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    Café at Rio

    4.3 (15 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 4:00 pm

    Café at Rio Photos

    CAFÉ AT RIO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Café at Rio

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    Bonnie G.

    First off, this is a college cafeteria and it makes no qualms about that. Secondly, this is an amazing lunch place for foodies on a budget. Not only is it based on sustainable, local produce sourced daily, their prices are insane. I bought a huge plate of salad, fruit cup, large iced coffee and a coffee cake for barely 8 dollars. And it was all huge servings and delicious. The atmosphere is crisp and clean and decidedly modern without being too cheeky or smirky about it. You still have all the food stations you remember from state run institutions like the salad bar, the pizza bar, the hot meal bar and the deli counter. The baked goods and coffee stand is a little across the ways. I rode my bike from work, excited after reading about the cafe in Edible Phoenix that I could finally have a quick lunch place to go to that wasn't fast food. There were helpful signs around the driveway but hard to find parking for my bike. I was overwhelmed by the set up when I first got in and probably freaked out the poor employee ordering a Greek Salad at the salad stations b/c I was overwhelmed by the size of his entree. However, for $3.25, I got a huge half salad that had: quinoa, flax seed, sunflower seeds, local goat cheese, fresh cut peppers, tomatoes and spring mix with a just made cilantro dressing. Incredible. The fruit cup I bought for $1.75 tasted like real fruit, they had plenty of soy milk for my iced organic coffee and the coffee cake was delicious and huge; I shared it with 3 co-workers! It tasted truly home-made too, you could actually taste the egg, butter, milk, brown sugar, etc that made the silky textured dessert hard to resist. The phrase is over-used a lot, but considering very few people know about this place, it is truly a hidden gem and worth you getting to know it and their admirable mission. After all, you gotta love a lunch place with compost-able plates and cups!

    Tuna melt and fries.

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    11 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great potato soup today!! I didn't have enough room for a burger. The burgers here are the best.

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    2 years ago

    We are so lucky to have the Cafe @ Rio. The food is always great and their is a nice variety.

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    2 years ago

    Great food at great price! I love supporting a sustainable kitchen on a college campus!

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    Michael H.

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    15 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

    There are many better places than this for anything. Poor hours not very good don't eat here unless you have to even than maybe just wait

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    11 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Café at Rio

    We are so lucky to have the Cafe @ Rio.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    JL Patisserie - Counter Selections

    JL Patisserie

    4.7(116 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    Had this placed booked marked after the Tik Tok incident that made this place go absolutely viral…read morein the best way possible! Today was the day to experience this spot after taking family to the airport. It's about a 10 minute drive from there. Location on a busy corner and not a lot of parking, so time of arrival can be limited to find a space. We were there just prior to noon, so there were a few parking spots open. You can take your food to go or they have some inside seating and a nice outdoor patio. So many sweet treat! Danishes, dessert's, pastries, cookies breakfast items, sandwiches, fresh baked breads, and so much more. The time, passion, & energy is what makes this place incredible. The croissants are so flaky and exactly like what you would find in Europe & France. It is nothing like the breads baked we usually find here. Better imported ingredients make for better quality products. They have different flavors which can range from plain to filled with various flavors. A stand out to try next time is their pistachio. We got the homemade chicken salad- delicious. The Croque Monsieur sandwich was rich, salty, savory & devine. Definitely perfect for two to share. They will toast it upon request. Highly recommend. Drinks-Biscoff Cookie Cold Brew & The Hawaiian Latte. My cold brew was decent. My daughter thought the latte was the BEST she's had yet in AZ! Missed out on the famous viral cruffin' The cinnamon is the one I want to get a hold off. My daughter was bummed they were sold out of the earl grey macaron. Those are her favorite cookie ever! Little pricey IMO; but again paying for ALL that I had mentioned above. (see receipt in pics) *Early mornings when they first open is the best selections, yet there's gonna be a wait. Good thing is; the menu is constantly rotating so there's always something to look forward to experiencing!

