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Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe

4 star rating
based on 48 reviews

Categories: Mexican, Caterers  [Edit]

10525 S De Anza Blvd
#100
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 873-1600
  • Price Range: $
  • Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
  • Parking: Private Lot
  • Attire: Casual
  • Good for Groups: Yes
  • Good for Kids: Yes
  • Takes Reservations: No
  • Delivers: No
  • Take-out: Yes
  • Waiter Service: Yes
  • Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
  • Outdoor Seating: Yes
  • Good for: Lunch
  • Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
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48 Reviews for Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe

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Photo of Heather L.

 

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3

Heather L.

Cupertino, CA

3 star rating
Updated - 07/17/2008

Just got shrimp tacos again - 5 total shrimp in two tacos!!! *sigh* ....i have tried a chicken caesar salad also...IT IS HUGE, and the chicken tastes great!

I also noticed that there's always a long wait for my food from the time I order. Not sure how two shrimp tacos would take so long.

1 Previous Review: Show all »

  • 3 star rating 05/04/2008

    I must admit I've only been here a handful of times, and I always get the same thing, shrimp tacos +… Read more »

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22

Teresa A.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
06/30/2008

Quite a surprise this was.  We ordered enchiladas traditional - one with steak and one with chicken.  They are served with rice and beans.  The have a fairly extensive salsa bar and make their own chips.

Everything was hot and delicious.  My DH had never had Southwestern cuisine and he decided he likes it.  The price is right for what you get.  Ours with drinks was $23.  Our food was ready in a small amount of time.  The only bad thing that happened was they served it Christmas style (red and green sauce together) and we had asked for green sauce only.  The waitress was very apologetic and offered to make our order over again.  We declined and still enjoyed our enchiladas.  If I am ever over in the area again I will certainly give something different a try.

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3

94

Nikki C.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
07/08/2008

This was a good little find that I never would have found without the help of Yelp!

I love the huge selection of salsas.. We tried four of them, and they were all good. :)  Chips are warm and fresh too.  The menu says that chips and salsa are something like 2 or 3 dollars... We didn't order them, but they brought out chips to us while we were waiting anyway.  So that was nice!

My chicken burrito was really nothing too special.  I prefer more cheese, and a stronger marinade on the meat..  I guess it was a little bland.  I got no salsa or guacamole on it, so maybe I should have left one of those on it.

My boyfriend's chicken enchiladas, ordered "Christmas-style"  were, however, excellent.  

Looking around, I noticed a lot of people had ordered soft tacos or quesadillas, and the nachos looked good too.  I also saw on their specials menu (AFTER I ordered...) a smoked gouda quesadilla.  I'll be back in the future to try that!!

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25

Paul K.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
07/11/2008

Food was fresh especially salsa and Fajita.    I had a hard time finding the place to meet a friend.  It was worth finding in the end.

4 stars for my food. I tasted my friends chicken burrito... nah...
Not my type of burrito. Chicken was boiled not grilled, huge
difference for me.

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3

250

Nobody M.

Sunnyvale, CA

4 star rating
06/10/2008

Had a quick business lunch here today and I was impressed.  The beans actually had flavor and both the carne asada and the salmon tacos were pretty damn good.  The carne asada corn tortillas were soaked and mushy, but other than that--the food is reasonably priced, the place is clean, and the food is great.  

I kind of hate it when a place is good--my reviews are so much more entertaining when a restaurant sucks!

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5

ohmygod S.

Cupertino, CA

5 star rating
06/19/2008

Rio Adobe is like a burrito heaven.
I love this place.
They're homemade chips are the best...and i love the new corn salsa that they have.
..
Service if friendly...and overall
just a wonderful place

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6

Jonathan A.

Cupertino, CA

4 star rating
06/09/2008

I've been here about a million times...whenever I am craving some good southwestern food closeby...it sure beats the chipotle across the streeet...
I always order the Chicken Burrito Mojado...and I love the fact that it comes out of the kitchen so hot that you can't even touch the plate (=O)
While waiting for your order they serve you a nice serving of free chips which taste great with their (homemade i suppose?) salsa's.
The service is a bit "eh' depending on the time of day you go...I've never gotten the same server twice in a row...actually...for the past 5 time's that I have gone the server's have been different...The teenagers always looked bored of their job. But oh well...the food is good...

