The service was good. Food not so much. It was highly recommend by several people and I wasn't impressed. The food was only so, so and the margaritas which everyone said we're the best they've ever had, were terrible! I don't normally leave bad reviews because people should make their own decisions, but I wanted to give at least give a heads up.

I have been to the Rio multiple times. The first several visits were an excellent time, from great service to great food.
However, I recently went there to celebrate the birthday of my significant other's mother, who loves Mexican food. I thought what better place to take her than my favorite downtown spot.
We went during saturday dinner rush, however I made a reservation in advance so seating was not terrible.
Unfortunately, for the first time since I have started coming to the Rio, the service was absolutely infuriating. The rough visit started with our seating host, who gave us cups with silverware in it and told us if we could handle taking care of that ourselves.
Our waitress, the culumative failure of the night proceeded to take over 10 minutes before coming by for the first time. It was busy, so I forgave that. The first time. But how incredibly long she would take to come back to us (10,15, 20 minutes of nothing but waiting on her) it was inexcusible. The first time, she apologized, took our drink orders and left.
Another age went by before she walked back with the wrong set of drinks, turned around and disappeared again. By this point we were starving and frustrated, almost reaching half an hour if not more.
She returned with the ordered drinks, spilling one of the margaritas all over a menu and didn't do a damn thing about it. Even waved the liquid off before walking away. We cleaned the mess ourselves, and my SO's mother saw her margarita, (of which I boasted the quality of) had absolutely no salt and barely any liquid since the waitress had spilled it. She told our ever disappearing waitress, who came back with an empty salted glass and left it for us to combine ourselves. After the previous events, it was just plain old rude at this point.
Several more minutes pass, and she finally takes our order before disappearing again. Another waitor had to assist us.
I don't know if I will be back any time soon.

Visiting family

Always a great choice for a relaxed Sunday afternoon. Rio Classic Marg never disappoints!

Not impressed

The Rio is always super busy. Even with a reservation we didn't get seated on time. The food was so-so. The waiter was really good.

Our food tasted great, the server was attentive, and our food arrived quickly after we ordered. The waiter even brought a free dessert for my daughter to celebrate her birthday. We will definitely be back.

Definitely get a reservation beforehand. We were seated right away and although the restaurant was crowded, loud, and a little chaotic our small double date group had a great time. Our margaritas were great, food arrived within 10mins of ordering, the food wasn't spectacular but very good, our server was very cheerful and attentive. Overall, we had a nice time and can't wait to sit out on the rooftop patio in the summer!

This is our favorite low key restaurant in Boulder. We love Mexican food and the Rio uses nice fresh ingredients. They have the best salsa! Great crab and shrimp enchiladas .

Had to wait a bit to order, but after that, the rest of the service was great. Always a pleasure to go to Rio for delicious Mexican food!

My family has been to the Rio Grande several times to celebrate birthdays. This was our worst experience and will probably not be returning. First, there was a problem locating our reservation. Then we asked for more chips which were never brought and two of the meals were wrong. The food wasn't as tasty as I remember it being. Since we live over 20 miles from the restaurant, it's unlikely that we'll be returning.

Thank you,
P. Vigil

Simply awesome!

Valentine's Day, very fun

The hostess graciously accepted our request to be seated away from the door and put us in a great spot. Our waiter Mark was very fun and interesting and on top of our requests. Food was excellent. One of the best meals/times we've had!

Good gluten free choices. Very tasty food. Prices are a bit high but to be expected for the quality and location. Go there, you will not be disappointed.

Taylor was our server and she did great. Chips and Salsa were on point. As was atomica salsa. Had enchiladas, one steak, one spinach. Were delicious. Walked out of there stuffed for a very reasonable price. Sat in the garage. New table tops looked great and tables are self leveling now, so no wobble. Great experience.

I really like this place, but had a disappointing experience two nights ago, mostly due to our female server. The server didn't take the order correctly, I ordered a 1/2 shrimp and 1/2 veggie fajitas--she place the order as shrimp with added vegetables (there is a difference in content and price). The fajitas were served without any of the accompanying garnishes---cheese, guac, pico, sour creme--which made for a rather uninspired meal. She didn't refill coffee nor salsa until asked. After the food was served (by others) she essentially stopped checking our table. The margaritas--manberry and agave--were great.

