Rio Grande — Restaurant in Nitro

Transparent review time:

My travel partner and I are from out of area and it was his turn to pick a place for us to land for dinner and this was it. He's not Mexican food fluent, so he went in apprehensive and I was looking forward to a "La Tolteca" type of experience. Walking in, the entrance smelled like a bleached bathroom and I immediately went on guard. The floor tiles were cracked and left to disrepair, but seemed mostly clean. The decor was right on the nose and somewhere between cute and cloy. We were promptly seated in a booth - all of the seats (not backs) had been reupholstered and not professionally. (Where would you find silver alligator print in Mexico? Not sure. But... it kinda worked.)

Our server was friendly and upbeat, gave us drinks quickly and ample time to order - we needed it. The menu was extensive but littered with repeat item groupings. The prices were low-to-adequate. I ordered a chalupa, Chile relleno, tamale, and enchilada. What I received was questionable. I reiterated my order to my dining partner and he commented that what I received was not what I'd ordered - this coming from a fella who is not familiar with the type of food could recognize it.

The chalupa was a corn tortilla smeared with beans, lettuce and one half tomato slice. The enchilada was a flour tortilla wrapped around ground beef topped with a brown sauce. There might have been onions in the meat mix? Not sure. The chili relleno was a scoop of melted cheese with ground up bits of some type of green vegetable mixed in, and there was some semblance of a wet flour tortilla that had been constructed in there somewhere. The tamale was steamed with parts of, if not all of, the wrapper still on it, and topped with the same smears ground beef and brown sauce from the enchilada mentioned before. 😳 The server at least warned me about it.

My dining partner ordered a chorizo and chicken dish which arrived mostly as detailed in the menu, and a tamale also.

In all, the food was TASTY. It was not pretty, it was not what I genuinely expected, but it was plentiful.

I commented later on, after leaving, about the family with a young boy eating at a table nearby - The family commented that it was his birthday and the server smiled and said, "It's okay, we'll embarrass you later." The staff eventually did show and sing an English version of "Happy Birthday" and IMMEDIATELY scattered back to their duties as though it was a huge inconvenience to them. (Call me a Karen, but..... Make this boys day special, folks. Don't run off. Learn the Spanish version of the song, then sing that. Excellent customer service literally costs $0.00 more than Good or Great customer service to give to paying customers.)

Would I go here again? If I lived here, I might decide to get carry out with the expectation of the Mexican food version of cheap Chinese. I'm determined to think that if you have lived here all your life, that this tasty food would likely be pretty dang good, but it'll be an eye opener when you have the...

I'm curious if other local reviewers equate "cheap, low prices" with quality? I can honestly say that this was some of the worst food I've ever been served. Four of us went out for dinner. Service was adequate, as they were busy. Forgot the sour cream for two dishes. Or, was it because I said no sour cream on my dish that it was taken as none for anyone?! Let's start with the thin, thin, thin, chips and soupy tomatoe juice-like "salsa". I can't say it was salsa. Terrible. The guacamole was whipped, blended avacodo and flavorless. I had the Fiesta Plata for dinner. Peedoopy is the only kind thing I can say about it. I'm not sure you can even call this Mexican food it was that bad. The Missus had a cheese quesedia, well done. It was the LAST dish to come out 15 minutes after 3 of us were served our meals. It came out with so little cheese only in the middle and barely cooked that we sent it back. It looked like just a folded, flat, raw tortilla when it first came out. Not good. The other couple said they did not enjoy their meals either. I can say the only good thing was the jumbo Margharita. It was so good I ordered another, with salted rim again. It came out in the same glass, with no salted rim, and I can say, no alcohol either. I left it. I paid the bill and there was an additional surcharge added for using a card. It was only $2 , but we were not advised ahead of this surcharge. Weird....in my entire 71 yr old life, traveling extensively, I've never encountered such a bogus thing like this. The cashier pointed to a 5"x 6" sticker at the cashier counter and said: "Here, see we advise you with this".

Ok.....bad, no... terrible food, barely adequate service, poor drinks, then a hidden surcharge....hmmmmm. No thanks. I cannot recommend this place. I understand that it used to be good. They need to take a hard look and get back to their traditions.

BTW: We love Plaza Maya on Chesterfield Rd across from the CAMC Hospital in Charleston. So...

Rio Grande has been my favorite restaurant for years. I’ve always enjoyed everything I’ve had there. However things have changed. I ordered Texas style fajitas: chicken, beef, and shrimp (lunch portion). Disappointed. Mostly chicken, very little beef and only 2 small shrimp.The portion was very fine, however, the meal itself was a total disappointment.

Apparently they are pre-cooking the fajitas and then reheating them to serve to you. My fajitas were terrible. They tasted reheated. They did not taste fresh. The vegetables were soggy and dripping with liquid because of sitting so long. If I wanted reheated food, I’d go to Taco Bell!!

I expect that my food is freshly cooked and taste fresh instead of the mess that I received. When I told the cashier she did discount my food, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. I was looking for the same quality and great Mexican food that I have enjoyed for many, many years I want my food freshly cooked and served hot. Reheated food is not up to their standard! ...