by Alessandra V. on I loved this little bar. Went there for my pre-birthday celebration and had a blast! The DJs were talented and it wasn't too crowded. I got to dance without suffocating like I do at other clubs that are always packed. The staff was so great my friends and I ended up becoming good friends with Michael Hearn and he came to my birthday party at home a few days later. Love Michael and Shine!
by Margareta Fornea on This is my first real review in a while and I'd like to dedicate it to my most favorite dive bar: El Rio. I've been here a good number of times already, and every single time I was welcomed with cheap-but-good well drinks, a good variety of beer, and most of all, the friendliest staff. You know how you go to a bar, and sometimes there's that one nice bartender? Probably 'cause he or she either thinks you're kinda cute or because no one else is at the bar? Well, at El Rio, every single bartender is a nice one. Another great part about this bar is its outdoor heated patio. I've had my share of outdoor heated patios. Bougie Medjool has a heated rooftop, but it's on the goddamn roof. So it's still pretty fucking cold. El Rio is perfect (sorry to bring you down there, Medjool). That's all. I love you, El Rio.
by Sue Gittelman on Wow, just wow, quite possibly one of the worst restaurant experiences I have had in '09. If it weren't for the good company and fun conversation, I would have walked out. I went with a small group with an unknown number of diners, so maybe that started things off badly. Our server didn't know if we were expecting more people so he would just disappear for minutes at a time, leaving us unable to order for what seemed like an extremely long time. I almost wish he hadn't ever come back because then I wouldn't have blown $44 on food I wouldn't give to a dog. To give credit where credit is due, the tuna tartare which I split with a friend had good flavor, nice and spicy, which covered up the taste of the tuna that from an unsauced piece was just a smidge past it's prime. There wasn't an entree that really spoke to me, but I thought the pork skewers with a couple of sides would be good. I was wrong. The pork skewers, which I could not eat because they were nasty pieces of fat and gristle, were described by my brother and mother as "I would have no idea what I was eating there" and "mystery meat" respectively. I wanted a second opinion, because I couldn't believe a restaurant would serve something that gross, so I took them home and got the confirmation I was looking for. For my sides, I tried the mac n cheese, because it has such rave reviews and it was adequate, not as creamy or crusty on the top as I prefer, but certainly did not live up to it's $6 price tag. I also tried the sweet potatoes - one word: bizarre. It was like the kitchen just had all these leftover things and decided to throw them together, pork fat, roasted red peppers, jalapenos, the odd bit of corn, with either mushy or undercooked pieces of sweet potatoes in a sour sauce. Because I was still hungry, as the majority of my food was inedible, I decided to risk dessert. I had the pear tart, which was quite tasty, although miniscule. It would have looked right at home on the table in my childhood dollhouse. So after splitting an appetizer, not ordering an entree and with only a coke to drink, my tax after the included gratuity due to party size was $44, for food that I only took home to make sure I hadn't lost my mind or palate and really had paid that much for something so bad.
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