Casa Rio

What happened to this place!!! We always eat here when we come to San Antonio, but never again. The chips were cold and oily, and the chicken enchiladas tasted bland. The sour cream on top had come out of a gun like they use at Taco Bell. Quality has gone down hill, and the service was mediocre. Severely disappointed.

Visited Casa Rio with my Husband as part of a large private party of about 80 –100 diners. The meal was pre planned and served in 5 courses: Chips & Salsa; Queso & fried appetizers; guacamole salad; main entre of charred skirt steak, rice, grilled veggies, charro bean, and flower tortillas; & sharred mini dessert samplers plates & unlimited un-​sweet tea.
Pros:
*Speedy & attentive service.
*salsa & chips were great. (very mild salsa)
*Meal planed & paid for by conference.
Cons:
*Skirt steaks were well seasoned but too over cooked.
*Tortillas were like «white bread» tortillas from HEB.
*Dessert sample plates did not reflect Mexican cuisine in anyway: still frozen mini cream puffs & mini eclairs, tiny lemon tarts, etc…
*The drinks at the cash bar were a bit overpriced for the size of serving cups. A 12oz «Call Shelf» Long Island Ice tea was just shy of $ 10.00. The «plain» margaritas (same size) were about $ 5.50 & extra flavors cost a few bucks more.
*Structurally the bathrooms, both men & women, needed some maintaining. The women’s room was so tiny with 3 stalls crammed into the space.
Multiple people could NOT open the stall door, use the in/​out door, OR wash your hands at the single sink at the same time — we were all on top of each other. The toilet in my stall wobbled horribly; didn’t feel secure at all, and my knees almost touched the stall door while sitting. Poorly planned ladies room layout. The floor in the mens room was not stable either — very springy & warped floor boards.
I can understand other reviews about food possibly being store bought frozen and heated up in a microwave on site. For its location and boasting that they are the «oldest Mexican restaurant on the Riverwalk» — you really expect a more authentic menu.
The meal & after meal riverboat tour was sold to conference’s +1 guest for $ 40.00 (this would be me… The +1). I don’t really know how the cost was split between the meal and the boat tour; but if i assume $ 20 each, I would to say it was a good value with the extra queso & appetizers and desserts. ***I think you are mostly paying for the prime location on the Riverwalk and not the food.*** There are much better more authentic Mexican /​Tex-​Mex restaurants all over San Antonio.
If we return to San Antonio — we’ll skip the boat tour & Caso Rio and splurge on the Brazilian Steak House three blocks over instead.

Our boat tour guide said this was a great restaurant so we stopped here despite the reviews on Unilocal.Well, now I know Unilocal was right as the food was just ok… I don’t have anything bad to say, but can’t say anything was really good or outstanding. I can only say there are plenty options along the river, so keep walking…

The food was average. We had the combination beef and chicken fajitas. They give you plenty of meat… nothing wrong with that. Just very average tasting… nothing that says «I must come back». You will enjoy a meal here… just not worth going out of your way for.

PLEASE STAY AWAY! The nicest thing about this place is its view of the San Antonio river. Everything else is a culinary tragedy of epic proportions. I got dragged here by some collogues even though I told myself i would never come back here again. The food is God awful, most of it tastes and looks like it was cooked in a microwave. I bet there isn’t even a stove or oven in the kitchen. They probably have 20 microwaves stacked up to nuke their frozen store bought slop.
The food isn’t Tex Mex here, its unadulterated crap, processed cheese, stale tortillas, basically food that even Taco Hell wouldn’t even advertise. The enchiladas look like a cow puked on my plate. The chile relleno looked like an alien autopsy. The $ 18 carne asada was boot leather and reminded me of the canned rations we ate in ‘Nam. Only I would rather be back in the jungles of southeast Asia fighting then having to stomach this crap.
The entertainment out on the patio consists of counting the cockroaches scurrying under each table. The grackles squawk all day and if your lucky you won’t get crapped on. It happened to a man seated next to us who got an eyeful. The drunk tourists abound in droves as the walk past the dining area, stumbling and cursing, dragging their wretched souls to the next cantina. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS DUMP!

Food is not authentic, nor is it good … At all. The pluses are the scenery (right on the river walk), friendly staff and the mariachis ($ 20 a song). If you do the rio tour, and are hungry, walk to El Mercardo and get authentic Mexican food there instead.

This is a decent place to get your Mexican food fix. The drinks are big and delicious and the food is good. However, the freshness of some food items, such as lemons, is questionable.
Our waiter was nice, but a little inattentive. They are in the process of learning a new ticketing system so expect your visit to be longer than usual.
Outside ambiance is great for tourists.

