Chinto's 
For hometown Mexican breakfasts and lunches, this is our favorite. Aside from ordering at the counter, service is dull to non-existent, but the food is worth going for.

Service 1
Cleanliness 8
Product 8
Price 8
Atmosphere 4
Margaritas NA
Overall 7

Thai Jitra 
We mention Thai Jitra's as an Asian alternative.  Lunch buffets.

Service 3
Cleanliness 7
Product 5
Price 7
Atmosphere 5
Margaritas NA
Overall 5

Seoul 
Similarly, we mention Seoul for a Korean buffet alternative. 

Service 1
Cleanliness 5
Product 5
Price 5
Atmosphere 3
Margaritas NA
Overall 4

China Buffet 
Del Rio has a fairly decent Asian buffet with an ample variety.  It lacks the exciting Asian flavors.  It’s the best Asian alternative.

Service 2
Cleanliness 7
Product 6
Price 7
Atmosphere 6
Margaritas NA
Overall 6

Avanti's 
We wish to mention Avanti's as an Italian alternative.

Service 6
Cleanliness 8
Product 8
Price 5
Atmosphere 6
Margaritas NA
Overall 6

Memo's 
We mention this establishment, mostly for its setting and its place in Del Rio history.  It is a Tex-Mex restaurant, and the only one on the banks of beautiful San Felipe Creek.

Service 2
Cleanliness 6
Product 5
Price 3
Atmosphere 5
Margaritas NA
Overall 4

La Parrilla 
We like this cute yet simple little place because it represents the only Tex-Mex restaurant in the "Barrio" that seems to have the feel of the local Mexican community. 

Service 5
Cleanliness 6
Product 4
Price 5
Atmosphere 6
Margaritas NA
Overall 5

Cripple Creek 
We mention this place because it is the favorite of the two local "steak houses". 

Service 3
Cleanliness 5
Product 5
Price 2
Atmosphere 4
Margaritas 4
Overall 4

Wright's Steak House 
The other of the two local steak houses.

Service 3
Cleanliness 2
Product 4
Price 5
Atmosphere 2
Margaritas 2
Overall 3

TB's Bar and Grill 
We like this place. This is not a franchise cookie cutter place. It's not fancy, but it is an entrepreneurial hometown Texas bar and grill with good steaks and burgers.

Service 5
Cleanliness 7
Product 6
Price 6
Atmosphere 5
Margaritas 4
Overall 6

Abrijans 
Just had to mention this place.  Their menudo is the only #10 in town.  Best as a take out.

Service 2
Cleanliness 1
Product 10
Price 8
Atmosphere 1
Margaritas NA
Overall 4

Ciudad Acuña Restaurantes 

*Show our Villa Del Rio business card and receive a 10 % discount

Cilantro's Grill   (Our latest pick)
This is a place that's hard to avoid once you've discovered it.  It is an upscale off the beaten path restaurant with a very nice interior dining area ... along with a funky and very popular covered patio area.   The truly upscale local folk patronize this place … from the Acuna youth to the business folks.   The caliber of food matches the establishment ... with a touch of gourmet …something that is rare in the best of Acuna's eateries.  Even their chips are sprinkled with cilantro … an essential herb in Mexican cuisine.  It's the only place in town where you can get grilled nopales … something I crave … and they come as a standard on the fajita plate.  Great combo patters too! 

Service 9
Cleanliness 9
Product 9
Price 10
Atmosphere 10
Margaritas 8  You get the quantity, but they are served in a highball glass.  It's just not as sexy as a Margarita glass...
Overall satisfaction 9

*Hosteria de Santa Marta

This establishment is a real find.  It’s like someone plucked it out of Central Mexico and transplanted it here on the border.  This is a family owned and operated restaurant that the locals go to for the real stuff.  They have just about every kind of dish that uses corn…that’s why the call it “hosteria”.   Tacos, tostadas, gorditas, guaraches, sopes.  They have pozole, birrira…and the best menudo in town.  They even have pallea on Sundays.  They have special chile rellenos and excellent caldos (soups).  Try the Tlalpeno caldo with a touch of Chile Chipotle.  They also have great steaks.  Margaritas are only served if the proprietor, Fernando, is there. 

