Rio Mirage Cafe

I came here on my birthday last year I ordered a fajita taco salad. The «steak» was so fatty in every single piece it was really ridiculous. My waitress came to check on us and I told her… «this is disgusting the meat isn’t even eatable» she said she would take it back to the kitchen and would come back. I waited probably 10– 15 minutes before I realized she wasn’t going to come back to my table. I thought I heard her voice so I looked over the little wall (I was in a booth) and she’s taking someone else’s order. So I just patiently waited a little bit longer and then I gave up I put $ 20 on the table and walked out. Never Again Will I Go Here…

Rio Mirage is an excellent restaurant for lunch. The lunch specials cannot be beat. For only $ 7, you get a piping hot dish that’s not only plentiful, but also delicious. The area is clean, the waiters are attentive and quick, and parking is available. The food is more traditional than what you’ll obtain at a fast food burrito area. I prefer Rio Mirage over a lot of the other Mexican restaurants in this area, and the quality, authenticity, and service easily gives me a reason to return again and again. There is hope for them to not change chefs or staff. They are doing an amazing job.

Great place. Has awesome lunch specials. Chips and salsa brought to your table rite away free of charge! Can’t go wrong with any choice. Food is amazing…

We tried Rio while visiting family in AZ and it was great mexican. The margarita was awesome and the service was good.

Horrible customer service, been here a couple times the food is decent but the management needs to get it together, constant customer service issues. Walk in told the computer system was down and it may take a little longer, was okay with that. Told 20min wait… we wait 30min to be told they are not serving any more food bc of the computer system. Mind you they were aware of this when we walked in… The manager didn’t handle the situation but sent his hostess over.

My fiancé took me and our son to the Rio Mirage Café because she knows we love Mexican food. The service was bad and the food was horrible at best. The food was not cooked all the way and was cold when it did finally get to us. We were highly disappointed and would recommend Taco bell before I would Rio Mirage Café.

Staff was super warm, welcoming, and friendly. The guacamole dip appetizer was SO GOOD, honestly the guac was the star of the show. The chicken and shrimp fajitas were good as well as the enchilada plate. Overall it was a tasty meal! P. S did I mention the guac was super good?

Came here to meet up with friends in the bar. Bartender was ok, was hard to get menus for dinner and drinks listed weren’t all available.
Only two of us ordered dinner and it came fairly quick but wasn’t quite how we ordered it. I didn’t ask to change since it was getting late for us.
Food presentation was typical and taste was just ok. Note sure we would be back for that.

Great place for Mexican food. Salsa is awesome here!

Visiting a friend in Surprise, AZ and on her suggestion we dined at this restaurant. She’d been told that it was very good and had been wanting to try it.
It was a very nice place, comfotable seating, clean and stocked restroom and friendly staff. We were seated immediately.
I ordered the El Bombero Picado… delicious! I thought the tomato/​onion/​pepper sauce was slightly sweet and spicy… the strips of beef were tender and well flavored, the Spanish rice and refried beans were excellent. It comes wth tortillas, corn or flour.
My friend order one of the combination plates and enjoyed it as well.
We each ordered a large Ultimate Margarita, which I was told was 20 oz. a few minutes later the server placed a margarita in front of us and walked away. We both looked at the glass and the two straws placed in it. We were a little confused… I guess he misheard our order and thought we were sharing. He was very apologetic and brought another drink right away. No complaints about this… I just thought it was amusing:)

