This review is only on the appearance of the place and horrible service. We went to El Rio expecting a quaint little mexican place with good food, but our first impression will be our last. Upon opening the doors the restaurant bellowed a massive plume of smoke that had us wondering how the occupants and current customers were even able to breathe. There were so many people in there even the most lenient of fire Marshall's would have closed the placed. read more

This place has a strong following so I expect some negative feedback but this is what it is. Food is usually decent. The rip off was not tasty. Long story short check came with extra beer charged to the table which was bought to the waiters attention, and removed. After my friend paid. I grabbed a menu to take and realized we were both charged two dollars more for each dinner than what's printed on the menu. Will never visit again. Higher quality in other directions anyway. read more

Great food. Excellent staff. (Butner Location). I love their rice, and the food is prepared so fast. This place is great.

Great variety and very authentic Mexican food. The staff is very friendly and the decor makes you feel like you are in Mexico City itself!

Best mexican in Creedmoor. Modest strip mall venue with decent American-Mex food. Great queso and chips. Margheritas are huge. Very nice wait staff. read more

This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. The food is always good, the decor is bright and festive and the service is always helpful and friendly. I love the tortilla chip amuse Bouche. They could be my meal. They are always fresh and the salsa has just the right amount of heat to excite the palate but not kill it before the food arrives. The #19 was on special so I tried it. Stupendous. The salad was especially refreshing. read more

El Rio - a red plate with a chicken entree and a salad - Mexican Near Me - Creedmoor, North Carolina

My husband and I were on a road trip recently and were looking for a quick place to eat that wasn't fast food. I hopped on Yelp and this is one of the places I found. It was a wise decision. We were immediately seated when we walked in by a very friendly man. A lady stopped by within a minute to deposit chips and take our drink order. Within another minute another waiter stopped to make sure someone had taken our drink order. The dining room looks like it was recently remodeled- standard Mexican restaurant decor. The menu had variety of choices and included a la carte items and a kid's menu. I went with the flautas (see photo) and the hubby got an enormous burrito! The food was flavorful, but not spicy. I noticed that they have drink and dinner specials during the week. If we were locals, I imagine we would be regulars at this place. read more

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Wow, amazing chicken! Quesadillas to die for! The tortillas are well done and perfectly cooked. The salsa and chips are very good and not too hot, but just an excellent lunch! read more

El Rio - Mexican Near Me - Creedmoor, North Carolina

One of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever been to! I had the fajitas texcanas and they were on point! The staff there are very friendly and attentive and go out of their way to make your experience the best! I would definitely go back!! read more

The food is always good. I will travel just to eat here instead of closer to home. El cancun is an excellent value for the money.

We are quite regulars and it is only because the food is so great. The service is also always perfect

We really enjoyed dinner last night and will visit El Rio the next time we are in the area . The steak fajitas came sizzling hot and a huge portion. Hubby found the chimichanga better than most. Saturday night beer special was great and the beer super cold. The regular margarita was a good size and hit the spot! The service was fine and their house salsa has a nice flavor. read more

We go to El Rio all the time. The food is authentic, as well as consistently good. Moises (the manager) and the rest of the staff are prompt and courteous. When I read the few poor reviews, I have to laugh to myself and say I guess you can't please everyone. It's a small town Mexican restaurant that treats you like family. I think El Rio is the best addition to Central Avenue since we got ANOTHER gas station. read more

Favorite Mexican restaurant by far! Great service especially if you are a repeat customer. Offers military discount and fast! Their queso is amazing and love the Wednesday night special of 99 cent tacos! read more

Food is of ok quality. Prices and menu selection typical. I have been several times over the last two years and the facility always seems dirty and has a strange almost septic smell. read more

great food and friendly staff Prices are great and have daily lunch specials. Plus my favorite is dollar tacos and dollar margaritas on Mondays. read more

It's a rarity to find classic Mexican dishes for short dinero in a small town but El Rio manages to dominate the market with their affordable lunch specials, fresh chips and salsa and a chicken soup that is overflowing with meat. My favorite is the Vegetarian #7. read more

Monday night is .99 tacos and margaritas. The service is friendly and fast no matter how busy it is. I prefer the Texas margaritas because I like to taste my tequila. My husband loves the simmered pork meal with rice, beans, flour tortillas, and side salad. I mix it up with different combo platters and haven't come across one I dislike. Their homemade chile sauces are super flavorful and they're more than happy to make one special for you. Prices are more than reasonable. Our last meal included two 32oz Texas margaritas, carnitas dinner, chicken soft taco, beef chile rellenos, chicken tamale, and a side of chile sauces for $40. read more

Great food and service excellent place for "real" Mexican food!! So good every time we come! I have never had a bad experience and they are decently priced! read more

I had the worst service there and I called my order in a whole your before I was going to pick it up so I know it should have been ready I get to the place and none of the waiters wanted to help me they was setting every white person that came in after me and yes I'm a woman of color I walked out after I ask the 3rd waiter to help me and he looked at me as if he didn't understand nothing I said and walked away they will never get my money or any of my family's ... read more

Food and service are 5 star. Upholstery is way past needing replacement, but continues to be a family favorite.