Nice. Good visit with good friends and not rushed.

Food and drink were great as usual. Service was was disappointing - disappeared for long periods of time and had to have a correction on the bill as it was inaccurate.

I love the Rio even more now that I know I can make a reservation. Been going for years. Love the food and especially the margaritas -- especially the mini ones! Awesome roof top dining, and lots of great indoor spaces as well. One of my top five places to dine in Boulder.

Food was great as well as the service. Took our out-of-town New York family there for good Mexican food. Mango/Strawberry margarita's are awesome.

Food and service was wonderful! We had a great dinner there.

was crazy busy after the game last Saturday. We made a reservation and still had to wait a bit...not that big a deal. It was just so overcrowded it was claustrophobic. I can't imagine being a waiter and trying to get around like that. We tried to order more drinks to go with our dinner and never received. Think the bar was totally overwhelmed. The waiter was doing the best he could with the situation. I think bar orders for diners should be a priority.

Not the best Mexican food we’ve had. Too bad. Waiter was great on a very busy night. Really loud - impossible to talk to our table of 5 without yelling.

Great experience. Have been a couple times. This occasion was on a busy weekend so service was slow, but experience was fun! Filled with a lot of college students and alum to make it feel like a real college town. Food was superb as usual. Will return!

The food is just ok. Not bad, but not great, either. The service is always friendly, but it always seems to be a bit of a chore to get the correct and complete order. Whether it's forgetting a drink, an extra side of sour cream, or enough chips for the table, it just never seems to be right the first time. Net-net, not a bad experience, but not great.

We had a group of 8 people.
Our food was cold!!!! My fajitas were not even grilling when they brought it to my table!! Same story with my friends food.. her chips for the nachos were burnt and she couldn't eat it. We asked the waitress to bring us a well done meat and the attitude was just not the best. We even told him in the end of the night how frustrated it was to pay almost 200 for burnt food
I will NOT COME HERE AGAIN!

Went for a birthday celebration. The staff was friendly and accommodating, the food and drinks was good and the prices were great!

Service was good, but the other aspects of the meal were underwhelming.

Service: Our server Katie was terrific -- friendly, helpful, knowledgeable.

Drinks: I used to love the classic Rio marg, but this time it just tasted of citric acid (think lemonade powder). The Agave Martini was better, if a little strange. My husband ordered red wine. They only have two on the menu, and they were out of one of them (how does that even happen?!).

Food: The Queso was bland. My spinach enchiladas were fine, nothing to write home about. The burrito had very little chicken and the "fajita vegetables " inside were still crunchy, not having been grilled enough to even cook through.

Bottom line: We won't be coming back any time soon.

I thought the guacamole was relatively tasteless. Otherwise the food was fine.

Food good. Service poor. Had reservations but still had to wait. Service slow

Would have had a better experience had we not been placed at a table near the kitchen door, with lots of traffic behind us, and half of us looking at the wall :(. I should have known better, and had requested a table near the windows.

CU Family weekend, so restaurant was crowded and noisy. We had a good time.

Loved how the band stopped in to play a bit after the parade! Had a great time.

The Rio always has, and always will have some of the best margaritas around. The bar and atmosphere are fun, and the rooftop deck is great. The food is okay, but the margs are what keep people coming back.

As usual, Rio is great! Great service and food and margaritas! This is our go to place in Boulder and Denver.

The services was not good, very disappointed considering we go to Rio so often. We had friends with us and slow service absent mindedness and just annoying.

Power was out for downtown Boulder so the restaurant was closed. OpenTable would not let me cancel the Rez and make a new one somewhere else.

I found Rio to be a pleasant place. It wasnt the greatest in terms of service and ambianc but if you are just looking for a place for lunch that wont break the bank this is a good option.

Some of the best margaritas in Boulder! The upstairs is the perfect location to sit with friends and have beautiful views of the Flatirons. In the summer, they have mist!