Rio Mirage Café- Surprise Location

Rio Mirage serves incredibly delicious meals. I had a cheese enchilada / ground beef taco combo with rice and beans. (Yeah I know. I'm not very adventurous.) It was fantastic. Their salsa is amazing. Deep, rich flavor without being overly spicy, and just thick enough to load up a chip. We also had queso blanco and it was outstanding. The service was attentive, friendly, and quick. And the atmosphere is very comfortable. It's a beautiful place. The only downside to Rio Mirage is that it can get very crowded, with a long wait. We tried to eat there around 4:30 PM, thinking we were early, but the lobby was so crammed that we gave up and left. We came back the next day for a late lunch around 1:30, and we got in immediately. It was quiet and peaceful during our meal. So timing is everything at Rio Mirage.

Lunch was wonderful! The food tasted great. We were able to get right in without waiting. We both ordered off the lunch menu. Perfect portion sizes for lunch. Our server was Josh. He is so friendly and happy. It is a nice change to see someone happy at their job. The next time we come to this place, we will definitely ask to sit in his section.

We wish we would have found Rio Mirage years ago. This is not a typical Corporate Mexican Restaurant Chain that has fair to good food. This is a Family Operated Cafe who obviously takes great pride in providing Home Cooked Dishes. It brought back such sweet memories of Family Get Togethers. Dishes of family traditions, homemade tortillas, meats, cooked slow and nestled with spices, peppers, veggies and tended with love. We may live 2 hours west in the desert, but this is worth the drive to enjoy such a wonderful meal. The only regret; I should have picked up a Pint jar of the salsa sauce and the hot salsa sauce. Won't make that mistake again.

This was our first time dining here. We decided to give it a shot after seeing the reviews and we’re so glad that we did! The food was absolutely delicious! I had the fajita trio and my hubby had the El Rico with steak. The steak was so tender and flavorful. The service was top notch as well. Toward the end of our meal our waiter went on break, but before he did he came and told us. His peers picked up from there without missing a beat. We’ve been to a lot of restaurants and we’ve rarely seen customer service this great. We’ve definitely found our new spot!

Visiting from out of town and asked a couple locals for a great Mexican restaurant. This is it! Friendly staff, fabulous food, great portions and prices. Sat at the bar, where the bartender was mixing up some great looking drinks. A few big TVs with the games on, not a sports bar per se, but a great atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, the staff were all super friendly and attentive. I wish this place was in my home town!!!! Also, the salsa is how I like it with lots of fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Everything was amazingly good and price where very good! I forgot to add that this is a husband and wife owned restaurant. We even had a visit from the owner himself at our table. He was very friendly and informative. I can't wait to go back!

We live in Sun City Festival, and have been going to Rio Mirage Cafe in Surprise for nearly six years. It’s our go-to restaurant for Mexican food, and I think we’ve tried every Mexican restaurant within a radius of 20 miles of Surprise. The food is always the best, and the service is consistently great. Their menu is creative and extensive. Not cheap, but reasonable prices with generous portions. If you don’t want the standard ho-hum tex-mex, they’ll make up whatever you ask for. They’ll first bring you complimentary chips and salsa; I find their standard salsa a bit wimpy, so just ask for a little of the hot stuff, and you can mix it in (I’m a kinda salsa snob). But be careful with the chips, as you want to still be hungry for your entree. But we’d never been there for lunch, and yesterday was our first time. They have a very nice selection of $11.25 lunch specials. I had their beef enchilada which comes with rice and beans, or a very nice salad. I had the salad. As with their dinners, their lunch portions are similarly quite generous. My wife had a couple beef tacos ala carte, one of which we took home, and some guac for the chips. Grace was our waitress, and she took good care of us…checking back, and keeping our Coke and iced tea refilled. We normally ask for Mark, but I guess he doesn’t work lunchtime. Amazing and fun guy. And if you treat him nicely, he’ll sing for you! But don’t tell him I told you that. ?? They recently received some sort of award which I’ve included in this write-up. Don’t ask me what it actually is, but it seems pretty impressive. So try Rio Mirage if you haven't already. You’ll be wanting to give them an award, too.