    Great experience I would go back 100 times. The staff was friendly and welcoming, and we got there…read morejust in time to beat the crowds. The honey-glazed croissant is to die for. The egg salad was on point (not many places can pull that off confidently, but they definitely do), and the lemon pastry was so good. Everything we tried was excellent. Highly recommend. This is a place to stop if you are visiting AZ

    Photos
    JL Patisserie - Chocolate Pistachio crossiant

    Chocolate Pistachio crossiant

    JL Patisserie
    JL Patisserie

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    Ollie Vaughn's - Sunny Burrito

    Ollie Vaughn's

    4.5(704 reviews)
    5.7 mi
    $$

    Came here for lunch with a friend on a Saturday, had a good time! (Drinks in photo not from here)…read more I enjoyed my Cast Iron Egg dish, the shallot (or scallion) cream sauce was the secret winner, but I may want to try something new next time. My friend enjoyed the Pork Chili Verde dish. Portions are decent. We sat outside, which at noon in May is a bit warm, but we eventually moved to a shaded table and that was enjoyable. They have lots of fans and misters outside too. I also picked up a strawberry rhubarb and coconut rum cake for my parents. They loved the strawberry rhubarb, but they said the coconut rum cake was a bit strong on the rum (it tastes exactly like Malibu if you like that). Overall had a good time and would go back, staff was friendly despite it being busy.

    A friend of mine suggested this spot for a mid-morning breakfast, and I hadn't been here in years…read moreso I agreed. I read that their parking lot fills up quickly but that there's a public lot across the street, so I parked there and crossed over. This cozy restaurant was fairly busy and we perused the pastry case while waiting in line, lots of tempting treats. My friend ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes which are topped with blueberries. A lot of their menu items have pork in it, but they were good about substituting. The burrito usually has schreiners chorizo, hash browns, cheddar, sunny egg and chili oil with side of salsa verde. I asked for avocado instead of the chorizo. We brought our own drinks so didn't order any. We grabbed a table on their patio since the sun wasn't over our heads yet. It's nice out there and I think they have some fans going to keep the air flowing, and there was also a natural breeze. Our food came out and they were plated beautifully. My burrito looked good, but it had too much hashbrowns and also there wasn't any chili oil, which was a bummer. Maybe they normally put it on the chorizo so they forgot to add it to my avocado. The egg was runny which I like: The salsa verde was delicious; I love cilantro and it had great flavors. I tried the pancakes and they were fairly rich but I liked the tart lemon flavor and the blueberries, one of my favorite fruits. This is a nice place to meet up (small groups) and I'm glad I visited again.

    Photos
    Ollie Vaughn's
    Ollie Vaughn's - Cappuccino, blueberry almond croissant

    Cappuccino, blueberry almond croissant

    Ollie Vaughn's - This is how they serve you water

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    This is how they serve you water

    Perfect Pear Bistro - Lemon garlic linguine + shrimps

    Perfect Pear Bistro

    4.4(1k reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    What a find in the heart of Tempe! A friend invited me to lunch here on. Monday and wow, they were…read morebusy! Full parking lot! That was good sign. We shared a Berry Avocado Quinoa Bowl and a Perfectly Grilled Cheese. They even plated them separately for us! (2 plates with half a grilled cheese and French fries on each and 2 bowls with our Berry Avocado quinoa! So sweet and helpful!) Everything was very delicious--fries were seasoned and crispy! The grilled cheese and sweet and salty (they use their spiced pear bread, a delicious four cheese blend and bacon). Quinoa bowl was very hearty! The space was cozy and not too loud--my friend and I were able to catch up without having to raise out voices. Cannot wait to come back to try the rest of their menu!

    This was a quaint little place that I picked out based on reviews and the fact that they had a…read moreCuban sandwich on the menu. It was very tasty. And hit the spot. I ordered one of the side salads but I asked if I could have them add fresh pear to it because of course the name of the place is Perfect Pear Bistro so I was naturally craving pears. The ambience was cute and classy. I sat on the patio because it was gorgeous outside, but I did take a peek inside and it has a low lit upscale rustic vibe. There was plenty left in the salad after I housed my sandwich (elegantly) and I finally had to tap out and get a to-go box. Lovely little stop, would come back.

    Photos
    Perfect Pear Bistro - Interior

    Interior

    Perfect Pear Bistro - Tomato Basil (Soup of the Moment)

    Tomato Basil (Soup of the Moment)

    Perfect Pear Bistro - Pear mule

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    Pear mule

    Café at Rio - coffee - Updated May 2026

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