Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Fort Collins

Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant is a staple in Colorado. I have been going to the location in Fort Collins since I was a little girl and have loved the restaurant since (the difference is now I get to imbibe in their famous margaritas)!

We arrived at the restaurant and were seated in the main dining room. The aesthetic of the restaurant was that of a lively cantina; the place was packed, and everyone was having a good time. Our server Mark was stellar - he had great energy and was quick with service despite the busy restaurant. The General Manager was active on the restaurant floor, helping his staff and customers our entire meal.

I started off our meal with The Classic Rio Marg made with a legendary mixture of tequila, salt and lime on the rocks. Nothing beats a Classic Rio Marg; each sip was fresh and crisp with the tequila balancing out the acidity of lime juice.

The Chile Con Queso was made with a cheese blend and pico-de-gallo. This is my favorite queso in town - silky smooth with perfect cheesy taste.

The Guacamole was made with pico-de-gallo, cilantro, & cotija cheese; it had a delicious punch of lime. The diced onions, tomatoes, and cilantro added crunch to the creamy guacamole.

The Sauteed Chicken Enchiladas were made with Jack cheese & classic enchilada sauce. The tender & flavorful shredded chicken was stuffed in corn tortillas and smothered in sauce.

The Steak Quesadilla was made with onion, serrano peppers, jack cheese, & Mexican spices. The crisp warm tortilla clung to plenty of melty jack cheese & grilled steak.

The Crab & Shrimp Enchiladas were made with Atlantic red crab, shrimp, jack, and tomatillo sauce. The corn tortillas were generously filled with sweet seafood and coated in savory sauce.

The Ahi Lettuce Wraps were a light, fresh seasonal offering. The cubed ahi tuna loaded the lettuce wraps with a nice citrus mandarin salsa.

For dessert we had the Crispy Sopapilla made with tortilla dough, cinnamon, and sugar. The homemade sopapillas were dusted in cinnamon sugar and topped with cold, vanilla ice cream making for sweet bites. The fried, puffed dough was flakey and soft and stood out with a...

This is the 4th and last time I’ll be here. Each time it has been the same: horrible service, cold food at minuscule portions, and expensive drinks that have more ice than liquid in them.

Tonight I sat down at the bar and made my intentions clear that I wanted a couple of drinks and some food. 30min later and I’ve only had one watered down, overpriced margarita. Then, after 10 minutes with an empty glass, chip bowl, and salsa bowl sitting in front of me the bar tender has the balls to saunter over and let me know that he was checking on me to see if I needed anything. How about clearing the empty dishes in front of me and asking if I want another drink and some food, how about not ignoring your customers while taking shots behind the bar and checking your phone. Why should I have to tell you what to do with the empty glasses and plates that are in front of me, do I need to tell you where to put them as well?!

I watched this guy the entire time and he wasn’t making drinks or talking to patrons. He was wandering aimlessly, talking to other waiters, taking shots, checking his phone and doing literally anything but his job.

I wanted to have multiple drinks, fajitas, and possibly dessert, but after witnessing this clown behind the bar I decided to cut my losses at the one drink and try to salvage the rest of my evening.

This place is an absolute joke, I’ll never be going back. If I want to be treated like trash I’ll call my ex, that’s...

Great classic margaritas. Come here for the margaritas and nothing else. Standard Mexican fare is terrific for the uncultured college student looking to get loud and loaded. This place was packed with people. Expect to wait up to an hour for a table on a Saturday night. The service was ok given the situation, they clearly had their hands full. The acoustics in the room recreated a carnival like atmosphere. The sound baffles on the ceiling were not angled and thus created the experience of someone screaming in my ear through dinner. Being a busy night, it was 51 minutes to plate touchdown on a party of four. A neighboring table had their order lost so we had that going for us, which was nice. During this wait time we went through 7 rounds of chips and salsa. The chips were bland and unsalted. The salsas were decent, and necessary considering the state of the chips. The steak was actually quite good in the fajitas. The burritos, however, seemed like they were put together in a hurry with mammoth-sized chunks of pork and onion wrapped in a tortilla that cut down what could have been greater flavor if cut up when slow cooking the pork. The black beans had astonishingly little flavor, almost as if it was boiled away in too much water. The Mexican rice had peas and carrots? I don't know what's going on with this place but it sure didn't seem to affect the number of people coming in.  Maybe it's better on...