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7

Sy P.

Los Altos, CA

2 star rating
05/14/2008

I love New Mexican food...I lived in New Mexico for over 10 years, and go back every year to visit friends and family.

So, I had high hopes for Rio Adobe...and it just didn't meet my expectations.  I think if you're looking for an interesting variation on Mexican food, you might like this.  It's ok.  

We tried multiple dishes, including the Carne Adobada (not even close to what you'd get in New Mexico) and the green chile (same story).  Perhaps if you don't know what it's supposed to be you'll enjoy this more than we did.

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80

Regan C.

Cupertino, CA

5 star rating
04/14/2008

I didn't think I'd rate a hispanic place 5 stars (not that I'm racist, but mexican food besides taco bell isn't my fav type of food), but wow, this place is great. Better than Dos Coyotes, Chipotle, Baja Fresh. I had the steak burrito and it had chunks of tender hot steak in this 8 in burrito. Stuffed with guacamole and cheese, I actually finished the whole thing!

They also provided us with plenty of chips and their salsa bar had 8 different selections. I'll probably come back here again if I feel like burritos or tacos.

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40

Chris G.

San Francisco, CA

5 star rating
04/22/2008

My co-workers and I eat here quite a bit and, I have to say, I really like this place. It has great Southwest style cuisine and the owner is really nice. I really enjoy the Shrimp burrito as it has just the right balance of shrimp, cheese, sauce, and guacamole. It's not all ghetto like Baja Fresh or La Salsa.

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92

David Y.

Cupertino, CA

3 star rating
04/16/2008

I don't really understand Southwestern food, is it just another way to say Mexican food?  But whatever, the burritos here is not bad from what I've had here.  I've always been a little reluctant to go here because it never really stood out for me compared to other Mexican/Southwestern places that I've been to, but when I do go there, it usually meets my expectations.

My problem here is that I only find half of their meals good, but at least the best tasting of the meal is the main course meaning the burrito or enchilada, etc.  You can't go wrong with any of their burritos or wet burritos or enchiladas.  Just the other day, I had the Carne Adobada Enchilada and that tasted spicily wonderful.  Their sides that go along with it that's suppose to compliment the rest of the meal was pretty bland.  The beans, the spanish rice, and the chips all had almost no flavor at all; it was almost like eating paper.

If it wasn't for the main entree of the meal, this would've received a much lower score, but good thing they got that part right.

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332

Chris C.

Union City, CA

3 star rating
04/07/2008

The fiance and I were in the area meeting one of her friends when we decided to stop off at Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe.  Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe is a trendy style Southwest Cafe and the interior shows.  Definitely a step or two up from your typical taqueria's but doesn't have that cookie cutter feel of saw a Baja Fresh.

Upon walking in you are greeted with a large bulletin board with all the menu options.  They have all of your typical foods you would expect from this place from Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas, and they have salads here too.  Prices here are very reasonable.  I don't recall seeing a single item over $10 and most items fall between $5 - $8.  The fiance and I looked over the menu and I put in an order for their Fish Taco Plate and she had their Havasu Salad.  We found our spot and chatted with her friend.  We did get some multicolored chips and I went over to their salsa bar and they had about 6 - 8 choices.  Everything from mild to extremely spicy.  I tried a little bit of everything and it was ok.  Nothing really stood out for any of us, but most of them tasted fresh, so I give them props for that and their selection that should satisfy most people.

Food took about 10 - 15 minutes.  The salads the two ladies got were huge.  Plenty of veggies and other good items.  The fiance liked that it came with Jicama.  The bit of lime in the salad dressing set the salad off just right.  My Fish Taco plates was a disappointment.  The tacos were on the small side.  The Mahi-Mahi they used was really small chunks and just piled on a bunch of other stuff that tasted well to put it best "blah".  The rice and beans that came with it also just tasted "blah".  They both really just lacked any flavoring and just didn't excite me to much.

