Rio Grande Brew Pub & Grill

The quintessential airport faux restaurant with all of the expense of a real restaurant but none of the quality. I ground through the world’s driest club sandwich, after pulling out the burnt toast in the middle. The frozen onion rings seem to resuscitate in the oil well enough. My meal was finished with a vigorous please-​get-​out floor mopping around my table.
TL;DR — Expensive and mostly edible but not enjoyable.

Check the menu before you go in. Not much on it and very over priced. Staff was very friendly but I ended up leaving to eat elsewhere

More of a 3.5 stars overall. Beer is 3.5 stars. Service is 4 stars. Food is 3 stars. One of the few airport bars that serve beer flights. The cheeseburger was ok. Fries ok. A little on the cool side by the time they were served. Beer was pretty good, better then I expected for an airport bar. I like that they served a sampler set. It is a nice way to try some local regional beers when passing through the area. Staff is very friendly. A repeat customer was sitted next to me and a staff member stopped by to say hi while another staff member remembered his usual order. I was impressed.

Tremendous burger! Add avocado and bacon. Wow. Loved my burger.
Great southwestern flavored and local beef. Can’t go wrong.

Their Pancho Verde Green Chili Cerveza beer on tap is yum! Love the hint of chili, not hot. Perfect! It’s a light beer but the taste is not overwhelming. Smooth. Great environment. The staff is super nice. Not alot of outlets to plug in your life to past the time for your flight. So ask your server to find you one. Mine was awesome to get me a perfect seat onto the left of the entrance near tv & outlet.

Good place for a local brew. Food is decent and quick. Large bar ensures you always get a seat. I like that they coolers plates for your drinks so always stay cold.

This airport lounge style restaurant is large, and has some inspired staff (thanks Fernando). The food seems about average based on my soup experiment and what I saw coming out. My soup was quite salty, but it definitely «ate».
I think the bar is probably a highlight here based on the nice variety of taps I saw, and clean tap lines, based on how tasty my Guinness Blonde Lager was.
A-​OK for sure.

Beyond mediocre; our «fried» eggs were clearly made in a microwave or «fried» in water such that they were both bland and watery. The potatoes were lukewarm or cold upon arrival. The bacon was overly crisp (but some people like that). The coffee was basically black water with no flavor.
Don’t bother stopping here, just walk down to A5 for Black Mesa. For the same $ 9 you can get a delicious green chile quiche like we did after visiting this place ;)

Waited 45 minutes for my food. Saw people that came after me get their food. Three tables! Had to cancel my order to catch my flight. Waitress said they got swamped. Why did others that came after me get theirs.

Usually when you’re in an airport the captive audience factor kicks in. The food sucks over priced and you just want to leave. Will give it up for this spot. Burger was delicious and the beer which they brew is very good. Had the Desert Pilsner. Will stop back the next time I fly here.

Our flight was delayed so we came here. The service was great (waitress: Margarit) and quick. We ordered the wings, green chile cheese fries, and the taquitos. Wings were great, fries were ok, taquitos were not so good (do not recommend the taquitos). I don’t drink but my family got some beers which they enjoyed. If you want good service and decent food I recommend stopping by.

While there’s not an abundance of dining options at the Sunport, Rio Grande Brew Pub and Grill is a nice little place to park yourself and chill before a flight.
RGBPG has become a reliable standby for me the past year of business travel to Albuquerque.
Mostly for a glass of wine or beer, but I did try some of their food on one occasion.
The Rio Grande Chicken Sandwich was really nothing to write home about.
It was topped with some tasteless Green Chile. At the same time, anything after having my tastebuds domerocked at Cocina Azul the night before was bound to be mediocre.
The bun on this thing was massive, so I pretty much just ate the chicken as I already had plans to drink some bread! :)
Service is just OK. I’ve had servers not refill my water; some completely forget to even bring me one.
This joint gets the job done but leave your expectations at the door … You’re at the airport, after all!

