Rio Grande Grill and Tap Room

Rio Grande Grill & Tap House is one of those places that gets everything right — great food, a lively atmosphere, and people who truly make you feel welcome. The menu is consistently excellent, whether you’re stopping in for snacks and a cold beer or sitting down for a full meal. Everything comes out fresh, flavorful, and made with care. What really makes this place special is how it feels. The staff treats you like a regular even if it’s your first time, and the crowd is always friendly and upbeat. It’s a perfect spot to catch a game, meet up with friends, or unwind after a long day. As a local real estate broker who spends a lot of time meeting people and building relationships around Ruidoso, this is one of my favorite places to bring clients or simply enjoy the community. Places like Rio Grande are part of what makes this town feel connected and vibrant. Highly recommend — great food, great people, and a great local hangout.

Stopped by on the way to our cabin and sure glad we did! We were greeted and seated promptly. The restaurant was cozy and quiet with a very welcoming atmosphere. Every employee we interacted with was attentive and polite. Herschel took great care of us, a true example of what great customer service looks like. We ordered the Rio Grande Burger and Hatch Chicken Alfredo, both were amazing. The burger had a thick and juicy patty with plenty of fresh toppings. The Alfredo had an amazing balance of flavors. Both portion sizes were great for the price. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend you stop by Rio Grande Grill and Tap.

My 17 year-old and I arrived at 2 PM to a full parking lot (a good sign!) and were seated in the upstairs dining area. Our server was quick and attentive, the food hot and delicious…so much so that the teen kept clapping over her meal (Hatch Green Chili Chicken Pasta).

Took my family to eat for a New Year celebration. I had the Green chile Lasagna and it was fantastic. Everyone else enjoyed their meal thoroughly as well! We had Daniel as our server and that might have been the best part of our experience as great as the food was. He was incredibly busy and had many other tables he was tending to but never missed a beat. I watched him handle every other table that was around us with class and swift action. Working in the restauruant industry myself for 15 years, I have seldom seen a server manage so many people in the thick of service and make my family feel as welcome and tended to with as many other people that were in his service. Noticing all of this, he was even assisting the hostess in greeting people walking in the door and seating them as well. Bravo Rio Grande for giving my family a wonderful celebration for supper and the service you provide! 5 stars through and through!

Perfect weather for lunch on the patio. Daily special steak & shrimp scampi. Delicious! Our server was awesome too.

Wow. How a year can change a review. I will not be coming back here and cannot recommend. We visited for my birthday dinner and we ordered some wings w the honey-sriracha sauce and 2 ribeye steak meals. The wings a year ago were perfect, large and crispy…tonight they were still crispy w a good flavor but half the size that they were last year. The ribeye steaks though…absolutely terrible. We expect a ribeye to be juicy and tender, but these did not look like ribeye steaks and they were extremely lean and had zero flavor. I now know why the staff had asked us if we wanted steak sauce! My steak had a super intense char taste to it, and it tasted off, and a it had tough texture; the mashed potatoes were weirdly sweet; and the fresh vegetables were sour. The manager/chef came out and I explained I did not like any of my meal but he was more focused on explaining that the steaks were in fact ribeyes and he trims the fat so he isn’t charging $40 for a fatty piece of meat…then still charged us for the full price of both steaks. I had 3 bites of my steak and one bite of each the mashed potatoes and vegetables, it all tasted off to me. I felt as if I was being ignored and the manager/chef was not acknowledging me. He was rude and argumentative when explaining his cooking method and did not address my dislike of my entire meal. We will not be visiting this location again, and, as a local, I do not recommend. I will say that our waitress was very nice and attentive and she apologized to me. 5/9/2025 ————————————————————————— Made it out to Rio Grande to try out their wings and other things, we've been hearing good reviews from others. We were not disappointed!! The parking looks bad from the street but there's some behind the building. We ordered wings, spinach artichoke dip, fish & chips and finished it off w a carrot cake. Also ordered drinks; root beer and the hard tea. The wings were fantastic! Perfectly crispy and not too saucy. We ordered 2 orders of 6 so we could try both the spicy boq and the honey sriracha sauces. They were not too spicy or too sweet, a very good blend of the flavors. The carrot cake was devine!! The best cake we have had in Ruidoso so far! Our server actually recommended the cake to us and I'm very glad he did! The spinach artichoke dip was okay, I wouldn't order it again. It was a little too cheesy and more spinach than artichoke and was lacking flavor. The fish & chips were alright, again I wouldn't order them a second time. A little too much batter on the fish and the tartar sauce was bland and the coleslaw was watery. The chips were perfect though!! Best fry I've had around Ruidoso so far! The root beer was delicious and their hard tea was pretty good, we were offered a chance to buy some to-go which was cool. The restaurant is really cozy too, all wood and warmth, and the tables are located upstairs. That was nice bc you can be away from the bar area to enjoy your meal w a more restaurant feel upstairs. Definitely recommend and we look forward to going back to try some burgers and steak!