While doing the river walk in San Antonio we decided to get Tex-​mex, we chose to sit inside and we were very happy with our food, upon sitting down they started us with chips and salsa which was very fresh and the chips were still warm, I had the rolled chicken tacos that came with refried beans, rice, guac and sour cream, the food was excellent, filling and was inexpensive, if I was ever around here again I would def try this place again

Aside from the location, there’s not much to like about this place. So many people from out of town will ask me about places to eat along the riverwalk. As a local of 45+ years, I’ve eaten at Casa Rio many times with family and friends, and never was it my suggestion to do so.
Granted, I haven’t eaten here in a few years, but the times I’ve eaten there span from the 1970s to the 2010s. It didn’t change much in that span so I expect that holds true today.
The food is fair, at best. If you don’t know what good to great Mexican or Tex-​Mex tastes like, then this place might pass as being wonderful (compared to Taco Bell, for example). However, I’m not rating this place based on Taco Bell, I’m comparing it to options within a 3 mile radius of Casa Rio. Seriously, try to throw a rock in almost any direction and chances are you’ll be close to another option that will be better than Casa Rio.
If you do decide to eat here, I’d stick with cheese enchiladas. They’re hard to mess up and most places follow similar recipes. They’re good. The fajitas? Unimpressive. Stay away from any of the chicken dishes.
If you want a margarita served in a glass big enough to swim in, then maybe this place is for you.

Was out looking for a Mexican food joint and just found this on the Riverwalk, even though I told myself I really wasn’t interested in eating along there. Was immediately concerned about the quality as it was 7:30pm on a Monday evening and the place was pretty dead. Our server was very friendly though, so no issues there. Chips and salsa that were brought to the table (complimentary), were fine. Salsa had a bit of a kick to it. I ordered the green chicken enchiladas, which were fine. I don’t know that I would say good, as there was not a ton of flavor to them and it was a very standard meal. Margarita was interesting. The glass was cold, and I could see ice in the glass, but when I drank it, the liquid itself tasted room temperature. Very weird. Overall, I don’t think there was anything special about this place to entice me to return.

We did quite a bit of research on the best Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, but were ultimately tied to something along the river walk. We finally decided on Casa Rio based on the recommendation of a local. Their claim to fame is that they’ve been serving classic Tex-​mex since 1946 and, as a local so cleverly remarked, clearly they’re doing something right.
The Unilocal ratings average to a solid 3 stars, with many people complaining about the service.
Our service was fine. No trouble there. The menu is limited, but adequate. I ordered the enchilada plate and my wife ordered the tamale plate. Both were expertly prepared and served in good time. The table salsa was fresh and spicy good.
So, is Casa Rio the best Mexican restaurant in San Antonio? Very unlikely. But it is good, and worth checking out if your choices are limited to the river walk.

Ewwwwwww this place is so gross. I think my brain actually blocked out how bad this place was so that I would still like the Riverwalk lol. This food was expensive, NOT homemade and a disgrace to Mexicans everywhere!
I had the chicken enchiladas with beans and rice, my daughter had the chicken tacos and my husband had the chicken enchilada w/​green sauce. The food was bland and tasted worse then a frozen dinner. The hot sauce was ok, but again you shouldn’t have the hot sauce & chips to be your saving grace. The price of the plates are about $ 10.00+ a plate and they basically charge that much because of where they are at.
i had the guac too and omg that was even horrible! The customer service was worse then the food and I think I saw my waitress twice the whole time. Take my order and give me my ticket. DO NOT GO HERE. I WASTED $ 40.00 bucks (with tip because i am not a douche) on this place!

We went to Casa Rio for a family dinner yesterday a party of 9. We had a blast at first but the waiter seemed to not want to do his job. The bus boy/​woman was really rude squeezed her self between our table and another & almost knocked our purses on the floor. She didn’t even apologize. At some point near the end of our meal I felt like they were rushing us out. But I understand in a way it was late and pass the closing time. The waiters name was Miguel he was a little impatient and kept looking at our boobs. They weren’t hanging out or anything he just kept undressing us with his eyes. The mariachi band played for us it was $ 20 it was worth it. I wasn’t impressed with the food this time. It was room temp and undercooked. A few family members asked for sour cream to go and they were told by our waiter Miguel that * the kitchen was closed * in a rude tone almost suggesting us to leave. But when they asked another worker they gladly went into the kitchen and brought one out and gave it to them. They spoke in Spanish not knowing my sister n law is fluent in the language and said «Why did you give them that?, I told them the kitchen was closed. They need to leave ! I wasn’t given them anything I just want my tip lol»
(we didn’t think it was funny)
At that moment I wish we hadn’t given him tips. I raved about this place & now I will never frequent this establishment ever again.

