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Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican
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Costa Mesa

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

★★★★ 4.2 · 0 reseñas

Counter-serve eatery dishing up Mexican classics including hand-rolled tortillas, burritos & tacos.

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

Mexican · Costa Mesa

Fresh flavors from our tortilla shop

4.2 · 724 reviews Google

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican Opening Hours

Monday 10:00–23:00
Tuesday 10:00–23:00
Wednesday 10:00–23:00
Thursday 10:00–23:00
Friday 10:00–00:00
Saturday 10:00–00:00
Sunday 10:00–22:00
www.caferio.com
Yelp 2.5 (920) TripAdvisor 3.9 (35) Uber Eats 4.6 (1,780)

About Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

Counter-serve eatery dishing up Mexican classics including hand-rolled tortillas, burritos & tacos.

What Customers Say About Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

Cafe Rio in Costa Mesa is known for its fresh, made-to-order tacos and sweet pork barbacoa. Many praise the friendly staff, especially Kyle. However, some customers have reported cleanliness issues and inconsistent stock levels, particularly later in the evening.

Popular Dishes

sweet pork barbacoa Tacos chicken quesadilla Baja Taco

Best For

Quick Bite Casual

Tip: If you're planning a late dinner, be aware that they may run out of popular items like grilled chicken. Consider going earlier in the day to ensure full menu availability.

What to see nearby

Heller Park
A 381m

Heller Park

parque

View details
Pinkley Park
A 452m

Pinkley Park

parque

View details
Harper Park
A 760m

Harper Park

parque

View details
Lions Park
A 904m

Lions Park

parque

View details

Data from Wikidata

Explore the area around Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican is located in Costa Mesa, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.

Parks & Gardens

  • Heller Park (A 381m) — park in Orange County, California, United States of America
  • Pinkley Park (A 452m) — park in Orange County, California, United States of America
  • Harper Park (A 760m) — park in Orange County, California, United States of America; geonames ID = 5355499
  • Lions Park (A 904m) — park in Orange County, California, United States of America; geonames ID = 5366713

Data from Wikidata

Frequently asked questions about Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican is located at 253 E 17th St, Costa Mesa.
Near Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican you can find points of interest such as Heller Park, Pinkley Park, Harper Park, Lions Park.
Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican offers mexican cuisine.
Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican has regular opening hours. Check their profile for updated schedules.
The most recommended dishes at Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican based on customer reviews are: sweet pork barbacoa, Tacos, chicken quesadilla, Baja Taco.
Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican is ideal for quick bites, casual dining.
Cafe Rio in Costa Mesa is known for its fresh, made-to-order tacos and sweet pork barbacoa. Many praise the friendly staff, especially Kyle. However, some customers have reported cleanliness issues and inconsistent stock levels, particularly later in the evening.
If you're planning a late dinner, be aware that they may run out of popular items like grilled chicken. Consider going earlier in the day to ensure full menu availability.
724
Reviews

Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican Costa Mesa Reviews

4.2
20
5★
45%
4★
5%
3★
20%
2★
5%
1★
25%
Reviews (21)
s
steve boddeker

First time having the fire grilled chicken with Rio style. Food was way beyond my expectations.

Tam C
Tam C

If you’re even thinking about ordering the sweet pork barbacoa, do it. This dish is absolutely incredible. The pork is tender, juicy, and packed with flavor, with the perfect balance of savory and sweet. It practically melts in your mouth and tastes like it’s been slow-cooked with real care. What really sets it apart is how versatile it is — amazing in tacos, burritos, bowls, or even on its own. Every bite is rich, comforting, and satisfying without being overwhelming. You can tell the ingredients are high quality and well seasoned. I’ve tried a lot of pork dishes, and this one stands out as something I genuinely crave and would order again without hesitation. If you’re a fan of bold, well-balanced flavors, the sweet pork barbacoa is a must-try.

Craig Shults
Craig Shults

The fresh Tacos are tasty and nade to order, service is fast and the staff is polite. A good place for fast healthy mexican cuisine.

