The rack of lamb were phenomenal, I had rare it and the chef nailed it. The meat were tender, perfectly grilled smoke. Amazing read more

Rio Grill - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

Absolutely loved this restaurant! The location is great, and there is plenty of parking, which makes the whole experience even better. I ordered the Grilled Prawn Penne Pasta, and it was AMAZING--definitely one of the best pasta dishes I've had! You can also order it spicy if you like a little heat, which is a great option for spice lovers. I took my mom here for her birthday, and they surprised us with a dessert. It was such a sweet gesture, and the dessert was SOOOO yummy! Great food, wonderful experience, and the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. We'll definitely be coming back! read more

Rio Grill - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

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I am so incredibly sad and disappointed by the experience I had at Rio Grill tonight with my parents. We are Carmel locals and have been dining at Rio Grill since it became the Rio Grill--back in the good old days when Tony Tollner was at the helm, through the years when Rio Grill, Tarpy's, and Montrio became three well-established and beloved local restaurants. After tonight's dinner, and since the sale of all three restaurants, I can honestly say I won't be returning to Rio Grill. I only hope Tarpy's and Montrio haven't suffered the same fate. The food tonight was so bad--and so far from what it used to be--that I was honestly shocked. My mom's beloved Chinese chicken salad was absolutely nothing like the dish she has enjoyed there for years. My half rack of BBQ pork ribs was terribly overcooked, and the sweet potato fries were tiny, dried-out little pieces that looked and tasted like they came straight off a Sysco truck. The sauces, dips, and other ingredients had that same mass-produced quality. There seemed to be so little care put into the food or even how it was presented on the plate. My father's frutti di mare pasta was equally disappointing. It honestly looked as though it had simply been thrown onto the plate with no thought or care whatsoever. The seafood was overcooked, and although the menu described the sauce as a tomato broth, there was barely any broth to speak of. The entire dish was bland, tasteless, poorly presented, and just sad. And believe me, we know frutti di mare. We're Sicilian- we know our pasta, we know our seafood, and we know what this dish is supposed to taste like. This wasn't even close. And for what we paid? Absolutely not worth it. What makes me especially sad is that Rio Grill was once one of those Carmel institutions you could count on. You brought family there. You had favorite dishes. You went back year after year because you knew what you were getting. Tonight felt like the name was still there, but the restaurant we loved was gone. I work in the restaurant industry myself, as a server, so I understand food costs, labor costs, and how difficult this business can be. I also understand what it means to put care into a guest's experience- and tonight, the care simply wasn't there. Maybe Rio Grill is still worth stopping into for happy hour, but after being a customer for all these years, I won't be returning for dinner. I never thought I would say that about Rio Grill, and that is probably the saddest part. read more

First time costumers! We will be coming back up here when we travel and referring our friends. One of the best steaks that we had in a long time. Broccoli and smashed potatoes are amazing as well. Compliments to the chef. Also - a shoutout to our waitress, Hope B, for being amazing. She is super nice, informative, and friendly. read more

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We had lunch here and the food and service were good but nothing outstanding. Solid menu. read more

Rio Grill - Haystack Onion Rings - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

Service was almost nonexistent- had to go find wait person after a busboy said he would do and didn't. They said short of staff- it was early afternoon on Friday. Ordered - asked for my burger on sliced sourdough- when delivered it hadn't been toasted - just soft bread with 1/2 lb patty - asked for no bacon and it came on burger--anyway they took it back as juice from burger had mushed bottom bread. Didn't leave fries and brought back with toasted bread - good - however fries were now cold! Used to enjoy here not anymore. read more

