Rino’s Italian Restaurant and Steakhouse

We were tired and hungry from traveling and found Rinos on Unilocal.What fun, along with great food! Hubs and I both had chicken Marsala. The sauce was perfecto, along with the chicken and mushrooms. Reminded me of real old time delis Italian places. The veggies and salad, along with warm bread with dipping sauce — yum! And the singers? Divine! Highly recommended.

Beautiful building. Food was wonderful!
My kids absolutely loved it!
Waiters were very friendly and very helpful!
I loved the salad, but it has beets, so if you don’t like them, you have been warned!
I would definitely come back again!

Had a great experience at Tequila’s. I had the Chicken Salad and my partner had the NY Strip and burrito. Both were delicious and service was great.

OMG! I am in love with Frank the owner. His Rock star past shines through with his golden voice singing to us «your so beautiful» for our 23^rd anniversary as we dined in rib eye. We honestly were concerned we would not find a place on our way to Santa Fe and thought we would end up at McDonald’s. This diamond in the rough was such a please. Bring on the wacky and fun singing waitress Italian steak house. What the food lacks, which was good, is well make up for the great staff and enthusiastic singers, owner included! Frank you have a place in my heart.

What a wonderful place to stop and eat! The food was outstanding! I had steak and spaghetti. My husband had the chicken Alfredo. Both were huge portions, our three children ate off of our plates and we still had leftovers. The staff was so friendly and welcoming and they sang! They were very good singers and it is clear that they loved their jobs. We will be stopping here again!!!

I just had the best date night of my life at Rino’s. The food was perfection. But it was the singing and the little lantern and the amazing staff and the music and 100 little details that brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for offering such a wonderful experience. It was like being transported back in time to a place where romance and music and lighting and special moments still matter. What a special place that I will never forget.

Food was delicious. Wait staff was fantastic. Really enjoyed my meal. I had the steak strips with fettuccine alfredo.

Where to begin? About the best thing I can say about Rino’s is that the staff is very friendly. It’s not a big place — maybe 10 — 12 tables — with what you would think is an adequate staff, but the service was really slow. After a long wait to order, it took a LONG time to get our food. And the food was average. Maybe one of the reasons for the slow service is that the staff takes turns singing — that’s right, karaōke style singing. The sound system was too loud, and the singing was somewhat intrusive. It is a mystery to me how this place gets 4 ½ stars. A couple dining at the table next to us actually came over and said they felt bad for us because it took so long to get our food. We could not get our check fast enough.

Just went while travelling through to El Paso. Impeccable service, tasty food and a little entertainment to boot. The staff was friendly and attentive. What a pleasant stop!

Really, really great find driving through on a road trip. I’m usually pretty picky about Italian food and thought… Italian in Trinidad, CO? I wasn’t expecting much but was pleasantly surprised! The staff was super attentive, welcoming, friendly… and they sing! Yes, sing. The food, equally wonderful. The artichoke appetizer was delicious. The décor is comfy and classic. I wish we lived closer. I’d be a regular!

The service is sporadic. We waited in line for 30 min, just as they were ready to seat us another couple came in the door. The other couple had been waited on and food on their table before the waitress even got to our table. Several items on the menu were not available.
The italian bread is bland and tastes like wonder bread.
The waitress’ has to sing, so your service is disrupted.
I have been there 3 times and every time is a disappointment.

This place was great! I went there with my daughter and 2 grandkids who were here visiting. From the moment you walk inside you just know you are going to have a wonderful dinner. And that it was. The food was delicious and very resonably price. The service was great and genuine. They really made you felt at home. And the singing, OMG the singing is music to your ears. I just found the best place to eat in trinidad.

I’ve eaten here with my husband twice during our travels. Hands down the best Italian food I’ve ever had. This place is a MUST when you are in Trinidad. The service was great. The owner super nice! And the singing … blew our mind. I eat Chico’s Special with chicken. I LOVE IT!!! a little spicy which I’m ok with. My husband eats Penne Rustica. It amazing as well. The Tiramisu!!! Heaven :-) Eat it. Indulge.

This place gets 4 stars for the unique experience it offers. The building is beautiful and the waitstaff performs karaōke style throughout the evening. The classiest place to eat. The food itself is decent and they have enough selection for everyone to find something on the menu. They can also accommodate larger groups in an atmosphere that allows for conversation.

Just returned to our hotel after spending the evening at Rino’s with friends from South Carolina & Wyoming. We had terrific dinners and a wonderful evening of great food, fun, excellent wine & good entertainment from the singing waiters. We were very pleasantly surprised. This is s superb restaurant for a small, remote community. We will most certainly be returning to Rino’s!

