Rio Grande Cafe

I keep wanting to like this place, because it is local and located in a great old building, but it has always disappointed. The food is average at best, and overpriced. My last lunch order was a Rio Grande Salad - composed of wilted greens, an unripe tomato, and dry mushrooms. I had to cut the cartilage off of the chicken in salad. The fajitas and enchiladas are equally bad. Won't be going back.

Pros: The building the restaurant is in

Cons: The food

Posted 08/18/09

It started with a hostess that was unfriendly and on the verge of being rude. It continued with a waiter that didn't so much as grin much less smile. The staff as a whole made us feel we were inconveniencing them by being there. One of our party doesn't care for tomatoes or salsa and ordered a quesadilla, which on the menu was listed as chicken and cheese. When it arrived it was loaded with salsa. When we asked to exchange it for a plain chicken and cheese quesadilla the waiter argued with us and informed us that all their quesadillas are always made with salsa. In all the service was poor and unfriendly and the food was bland and lacked character. We won't be returning.

Pros: Nice atmosphere

Cons: Poor service and bland food

Posted 05/29/09

I have been getting the samething for a while here, the Rio Grande Salad. It was wonderful, fresh greens with lots of veggies, marinated chicken,guac and salsa vinegrette to die for. I went last week and they've changed it. This time it was limp spring greens, with a very under done piece of warm chicken, some dried up mushrooms and scallions, and some semi green tomatoes. I always felt before that I got more than my money's worth, this time I got ripped off. I asked the waiter and he said that the Chef decided that the other salad was too much work. Sorry, but I won't be doing that again.

Pros: Best Guac

Cons: Crowded and Small Tables

Posted 04/05/09

Rio Grande is my husband and I's favorite retaurant! We go there for all occasions. I love the chicken tacos and my husband gets the enchiladas. I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone! It has a crazy atmosphere where you can put quarters in the juke box and pick your songs. Not to mention it's right by Gateway mall which makes for a fun evening out with dinner movies and shopping all within walking distance! The best part about it...its so inexpensive!

Posted 02/26/09

The Rio Grande is one more Utah eating establishment that has NO CLUE on what good, authentic Mexican food should taste like. Ate here just after Christmas with my extended family, and I was disappointed once more by the bland, tasteless food being passed off as "authentic" Mexican cuisine.

Don't waste your time or money here, folks. If you want good tasting, flavorful, Mexican food, the Red Iguana around the corner on North Temple is worth the wait. Pass on the Rio Grande. The train left the station and apparently has never returned.

Pros: Plenty of parking

Cons: Crowded, noisy, old train station

Posted 02/12/09

The location is great in the old Rio Grande train station downtown. This would be a wonderful venue if someone else had the location other than the current group. Although well meaning the owners may be, their attempt at Mexican or Tex/Mex cuisine was not conceived well before opening. "Build it and they will come" must have been the montra before commencing on this project. They forgot any culinary talent what so ever at the door. I would suggest you go to Beto's for cheap Mexican fare or better yet Red Iguana even Blue Iguana will put this place to shame. You will be lucky if this place doesn't make you sick for days.

Pros: Plenty of Parking, Location

Cons: Food, Amatuer Concept

Posted 02/11/09

They charged us .75 cents for onions to go on top of the enchilada.
Very Loud - RUDE Management - Told us if he gave free food away they would go out of business, with that kind of attitude it won't be long.

Posted 02/05/09

If you only like very authentic Mexican food, like the Red Iguana , this place is probably not for you. Our friend from Mexico recommended the carnitas (I think seved only after 5), and taught us to ask for the green salsa with our chips. But I love the vegetarian burrito and the margaritas straight up, without a lot of mixer. I also love that I can get a good salad or a tostada al la carte. The chile verde is good, but not very hot. The service is a little uneven but usually adequate or better. Despite what others have written, I enjoy the decor and the great old restroom from the original train station.

Posted 10/31/08

Not a big fan of this place. So many people seem to want to go there but the food is just Ok and the prices are too high for what you get. The salsa is pretty good but that's about it. Very Overated!

Pros: Good Salsa

Cons: Mediocre Food for a price that is a bit too high for what you get

Posted 09/23/08

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.

Posted 11/14/07

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!!!

Pros: Pitchers of Margaritas

Posted 10/22/07

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.

Pros: Plenty of parking

Cons: Boring food, boring atmosphere, unmotivated staff

Posted 01/09/07

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.

Pros: food.

Posted 11/30/06

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.

Posted 01/16/06

the food's not nearly as good as other mexican restaurants in town, but it's definitely not the worst. kind of tame, not very spicy, conventional dishes. but there's a lady in a giant taco, and that ain't bad.

Posted 11/03/03

The food here is delicious! The portions aren't that big, but neither are the prices. Service was a little slow, but when my meal arrived it was hot and fresh. I don't believe that the chips and salsa are free, which is one complaint I have about Rio Grande. Overall, it was a good experience. I will definately be back to try something else on their menu.

Pros: Value, Free Parking, Juke Box

Cons: Pay for chips/salsa

Posted 05/27/03

I decided to check out the Rio Grande in place of going to my favorite Mexican place (Red Iguana). I was very dissapointed with the food. I ordered the Santa Fe Enchilada, which sounded good on the menu....it was not very good at all. My main complaint? The ENTIRE plate was covered in a THICK layer of cheese. I love cheese, but to cover EVERYTHING, and then have cheese inside the enchilada? I had a huge mound of cheese piled on my plate after I tried to salvage my meal. The chicken filling was dry, and why charge for for chips and salsa? I will never go back.

Pros: Parking is good

Posted 05/13/03

down town, rail station, great meal, fair prices, good service. you cant go wrong. best salsa in town.

Pros: food, nice place

Cons: area

Posted 12/26/02

This may be my favorite place to eat in utah. Their food is excellent I have never had a better salsa and I eat a lot of salsa. The service is perfect freindly and not the fake freindliness so common in most restaurants. Nice building ample parking.

Pros: Great Food, Great Service, Relaxed and freindly

Posted 11/02/02

We have enjoyed the Rio Grande Cafe since first discovering it years ago, before many of the other restaurants were born. It is a comfortable, eclectic environment with a homey feel. The service is always friendly and personal. The food is excellent of taste and value. They have the best pork dishes and salsa.

Should be rated in the top 3 of the top 10 Mexican Resaurants. The Coz

Pros: plenty of parking, best jukebox, interesting art shows

Cons: not closer to home

Posted 09/17/02

When I can't decide where to go for dinner, Rio Grande never dissapoints. My favorite place a bowl the Chili Rojo with tortillas. It's a whole meal for under $6. I've been trying to duplicate the recipe in my own kitcken for years. Margaritas to die for. The State would have been making a big mistake if they had shut down Rio Grande Cafe.

Pros: parking, Chili Rojo, value

Cons: pay for the chips

Posted 08/27/02