Wait was 30 minutes to waited at the bar, bartender didn't acknowledge us, had to flag him down even though we were sitting at the bar, they should have had 2 people working the bar. Margaritas are huge and really good, chips and salsa were good, salsa is a little on the mild side. Ordered Machaca Chimichanga with red and green sauce, could have been fried more was not crispy but was delicious. Wife liked the taco salad with crispy Tortilla bowl, avacado dressing was good. Will definitely try again when in the area. Update: Been back a few times, very inconsistent results. This last visit will likely be our last for awhile. The only saving grace for this last visit was our server, Grace, she was amazing, outstanding customer service, she is a great server! Cheese Enchiladas were dry and cheese inside wasn't melted. Beans and nice were actually pretty good though. We always order the Trio Rio appetizer, the queso was literally water consistency and bland. Grace got us a replacement but it was the opposite, seems like the just dumped a bunch of shredded cheese in to get it thick. It was still bland and had was vert stringy, like 12 inches of cheese would pull out, this is not how queso is supposed to be, gross. Very disappointing visit.

It's always a good day for great, authentic Mexican cuisine. Since moving to Arizona eight years ago, this is our favorite. The last several dinners have been take out. Today, on the way back from Phoenix, hubby suggested Rio. Why not and beat the dinner crowd too? Yes! Dine in is wonderful when you can. The hostess was super friendly and engaging. I did not get her name because she wasn't there when we left. Thanks for being so personable! It was a relaxing afternoon enjoying delicious food! Rayna was our excellent serve! The chips are always fresh and warm! The salsa had some kick to it. I ordered my usual Pollo Con Verduras with black beans instead of rice this time. Hubby ordered his favorite Burrito De Pollo Especial with rice and refried beans. Lunch and dinner in one. The portions are huge so we have dinner for tomorrow. The restroom was clean and tidy! That's always a plus. It was another nice dining experience!

We live in Sun City Festival, and have been going to Rio Mirage Cafe in Surprise for nearly six years. It's our go-to restaurant for Mexican food, and I think we've tried every Mexican restaurant within a radius of 20 miles of Surprise. The food is always the best, and the service is consistently great. Their menu is creative and extensive. Not cheap, but reasonable prices with generous portions. If you don't want the standard ho-hum tex-mex, they'll make up whatever you ask for. They'll first bring you complimentary chips and salsa; I find their standard salsa a bit wimpy, so just ask for a little of the hot stuff, and you can mix it in (I'm a kinda salsa snob). But be careful with the chips, as you want to still be hungry for your entree. But we'd never been there for lunch, and yesterday was our first time. They have a very nice selection of $11.25 lunch specials. I had their beef enchilada which comes with rice and beans, or a very nice salad. I had the salad. As with their dinners, their lunch portions are similarly quite generous. My wife had a couple beef tacos ala carte, one of which we took home, and some guac for the chips. Grace was our waitress, and she took good care of us...checking back, and keeping our Coke and iced tea refilled. We normally ask for Mark, but I guess he doesn't work lunchtime. Amazing and fun guy. And if you treat him nicely, he'll sing for you! But don't tell him I told you that. ?? They recently received some sort of award which I've included in this write-up. Don't ask me what it actually is, but it seems pretty impressive. So try Rio Mirage if you haven't already. You'll be wanting to give them an award, too.

i took my family to dinner tonight and cannot believe I just spent the worst $100 ever. I received the shredded chicken burrito with the jalapeño sour cream sauce on top. it's served with beans and rice. I am telling you what! My husband makes this entirely better at home! zero flavor whatsoever! like literally. I would have rather gone to Filiberto's. the chicken burrito had nothing inside- only chicken. the sauce on top was literally a drizzle for an additional $3! I had to ask for a side to take home and they charged me almost $4 and didn't even fill up the to-go cup! my hubby said his beef tasted like freezer burnt beef. What the heck is the hype about this place? Even the rice and beans were plain. I felt like I was eating in my hospital room on a BLAND diet! side note, Hailey our waitress was great!

I was visiting my fiancée. I live in Las Vegas and we decided to eat dinner my last night there. It has been 5 years since his visit so we stopped in. We had excellent customer service, the food was delicious and filling. My fiancée ate the tomatillo enchiladas and I ordered the two tacos with rice and beans meal. It was a great experience and we will return.