In the end the fiance and I paid about $19 including tip.  The service here was ok.  Again places like this is hard to rate service as all they do is take your order at the cash register and they bring out your food.  To be honest not much service there and they do the same thing at Carl's Jr except they don't have a tip jar.  The food was just average.  My fiance's salad was much better than my fish tacos.  I do give them credit for reasonable prices especially considering that they are located in Cupertino.  Overall, really nothing to get excited about and wouldn't put this on my must visit list.  I would say they don't deserve a 2 star rating, but certainly no better than 3 star.  So let's just leave it 3 stars and I recommendation of will do in a pinch but not at the top of the list.

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Elite '08

175

441

Mara T.

San Jose, CA

3 star rating
01/28/2008

Good tacos, mediocre chips.

Got steak tacos and then threw in a blue crab corn one (special) just for the heck of it. As mentioned on here already, the tacos have tons of steak and tiny tortillas. Not enough cilantro/onions and slightly dry steak made the beef tacos not super fab. However, lots of added salsa made them pleasurable.

Chips are hit or miss. Some were so greasy and stale they wouldn't even crunch when you bite into them. Others were good. The salsas were great, about 8 diff options, and they run the gamut from mild to hothothot.

The sleeper was the random blue crab taco. Seriously, this thing was amazing. Tasty crab, crunchy cabbage, spicy aioli, blue corn taco shell. I am bummed I didn't get three of these.

Not the most fab lunch experience overall, but I would go back to try their nachos (coworker loves them)...and get more crab tacos of course.

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139

Bebe L.

Los Angeles, CA

4 star rating
01/24/2008

I enjoy eating at Rio Adobe.  On our last visit, we were the only ones in the restaurant.  We walked up, ordered our food & sat down.  Being the only ones in the place you'd think our food would come out quick.  It didn't, I was a little surprised.

On this last visit I tried the chicken soft taco.  Delicious grilled chicken with lots of onions & cilantro.  The corn tortilla was smaller than I'm used to seeing but they made up for it with the amount of meat I got.  Definitely no skimping there!  The boy-toy got their steak burrito...didn't try it but looked good.  It was so huge he could only eat 1/2.

Had their chicken tortilla soup awhhhile back, probably one of the better tasting chicken tortilla soups I've had in quite some time.  On that visit we also had the sopapillas.  Honey sweet goodness!  The dessert was really big & we had to take most of it to-go.  I love that you get your money's worth here.  Try it!  You'll like it :-)

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Elite '08

71

300

Eve K.

Sunnyvale, CA

4 star rating
01/28/2008

I really liked this place for lunch. I got the Carne Adobada enchiladas Xmas because it reminded me of my last trip to Santa Fe and I like the variety of one red in and one green sauce. 8-) The enchiladas were good (and not super spicy) but next time I decided I want to try the tacos cause I was obsessed with their roasted salsa.

So, went another time and although the pork wasn't spicy in the enchiladas boy did I feel the heat in the tacos. Mahi tacos were great--fresh and plentiful. I still love that fresh roasted tomato salsa.

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6

41

Paul S.

Concord, CA

5 star rating
02/20/2008

Good stuff.  I go here for lunch all the time even though it gets crowded.  Tacos are over-stuffed with meat and everything is cooked fresh to-order.  Nice salsa bar.  The guacamole is delicious.

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Elite '08

246

122

Carol L.

Campbell, CA

4 star rating
11/28/2007

Rio Adobe is more of a Fresh-Mex style of Mexican restaurant, rather than the authentic hole-in-the-wall style.  Seating is limited and can get crowded during lunch.  If you're lucky, you'll get free chips with your meal.  

