Exclusive: Rio to Open Tacos Del Rio, Replacing Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho

By Scott Roeben, on March 23 2026
2 min read 0 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Restaurants

In what has to be a Las Vegas restaurant record, Rio Hotel & Casino is ready to announce its replacement for the recently-closed Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho. The new concept, Tacos Del Rio, opens March 26, 2026.

Tacos Del Rio translates literally as “Tacos of the River.” We don’t know a ton about the new restaurant yet (the announcement will officially be made in the next few days), so anticipate some article fluffing!

We do have an exclusive sneak preview of the logo, so that’s something!

“Cocina” means “kitchen” in Spanish, or as we like to call it, “That part of the house we avoid except to use the air fryer.”

The Tacos Del Rio artwork features maracas, a taco, a lime slice, an avocado, a chili pepper, a bottle, a striped margarita glass, a guitar, a cactus and a sugar skull.

Today we learned a “sugar skull” is a decorative skull used in Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations.

Coincidentally, Sugar Skull was the name of our band in high school.

We are the only person in human history to have even less sex after joining a band.

But what about the new restaurant at Rio?

From what we’ve been told, it’s “a vibrant, modern Mexican restaurant designed for approachability, speed and a strong beverage program (literally and metaphorically).”

Now, we’re getting somewhere.

Also on the menu, “The concept blends Mexican classics with bold coastal and smoked flavors, supported by innovative cocktails and shareable starters.”

To top it off, “This is not street food and not fine dining; it’s high-volume, high-energy Mexican comfort, built for our casino flow.”

So, not snooty! Zero snoot. Or, as our fellow youths say, “Nada pretencioso.”

Tacos Del Rio joins the ever-changing lineup of dining options at the off-Strip Rio, including the recently-opened High Steaks, Kitchen Table and Eggslut.

Coming up is a much-anticipated pizza joint, “&Pizza,” unless we can get them to change the name before opening.

Mexican is in the top three cuisines for restaurants in the U.S.: American is first, Italian is second, Mexican is third.

Rio has a very good food court, but Tacos Del Rio will sit somewhere between fast food and fancy food.

There are more details to come, so swing by again and we’ll update our story once the news release drops.