Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican

  3.8 – 1,190 reviews   • Mexican restaurant

Social Profile:

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

✔️Brunch ✔️Lunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in ✔️Take out ✔️Delivery Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican 85379

Hours

Friday10:30 AM–10 PM
Saturday10:30 AM–10 PM
Sunday11 AM–10 PM
Monday10:30 AM–10 PM
Tuesday10:30 AM–10 PM
Wednesday10:30 AM–10 PM
Thursday10:30 AM–10 PM

Address and Contact Information

Address: 13968 W Waddell Rd, Surprise, AZ 85379

Phone: (623) 232-3180

Website: https://www.caferio.com/locations/surprise

Menu Photos

Order and Reservations

Order: Order online

caferio.com

Photo Gallery

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Reviews

Alicia K
Update: 01/15/2026:
Cafe Rio wrote in response and asked me to reach out via email. I did on 01/08/2026 and there has been no response

Original post:
I purchased a shredded chicken salad through the Cafe Rio app on Monday, December 29th, 2025. When it arrived, it looked okay on the top, but underneath the top layers of the salad, there was a lot of concerns–brown lettuce, black and slimy cilantro, green onions that were brown, guacamole that had browned.

Uncovering the top layer, I could see how nasty it was and reached out to Cafe Rio right away. They refunded my meal and gave a credit since the salad delivered wasn’t fresh. However, the real issue would start that night. I developed a fever in the late afternoon/early evening (I can’t remember exactly when) and by that night, it was about 102. I developed severe watery diarrhea and couldn’t keep any food in me. I also had a bad headache, body aches and chills.

On New Year’s Eve, I woke up and had more severe watery diarrhea. At one point, with the combination of the high fever and losing so much fluid through diarrhea, I felt myself starting to pass out. I told my husband, “Call 911!” He said my face got really pale and everything started to get really floaty and turn white all around me and my pulse felt weak. I made it to our bed and that brought blood back into my head and I felt better. I told him to cancel the 911 call while he was on with them and he took me to the ER instead.

The ER MD ran a bunch of bloodwork and tests, and the doctor concluded that it wasn’t the flu or a sickness, but food poisoning.

I lost 6 lbs in 2 to 3 days. 10 days later it’s finally starting to ease up but I am still symptomatic.

The worst part is that it’s been very painful and feels like being stabbed in the stomach. It’s caused a setback in my business and I have had to cancel and reschedule business. I am sharing this because I think that it’s important for restaurants to have accountability in keeping food fresh and free from contaminents.

The photos tell the story. That’s not food to serve the public and I want to bring it to Cafe Rio’s attention for integrity purposes.
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NuCreation
Nothing personal here, but I’ve had better burritos elsewhere (Chipotle). I was disappointed because I had high expectations of Cafe Rio being that it is a chain restaurant. I expected the chicken burrito to be flavorful, but the option items I chose didn’t taste like it’s been marinated well especially the meat. The entire package seemed plain. That’s why I gave a lower rating. Also, I was hoping to have some hot sauces on the side but did not see that as an option when I ordered online and in person there were no empty cups or lids. Most likely, i won’t be back for this shredded chicken burrito. It was mostly filled with rice. Some of the pros were the large size burrito and the decent amount of fillings. They didn’t shy away from that.
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Antonnay Jackson Woolsey
I wouldn’t go back if it was free. Found a noise hair in my food. It was thick and black. I’m still throwing up. I got some steak for my toddler too. Unacceptable. The photo was in my tortilla container. Couldn’t eat any of the food. Disgusting.
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Dolores Navarrete
First time there and I thought it was great in comparison to Chipotle. It had great options! I had the sweet barbarcoa and she had chicken bowls!
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Rachel M
Not as good as it used to be. Meat is super dry and I wanted Pico and cilantro on my tacos… cilantro was not cut up and I got a majority of just the stem.
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Danny
The food is great but thisnis my third time there and the service is a scam. If you place an online and you go inside to pick it up, you’ll see the TV screen that either shows your order is “ IN PROGRESS” or “ YOUR MASTERPIECE IS READY”
Three times in a row now its said my masterpiece is ready and its not. Once even had the wrong receipt on it from the blue haired girl. What they are doing there is basically saying “your meal is ready” so they look good to the big bosses as if they are quickly preparing the customers food and there times look spot on, but in reality, they click the button that says your masterpiece is ready and then when the teenagers feel like making your food, they’ll start. I sat inside for 20 minutes and swore Id never order there again. I wish I could eat here and I tell everyone how good it is, but based on the service alone I just can’t see any reason to waste half my day standing around waiting for my meal to be cold 3x in a row.
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Chandler Chase
My husband and I went to this location last night after our kids sports for dinner and we were blown away but how sweet, patient and happy all the workers were. My kids wanted to order there own meals and they were so patient with them and truly a great group of kids working last night 2/ 24/2026
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Brandon Pickett
7/13 Update: the flour tortillas were delicious. The grilled steak was cooked perfectly. The Saturday special, Baja citrus shrimp tacos were abysmal. They had no flavor, were incredibly chewy, and truly difficult to bite into. This along with the prices. $17 for a combo with a drink is crazy. Likely won’t be back. Staff were very kind and quick.

The chips and queso was good, but I wished it had been a little thinner. The steak was well seasoned. The lettuce, tomato and cilantro all had a great freshness to them. The pollo asado had a really good flavor and was different than anything else they had.
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Strollin Soda Pops
Steve is truly a gem. He worked so carefully on my food and was incredibly intentional. I really appreciate that! I do echo other commenters saying that it would be nice if the cilantro was cut smaller. Overall though, my food was tasty and the joyful customer service provided by Steve really made this visit a stand out for me!
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Shelby Meek
Ordered delivery here for dinner tonight and the food was really not good. It didn’t taste like normal cafe rio and hoping there was nothing wrong with it. After reading recent reviews I’m hoping my family doesn’t get sick. Should have checked before ordering.
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