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| - Trendy urban concept with decent food falls a little short with atmosphere: I had been looking forward to trying Tres Rios from the moment I saw the sign go up over the summer. I finally got the chance this week when I stopped in with one of my friends for dinner.
Despite the fact that it totally lures you in with its signage out front, I was a little disappointed when we first got inside. While the decor was fun - think paintings of big pop art tacos on the walls - it was super bright in there and sort of gave the feel of a chain-y family restaurant. Diners were dressed VERY casual and it wasn't overly packed despite some of the hype.
We sat in the bar area which was lit equally as bright, but found that the menu items seemed to be pretty progressive, interesting dishes. Things were beginning to look up. To start, we shared an order of salsa which came with three types to choose from and each sampled a different cocktail off the list. My elderflower rosemary infused beverage was totally delicious, and I really enjoyed 2/3 of the salsas that came with the order. For dinner, my options as a vegetarian were a little limited, but I went with the roasted beet and goat cheese tacos. I can be picky when it comes to beets but these tacos were awesome and I shamelessly ate every bite of the order of three. We concluded with another round of drinks and all in all, we were decently happy with how the meal turned out.
As we left, we couldn't help but note that the urban vibey menu items were totally inconsistent with the family feel of the restaurant. In my opinion, turn down the lights, hire a fun staff and play some music to turn it around. The food is already there!
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