Rio Cantina for me is more of a solid hangout spot with cheap beer than it is a restaurant. 64 oz pitchers for $12 is a very solid deal, and they have a decent variety like modelo and modelo dark along with the standard michelob/coors etc. The beer comes filled to the brim, and there are glasses are stored in the freezer, frosty when they come out. Their chips and salsa aren't amazing but they come warm and crunchy with a slightly watery tomato salsa. If my rating was only for just splitting a large pitcher with some friends, it would be a solid 4. Unfortunately, the food brings the rating down to a 3. As someone from Texas who is very familiar with tex-mex offerings, I was not very impressed by the multiple food items I have had here. Any option with chicken essentially is very fibery, dry shredded chicken breast. Prices are more expensive than other mexican or tex-mex spots but with smaller portions. Pictured below is one of the items I got in the past showing the shredded chicken inside slathered with sour cream on the top. Sides of mexican rice or beans are not the best either. I have had the food 2-3 times here and now pretty much only order the beer if stopping by here with friends. It's far from my first or even middle pick when it comes to mexican food, but you can't get beer for much cheaper at a dine-in restaurant, and the chips and salsa are a bonus. read more

Rio Cantina - Beer - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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We had a scary moment yesterday when our son burned the roof of his mouth badly on an extremely hot chicken tender. It was hot enough to leave the skin on the top of his mouth raw, and he was in a lot of pain afterward. Parents may want to be extra cautious with temperature before serving little ones. That said, the chips and salsa were absolutely delicious, and the atmosphere and staff were kind during our visit. We know accidents can happen, but we hope more attention is given to how hot food is served, especially for children. read more

The only things good are the service and salsa. The guac has way too much lime-Couldn't eat it. I ordered a spicy chicken dish. It came out all dark meat with lots of bones. The beans were likely straight out of a can. The rice had mixed vegetables. I'm still hungry. Please don't waste time coming here. read more

Rio Cantina - Bad food - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

We stopped in here right before a Green Jackets game and it was surprisingly not very busy other than a few medium sized parties. The menu is massive with a lot of great options that made it hard to choose from, but when the food came the portions were plentiful. I got the steak ranchero which was good, though it got sauce it was pretty dang hot which I regret getting. Speaking of hot, the salsa that comes when you sit down has a pretty good kick as well, not a huge fan of that but at least it had good flavor. The restaurant is much bigger on the inside than it appears so it's a great spot to bring a group of people either before the game or after, or just to eat regardless if you're attending a game. If your looking for a drink they have a massive menu of margaritas, I wasn't a fan of mine since I'm not a huge tequila drinker but my wife pleasantly consumed it with a smile on her face so it was just me. read more

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Not a great place to eat; however, since finding the carnitas to order...I like it a little more! Drinks are always strong, and chips are good! read more

For pickup service can be hit or miss as there is no dedicated hostess/cashier to help you with your order. We ended up standing at the cashier area until an employee came along. The service can be hit or miss depending on the day you come. Some days after the game the service was exceptional, other days it is hard to get your server attention. The quality of the food has gone up tremendously, I heard rumors that they had change cooks, even their chips and salsa was delicious. read more

If you're looking for a fun place to get food or drinks, before, after, or just anytime, Rio Cantina is a great place for you! You'll love the food, margs and atmosphere! read more

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I just want to start with I haven't been here in months since the first time after they remodeled. Our service was shit then and the food quality was a little bit poor. We talked with the owner that night and she said she had to let her head chef leave and her manager. So here I am 8 months later back or however long it's been and we ordered at first it was going great, good service for chips and salsa and cheese dip. Then drinks were right out, then the food, the chicken tacos I ordered came out with no cheese no sour cream just lettuce and tomato., I had to dowse them with cholula to get some flavor. Then my fiancé ordered a chicken fajita salad and they brought out a plate of just grilled chicken. Now after we thought we changed it right they brought out just chicken fajitas.......do better Rios you were my voted 1 Mexican when I first had it and now you are the worst mexican in the Csra by my choice. You fired a couple Mexicans cause some tequila was missing. Now you will lose even more money because you just lost Greatful clients and customers that will never come back. Just because they took a little tequila does not mean fire them now your restaurant has shit food and shit service. And the fact I was a multi week customer this is sad for me to leave but it's the truth read more