If you drive pass Ruidoso, stop and eat at this place! The atmosphere and service are fantastic. We tried the beef stew and pork ribeye, and both were absolutely delicious. The portions were generous, and we left feeling completely satisfied. It was such a pleasant surprise to finally find a great restaurant during our road trip!

Great place in Ruidoso to eat and have beers. The food was excellent, our party had everything from salmon, Rio Bravo burger, elk burger, tender basket and Manicotti. EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS. The waitstaff was excellent and friendly. Very accommodating and it had a great atmosphere.

We're locals and have been here many times. The store is always clean. Tables are bussed quickly. All the food is amazing. The beer is great. We like the Imperial Stout. The service is always great. Very friendly servers.

Wow. How a year can change a review. I will not be coming back here and cannot recommend. We visited for my birthday dinner and we ordered some wings w the honey-sriracha sauce and 2 ribeye steak meals. The wings a year ago were perfect, large and crispy...tonight they were still crispy w a good flavor but half the size that they were last year. The ribeye steaks though...absolutely terrible. We expect a ribeye to be juicy and tender, but these did not look like ribeye steaks and they were extremely lean and had zero flavor. I now know why the staff had asked us if we wanted steak sauce! My steak had a super intense char taste to it, and it tasted off, and a it had tough texture; the mashed potatoes were weirdly sweet; and the fresh vegetables were sour. The manager/chef came out and I explained I did not like any of my meal but he was more focused on explaining that the steaks were in fact ribeyes and he trims the fat so he isn't charging $40 for a fatty piece of meat...then still charged us for the full price of both steaks. I had 3 bites of my steak and one bite of each the mashed potatoes and vegetables, it all tasted off to me. I felt as if I was being ignored and the manager/chef was not acknowledging me. He was rude and argumentative when explaining his cooking method and did not address my dislike of my entire meal. We will not be visiting this location again, and, as a local, I do not recommend.

While visiting town we stopped by this amazing restaurant. My friends and I ate on the patio and had an amazing meal. I had a burger and found it to be worth every penny. The service is the only thing better than the food. The only downside was there was no whiskey. With that said, the beer was great. Definitely worth stopping by.

We came here because they were open late, sat outside in the fading daylight and discussed how we could have the same kind of porch! Then the food came... Harvest Salad was AMAZING! Stew was so filling (huge portion) and the hubs gobbled up his bacon wrapped pork tenderloins. Our server was sweet, considerate, and above all friendly! We look around and everybody was chewing and nodding heads, sharing a bite of this and that. My guess is it's all excellent!

We sat on the balcony and had a wonderful view. Great beer options and friendly waiters, food was also amazing and fresh. Definitely a great restaurant in the area.

I used to order take out from here all the time, but at some point in the last six months I was told by a waitress that they no longer do that service so I haven't had that many new menu items. I would also like to see this restaurant join DoorDash as it benefits many people who don't have the opportunity to get out and visit the restaurant in person. I do love the ambiance and recommend this place to anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to check it out yet. The food is always delicious and hot and the staff are always so friendly and so welcoming!

