Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican — Restaurant in Peoria

Let me start by saying this visit to Cafe Rio was not my idea. It was the result of a month-long campaign waged by my 12-year-old, who’s been lobbying harder than a D.C. lobbyist ever since his uncle took him there once and apparently changed his life. Every day: “Dad, when are we going to Cafe Rio?” “Dad, you don’t understand, they wrap happiness in a tortilla.” “Dad, you’re ruining my childhood.” So fine. I caved. I folded like a cheap lawn chair at a family cookout. We walk in, and I’m already skeptical. But then—bam—I meet Kylee, the burrito artist behind the counter. She’s Navajo. I’m Navajo. We locked eyes like two cousins at the window rock fair who just realized they both survived the Gallup Walmart parking lot on a Friday night. Real quick, while she was expertly folding my burrito like origami blessed by the Holy Spirit, we took a nostalgic detour down memory lane. I said “Remember the glonnies?” She said “The ones who thought the cart return was a rodeo ground?” I said “Yup, and the one who tried to sell me a bootleg DVD of Twilight but it was just Smoke Signals with glitter.” We laughed. We healed. Then came the burrito. Let me tell you—this thing was bomb. Like, “I might name my next child after it” bomb. It had the structural integrity of a well-built hogan and the flavor profile of a Navajo auntie who’s been cooking since before frybread was invented. Juicy, spicy, wrapped tighter than my budget after mortgage payments. I took one bite and suddenly understood why my son had been acting like a Cafe Rio evangelist. I looked at him mid-chew and said, “Okay, you win. This slaps.” Final verdict: Cafe Rio is now a sacred site in our family legacy. Kylee deserves a raise, a medal, and maybe a mural in Gallup. And my son? He’s already planning our next visit like it’s a pilgrimage. If you’re Navajo, hungry, and emotionally prepared to relive Walmart parking lot trauma while eating a burrito that could end...

The most appalling service I’ve ever had at any restaurant. My boyfriend and I ordered online pickup tonight. We arrived at the given pickup time. While waiting for our food, we found out that the workers had accidentally swapped our order and given it to another customer who was waiting before us for his online order. The girl working the register reassured my boyfriend that they were going to remake our food. We waited an additional 20 minutes while all other customers walking in were served ahead of us. As we were waiting, the man who the workers had accidentally given our order to walks back in with the food. He even tells my boyfriend that he was given our order by mistake. He must’ve called the store after arriving home that he got the wrong order, as the workers immediately swapped the food with another bag. The girl working the register then takes the bag of food that the customer had brought back—which the other customer had already TAKEN HOME—and tries to turn around and give it to us. Completely shocking. There is no telling what could’ve happened to the food in that time, and she was trying to make us leave with it. At the very least, the food would’ve been cold. After we asked if we could just have the food they were already remaking, we had to wait another 10 minutes for them to ACTUALLY remake the order—they weren’t even working on it when they told us they were. Truly speechless. Very poor customer service as well. Workers were unapologetic about trying to give us tampered food and were reluctant to give us extra dressing after waiting 30+ minutes beyond our...

My husband and I typically like Cafe Rio. We don't eat out much, but when we do it's usually Cafe Rio. This location made me not want to go back at all. We showed up right before 9pm (they close at 10) which I know is late but not too late before closing. The girl had all the meats on the table because she was cleaning where they are usually kept. She asked what my husband wanted, which was an asada burrito but they didn't have any asada made and their grill was off so he defaulted to their new chicken. Then she asked me what I wanted but got interrupted by another girl who said there was a to-go order. At this point both girls start working on the to-go order, which was only 1 burrito and completely ignored us. Once they are both finished, the first girl came back and asked for our entire order again. The tortillas were straight out the bag and not warmed up on the grill and neither was the meat. The tortilla ripped as she tried to fold it since it wasn't warmed and she didn't care and served it anyway. All she did to the burritos was to pass it through the warmer that melts the cheese on top when you get it enchilada style. There was no horchata or any of those drinks because those were being cleaned too. Once we started eating, we realized all the food was cold. The rice, beans, and chicken in the burritos was cold. I understand it's a weekday night and probably not usually busy, but if I'm going out to eat, I expect hot food to be served. This was definitely not up to the standards we expect and usually receive...