Service 9
Cleanliness 7
Product 9
Price 10
Atmosphere 8
Margaritas 5
Overall 9

*Manuel's 
Our #1 pick. This is the complete restaurant. It's not a tourist destination with all the hoop and holler that gringos expect. It is truly a class place where you will get a quality dining experience without paying any more than you would at any of the others. Not only will they give you a 10% discount if you show the Villa Del Rio business card to the owners when you first enter...if you simply mention to Manuel or his family that you were referred to them by this Villa Del Rio website...they'll give you a 10% discount.

Service 10
Cleanliness 10
Product 9
Price 10
Atmosphere 10
Margaritas 9 *  We’d give them a 10 if they used a Margarita glass without being asked to.
Overall 10

*Los Tacos Grill 
This original restaurant location...is our #2 pick. This is a restaurant that a tourist rarely discovers since it's not on the tourist strip. It's a place where upscale Mexican and Del Rio folks take their friends and families to dine in the Mexican fashion. For a party of four, we highly recommend the "Comalada Platter". You'll find nothing like it anywhere. Get a 10% discount if you show our Villa Del Rio business card. 

Service 9
Cleanliness 7
Product 9
Price 9
Atmosphere 9
Margaritas 9
Overall 9

Las Playas 
The original restaurant going south out of town...not the one in downtown. This is our #1 pick for seafood. Not at all a gringo hangout. It's the place patronized by Mexican families that know good seafood. They have the most awesome seafood menu. Their Mexican Shrimp Cocktail is as good as you would find in central and southern Mexico.  Not a cheap place, but by all means a bargain. More than worth it if you crave genuine sea food and the delicious "south of the border" flavors.

Service 8
Cleanliness 9
Product 9
Price 8
Atmosphere 8
Margaritas 10
Overall 9

Crosby's 
Historically known as "Ma Crosby's". We like this historic place. It is an institution that also looks like a complete foto gallery of the Pancho Villa and Emilio Zapata era of the past century. George Strait sang about Crosby's in his famous "Blame in on Mexico". It's definitely THE Gringo hangout…has been for a long time...and can get very crowded and darned loud. Yet, I have friends who would have it no other way. It is catty-corner from the renowned Corona Club, and part of movie location for Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado", starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.

Service 7
Cleanliness 6
Product 7
Price 8
Atmosphere 9
Margaritas 8
Overall 8

El Portal 
If you have the time and you like Margaritas, we suggest that you start here. Have a Margarita or two. Make sure you get the chips and salsa. This is the only place in town that you can sit out on an outdoor veranda and watch all the people go by as if you were in a European country. If you've had one too many Margaritas and you're comfy...they have good food too.

Service 10
Cleanliness 10
Product 7
Price 6
Atmosphere 10
Margaritas 8
Overall 9

La Cabanita 
This is my "personal favorite"...if I want my family friends or guests to discover the real Mexico. I will not recommend this to a guest until I am convinced that they want to discover the real Mexico. The food is simple yet exquisite.   We recommend the Anteojos platter.  It’s an taco appetizer that costs about $10 and is just right for a whole meal for three to four persons.  Their prices are so reasonable that we don’t have the heart to ask them to give our guests a discount.    

Service 9
Cleanliness 7
Product 10
Price 10
Atmosphere 9
Margaritas NA
Overall 9

Lando's 
This is the place where you want to go if you simply want to dine in a little bit more of a posh atmosphere.   It is by all means the most upscale place in town.  Their T-Bone is USDA and costs $16.  It’s the most expensive steak in Acuna…but is a thick 22 oz. beauty.

Service 9
Cleanliness 10
Product 8
Price 6
Atmosphere 9
Margaritas 9
Overall 9

Super Tacos 
Honorable mention. This place is just off the plaza on the way to the bus station. I will always patronize an eating establishment in Mexico like this one. It is a place where few Gringos dare to discover, simply because they don't understand it. It is an eatery where the majority of the poorest of Mexicans will be able to afford to eat the basic "down home" cuisine of their country. It is where you come into contact with the people who live close to the earth, which to me is a privilege in itself...and an education. I have taken many a friend there so that they can discover and enjoy this unique connection to the real Mexico. No one has left disappointed.

Service 5
Cleanliness 3
Product 7
Price 10
Atmosphere 3
Margaritas NA
Overall 7