This has to be some of the best Mexican food in the state. Their red chili is absolutely fantastic. This is our go to place when we really want good Mexican food.

Great food. I have tried multiple dishes and I always have a great experience. The margaritas are great as well

We found a really good Mexican spot near home today after we voted at surprise City Hall. We came in at noon and it wasn't too crowded. We were seated right away. Our waitress, Grace, was very nice and an excellent server. Our drinks were kept filled, and the salsa bowl was kept topped off our entire lunch. She checked on us frequently and made sure everything tasted great. Despite the soda fountain being down when we arrived, she offered us bottled soda drinks and iced tea. Halfway through the meal, she let us know that the machine was up and working, and offered to replace our beverages. We ordered: - Coke - Unsweetened Iced Tea - Complimentary Chips & Salsa (good, fresh chips and very tasty chunky salsa) - Guacamole Dip - Fresh Hass avocado, Mexican spices, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, and onion blended into a tasty, spicy dip mix served with mini tostada chips (delicious, fresh, citrusy and creamy with slight jalapeño kick) - Burrito De Fajitas - A soft flour tortilla filled with your choice of grilled chicken or grilled steak, sauteed with bell pepper & onions topped with red enchilada sauce & cheese. Served with Guacamole & sour cream (Hubs said this was very good! He ate all of it) - Mahi Mahi Tacos - Seasoned to perfection, stuffed with Cilantro-Jicama slaw, topped with radish, and diced avocado, served with black beans, Cilantro Pineapple salsa on the side and Baja sauce (I decided on this after talking to the waitress about it, and she said these were a big hit with many customers. There is a really large piece of mahi-mahi in each soft corn double tortilla taco. The fish is covered with matchstick cut radishes and diced fresh avocado. Pico de gallo and a pineapple salsa are each served on the side of the tacos as well as the Baja sauce that has a nice chipotle spice to it. The black beans are absolutely delicious. A lime is served on the side. The lunch was very good. I will come back and get this again.) There's a lot of table and booth seating in two rooms, there's a bar area with table and bar stool seating, and there is a patio area. There is a men's and women's restroom available for customers in the lobby. This restaurant is located in a busy shopping center and there is plenty of parking in the private lot .

Always good food and love the atmosphere. The steak, chicken, and shrimp fajitas are the best in town. Sophie is the best server! We always ask for her!

We've eaten here multiple times over the years and it's always been decent with timely service and a nice atmosphere. We ate here last night for my birthday. Our waiter Mark was hospitable and on time. As with everything these days, the prices were high. I had fish tacos (average at best) and my wife and our daughter, bean burritos which they enjoyed. You won't be disappointed but you won't be wowed either.

We have gone the last two Thursdays - different servers both times but the same amount of attentiveness from both and great food. Mexican Pizza with ground beef and all the fixings, cheese enchiladas, crispy tacos (ground beef and shredded beef) and El Rico with chicken were items we had - all were great and LOTS of leftovers to bring home. Make sure to get sides of the jalapeño cream sauce and guacamole. We prefer premium tequila margaritas but went with the suggestion of the server for the house margaritas since we wanted frozen - they were delicious and ordered the same the second time. The restaurant gives the feel of Old Mexico and clean and comfortable. We'll be back soon!!

5 star. The food is excellent,never a disappointment. Always served on hot plates to help the food hot. Plenty of food for big eaters. Home made salsa and chips. The Waitress are all very helpfully and the restaurant is very clean . My favorite place to eat.

