Rio Rio Cantina
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
10 Reviews for Rio Rio Cantina
I ordered a veggie burrito that came with a side of rice, guacamole and sour cream. I thought the rice was gross. The burrito was gross and I just hate sour cream so, I don't think so. If you're ever in San Antonio, I would pass on all the advertisements they have for this place. My suggestion is to ask the locals for a place to go. If there are ads for a restaurant at a hotel, a convention center, street side etc..., case is that they're not getting much business. Good places speak for themselves so no extra advertisement is necessary. If you're thinking about trying Rio Rio, I recommend walking just a few more minutes and crossing the bridge to the Hilton and going to the Guadalajara Grill on the second floor. Sorry, no waterfront dining but the food is excellent.
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Rio Rio used to be my favorite spot on the Riverwalk for Tex-Mex food.
No longer.
It's still a prime location, and the upstairs deck has one of the best views on the river. But the quality of the food keeps dropping, and the service has become dreadful.
On our last visit the server disappeared for twenty minutes at a time, leaving us without a beverage on a very warm evening. And the once-good Tex-Mex cuisine was a mess; it's clearly prepared in advanced and rewarmed to order.
If you're on the Riverwalk and spot Rio Rio, keep walking. You'll be glad you did.
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We ate here because there wasn't a wait and it was starting to rain. Food was good but not great. The service was friendly but scattered. For example, we asked to have the bill split equally three ways and got three bills of differing amounts each with random stuff--a drink and appetizer on one, and entree on another, etc. We were trying to avoid math, and instead got double the math.
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A group of 10 of us went here after not wanting to wait 45+ minutes at other nearby restaurants. They seating us right away in a back section that was quite large but empty. I was looking forward to having a great Mexican meal in Texas, but that's not what we got!
First, margaritas... yum. 1 star just for that Patron margarita. It was the best I had the whole week in San Antonio. Outstanding.
Then chips and salsa.... not good. Stale chips with an odd runny sauce that had a strong hot vinegar type flavor. Gucamole started out good until we realized that the bowl was mostly shredded lettuce! It was lettuce with a little guac on top and some chips stuck in it. The flavor of the guac was good but less lettuce would have been better!
Time for the food.... we had a long wait. I think they forgot about us in the back room or we were too roudy or something. 3 people in our group ordered fajitas and they brought the tortillas out and said our food was coming right out. 20 minutes later our food did come out. And every single plate was cold. Not one of us had warm food.
What we did have looked good, portions were large but the fact that it was cold made it pretty bad. The fajitas came with big pieces of meat, but again they were cold and those tortillas started off warm but were definately cold by this point. I'm the only vegetarian in the group and I ordered the calabacitas quesedilla since I love to make calabacita at home. This was unlike any I've ever seen. It was basically frozen veggies - green beans, onions, peppers. Never had green beans in Mexican food. Mine was cold also, and watery from the not cooked all the way veggies.
I'd recommend this place for the drinks, but that's about it.
During a visit to Texas, we decided to take my parent to the Riverwalk and enjoy the scenery and food. We were in the process of walking back to the hotel when a huge flash flood hit us like a ton of bricks. We tried for about 10 minutes to walk quickly to the car, but gave up after the river starting rising dangerously close to the sidewalk. We took refuge in the first restaurant we could find and that was Rio Rio Cantina (how fitting).
While we were in there, the flood sirens were going off as was the flash flood warning on the bottom of all the tvs in the place. It hardly ever rains in Alaska (hell, I didn't even own an umbrella until I moved to TX) and so my parents were a little freaked out. Okay, my mom was hysterical. As in crying because she thought we were all going to drown. Needless to say, I found this hilarious and immediately started making fun of her. We sat at the bar while she miserably went back and forth from watching the water rise to watching the tv's warnings. Every time the sirens went off, she flinched.
In order to help her cope with this stressful situation, we got ourselves a nice big order of queso, guacamole, and salsa. She claimed that she was too nervous to eat so we happily started to gorge ourselves. It was delicious. My mom was still freaked out. I mean, the mariachi band was even playing some happy music to liven the mood but she wasn't having any of it.
Then my husband had a brilliant idea. He quickly bought some shots of Patron and he and my mother quickly bonded in a way that I didn't think was possible. She was tipsy and laughing and even started eating the delicious appetizers we got. The rain stopped just as quickly as it started and we dragged her back to the hotel.
The staff at Rio Rio were incredibly helpful with a hysterical woman and did a great job of not laughing at her fears. They took a bunch of pictures for us (and even caught a candid one of my mom bawling) and kept our drinks coming. As I didn't actually get a full meal here, it is hard to gage if this place really deserves 5 stars, but I'm willing to be generous since they put up with us for almost an hour.
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Fun dinner spot for a group of coworkers or friends, excellent drinks but the food could be a tad more imaginative if they really wanted to. Not bad all around though.
Make sure you don't end up being squished into the outdoor balcony on a humid, crowded evening if you're out in a group.
Lovely view of the river, surroundings, it all makes if fun and special.
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Being the first time in San Antonio, I was hungry for the famous Tex-Mex this town has to offer. I even asked the concierge at the Westin for a good recommendation and he recommended Rio Rio. Unfortunately, it was quite a disappointment.
Firstly, the chips were stale and the salsa had a nice kick but was not very flavorful. My co-worker and I shared different enchilada platters and I can say they were no better than our local Chevy's restaurant in Seattle (gasp!). The food was quite uninspiring although the location on the Riverwalk was nice.
I've had better Tex-Mex in Dallas as a comparison. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high, but hey we're closer to the border here, shouldn't the food be better?
One of my perrenial favorite stops on San Antonio's river walk, Rio Rio never disappoints. Attentive service, quality food, and a wonderful atmosphere make for a nice evening. Is it a bit touristy? Sure...it's on the river walk...what do you expect??? But the food is great, they offer a variety of interesting (and good) 'ritas, and the wait staff is top drawer. All of this on a consistent basis. I'll be back!
Just fine for the uber-touristy Riverwalk. I munched chips and drank margaritas with my book, and the staff was marvelous to me. They were there to offer me another margarita, and then they were gone so I could enjoy my book and the people strolling by.
Pretty average Tex-Mex place if you feel like it after scaling up and down the Riverwalk. It was a sure enough place for a family of eight, three of which are kids five and under. I had the skirt steak fajita, and it was pretty good. The guacamole needs a bit of seasoning, a little cilantro and onions, but I suppose that's how San Antonio locals want their avocado dip. This Californian finds it better mixed with the pico de gallo my dish came with. Kind'a like Chevy's, not bad all in all.
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