Nostalgia for me as this place, the dining room at the Beach and Tennis Club, El Topo for taco , the Tap Room for artichoke soup and burgers and the Thunderbird every Thursday night (book talks over Prime Rib and popovers )were where we had our family meals out. This establishment and the Tap Room recreate my childhood memories from the early 80s pretty accurately. They still serve my favorite Sport Tea as their house iced tea. The roasted artichoke is still on the menu and is a must order! I miss the butcher paper and crayons where our family of 6 would write messages, play hangman or tic tac toe. ( We were gamers not artists. ) Occasionally my mom would institute a Chinese fire drill when she was sick of eating her salmon or salad and we would raucously and not without protest move three chairs to the left so she could finish up my chicken or my brothers burger because parents paid the bill and made the rules. My childhood order never wavered from the pounded double chicken breast with avocado salsa- I have tried to recreate at home because alas, no longer on the menu. Several items still are however and it is worth a gander at the caricatures in the bar. Also Rio Grill has always had the best Happy Hour in town. Sorry for the ADHD tangent- miss you mom and dad! i am so lucky to still have my brother and his growing family in Carmel! My son and i were here for brunch after our family Thanksgiving weekend. He ordered the sweet potato and smoked tenderloin hash and I got the Chinese Chicken Salad with soba noodles and their yummy Tahini dressing because it is a classic that is still on the menu. I love that they serve the salad with almonds instead of peanuts, the marinated carrot shreds and the soba noodles have a nice chew to them. Giovanni is a great server. He made sure no detail was overlooked, refilling my tea and bringing out toast when I mentioned missing the sourdough and sweet butter. A yummy classic yet updated nod to Sunday nights circa 1985. Family friendly, with a nod to southwest flavors! Comfort food for locals and visitors alike and a reasonable price point away from the tourist trap that is downtown Carmel. Make your reservations though! Rio Grill never disappoints! read more

Rio Grill - Chinese Chicken Salad and Smoked Tenderloin Sweet Potato Hash - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

Locals favorite, Great food, Great service, consistently quality food at a reasonable price

Our server Gino truly adorable even not in the menu he made it happened our delicious brunch truly hit of the day the special drinks fresh the hottiest day. Anyone come and visit Carmel , please stop by and check the savor of Rio Grill , ambience suited for comfortable ambience. Thank Yiu for the great food experienced . read more

Rio Grill - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

Received a warm welcome, seated immediately, waiter provided Excellent Service, very friendly staff and nice environment. Enjoyed all the art displays too. Food was so delicious and presented beautifully. read more

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Long time customer of Rio, my husband always make the right choice to have our early dinner when we're in Carmel. Today we had the pleasure of having once again another delicious dinner. BBQ ribs yum. Husband had chicken over asparagus sauce outstanding. Our server Gino was very attentive, Rio has the best servers. Thank you and we'll be back. read more

This casual family style joint in a strip mall was a nice surprise to find a decent selection of seafood and local favorites. Cioppino- this bowl of ocean favorites was a great lunch to off set the cold day as it was filled with mussels, fresh crab, clams and salmon. Well balanced broth and seasoned enough to pack a punch. More charred bread would put this as a 5 star dish, but still very satisfying. Very welcoming staff and the ambiance with all the animated art made it a really fun place to be in. read more

Rio Grill - Ocean in a bowl - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

This week I went to Rio Grill. I want to start of by saying I love Rio Grill, I have spent many birthdays, anniversaries and regular dinners here. I have even written a review few years ago stating how amazing everything was, food, ambience and especially service. This week, I went back. The host asked what we were celebrating and I mentioned our two occasions. We were seated and the section seemed busy, which is fine we understand. Our bottle was on the edge of the table and after about 10 minutes our waitress brings waters for all of us, we thank her and she leaves. At this point it is about 20 minutes and She comes back and asks if we will be ordering appetizers, we say yes, she takes the appetizer order and is about to leave when I mention if she can also open our wine (at this point we had been dying to cheers to our occasions). She says yes. Appetizers come out, entrees come out, food is delicious. As I mentioned, Rio Grill never disappoints with the dishes they serve. We finish diner and our plates are cleared. Our waitress then comes with two separate ice cream bowls for each of our celebrations. We say thank you so much and we additionally order two more desserts that we love. The bill comes and my partner pays. When we get home they mention that we were charged for the two celebratory ice cream bowls. I say what, why? He says I don't know, we never asked for the celebratory ice cream? In the moment, we took it as a very nice touch from our waitress, I know this because my friends and I have actually worked in the restaurant business for 15+ years. But to charge an item that the customer did not order, that just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Overall, the attitude of our waitress throughout the evening was dull and unfriendly. When anyone visits a restaurant I think it is important to take into consideration all aspects, including the customer service, which for Rio Grill was extremely disappointing. Our waitress on that evening was Brittney. read more