So came in because everyone raves how great the food and service is... they are all wrong. Came in they sat us down and forgot about us they sat us down with chips and never came back 25 min later we are looking around and seen one guy who gave us water running around outside serving table and one woman for the whole restaurant. Not once did they ever come back to get our order. We got up and left we let the girl at the counter know and she didn't seem to care one bit Not sure how this place functions with two servers for a huge restaurant with a patio if I could give it zero stars I would. The salsa was decent the chips were gross they tasted like bitter Sad that businesses are so cheap they want to get away with hiring one or two servers for the whole restaurant

My favorite Mexican spot while I was in Arizona for 2 years and trust me, I've been to A LOT of Mexican spots while I was there. Service was definitely very attentive, friendly, and welcoming! Parking was very easy and plenty of parking. The chips and salsa were super fresh and flavorful and best thing is that it's unlimited! I've been to this restaurant so many times and my favorite dish was definitely their fajitas! Be ready to drop $20+ but it's worth every penny! It came out sizzling hot with tons of meat and shrimp! The asada tasted so fresh and delicious and the shrimps were huge and super flavorful. Their margaritas and cocktails are super delicious and big! It has plenty of seating and pretty clean.. it has plenty of TVs in the bar but only a couple tables and the bar is pretty small. Would totally recommend this spot!

We really enjoy Rio Mirage and dine there periodically. This was the first time at this location, but we enjoyed the same great food and friendly customer service as we have become accustomed to at their other location. Also, plenty of parking at this location. The ambiance is festive and reminds me of something meant to look like an old village located somewhere in Disneyland. Very nice and always something to look at. The setting the mood for a great dining experience. Throw a glass of beer on the table to make it even more festive! In my opinion, their food is at the at the top of the many Mexican Food options in the area! I have had their beef fajitas, tacos, enchiladas and this time a chicken Chimichanga. My usual is Steak and Shrimp Fajitas or a Mexican Plate. I really enjoy all of them! It's a drive for me, but the experience is always worthwhile. Ambiance - 5, Service - 5, Food - 5.

The food is excellent. The queso is the best we ever had. Highly recommend the El Rico special burrito. Margaritas were also on point.

Great service, delicious warm chips with plenty of salsa, comfortable atmosphere. I had the skinny margarita which was tasty and garnished with fresh cucumber pieces. My husband enjoyed draft beer, combo plate with ground beef taco and cheese enchilada with rice and beans. He finished every bite-it was so good he couldn't stop eating! I had the Enchiladas Del Mar. Very good, lots of tender little shrimp, flavored well, good tortilla. Noticed they had dog friendly outdoor seating with shade. We will definitely come back.

Good service, solid food. Ask for the habanero salsa if you like a little heat. The standard salsa tastes fine but is about as spicy as water

Took 25 minutes to get a drink order in. Food was ehh. Not what I'd expected for a $75 bill before tip.

Amazing food and service. Has a nice Mexican vibe to it. Will return again. A+ Thank you!

I walked in today after a long day and was immediately greeted by Q and Aide at the host stand and immediately felt happy to be there , JJ my bartender explained my food menu as well as my drink menu as well a a varied wide selection of tequila. Needless to say I left very full and happy.

severly disappointed to say the least , called in 2 order for pickup carni sada orders with rice and beans for 42 dollars , get home finding not only there's no rice and beans Wich is supposed to be in the order but the meat isn't fully cooked... I mean seriously it's skirt steak how hard is it to cook .

Our first visit here with family was good! They were very busy at 5pm. When we left at 6:30, the lobby was packed! All on a Thursday night! Services was great, food was delicious but my fried fish tacos were very dry. Usually when I order a dish like this, they're served with a creme' or some type of white sauce, but these came garnished with pico, cabbage and nothing more. The beans and rice were tasty, but no sauce was a big disappointment. The hubby enjoyed his chicken chimichanga which was served with sour cream and very fresh guac!

I have come here a number of times since I moved to the area just a couple months ago. The food is good and the inside is super cute. The prices are high and the service is questionable - sometimes it's great, other times not so much. Same goes for being greeted at the front. I appreciate that in addition to the salsa that they serve with chips, you can also get habanero if you like things a bit spicier (that's me!) Highly recommend the Rio Trio if you're a dip person. They are all yummy. Besides the Rio Trio, I think the most frequent thing I've ordered are the Fajitas. I'd rate them like a 6/10. They are good but could be better. There are hardly ever any peppers, a TON of onions, and I like when the onions and peppers are more "seared" than these are served BUT it hasn't stopped me from reordering them lol. I do prefer the shrimp...then the steak...and I won't order the chicken Fajitas again. It just didn't hit right for me in the fajita. I also order a side of cheese because I just think they should have cheese on them. This time I went our server happened to be great and told us about a secret menu item. It was yummy! As your server about it :) Their enchiladas were good last time I went. I haven't had anyone join me that didn't like what they ordered. The biggest consistent complaint is slow service and high prices.

