About - Barrio Star

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

The sky’s the limit at Barrio Star, presenting San Diego with modern Mexican Soul Food, woven with bold Latin flavors and clever Asian touches. Our vibrant flavors and healthier renditions of classic Mexican dishes reveal thoughtfully presented menu items that are sure to please every palate.

Pairing with our well-prepared food menu items is a mouthwatering beer and cocktail menu. Besides serving standard Mexican beers, we also offer rotating drafts as well as an extensive tequila menu. Our bartenders are “margarita artists,” you might say. With every ounce of lime, lemon and orange freshly squeezed into your glass. Kick-start the evening with our Roasted Jalapeno Blackberry Margarita and let the fiesta begin!

Enjoy favorites with a spin, such as our Tamales bathed in chile guajilo aside a scoop of jasmine rice and chipotle corn salad, or sink your teeth into one of our famous bowls, like the Brazil Bowl offering coconut rice, black beans, mango salsa, rich coconut chili sauce and steamed greens. The Barrio Bowl lays the same foundation with rice, beans and steamed greens – but honors a more traditional Latin flavor with pico de gallo and cilantro-lime sauce. Add tofu just for fun! And as you would expect, there is an addictive assortment of tacos, each prepared with house-made tortillas.

You can easily spot our bright orange building at the corner of Fifth and Nutmeg, right between the communities of Hillcrest and Banker’s Hill. For lively décor, smart servers, creative drinks and the artistic fusion of Latin and Asian cuisines, visit Barrio Star, where the best of Mexican soul food is celebrated and enjoyed!

Todd Camburn

Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, Todd Camburn, owner of Barrio Star, found a permanent home in sunny San Diego in 2004 while fulfilling his passion for traveling. After studying marketing and organizational communications at the Western Michigan University, Camburn pursued his longtime affinity for cooking and attended the San Diego Culinary Institute in 2008.

With his lifelong love for authentic Mexican cuisine, Camburn is constantly brainstorming to put a creative spin on traditional flavors, such as the award-winning Roasted Jalapeño Blackberry Margarita, which is one of his favorite concoctions on the menu at Barrio Star. As a self-proclaimed fitness junkie, Camburn also likes to make sure that his culinary creations are equal parts delicious and healthy for his customers.

Jeremy Stellenwerf

Jeremy Stellenwerf was born and raised in Sunny San Diego. He started his service industry journey at T.G.I Friday’s, where he quickly moved up from host and busser to server and eventually bartender. It was behind the bar that he found his passion, creating an experience with cocktails and food that led him to Lead Bartender at On the Border Mexican Restaurant and then Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza.

Opening many restaurants along the way, like House of Blues San Diego and The Firehouse in PB, Jeremy wound up opening his own bar with a friend in LA called The Rabbit Hole, in 2013. They took The Matrix and Alice in Wonderland themes and flipped a dive bar into a nightclub in the middle of the valley.

Fast Forward to today, Jeremy has been working at Barrio Star as the Bar Manager for 6 years. While running the bar program, Barrio Star won the San Diego Reader Magazines’ Best Margarita in San Diego 2018 and 2019 for the Roasted Jalapeño Blackberry Margarita.

Excelling in creativity and service, Jeremy has only improved the staff with his experience, and will now take on a new role as General Manager. Jeremy describes himself as a kind and passionate person. When he is not at work, Jeremy enjoys playing disc golf, playing guitar and taking his dog to the park.