Food: had the guacamole it was lime forward and other than that zero other flavor...lime. Decided if the guac sucked I didn't need anymore food. I ordered a long island iced tea, it was a rum and coke, tasted like coke. I drink maybe 3-4 times a year, this drink was weak, a true joke of a Long Island. Service was average at best, no recommendation, asked if the tv could be turned to the baseball game. It was turned off, after the server asked "what channel?" My response was whatever channel the game is on the other two tv's. I'm from Michigan not local, how would I know what channel? Server was attentive but was just hoping to sell me more food I'm sure. Ambiance, well the basic Spanish music, and an empty dining room. Most diners were outside, I wasn't even offered outside seating. I'm a 1 top, they didn't really care about what I wanted it seemed. There was lots of staff, and management around doing what looked like nothing. They had some white beverage coolers (like picnic style cooler!) on the floor, two of them. They were full of ice cream bars or whatever, and the staff was wall in g around eating ice creams. This was weird, couldn't change tv channel but all 20 plus people working sure found the ice cream and were enjoying it?!? Maybe a lesson on the tv channels or customer service in your free time. read more

Dinner with friends! Tonight we ate until we could eat anymore. Of course we stared with chips, salsa, and queso. The queso dip was thick and had a nice flavor, not watered down like a lot of restaurants. My husband and I ordered pork tacos, shrimp tacos, and chicken tamales. The shrimp tacos were good but the elote was delicious - probably the best elote I've had from any restaurant in Augusta. I could easily have just ordered the elote as my meal. Our server was very attentive to our table even with it being as busy as it was. There was karaoke tonight and a lot of friends-mas parties that were going on. read more

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Although the GreenJacket's game was postponed, then canceled due to inclement weather, it was really cool hanging out in the breezeway having a beer and just chopping it up with baseball fans. Afterwards we all headed to the Mexican restaurant on campus for tacos and steak burritos. read more

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So my husband and I went there for the first time on our visit from Cali to see our family. Upon walking in the lady at the front desk with the Botox in her lips did not even acknowledge us. After looking at the receipt, her name is Yanira. There was a gentleman that was there working, who acknowledged us and even seated us. It turns out that Botox girl was our Server. My husband ordered a dish that he later said was very delicious. I ordered a burrito with grilled chicken and a side of beans and rice. When I got my plate, the "chicken" looked very dark like the steak. Sidenote, I have not eaten red meat of any kind, pork, lamb, or anything of the sorts in over 28 years. I tasted the meat which happened to be mixed with steak and chicken. And I kept saying to my husband this looks like steak and some of it taste like chicken. But it was all the same color. Just the texture differed. When we got our bill, I noticed she had steak on my burrito. Listed as what I ordered. When I brought it to her attention, I told her I ordered chicken not steak. She kept asking me all you ordered chicken and I told her. Yes I also confirmed with her that I had not eaten steak in almost 30 years. She said I'm sorry I'm sorry, but she did understand me when I ordered because she repeated my order but could barely speak English. Her Botox lips got in the way of her hearing. Nonetheless, we spent over $100 on our meal & 2 drinks but no one offered to comp us for the burrito that she messed up! They should have done the right thing and I would be coming back the next time we're here because their drinks are great. I should've known something was wrong whenever my burrito was covered in all of this red sauce that I did not ask for and the entire staff started speaking in Spanish (after speaking English the time we had been there). I did not leave her a tip not only because of her neglectful error with my order but also because they barely checked on us only once throughout our entire stay. When I brought it to her attention about the burrito, she told me in an argumentative response, "I asked you how everything was you said it was good." No I did not. My husband said his was good. I ended up taking the lettuce the guacamole at least part of the guacamole the beans and rice and putting them inside of the tortilla and consuming it instead of the steak. They had so much salt and coloring on the steak as it was mixed in with the chicken. Cross contamination. And she knew this! It's really sad because I got very nauseous after eating a couple bites of the meat and left the rest. I will be contacting the health department. Had she not argued but offered to make it right that I had, she probably would have gotten at least something of a tip, even though she barely checked on us. My husband even had to get up and ask for them to come over to the table to serve us some more drinks and beverages as well as for them to even take our order. Very poor service. I don't know if it was race-related, but brown people are no better than any other race. And they especially need to look out, especially with the new administration coming in. I definitely will be contacting OSHA & the health department. I should have known something was suspicious when only 2 other people were patronizing the restaurant. One was at the bar drinking and the other dined but appeared to also be dissatisfied. Also forgot to mention that when we paid our dining bill, Yanira purposely kept my husband's credit card and returned only the charge for him to sign and tip. When we signed the bill and told her she didn't return the card, she looked at my husband as if he was lying. She snatched up the bill and said she'd be back and brought back the credit card along with the food bill commenting on my remarks written on the bill that simply said "I said Pollo." She then wanted to argue about that - in order to not escalate this to another level, we left after we got the card back. Not a welcoming environment at all read more

