Rio Grande Cafe

Yes, this restaurant has been around for a long time. Yes, it's in a historic, interesting building. Other than that, it's possibly the worse service you'll ever have, very low-end gringo American Mexican, and nothing redeeming to make it truly worthwhile. Unfortunately, this restaurant has gone so far downhill over the past few years that it would be surprising if it even could make a comeback. Bottom line--don't waste your time or money on this has-been dump.

The Rio Grande Cafe is one of the three oldest restaurants in Salt Lake and a very unique restaurant at that. There is truly nothing like it- A jukebox with old favorites, delicious barely-legal margaritas, ghost stories, and funky local art. They make all of their dishes from scratch, even their mouth watering chili rojo. If you have only one weekend to spend in SLC, you'd be a fool not to check it out!!!

I lived in Texas for nine years. After this, I'm a little biased towards good mexican & tex/mex food. The residents of Utah, in general, need an education in truly good mexican food... The Rio Grande cafe is not what I would consider good mexican food - it's mediocre preparation of boring, run-of-the-mill, mexican dishes. We've tried a couple different entrees at the Rio Grande only to be disappointed. It's not that the food is really bad, it's just really plain.

The ambience mirrors the food as well. There's nothing mexican about the ambience. It's a large room in the old Rio Grande train station turned into a restaurant. The decor is just plain: a few small, forgettable pictures and trinkets strewn about the walls with obnoxious fluorescent lights overhead.

If this place were a diner and served really good, home-cooked, greasy-spoon type food, then the atmosphere and the food would match, but as it is, it just doesn't.

The staff was appropriate to the atmosphere - mediocre. They didn't seem all that motivated about the place, but I could hardly blame them. It's all just, well, dull.

I wouldn't recommend this place at all (not unless they hire me to go in and redecorate with a $10,000 budget and hire a new, innovative, mexican chef). If you do go and like it, I recommend buying a plane ticket to anywhere in Texas and trying nearly any tex/mex or mexican place and you'll be blown away.

The vegetable enchilada is addicting. There is nothing else around like it. The atmosphere is cool..set in the old Union Railroad station. The service is always interesting and the salsa is delcious. They serve whole black beans which is nice. The portions are very large and if you have extra it is near a homeless shelter so you can hand off your leftovers to someone hungry. My husband and I get out of there paying $12 bucks for dinner (chips, salsa, veg enchilada combo, side of beans). They also have a bottle of wine for $11 which is just above the liquor store price (nothing fancy). I would not suggest the margaritas unless you just have to have one with your mexican food.

AFter having heard rave reviews of the RGC, I was surprised to find that its ambience and food quality were average at best, and overall, pretty subpar. Let me put it this way, they make you pay for your chips! And just after the first basket...nope, even the first basket will cost you ~$2. That's ridiculous! Anyway, that aside, the restaurant is situated in the homeless shelter district, so you feel guilty for eating your fattening dinner while people starve in the streets nearby. In sum, this restaurant reminded me of the poor culinary state of things here in Utah. When a state can't even get Mexican right, you know something's wrong.