This is my favorite place to dine in Ruidoso. The atmosphere is homey and cozy. The service is impeccable. The food is to die for. Their pecan beer paired well with my dinner. To top it off, the carrot cake is unmatchable in flavor, texture and of course, size. It can easily feed 4 people. Having the chef/owner come out and chat added to the experience. Highly recommended!

What a wonderful hideaway! We are just driving through on vacation. At one of the stores, they recommend eating here! And it was out of the park good. I had the beef stew and my husband the Rio Grande hamburger. I didn't get a picture of his burger cause he dug right in. My stew was so wonderful . My complaints to the Chef for hot and delicious meal. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing. We had the best waitress, Autumn. She checked on us multiple times and kept our tea glasses full. Thank you for a wonderful experience!!

It's mostly at a 4, really a 3.8. However, everything was good. Spinach dip was good, Caesar salad was real good. Italian sandwich was also good. Fries are frozen from a bag, the place could do for a house made fry. Service at the bar would have been a 6/10. Beer selection is great. There are no great expectations, but a solid choice for dining in Ruidoso.

Excellent food, service was top notch & the environment was perfect (sat out on the deck). Our server was so knowledgeable and took the time to answer all our questions about the amazing craft beer they had! Will be back!

Service was exceptional! I had the chicken lasagna. Far exceeded my expectations! Our server said everyone loves it. One bite explained why. It's cheesy, meaty, with a chili flavor that is present, but not at all overbearing. Even my husband, who won't go near a chili, enjoyed several bites and said he'd consider ordering it next time. I had their made in house ginger ale also. Probably the best I've ever had! Enjoyable and tasty dining experience all the way around. Highly recommend!

Spending the weekend in Ruidoso for a wedding. Looked for a restaurant to have dinner the first night. found this place and saw that it had over four stars and many many reviews. So we tried it and it was fantastic. The food was delicious. Nice portions Came out hot. The ambience was nice with a pub like atmosphere. The service topped it off. If you're in the area, it's a must try.

We didn't have reservations and even though we arrived very early for dinner there was a 30 minute wait. Not bad and they called us about when expected. Staff is doing an excellent job getting orders and food our promptly. Not surprisingly they have a very large list of beers available and you can ask for a sample before venturing in. I tried the Cherry Wheat, which is a GREAT beer! the Cherry is very fresh and flavorful. I chose a different beer(Bone chiller brown ale, very good) to accompany my dinner (if I was just having a beer on a hot day, Go with the Cherry Wheat). Ordered the Grilled chicken sandwich which comes with Green chile on it. Cole slaw, not the fries which are steak fry type. Sandwich was great, even though I needed to eat with fork and knife because of all the topping goodness!

We came in for an early dinner on a Saturday and we're seated right away. We got a flight of hoppy beers and jalapeño poppers to start. We realized early on that service was slow and ordered our drinks and food before we wanted them. For our entrees, my daughter got the lasagna, I got the crispy chicken sandwich, and my husband got the elk burger. Food was pretty good, hot, and portions are massive!

Parking is tight, but luckily, I got the front row. I had a Pecan beer, which was delicious. Took a six-pack home. The burger had to be devoured with a knife and fork. I would add more of that Peach BBQ sauce and maybe more seasoning on the meat. The fries were hot and perfectly cooked. Bartender is good at thier job. Engages customers and on point with service. Upstairs has an outdoor section. Looked peaceful. Definitely recommend.