Most places have a "specialty" that everyone gets but whenever I come here with my coworkers, the "usual" varies for every person on my team:  the burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and salads are each a favorite for someone.  My personal favorites are the Hongos Quesdadilla (mushroom, onions, poblanos, jack, parmesan crusted tortilla) and the HUGE Havasu Salad (mixed greens, carrots, onions, jicama, red bells, corn, sour cream, guac, with a Citrus Vinaigrette, all on a flour tortilla with a layer of black beans... but I always ask them to leave out the beans and bell peppers, yuck!).

Service is generally friendly, but they can take a long time or mess up on your order if it's too busy. Tip: Free soda with a student ID.

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12

35

Ky L.

San Jose, CA

3 star rating
02/19/2008

I give them three stars because I don't want yelpers thinking that this is any more than your good mexican cafe / taqueria. The food is good and the portions are huge. My wife had the Havasu salad and it must have weighed four pounds. Dude.

Also, I am jaded. I've been dreaming about sopapillas for six years. I had a great one and then never got around to eating another. We walked into Rio Adobe, and it was on the menu. It came out after the meal and it was just alright. Too doughy.

So yelpers, go to this place because it is good, but if you've been dreaming of a particular dish for a long time, do yourself and Rio Adobe a favor and order something else.

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2

Mike W.

Cupertino, CA

4 star rating
12/19/2007

One thing I miss the most about New Mexico is the food.  Lucky for me, I found Rio Adobe.  I seem to order the Green Chile Stew the most, but I have tried other things.  When I am craving some NM style cooking and I am too lazy to cook myself, I head over to Rio Adobe.  It's clean and the owner was very nice.  Some of the counter help have not been so great, but other times the service has been pretty good.  I've noticed that the spiciness of the stew changes all the time, but that could depend on what kinds of chiles are used.  All in all, it's a good restaurant for Cupertino - a nice change amongst all the ordinary choices.

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141

Mitchell W.

San Jose, CA

2 star rating
03/24/2008

I have been trying to decide on whether I should give Rio Adobe 2 or 3 stars. I am currently going with 2, but may change it to 3 if my stomach ache goes away sooner than later...
I have been here twice with my girlfriend and ordered different things each time.
The first time: My opinion was 3 stars (ie. not great but worth at least a 2nd time... a place to add to the list for a bite)
I ordered the carne Adobada... Although this lived up to the menu in being spicy, it had little other taste for me. There was no subtlety to it, no complexity, just spicy (which I generally like) sauce. Not better than 3 stars...
My girlfriend ordered the Quesadillas Special (Artichoke and bacon)
It seemed interesting, but didn't blow me away. Again, at this point around 3 stars...
we decided to try it again...

2nd visit (Lunch):
The 2 stars is not just based on the food, but the bad service, freshness, and price)
I ordered the Adobe Chicken Burrito.. it was a 2 or 3 star burrito because there was nothing about it to make me want another, and wasn't made well.
The chicken tasted exactly like the chicken from Baja Fresh. I mean exactly! That is not a good thing... to taste like a chain restaurant.
The Burrito had a HUGE amount of sour cream in it and almost no guacamole or salsa, or cheese.
I got a Diet coke... that was fine
I went to get some salsa... the corn and black bean was not spicy as it said it would be... and the corn tasted like it was out of a can.
I got the chipotle salsa and it was bad... sour/old, like it had been out far too long and had turned.
The chips tasted bad too... as if they had not changed the oil in some time. Good oil should not leave a residue and taste.
So I am paying more for a burrito that tastes like Baja Fresh, and chips that are worse... and I am left with a stomach ache.

My girlfriend ordered a few tacos
1. Smoked Pork - It was dry, and bland other than the taste of pork*
2. One shrimp taco - not bad, but not interesting
3. One Mahi-Mahi Taco - she ordered with no slaw for this, just a little bit of Pico de Gallo... it was drenched in it! Isn't Pico de Galla supposed to be fresh and not full of Bell Peppers?
* They served her a Carne Adobada taco. This was incorrect. Instead of just replacing that taco, they took the whole plate away... after a few minutes she went to check on her order as they took it all. They had thrown away the other tacos and were going to remake them all?? All they needed to do was replace the one that was incorrect. Wasteful and inconsiderate.
Not only had they not thought about leaving her with nothing, but they put her order in at the end of the line of orders... So now she is sitting there with no food waiting a loooong time for new tacos to show up.
She also got a tea, and it literally tasted like Horse Dung Smells.

