Rio Grande Kitchen & Cantina - Oak Ridge

Christy Johnson

This was not a good visit. I think the staff passed by our table at least thirty times. It took longer than 20 minutes to get our drinks. Our waiter was trying to cover a lot of bases so I don't fault him. Our food came out not long after our drinks. It was good but sauces were portioned small. But refills didn't happen until we were about to leave. This is the second visit that we've had problems there. I get places are short staffed but it's frustrating when you have long wait times especially when prices are up and service isn't great. I've waited tables before and understand some of the issues but there comes a point where the issues need fixing.

Gidget Lawson

Well we usually enjoy going to this restaurant in Oak Ridge(not many restaurants to choose from) for the food and atmosphere but yesterday my 22 year old daughter and I went to grab a quick lunch so we sat at the bar. We sat there for 10 minutes waiting for the bar tender to approach us (she was chatting it up with a male customer which I understand they work on tips). When she approached us I told her we were going to eat lunch and needed menus. The next words that came out of her mouth was “I have a question”,directing it to my daughter, “how old are you” my daughter answers “22”. Before she even gave us a menu to look at she assumed we were there sitting at her bar to drink alcohol. We were so offended we got up and left. Don’t make assumptions -

Josh Hester

This place is a rip off. They have consistently raised prices. We usually drive to Kernersville for take out Mexican food but went to Rio tonight for the sake of convenience. This cup of queso was $5. Absolutely absurd. I have no intentions of returning.

Terri W.

I’m giving 4 stars because usually they earn that but tonight was really just a 3 star experience. I met a friend and we ate inside at their new location. They are in the same parking lot but in a free standing restaurant with a lot more space. We had to park in the Lowes grocery lot because Rio’s parking is really limited for a busy Friday night. It’s a short walk so no problem. We opted to wait for a booth because the only tables available were close to the entrance, in a heavy traffic area. The inside is typically decorated but the booths are very large and nice and cushy. We ordered a pitcher of Margaritas on the rocks. The pitcher had some ice but the glasses didn’t, so we had to try and pour ice into our glasses. The pitcher was only $20 so it’s a great value but we really needed ice and we never got more. I’m usually fine with the inexpensive margarita mix but this tasted like it had artificial sweetener. We ordered the Elote Dip $7.95 which was really just cheese dip with salsa, corn, cilantro and a sprinkling of cheese. It did not have Cotija cheese so it lacked that salty bite and it was really runny. We both had the new Hibachi Rio Style which was supposed to be slices of grilled chicken, zucchini, carrots and broccoli over rice with cheese dip, a side of Rio white sauce and a choice of retried or black beans. The cheese dip was on the side in a tiny cup. The Rio white sauce looked and tasted like Thousand island dressing, or maybe the orange Yum Yum sauce in the grocery. The chicken wasn’t grilled, it had 2 pieces of zucchini, 3 small pieces of broccoli and 3 carrot slices. It was all coated in something reddish and sweet. Neither one of us received the beans. Luckily, the company was great and we both tipped generously because we gabbed for 3 hours! I will definitely go back but I wouldn’t repeat any of my order.