We've been there a few times now. We've consistently had good food and service, and prices are reasonable. I like that they offer daily specials and their lunch specials are available Monday through Saturday. read more

Good solid Mexican restaurant. Pretty much the same quality as any other similar place. What makes this place is the staff. The management knows (or tries to know) everyone in there. They shake hands, greet you personally and it trickles down to the wait staff. One of their waiters is a huge cut up! And who can beat 99¢ tacos and margaritas on monday night?? read more

Best Mexican food in Butner. Guacamole is worth getting. Ask for fresh chips if you get a stale basket. Enjoy!

Good family restaurant, the price is cheaper than you get in raleigh. The food is traditional mexican. Good place to take the kids. Or young couple on a budget. They have good wait staff. Food is quick and flavorful read more

Great food, I call in our order about once a week. It's always hot and fresh and ready in 15 minutes. We get the carnitas dinner, chips and white cheese dip(amazing) and salsa. I have had some combo platters as well and have never been disappointed but the carnitas is the home run. Don't forget to get an order of churros for dessert. read more

Found this place half way to our destination and wanted a good place to stop for lunch. Only complaint was that our server forgot to put in our order so we were there way longer than expected. The manager kindly discounted our tab due to the oversight. Other than that, the food was delicious. Would definitely return if ever back in the area....even with the little oversight. read more

About the best Mexican food your going to find in Granville county. The staff is excellent and they enjoy children. We have been going for 10 years and they always make you feel welcomed. The fajita nachos are the best. Go on Monday for 99 cent tacos and makes a great quick lunch. read more

Waiters were not friendly. Food took a long time to come out even though there was only one other customer in the restaurant. Chips and tortillas were both stale, queso was runny, salsa was not good, and the rest of the food was only mediocre. There were multiple flies flying around our table and landing on our food the entire time and the waiter brought us the wrong check. Would not recommend, would not go back. read more

This restaurant is beyond awful I saw multiple health violations and insects around the place. There food comes out "hot off the grill" when in reality can chip your tooth. Will never come back! read more

Food was decent but two of our forks had dried food on them. It makes you wonder if thier dishwashing machine is not doing s thorough job.

03Sept 2018- Just came from dinner, it was terrible, service was slow, it was at the end when they asked mi kids is they wanted a refill. Food was mediocre, expensive for what you get. My recommendation, go to "El Toreros" in Raleigh or Durham, NC you will not regretted read more

Found El Rio on our way home. Yes its a little hard to find ( in a strip mall) but right off the highway. Portions were a great size and an even better price. Staff were all friendly and helping with other tables as well! drinks were always being refilled. Food was excellent. Would recommend read more

Decent Mexican fare in a very sketchy looking part of Creedmoor. Food tasted good and drinks were fine. When we arrived the person seating us disappeared even when there was a table open. Someone else came and seated us. We were brought chips and given drinks but then server disappeared for 15 minutes...that is quite a long time to not take an order (at least at Mexican restaurant). After they finally appeared, service picked up. The waiter was excellent dealing with my friend's special drink requests. He didn't skip a beat. So I guess this review is very mixed. Overall ok to visit but I'm gonna stick with other Mexican places far away. read more

The common theme among the reviews is that you good decent food for decent prices. Which is true- I've never had an issue with the meals. (Minus one time that my friend got a chicken taco and there were chicken bones in the taco.) The only issue I really have with this place is that the staff is just rude. I don't know why they bother working in the restaurant business considering that they scowl whenever you request something special like tacos a certain way and they ignore you even when they know you don't have anything on your table. The Creednoor staff is horrible about getting my order right so I stopped going to that one and instead visit the Butner store. They have same of the crappy waiters from Creedmoor working there but they have a few more friendlier faces and even when your waiter sucks and ignores you, they have a hostess (? I think that's their title) that is beyond nice and makes sure to see if you need anything. I wouldn't bother going to the Creednoor location but the one less than a mile down the road is decent. read more

Service was very bad. Server did not understand us. We asked for one drink and got another. When we tried to ask for a change he kept saying "No understand". When we checked out and told the Cashier about our problem, Cashier said that server did not understand what was going on, but would not change the bill. Will never go back again. Food was not that good. read more

The food is great and the staff is super friendly! A little noisy at times, but worth it if you're in the mood for Mexican food.

Outstanding! This is the place to eat if you want awesome, wonderful, authentic Mexican food. Each and every dish was spectacular. The service was suberp. The staff were friendly, kind, and extremely pleasant. They went out of their way to make the visit special even though our dinner was nothing special. We will definitely eat here again and again. read more

awesome affordable Mexican food! the staff is always friendly