Omg have we had great food here!!! Starting with fried calamari or a delicious roasted artichoke! Outstanding service & our waiter helped us with selections. Beautiful restaurant Tried the Stuffed Poblano Pepper! Omg can't wait to go back & try again. -Branzino was delicious! -Seafood Pasta great! -shrimp, pea, creole cream sauce Fresh, hot, must try read more

Holy moly! We were cold & tired travelers and wandered into the most heavenly restaurant!! 5 stars isn't enough! The atmosphere is fun & light with cartoons of their favorite locals & cartoon characters on the wall. For an appetizer I started with the special Pumpkin bisque soup. It was so smooth and creamy and it was topped with candied walnuts which added so much to it! For dinner my hubby had the shrimp scampi and he was so happy! He loved how the peas popped and the bacon mixed in I was blown away by the candied pork belly. which goes through a five step process. Dry rubbed Smoked Baked Flash fried Tossed in Apple cider vinegar & brown sugar and finished with jalapeno powder! My mouth and stomach both were SO HAPPY!! I can't recommend this place enough!!!! How could I forget to mention that I ur waiter was fantastic read more

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Great food! Great service! Pretty restaurant! Try the skirt steak, prawn past, and bread pudding!

Excellent food and service. Great place. Willing to accommodate changes for veggies. Will visit again

Why? Why did I come to Rio Grill again? The staff smells like fabric softener, the service is dreadfully slow, the food is average and over priced, they have zero concept of time, they don't value the customers. Rio Grill is a joke. They have an entire out door section they don't use because they can't be bothered to set it up. The front host station can NOT ring you up if you just never get your check, neither can the bar tender so don't even think of asking. Nope! Only your server has that key. It's as if there's some sterilization of job duties and EVERYONE must stay in their own lane and they are not allowed to help eachother. I watched the bar tender stand at the end of the bar staring off into space because he had zero customers at the bar, must have done all his side work and he was literally parked in standby for any orders the servers might be able to type in. Meanwhile simple refills absolutely must be done by the servers in another room while the bar tender in standby mode is locked into his bar and seems like he can't leave, or use the bar gun to do refills or even interact with customers. It seems the problem is with management keeping the staff on some type of lock down because if you go to Starbucks near by their staff is having fun and they feel human. If you go to Shearwater Tavern the staff feels like a team, even the Bar-B-Q place around the corner seems more friendly and the staff all want to help the customers. AVOID THIS PLACE if you want a better quality of life. read more

Stopped in for lunch on Friday with a couple of old friends, and just had a fantastic experience. The atmosphere in this place is just Carmel distilled. It's low-key, high class. They took care of us from the minute we walked in. Awesome service from Marley. While all the food was great, the chicken with the chile butter was practically phenomenal. No notes. Definitely returning. read more

The appetizer price for portion was unexpectedly high . The quality was extremely disappointing. Opt for the dinner menu which is excellent! read more

This review is only for one day, August 15. I am a regular at Rio's Happy Hour and have been for a few years. Love the place! Food is great and the bartenders friendly! But on August 15 I went in for my apps and wine for happy hour only to be told, "not this week." The week meaning car week on the peninsula. I'm a local and we put up with a lot this week...noise, traffic, crowds and other issues. But the week is good for local businesses. That's great and understandable. But to shun locals during a week where we are having to deal with all car week brings has to be one of the worst decisions you could make. I only live a couple miles away so it's great not to have to put up with driving far to get food and wine. Not only did you lose out on business but your bartenders missed out on tips. Your business thrives on locals and this is how you treat them? I went in at 4:45. The bar was half empty. Obviously making money just wasn't for you this day/week. In fact, you should be catering more to locals that week! Will I return? Time will tell! Bad decision Rio Grill. read more

Great food and lovely staff. The Chinese chicken salad was one of the best salads I've ever had!

