It was a dark and warm night, my partner and I having stopped off for a meal at this queer tavern of Mexican fortitude. How delightful it first appeared to be with its twinkling lights swinging gently above us. Not to mention, after our fraught journey from the city of sin up the snake of I-15, we were both on the brink of starvation only once experienced by the great explorers of this arid land. The first character of our story appeared to be an upright fellow, albeit a little odd. As he carefully placed the burnt chicken into our almost equally burnt tortillas, he inquired as to nature of my relationship with my fellow. "How long have you two been together?" He asked. "Eight months." I responded, my blood having already gone cold. My partner looked at me strangely, indicating a million thoughts ran through his mind. He pondered, "How long on the road? How long in this restaurant? How long have our souls been intertwined in the ether?" However, he merely affirmed my answer and we continued on to acquire our leafy vegetables. The next station offered an elderly sage who only spoke in riddles. "For here or to go" she asked. "For here, but can we get two lids?" I responded, for I have been to similar establishments and have not received a lid. But lo, for one guard spoke only truths and one only lies, and I was left lidless after the sage responded angrily, "that is to-go" and refused me a lid. Twas no matter, fortunately, for my partner and I, naturally famished, eclipsed the dining table to eat at once. Our strange encounters, unfortunately, continued, for an aproned young gentleman concerningly informed my partner that he had dropped something. Eager to recover the lost possession, he looked down on the floor below him when -- WO BE UPON HIM -- the aproned deceiver held his thumb and index finger curled and his three others erect! He continued on his way, garbage sack in tow, leaving my partner unaware of just how foul the hex was that had been placed upon him. We, still famished, brushed off the encounter and finished our meal in silence. The cursed staff, with more than forty minutes to closure, already cleaning the evidence from the crime scene that was our meal. Laden with burnt chicken and hatred, we gagged as choked down the only sustenance we had had in hours. Havana by Camilla caballo plagued our ears just as the charcoaled meat plagued ours our mouths and bellies. We left hurriedly, continuing our voyage to the capitol city. TLDR: service was shit (save it for the meat-slinging gentleman), food was shit (burnt, dry), and there were too many knee-length shorts and byu t-shirts. read more

We have tried to order from this location twice now and both times have had to cancel our order. In January my husband waited an HOUR and then they ran out of tortillas. Today we tried again. Our order was supposed to be ready at 5:40 and it's now 6:20..... it's been an hour since we ordered. I'm hungry, my kids are hungry... we have NEVER had this experience at any other location and are beyond disappointed. Are the employees trying to get the store shut down?? It's actually insane. You can't even call the location, you just get stuck with someone who says they can see your order and then they transfer you to the store to get an update and the call ends. Strangest restaurant experience I've ever had especially for a chain. Like has anyone actually gotten food from here successfully?? Yikes. read more

Avoid this location if you can help it. Worst one I've ever been to. Went here on Sunday, 6/28. Staff was slow and unhelpful. I've was empty, specialty drinks were empty, as were most of the sodas. All the trash cans were full. Go somewhere else. These people clearly don't care. read more

Love cafe Rio this one in at George I've been to 3 to 4 times...: S.O.A.T. Slowest of all time. Unrivaled never been to one so consistently slow. Staff looks like they are moving fast maybe just need to have more on staff? read more

Burnt queso. Had to ask 7 times for chips to go with it. Parking lot is a cesspool of people who never learned to drive. Loser guy in a blue expedition that's been cutting me off all the way since beaver is here. With his wife that is too hot for him. They did not sing the nacho nacho man song to me. Granted I didn't get nachos. Still. Had to convince the cash register to look my way when I was ready to check out. To finally come and ring me up. read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Ft burnt queso - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

