El Rialto Restaurant & Lounge

We eat here almost weekly. Great employees, very good food, the bar serves generous drinks and a staple for the city of Las Vegas. As with many small town restaurants, the bar is family friendly, which we love. As for the negative reviews, every place has a bad day and if the negatives were the norm, we wouldn’t be 20+ year customers. This place is a favorite!

Cute little place at the corner of the plaza circle. Family environment. I wanted to take my kids to a good restrant as we sight see around the area but not pay a lot for breakfast. This place was really reasonable. We liked it.

Red chile roast beef enchiladas with an over medium egg on top, no garnish. Even the waitresses know my order. Always delicious. I wish the chips were made in house, minus one star. Sopapillas aren’t served as a side, darn. Good drinks. Victor is an amazing bartender and is always on top of his game. Friday night is a great time to go in and enjoy some live acoustic singing.

Nice little hole in the wall. There wasn’t much of a crowd when we first arrived. Then about 20 minutes into it, the crowd came. The salsa was great. Had a very nice kick and was very flavorful. The service was a tad slow, but that’s probably because there was only one waitress attending the dining area. The food came out quick. I ordered a stuffed sopapilla with red and green. Very tasty and both chilies were a perfect hotness. The plate came with an optional side of posole or beans. I picked the posole, which was OK. It didn’t have meat, which it why it was a bit bland. We’ll go back the next time were there.

I have eaten here many times over past twenty years. I was concerned with the inconsistent reviews on Unilocal.People seem to like place or not. Unfortunately, review is the latter. The only reason I do not give only one star is because the staff were friendly and very helpful; however, they had no support from the kitchen. Four of our party had various stuffed sopapillas, two with chicken, two with ground beef. The «sopapillas» were more like a hard fry bread that you needed. a knife to cut even after soaking in red or green chile. My wife actually removed the topping and left the «sopapilla» on her plate. The ground beef was odd and the only explanation we could come up with is that they do not brown the meat, it almost seemed to be boiled, very pale and unappetizing.
Needless to say, we were disappointed and I don’t have plans to come back anytime soon.

Ahhh! Las Vegas NM. You are such a cool town. And this could be a cool place to eat.
I chose this restaurant because I was driving through town looking for something that looked good and local. I saw a police officer going in for lunch and thought «that place is the one»!
Once inside it feels a bit like a saloon — fun. I was greater promptly with a smile and seated. The menu had options so I was on the right track. Best of all, the salsa had a really nice kick. Cool — bring it on.
Ok, I want really badly to rate the food highly. I just can’t. I ordered a stuffed chicken sopapilla. On the first bite I thought that they brought me the roast beef by accident. No problem, I’ll eat it anyway, I thought. On the 2^nd bite I wasn’t sure what the meat was but I wasn’t fond of the flavor. I poured some salsa on it and tasted it again. Still wasn’t sure. I was sure that I did not like the flavor though.
So much potential, but need to work on that dish.

This restaurant had surprisingly delicious food. It was a little overpriced and the décor was a little sad but our waiter was friendly and helpful. I would definitely come back.

Drove all day from Houston on our way to Angel Fire. Stopped here for dinner. AMAZING! There were 8 of us and everything was so good! Trina was our server and she took care of every need. She was great! Highly recommend

Went there a few weeks back, on a Saturday. We were looking forward to some local food because we had good luck at Charlie’s in the past. Unfortunately, after seating us Staff did not come by. After 15 minutes we decided to leave, ended up back at Charlie’s.
Can’t make a judgment on their food, though their salsa and chips were very good.
We are Longmire fans and were hoping to eat near the Plaza.

Impromptu party of seven after a gallery opening… Easy on street parking. Hostess had a great attitude, seated us promptly. Waitress was there immediately and took drink orders and delivered two baskets of chips and two bowls of very good salsa. Everyone had a few minutes to review the menu and get their drink. Orders were taken promptly with questions about red or green chili, etc. The waitress was friendly and attentive and had our meals on the table in about ten minutes. She checked on us regularly, kept drinks replenished and took away empties as needed.
The food was very good traditional New Mexico style, generous portions served on warmed plates, detail work on the beans, posole, chili, etc. was excellent, everything was seasoned well. The chili, both red and green, was flavorful with enough heat to remind you it was chili but not enough to overwhelm your tastebuds. We concluded the meal with Flan and a very reasonable bill given the amount of food and drink consumed.
There was a guitarist/​vocalist playing at a subdued level in another part of the room during the meal. It added to the experience.
There is a full service bar adjacent the dining area with a competent bartender and decent selection of beer, wine and liquor.
Easy parking, friendly service, good food, diverse menu, reasonable prices, all in all a very good place to eat.

