Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant

I have heard about Rio Grande but for some reason I have never been in. They have pretty good Mexican food, but the best part is their Margaritas. They're really tasty and completely affordable. It's not a fancy sit down restaurant, it's casual. So only go if you want a fun-vibe place, not fine dining. I recommend it more

It was 7ish and the techno music was so loud I couldn't even hear the waiter. The food was AWFUL and the service was very bad. I think this place is great for college students who want to get wasted and party, as the bartender was clearly drunk, dancing like it was a rave. The place was full of families trying to have a nice dinner, it was embarrassing. I don't recommend this place to anyone. Bad food, bad service, horrible blaring techno music! more

Plan to have a couple of margs and see & be seen, then go somewhere else for dinner. Very bland food. more

First of all, this is Tex Mex, not Mexican. This should be considered when reviewing the food. It will not be ""authentic"" and will be seasoned much differently! That being said, I've been here several times and have NEVER had anything that wasn't fresh and flavorful. I think the place gets a bad rap for not being authentic, but that aside - there are tasty foods to be enjoyed! I love the salsa and the blue corn tortillas. Although I'm a meat eater, they do a nice job with veggie fair here, better than anywhere in town for Tex Mex. The margaritas also taste outstanding. I have them a lot, and they are 100 times better than Juanita's or other places around there (besides Tahona - they aren't even in the same class - they are fantastic). Anyway I think it's an amazing lunch spot for fresh tasty eats and consistent friendly service. I've been going there for years and haven't had a bad meal yet. Pros: Consistent food and service, drinks more

TERRIBLE, bland food; I cant even eat it when Im drunk.\r \r The margaritas are good, however...but dont even bother with an appetizer at this joint. more

OK, so there's alot of differing opinions about the Rio. The truth- it is one of the best places in Boulder. Nowhere else can u go for the atmosphere, overall food quality and delicious margarita. As a long time regular I'm going to lay out a set of rules to keep in mind if u have never been there and respond to the 'naysayers,' which is bound to happen when u serve as many people as the Rio does.\r \r 1- the price. u can be in and out with a margarita and entree for under 20$. Try that anywhere else in Boulder that isn't a dive inside like Juanita's. 2- to the one who complained about a chicken bone in her enchilada. This isn't taco bell, they use real chickens, which have bones. Did u know that?\r 3- The trick to the Rio is keeping things simple. Its high volume and cheap, so u cant expect ""Frasca-like"" service. Also the waitstaff is mostly college kids looking to pay their bills and have a good time while they work. I have met so many people that come every week, alot of families, because they know the faces and love the prices. Anywhere else in town you will pay 8$ and up for a margarita that has less tequila. \r Did you know the Rio's has 3 shots of alcohol? Hence the 3 limit. 4- The rooftop patio is one of the best on earth. Problem is there is no kitchen or bar on the roof so things take longer, plus they have a whole downstairs with hundreds of hungry, thirsty people. How to avoid that? Grab a drink downstairs and carry it up, or order extra when the waiter ""finally"" arrives. Be patient, u are lucky to be served in such a beautiful place! 5- Cinco de Mayo at the Rio trumps any other Cinco party. \r \r Menu tips- Bobby Flay isn't cooking, got it? \r -Guacamole is amazing. Simple, delicious, no unnecessary ingredients.\r -Burrito de Carne smothered in Green/spicy or ranchero sauce. So good, especially w/ a margarita!\r -Cheese queso appetizer\r -Enchiladas,Tostadas,Chicken Salads,Fajitas\r -Agave Martini on the rocks= Top shelf margarita for 8-9$! Pros: Awesome food, margaritas and service. Rooftop patio, ""Garage"" seats. Cons: Can get a busy on weekends, but worth the wait! more

I've been here numerous times and have yet to have a bad experience. There margs are tasty, if you like them strong. Being a vegetarian I love the fajitas and nachos. Granted it's not the best mexican food out there, but it's got average prices and a nice atmosphere. Also seating area outdoors - perfect for the hot summer nights! Another good place is Tahona! more

The margaritas are definitely worth going there, but the food is a different story. I refuse to eat there since I found a 3 in. chicken bone in my enchilada. Go for a margarita and chips and salsa, anything more than that is a gamble. Pros: Margaritas, Service Cons: Parking, Food more

This place ROCKS! Literally, the margs are the best and the food is amazing. Their food is fresh and they don't use any lard in any recipe. Their salsa is heavenly and when you sit on the rooftop, sip a marg and eat a healthy Salad, nothing beats The Rio. The servers are laid-back and friendly. Tahona is a joke compared to this place Pros: Mexican, Margs, Service Cons: Parking more

If you think that Azteca is actually good Mexican food, than you might like this place. Otherwise, if you own a tongue, please stay way. Cheap margaritas are ok, but if you want real good Latin food, check out Centro or Tahona Tequila Bar. Pros: margaritas Cons: bland food more

I am not from Boulder and was taken here by my friend and wow. I am now Rio obsessed. Their margaritas really are as amazing as they and everyone else says, and the food was fantastic. It's a really fun place to eat and get ridiculous, haha. If I lived there, it would be a bit dangerous for me... Pros: Margaritas, Ambience more