Food good. Enchiladas were ok. Service not friendly at all! Waiter like a stoic robot. Drinks- awful sweet syrupy concoctions that we returned. Hostess not friendly -no smile-just a grumpy girl with an attitude. If I'm treated like this at a restaurant again I'm seriously walking out because a bad experience is a series of events...and this could possibly be an indicator of what's to come if a restaurant does not put emphasis on hiring the right people for these "front of the house" positions. Either train them or get rid of them. Isn't it part of the job description? "Must have a naturally friendly disposition"! Ambiance -loved it! Very "typical" 1800s hacienda colorful decor. Booths! The worst! Some giant idiot was sitting behind me moving around like a toddler. It was like eating dinner on a roller coaster! Ugh! Never coming back. Nunca mas!!

Went there for a quick afternoon early dinner. They serve you chip and salsa when you get in the salsa is OK. It's a bit bland and needs some spices to the salsa. The chip is nice and crispy. However, it does not look like freshly fried right before you bring it out. Some places freshly fry the chips before bringing them out so it's warm which is nice. The server is really friendly and attentive. He was also really nice to modify some items for me to switch out chicken enchilada for more vegetables to make it a vegetable enchilada. The enchilada comes with beans and rice. It's nice to see that they don't pile on a ton of cheese into the dish, which some places do. All in all a great place definitely will go again. They also have a nice patio outdoor sitting if it's not too hot.

We are from Las Vegas and the Rio Mirage food is the best. We come to visit my 102 year old father and we never miss an opportunity to eat their delicious food. The service is excellent!

Drove down from Prescott to have dinner with my nephew. He was in town on a business trip and the lady at his hotel recommended Rio Mirage. Great choice! Hostess recommended the Birria Taco and it was fantastic. Waiter was great, food was great, atmosphere was great

Quickly seated. Staff was kind and attentive even if we came in late. Food was good, although chips seemed too greasy. Specialty drinks were made well. Portions were big and reasonable.

Absolutely love this place!! Staff is always friendly, albeit somewhat chatty sometimes but that's ok. El Rico with steak is my go-to and the best item on the menu hands down! It does have the typical sit down Mexican restaraunt vibe but thank heavens no random guitars roaming the place fishing for tips (the annoying part of many Mexican restaraunts).

Love Both locations. Get the Rio Rico if you are hungry. Margaritas are good and always consistent.

Waited an hour after ordering food. Food was good. We were away in the back so felt forgotten although waiter was attentive

Love the food, love the service. Bit pricey but it is the only place we go to, especially when family is in town, for SW cuisine. Very loud in two rooms; small room to right of main door is great though. Love the live music in weekends!

We have eaten in Mexican restaurants à la across this great country of ours. This is by far the best we've ever had. Atmosphere food margaritas service everything is perfect here. I would give it six stars if I could. This is the second time we have been here in the last three days. Our first server, Grace was perfect and excellent and our second server Icedro. was just as good.

Moving from Texas to Arizona. This place is kind of like home with a Tex-Mex feel. The service is very good. We ordered guacamole 4.5/5, Tacos Mexicanos beef 4/5 chicken 4/5.

This is the spot if you are looking for a classic, authentic Mexican restaurant experience that has great food and margaritas. Margaritas were big and there were many choices - all were awesome. The food was absolutely fantastic. I got El Rico Burrito with steak and it was fantastic - Jalapeno cream cheese topping as a little twist. Of note, the refried beans and rice that came with were also amazing - something not all places do right. We had an amazing waitress, Grace, who steered us towards the better choices. Tequila choices, side spicy sauce for my dad, general accommodations for splitting meals, and great recommendations on the dishes for the family. She took initiative on all of it and made us feel welcome. I only do 5 stars if there is something that far exceeds my expectations and Grace's service got this there for me. Thanks Grace!

