so totally worth it.
The server was great, the food outstanding, and the atmosphere warm, inviting, and I highly recommend this place to foodies.

Great place located in an older part of Bryan. Not too hard to find.
Chef owned/​operated. Yay!
Fantastic food and great service.

Fusion Cuisine — Great Service — Good Ambience
Tampico is definitely unique for BCS and would probably do great if it were in a bigger city. This is no longer a traditional Mexican food or a Tex-​Mex place. The menu has changed and gone upscale. They serve fusion cuisine — Spanish, Mexican, Tex-​Mex, Asian, etc.
They take extreme pride in what they serve and provide great service. This is an excellent venue for a date. They have a nice neighborhood location with a lovely landscaped patio.
Given the nice ambience and great service, I wish the food worked for me. I think this is a personal thing, but I feel that the fusion concept is just overdone. I travel a lot and see the same thing everywhere. Even Marriott’s and Holiday Inn’s do fusion. The food was interesting but not something I would crave. I had a dish that was spanish chorizo in an egg roll shell that was fried and served with Jicama salad.
If you like fusion, you might enjoy this. I personally would have enjoyed more simpler cuisine. Plain old spanish or interior mexican.
On the plus side, it’s great to see some variety in BCS.

With this being my first official Unilocal review, I’m pretty excited that Tampico del Barrio did not dissapoint my anxious palate. Back in the day, I wowwed my out of town guests by even finding the place, but now I think the place may be on it’s way to reaching popularity amongst the masses. Call ahead for hours, because you’ll want to make sure their new hours don’t bite you in the tail.
3 things of note:
1. This is now the gold standard for Latin influenced food in the Brazos
Valley!
2. Don’t come looking for greazy, cheesey Tex-​Mex, you’ll be disappointed.
3. The neighborhood may scare the WASPS, but I love what they’ve done with the place, and think that the facelift will payoff with folks who normally woudn’t venture to the hood (I grew up in it).
I had multiple dishes that I would reccomend, but I’ll give you 3 MUST
haves… Pinchos de Carne– think fajita kabobs, with a Thai twist.
Ceviche Royale– Perfectly exucuted Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. Fideo– A great new wrinkle thrown into a traditional comfort dish.
The new owners are grandchildren of the charming and youthful ex-​owner, that still greets guests, and both wield CIA degrees. Their passion is felt and tasted in their dishes, and I can promise that their menu and repertoire will expand and impress, as they settle into their new digs. I am one of several local foodies that welcome the new cuisine, and hand the new royalty their crown.
CMac

I lived a few blocks from the restaurant in the late 90’s and visited often. A definite part of the appeal: During any given storm, there was a sense of suspense related to whether or not the roof would blow right off the restaurant.
During the time that I was being introduced to more authentic dishes, I thought that Tampico was pretty good. On return visits in the last couple of years, I haven’t been as impressed. Standard breakfast stuff is okay, but the menudo is kind of funny… not horrible, just funny. It’s very red, not very meaty, and it has a tang to it that just doesn’t seem right.

This is a truly crazy-​ass restaurant. Not only is it smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, it *is* a house. You park on the street and eventually find the entrance, order, sit down and wait.
The food is wonderfully authentic Mexican, what I imagine a grandmother to make for her family. Breakfast is truly filling and tasty.
Avoid it in the summer however, the ventilation is sub-​par and it can get all kinds of uncomfortable in there.