Over priced, mediocre food. Lots of beer taps but all expensive, even for an airport.

Airport Bar !!!
Expect high prices (a shot of Fireball — $ 9!!). We had sliders and onion rings — both were okay — typical airport food. The service was okay — what you would expect in this type of place. There were plenty of TV’s to watch games while you wait on your flight.

All I need to make mention of is their Rio Grande Pancho Verde Chile Cerveza beer on tap. Tasted surprisingly authentic to green chiles but not blindingly spicy such that one cannot even handle a sip, it is eloquently assembled for both the hardcore fans of New Mexico flavorings and for those desiring unique sips to pass the time at the airport.
Get it in a beer flight and try a sampling of others, too, but this was my favorite — an awesome, vivid concoction for certain!

This is the «fanciest» restaurant in the Sunport airport. It is at best an average restaurant/​bar. Have been here 3 – 4 times and the food is always average. Its filling, and tastes ok. It really is your only option if you want a sit down meal with service.
The bar area is cool, with local micros on tap. Expect to pay airport prices.

Not impressed… do not be enticed by chicken and waffles. Chicken is 75% breaded and probably frozen tyson tenders. Coffee is disgraceful and server, Margarita was a ditz. Asked her several times how large portions were and she just proceeded to take my order. Emphasized that I wanted my son’s burger VERY WELL DONE and she brought it medium rare… most likely because she never specified it. This was below even airport standards.

Typical airport bar. It’s nice to have one in the Sunport that serves local beers though. I had the Nut Brown ale in a 20 oz tumbler for $ 7.95. Pretty expensive for a beer, but it IS at an airport, still…
I didn’t try any of the food, sorry I’m no help there.

Perfectly located in the ABQ airport with access to both terminals and the rarely used 2^nd story observation deck.
The Rio Grande Brew Pub offers good service, good food and very good beer selection.
Service: Friendly, polite but wait staff were a little slow so you might want to ask for the check early.
Food: I decided on The New Mexico Philly, which consisted of Roast Beef with Green Chile, Onions and Peppers served up on French Roll covered in Swiss and a side of Au Jus Dip. It was good, especially for airport food but needed more Green Chile and spice for me. That and the Green Chile Cheese Burger are safe bets.
Cleanliness: One of the cleaner airport restaurants. The floors were clean and the tables freshly wiped down.
Overall: Good choice and if the wait staff get a little quicker with checking in the tables and getting the check then it might go to 4 Stars for me (in relation to airport food) but for now it’s 3.

Good steaks at an airport? Say what? Yup, I’m one of those nonbelievers too until I had Rio Grande Grill’s 7 oz steak and eggs. Who would have thought? You can’t miss this restaurant if you’re inside Albuquerque International Sunport. Once you get through TSA, it’s right smack in the middle. Rio Grande is not a large restaurant/​bar, but it’s ABQ Airport’s biggest restaurant. The selections on their menu is basic (ie. steaks, chicken, burgers, and sandwiches), service is average at best, ambiance is rather quiet for a restaurant/​bar, and their food is surprisingly good. Prices won’t set you back either. Overall, I think Rio Grande Grill is pretty good for a restaurant in an airport.
7 oz Steak w/​Scrambled Egg Whites: I had my steak medium even though I usually have it medium-​well. I only did this because I overheard another traveler comment that their steak was overcooked. Armed with this knowledge, I got a steak that was packed with flavor, tender, and juicy. You usually get what you pay for in a $ 15 steak. I got more and was very pleased.
Rio Grande Chicken and Steak Fries: I had this on my 2^nd visit to Rio Grande Grill. I really wanted their steak, but it was Lent and I gave up red meat. So, chicken it is. I still thought that this meal was satisfying, but it doesn’t compare to their steak. Besides, all I eat daily is chicken. Blah, blah, blah.
Like I stated earlier, service is just average. In all of the three times I’ve eaten here, I either had to wait to be served, seated, or get my bill. If you can get passed the slow service or have a lot of time between flights, then you’ll like it here.