Rio Grande Cafe, Arlington, Virginia, Mexican Restaurant Details

Food:

The best option for Tex-Mex in the immediate Ballston area. Service is good, food is delicious, and I've never left feeling anything less than 100% full. They also have a great weekend brunch menu (no bottomless specials though). Main issues are that it is always crowded on the weekend and the food is on the pricey side. Good place to go for a date night.

Food:

The Guadalajara was amazing. So flavorful! Really enjoyed the cucumber jalapeño margarita. I'm from Texas and I was seriously impressed with the excellent authentic spices. I'm definitely coming back.

Food:

I wish I could say that my experience was a good one here tonight. Full disclosure: the food is not bad and the restaurant was NOT busy; however, if you have a large group (5 or more) I would try somewhere else if I were you. They planned VERY poorly for our group of 18 (after we called 2 weeks in advance). This was the second birthday celebration I've had at this restaurant, and both experiences were unfortunately similar. I thought maybe it was a bad night for them the first time, but after it happening again tonight I have determined that they cannot handle large groups. The service was slow, inattentive and not very timely in getting things delivered. What is worse; the manager was nowhere to be found until we insisted to see him at the end of the night. Clearly he had no awareness that a large table of people, spending money like everyone else in the restaurant, was unhappy for majority of their visit (3hrs). Once we got the manager, he failed to take responsibility for the items [on their part] that were LATE, and proceeded to blame the customer. That was the WRONG APPROACH, please don't expect much from him if you have issues during your visit. I brought my friends here from out of town, and I am slightly embarrassed that this was their impression. I also felt bad not leaving my server 20%; however, after dealing with the manager she got no help from him. If anything, he made it worse. Again, the food wasn't bad, but if you want someone there to just take your initial food and drink order .... go to Moe's.

Food:

Good food. A little spendy. Great service and fast, thanks Pablo. But these people at the next table spilled a drink and nobody bothered to help them clean it up. Com'on man.

Food:

We have been dining at this restaurant for a long time. It has made many changes but one thing remains the same. The food is fantastic! I have never had a bad meal. We love the salsa, could consume troughs of it. Their queso is the best around, coupled with fresh warm tortillas...yum. I usually order Juanitas Platter, a taco, 2 enchiladas, and a pork tamale. Comes with rice and a choice of beans. Need I say more? The fajitas are superb. I've even had goat leg and it was great. Drinks are pricey but they have the swirl, frozen margarita and frozen sangria, which can cool the tex\mex burn.