Consistent good Mexican good, but not the best out there however. For a sit down restaurant, it is the best Surprise offers in my opinion. We enjoy the shredded beef tacos and enchiladas, great rice and beans. Enjoyable Chips & Salsa and a selection of margaritas and tequilas. Fried Ice Cream is awful... It's not fried and more a scoop of ice cream rolled in a corn flakes mixture.

Employees are RUDE! Will NEVER return to the Suprise location! We were checked in, ignored and then told we did something wrong! Customer Service is a concept they do not understand!

The food was good like a home cooked meal. Our server was very pleasant and attentive. The restaurant was clean and welcoming.

Albondigas soup tasted like it came from a can. my skinny margarita came warm with already squeezed limes on it and asked for a sugar rim, but there was barely any. Asked for rice and bean twice with my server but still didn't get it with my meal along with my server asking me if I wanted rice and beans. My chicken taco thank god was actually decent. The ambiance is truly the only thing that's good about this restaurant. Better off going to chipotle across the street.

All I wanted was a cheese crisp and a taco. It is unlikely that you find a cheese crisp in Las Cruces where I live. The cheese crisp was so damn good. I wish I could take one home with me.

Joshua is truly amazing! His infectious smile is so refreshing! The food is almost as great as he is. I will continue to try to hire him from underneath you!

Stopped in on Sunday afternoon and me and nn y family went straight to the bar. The vibe was exciting and vibrat, them music was touch pumped up and touching our soul like a Sunday church service. I bar tender at the time wa Luz, she was more than attentive to us and all the customers. Her compa

My husband & I went in to order take out @ the bar area. We looked over the menu; order the enchilada dinner and while we waited, we ordered margarita's at the bar & had complimentary chips and salsa while we waited. Chris the bartender was very nice & answered any questions we had on the menu. We noticed the staff was using their hands & not utensils or tongues when placing fruit on & or inside the drinks. We will definitely will be back again to dine in as a family. We did not see any happy hour specials & would be great idea to offer during the week until 7p on appetizers & drinks.

We LOVE RIO! This place is the closest to mami's home cooked meals! Breakfast, lunch or dinner - can't go wrong. My husband and I love coming for breakfast on wkends and lunch during the week. Gets pretty busy for dinner - BUT so worth the wait! Thanks to the staff and Q for always being so gracious and excellent hosts! Laura & Trevor!

The food is very good, been coming to this location for several years. We were sticking with the El Mirage location because the margaritas were just so much better. After a friend encouraged us to give this location a try again, we agree, they now make their drinks better, like El Mirage. Their spicy salsa has a nice little kick, then normal salsa has the taste, but not the heat. Mix them together for perfection! The service has always been very good, even when they are packed. I now recommend this location to our friends over the El Mirage location, only because it's closer for Surprise and the parking is better.

The food was delicious, the atmosphere was great, and the restaurant was adorable inside and out. We had great service and would definitely come here again! 10/10 recommend!!

Gonna go down a star due to our recent experience. I will start with the positives. We were able to get a reservation for our large party which was great because it was packed for a Sunday evening! Our server was amazing. Extremely attentive and friendly! He made the night. The negative is mostly for price/portion size. Man oh man have their prices gone up. I feel it is way too expensive for what you get. The flavor was lacking a bit compared with previous times we've been here. I know inflation is a thing and groceries were up in price for awhile, hence why the restaurants also had to raise their prices. It seems grocery prices have gone down some and yet some restaurants are still way too overpriced and unfortunately Rio Mirage falls in this category. Our out of town guests were pretty shocked at the price tag. I am sad to say we won't be able to visit as often due to the cost.

First time my husband stumbled upon Rio Mirage Cafe in Surprise, he ordered from the winter menu and had Birria taco + tamale combo. He loved it so much that he brought me in a week later. Disappointed that the winter menu was gone, but our waiter Mark told us the Birria tacos were available off-menu. At his recommendation, we both ordered them, and they were amazing! Succulent pulled beef with a rich beef broth for dipping, they came with beans that were stewed like black beans but better, and Mexican rice (which was a little bland). We ordered beers, but next visit I'm going to go for a Margarita (they looked great). Wonderful food, service & a fun ambiance, all at reasonable prices. We will be back.

Excellent food!! The staff is awesome service is always great and the decor is amazing!