Venus

Great empanadas 🥟 with awesome sauces to go with it. Also love the pastries and coffee ☕. This place gets my mornings off to a great start.

Love that they’re family owned *and* they make the BEST empanadas (chicken tinga with chimichurri sauce are the fave, with the ‘bad bunny’ a close second). They make a great latte, the staff are so friendly, their baked goods are to die for (mini raspberry bear claws, “the best thing ever” (croissant cinnamon roll hybrid) and mini sea salt chocolate chip cookies are personal picks. Oh, I can’t forget their “breakfast pizza” Really, you can’t miss here, it’s an amazing Sacramento institution.

A nice experience! The environment is lovely, lots of open space. Their coffee is great and pastries are delicious! Just keep in mind that they don’t have wifi before going, so if you’re planning on working there you’ll need to use your phone hotspot, etc.

Updated review from 9/15/2024: Barrio has made a lot of changes recently and is now called Venus. They seem to no longer have any of their breakfast sandwiches or bagels, and at least in the morning seem to be focusing on pastries and empanadas. We got 4 empanadas that were given to us in a to-go box and 3/4 of them were a little light on the fillings ($5 each), but it was nice they had a variety of flavors. My husband and I have been coming here regularly for 2 years and we are a little bummed about the changes to interior, getting rid of breakfast sandwiches/bagels, and the gradual removal of all the puzzles and games. It feels a lot less cozy now. They do still have their regular coffees and drinks which is very nice. I get the impression that they are in a very transitional period and may be focusing more on their lunch/dinner menu from now on so things will definitely be different. And they are still featuring local art which I love. Overall I’ve been a little sad to see some of my favorite things go, but I know they’re changing to try and make more money and I’m hopeful things go well for them! And I’m sure many of their new changes will appeal to a lot of people. Review from April 2024: I come here a lot. Some things are hit or miss but we have some favorites we always order and are rarely disappointed. They have lots of fun seasonal drinks that are worth a try, and their pumpkin drinks are especially good since they use real pumpkin. My husband and I usually get bagels with one of their several delicious cream cheeses and a lavender latte and we are very happy.

I’ve been going to barrios for about a year now and I’ll say its definitely worth a try. It’s very hit or miss. Some days they serve delicious coffees and breakfast treats, and some days they just don’t. Recently I went with my friends and we got food and drinks, it was amazing! Carmelita with oat milk is my go too, it’s creamy and sweet. Catch them on a good day and you won’t be sorry! Definitely worth a visit (or two)