The Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant

This place is as terrible as it is gimmicky! They are very proud of their mediocre food and charge unreasonably for it ( $17 for 6 shrimp, $15 for two tacos- okay if they're good, but they're not). The service is terrible, and the margaritas... how they were voted the BEST alludes me. A top shelf margarita has Grand Marnier... it just does. Everywhere you go that's what "top shelf" means. Not here. These cheapies just give you a "better tequilla." Really it's already supposed to have a better tequilla. They cut corners wherever they can (food, service, drinks, etc.) and it is apparent. This place is a joke.

I went to this place thinking, "I've heard it advertised as pretty good, let me go check it out." Keep in mind, that this was my 4th option on what was a very busy Wednesday afternoon lunch hour. I waited about 15 minutes to be seated. I ordered the chicken burrito and my girlfriend ordered the chicken fajitas. This food wouldn't even pass for mexican food if you didn't even know what mexican food was... call me spolied, or call it that I've had better quality food off of construction site taco trailers. It was definitely a white-person attempt at mexican food (no offense, I am white myself). It remined me of what my parents would pass off as mexican food in northern Michigan. Although my burrito was rather large, it was very sloppy and soggy-almost watery. The fajitas had what totaled 5 small strips of chicken- they reminded me of the generic pre-made fajita strips you can buy at HEB. And the taste was awful... another reviewer put it best that they tasted like a smokey Worchestershire sauce. The tortillas were okay, but seemed like the kind you would buy in the store, not the homemade version that so many of the mexican restuarants in Austin use. And what they tried to pass off as sopapillas were just awful.

I will admit that the waitstaff was curtious. My girlfriend had casually made a comment that her food was awful as one passed by, and they promptly had a manager come speak to us about our experience. Luckily they have a money-back guarantee on the quality of their food. Needless to say, we did not have to pay the nearly $11 for her food.

All in all, the food was awful. This place is more about the experience of being in the "old Real World House" than it is about the food. With so many other Mexican places with WAY better food at WAY better prices, I will never have a need or a desire to return here... unless it is a weekend evening to have a drink, then they may get a second chance, but it defintely won't be for the food!

I am normally the BIG MEXICAN that eveyone ask where to go eat. I made the call RIO GRANDE and I should had ran for the BORDER. Let me start with the positive: the drinks...strong and pretty good. Ok now for the problems. Food: Very expensive for what you get. We ordered the Mixed fajitas, one plate wtih shrimp and beef the other with chicken and beef. Not only was there a lovely burnt flavor but the tenederness of cardboard. The rice and beans were fine just like at most places simple and not much to them. The portion was small for the price. $17+ for get 3 shrimp and enough meat to fill a TACO BELL taco. I can't make this stuff up!...The server spent more time hanging out with the other tables about 4 other large table through out had hot girls going to party that night so maybe the looser thought he had a chance? The queso was as good as the Cinemarks nachos and the Salsa was a snooze fest also. I know i was not looking for REAL mexican food cause i would have gone to like POLVOS or El RINCONCITO LA MICHOACANA, but this stuff was down right bad even for you white Folks that love TEX MEX. When we complained we did not get the food compt even though we left half of it and i never leave food. What we did get is $10 each to come back and eat more rubber dog food at RIO GRANDE! yeah no thanks...anyone want $10 gift card for $5?

This place is all right, easy to walk to from a couple hotels near the Convention Center, able to seat small or large groups, and provides good-tasting TexMex food at reasonable prices. The bar has televisions to catch the latest on ESPN, the main dining area is spacious. The chips were fresh and crisp; the salsa had a good kick. I like how they offer mini margaritas for those who just wanted a little nip with the food. I ordered an entree salad and substituted in marinated steak which had a great flavor on its own. It was Sunday evening, while there was a large private party in the private room, there weren't too many other patrons, so service was prompt and efficient. A decent place for the business traveler.

Seeing such strongly worded for-and-against arguments for this restaurant has led me to sign up and post the first of my own. I am a long-time downtown resident who loves to cook and eat out and besides experiencing pretty much every downtown restaurant, I have visited Rio several times since they opened over a year ago. They had good food but some of the other elements were shaky when they began but have happily improved steadily. If you visited a year ago and didn't care for the soundtrack or thought their wait-staff was a bunch of newbies, I'd suggest giving them another shot because they really do have excellent margaritas and a refreshingly relaxed vibe for a downtown restaurant.

A couple of other notes is that they're active in the neigborhood and that counts for a lot in my book. People knock the place because Rio got their start in Colorado and then they walk down the street to P.F. Chang's or something. To me, being local is a mindset more than an address (though my understanding is the the owners are originally from Austin). Second, is that the place is big which can mean with a normal crowd it can still feel empty and with a capacity crowd on Friday or Saturday it can get loud. Someone mentioned or else implied that it's popular with women - I don't know if it is or isn't (I'm a guy) but it's popular with birthday parties and bachelorette parties because it can accomodate people...and yes I guess they're mostly girls. Third is that they have a good private room in the back if you need it for meetings, etc... and don't want to go to someplace so formal as Louie's 106's downstairs or something similar. I'm in several organizations and have used them at different times and it has always went over well with attendees.

So in conclusion...I give it four stars because this is Austin and competition is stiff. Bright points are the Margaritas and Sunday brunch. If you haven't been in a while - you should check it out again.