So, why 2 stars? The food wasn't horrible, but not better than a 3.
The over-all experience was lacking which left me not wanting to go again, hence a 2.

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Elite '08

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Vanessa B.

San Jose, CA

3 star rating
11/13/2007

The burrito was good. The guy behind the counter, a douche.

I ordered the chicken burrito to go, and couldn't have ordered at the worst time. I mean, I really inconvenienced the guy behind the counter. I'm so sorry, dude, if you're way too busy catching up on your reading, but I need some protein, stat. In the form of chicken, pervs.

I enjoyed my burrito, didn't enjoy the service. It did seem healthier than most burritos, but I don't think I'd come here again over an authentic taqueria, though. Kind of like going to The Olive Garden in Boston. Way better choices abound.

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7

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Matthew B.

Phoenix, AZ

4 star rating
12/03/2007

I loved this restaurant the first time we went to visit. I often want to buy plane tickets to Santa Fe just to experience true Southwestern food. This place really cuts down on my need to do that! I was so impressed that I could order a blue corn enchilada that I almost died! They also have pretty good sopapillas, and if you know anything about me, it's that Mexican desserts capture my heart. Enjoy!

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0

5

V W.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
04/16/2008

I've had a great meal every time I've been.  Large burritos, huge portion of nachos.  Nothing too special in terms of flavors, but the amount of food for the price you pay is well worth it.

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4

180

Michelle C.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
11/06/2007

I work just down the street from this place.  Went here with a co-worker, got the quesidilla, very yummy!  The prices are high, but this is a technology based employment area.  Overall I enjoyed the single dish I bought and want to go back to eat some more later on.

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Rich A.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
12/02/2007

I first had the food from Rio Adobe when they catered a wedding that I went to. I thought the food was great. I started talking the owner and found out that he had a restaurant too. I have since been to the Restaurant about 10 times over the last year and a half.

They have a great selection of salsas available at the Salsa Bar. I've tried a couple of tasty dishes there but since I don't eat meat, my selections are limited.

Rio Adobe is a great place to eat. The biggest drawbacks are the small parking lot and limited seating. But if you get there before 11:30 or after 1pm, no problem! Or just park across the street and walk over like I do and you are set! Don't be lazy!

The owner Jim is very kind and very approachable. Great place.

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Elite '08

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160

Christine K.

San Jose, CA

3 star rating
09/29/2007

Pretty good place for casual dining if you're in the mood for some good ol' non-authentic Mexican, "Baja" style food (like Baja Fresh): burritos, tacos, some chips and salsa, and nachos. Got the Vaqueros burrito the first time I went, and couldn't stop thinking about it thereafter. It's SO good. But when I went back to get it a second time, I was disappointed cuz it came COLD. Maybe I went when it was about to close - I can't remember. But since they impressed me so much the first time with that burrito, I feel they have potential to prove themselves to be 3-star worthy. So for now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and give them 3 stars.

They also give you chips and unlimited self-serve salsa - you just have to be patient enough to fill a million little cups scoop by scoop.

In general, mediocre food for $7-$10 pp.

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Chris E.

Cupertino, CA

2 star rating
07/03/2007

2008 UPDATE:  It's a real shame, but I probably won't eat here any time soon.  I certainly will not be doing any more team lunches here.

OLD REVIEW:
My team and I frequent Rio Adobe and enjoy their consistency, quality and value.  Instead of going over most of the regular menu items, I wanted to focus on one of their specials -- the salmon taco plate.

The salmon itself is prepared well; not too dry, but certainly not undercooked (i.e. borderline tataki or sashimi consistency).  It comes with a nice dressing and the overall flavor is mild, but as distinctly salmon as possible given the nature of this fish.