Had the special Cuban sandwich and it was great. Service was perfect. A little pricy but that's common for the area. Highly recommend. The bar was well-stocked with high end selections. read more

Delicious food (don't skip the roasted/ grilled artichoke), bright restaurant, and great service. Ask for Lori to serve you......she is the best: native to the area, informative about local happenings, but most especially, she is not only interesting but kind as well. Think I get why the locals return here for great food repeatedly!! read more

We came for appetizers and drinks. What a great, unique selection of appetizers! So yummy! I had the artichoke and the octopus. Both were beautifully presented and tasty! The service was spot on. Cool history of the devoted and loyal customers over the years. But I really loved the artwork in the main dining areas with art deco animal art. Especially the cow! read more

We loved this place and are planning to come back asap! Since we live about 30 minutes away and went on a day hike we were hungry and decided to try something new on the way home without much thought. We arrived around 3:30pm on a Monday so was only one table occupied in the area where we were seated. The decor is really cool with the walls painted with iconic people, to include Miss Piggy lol. Luckily we found out we were within happy hour so my Rabble red blend was only $9 and my guy's Mai Tai IPA $7. Both were good choices. The best part of all, and I don't say this because we were starving, was the food...OMG! Pricey..yes, but is Carmel so we expected that. However, the price you pay here is for quality food with in house made ingredients. We decided to each order a meal and share the Salmon BLT subsituted with a house salad and Works Burger, blue cheese option with onion rings. Both were phenomenal to put it lightly! I'm one of those who can always find a way this or that could taste better, but this place does everything right. Our server, Nick, was great where he was able to answer all of our questions and discussed future recommendations as we already decided we would be back for dinner sometime. We walked out saying wow this was unexpected and what a great meal we stumbled upon as a quick decision. Hands down, best late lunch we've had since we could remember. Aparently this place has been around since the 1980s and are doing something very right. I highly recommend and we will definitely be back! read more

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Come here to eat! We loved it here! The cocktails are great and the food is outstanding! Berry bliss cocktail was delicious! Great balance of vodka, strawberry puree and sparkling wine. The Bloody Mary was also very good! We absolutely loved the fire roasted artichoke appetizer. Yeah it's a bit pricey at $17 for 1 artichoke but IT IS OFF THE HOOK! The calamari app was great too. Hamburger, mushroom risotto, eggs benny and tri tip sweet potato hash were all great! We really should have gotten 2 artichokes and maybe 3 entrees. The artichoke was THAT good! I'm looking forward to coming back the next time we're in Carmel. read more

Nice place with an excellent food and service. Cool design with customers portraits on the wall. Big portions. Another thank you for Chelsey who is the manager and was able to mail my wife's glasses which we left in a cafe. Highly recommend this service. read more

Rio Grill - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

I had a nice lunch here. The restaurant is much larger than it seems. There's several different space, with slightly different vibes. I enjoyed the cocktails I tried. Service was very welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed the roasted artichoke. It was a fun and yummy dish to share and the balsamic vinegar worked well with it. The ribs were just OK. A bit on the dry side and served warm, not hot. I would definitely come back. It's spacious enough for larger groups, but also works for a date. It's not too loud so it's great for a slow, relaxed meal with plenty of conversation. read more

This used to be one of the destinations to go to, that was many years ago the Rio Grill is looking tired, the bar was busy as I understand they have a very good happy hour. If ONLY we'd known ‍ Our server was fine, polite and the menu had abalone which I hadn't seen ANYWHERE else in the peninsula!!! Our dinners were fine, the ribs were plentiful in the presentation with a dark sauce & easy to chew off the bone, the abalone was good not to chewy and was enjoyed & the halibut also good just nothing to write home about or make me want to return in the near future~ read more

Another lovely lunch at Rio Grill made most enjoyable by the excellence of our service team of Laurie and Andreas. They are professional, welcoming and caring. Yes, the food is always good, but it is people like them that keep me coming back. Rio is so lucky to have the quality of service and the high standards of a top notch restaurant. read more

