Casa Del Rio — Restaurant in Tucson

First, I want to praise the staff for their attentiveness. My cup never ran dry, and I was checked on regularly. Casa del Rio is doing superb on their service.

The food...not so much. I will give them an A for effort, but the food was not Mexican at all. I ordered the chicken fajitas with rice and three small flour tortillas. I also ordered a side of beans because my meal only came with rice. First, that was one of the first things that bothered me. When you go and sit down in a Mexican restaurant, it's customary to expect rice AND beans for sides, not an either OR situation. My side of beans was $3.75 in addition to my meal's complimentary side of rice, which is a bit steep for the quality of beans I was served. It was very clear that both were store bought and/or canned. My rice had the same consistency and flavor as Uncle Ben's Ready Rice that you pop in the microwave. My beans were also clearly from a can, and they put cheddar cheese on my beans, which might not seem like it would be bad, but the problem with cheddar cheese is that it hardens after it is melted and cools. Tough and crunchy is not the consistency you want when you're eating a dish that is supposed to be creamy. My chicken was a good, a little dry, but the flavor made up for the dryness. Lastly, it was clear my flour tortillas were Mission brand or some super dense, soft tortilla brand. When you go sit down in a Mexican joint, you're looking forward to warm, savory, and buttery tortillas that are hand-made, not something that I could've picked up at the grocery store bread aisle.

I will say the salsa was delicious though! It had the right amount of spice.

Maybe I'm being hyper-critical, but I'm saying all of this and being hard on the ownership of Casa del Rio because 1) the restaurant has potential and 2) it's less than 50 miles from a US-Mexico border, so they gotta step it up, or they're gonna struggle. The prices were fair for the meal, but I was frustrated paying for it. Afterall, I could've made the exact same meal that I was given for $5-6 cheaper in my own kitchen and none of the food was authentic Mexican food. I won't leave this review without some advice:

Invest in a tortilla press and a comal. Tortillas are simple to make, and it will save you more to make them in the long run rather than buying them ready-made.

Make your rice and beans in-house instead of using bulk-bought food from a supplier. Fresh side dishes really elevate the dish. Your guests will appreciate the difference. Also, consider making both complimentary with your meals instead of either or.

Get rid of the cheddar cheese and use a cheese that melts better and stays soft, like queso asadero or Chihuahua cheese. These cheeses melt easily and their flavor profiles compliment traditional Mexican flavors.

Good luck to Casa del Rio! I hope that leadership considers some of...

I have eaten here many times. The food was good enough to go back but nothing to brag about. THIS time however was enough for me to not got back. I will say maybe it was b/c it was the first time eating out since this pandemic started and I went to a place I knew the service and food was good. Well let me tell you, there were only 2 things that were good about this visit. We got our menu and ice tea soon after seated and the person busing tables was not only on top of his game but was very pleasant. I wish I had gotten his name. After the tea's, it went down hill. There were actually 2 waitresses who dealt with us. Maybe that was the problem, they each thought the other was doing what they should be. After we got the menu's, it took forever for one of them to take our order & only after we asked. When we got our food, it was lukewarm or more like room temperature. As anyone who has eaten Mexican food knows, it's usually so hot you burn your mouth. We would have complained but we couldn't find anyone to complain to. We also wanted salt but they NEVER came by to see how things were or to offer tea refills. When we finally flagged someone down for the bill, she left and never came back. We finally got up and went to the cashier & waited some more. Then the waitress we asked for the bill came by and said "oh, she never brought the bill?", to which we said no. Not sure who she was but we didn't have the bill so it was a no. While she went to get the bill, another lady came up who I guess was the cashier b/c when the waitress came back with the bill she gave it to her. I told the "cashier" we came there a lot and I was never more disappointed in a dinner out. She said "I'm sorry about that". THAT was it! She never asked what was wrong or how they could have made it better, NOTHING! We were speaking as she was closing the ticket. We waited a second after paying the bill in hopes it was b/c she couldn't multi-task but no that wasn't why she didn't address our concerns or get someone who would. Yes, I know I could have asked for a manager but I felt if they didn't care enough to ask what was wrong it was probably in the training. You would think after being open only a week after being closed 2 months they would care about having return business. The food isn't good enough to tolerate this type of service. I DO NOT RECOMMEND...

We are periodic regulars here at Casa Del Rio. It's clean, comfortable, the people are very friendly and the food is exquisite. We brought a friend, who craves Mexican food, for her birthday. She had the beef tacos, Diane had the ground beef chimi and I had my favorite, a machaca chimi. If you don't know Mexican food, machaca is roast beef slow cooked with spices and chilies. After about five hours, the meat is falling apart and all the fat, gristle and other inedible stuff comes away. What's left is lean meat that is juicy, flavorful, slightly chewy and yet tender. It's then wrapped in a large tortilla and deep fried to a crispy finish. YUMMM hardly does it justice. Our waitress Margaret was speedy as ever with the basket of fresh tortilla chips and bowl of salsa. The three of us made short work of the first serving between ordering and getting our food, so she kindly brought a second basket with TWO bowls of salsa. I think both the chips and salsa are made in-house but would not swear to it. Either way, they are excellent and worthy of making the pre-meal time to enjoy a basket. And they come free with the meal. Soon enough, lunch came. Our guest had to dive into her refried beans because the tacos were too hot to handle. That's a good thing in my book. I cut into my chimi and sent pieces of the golden brown tortilla off my plate. Diane didn't attack her chimi as I had so she gets the Neat Diner Award. As it was, both our chimis were soon history. Our b'day guest was just as ravenous towards the tacos which had generous helpings of meat, lettuce and cheese. As a surprise, I arranged with Margaret to set up three servings of flan, one with a candle. Her and some of the staff delivered the dessert but resisted an urge to embarrass our guest with a off-key song. Now that was a gift. The flan, a type of custard, was creamy and cool, a real capper to counter the spicy salsa and other food. Margaret was attentive despite having to work a busy lunch period and she was able to give the extra personalized service as well. Margaret, you are AMAZING! Take effort to find El Rio. It's in a small mini-mall behind a closed gas station. A bit hard to find, but like a gold nugget, it's a high...