Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe

Rio Adobe is my go-​to local taqueria in Cupertino. My wife likes the fact that the ingredients are as local and organic as possible. I like the fact that the burrito mojado is delicious!
I typically order take-​out from Rio Adobe. I’ll order a chicken burrito mojado for myself. The burrito is Chipotle-​sized but that is where the similarities end. Rio Adobe fills up the burrito with perfectly seasoned chicken, rice, beans & guacamole then tops it with spicy red sauce and cheese. Yums!
I’ve tried almost everything on the menu once but I keep returning to the chicken burrito topped with red sauce.
The Nachos are also quite delicious and stacked high with chicken, cheese and other ingredients.
You will find all the standard taqueria fare and more. Quesadilla, enchiladas, tacos, etc… I’ve been to Rio Adobe for lunch with business associates countless times, I’ve never heard anyone complain about their meal.

This is my go to Mexican. Super reasonable prices, quality food, good menu. Carnitas, fish tacos, char grilled chicken and beef. Really yummy. They have fast service and good hearted staff. Not 5 star digs, but everything else is tops.

I once spent a couple months in Albuquerque for business and ate out every day there, so I’d like to think I know more than the average person about New Mexican style food.
I had the Carne Adobada Enchilada (Christmas style, meaning both green and red chiles) with a fried egg on top. (Weirdly enough, they call adding a fried egg on top of something New Mexican style. I don’t recall a single dish I had in New Mexico that defaulted to having a fried egg on top.) The green chiles were extremely mild and almost bland but the red chiles had some nice flavors and some heat in them (probably would have preferred a tad hotter). The adobada was well seasoned and had quite a bit of heat in them, which was much enjoyed. I’d say the texture and presentation of the pork was more like a pulled pork instead of cubes of pork, but I can live with that (as with typical adobada)
I also got a platter of Sopaipillas served with honey. The platter came with 8 large sopaipillas (imagine a personal pan pizza). After an entrée, I really could only eat two and was completely stuffed. My main complaint with this dish is that the Sopaipillas hadn’t puffed up enough so that the honey could not be squirted inside to coat most of the pastry. Aside from that, it had the expected doughy texture (perhaps a bit denser than usual) and that sweet flavor from the sugar with a hint of cinnamon.

As we are always looking for a new, better burrito place, my wife and I tried Rio Adobe based on several of the rave reviews and the 4 stars. Unfortunately we were pretty disappointed. Better than a Chipotle, but not by much. While our steak mojado burrito was HUGE and clearly cost effective (sadly often a reason for 4 stars here at Unilocal), the meat was flavorless and the sauce was nothing to jump up and down about. Nice salsa bar, but of the 4 we tried, 2 were nothing but heat (and we LIKE spicy) and 2 were pretty watery and tasteless. The free chips were greasy and also didn’t have much pep to them and some were cooked to hardness. Looks like we are headed back to our old, favorite taqueria for now, but we will continue the search! Let you all know if we find something better.

Love the flavor of the burritos here! Super filling and much much better than Chipotle across the street. I usually go with carne asada (steak) or carne adobada (pulled pork) burritos. Steak burrito comes with meat, rice, beans, guac, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream. Carne Adobada comes with rice, onions, cilantro, cheese. I omit the sour cream and/​or cheese from both burritos.
The only thing is that burritos in NorCal, including the ones here, include rice and beans (and it’s mostly rice and beans)…I miss San Diego for that one reason. I’m used to eating carne asada burritos without rice or beans. I feel like if I omitted the rice and beans here, I wouldn’t get much of a burrito. Lots of rice and beans that make it a big burrito here. The ones in San Diego would be full of meat (!), salsa, guac… oh how I miss that. Oh well, this place will have to do until I go back down to SD.
Great salsa bar here though! The corn salsa is so good. I can munch on this all day, plus it’s free with your meal.

Thanks to a close friend who first showed this hidden little gem to me during high school, it has become my solid go-​to Mexican place in Cupertino. I strongly recommend breaking out of ritualistically going to Chipotle and try this place for a change when you’re in the area. Try to beat the rush and come before 12 if you can, like what other reviews say, lunch time here becomes packed after 12 with everyone and their mamas. Dinner time has never been busy, at least for me.
They offer free chips and authentic salsa, and the drinks are 25 cents upon purchase of anything on the menu. I heard the chips are actually unlimited but Im always full by the time I’m done with my meal. I’ve gotten the crab tacos, burritos, and chicken/​steak quesadillas. I personally thought the crab tacos were alright and the portion could be a little more, but it’s seafood. The quesadillas are my favorite and if you try them, you’ll see why. They’re served with guac and sour cream on top of lettuce and I spread that like peanut butter jelly on top of my quesadillas!