We have dined at Rio Grill for many decades. Our most recent 2 visits this year have been disappointing. The food is usually consistently good but they have really priced themselves into a category that only tourists can really enjoy. We used to go for lunch and dinner and the dining areas were always packed. Now the last 2 times we have been there the dining rooms are just lightly occupied. Our light lunch included 2 small bowls of soup, 2 artichokes and a quesadilla with a couple sodas for a whopping $100 price tag. The food was lukewarm, the $19.95 each artichokes arrived cold and had to be sent back (remember this is artichoke country!!). Overall, very disappointing for such a great legacy and we probably will not ever return read more

Couldn't tell if it was just me or not but I'm a big burger connoisseur and to me the burger was on the smokey side/charcoal side. Didn't really get a good taste of the meat as it was mostly smokey flavors I was getting. Fries were good tho and strawberry lemonade. Definitely recommend ordering something else read more

Rio Grill - American Near Me - Carmel-by-the-sea, California

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Great food. We had the turkey sandwich and the salmon BLT. First time there found by chance and it was great. Great service as well.

wonderful food, nice art, fantastic service from Lori!! many thanks for a great lunch! read more

My wife and I were just simply looking for a crab cake to eat and chose Rio Grill as our final dinner night here in Carmel. We were greeted by the hostess and sat down very quickly. The place had a very peaceful atmosphere and a simple and delightful menu to choose from. Nick our server greeted us and took care of us without missing a beat with his other tables. Geronimo as well deserves a shout out for his efficiency and attentiveness! Another honorable mention is Mak. We didn't get to converse with her as much as the other two, but the eager smile bringing out our food was contagious as the plating and presentation for our meals was beautiful! We started off with crab cake, and garlic and goat cheese dip appetizers. Moved onto our entrees being the ribeye and Wood Grill Pork Chop, and finally ending the night with a birthday candle lit on a molten chocolate lava cake for my wife's birthday. This is our first time traveling up the coast as well as our last night before our journey back to the city so needless to say we will definitely be returning back to Carmel and Rio Grill for our next vacation. Thank you to the staff for making our final dinner and night one to remember. read more

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This place was great for a date night. The cocktails were on point, the food was good and there is a dog friendly patio with heating lamps. Best of all there was a special doggy menu where each meal bought goes to support a local charity. The service was great and the look on my dogs face when his food and meal came out was priceless. Sadly, I didn't get an action shot of that. read more

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Friendly service Great food. Chill atmosphere. Favorite dish of the table of was the crispy wonton ahi. We just apps assortment for lunch and we'll return in 2024 for dinner. It's giving Tarpy's quality (same restaurant group), where we usually go but something different. read more

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We recently went to Carmel and when arriving decided to get some lunch. We stopped at the Rio Grill as they were just opening, so we were quickly sat. Server was friendly, we ordered the Charred Romaine Heart with chicken and the Works Burger with Fries. My wife really really liked the chicken with her salad, so much that she ate the chicken basically by itself lol. She liked the dressing as well, but did have to ask for a bit more. I really enjoyed my burger, perfectly cooked as asked, tons of flavor with onions and mushrooms. My wife also ordered a Mocktail, the No-Jito, she loved it. Atmosphere was great, place super clean, service was great and fast. Definitely will be here again when we pass through. read more

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Had a nice but expensive lunch here when I was down visiting my mom. We started with the potato skins which came with pork belly and a really good guacamole. I then had the wedge salad with adding skirt steak to it. It was pretty good though I feel like they upcharge you a LOT for putting about 2-3 oz of steak on the side of the salad (it was like $13 to add it). I also felt the wedge salad wasn't as great as some other places I've had it at - and it did seem a little expensive. My mom got the risotto and she really liked it. I did feel like that also was a bit expensive, about $30ish dollars. My friend got the gnocchi appetizer which was a decent sized portion, and the gnocchi was really delicious. She added a couple of scallops and they were $8 each! I am sure they were good but that just seemed like a lot. I did feel like the service was pretty good though they did bring out the two hot meals and took a little while with my salad for some reason. The staff overall did seem friendly and helpful. Easy to park right nearby as well. This place was easy to find. read more

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