Food is overall okay, not the best.. personally I feel like you can find better food quality at Monterrey's or going towards Augusta, Lokos Tacos. I have been here twice in the last month, the first time our server was new so we gave him the benefit of the doubt but we came back tonight for dinner and the service was so bad, we legit think our server hated us. Shaely was our server and not once did I think I saw her smile or even introduce herself to us, saw the name on the receipt, barely heard any words from her and she checked on us twice and the other times we had to either wave her down or wave someone else down, we had to pay upfront with Adilene because she never came back for payment. This place is nice and could have potential if they worked with their servers but if you don't care about the service your customers are receiving then I guess you don't care about the business/ratings, to add the restaurant wasn't even busy, there was at max 4 other tables and like 5/6 servers and two guys wearing red shirts who I assume were the managers. read more

Located in the SRP park indoor and outdoor seating available. Today there was an event going on so I parked in the parking deck.. walked in was greeted by hostess and I told her I'd be needing seating for only one, she told me to sit anywhere I wanted. Wasn't that many customers during the afternoon about five inside and several outside so there were plenty of vacant seats available . I waited a few minutes and finally a staff member came to take my drink order which came right away- next salsa and chips. After waiting and watching the guy who took my drink order go back n forth for about 15 minutes I caught the attention of the hostess that was at front door and told her I wanted to place an order which she took. I truly enjoyed the shrimp quesadilla and I requested spinach and mushrooms be added. My frozen peach margarita was good and tasty . As for Custer service it was slack!!! after my food was dropped off no one ever came back by table to check to see if I needed anything! I finally caught the attention of the drink guy and asked for my ticket he did thank me nicely and I will try them again bu I hope service is better next time. 3/13/2020 Rio Revisited a week later. So my girlfriend wanted to try Rio and I did the ride along. Friday night and even crowded but service was much better. Got my favorite drink. Frozen peach margarita and yes it was so good! read more

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Thick queso. Crunchy chips. Fajitas very good. Burritos are not. Pricey. Service was slow and spotty. read more

Rio Cantina - Mikes burrito - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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The food is good. Servers are either 10/10 or rude. Since remodel it's a lot of new servers and it has not been great.

The service was good but the kitchen is a little slow. The guacamole salad was delish and the chicken fajitas had a good flavor but don't expect the fajitas to come out sizzling- they did not and all the other sides were cold (beans and rice). The beer was super cold so all is forgiven! read more

Prices are way too inflated for the amount and quality of food. The servers seem lost, I asked what kind of juices they have and the guy said they had no juices while pointing at the drink section of the menu, where clearly there are two juices listed. Also my husband asked for steak and shrimp fajitas, and he got chicken instead of steak.... I should mention the place was completely empty so it's not like they were trying to keep up with rush and mistakes are made. The only thing going for the restaurant is the music selection.... But I can get that at home for free read more

Nice place. Small quaint and at the ball field. Food served quickly. Meat was not seasoned. Ordered lengua taco and barbacoa taco... nice texture but not a lot of flavor. Taco salad with shredded chicken. Meat was tender and moist but not seasoned. Glad we tried it, but will probably not come back. read more

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The place is clean and has a nice atmosphere. The night I was here they were having karaoke on the porch. I appreciated this because you could stay inside or go outside with the louder music. I went to both. The service was great. Quick and friendly. The food was really good. It's your average Mexican restaurant in every southern town. But still really good. I have it 4 stars because that's what I give every Mexican restaurant where the food is good and the service is friendly. I would definitely come back. read more

Ambience. A Service. A Food. A Price. A Found outside of the SRP ball park. There's some free street parking if you can find them...otherwise you'd have to pay $1 hr at meter or download app. There are lots of covered outdoor seating and umbrellas - al fresco. Or sitting in cools a/c indoors. Entering service was friendly snd swift and accommodating to sit anywhere. I chose outside al fresco. Ordered basic $13 fish bowl margarita. It does it's job. You can add sugar or salt to the rim. I prefer none. Free fresh crispy nacho chips and fresh salsa. I'll be back I'm a fan! Love that they have house made tamales...$4 a piece or 3 for $9. Loved all 3 - Tamale stuffed poblano with cheese, tamales pork with mild red sauce and chicken with warm tomatillo and cheese. All were delicious and flavorful. Order on the side separately the house made DIABLO hot sauce and more fresh tomatillos salsa. read more