Today was the first time I had tried this restaurant. We were greeted by friendly staff and had a delicious meal. My son got one of the hamburgers and I got a crispy chicken sandwich. We also shared chips and salsa. Great local restaurant with good service.

terrible service from start to finish save your time and money eat else where! the food was warm at best as if it had been sitting in heat lamp for a while. the atmosphere/ambiance was chaotic and unpleasant

Service was great! Food was excellent. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with green chile, mushrooms and sautéed onions. My boyfriend had the house stew over Mashed potatoes. We finished with the blackberry cobbler ala mode. And even left with a growler of Ocktoberfest. We will definitely be back

I know that Yelp love character counts, but this rating is pretty simple; 5 Stars - Must Visit! Our server, Abby, was phenomenal! The prime rib was a perfect medium! Their in-house beer, Pecan Amber was one of the greatest beers I've ever tasted...no, seriously. Do you know those candied pecans you can get at a carnival or in the smell, the ones that as soon as you catch a whiff from about 50 yards away you know exactly what they are...the ones that some in the funnel/carrot shaped bags!? This beer tastes just like that! The "slice" of chocolate cake at the end of the meal was enough to feed three kids, it was huge. Next time we're in town, our choice for where we're eating dinner at is non-negotiable.

Well it's no secret that fine dining can be hard to come by in this area. My husband and I settled on this place for dinner on a Sunday night after searching through multiple restaurants with lackluster reviews. This place came up #1 for the area. We were seated right away - service was friendly. Drinks were fair priced & the sangria was tasty. The salmon was cooked well - the lemon sauce and capers were a nice touch! Veggies and potatoes were also good. My hubs got the fish & chips - he said they were good. Coleslaw was blah. Restroom was clean, private parking lot out front but not many spaces available. All in all, a decent spot for a dinner date night or family night.

Mhmmmm cute elk in my belly. The elk burger was delicious! This meal was so incredibly filling and tasty. The fries the burger came with were very flavourful and thick. Seems like a nice place to hang out.

This is a real sleeper of a restaurant. Everything we ordered was very tasty. Whatever you do save room for the carrot cake it's the best I ever had in my life!

Delicious food and beer and great service! The fried mushrooms were the best ive had in a long time!

Food was fine. The dates were not as good as played up and bacon undercooked but still different in a pleasant way. Lager stew was hearty and delicious. Does have a distinct beer flavor that is good. Meat was a little tough in a couple of spots but still good. Fish and chips were good. I liked the coleslaw. Simply dressed. Not soaked. What is disturbing is that the cream brûlée came out a peanut butter color and VERY watery. It wasn't set like a custard, more like melted hot ice cream. Chunky and separated. It's 9$ we also had another dessert that was fine.

I found a nice table for myself and sat down in the upstairs patio. Service appeared and cleaned the table, eventually providing a menu which excluded the beer choices. I noted that, as the establishment was a Tap Room, providing a menu of brew may be prudent. One arrived, and a nice Bone Chiller Brown Ale soon followed. Burger then arrived, but napkins waited until server returned to ask if all was ok. Atmosphere needed music rather than just only the sound of passing traffic. Servers need more training.

We make a point to visit this place every time we are in town but not anymore. The good food was all removed from the menu and replaced with cheap stuff out of the freezer. I think ownership changed and apparently took the recipes with them. Server was friendly but do yourself a favor and go somewhere alas.

Walked in holding a coffee. The hostess immediately told me to throw it away. I did; then she told me I wouldn't be seated for an hour. That would have been helpful to know before I threw my full coffee away. Then I said I couldn't wait an hour and tried to leave and she yelled "that's how it's going to be everywhere else." I get that she was overwhelmed but she was really being rude to everyone in the restaurant. Idk I won't go back.

Friendly Good food Great service Always feel at home when we go there, excellent beer

Long wait, like any place good in Ruidoso but the wait was made better by a great bartender, lots of beers on tap & fun atmosphere. Once seated the service was great & food awesome. We split a Pork Ribeye & Elkburger and would do it again!