This place seems to be hit or miss. We were looking for good New Mexican food…& some of us found it. (we stopped at Johnny’s Mexican Kitchen 1^st, but they were closed for a party) I asked for green chile pork stew (which isn’t on the menu) & they made it for me. It was to.die.for — full of flavor & came in a big bowl with a sopapilla. My mom says the chile rellenos meal is delicious as well. Only 3 stars, because the kids didn’t like their taco meals at all & the sopapillas were mediocre at best. (Flat, not hot & not fresh)

Food is exceptionally good. Would have given 5 stars, but service could have been better.
Fajitas were delicious and meat tender, which is unusual for beef! Tamale platter with red chile was wonderful, loved the posole, wish this restaurant was in my neighborhood, it would be a favorite!
Shared flan for desert, next time I want my own, it was sooooo good!
Will be back next time we are in town.

They are freakishly busy, but the food is good. Red sauce is not as hot as most places. It’s very warm in here, but I’ve noticed most restaurants in New Mexico don’t seem to turn the a/​c on… if they even have it.

Ever since the draft house opened, I’ve been eating at Rialto a bit more than I used to. Now that I’ve acclimated to the spiciest of chiles, Rialto has become a favorite. I still will only trust my margarita-​mixing skills, and the beers at the draft house, but their food has been consistently good.

This place was recommended as the best New Mexican place in town. Las Vegas, if this is your best you have a long way to go. I hope we were just misled and there is some other NM treasure in town.
Not that it was horrible. The service was decent. But the food was below average. The chiles were bland and watery. The roast beef taco was the best thing on my plate, and it was just OK.

I’m astounded that this place has good reviews here…
I went in with a group of 8, which we were told could not be seated together due to size. There was already a party of 9 seated there together, and another group of 8 came in not long after us and was quickly accommodated with moved tables and chairs. We decided to move ours together as well, and weren’t bothered about it.
We ordered tostadas and salsa and a plate of chili cheese fries, and were going to make a decision on whether to order entrees after that based on the quality. After waiting ages for water, we waited probably around 15 minutes for a plate of the stalest chips I’ve ever eaten (and the group that was seated after us was already being served entrees), accompanied by a salsa that was mostly ketchup. Disgusting. The plate of chili cheese fries consisted of a large mess of soggy, undercooked, limp strips of flavorless potato, with maybe 5 slivers of cheese shreds, and the best part– it was sitting atop of a puddle of meat grease. Not chili. Not even gravy. But slick oily brown congealing grease.
This cost 17 dollars.
Maybe the entrees here are good, but we weren’t going to take a chance given the appetizers, much less the crappy service, ridiculous waiting time, and mysteriously inflated prices.

Why is the quality of food so poor in this town. below average food, Estrella’s across the street was slightly better. Service and food taste was less than adequate.

Good local color
Tacos were deep, deep fried… not my personal favorite. I’ll be sure to order soft tortillas next time. The take out window next door is owned by same folks and is an excellent option to any of the fast food in town. I recommend the tamales!

I have to say this is some of the better New Mexican food I’ve had anywhere in New Mexico. I would stack it up against some of the more popular places in Santa Fe and the Las Cruces/​Mesilla area. We are planning a trip from Oklahoma to Colorado and will be driving out of our way just so we can eat here.

«Red or Green?» That is New Mexico’s state saying, and the first chance you get to eat there you’ll understand why. *Everything* comes with red or green chile.
This place is amazing. I ate here dozens of times during a couple summers when I worked for New Mexico Department of Forestry — Las Vegas District. The chile sauce on the enchiladas is amazing, both red and green. I actually never ordered the green as the red was plenty hot for me (and actually took me a while to get used to it). In contrast to most other places I’ve been to (outside New Mexico), the green sauce is actually hotter, so beware! Also, New Mexicans have some seriously hot mouths, so the level of heat in dishes may surprise you. As an example in our sack lunches on fires, they would include a jalapeño (whole) with their sandwich which they would gnaw on while eating their lunch. Amazing.
Back to El Rialto. The location is pretty cool, less than a block away from the town plaza. In the summer, they often have bands there on weekends – similar to a street fair. The interior of the restaurant is average at best – this is not haute cuisine, but rather very basic, very delicious, very true authentic New Mexican food.
Highly, highly recommended.