So sad this place has completely become inedible. I've been a long time customer and ordered from here for delivery countless times over the years. It used to be ok. Sometimes good. But then every third order was so awful we literally wouldn't eat it. Soggy cold tortillas, weird tasting meat. And you can forget about your order notes or substitutions being accommodated. Every third order or so was thrown in the trash. Then it became every order. Sometimes the food would be so cold upon arrival it felt like it came out of the refrigerator. Even with priority delivery. They take forever to release the food to the driver, you can see. So they are at fault. Not the delivery person. We will never eat here or order from here again. Such a shame. Used to be our favorite place. Editing to add: after seeing other reviews seems this is a massive problem. An easy fix would be they need to discontinue being available on delivery apps. As sad as that is. But it would limit their orders and they could focus on quality again. I'd be willing to still come in and order but even if you do they are so rushed and overworked with keeping up with orders both in house and online it's impossible to deliver consistent quality. Owners are terribly greedy for that. No regard for customers or food quality. Just pump out as many orders as possible no matter the cost. read more

Service was great and so was the food even though it was extremely busy! I'd go here again if I didn't live in vegas. They have their own tortilla making place in store for you to see. read more

I have never seen 8 adults move SO SLOW in my life!! 10 employees & only 1 was taking orders. It took customers 10 minutes to put in their order & get to the cashier. Save yourself the time & go someplace else. read more

Note: I'm a fan of cafe Rio so my opinion on their food is bias b/c I've enjoyed their food for decades now. We came to this location on a Saturday at 1pm. Although the line was wrapped into the 2nd lane (first one being in front of the food to order) it was moving quickly. The woman making the fresh tortillas was nice enough to offer us a fresh tortilla. The employee doing the next station did give me a sample of the Pollo Asado which was a great choice for my burrito. The tables were clean, utensils were well stocked, bathroom was clean and soap dispensers full in the men's bathroom. The parking lot can get full as it is shared with other retailers in this location. Would recommend and would come back when I'm back in St. George. Note my rating system: 1 Star: I wouldn't recommend 2 Stars: Didn't hit my standards 3 Stars: Average (nothing special) 4 Stars: Above Average. Would recommend. Still looking for the 5 Star. 5 Stars: Top of their game. Great food. Great service. Would recommend and plan on returning. read more

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Ordered 5 hours early for a pick up at 6 and when I got there, they said it'll take 30 more minutes.

Great food They catered an event in St George And it was great ! Next time while in St George going to visit there. read more

I had a five dollar coupon for nachos and ordered them online. My order was to be ready at 7:50 PM. When I arrive to pick up my order I was told I would need to wait for another hour. The young woman said they were an hour behind. She told me she could refund my money but could not give me another coupon to use. She said this happens all the time and to come back in an hour. when I asked what would happen if the nachos were done sooner than that, would I just get soggy nachos and she replied, yep! my advice is do not order online from Café Rio, ever! I have been eating at Cafe Rio since they opened their first store in St. George. No longer! I drove 1/2 an hour round trip for nothing. Don't make my mistake. So sad to see these guys just become another big chain fail read more

It's 2 stars for a reason. Not made to order. Soggy wilted, unfresh food. The original owners of Cafe Rio would be disappointed. Like many of the reviewers. Don't waste your time or hard earned money. read more

I am a regular, long-time customer of Cafe Rio. As a matter of fact, I estimate I have spent nearly $2K in the past year at this location. So it pains me to leave this review. When I went this week, it was a horrible experience. The guy working the assembly line dropped the item of the lady in front of me - but in an attempt to keep it from dropping to the floor, he smashed it into the front of the grill and drug it up to the top again. She wasn't looking, so he quickly slapped it on the plate and pushed it down the line. Then, as they were making my plates, the woman doing the assembly stopped and scooped something out of the rice. She went to the back, came back to the front and showed the guy that I think was the acting manager, then threw it away. She continued scooping out of that same rice bin. When I asked what that was, she said "no English" and pointed to the "acting manager." When I asked him, he wouldn't look at me or acknowledge the concern. He simply shrugged and said something about it being "cilantro," then turned around and went back to work. But they always have cilantro in the rice. So the only thing I could imagine was that it was a bug or some other disgusting thing. I ordered chips & salsa. But had to wait for five minutes when my order was already done because they had to pull the chips out of the fryer. Unfortunately, they were overcooked and very greasy. Trying to be a good customer, I just took my already-paid-for order and left. But as I drove home, I couldn't stomach the thought of eating questionable food. So I threw it all away and ate something else. In this economy, I can't afford to do this often. So I won't be going back anytime soon. I'd strongly suggest going elsewhere if you want good food quality, care in preparation, and customer-focused service. read more

