Rota 66

I’m from Texas… this is not Tex-​Mex at all… who puts olives in a chimichanga? sour cream isn’t even good

The next time I read other reviews on Unilocal,and see the star ratings, I am going to take heed. The pictures made this place seem like it would be appealing. But that was far from the case. My two friends and I were each dissatisfied with our entrees. We knew that this place would have more of a Brazilian flare on the food than Tex Mex, but we didn’t know to what extent. I ordered the enchilada entrée… there wasn’t any cheese in it. Enchiladas have cheese… where was mine you ask? Replaced with refried beans –_​_​_​-​. It was more of two burritos than enchiladas. I would not recommend this place to anyone. We missed the tell tale signs of «stay away and go elsewhere» when we walked up and only one party was seated. Save your taste buds and go to some of the other local spots in this neighborhood. But don’t come here for Tex Mex.

Not only bad service, *broken* service.
We were three people, by the time two of us were done, there was no sign of the food for the third person, who left hungry. The whole time we complained, and they always acted like they had no clue there was anything wrong. At the very end the server came over and actually asked if «there was anything missing», when by just glancing at the table they could see the plates for two people only. At this point they decided to take action and told us the food would be on the table in «seven minutes». After waiting yet another twenty minutes, we just decided to leave. It took us a long time to manage to pay the bill, and when we were about to leave we say a server bringing the now-​canceled plate… and it was the wrong order!
Lots of ingredients missing, At one point the server came back to let us know an option was not available, maybe half an hour after we had ordered it.
We ordered a jar of juice and it was the last thing to come, when we were basically done with the food. Their justification was that they have only one blender.
French fries soggy and drenched in oil. Their «mega burger» was tiny. To be fair, the meat was good, but the service and organization was revoltingly bad.

Places like Rota 66 are the reason I sometimes feel the need to micro-​manage restaurant selection when in a group. The first night in Rio we were 4 hungry people in search of dinner and, after my choice was vetoed I threw up my hands and said «fine, you pick». Rota 66 was selected due to the availability of outdoor dining (not at all hard to find in Rio) and a special chalkboard which announced that Feijoada was being served.

Rota 66 translates to «Route 66» and, Feijoada excepted, the menu skews towards Southwestern or Tex Mex or, more accurately, the Brazilian interpretation of those two cuisines. Being from California there was little need to eat this style of food in Brazil.
I opted for a Brazilian Caesar Salad which bore no resemblance to its US counterpart. That wouldn’t have mattered had the salad been good but it wasn’t. It was mayonnaise-​heavy and included bacon and I left more of it than I ate.
Hard shell tacos, ordered by someone else in my party, were equally unremarkable and served with stale tortilla chips. There’s far better Mexican fare to be had almost anywhere in the US.
Feijoada fared better but paled in comparison to that at Launches Lacoste one week earlier.
Rota 66 is likely a better place to drink than to eat and even doing that I’d tend to recommend bottled beer and, perhaps a simple appetizer. Dinner for 4, tip and drinks included ran a completely reasonable $ 51 total and the outdoor patio, one block from Ipanema Beach, is pleasant. Still I’d recommend you save your food appetite for another spot.

Ótimo atendimento! O preço do cardápio alimentício é bastante justo. Os pratos são deliciosos, preparados com esmero e não demoram tanto tempo para chegar à mesa. Variedade de bebidas é incrível! Recomendo uma visita.

the first time i came here, i wasn’t a fan. I felt the food from Si Señor was better. But i tried it again as many people seem to enjoy Rota 66 (and they are still open, while Si Señor closed their doors in Ipanema).
I noticed they changed their menu since the last time i went (which was a while back…) so maybe it was just the presentation of the menu, which seemed larger this time. There are pasta items, entrees, tacos, mixed appetizers plus their drinks. It looked like their frozen drinks were a hit as various tables were ordering them.
Our group ordered a Mix Combo to share, which had tacos, flautas, a burrito and nachos. they weren’t bad just not «O-​M-​G i am craving this again!» The chicken flauta was a bit bland and warm — didn’t feel hot and fresh. It was jam packed with chicken, which is why i think it felt dry. The beef flauta was much better. It had gravy and was warmer. The nacho chips came in a bucket and the guacamole, salsa, cheese and sour cream were in separate containers so everyone could serve as much or as little as they like. Which works for someone who may not like one or the other… but just isn’t what a true nacho plate should look like. There was also a vegetarian quesadilla, it looked nice… but i didn’t try it.
For dessert we tried their dessert flauta (nutella and strawberries). It was packed with filling, but for R$ 20 its only ONE flauta. which i so do not think its worth it. so that pricing just ruins it.
Service was also a little bleh. slow and to be honest the wait staff just didnt seem to be interested in being there, which i do feel affects the whole experience.
So yea, its not bad, but never a top pick on my places to go…

The food here is just… Awful.