So thankful this spot is open on a Sunday, many in town are not so we arrived at 4:45 to find a half hour wait. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. They do not have special provisions for gluten free like bread, buns or pasta. Their wine selection is not great, but those in our party who drink beer enjoyed it. The pork chop sauce was gluten free and was very good, though I didn't taste Marsala. The vegetables were cooked to death and the baked potato was still hard, under cooked. Those at our table enjoyed ribs and chicken sandwich, burger was so so. If you are in Ruidoso on Sunday and looking for a spot, this is an ok choice.

We thought Rio Grande Grill was very good. We split a couple things so we could have dessert. Dessert was delicious. Carrot Cake and Peanut Butter Cheesecake. Fantastic!! Service was great. Nice and friendly.

The beers are great! Bartender also great! The burgers on the other hand, I'll pass. I went a couple of times asked for medium, it was still so raw and bloody that my bun was colored red. 2nd time that happened, I sent it back, the chef/cook seemed shocked and then bothered. I haven't been back nor do I plan on it. Wouldn't recommend it for eating.

Great food. Lots of laughs with the waitress and host. Patio seating was nice because the weather was perfect.

My food was great. I ordered salmon that came with veggies and mashed potatoes. I loved the lemon wine sauce with the salty capers as well as the grilled flavor on the salmon. It was a great combination. The veggies were good as well as the potatoes. The crème brûlée was not too eggy which I like. Could have used some real vanilla bean. My only complaint

Maybe the worst food we've had! We both got a house salad- meh. I ordered the garlic Parmesan wings. They came out in a puddle of oil. Although they were covered in some sort of a substance, they had very little flavor. My husband ordered the chicken pancetta over penne. Sauce was flavorless and unseasoned. Pasta was fettuccine instead of penne. It was over loaded with whole sun-dried tomatoes which were over powering. The chicken was extremely dry. He sent his food back and he NEVER does that. Over all, it was just awful.

Food in a brewpub is usually an after thought, NOT this place. The food is first rate starting with the fall off the bone tender ribs with a peach chipolte barbeque sauce. The sandwiches are not your simple bread, meat, bread fare but a more thought out creation and delicious. Check the board at the front door for the weekly specials. I highly recomend you head over, relax, have a beer (or a glass of wine) and enjoy the food.

A good restaurant that is setting up its employees to fail. I recently visited with some family. I had a decent chicken Caesar salad with a Cherry brew. The beer was amazing. The salad? Eh. Needed more cheese. We asked for more cheese, of course, but it never got delivered. Neither was a bottled soda that we ordered. I also accidentally received an extra beer due to miscommunication by the staff. Ah well! The staff seemed to consist of a single waitress literally running around, attempting to handle the whole restaurant by her lonesome. She was obviously overwhelmed and even joked to us about how no one wants to work anymore after getting "all that free money" during the pandemic. Honey...they just know you're going to keep them afloat while they keep paying you pennies on the dollar. They need to hire more staff to make this place a better experience. Food was okay though.

Must say that everything here was absolutely delicious. Jalapeño poppers, Green Chile Chicken Lasagna, Mascarpone cheesecake with blueberries. Excellent wine and beer list. Our server Kate was delightful.

My wife and I stopped in here during a camping trip through New Mexico. I highly recommend stopping here if you find yourself in Ruidoso. The menu has a lot of standard pub fare but also some more adventurous New Mexico-inspired dishes. I had the green chili lasagna, and it was fantastic. Better yet was the beer. They brew their own on-site. I tried their amber first. It was great. I then tried the Pecan Amber, and may be *the* best draft beer I've ever had. Our waitress was also very friendly, taking the time to tell us about the history of the restaurant and bringing a couple of beer samples without being asked.

Yummy food! But the BEST part was our waitress Ashlie. She's the bomb!! Definitely a reason to return!!

Stayed in Ruidoso for the weekend and had the pleasure of stopping here. As with most places in the town, the atmosphere was low-key and comfortable. Service was spot on with lots of knowledge and suggestions. We split a full rack of ribs and were stuffed. They were falling off the bone delicious. We tried a couple of beers and then did a flight to try even more. My favorite was the Alien Vanilla Milk Stout, but it is a meal by itself. Cherry wheat was another great choice. Highly recommend you give this great location a try.