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One of the worst dining experiences I've ever had. Got in before the rush and ordered. Food came out fast. Rice? Cold. Beans? Cold. Burrito? Cold. Obviously all made earlier. They took it back (along with my cutlery) and returned the same food heated in a microwave. And no cutlery. Apology? Of course not. Discount? Nope. Had to flag down someone to bring me my check, then again when it sat there with cash waiting to be picked up! The only thing worse than the food is the service. Stay as far away from this place as possible. read more

I can't recommend this place enough! Rio Cantina has attentive wait staff, delicious food, and reasonable prices. My date and I shared the chicken fajitas for two. The portions were large and the food was fresh. We didn't get any margaritas during this trip, but they seemed to be very popular amongst the other customers. I will definitely be returning! *If you're still working to stay socially distant and COVID free, Rio Cantina has an outside dining option (though the tables aren't socially distant) and the booths inside still have plastic divides between them. read more

Rio Cantina - Chips & Salsa - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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I love experiencing a business when it still has that "newly open smell" to it. That's because I don't expect perfection, but I do get a glimpse of what the owner(s) want their patrons to know about their business. The decor, the uniforms (or lack of), the music, and of course the food and drinks. I will give you the heads up that parking is sparse due to it being a part of the new SRP park, but there is a parking deck within eyesight. If you are going for the first time I recommend lunch, as my experience found it not as busy. I love the outdoor seating options, with a bar and high seats, tables, and a more relaxed area (shaded) with cushioned seats and low top tables (a perfect spot for margarita's and conversation). We went with an outdoor table and I ordered a lunch special (always a good bet for first visits). As I perused the drink menu, I was pleasantly surprised to find Modelo on tap. This is just a bonus tip, but Modelo is a great summer time beer. And this was my first time finding it as a draft. Chips and salsa arrived, but with three bowls of salsa plated. Two are semi spicy and the tomatillo has that nice "take a couple of bites then you feel the burn" heat. I knew I was hungry that day so queso was a must. You can add a variety of meats and vegetables including beef, rice, and/or beans. I went with beef. It was delicious. My dish was the Speedy; a ground beef gringo taco, one enchilada, and Mexican rice. This is not a massive dish, but again this is a lunch special. The quality of everything on the plate more than matched the price point. The team checked on us regularly and were patient with us as we took a few extra minutes to figure out exactly what we wanted. I look forward to returning here for supper and just to grab drinks with friends. I admit it may take a little adjustment to look past the view of the hotel across from the restaurant, but hey that's what tequila is for. Be sure to stop in here soon. read more

Our first and last visit. The music was obnoxious and not conducive to eating Sunday afternoon. It was incredibly loud club music playing on the patio. The ceviche del mar was inedible. Very fishy, tough and not fresh ingredients. I think they used tiny canned shrimp. I ordered 2 margaritas (the same kind) and the 2nd one was awful. The chips, salsa and guacamole were good. The service was great, but we will not go back there to eat. Many other mexican restaurants to choose from. read more

Please if you are black DO NOT go here. The waitress was so dismissive of us. She acted as if we were inconveniencing her and she also wouldn't take out payment she made us walk to the register, but all the other patrons were allowed to pay at the table. I will never give this place my money ever again!! read more

Rio Cantina - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

So, I love a good street taco, or "Mexican taco", in this case, with cilantro, onion,& lime...I have eaten Barbacoa at two other local Mexican restaurants and loved it...so I ordered that and Cachete taco. That was a risky move, I know, but I wanted to try something different. Well let me just say, that you don't want to come here if you're looking for good ol' street tacos. The corn tortillas were a disappointment, the meat in both were honestly so bad that I couldn't eat them. And I came HUNGRY. So I had to ask to replace them (I have never sent a dish back at any restaurant before. So it was bad enough that I couldn't even stand to eat them) I'm thankful that they replaced them for me and I got 2 grilled chicken "Mexican tacos". they were the least impressive street tacos I have ever had. I was atleast able to eat something. And the margarita was SO strong that it basically tasted like straight, low quality tequila. The prices are well above average for Mexican food around here, so it felt like such a waste of money. Oh and the salsa and chips did not taste house made, in my opinion. My server was also not pleased with me, which is not a good experience but atleast they didn't charge me for 4 tacos. read more

Rio Cantina - Left, barbacoa & Right, Cachete - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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cant wait for rio to open back up. the food is always great, and the service we recieve from yanira and the rest of the staff is exceptional. our group of karioke singers have been going here for several years and have been treated as royalty. the owner whose name is melissa ensures all guest are treated as if you are home with great food and drinks. yanira whom she has entrusted to manage her restaurant is the best at coordinating the workers to wait on customers ensuring everyone has a great dinner and kind caring service. we look forward to going back and taking as many friends, family and guest back with us to make this business thrive and grow as big as possible. love rio, will regan and company read more