Great place to go! Love their salads and their burritos. Great location. Fills you up well! read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

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Horrific service. Waited 30 min past the pickup time for online order before I got the food. There are pick up shelves but they are not used so you have to stand there with 20 other people waiting. When I finally was able to ask, my food was ready, but hidden around the corner. Why have shelves if you don't use them??? Paid extra for sauce and a tortilla on the side. Didn't get those items. No lids for large size cups so crap spilled in my cup holders. All around horrible experience. Didn't used to be this way. Super disappointing. read more

I wish I had read the reviews before selecting Café Rio for my dinner. I've been to several locations many times and I've never had anything but good food and good service. Tonight, however, was a huge exception. There was a long wait to order, even though there was no one in front of me. The person taking my order was very curt. There was a long wait for me to pay for my order. The gentleman was busy looking at a tablet and finally rang up my order. He asked me what kind of meat was on my salad, but he spoke so fast I couldn't understand him and had to ask him to repeat himself. No eye contact, no greeting, no smile, no friendliness. He gave me my total and then he walked away from the register and stood looking on his tablet. I ran my card, grabbed my own receipt and left without so much as a word from him. No thank you, no have a good day, no one was even there. Had the salad been delicious, it might have made up for the service. Unfortunately, the meat was soggy and bland, the lettuce was wilted, the tortilla strips on top had been splashed with enchilada sauce or some kind of salsa. The appearance was terrible and the taste was at best average. I can't recommend more strongly that you stay away from this restaurant. Don't waste your money. There are too many good choices for food in this area. read more

This is the worst Cafe Rio I have ever been to! Not because of the food. Once we got it, the food was ok, but the service was atrocious. We waited for thirty minutes in a line that wasn't even that long! There was one lady running the entire line. Other workers in the back were cooking and bringing food up but one lady was taking orders, cooking on the grill, moving food down the line. It was the most poorly managed restaurant I've ever seen. Get new management or get them there! Nobody seemed to be in charge. read more

AVOID AT ALL COST!! This location is the worst Cafe Rio I have ever been to. The manager is the worst manager I have seen for a long time. She was super rude when I asked for kids quesadillas and rushed to fast I couldn't order everything before she tried to move to the next customer and got visibly angry when I said I still had more things to order. I have done a mobile pick up three separate times and it has always been at least 30 minutes late. It's not fun to stand in a group of customers and delivers service workers that are all super frustrated. read more

The service ruins the food like Yoko Ono ruined the Beatles. 100% Rudest food service in St Geezy. 100% Not the cooks' fault 100% If you aren't good with people and are miserable, get out of the people business Haven't eaten here in 4 years because they were so rude last time. Management, read the reviews, there is a theme,...train or fire all the Yokos! read more

Came to dinner tonight for the shrimp taco special. I ordered it, and when I got to the end, I was informed that they were out of the mango salsa that generally accompanies it..... this was very disappointing, the Young lady Behind. The counter making my food immediately senced my frustration and disappointment. Without even being asked, she stepped in and made it right. That is custome service at its best and greatly appreciated . 5 star service, 4 stars for the disappointment as I was craving this all day read more

normally i don't complain about this place but it was just awful the people who work here are so unprofessional and slow. they do not care that there is a line going out the door they will move slower than sloth. an to add on that i ordered a burrito and they didn't take it off the conveyer belt they didn't acknowledge it until another burrito pushed it off onto the floor. i have never seen any food ever drop or so much thrown away. the employees here just toss food left and right in the trash if they don't like how the food looks. the cashier was very rude when i explained i didn't say i wanted my food to go and she tried to argue saying i did and rolled her eyes! this location needs to shape up and realize that no one is going to be coming there if they don't get their act together and be professional! read more

I went with My Husband, daughter and on of her Grandchildren and it was delicious! Daniel welcomed us with enthusiasm and also Jesus checked on us towards the end when we were almost done to make sure we had a good experience and was very friendly. We got many smiles and friendly vibe from all throughout the process of ordering , etc. The mural on the wall was beautiful! I loved the whole vibe and excited they have a patio! read more