Unfortunately, I have eaten at the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant 3 times. Each time was worse than the last. I don't know how it stays in business. On my second and third visits I tried to convince my friends to choose another restaurant (Boulder has MANY) but they wanted to try this one. The wait staff seemed to be waiting for other jobs and ignored every table they had. We had to get up to find them to ask for more water. After a 45 min. wait, our food arrived with the appetizers and everything was OLD and COLD. I see from the reviews that some enjoy the ambiance but, you can't eat the decor. This restaurant is the first place I have ever left less than a 20% gratuity - the service WAS that bad. Yes, we did tell the management of the poor service and food quality but they had obviously heard it many times before and did nothing other than a quick, ""Sorry about that."" Save yourself the unsavory experience and dine elsewhere! Pros: Interesting location Cons: Food and service was unbelievably POOR. Taco Bell has better of both?!? more

I don't ever do this and I created an account just to write this review. I would have to say this was the worst meal I have ever had. The service from the waitstaff was good but the manager was far from it. My visit here a year ago was an exceptional one, so when family from all over the states came for my younger sisters wedding (she is 27), they wanted to visit boulder. I did not hesitate to recommend Rio for a nice dinner. To my surprise the food was aweful (2 of my nieces actually cried) and when the manager came by to see if everything was good I told him ""honostley, the food is horrible"". He walked away without ANY RESPONSE nor did he try to make things right with us. Hmmm.. so why even ask if you did not get an answer you should be ready for. I was super embarrased I brought in a party of 15, they are lucky I even gave them one star. If you want great food and great service in Boulder, go to Frasca! Your $400.00 will be well worth it there. Pros: Waitstaff Cons: Everthing else more

Had an awful experience on Sep 15th . We chose rooftop seating as the day was nice but the service was beyond poor. We waited for 20 minutes in the hot sun and finally had to flag a server to get us water. The hostess did ask the couple of servers on the rooftop to attend to our table but we were ignored. Noone took our order . Finally we got up to leave and thought we would talk to the manager on the way out. She was a witch from hell. Instead of apologizing for the poor service she made excuses as to how busy she was and could not get to the rooftop and there were other things that took priority. She didnot care that we were leaving neither did the other servers. Shame on the management . Cannot even talk about the food or the drinks as we were not given a chance to sample those. Pros: great rooftop seating on a sunny day Cons: poor service and unapologetic management more

The Rio has really gone down hill. Today, in for a late lunch, the server, while nice, brought out soup (appetizer) with the actual entrees. The Rio is notorious for bad timing. The green chili (which I ordered the regular kind, not the hot kind) that smothered the chicken enchiladas was so spicy it was inedible. After over ten minutes of waiting for the server to come over and take it away, she tried to argue with me that it was not the hot kind. The manager then stopped by, explained that they had ""extra hot green chilis"" delivered and were trying to warn people before ordering. Clearly, I did not receive this warning. I was so over it that I passed on a comped entree the manager offered (their enchilada sauce is way to tex-mex), and gave me a $5 gift card. Whatever.\r \r If you just want a marg and chips & salsa - stop by the Rio. Otherwise, if you are hungry for authentic Mexican food, stop by Rincon del Sol, Sol Azteca or Casa Alvarez. Pros: Location, salsa, margaritas Cons: Service (it is almost always poor, except in the bar), cleanliness of the restaurant, food. more

Margaritas, Sangrias, House Margarita, salted, surgar, iced, on the rocks. \r \r This place is where to go for margaritas. The food is average, getting better but you go to this place for the Margaritas. They have a 3 Margarita limit for a reason, the house is plesantly strong. I recently ate there and they had expanded their menu, their homemade Flan was quite good. Oh must warn you, don't order the sopopeias. Not worth it. more

The Rio is hyped a little more than it is worth, still a good choice for a weekday lunch. Decent happy hour deals, service is inattentive and indifferent. Margaritas are okay, I've had better and worse - but they will sneak up on you, hence the 3 drink limit. Pros: Margs Cons: Service more

I really enjoyed the margaritas! They aren't syrupy-sweet and they tasted great. I originally tried to order a different mixed drink, but our waiter claimed that they only have beer, wine, and tequila. The food was good, but nothing unusual or outstanding. The service was kind of slow. We were there on a weeknight and it wasn't that busy. We were hoping to order dessert, but when our waiter finally dropped the bill off, he just dropped it and ran, so we paid and left. Pros: Good margaritas Cons: slow service more

All the rave reviews about the margaritas are correct--I have never had better! All of them (house, frozen, frozen strawberry) are excellent. Try a ""strawberry light"" if you want strawberry flavor without overdoing it (mixed with regular frozen). As for the food, I am a vegetarian and LOVE this place! The bean/cheese burrito is only $6.95 and is definitely filling (ask for it baked, or the cheese won't be melted). Their chile rellenos are good as well. They have excellent veggie green chile, which is rare. And the nachos...mmm! Some food prices are high, but most are very reasonable. Overall, a great place. more

what you can expect here are excellent chips and salsa (order the side of queso to go w/ it...it's good) and excellent steak tacos...they are marinated and very good. i order this every time I go there. yucatan shrimp is another good option. It's pretty hard to screw up beans and rice...there's nothing wrong w/ them. The service is always good and in the summer time head out to the patio...there's a water fountain and the atmosphere is excellent. I personally do like the margaritas....they are not the best in town but are good....very strong...but good. $5 for margarita and for 2 steak tacos it's around $9. my girlfriend went there this weekend and we ordered steak tacos lunch special(1 taco), yucatan shrimp, side of queso and the bill came to $22 bucks....this is very reasonable. more