There’s a distinct reason Sonia Salazar chose the name Barracuda for her New Haven bistro – she sees herself as “the small, aggressive fish.”
“That’s me, swimming with the sharks in New Haven,” she says, listing some of the Elm City’s most popular and established restaurants. “I’m the little fish here.”
But Salazar, with 20 years’ experience in restaurants, has a few of those very institutions on her culinary résumé. The Colombian-born chef initially came to the United States to go to nursing school, but fell in love with the food and beverage industry while working part-time in kitchens as a student.
Nursing “wasn’t for me,” Salazar said, which she discovered while working the salad station part-time at a Hyatt Hotels restaurant. In Colombia, “at 9-years-old, you know how to cook already, you’re cooking with the family,” she said, but soon realized she’d found her passion.
During her time in Connecticut, she’s also worked for Morton’s Steakhouse, French fine-dining destination Union League Café and Prime 16, known for creative burgers and craft beer. Now Salazar is a first-time owner, and her Barracuda, which opened in November, is in the same Chapel Street space where Prime 16 owner Bob Potter previously operated New Haven Meatball House and its successor, gastropub Avro Kitchen & Bar.
Salazar’s vision is an American restaurant with Latin infusion, she says, showcasing elements of her Colombian heritage along with other Spanish and South American influences.
The menu of small plates, sandwiches and salads ($6 to $16) is heavy on fish and seafood. Avocado sashimi is Asian-inspired: chopped raw sushi-grade tuna is served on fresh avocado halves, with drizzles of sweet chili and wasabi sauces. Lobster appears in tacos with diced tomato and mango, and in a popular grilled cheese on buttered sourdough with melted Manchego. Volcano shrimp is blackened and served with mango chutney; shrimp ceviche in a tomato juice-, lime-, cilantro- and Tabasco-mixture is served in a margarita glass. And then there are local Blue Point oysters, served raw on the half-shell, baked in cream sauce and layered into a shot glass with housemade Bloody Mary mix and lemon vodka. They’re brought in fresh from Milford, Salazar says, and when they run out of that day’s supply, that’s it.
Other specialties include yucca frita with chimichurri sauce, Colombian yellow-corn empanadas stuffed with chicken, arepas topped with mango barbecue pork or sauteed mushrooms, macaroni and cheese with Colombian chorizo, and a newer dish of “platanos con queso,” or sweet plantains topped with melted mozzarella. Sandwiches feature a popular blackened tuna with horseradish cream sauce, a housemade veggie burger with quinoa and roasted garlic, and a classic Cubano. As she counts many students among her clientele, Salazar said she expected the 8-ounce cheeseburger to sell well, but it’s been eclipsed by other offerings.
All of the small plates sell fairly evenly, Salazar said. “I don’t know if it’s because I have a small menu, [but it] gives us the opportunity to do it right, and fresh.”
A weekend brunch features guava crepes with queso blanco and Grand Marnier; Colombian breakfast with arepas, chorizo, avocado and scrambled eggs; and a chorizo-and-shrimp omelet and a lobster Benedict. Mimosas, $7 each, or available “bottomless” at a set price of $18 for one hour, feature mango and passion fruit nectar. Happy hour is another big draw at Barracuda, when raw oysters are $1 apiece Monday through Wednesday, among other food and drink specials.
Barracuda’s cocktails are another highlight, made with fresh juices and exotic flavors – and they’re affordably priced, all at $7 and $8. Salazar chose these price points as a way to encourage guests to stay and enjoy without “breaking the bank,” she said. “I want you to come here, have a couple of oysters, have a couple of drinks, and go home happy without thinking, ‘Oh, I spent so much money.’ ” The mojitos, in flavors like guava, tamarind and mango, drew crowds of students even during this past winter’s storms, she said.
In coming months, Salazar plans to add new dishes and drinks to the menu, including paella, which is currently a Sunday special. As a first-time owner, she’s at Barracuda seven days a week, but “it’s worth it,” she says of the workload. “I’m happy.”
>>Barracuda, 1180 Chapel St. in New Haven, is open Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Information: 203-691-5696, barracudanewhaven.com.