They just kinda plopped everything quickly on my plate and then told me quac and sour cream came with the meal and then charged me for it all at the end. Food tasted fine, but not worth $15 read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

He's been here before in california and stopped by for a quick bite to eat. The quality of the food was fine but the service was below expected and honestly a bit rude. We weren't really sure how to order when we got up there and just kind of got blown off when we asked questions. The younger girl helping us also didn't speak loud at all so couldn't hear when she did telll us anything. We ended up getting the food for free (assuming by a manager), however we didn't complain to anyone. This was nice, but we don't know if we will ever go to the franchise again as the experience just kind deterred us. The ambiance is loud and young which is great, but for the overall experience it didn't stand out. read more

We always stop here when passing through St. George, and always looked forward to it. Today however, the service was exceptionally UNPLEASANT and our food was SO salty we could not eat it!! Part of 7 and 1/2 of us threw our plates away. VERY Disappointed read more

WTH happened to Cafe Rio?!! I had heard about them from a lot of friends but there were none in my home state at the time so I didn't get to try them until a family trip to UT. I wasn't hungry but I fed my kids and my elderly parents and I grabbed a burrito to go for later when I was hungry again. I decided to try a nibble while I waited for them to eat so I could have the fresh experience. It was so delicious that I ended up eating most of it on the spot. My wife wasn't along with us on this trip but a few months later, we were in Wenatchee, WA and there was a location there at the time so I took her. She was skeptical but ended up loving it. This was all more than a decade ago now and since then, the quality has gone way down hill. I learned in college about how cost accounting degrades the quality of food offerings in franchised or chain restaurants. Basically, they start off with something great that people love and this allows them to become successful enough to franchise or become a chain. Then, they become a corporate entity and the accountants start looking at ways to save money. This eventually makes it to the food. They realize that if they decrease or change a certain ingredient by some small percentage, they can save $X number of dollars annually. As the years go by and this keeps happening, eventually that product you used to love is like a copy of a copy of a copy, etc and it's no longer very good. This has destroyed Cafe Rio for me. I imagine it has for a lot of other people as well. I hear the Wenatchee location is closed now and the crowds are a fraction of what they used to be on the rare occasion I visit. I honestly wouldn't visit at all if I didn't occasionally have friends with less refined palettes insist on meeting for meals there. I realize that those people keep the Jack-in-the-Box's and Burger Kings of the world in business but when was the last time you ever saw a big crowd at an average location for either of those spots? I remember seeing large crowds at Cafe Rio in the last decade so they could actually course correct, but they probably won't. To be clear, it's not just this location. It's every location I've been to the past few years. I was with someone within the last couple of weeks who insisted on eating there in my new home state of NV. I didn't want it but they insisted so I grabbed some nachos to munch on and even they sucked. How do you screw up nachos? read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

Stop! Go somewhere else! Read through the reviews and look at the pictures. There are some fatal flaws at this Cafe Rio that appear to be overlooked for quite some time now. Filthy dining area. Trash cans that haven't been cleaned in days/weeks. Poor, dirty kitchen conditions. Understaffed with overwhelmed employees. Our visit this trip took 32 minutes to order. We were less than 10 people back in line. Prep tables were gross, food waste laying on counters by the ovens, etc. Once we got our food we went for drinks and utensils. Out of napkins. Out of straws. Out of all specialty drinks. There were only about 20 tables occupied, all others were filthy. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. This place is living off the Cafe Rio brand, not up to it. read more

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Is it possible to give it 0 stars? No? Okay. So yesterday was my first time at this location as I recently moved to the area for work. I walked in a couple minutes after 10:30 when they open and the employee behind the counter said. "We open at 10:30." With a stoned, dazed look on his face. I walked out and will not be giving them my business ever. I've done customer service my entire life and I'd never speak to a customer that way. What a joke. If you don't like your job leave to find something else because you are only harming the business. Apparently this location in fact does not open at 10:30 read more