The in laws were in town, so we had a babysitter! You know what that means, right? Time for a date with the wife! They (dates) happen about 3 times a year, and tonight was one of them. We wanted to stay semi local, and we both love Mexican food so we decided to try out Rio Mirage Café.
We walked inside and were seated immediately. About that… we were shown to a booth and that was not a good thing. Listen, I am a large man. Me and some booths don’t get along too well. This was one of those booths. It wasn’t so much the space between my stomach and the table, but the height of the booth and table. The table was pretty much laying on top of my legs and it was pretty damn uncomfortable. They either need to raise the table heights about a foot, or lower the seats in the booth about a foot. I noticed other diners were also looking a bit uncomfortable. If I were to go back, I would 100% ask for a table… I suggest you do the same! Anyways… we were brought chips and salsa and placed our order for our drinks (Coke products). We browsed the menu for a bit and we both decided to order a #11. About 5 minutes later, our food was ready! Here is how it was…
Chips and Salsa– The chips were nice and thin, but they had a little bit of a weird texture to them. I have read other reviews and they have said that the chips are too «oily», and I would definitely agree with that. They were crispy for the most part, but could have been fried at a higher temperature and browned a little more. They served their purpose, but I have had much better restaurant tortilla chips. The salsa was good and I like that they gave us 2 salsas at the table (one for each of us). It wasn’t hot at all but seemed very fresh and went well with the chips.
Combo #11– This plate came with a cheese enchilada, 2 shredded beef tacos and a plate of rice and beans. The enchilada was alright… standard cheese enchilada with red sauce. The tacos were the best part of the meal… pretty solid except that they suffered from the same type of «oiliness» of the chips. The shells were crisp though and the shredded beef tasted fine. I would get the tacos again by themselves if we come back. Rice and beans were your standard stuff. Some pieces of the rice were crunchy and hard and the beans were a bit bland. I ate most of them but wasn’t super thrilled with them.
Service was very good, and very fast! We were only in the restaurant for maybe 30 minutes total. The manager came by and talked with us for a minute and our server and busboys were very thorough and made sure we had everything we needed.
Would I come back? Eh, probably? Total after tip and everything was just over $ 41.00. That is a little steep for the quality of food, but the service was fast and friendly and the food was A-OK…exactly what 3 stars is. This is the type of place you would come back to if someone else was paying and wanted a sit down Mexican place in Surprise.

Nice atmosphere, but the chips and taco shells are greasy and never crispy. The tamales are tasteless.

The Chicken Fajitas were great lots of food would eat them again. The Tamales not so much came cool and super dry.

Ordered: Cheese crisp with green chili’s, chimichanga with machaca, green corn tamales.
Cheese crisp with green chili’s: Good amount of cheese to tortilla ratio. The tortilla could use more crispness –higher heat and some butter, maybe pre cook just the tortilla with the butter first partially. Green chili’s need flavor, in a rich buttery cheesy dish like this, the green chili is supposed to add some sweet, spicy, freshness.
Chimichanga with machaca: outer tortilla was cooked well and not burnt anywhere, but too big of a tortilla. The inner tortilla was too chewy without enough amount of crispy tortilla. The machaca was a solid pulled beef with flavor, but fell short of other machaca experiences. Please visit mi nindito in Tucson to see what I’m talking about.
Green corn tamales: Nice and sweet tamale with flavor which is rare. A little dry but with a subtle green sauce that solved the problem. My only issue was the addition of cheese. It added nothing to a sweet and mildly spicy dish.
Overall if you are in the surprise area this spot is worth a visit. They have all the right stuff but just needs some slight adjustments.

Meh. This place was just okay. Service took their time getting to us. The price was not what I expected for what we got. Over priced everything. Sorry. I will not be returning.

Love the food, staff, bar, patio, and prices. Every chance the wife and I get to sneak away we head over here and have an awesome margerita and a burrito, Sunday brunch great, patio outside is fun!

Cool, needs some updating. We also smelled like grease after we left the establishment.
Food is good and service was great.

It’s literally gotten better each time we have went. My wife is obsessed with the coyote Margarita, she has had it at many other locations but it never hits the spot like the one they make here. The el bombero is delicious and so is the Carne Asada plate. You cant go wrong with the shredded beef chimi with enchilada suace either. Take your family and thank me later.

Superb service! Had the Carne Asada plate. Tender well marinated meat covered with grilled onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. It was served with a side of rice, beans and fresh salsa. Very flavorful. The restaurant was very lively with a quaint unique feel to it.

Best Mexican cuisine in the area! I’ve tried many menu items, and they were all delicious… rolled quesadilla, guacamole, ensalada grande, pollo especial, carne escada, etc. everything was fresh and delivered to the table quickly.
The specialty margaritas are refreshing, flavorful, and unique. Great service every time, especially from the bartender, JC.