Tequila Rio: Mexican Cantina — Restaurant in Wethersfield

My family and I recently visited Tequila Rio on a Friday evening. The riverside seating is quite nice. Unfortunately there were intermittent storms so we were seated in the atrium which is also a really nice setting with a lot of plants albeit a bit cramped. Our first tip off should have been that the place was empty when we arrived at 5 o'clock but we assumed it had to do with the weather. My wife ordered a drink that was a combination between a pina colada and a margarita that was pretty good. We ordered guacamole and chips as an appetizer which is where the problem started. The chips were quite stale and hard to chew. The guacamole was edible but bland overall. We admittedly did not mention anything at this point and left it off to the side while we waited for our food. We each ordered a couple of tacos with the Mexican rice. Nothing that came out of the kitchen was cooked or seasoned well. I ordered a biria taco that was just some shredded beef in a stale tortilla with lettuce. There were some crumbles of queso fresco but there was no melted cheese. It did come with a side of jus but it looked and tasted like soup that they had in the kitchen. I had also ordered the baja shrimp taco which was also served on a stale tortilla and the shrimp was overcooked to the point of being rubbery. By the time I tasted the rice I don't know if I was just annoyed by the rest of the experience or if there was really something wrong with it but it was not to my, or my wife's, taste. We set the plates aside and politely requested the check. The server didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong at this point and we were just going pay the check and leave until he asked if we wanted boxes and declined. He then sent a manger over to see what they could do for us. The manager was very polite and understanding and took a few things off the bill for us. I note the service as 3 stars because our server was clearly the only one working when we walked in an he was trying to manage the bar and take orders. Not at all his fault but he wasn't able to properly do his job after a party of 8 came in after us. Overall I would not recommend Tequlia Rio unless you're just stopping for a couple of drinks on...

I will start by saying that the server was horrible. Maybe she’s new to being a server but should get trained before attending customers. Approached us quickly and took our drink orders. Drinks came quick and that’s where it ALL went bad. Took a while to check in on us again (30 minutes later). No utensils or napkins. Cups with no water. We basically had to hunt her down to get her attention, after patiently waiting. Mind you, place was not busy at all. We were able to place our order. Requested water which was never served. Skirt steak came back undercooked when it was requested medium-well. Another order was wrong and had to bring the original order. Once he received his food (cochinita pibil ) the braised pork was cold. I ordered half chicken a la parilla. Rice was undercooked and very salty on my plate and everyone else’s. Seems the chef has zero taste buds because food was super salty. Tostones had small pouches of salt on each one. Like we don’t have enough salt with the rest of the food. Presentation of the plates were very nice but the product was horrible. By the way, we still didn’t have utensils to eat with. We had to ask for them again. We requested to speak to the manager and he didn’t charge us for the food or the drinks ordered. We didn’t eat our food and just got up and left to another restaurant around 9PM. They cook out of a food truck. We were there since 7:30PM with reservations to celebrate two birthdays. I would never give this place another chance. Thought this place would be better under new management and new chef. If you like salty food and bad service then this is the place for you. Otherwise, there’s plenty of other Mexican places...

We didn’t end up ordering .. the menu had completely changed and none of our favorite dishes or drinks were available . With the 95 degree temp out we didn’t feel it was worth it to try the new menu .. nothing seemed inviting ! Beware open table and some online apps still show the old menu and offer indoor seating which after making reservations for indoor we arrived to find it was not available . We also attempted to switch to sister restaurant the River but at first we’re told to come back up if it was too hot but when we came back and said it was too hot and since the menu had completely changed we didn’t want to endure the heat ( I have MS and heat is not good ) they turned us away .. had many open tables but they said kitchen was backed up and they were not taking walk ins.. terrible experience all around .. however I love the setting and I’m sure we will go back again on a cooler day to enjoy the setting !

I updated my review to 2 stars .. we did eat here.. everything that had anything to do with lime was overwhelmingly lime.. the peach drink ( alcoholic) you tasted no peach .. I could not finish it .. ordered something else that was not bad .. was told the mix was made wrong and they agreed with us .. but I was not offered to take it off the bill !! The ceviche was REALLY LIME.. but edible .. the guacamole was good .. my husband burrito was good .. my meal was awful and I didn’t finish it..again an avocado side that tasted like limes !! The atmosphere is lovely .. I hope they get it together.. Also my husbands meal came out about 10 minutes before mine ! I would return for the atmosphere and probably order a chicken quesadilla .. how can...