John Clarke
John Clarke

Kyle was the best Café Rio employee we’ve experienced in a long time. He overheard my wife giving me instructions for dressing up her taco. Then remembered those instructions a couple of minutes later when another employee asked me and I hesitated. Really friendly guy as well. That’s the most important trait to us. The restaurant itself is the nicest Café Rio around, because it’s cheery (brightly lit) and clean.

Taylor Willis
Taylor Willis

My favorite restaurant. This place was STRUGGLING for a few years. Always messing up orders. Terrible. I held on bc the food was so good. Last couple years (July 2023?) they started to get better and now they’ve really turned it around. Props cafe Rio!!!

agustin gonzalez
agustin gonzalez

Freshly made flour tortillas are the best you can find anywhere. Sweet shredded pork yummy 😋

Denver Miller
Denver Miller

I have no idea why it has taken me so long to go to Cafe Rio. This place was great! Flavors were on point, service was helpful and the price was reasonable. Will for sure return!

Jennifer Lutz
Jennifer Lutz

Cafe Rio has exceptional Mexican food for fast food restaurant. It’s one of the best in Orange County. Unfortunately, this location has filthy location from the windows to the lighting to disgusting bathrooms. The hygiene that place makes me wonder if we should even eat at this location. Do the severe grossness of the bathroom and the filth I did not put the pictures online. Hopefully Management will step up and do something about it.

Jess Vuozzo
Jess Vuozzo

I come from a customer service background so my level of expectation might be higher than usual, but I do at least appreciate when I’m greeted with a “Hi welcome in” and if someone is busy at least a “I’ll be right with you.” I believe I was their first customer of the day when I walked in. No one said hello and when I got to the counter the girl working on mobile orders just made eye contact (no smile or acknowledgement) and went back to making bowls. Then Blanca came from the back and said hello and started to serve me. She was VERY pleasant and even asked how my day was going. She was warm and friendly and smiling throughout our whole interaction! I don’t leave reviews often but I felt Blanca needed to be recognized publicly for her presence.

Susanna Mahoney
Susanna Mahoney

Great selection of food with a new variety of sauces. Eating vegan/vegetarian can be difficult, but they had plenty of delicious options for us. The staff was stellar, very kind and helpful. They were quick and thorough with our large group. Wish we could come back more often!

Art Soto
Art Soto

Biriidiana got my special order 100%. Delish’ Staff always accommodates my special order. Thank you team

Jean Grasso
Jean Grasso

Had a chicken quesadilla. This quesadilla was great tasting with chicken. The homemade flower tortilla was good. Chips and queso. The queso was awful tasting. Switched it to guacamole 🥑 perfect flavor. Chips were lite. Salsa was fresh. They looked like they were short staffed and tables were not being cleaned up. Restrooms are not clean.

Glittery.Me.Reiki.
Glittery.Me.Reiki.

It was an absolute, unbearable freezer in the establishment. It was cold out but even colder inside. No looking for refuge from the outside in the place.

Ryan Palmer
Ryan Palmer

Kind of a bland experience. Food was bland. Service was lackluster. The atmosphere is devoid of any character and the floors are sticky. The whole experience just feels like they gave up and don’t care anymore.

