Latest visit: May 2025
First visit: Jul 1994
Personal history: Rita's was the first restaurant in Pueblo for me to visit. This goes back to my first Colorado Springs residence. I was on my way to Tucson, Arizona to buy some records (sound familiar? - and this was 31 years ago, a few years before Mrs. RJG), which is a very interesting story in of itself. I'll leave that for another day. I enjoyed that first visit and Rita's has been on my radar ever since. Sporadic as it may be. Each visit below has a memory associated with it. Whether it was post hiking or on the way to New Mexico.
Location: Just off of the main downtown strip. How did I first discover it? Decided to drive downtown and look for the first appealing restaurant. Rita's was perfect. Back then they had a tall freestanding sign with the Pepsi emblem. I miss those days when you would see that kind of corporate sponsorship.
Food: What I always associate Rita's with is their chips and salsa. The chips are homemade, crispy, and tasty. The red sauce is very flavorful with a medium kick. That plate in the photo is only half full. I was eating like I'd had my first meal in a week before realizing I should photo it. (I should mention the outdoors photo isn't mine, so thanks to the person who did take it!). The red bottle houses more yummy salsa goodness. This was my first time to try their breakfast, and also their green chile. I was very pleased with the ingredients - eggs, potatoes, and ham. All cooked expertly. But the chile? No, not really my style. It's more like a gravy than a sauce, and it tastes "plastic-y" for a lack of a better description. The pork chunks are good though. In the past I only had lunch here and remember the red sauce enchiladas being excellent. So I'd suggest that. Even though they're open until 7, I would consider Rita's a breakfast-lunch option. I don't think they even have alcohol. I didn't look for it though.
Overall: Rita's will remain a once-in-a-few-years option for me. I'm just not in Pueblo enough to make it an annual Rotation restaurant. And there's so many places I want to try. But if we lived in Pueblo, it most certainly would see us often. Good, solid Mexican food.
7/1/94; 7/11/98; 7/23/11; 8/18/18; 5/2/25 (new entry)
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