Cafe Rio Mexican Grill

Reviews

• Alli Y.

  star star star star star_border 17 June 2026

  I like this location since it's close to me.  They also have an app to earn points but they do expire which is not cool.  Especially since I don't regularly enough for them.  
  
  I like the salads where you get a homemade tortilla with cheese.  Yum!  The barbacoda is my favorite which I usually get but since I'm on a special diet right now, I got the steak.  The house cilantro dressing is also delicious!  1 thing though is they charge you for salsa.  It comes with pico de Gallo but I like salsa and it really should just be included.  It is a Mexican joint.  
  
  They also have a nice variety of drinks but all have sugar for the lemonades.  The tea at least offers no sugar options.
  
  You don't get free chips or salsa which is difft from other Mexican places but it's not a sit down.  
  
  Good food!

• Bill E.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 15 June 2026

  I placed an order at 4:05 through postmates. It is now 6:30 and I am being being told that the delivery time is unknown. Per the Tustin manager, the food has been ready for 45 minutes. Even after waiting 1.5 hours for food and after my food sitting under a heatlamp for 45 minutes noone at Cafe Rio can help me cancel or resolve my order. Cafe Rio should cancel their affiliation with Postmates as it has made you lose a customer who use to be a fan.
  
  It is now 7pm and still no food. I got ahold of the Postmates person who said they were treated poorly by the restaurant and they left without my food... I can't get anyone to call me back or assist from Cafe Rio or Postmates. Awful experience.

• Vicki H.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 14 June 2026

  I really love the Chicken Tortilla Soup, the addition of guacamole is a game changer. However when I visited last Tuesday the service really stunk.
  
  I walked up to the counter and EVERYONE was doing business work. I was not acknowledged for several minutes even though the girl that finally took my order walked by me several times before finally asking me what I wanted. I asked for 3 tacos, with pork. I asked didn't they have two types of pork, she curtly said no. She put on the lettuce and asked if I wanted Pico, but never asked about adding cheese. No thank you or anything.
  
  I went to the register and again waited for someone to acknowledge me so I could pay for my tacos. This was after the lunch rush, but still you would think you I could get decent service.
  
  Will be willing to try visiting again and hope for a better outcome. We'll see.

• Bill M.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 8 June 2026

  Yo Yo Yo: Grade D-
  Hello everybody! It has been a while and I apologize to my loyal readers and fellow yelpers.  At our peak we had some 45,000 humans reading reviews. Thank you! As you all know I retired to train Lamas in Peru! With yet another successful venture I find myself back at home ready to review. Cafe Rio- the food is excellent but the service reminds me of my kids day care center. Young children running around with not a care in the world not really accomplishing anything. I mean the guy left the chicken on the grill while I waited to order for 30 minutes. It burnt! The only reason I stayed was I've been timing the chaos and had to stay and share. 38 minutes from start to end.

• Leslie S.

  star star star star star 31 May 2026

  I really don't understand the overall bad reviews for this restaurant. We had a great experience and the food was very good!
  
  The location is super convenient and there is plenty of parking. Some people claimed these meals were expensive but I don't know where else you can find a decent burrito or taco platter for under $10. Not only that but they have a different special every day of the week!
  
  We arrived on a Saturday so we ordered 2 of the Saturday shrimp taco specials. We had a choice of coconut shrimp or Cancun shrimp. Both sounded great but the employee highly recommended the coconut so we ordered 2 of those. I had black beans for my side and my husband went with the pinto beans.
  
  The food was realy very quickly and it was super warm and fresh. What makes this place special, to me, was that the tortillas are not only made on site, they are made to order! I haven't had a freshly baked warm tortilla in decades!! It really made the entire meal spectacular. And the shrimp was delicious as well! I wasn't planning to eat both my tacos as I wasn't very hungry, but these tacos were way too good to save as leftovers.
  
  I recommend giving this place a try and see if you like it or not. It's not expensive so worst case you are out a little under 20 bucks but best case you, like us, will have a new favorite Mexican 'go to' restaurant. Enjoy!