Rio Mirage Cafe Y Cantina

We’ve been going to Rio Mirage Café for many years, since before we were even Surprise residents, and 9 times out of 10, we have had a great experience. The food has always been hot and yummy. Never had a complaint about the food. Good margaritas, Great value, not too expensive but not the cheapest Mexican food out there. The customer service is almost always on point. We have had a few servers that weren’t so friendly (end of night, not busy, but seemed bothered by us) but MOST of the time, they are friendly and helpful. I highly recommend Rio Mirage, give them a try, and don’t forget to order a margarita.

2^nd time here and still the best buffet in town! The food takes me to another place, as if I’m in Mexico City again! Full of flavor and not just thrown together.
The service was ok. Felt like was being a little rushed but it’s all good. I do appreciate the hostess she was nice. I will definitely be coming back and inviting other people.

Nice Mexican restaurant. We went for Marguerita Monday for $ 1 Rita’s. Off menu is a pork carnita plate that is super. I ordered the chili rellano and green tamale. The tamale was overly sweet and the rellano was just okay.

We took a break from the Christmas shopping craziness and had dinner at Rio Mirage tonight. The food was delicious.
Chips and salsa are complimentary.
The chips were a little oily, like they had been re-​fried to reheat, but the salsa is sooo good!
Hub had a fried burrito (chimichanga) enchilada style. The steak inside was super tender and flavorful.
As usual, I ordered more than I could eat.
I ordered albondigas (meatball soup), mainly because I have made it but never eaten a restaurant version (and I was cold). It was great and would have filled me up all on its own. Savory meatballs, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, cabbage (I think) and rice, floating in a thick chili broth. Comfort food.
For main course I had Mahi Mahi tacos, with double beans since I don’t like rice much. Cubes of well seasoned fish, grilled and served in soft fried corn tortillas (soft but not dry) with lots of perfectly ripe avacado chunks. With a jicima pineapple salsa on the side. I prefer a cabbage slaw with fish tacos, but it was good. The beans were black beans, which I love, evenly cooked and topped with cheese. Luscious.
My margarita was made from a mix, but, hey, this is a low priced neighborhood restaurant. They did get the lightly salted rim part spot-​on!
No room for dessert!
All of the service was great, from greeting to drinks to packing up my leftovers.
Erik is an awesome waiter. Give that man a raise!

Excellent margaritas, the food was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere! A true gem and we are definitely coming back!

Great drinks (get the strawberry margarita!) and delicious food! The bathroom was disgusting though and the parking lot is kind of hard to get to… otherwise, it was a nice dinner spot! Our waitress/​bartender was sweet, too!

Arrived about an hour and half before closing on a Saturday night. They had already put chairs up and mopping the floors. Another group had come in about the same time as we did. Seems like they were going to close early, however they decided to seat us.
The food was good no complaints as was the service. Salsa and chips awesome.
If you area in the area it is worth the stop.

No draft beer or even any beer for a froday!!! You can’t get a burro enchilada stable either. Poor service also!

Wow! This place is goooooood. When we got there they said there would be a 40 minute wait, but we were seated within 15. I can see why they were so busy! I had the combo with the green corn tamale and chile relleno with a side of flour tortillas. My fiancé had the spinach enchiladas. The flour tortillas were being handmade in a corner of the restaurant and omg they were delicious. The chile relleno was super flavorful but the breading was a little thin. The tamale was so good! It was full of corn and cheese. The spinach enchiladas were different but they were very tasty. They had a red sauce on them and not a ton of cheese, but they were very flavorful. The margarita was very good, not too sweet. Our total bill for two entrees, a margarita and a beer was 29 and change. They also had a mariachi band playing which was fun. Love this place so much!

Really liked this place, one of the better texmex places I’ve eaten at in az. Was pleased to see them doing a deep cleaning while they were slow. The waiter recommend the Rio Burrito which was delicious. Topped off with .99 margaritas on Monday. I highly recommend.

Second time visiting this location and they have sold me for life. Amazing customer service and delicious food. The 99 cent margaritas on Monday don’t hurt either ;)

For the amount of time it took to get our food, you would have thought everything would be super fresh and delicious. Unfortunately, not the case. Had to wait 20 minutes to order and another 40 minutes for our food. Then 15 more minutes at the end of the meal to get our waiter’s attention so we could pay. Probably could have walked out without them noticing. The food was average, and had it been quick and with great service might have warranted a better rating, but unfortunately nothing was stellar about this restaurant. I would not recommend.

With my minnie me in a so needed outing… NEVER EVER have I had anything bad here… ALWAYS GREAT FOOD & SERVICE. I recommend U give them a try if U already haven’t…U will be back

Stopped in based on the reviews, glad we did! The coyote margaritas are awesome, very nice flavors. Food wise, I had the Carne machaca dinner which was also very good! Service was great and friendly.

Good Service. Enjoyed the chimichanga, which was with shredded beef and delicious. Someone else at our table had the beef enchiladas and enjoyed them as well. Great salsa with chips as well.
The location was hard to find the first time but now that I’ve been there, it is easier. Parking can be hard, but you can park on the street with no problem. Get there early for no wait during dinner.

Our server, Mike, made an excellent recommendation, and I highly recommend ‘Carne Machaca Dinner’ which is served with their home made flour tortillas — outstanding! We nearly licked the plate after finishing the flan; some of the best ever. Friendly service, welcoming atmosphere. Family-​friendly too. We’ll be back, and hope to take advantage of their happy hour specials!

Ok, I guess I am updating my review… From 5 starts to 2 starts. I did not come to this place for over a year, due to un pleased last visit. However, there is always second chance. Well, too long to wait, new staff, only two waiters for huge place… No happy hours …

LOVED the food at this place. No doubt I’ll make a trip back when I’m in town again. Bonus points for having a habanero salsa option, too.

I was able to visit this establishment on ³⁄₂₉ after Spring Training in Camelback.
A friend of mine found this place based on the star rating on Unilocal so we decided to give it a go. Upon arriving things looked like they were headed in the right direction, however, things changed once we sat down.
They were able to accommodate our large party of 8 which was nice, got in right before early dinner rush came in. Once we sat down, my girlfriend asked if we could get some water, the waitress responded «Now?», no we wanted water as were about to leave. The waitress did bring out one glass of water while everyone else waited. 15 mins later, a new waitress came out and finally brought water and took drink orders, after my friend had to flag her down and ask if we could order drinks. 15 mins later, the drinks finally came out, with a different waitress, even though there were was a surplus of workers. The Michelada was a bit watery, not enough tomato juice.
The service is a it slow, almost as if they are the tortoise in a race. The responses to questions felt like a forced, almost put off, response. Our drinks weren’t cleared until the chip man came around and had to be asked, even then, he removed the chips and two glasses. The other glasses were left behind as if they were two week old enchiladas.
Once the food came out, that sort of brought it up to par. I shared the carne asada plate and it was pretty good, the flour tortillas were the highlight.
I’m not sure what the 75 4-​star rating is about, there was nothing amazing about the place and probably wouldn’t go back if I am in the Phoenix area.

My mother took me here a while back and I finally wanted to write a review. Rio mirage, both locations, has really good Mexican food. My favorite thing on (or maybe off) the menu is the flaming Toritos. That’s what you want to come for. On another note, I think it’s really tired and old to age bash residents of sun city and sun city west. Show some respect. What are you people? 15 years old?