In his review for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger gave the album three out of five stars, writing that the musicianship "is as flawless as expected, but there's not a whole lot to separate the tunes here from their studio sisters.

"[1] Mongers concluded, "The accompanying DVD is a much better example of the pair's quiet dynamic, allowing both the duo and its talented band a broader spectrum on which to emit their wry tales of love, loss, and life.

"[1] In his review for The Music Box, John Metzger gave the album three and a half out of five stars, writing that although the performances are "impeccable", the set remains "a flawed affair".

[2] Metzger believed that the true highlights of Real Live Roadrunning are the renewed versions of songs taken from the solo works of Knopfler and Harris, such as "Romeo and Juliet", "Speedway at Nazareth", and "Red Dirt Girl".

Metzger concluded, "Understandably, in transforming their work for the stage, Knopfler and Harris were forced to swap subtlety for zeal, but as the accompanying video makes clear, they still succeeded in retaining the charming intimacy that made All the Roadrunning such a superlative collection in the first place.