Mexican food for catered lunch. Score! I’m always in the mood for some food that’s comida Mejicana!
+1 for timely delivery… a hangry office is a grumpy office.
+1 000 000 000 000 Salsa. salsa, salsa. It’s all about the salsa. But really, the pico, chipotle, and verde salsa and fresh guac were the highlight!
Other yummies:
–chips — A bit oily but a nice crunch.
–salad — A bit of cheese, lots of lettuce, some jicama, peppers, and carrots. Some of my salad faves. As a bunny rabbit who dumps delish salsa on my salad, I was happy right there.
— Enchiladas — Chicken and cheese. I’m not an enchilada gal, but it was tasty enough.
— Beans — I don’t know what kind of beans but they weren’t black beans nor refried beans. oh wait, that leaves pinto beans?
— Rice — Seasoned and tasty enough.
— Corn Tortillas — In case you wanted to make your own smörgåsbord. Also, there was lettuce and cheese just for making your own.
In summary, enchiladas, all ingredients for nachos, or make your own tacos filled with whatevs.
ZZZZ…Salsa.oh wait, I’m just dreaming about those killer salsas!

There’s something about Mexican /​Southwest food that’s just so darn comforting. I was really craving a burrito on the way home from work, and Rio Adobe hit the spot and then some.
The shrimp burrito is huge and absolutely delicious — the shrimp is well seasoned, and the beans/​rice/​pico de gallo/​guacamole/​cheese inside the soft grilled tortilla is fantastic. I also really recommend the enchiladas. Prices are inexpensive, too — entrees are all about $ 7.95, and margaritas/​sangria are only $ 4.95!
Reading the reviews now, I’m definitely going to hit up Rio Adobe again and again to try the quesadillas and a variety of other items. I’ll most certainly be back!

This is one of our go to places for Mexican food in Cupertino.
I usually get the Quesadilla Hongos with chicken, and it’s amazing! Can’t go wrong with crispy tortilla with cheesy mushroom and chicken can I… Writing this review makes me wanna get it now! It’s a good size portion, probably enough for two to split as an appetizer. I usually get it as an entrée, but I never finish it on my own. Ask for over easy egg on top for extra gooey goodness!
The nachos are also pretty good, but never order it to-​go. It gets really soggy, and all the cheese, beans, and tortilla chips glues together. Order it when you have time to sit in the restaurant and enjoy freshly made Chips!
I’ve never tried their other items, but I’m looking forward to trying their selection of soups. I’m not a Mexican food expert, but I would say that this place satisfies my Quesadilla craving all the time!

I recently went to New Mexico during a road trip adventure, and I gotta say… Rio Adobe was pretty disappointing compared to the legit Mexico Nuevo food I got from the hoods of Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Rio Adobe isn’t bad, service is pretty good, and their décor did remind me a bit of NM with their dried chile hanging from the ceiling and the plentiful ceramics with lizards and beautiful turquoise colors. I think the ambiance is perfectly fine and the place is clean and the SALSA bar deserves 5 stars (complimentary chips for you to much on also gets 5 stars). BUT the food man, it wasn’t anything like New Mexican food in my opinion.
I had their mahi burrito after not having any sufficient meal during my entire work day, and my friend had their two enchiladas that come with rice and beans. Portion size is GREAT. I wasn’t hungry afterwards, and the variety of delicious salsas from the green chile to a bean+corn dip is OUT OF THIS WORLD. It’s just the burrito didn’t quite cut it for me (rice wasn’t evocative of New Mexican rice) and my friend’s enchiladas seemed like typical Mexican food.
However, even without «signature» New Mexican dishes like sopapillas or fry bread, I gotta hand it to this place for keeping it REAL for the non-​red-​meat-​eaters. This joint is GREAT for pescatarians! So many seafood options from shrimp, mahi, to salmon! Don’t think I’d come out of my way to eat here, but I’m glad there’s a New Mexican spot in suburban Cupe.

The carne adobado burrito is pretty good. Not that spicy though. There’s plenty of seating and has an authentic feel. Would definitely come back again