The main complaint I have with the salmon tacos themselves is way too much "grass" (i.e. the greens towards the top of the taco) and separation between the salmon meat vs. grass portions of the taco.  Unless you squish the taco into a tight roll, they are impossible to eat together and the grass portion is almost completely flavor free.

Pouring some of their great salsa (from the bar) on top may be the best option, but you really shouldn't have to do that for a stand-alone plate.

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63

Michael R.

Mountain View, CA

4 star rating
10/16/2007

I had the De Gallo Chicken burrito. It's better than Chipotle's burritos which is just down the street. The young girl behind the counter had cute freckles: dark and reddish and very pronounced. I wondered if her nickname was freckles. The inside of the building kinda smelled funny, so my friend and I ate outside. We ate the burritos with a fork. You'd get really messy if you tried eating if with your hands.

A group of college students we're sitting nearby us outside and a big guy in the group has an unfortunate laugh. We speculated that he didn't get enough attention as a child. He laughed hard at things that weren't funny.  He was loud. He'd laugh ever couple of minutes or so.

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Elite '08

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Jen S.

Cupertino, CA

4 star rating
04/15/2007

The food is okay.  I ordered the Vaquero Burrito with steak.  I don't know why it's called a burrito because all the insides came tumbling out!  I was looking for some pizzazz in my burrito and sadly, there was none.  Maybe b/c it's healthy....Haha!  Many other reviewers liked the salsa bar but I didn't think it was that great.  Chips and the sopapilla, on the other hand, are their redeeming items.  Clean restaurant and good prices.

Update 5/12/07

Fish taco and shrimp taco are the way to go at Rio Adobe Grill.  They're a bit small but delicious.  I think it would taste better with lime juice drizzled on it.

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2

Calista C.

San Jose, CA

5 star rating
11/07/2007

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. I'm picky about mexican food, and this place gets an almost perfect 10 in my book. Their chicken is some of the best I've had, and their salsa bar rocks. The tomatillo salsa is my favorite ever, and their horchata is amazing. The only thing I don't like is that they're sometimes inconsistent in whether or not they give you chips with your meal, but if they forget all you have to do is ask. Check this place out!

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Kathy D.

Cupertino, CA

5 star rating
10/04/2007

I love the food here. Yum! The chips are yummy, and they have a lot of choices at the salsa bar. Everything I have ordered here has been good. I usually get the taco or enchilada plate. All the tacos are good (chicken, steak, mahi mahi). It may not be the healthiest food for you but it sure tastes good.

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Renee R.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
09/07/2007

Yummy yummy! I adore their shrimp mariscos burrito, guac, salsa bar, and sopapillas ala mode!!

This is one of my favorite work lunch spots.

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Kathleen M.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
01/24/2007

Meat Overdose is a good name for a porn movie. It's also an apt description of Rio Adobe's tacos. I ordered two soft tacos, one steak and one chicken and they were overflowing with so much meat I actually think they would taste better with less meat and more onions and cilantro. Ditto the Meat Overflow (also a good name for a porn movie) on the chicken burrito.

Speaking of which, the chicken is okay, but the steak is clearly the way to go.

The chips come in the most bizarre metal cone thing ever. There are 9 salsas to choose from, but I particularly like the salsa map which names the salsas and indicates their level of spiciness. It's second only to the map that indicates the fillings that comes with Sees truffles.

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Missy-Fishy x.

Campbell, CA

4 star rating
05/15/2007

Rio Adobe has great food, but it's a place that I'm conflicted over.
On one hand, they do make the food fresh and it tastes great.  The servers are extremely helpful and friendly.  However, every time I have gone it cements the fact that it is not the place to go for those of us on a tight lunch schedule.  The food seems to take a really long time if you walk in and order.  I feel like a complete jerk for complaining about this because it is made fresh and they do get really busy around the lunch rush.  And no, I would not rather have food that has been sitting around under a heat lamp.  But if you are in a hurry and you have not called in your order ahead of time, it may be better to save Rio for another day.  If you have the time, though, the food is great.