Great place for dinner, equally as great of a beer selection. Any dish with Hatch Chile is can't miss, we had Hatch Chile soup, philly cheesesteak, chicken lasagna, and the pub burger. Bartender was quick and professional, even remembered us and our order when we came back a second night. Overall a slam dunk dinner place during your vacation.

Traveling with a friend from Texas and decided to make a stop in Ruidoso to check out the views. We found this cute little spot! It seemed like it would be average food but boy were we surprised. Highly recommend the beef stew and turkey sandwich! They're garden salad was also very fresh and delicious. I saw the burgers and they looked amazing too! Only reason I didn't give a full 5 stars was because it was a little dark inside but still cute! A fun little fact: they brew their own rootbeer and ginger ale. 5 stars!!!!

Soooooo...the wife and I decided to take a little in state, socially distanced trip to Ruidoso! After a long hike, we needed some food.... STAT! We both were craving some steak, and being that we are in a pandemic, the choices were limited! First and foremost, we didn't know that this was a tap house for Sierra Blanca Brewing, which was a bonus! I was happy with my Outlaw Lager! The wife had a red wine sangria, which were both awesome! We decided to have a Four Angels appetizers which was a shrimp prawn stuffed with crab-cake filling and wrapped in bacon, which was damn good! We both had 12oz ribeyes with stuffed bakers and veggies. The entire meal was good! Not enough for me to gush or go into a frenzy for, just good! The service was a bit ehhhhhh. The owner greeted me when we walked in, and I knew that because he had a name tag, but he wasn't very friendly or welcoming. The other wait staff made up for his lack of happiness We did eat on the patio due to COVID. They did have heaters, but it was 25 degrees and it was cold AF! It was an okay experience. In Ruidoso, we haven't experienced very good customer service... so at least our wait person was cool! So the jury is out...

Needed a place to eat on a Saturday night that wasn't too crowded and had no wait. Ambiance - Large open space with lots of tables. It seemed like this place catered to more big parties, because every table here had groups of people 6+ which also made it very loud. My boyfriend and I were the only ones here in a pair. Food - My boyfriend had a sandwich while I had the pasta. The sandwich was good, but such a hassle to eat. It was a bit too big and very messy. I had heard such great things for the pasta, but it was nothing special. If anything, it was more bland than expected and the alfredo sauce felt like something out of a can. Overall, I thought it was a bit pricey for mediocre food and it was way to loud to be enjoyable. I guess there's not too many choices in Ruidoso, but I'd definitely check out another place next time.

To start with the menu that is shown here with the steak and and chicken fried steak that's no more. Now for the food I ordered the green chili lasagna it was ehhh. Basically tasted like they put the green chili enchilada sauce in a bowl with some noodles and done. My wife ordered the ribs. If you like your ribs cooked in a crock pot then this is the place for you. The service was on point just the food was nowhere near what we expected from the reviews. This is more bar fare than anything.

Service and staff were amazing! The beer selection was great, loved the amber ale! The lobster the Mac n cheese had no flavor, the Caesar salads were extremely small for the price, the Philly was huge and good but extremely spicy. I mean so spicy, and i love spicy.... also, they have great ranch! My only complaint was when I asked for Ranch, she did not inform me that it was $1.50 for a 2oz container. Overall a little pricey for the amount of salad given, lack of flavor of the Mac, and Ranch. I would go back for the beer and fries for sure!

Service was great and attentive, food was pretty good, portion was a bit smaller than expected and there was a decent selection of entrees. I didn't see may gluten free options but also didn't inquire with the server. Wine selection was nice and local beer was great. Interior decor was a bit blah but overall the place was great and we would come back again.

Food and drink selections were absolutely amazing. Service was top notch. Bar tender downstairs was extremely busy but still gave amazing service. PB&j burger wow absolutely delicious