Rio Bravo

Most surely a bar in a previous life, Rio Bravo is a fantastic place to hang out with buds after work or on the weekends. When you walk in, the tightly packed tables and the mirrored walls might throw you off. As well as the singing keyboard player stationed next to the miniscule stage. Don't worry, his singing isn't bad. In fact, he's pretty good at getting his covers down. The multicolored lights are a nice touch as well.

They serve fresh, hot tortilla chips with some pretty good salsa. If you're there during happy hour, be sure to get the $5 beef fajitas. They come with the traditional fixings- delicious refried beans, rice, sour cream, pico de gallo, and your choice of corn or flour tortillas. Just remember that the special is for the beef ones. Chicken fajitas are twice the price. Although they're quite good, do you really want to pay $10 for chicken when the beef is only $5? Yeah, I thought so.

Save your money for a pina colada instead. These run about $5 each for the small ones (still a pretty respectable size). They are frosty and strong with some kind of red swirl going on. Guys, don't be embarrassed. Apparently, at Rio Bravo pina coladas are a manly drink. There were some pretty tough-looking guys drinking some when we were there. Do your thing. We won't judge.

If you go to Rio Bravo on Fridays, there is a terrific female impersonator show. When were there, they had Shakira, someone else, and Vicente Fernandez (a hit with the ladies). These are good guys (or girls?!) and they put on a good show, working the crowd. It's not unusual for one of the female impersonators to come and ruffle a male patron's hair a la Jessica Rabbit.

Note: Jessica pic borrowed from here

Risque-ish behavior and jokes notwithstanding, this is a place where people can bring their children for a good meal and a few drinks. While we were there a somewhat inebriated gentleman started dancing on the postage-stamp-sized stage with his somewhat embarrassed children. Later on these same kids lost their inhibitions and were up on stage dancing to Shak-he-ra's music and taking pictures with Vicente of their own free will. Yeah, it's a fun place. :)

All in all, this is a good, clean place for good, clean fun. When you're in this part of Grand Prairie, maybe you should stop in for some fajitas and a cold one (or two or...).

Place? Rio Bravo
Location? 317 E Pioneer Parkway, Grand Prairie, TX
Number to call when you get lost? (972) 642-8007‎
Cost? Pretty reasonable during happy hour**. After that the prices jump to $4/bottle of beer! Yeah, be careful on that...
Kid-friendly? Yes.
Date-friendly? Yes. If it's a very casual date. Not for a first date.
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Not really, unless you get lucky and are seated close to a hottie. The tables are set so close together that it's easy to start up a conversation with someone seated near you.
Place to go with friends? Yes!!!
Bathroom cleanliness? Um... not filthy disgusting, but definitely not the cleanest. Especially as the night goes on. The soap dispenser was running low when were there, too. Not a good thing.
Good service? Absolutely. Try getting seated in Claudia's station. She's a sweetheart of a server with these killer dimples.
Would we do it again? Oh, yeah!!

** Happy hour runs from 3-8 pm 7 days a week and all day Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy hour prices:

Draft beers $1.25

Margaritas $1.49

Domestic bottles $1.99

Chicken nachos $2.99

Beef nachos $3.49

Daily specials:

Monday and Wednesday- Enchiladas for $2.99

Tuesday and Thursday- Chicken fajitas $3.99

Wednesday and Friday- Beef fajitas $4.99