Allen Blau
Allen Blau

This is an aging Mexican chain that I believe started in Utah. The food is definently not authentic California style Mexican, but it is good in it's own way. The tortillas and green ranch are the stars of the show, which is the only reason we return. The tostada is the go to and you must try the barbacoa pork unless you dont like sweet meat. They have at least 6 types of protein and be specific if you want lean proteins because other wise you will get the sloppy Joe editions of their beef and chicken which taste like the inside of a rusted tin can on a hot, swampy day. I can also recommend the salmon tacos especially when it's on special! Their drink selection looks very unique with many options however I do abstain as they are all sugar rivers from what I can tell. Now here's the main reason for 3 stars SERVICE. The service at all of their locations is absolutely garbage. I cannot begin to detail how terrible it is and its consistent every time which is admirable in a sadistic way. If there are 3 people or more in line you will wait 30 minutes. Do not come here in a time crunch. Additionally, you think you could out smart them with phone orders. Well think again, they fail at every turn, you will be lucky if they even recorded your order when you arrive. The few times I have tried I end up replacing my order and waiting for the line to clear out so they can make it, arent I lucky!!! And this isnt just my luck unfortunately, every time I go there is someone at the phone order counter chewing out the cashier for some type of mistake or delay... Trust me when I tell you the employees here do truly hate working there and no matter how nice we are to them they will make your food with pure hatred. It makes the food less enjoyable to be honest. Finally, the franchise management has tried, from what I can see to develop their staff, introduce floor managers, and rotate fresh employees but nothing works. I can only place the blame on their food line setup, and the lack of kmowledgable staff. Not to put people down, but the restaurant business is not for all people. Multi tasking and speed are literally main requisites in a line style restauarnt. Either way it's worth a try, just try to enjoy the misery they put you through. Last tip, their guacamole is fresh, however they dishonorably put their pico de gallo into the guacamole... making it water down and washed out flavor wise. Not sure if this is a thing in there local spot, but round here I'm gonna take that as disrespect!

Dr. Abdullah AlHomeadan
Dr. Abdullah AlHomeadan

I went to Cafe Rio Mexican Grill an hour ago for dinner 🥘 with my wife and left disappointed 😞: they ran out of the entries that I wanted to eat. Come on it’s a slow weekday night. Stock up next time. This is the result of poor customer experience. I won’t go there again: it’s a gamble.

Melanie Sanchez
Melanie Sanchez

We placed a large order for our office for 15 people, we ordered at 10:30am and it’s 12:46 and the delivery person has not arrived yet. Never again!

ParTee Golf Simulators
ParTee Golf Simulators

If I go there one more time after 8pm and they're out of grilled chicken again I'm done with this place. It's 2 hours before closing, make more chicken, ridiculous

Sherie
Sherie

Worst Cafe Rio I have ever been to. Queso tasted burnt, house dressing was salty, cilantro was brought out from a sack under the counter and it was chewy and tough, and the Baja Taco was over the top spicy. We were the last people to leave, and as I got in the car, I saw the guy who was sweeping the floor, use the broom he was using on the floor on the bench where people sit. Disgusting!

Kelly Hanson
Kelly Hanson

The people were friendly and attentive but this place was very dirty. As we ordered, I noticed that the sauces and some of the meats had film on them from sitting out for so long and the avocado/guac was brown (not slightly). While we were eating, I looked around and the floor was quite dirty in multiple places. Under the beverage section, there were spills and garbage that seemed like they had been there a while. I thought to myself 'I really hope this food is safe'. Well, I should have listened to my gut - my 7 year old came down with serious food poisoning that evening. There are many great Mexican places in Newport Mesa area - we won't be going back here.

kurbina9339
kurbina9339

Went to pick up some dinner for my husband and I and as we are having dinner to our surprise their was what seems to be a cockroach in his food ! Our dinner was totally ruined I was not able to eat my food after seen that and of course neither was he. Called store to file a complaint and was transferred to customer service where of course no one answered. Called back and asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and they said I needed to speak to someone in customer service that they took care of that kind of issue. Left a voicemail. Let’s see how long it takes them to call me back. I am at least expecting a refund for the food we just wasted money on. Never agin will I come here

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About Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

How to get there

253 E 17th St

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

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Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican
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Highlights

Good Rating
4.2/5 stars
💬
Many Reviews
724 reviews
👨‍🍳
mexican
Cuisine type

Restaurant Info

🕐 Hours Today
10:00, 23:00
Rating
4.2/5
💬 Reviews
724
📞 Phone
+1 949-335-6800
🌐 Website
www.caferio.com

Amenities

💳 Credit Cards
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The Neighborhood

Heller Park

park in Orange County, California, United States of America

A 381m
Pinkley Park

park in Orange County, California, United States of America

A 452m
Harper Park

park in Orange County, California, United States of America; geonames ID = 5355499

A 760m
Lions Park

park in Orange County, California, United States of America; geonames ID = 5366713

A 904m
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