Colorful, fresh innovative Mexican dishes await at Scottsdale's Barrio Queen restaurant and tequileria. — Photo courtesy of Barrio Queen

A royal treat just landed in Scottsdale: a new Mexican restaurant from the chef/owner of Phoenix’s legendary Barrio Café promises to bring authentic and fun new takes on Mexican food to Scottsdale’s SouthBridge neighborhood. The restaurant will also feature a bakery, small retail component, and well-stocked tequileria.

Silvana Salcido Esparza, chef/owner of Barrio Café, is the guiding force behind Barrio Queen, one of the newest additions to Scottsdale’s growing roster of foodie destinations. Barrio Queen is a restaurant, bakery and tequileria spotlighting authentic Mexican regional cuisine. The menu features classics like tacos, tamales, quesadillas, burros, chile rellenos and specialty dishes, as well as an all-day breakfast menu. Breakfast specialties include green chile pozole, barbacoa beef stew, and the luscious torta de nopal y quesillo, a puff pastry torte stuffed with chorizo, Oaxacan cheese, and cactus pad strips, then topped with two eggs.

Those familiar with Chef Esparza’s culinary flair will find that Barrio Queen lives up to the Barrio Café legend. The lunch and dinner menu offers creative takes on old favorites, such as Esparza’s signature quesadillas stuffed with squash blossoms, blue-corn huaraches, tlacoyos (corn fritters with chicken, beans, and cheese), and a unique treat for adventuresome palates: tostaditas, toasted tortillas with carnitas, simmered in, you got it, Mexican Coca-Cola.