I mean... It's Café Rio, but I got to say, other than the always super long lines and ordering at the counter, it's always consistent. The food for "fast food" is always really good. read more

So as a day one supporter of cafe rio I hate having to write this. Over time the food has just gotten worse and worse. My salad tonight had almost no rice or beans in it and such a small amount of chicken. The place was filthy, they're always scrapping the bottom of the buckets. You would think when a competitor comes to town( costa vida) you would try to level up. But this location is just asking us to go somewhere else. read more

Because of Aaron this restaurant is incredible. Seeing someone happy to help others with a smile makes my day. read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Because of Aaron this restaurant is incredible! - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

Fuck this place and hate the management team sanding there sort stuff but they have damn workers working make it make sense. Don't come here cause last time we got food here literally had hair in my food when I got it read more

TLDR- Food is great but expect long wait times and rude staff The food is great but could use a lot of improvement with customer service and order management (wait times in line). The staff is commonly rude or wastes time. If anyone from Cafe Rio is reading this, food is great but consider getting kiosks where people can walk in and place their orders without waiting in line. This method will also improve honesty and thus profit margins. For example, the cashier asks you what was ordered and I have seen customers omit extra toppings. But with the kiosks, if you want guacamole, you will need to input it. An example of inefficient time management I witnessed was when the staff refused to move past one customer that was waiting for his steak to grill rather than help other customers. Even the customer was telling staff to move on while waiting for his steak and staff would not "per policy." One lady working the salad/salsa area confronted a customer complaining about her and the cashier gave my husband a job flyer despite us telling her we don't live in Utah. read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Taco salad, sweet pork salad - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

Need to relearn there food handlers permit, the young man with glasses cleaning with the wash rag was touching ever thing like the chicken and even went a dipped it into the green sauce and red sauce, I said what are you doing both workers acknowledge it but there just young kids and proceeded to there job and I kept saying something but seemed like it was a normal thing to them, then right after he puts the rag down and puts on gloves to start making a to go orders, couldn't even wash his hands I'm not eating here read more

I absolutely love Cafe Rio, but there is something you (&they) should know. They're getting a lot of negative reviews for rude customer service from both patrons & delivery drivers. This is really sad to hear because this has become our favorite healthier Mexican food option to have delivered. In our previous state we swore by Chipotle, but the restaurant was filthy, they lost our order and the flavor wasn't there. I'm really hoping we don't lose this place too. Here's what we love about Cafe Rio (we primarily have it delivered when we are strapped for time or have run out of groceries between taking care of our two babies). I'm not a salad person, but holy huge & delicious salad. Lettuce is lettuce, but the tortilla bowl, meat & toppings are delicious. My all time favorite meat is that sweet pork, on tacos! The tacos are huge (a bit messy to go). I never can resist eating both tacos so I don't get leftovers. If you want leftovers get the salad or tostada. Maybe I've missed them, but I wish they had fajita veggies to add. read more

Everything was fresh and delicious. We were there early, so no line. Great service. Great food. Helpful friendly staff. Watching them make fresh tortillas is pretty cool. Our food was really good, I only wanted to eat 1/2 my tostada, ate the whole thing, so full! The bad reviews Cafe Rio gets is because people don't like how long the line is. There's a line for a reason! The food is really good! So if you don't like lines, go early! read more

My colleagues and I frequent Cafe Rio as we work nearby at the hospital and always enjoy our meals here. We are on call at work and need to be able to respond very quickly so we appreciate the fast service. As first responders we also get a nice discount which is much appreciated. The food is great, they load you up with meat (never skimping), the service is fantastic, everyone is always so nice. There is a guy that always seems to work the lobby area (Sundays at lunchtime) that is ALWAYS super friendly and always asks often if he can get us anything. We Love this place! Keep it up and we will continue to come here often! read more

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - St. George, Utah

Two words; Complete Incompetence. Everything in my order was completely wrong, the wait time was long, and the food was sub par. Avoid this establishment. read more

I asked for no meat on my burrito the guy barely put any rice and bean on it then put a little piece of meat on my burrito and charged me for a sweet pork when there was no meat and it came with the smallest little side salad I have ever seen. 0 stars read more