World-class Mexican chef launches Adelaide’s newest restaurant with family recipes, cocktails and much more than tacos

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Images: Arne Studio

It’s not a big space, but the heart and soul of Barro could fuel (and feed) the heart of many.

Barro is the new restaurant from acclaimed Mexican chef Alejandro Huerta and his wife, pastry chef and sommelier Galia Valadez.

Together, the husband-and-wife duo will bring a restaurant to Adelaide that is shaped by family recipes, regional Mexican flavours and the warmth of the hospitality they grew up with.

“In Mexico, food is never just food,” said Alejandro.

“It’s how we celebrate, how we connect and how we 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.”

Born and raised in Mexico City, Alejandro has built an extraordinary culinary career across some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens. His resume includes time at Pujol, where he worked under renowned chef Enrique Olvera and developed a deeper appreciation for contemporary Mexican cuisine and indigenous ingredients.

He later worked in Spain with respected culinary institutions including Quique Dacosta, EspaiSucre and Fundación Alícia, before gaining experience at Noma in Copenhagen and Alinea in Chicago.

After moving to Australia, Alejandro continued to establish himself as one of the country’s most exciting Mexican chefs. He worked with the Maybe Sammy Group at El Primo Sanchez, helping establish its renowned taco program, before joining Comedor in Sydney’s Newtown, where his personal approach to Mexican cooking helped the restaurant earn a Good Food Hat within five months of opening.

“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,” said Alejandro.

The menu will be rooted in family recipes and dishes that shape everyday life across Mexico.

While a small selection of tacos will feature, Barro will go beyond what we think of when we recall a Mexican restaurant, with traditional dishes such as atole, consomé and mole sitting alongside regional dishes rarely seen on Australian menus.

The restaurant will also bring Mexican heritage together with Australian produce, thoughtfully incorporating local ingredients and producers. One opening menu dish, Blue Swimmer Crab Toast with Capers and Chile Morta, will showcase that meeting point between South Australian produce and Mexican flavour.

“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,” said Alejandro.

Galias background as a sommelier and later as a pastry chef will help shape a wine list inspired by the regions the couple has lived in, such as Mexico, Spain and Australia.

Her dessert menu will celebrate the nostalgia, traditions and flavours of Mexican sweets, with a contemporary approach carved by years spent working in leading kitchens. One of the stars of the opening menu will be a cheese and persimmon tart based on Ate con queso, a dessert regularly made by Galia’s mother.

In Mexican culture, Galia said there is always room for dessert, and we completely agree.

“It’s such an important part of our dining and is often not given the same care it deserves on Western Mexican menus,” she said.

The cocktail offering will be led by award-winning bartender Eduardo Conde, who was crowned Diageo World Class Australian Bartender of the Year in 2023.

The drink list will explore the diversity of Mexican spirits, from tequila and mezcal to lesser-known regional expressions such as sotol and bacanora.

“The cocktail list has been designed as a conversation between Mexico and Australia, combining traditional Mexican spirits and techniques with locally sourced Australian ingredients and producers,” Eduardo said.

The drinks have been designed to work in harmony with the food and the flavours of the restaurant.

“Drinks aren’t created exclusively on their own. They are created with the food and flavour profiles in mind. To be enjoyed together”, he explains.

For the husband and wife duo, Barro is a way to honour where they come from while embracing the country they now call home.

“We’re proud of our Mexican heritage and everything it has given us,” said Alejandro. “But we’re equally grateful for the life we’ve built in Australia.

“This restaurant is our way of bringing those two worlds together.”