Pra quem gosta da culinária mexicana, é o lugar ideal. Hambúrgueres enormes e deliciosos, e drinks diferentes e interessantes. Destaque para a batata frita, que é uma delícia!

Siempre me parece que cuando uno va con pocas expectativas a un lugar, este sale favorecido tan sólo «sorprendiendo» con un servicio normal, pero mayor al esperado. En este caso, Rota 66 no lo logró.
Llegamos con pocas esperanzas, pero con ganas de probar una feijoada, y acá ofrecían una feijoada carioca para dos por 65 reales. Si, precios tentadores.
Cabe destacar que los platos típicos no es el fuerte del lugar, sino que se especializan en comida tex mex, pero nos la jugamos.
La atención fue lenta (pocos mozos), mientras vimos como una pareja se fue por la demora, u otra persona pidió que le calienten el plato, que llegó frío.
Finalmente, llegó la esperada feijoada. Si! Tenía pinta! Pero no era lo esperado.
La farofa no estaba rica y la carne que venía en la cazuela no estaba buena. Ni terminamos el plato.
Moraleja: Si el lugar se especializa en comida gringa, por algo será!
Una pálida más: No andaba el WiFi.

A Franquia Rota 66 sempre esteve como um dos meus locais favoritos para comer.
Ótimos lanches, petiscos, carnes, comida mexicana e aquele Frozen de 1l maravilhoso. Infelizmente, a loja de Ipanema não atendeu as expectativas e nem possui o mesmo nível de qualidade que as outras lojas do Estado. Em duas experiências distintas não obtive a satisfação que esperava.
Ao chegar a minha mesa, tive uma grande demora no atendimento apenas para levar o cardápio. Havia poucas pessoas para recepcionar. Depois de finalmente conseguir fazer o pedido, a espera novamente pela comida foi bem maior que o normal. Foi pedido em minha mesa 5 pratos: onde dois deles vieram com erros: O acompanhamento de um que deveria ser batata portuguesa veio batata frita e no pedido de porção de pastel, onde os sabores seriam divididos em 2, recebemos todos do mesmo sabor. Após fazer a refeição, tentei fazer o pedido de uma sobremesa. Demorou também um bom tempo para outro atendente trazer o cardápio para fazer a escolha, e mais outros minutos para outro anotar o pedido. Passaram-​se 30 minutos e nossa sobremesa não chegou. Tentamos chamar algum atendente para verificar o que aconteceu e ninguém foi na mesa para verificar. Somente um tempo depois o gerente percebeu a insatisfação e foi nos atender. Haviam se passado uns 35 minutos no total e nosso pedido não havia sido nem anotado. Fiquei sem minha sobremesa.
A respeito das comidas pedidas, todas muito saborosas como sempre, os molhos da casa dão um toque especial em qualquer pedida. Portanto, caso queira experimentar algum prato da franquia, recomendo que vá à loja da Tijuca ou de Botafogo, onde será mais bem atendido. A loja de Ipanema deve passar longe de qualquer um.

Ok look. You are in Rio. Not the states. So it seems pointless for me to compare it to an authentic mexican restaraunt because everything here is a brasilleros spin off of the real thing. Brasilleros like to do their own thing and rota is no exception. Food was ok but not bad. Fajitas came w steak, onions, bell peppers and beans. No Rice. It’s like if Chevy’s had a bastard son in Brazil who had no experience in making mexican food; but had to anyways. The menu is catered to the BRASILLERO, not me.
With that being said rota manged to fill my belly without giving me the runs. Whis isnat least a positive. Bonus free Wi-​Fi just ask your server for the password.

If you are looking for tex mex food that’s your best option. Is not really Mexican food, but tex mex. Try the frijoles and the michelada (beer with lemon) after the beach and you won’t regret!