How does this place get 4 or 5 stars? Seriously? I hate to give places less than desirable reviews (see my other Trinidad reviews), but if you’re thinking of stopping at Rino’s, please make your decision after you read in entirety.
Short review: Wal-​Mart food (yes, I have proof, read on) at fancy dinner prices = zero stars. I only gave it 2 stars because we had a great server that deserves recognition, unfortunately I didn’t get her name.
Long review: My girlfriend and I were driving to Trinidad from Denver on a Friday evening and decided we’d like Italian for dinner. She called en-​route to make a reservation, unfortunately they don’t take them. We decided to stop in anyway. We only waited about 15 minutes or so, which wasn’t bad. They seated us at the bar, which was fine by us. They brought italian bread (take note) & olive oil and we each ordered a glass of wine. For dinner, I ordered the Penne Rustica, and she ordered the Chicken Piccata. While waiting for the meals, I was a bit surprised when the PA came on, some GoodFellas style music started blaring (pretty loud for this kind of restaurant) and the head guy (Rino? I’m going to call him Rino) proceeded to sing in Italian, karaōke style, while waltzing around the room. I wasn’t expecting that. He sang two songs, and the packed house seemed to enjoy it. Not my thing, no big deal. Our meals came in a reasonable time. My Penne was not bad, although nothing special. My girlfriend had a few bites of her Chicken Piccata and commented that it didn’t really have any flavor. After I finished my meal she asked if I would taste hers because she was really surprised it was so bland. So I did — and she was right. I swear there was NO taste. Nothing. And if you read the Piccata description: capers, shallots, white wine & lemon. How does this sauce not have ANY flavor? The chicken breast looked like something that came out of a frozen package. This was a $ 19 dinner. I told her that we had to say something to the server — and she resisted. She’s the type of person that hates to make any trouble for anyone. I get that — but I felt at least because we were going to tip the server, she had to know we weren’t satisfied with this dinner. So we apologized to the server but told her there was no flavor. She apologized profusely, and about two minutes later came back and said she comped that meal on our bill, which I feel is what an establishment should do in a situation like this. Don’t worry, we tipped the waitress for the full bill as if the dinner wasn’t comped — after all it wasn’t her fault. These things happen, and this alone doesn’t earn a zero star review. We left, but this isn’t where the story ends…
Fast forward one week: I’m spending the summer at a cabin near Trinidad, and had to run to Wal-​Mart for a few items on a Sunday morning. While picking up orange juice, I spotted someone that looked familiar to me, and it took me a few seconds to place him. Did you guess? Rino! If you’ve ever seen him, you know he’s a sorta-​unique guy, so basically there’s no mistaking him… not to mention he was wearing his red Rino’s Italian Restaurant shirt. And his cart was full of $ 1/​bag of italian bread! Seriously! Rino’s gets it food products from Wal-​Mart?! I snapped a pic and texted it to my girlfriend. THIS earns a «fancy» restaurant zero stars if you ask me, especially with menu prices $ 18-​$ 40. It all made sense now. So back to the 4 – 5 star reviews — I can only imagine these are coming from the Smörgåsbord crowd? I really can’t figure it out. Bottom line — if you enjoy putting your taste buds to work — find another spot in Trinidad.

This restaurant makes me so happy. Good food, and the wait staff and the owner burst in to song when ever they feel it. Stunning voices. Our waitress said of singing «I’d be lost without it» amen sister. Stop here to be inspired and fueled by creativity and authentic expression in my two favorite things food and music.

4.5 stars
Singing waitstaff (And they’re actually pretty good) so you get dinner and a mini-​show! Italian opera sneaks its way in there, but usually it’s classic torch singers and crooner (Sinatra era). Ambiance-​wise, you can tell the restaurant was built in a late 1800s church, as there is ridiculous amount of stained glass and worn wood here. Nice and classy, but not super fancy.
Classic Italian dishes are the way to go. Chicken marsala was pretty good. Soup with sausage and potato was hearty and exactly what I was looking for. The house salad was very fresh, and provided much more variety than your typical romaine and shredded carrots. The owner Frank will come around and say hello to every table, and the waitstaff is super nice and prompt.

I was blown away by the exemplary service, mouthwatering menu, and talented singing! Very friendly staff… drove 3+ hours just to return for more outstanding hospitality. This is a place I would propose to my future wife! Very memorable and classy. Thanks for the memories

Destination Trinidad on a road trip from CA with my mom for her 90^th birthday. She was born in Trinidad and wanted to visit one more time. I wanted a special birthday dinner for her and I found it here!
The restaurant is family owned with quite a history of their own. The building is an old historic church. The servers were friendly and the owner spent time talking with us and it was clear he had many regulars.
The food was delicious. We started with a house salad with blue cheese — the dressing was thick with lots of crumbles — just the way I like it. We both had evening specials. My mom had a steak with a side of pasta with cream and tomatoes that was perfectly prepared. My mom loves her steak medium and her pasta al dente. I had cheese raviolis with a creamy sauce that had a hint of marinara and fresh spinach and tomatoes. Amazing. No room for dessert but we watched it go by — big portions of yumminess.
I can’t finish without talking about the singing staff. Their voices were exquisite and we heard four different singers including the owner, Frank. I could have listened to him sing all night.