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Christina B.

San Jose, CA

4 star rating
12/27/2006

This place is poised to replace my favorite local burritory - Chipotle!  Here I am, working during 'company shutdown' between Christmas and New Year's and I'm blissfully full from lunch at Rio Adobe.

Word of warning about this place - they give you A LOT of meat.  The first time I ordered from here I had ordered a burrito and I swear it had 75% steak and 25% other stuff (pico de gallo, a couple of beans).  I couldn't remember any burrito place that was so extremely generous with their steak.  W-O-W!  So if you like meat and you're in the area - Rio Adobe will please you.

Also wanted to say something about their Chocolate Cinnamon Empanadas.  DELICIOUS!  They are warm, chocolaty, SIN-amony and with just the right amount of doughiness.

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Archie R.

Los Altos, CA

3 star rating
12/28/2006

The Vaqueiro Burrito is a good bet.  Tons of carne filled in a mini airbag looking rito.  I would definately go back.  The salsa bar was plentiful but i wouldn't say they were the best tasting i have had.  I would definately go back and put this place in my lunch rotation.

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Laura S.

Campbell, CA

5 star rating
01/02/2007

I love RIO!! They have a lot of great salsas, something for everyone to enjoy their chips.  The shrimp burrito is my favorite, but have also had good nachos, tacos, and Caesar salad, which has a yum southwestern touch.  They also have refillable sodas, and luckily they have Coke.  It's impossible to leave not feeling stuffed- stuffed full of goodness : )

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Anna L.

Cupertino, CA

4 star rating
10/20/2007

Okay, I have been on a Fish/shrimp taco rampage this weekend... couldn't find enough time to get up to Al's fish and chips in Redwood City for their "to Die for" tacos, but I found a decent alternative around the corner from my home.
So... long story short, Al's "OWNS" Rio Adobe in the taco department for the shear fact that the prices are almost the same and Al's tacos are bigger. Rio Adobe uses those tiny taqueria tortillas that barely fit any meat on them! However, the redeeming quality of Rio Adobe's is that they grease up the tortillas a bit (nice flavor), and they make up for the tiny tortilla by putting lots of meat, but the meat to tortilla/filling ratio gets kinda jacked up. Oh Well! the fish is fresh and tastier (in my opinion) than the way they make 'em at Dia de Pesca, in San Jose... I guess I am not a big fan of sauteed fish (Rio Adobe grills theirs so it has that fresh from the bbq grill taste), but at least Dia de Pesca has a great selection of seafood and their tacos are bigger also.
*Last but not least, the shrimp taco was actually pretty tasty. Not as good as Al's, but satisfied my fix.

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Brendan M.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
09/03/2006

I *heart* the salsa bar. There's so many choice and so little chips. The tortilla soup is friggin' awesome and my steak burrito was absolutely packed with meat, not filler. It's not as cheap as a hole in the wall taqueria, but the food is probably better for you than something outta a taco truck.

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BeBe C.

Palo Alto, CA

5 star rating
10/25/2006

Cliff C. is so right about this place. You don't feel guilty after eating at Adobe. The place is perfectly clean.

I am knocking one star off because chips aren't free (they cost freaking $2.5!). Also, Adobe offers a burrito-like salad which has just as much meat, sour cream, and guacamole as a burrito, without the carbs. For some stupid reasons, it's not written on the menu. You have to ask for it.

Parking is a little tight during lunch time. However, you can park across the street where the Longs (or Rite Aid) is. There is some outdoor seating, but it's on the curb side and hence not spacious. Thus, I won't recommend this to dog-owners who wanna bring their fidos along.

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Upgrade to five stars (Nov 14, 2006): I just had dinner there. Ordered my usual burrito salad with steak. The amount of beef on my plate was obscene. There was two to three times more  meat than in a normal burrito served at any Mexican restaurant I'd been to.  The selection of six salsas was good too.  

I was completely stuffed. Yet, I did not feel that my arteries were clogged up.

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