Been to this place twice for drinks only. It was packed both times due to the world cup games but seemed like a good place for Americans as there were a number of them. We didn’t order any food but in readying other reviews seem like the food service is terrible but then again it may just be it’s busier than usual because of games. Place it’s self is in a good location with a lot of other bars nearby. It’s a little on the pricier side compared to bars in Copacabana. It’s got an upstairs and downstairs with a number of TV’s. Overall ok spot to grab a drink.

Pretty standard Tex-​Mex without all of the extras you might expect in the US (free chips, dip, water, etc) but hey, this is Brazil and nothing’s free.
Your service is probably going to be slow, but your food will be decent and the beer is pretty good. Skip the margaritas if you like tequila, because they don’t seem to have any in them.
UPDATED 23 April 2015:
Tried it again and was really disappointed. The service was horrible to the point the manager had to come over to wait on us, and it wasn’t even busy. Asked for guacamole and chips… the chips were completely stale and the guacamole had something in it that tasted like soap. I’m not kidding. Soap. I almost threw up.
The rest of the food was just OK, but I won’t be going back.

Why this sounded like a good idea is beyond me. My friends and I were craving good ol’ Mexican food, tacos, fajitas, beans, etc., and this failed on every level.
We got handed English menus, ordered drinks fairly quickly, and asked for a ceviche appetizer while we decided. When they came back after a long while (10 – 15 minutes) with our drinks, we immediately ordered.
I kid you not, we waited one hour for 2 fajitas, a taco salad, and 3 tacos. Our ceviche came 10 minutes after the rest of our food, and was cold. Midway through the wait, we’d asked for our ceviche, or even chips to snack on and were met with blank stares.
The food itself was barely Mexican or tex mex. Lettuce was weirdly wet, guacamole was runny, veggies seemed old, and meat was barely warm, as though it’d been sitting in a window.
After dropping off our food, we NEVER saw our waiter again. Literally, not even at other tables, he was totally gone. Our food got cleared, we asked for the check, two of the four of us left, and we still waited another. 15 – 20 more minutes for the hostess to come by with the receipt and credit card machine.
Icing on the cake was 4 drinks, 4 entrees, an appetizer, and over two hours of our time cost us almost $ 150 USD.
Oddest part is that this pleats appears to be a fairly successful chain restaurant.

First off, this isnt mexican food. It seems to be what a brasilian thinks is mexican food based on visiting a few mexican places in the US. For example, burritos were invented in texas and is therefore tex-​mex. There is no chicken or duck served with a rich mole sauce. Im splitting hairs here. The food is not authentic and its not that good either. Not that it is bad though– its just not that good. The salsas have no heat whatsoever. They do offer sour cream which is a welcome sight to this gringos eyes since it basically does not exist here. Steak quesadilla wasnt bad, guac is ok, nacho cheese is good but clearly fake which makes it kind of disgusting as well. Prices are ok to a little expensive. Service is ok.

Um Mexican food in Brazil hmmmm, my friends made a poor decision. I walked in not expecting much and I came out intrigued. I wouldn’t really call it Tex-​Mex I would more or less call it Bra-​Mex-​Tex. It felt really odd eating something that kinda looked like Mexican but didn’t taste like Mexican food. Overall, it was sort of pleasing considering I had been eating at churrascaria’s the whole week I was in Rio.
So if you’re Latin and in Rio give it a try it’s Brazilian take on Mexican American food.

O Rota 66 é um dos melhores restaurantes de comida mexicana que a cidade do Rio de Janeiro possui.
Tanto seus pratos quanto seus drinques são muito bons e famosos.
O ambiente é todo decorado e os funcionários são muito simpáticos. Um ótimo restaurante para ir com amigos e com a família.

O Rota 66 é um restaurante de comida mexicana localizado em várias partes do Rio de Janeiro. Especializado em comida Mexicana, sua proposta é trazer pros moradores do Rio uma boa comida a um preço razoável. O local tem uma decoração maneira com várias paradas características do México. Além do frozen de caipivodka ideal pras mulheres e drinks diferenciados com ingredientes inusitados que fazem muito sucesso no lugar. Muto bom pra ir com uma galera e dividir um prato de nachos com vários tipos de molho, eu não gostei muito do guacamole, mas vale como experiência pra conhecer. O lugar é bem cheio então é bom chegar cedo pra curtir a área externa.

O Rota 66 é uma boa opção de comida mexicana a preço acessível no Rio. Por apenas R$ 50 você pode dividir um Super Combo entre duas pessoa. É isso mesmo, por apenas R$ 50 você recebe: tacos, burrito, flauta e tortillas.