Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

I’ve been to countless Cafe Rio locations and rave about what they offer, but as an HB local, I’ve been here at least 10 times now and I refuse now to return for all of these reasons.

The employees I’ve interacted with exude their distain for working in the service industry. From attitude to flat out disrespect to many just blatantly not following policy on how to properly prepare their food, I’m blown away that Cafe Rio corporate continues to allow this (whether they are franchises or not).

Every single time I’ve been here (not kidding), they have in some form or fashion got my order incorrect. Each time, I call the location and they offer no solution or any sincere apology whatsoever and just direct me to some number. That number offers no solution either and never once have I been compensated for the mistakes.

Overall, my experience at this location is embarrassing. I would encourage anyone to go any OTHER Cafe Rio locations, but please do yourself a favor and never go to the Warner location in Huntington Beach.

Thanks...

(+) You pay a bit more but your meal is made custom just for you.

(+) They put a little butter on the tortilla before they warm it up on the grill, this tastes good.

They have an assembly line system like Subway, where you start off with your choice of Trotia... and then meat, and then stuffings.

(-) The line does not move fast like other restaurants so if you are in a hurry, this might not be your place.

(-) OverPriced? It seems like it costs a lot for what you get. I got two tacos and a scoop of cold rice, and the price was 11.50$.

(-) you eat off these disposable metal trays and the food is wrapped in aluminum foil to keep it warm while you are in line. But by the time I got to my table, my food was room temp. Just seems like and expensive way to serve the food compared to paper plates.

At their locations in Las Vegas, they actually grill the meet, here it's pre-cooked and they just warm it up...

The good is that the place is clean. Some other locations are ridiculously dirty.

But the rest is mediocre to bad. While the food tastes the same as any other Cafe Rio, the portion sizes are smaller and it was barely warm. Oh and the tortilla was chewy. If I wanted a chewy tortilla, I'd go to Pet Smart.

The employees... Let's just say organization and customer service are not a priority in the least bit. They must have been trained at the Costa Mesa location. I'd say they could use red noses, but clowns are friendly or sometimes evil. This crew is indifferent.

Wait... Am I ghost? Is that why only one employee seemed to see me? Hmm...

Honestly, don't bother stopping by. I haven't been to the Tustin/Orange location since covid hit, but it was always the best in the area. They have fresh tortillas, hot food, and employees that at least acknowledge...