The only reason they do not get 5 stars is simply because of the wait. You have to know ahead of time that it will take a while to get both your drinks and your food.
With that being said, this is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten at! If we come to San Antonio, we would never go anywhere else! The portions are huge and the waiters are friendly and patient.
My mom got a peach margarita, sis got a strawberry daiquiri, and I had a glass of wine.
Our food came out hot and tasted just as good as it always does! My mom and I shared the Deluxe. It was enough food for 3 people! The enchiladas are to die for! My sister got the taco plate with double rice. She said they were really good.
We came at 4:15 so we were seated right away. Had to wait about 10 minutes to place our drink order this time. Everything came smoothly and we enjoyed our time together!

I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here, but its a great place to have a nice and affordable dinner on the Riverwalk. You could do much worse! Seating went smoothly, service was good.
Large queso comes in a deep bowl and had a good consistency. I really want to give this place higher than a three star rating since its a better value than lots of the other tourist traps nearby, but the main dishes just aren’t bold enough to make it crave-​able. The guac was probably the tastiest thing but everything was fresh and I finished my whole plate.
Its accessible, has a good atmosphere, I’ll probably be back on future visits to the Riverwalk.

Enjoyable Mexican flare that allows you to get a little bit of anything that interests you. Tried the regular plate sampler & enchilada. All good!

The front desk agent of the hotel I was staying recommended case rio, and to be honest after a 4hr drive we were hungry.
Outside seating was a 20min wait so we opted to sit inside. Not the same atmosphere but beautiful old historic traditional décor on the inside.
Every on staff was attentive and respectful. All had a smile on there face and were quick.
The tortilla soup we ordered wasn’t hot and at room temperature. My mom sent here back to be heated, the rest of us were hungry so drank it as is. This is the only reason I’m giving a 4star rating instead of 5.
The taste of the salsa, soup, and food were amazing. The carne asada melted in your mouth, the fajita although not on a sizzling plate were yummy! The enchilada and tamale sooo good. I honestly wish more places like this existed in the world and preferably closer to my home.
I’ll be back gotta bring my dad here!
Also, I’m unsure where all these negative reviews are coming from but to each their own. Find out for yourself.

(5 stars) Vegetarian enchilada plate needed extra sauce but it was really good. Rice and beans tasted great.
(2 stars) Guacamole was very bland and not what I expected.
(4 stars) Chips and salsa was good, I really liked the thin chips.
(5 stars) Frozen Strawberry margarita was delicious!
Ducks around kind of bother you, and there are Mosquitos which made us itch and move around a lot, which did not let us enjoy the scenery. I would sit inside in the evenings next time!

This place used to be good when I was a kid. Absolutely, terrible on all fronts now. I don’t know if it’s fallen into the tourist trap or what. But don’t waste your money or time eating here. We decided to take a Sunday-​Tuesday spontaneous road trip from Dallas, so of course we wanted to sit on the river for the scenic feel.
You give your cell number to the host/​ess stand and they text you when your table is ready. That never happened. Someone was walking around calling out my name. They found us in the bar area where we told them we would be waiting.
When we went to the bar while we waited for our table, the bartender was leaving the bar, and said he’d be right back. We waited about 8 minutes for his return. I ordered a sangria that was more like fruit punch. My boyfriend ordered a frozen margarita and that was cold and strong.
At our table, our waiter never introduced himself as our waiter. We didn’t know if he was or not. He was slow getting our orders and ever coming back. It was a Sunday night and they were not very busy. We had a guacamole appetizer, which was basically an a I avocado mashed with some onion/​garlic powder. Bland as all get out. I ordered a vegetarian enchilada with no cheese and a side of rice. I can’t have dairy. And of course there was cheese. The vegetables inside were stewed and tasted awful. I had a veggie burrito a Buccee’s on the way to SA and it was waaaaay better!!! My bf ordered the shrimp/​beef combo fajitas. They were cold and not served on a hot plate, the onion and peppers that typically come with fajitas was barely enough to go on one tortilla. For $ 20 for fajitas there better be more than 3 shrimps and more veggies and NOT cold. Unbelievable!
We told the waiter about our food being cold and he offered to replace the meals but it was too bad to even replace. He told the manager and they took $ 14.83 off out bill. This is the only reason that I’m giving two stars instead of one. The server even stated he would have comped our meals altogether but that’s all he could do.
Pros: cold and strong frozen margaritas and the River Walk
Cons: everything else

This place is pretty touristy, but kinda authentic. It is right on the River Walk and has cold beer and margaritas that are pretty good.
The food is good and pretty not too expensive. They move customers in and out very quickly so waiting is not too bad.