Bars of Barretto: John’s Sushi and Steak

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The second floor is an air-conditioned restaurant; the third floor is an open-air bar.

I tend to call this venue “John’s Place.” The steaks are good (and I don’t eat sushi), but this is a bar review, so I’m just talking about the space on the top floor. Still, all the menu items are available in the bar, so you never have to be hungry. Honestly, whenever I journey out to this side of town for a visit to John’s, my priority is the food; drinking is a secondary motivation.

John has some of the best food in town. It ain’t always cheap, but you pay for top-quality ingredients.
The interior of the bar floor is spacious and dominated by a pool table. There are pool league matches two or three days a week.
That’s my usual perch up front, where I can watch the street action.
The bar area.
From the back looking to the front.

So, what else can I say about John’s place? He serves all manner of drinks at a competitive price, including imported beers for only 90 pesos. It’s a regular bar, no girls. You can treat your waitress to a drink, but she likely won’t be able to sit you, as she will need to continue to serve other customers.

The waitresses are young and cute, though, if you enjoy eye candy.
But when I’m at John’s, I’m mostly looking outward.

I’d definitely visit more often if John’s were on my side of town. As it is, I usually drop in once a week for some food and drink. Give it a try and see for yourself.

The rankings:

  1. It Doesn’t Matter
  2. Hideaway
  3. Snackbar
  4. Cheap Charlies
  5. Wet Spot
  6. The Green Room
  7. Alley Cats
  8. Mango’s Beach Bar
  9. Bar Barretto
  10. Lux
  11. John’s Sushi and Steak
  12. Blue Butterfly
  13. Dynamite Dick’s
  14. Mugshots
  15. Alaska Club
  16. Hot Zone
  17. Queen Victoria
  18. Whiskey Girl
  19. Adam’s
  20. Thumbstar
  21. Voodoo
  22. Rock Lobster
  23. Outback
  24. Rosie’s
  25. Annex
  26. Bottoms Up
  27. Palm Tree
  28. BarCelona
  29. MacArthur’s
  30. Redz Pub
  31. Chill

2 thoughts on “Bars of Barretto: John’s Sushi and Steak”

  1. So, I’m guessing John’s place is only #11, and not higher, because of the price factor. For some weird reason, I always imagine John cooking all the food, but in reality, he has a trained staff doing all that work, right? And I’m further guessing they’re specialized cooks: you can’t have a single chef zipping back and forth between sushi and hamburgers. (Or can you?)

    Anyway, this post pairs nicely with the post in which you displayed John’s extensive menu. That menu gave me a pretty clear idea of what his resto was like in terms of cuisine, but today’s post supplemented that by showing the place’s ambiance.

  2. Kev, no, the #11 ranking isn’t about price. I was actually just ranking it according to my personal preferences as a bar. If I were basing the rankings on the food, he’s likely to be #1. I do need to review the restaurants in town as a future project.

    Yes, I rarely see John himself doing the cooking, except for special projects. He told me once he prefers hiring inexperienced cooks so he can train them his way. The exception was the sushi chef., who was already an expert in that specialized field.

    The second floor restaurant is airconditioned, which I’m sure you’d appreciate more than the bar.

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