Great outdoor area and the beer was nice and cold but the food had no seasoning at all. We had tacos (tongue, chorizo and beef) and there was no kick and there were no condiments on the table to add some taste. Would've asked for hot sauce but the server never came back. Hard pass on this one. The salsa had a strange soapy taste. Sadly, it's over priced as well. Tacos came with no sides so 4 soft w two beers was $40 w tip. read more

I love beef burritos and mine was loaded with guac, sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes and it was very delicious. The mashed potatoes were also incredible, some of the best mashed potatoes i've ever had. Excellent! read more

Rio Cantina - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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Great tacos with homemade corn tortillas. Big strong margs. The top shelf one was really good. Friendly service and a fantastic location. Connected to the minor league baseball stadium. Plenty of outdoor seating too. Will def be back when I am in town staying across the street. read more

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I was a waiter once. Customers who come in late are still customers. An entire staff dedicated to trying to make you leave so they can go home early feels like they don't care about you. The food was terrible. Poor quality chips, impossible to eat guacamole, dont even think it was real avocado. Soapy taste in margaritas. Let another restaurant take your lease. Great location wasted on poor quality food, staff and management. Another party were also ushered out with us with the same experience. Go somewhere else, they dont want you anyway!!! read more

Clean, friendly service, extensive menu.Great locale. Will return after doomsday! Lol read more

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This is a very nice spot. Please check it out! They get 5 stars alone just for how clean they were. The floors, tables, restrooms and outside patio was remarkably clean . The staff was pleasant and attentive. The prices are reasonable. The drinks are tasty and don't give you that cheap bottom liquor vibe. I will be back soon and often. read more

Rio Cantina - Spiked Watermelon - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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We had lunch here last Sunday, man it was indeed the worst Mexican food that I've ever eaten. From the chimichangas to the queso and how can queso be bad??!! Even the drinks were bad, mango margarita had a funny awful taste, the waiter said it was because the vendor changed the mix that they used to purchase from them ( so you are aware but have done nothing). NEVER AGAIN read more

This was my first and last time here. Since customer service is key I'll start there it was the worst customer service I have ever experienced. The host was not pleasant we were seated given chips and forgotten requested service and was literally served by four unfriendly servers. The nicest pretended to not understand English. The chips and salsa was good the food was tasteless honestly I wouldn't return for a free meal. I am writing this review to alert management of the unfriendly and unprofessional staff. read more

We had a great meal at Rio Cantina. Good service and delicious food. We would highly recommend to anyone in the area who is looking for mexican food. Also, they appear to be doing a good job on the COVID precautions. There are plexiglass barriers between the booths and capacity is limited so that you can social distance inside. We didn't eat on the patio but that looked to be a great spot in the heart of Riverside Village. read more

Rio Cantina - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

I have been curious to check out Rio Cantina since SRP Park opened. It's a bright and cozy place with a friendly staff. The standard chips and salsa that comes "free" comes with three different salsas: mild, which was soupy and very Campbells-soup-like; the hot, which was outstanding; and a watery green avocado-based dip that looked better than it tasted. The chips were also nothing to write home about. The main course, shredded chicken chimichangas, was served with guacamole, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, and had a good taste. Also on the plate were refried beans and rice. Overall, not a bad experience but this place is exceptionally mediocre, and certainly not a place you should go out of your way to visit, although a fine choice if you're already at SRP Park watching the Greenjackets. read more

Great Location! Restaurant has a great patio and the inside of the restaurant opens up to the Green Jacket Stadium. The menu was large, I only got pictures of half. They also have seafood and numerous entrees. The food is mediocre. We had fajitas, a combination plate, taco salad and pollo queso. Everything was hot, but tasted the same as a dozen other Mexican places in town. The chips were not good. The ground beef was tasteless and grainy. The grilled chicken was very good and the fajitas came out sizzling. We are from Texas and our Mexican/Tex-mex standards are high. Would like to see something similar to Uncle Julio's or Chuy's. Would like to see happy hour drink specials. Will be back for drinks and fajitas. read more

Rio Cantina - Menu - Mexican Near Me - North Augusta, South Carolina

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My wife and I ate down here on our Friday night date night. Our service was pretty on point, seated immediately, never went without. The chips and salsa they brought out was pretty good, hot chips and a salsa sampler of three different ones. Food was good and a chill atmosphere. read more