Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican — Restaurant in Saratoga Springs

PLEASE NOTE: I try to be very objective, and offer some benefit of doubt. I tend to like Cafe Rio; I don't feel like I went in with "high expectations" just the knowledge of experiences at other Cafe Rio locations. With that said, let me note what affected me most:

#1: Covid-19: signage doesn't reflect consistency in policy since masks are no longer required, but are strongly encouraged in Utah. Please, everyone, respect YOUR preferences but don't hold businesses accountable for enforcing what YOU want. Ian and I went in with masks and we kept some distance only for ourselves.

#2: Cleanliness: The 'maze rail' you walk thru for ordering, was sticky so I kept my hands from touching almost everything. The beverage surface was streaked which made me question how clean the cleaning cloths were when wiping the surfaces. We found a seat before getting our beverage. Our table was extremely sticky, so I touched a couple of tables on our way to drinks, and in that fashion knew that other tables were the same, so it's useless to change tables.

We sat in one of the quietest areas in the back (near a second door that would have benefited consumers trying to enter if it simply read: Please use other door; instead, we were getting irritated glances that we wouldn't open the door for them but it was not our choice).

The table was so sticky, we placed napkins as table cover and when Ian lifted his aluminum plate, you heard the sticky contact to the bottom when we were cleared our table, making a THHWWIIPP sound. I tried to consider the paint might be contributing, possibly cleansers breaking down the paint causing it to have an aged sticky paint feeling?? Again, I DO try to be objective...as for a solid answer, I have none though in my mind I recalled the milky streaks near the beverage...and it was difficult not to defer to being "unclean" 😒

I didn't want to venture to the restrooms which I usually check. I Sorry, folks for a lack of being thorough. Additional notes: I've provided pictures of almost every table being stabilized by stacks of napkins. A simple bulk pack of the screw stabilizers would do wonders here. What a simple and inexpensive fix!! And to think the employees (I hope, and choose to believe based on the quantity of the napkin fix, that it wasn't a consumer!!) were mindful of the consumers being seated at rocky tables speaks to the mindfulness of at least one employee.

#3: Employees: There was an excess of unfiltered noise which made it difficult to hear. Yet the cooks behind the glass worked well together to communicate and keep us, as consumers, alert to them. 5 stars for teamwork! There was some disconnect near the end I was asked if I had shredded or grilled chicken; I was dumbfounded because I wasn't asked. I'm sure masks made it difficult even more so, for employees to be heard...I still don't know if there was a difference in price, or if the cashier chose to defer to the more expensive if there was. It wasn't important as I expect it would have only been the price of perhaps a cost of 50¢ at most.

#4: Food: I watched the food prepped, yet by the time it was in my hands to be seated, it was cold, and the chicken/nachos I ordered were already a hard, cold blob with some of the nachos being burnt. Unfortunately, I'm not often taking pics of food, though I am trying to remember to do so. It's the following day and I spent most of the night feeling nauseous. I can't blame the food directly, though I can't help but wonder. Maybe. shrugs but it could be other variables.

In summary, I'm not sure where the weight of this review rests. Management possibly? Lack of training for employees? Unclear expectations of responsibilities? Regular maintenance of kitchen appliances and processes as well as maintenance on the lobby/seating? How often do they check for things like sticky table surfaces and if the paint is contributing who speaks up and how, and if the tables are sticky because of standards for cleanliness, what does that say about cross contamination?

**FOLLOW UP: Please note I've added...

I placed my order online at 7:50pm and the pickup time changed from 8pm to 8:15pm. I arrived at the restaurant at 8:20pm and paid for my order. The associate apologized and told me they were backed up and it would be an additional 10 to 15 minute wait. People came and went through the regular line with ease but my order still was not complete. The associates kept asking me my name and checking for my order but couldnt find it. Finally at 8:52pm they came out and gave me what i thought was a complete order. I drove home only to find that one tostada had 4 tiny pieces of steak (which i paid extra for), we were missing the quesadilla and both dressings werent provided! I gave them the benefit of the doubt...but this is rediculous. I had to drive another 10 minutes back to the resturaunt to explain my frustration and the woman employee tried to explain that on tostadas they only put 3 to 4 oz of steak. What I had was maybe 1 oz, very pathetic, i was so frustrated that I had my portion of the meal refunded. The young cashier had no experience with refunds, she asked for help from 2 guys and they didnt know and finally someone came and helped her. The gentleman asked me the problem and asked if i was missing anything else and i asked him to please fix my order by making the mossing quesadilla and getting me the dressing for the other tostada. He said ok and then disappeared. I had to wait an additional 15 minutes until the original woman asked the cashier why I was still waiting. She approched me to find out i was waiting for the quesadilla and she complined that no one ever told her. So i waited for her to make one and she promptly gave me a quesadilla that had been made and was sitting out....it was the one i was waiting for but noone bothered to give it to me when it was done. Needless to say, it was cold. This was a nightmare experience. Its hard to want to go back when things go this bad. The system for ordering and receiving food quickly through online ordering is obviously broken at this resturaunts. I was not the only person waiting that had problems. There were a dozen other people with similar issues as I waitied the first time (the 45 minute wait) And the problem is that this restaurant is run by a very young and inexperienced staff. It shows that they just dont care. I hope this reaches somone that...

UPDATE: MY PREVIOUS REVIEW IS BELOW FOR NOW. 😊 We order cafe Rio all the time. It's my son's favorite. They have improved so much with their pick up orders since my last review that I thought it was time to update. We rarely have any issues or forgotten items anymore. The one time in the last several months that anything was amiss, we knew something had to be off and called to let them know so it didn't happen to them next customer. Sure enough they were training that day- totally understandable. We wished them luck and thanked them for letting us know. Before they hung up and after apologizing for something that was truly an honest mistake and not a big deal, the manager said, "oh by the way, I refunded your meals that weren't quite right. And thank you for not yelling at me" Honestly, that was great customer service. We weren't expecting it, we were just calling to give the heads up because we could tell by our orders that something was going on over there haha. And then, not only did he apologize, and explain, he went the extra mile and refunded the cost of those meals. I was a bit floored at the kindness and great service the manager exhibited... Especially since I'm sure his job is not easy and he probably deals with frustrated/grumpy customers on the regular. In short, we have been super impressed lately! They're doing a great job and of course, as always the food is so good!

The food is great! The reason for only 3 starts is because their pickup is generally terrible. We almost always find that they got our order Wrong or mixed up and they usually forget the dressing for the salad etc. Today i got there and they had no idea where our pickup order was. That's after waiting in the pickup line for a half hour. So I spent over an hour at the restaurant after waiting in line for my pickup order and then having to get in the regular line anyway because they didn't have my pickup order. This probably feels like a bigger deal than it was because I had 2 little children with me who thought they were going to wither away into nothing if they didn't eat right away. Seems that they have different employees than they did a few months ago and we have noticed a huge improvement in their customer service, quality, and even attitude. So that's great. Just hope that pickup will become more...