Barra

Barra Mexican Bar and Restaurant Opens in Somerville’s Union Square | Eater Boston

"A tiny, Mexico City–inspired bar and small-plates spot opening at 23A Bow St. in Somerville’s Union Square that aims to recreate the nostalgic, unpretentious vibe of Mexico City neighborhood joints. The narrow former juice-bar space seats 12 at the bar and has room for 24 overall (six chairs at the main bar and six stools along a counter), features a kitchen curtain printed with the Angel of Independence and a bar clad in corrugated galvanized aluminum evocative of barbecue trucks and taquerias, and plays Spanish-language music and films. The menu, created and taught to local staff by chef Sofía García Osorio, centers on corn and chiles with tortillas and tostadas made in-house daily, five opening salsas (pipián, avocado, macha, molcajeteada, and pickled onions with habanero), six small dishes plus a dessert, and a locally tuned esquites that includes clams as a playful nod to New England chowder. Beverage offerings are extensive for the compact footprint: a wide selection of mezcals and other ancestral Latin American spirits served with fruit and specialty salts (including grasshopper and prickly pear), apéritifs and digestifs like carajillo and xtabentún, cocktails built with fresh juices and herbal/spiced infusions, brunch-specific drinks (micheladas, Bloody Marys/clamatos, summer raspados), a mostly natural wine list with some Mexican producers, six beers on draft plus cans and bottles (mostly local craft with a few Mexican options), and nonalcoholic spirit-free cocktails, aguas frescas, and juices. Initial hours are early evening on weekdays with later weekend service and a weekend brunch service from noon to 4 p.m., emphasizing a cozy, sit-and-stay atmosphere where small plates and drinks are central." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal