El Ranchero Mexican Food and Margaritas

The margaritas were fantastic! Ordered the nachos and they hit the spot, definitely coming back soon.

Nothing amazing, but still good. I’ll continue to come here, also the margaritas are pretty delicious!

It’s an acquired taste.
I recommend that you either drink heavily like I did, or bring your own water. If you’re in the area, then you may want to hit up Don Jose, Montclair or MI Ranchito, LA Verne.

$ 1.50 Margaritas were great! The food an service were also good. This place has a nice feel from the entrance to seating areas and staff is all very friendly.
The chips and salsa were like crack, I couldn’t get enough, when my entrée came out, I noticed that the portions were very generous. I had the tostada and chile relleno combo and it was all very tasty.
I will definitely be coming back for more $ 1.50 Margaritas and the food also, of course.

We’re from San Diego and we know our Mexican food! We always come to El Ranchero when we are in the area because of the monumentally good vegetarian enchiladas. When is the last time you had a vegetarian enchilada when the spinach was actually tender and still GREEN? The black beans are delicious and the rice is even good enough to bother eating! Another big hit is the fresh tomatillo salsa they give you with your chips when you sit down. Bet you can’t get through the chips without more of the green salsa – it’s addictive!

The service at El Ranchero Mexican Food and Margaritas
is the best and the food is authentic as it gets… The $ 1.49 margys are the greatest…

Excellent as always. Been coming here for 10 years and am never disappointed. Very friendly staff that always makes me and my family feel welcome. Highly recommended!

We had our Company Christmas party here and it went very well. Service was a little slow at times, but I know they were slammed on a Saturday night. The regular margaritas were nothing to write home about (other than the low price). The premium margarita was very tasty and satisfying. Food is better than expected.

Nothing too fancy. Just nice. Food is ok, just a 3 out of 5. Family of 8, including 3 children paid $ 262 including like 20% forced tip. Service wasn’t great since it wasn’t busy and we had to call for a refill. We didn’t need much attention but the little we needed wasn’t there. I asked waiter to give me his best meal, «something Zacatecas» but it wasn’t even flavorful. The guacamole was great though. Thanks for such recommendation. Next time I’ll have the guac by itself. Margaritas that cost $ 1.49 are it, $ 1.49. A lot of the food is valued much more than it should. Not my kick here. I may have to try other plates another time

A family Mexican restaurant that is frequented by locals, so the food is decent. I prefer a more robust flavored Mex food, but for those seeking a mild experience… this is your place,
FOOD: The quantities are slightly above average compared to other Mex restaurants. My chicken enchiladas were filled to capacity with meat (so no complaint there). It’s just that the red sauce was plain to my taste. The beans and rice were also low on flavor for me, but others may be satisfied. The hard-​shell taco was what you should come to expect in CA, but again, nothing bad and nothing great either.
SERVICE: Very friendly staff who work hard. The kitchen turns around orders fairly fast, and food comes out hot.
BTDT: I come here for meetings and b/​c others want to eat here. It’s not my go-​to place (see my other reviews for places more to my liking), so while I do return here, I would chose a different restaurant.
OVERALL: A very friendly restaurant that serves good Mexican food, but you can find a better tasting product within 5 miles.

Bartender Miguel recommended a while back the chicken soup, hes said its good & spicy. We have freezing weather right now and I was very cold going in for HH Maggies. Ordered a cup of the chicken soup,(not on the menu) was warmed up and delighted all at once! This soup is outstanding. Although Miguel was right it is good & spicy maybe not for those who are leery of hot food, full of Jalapenos, cilantro and lots of chicken, came out of the kitchen pipping hot and was just delish! I will be going back for more of that soup! Thanks guys for being one of the friendliest places in Claremont.

This is the epitome of hang over food.
You can come in your busted dress from last night, with chanclas and mascara smeared, missing lashes on your right eye, chipped tooth, feeling like you got hit by a bus… and this place will still treat you like you don’t have an alcohol problem. In fact, for 10 bucks, you get champagne with your Sunday brunch, and they’ll leave the bottle!
But also,
it’s a good place to bring your mama on Mothers Day.
And celebrate birthdays.
And get $ 2 margaritas during happy hour.
And a chili relleno burrito.
The food is better than, say, El Torito/​Acapulcos, but not as great as Los Jarritos. They just expanded their menu to include a handful of vegetarian plates (including 3 on their brunch menu alone), so kudos for that. If you’re gringo, you’ll enjoy it anytime. If you’re Mexican, save this for when you’re all crudo, broke or when you’ve got a large party to feed.
The service is damn near perfection.
Seriously. They’re happy to have you there and it shows. I lack for nothing when i’m here. And often times, they’ll be in a little line as you walk out, saying good bye and thanking you for coming. I leave this joint feeling like I just hit the winning homerun.
Decent food.
Great hospitality.
Fantastic value.
Andale!

My family and I used to frequent this place 10 plus years ago but it started to get very dirty (no working bathrooms for awhile, yikes!). Fiancé and I decided to try this again last night when we were coming home, and I was NOT disappointed. $ 2 margaritas all day Saturday (keep in mind– only the regular lemon-​lime flavor is $ 2, any other is $ 6). Everything was much cleaner and nicer than I remembered and the food was wonderful. The chile rellano my fiancé had was the best we had tried in awhile. Only downside would be the slow-​ish service. The server seemed to be covering a relatively large section though. maybe we just needed another basket of chips and salsa to keep us distracted. :) Can’t wait to go back to this place.

First time I came here, I thought the food wasn’t bad. $ 0.99 Margaritas was a great deal.
Over the time I’ve been coming here, each time the food gets… worse
Service, depending who you get, it’s a hit and miss.

Came here based on an ad, for the $ 1 margaritas!!!
Came on a Tuesday night during happy hour (4 – 8), and I was pretty surprised at how empty the restaurant was. I was pretty distracted when I came in here because the decorations were so pretty and colorful.
I ordered the shrimp Platter, it was alright, it came with mex rice, enchilada cheese,& 8 big shrimps. I think the only thing I did really enjoy was the shrimp. Rice was okay, actually better than most! It was pretty moist compared to other restaurants. Cheese enchilada was definitely a turn off when I was eating my meal.
Margaritas are alright, strong enough to get u buzz for sure. It had a bitter ish taste so it’s probably cheap alcohol:(but hey it’s only a $ 1! I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this place, unless in the area.

Strong cheap margaritas. Not the best Mexican food around, but honestly who comes here for the food? Our server was waiting on at least 5 other tables in our section. He looked overwhelmed but was friendly and prompt with our orders. I think it has less to do with bad service and more to do with the restaurant being understaffed.

We loved the taste. The portions were more than plentiful and the salsa was delicious. What was extra special was the menu designation for vegetarian meals. As three of us are vegetarians, having this choice made so easy was wonderful. Easy parking too. We will be back!
I do think that service could be improved. We waited quite a long time to be served.

I absolutely love this place for the food and the great deals on margaritas. It’s very friendly with pleasing service. The atmosphere is wonderful with all the decorations, it’s very festive. What better way to check this place out for cinco de mayo
CHEERS!

We’ve been coming here for years and like most Mexican restaurants you just have to find the ones that make your favorite dishes to your liking. If this place doesn’t do that for you, there’s probably another place that does. 9.5 times out of 10 we get very good service. The main guys who have been here forever are always super friendly. They’ve seen our children grow up, come here without us with their friends, and now us alone as empty-​nesters. They’re the kind of people who remember you and your family. We’ve only had minor issues with newer younger staff members who seem to not want to be there but they seem to be coming around.
What we like here — tacos, enchiladas, flautas, salads, chips, salsa and margaritas! They have the best deals on margaritas around. They also have BOGO night the first Monday of every month which is a great deal. They also have great lunch specials, I bring people here often for that. Coupons can also be found on local grocery store receipts.

We read some great reviews for this place, so we decided to take a chance. What a gamble! We feel like we won the Mexican restaurant lottery. When we first sat down, they served us two authentic flavors of salsa (green and red). Green is my favorite because I’ve never tasted this salsa before. Awesome! When we asked the waiter what the best thing on the menu was, he said, «that’s a hard question it’s all so good». My husband couldn’t stop talking about how delicious his enchiladas were. He moaned with every bite. I ordered the steak zacatecas… oh my gosh… Incredible. It’s just as tasty as it is spicy. My face is still sweating, I mean glistening. This is, by far, my favorite Mexican restaurant… uh…and I’m Mexican! It is «muy delicioso» here.

Horrible!!! Beware if your having a party etc
Horrible service they lost my reservations there was only like 15 of us they gave us all dirty silverware
Took like 20 mins! To bring us a drink really? Got are orders wrong and didn’t even care, on top of that the waiter had the nerve to call my friend «Fucking Cheap» wow really no thanks food sucked too.

Summary: Good food and reasonable prices. Service could be more attentive, but was friendly. Décor is a little extreme, but colorful.
My wife and I came here for the first time on a Sunday for lunch with my Aunt that lives in the area. I read the reviews on Unilocal before coming so that I had an idea of what to order. When we first arrived, I missed the driveway for entering since it wasn’t super clearly marked (to me at least), and ended up coming in through the exit. That was disconcerting. However, there is plenty of parking in the back.
We walked to the front and made our way inside. Immediately, we were greeted by a hostess and seated right near the front. I observed the very colorful, somewhat loud, décor of the restaurant and figured that it must get pretty popular for happy hour. Soon, we were delivered two baskets of chips and three bowls of salsa (two of the red and one of the green). I preferred the red since it had more flavor and heat, but the green was nice, too. Both had a lot of onion flavor :-)
We perused the menu and eventually placed our orders. My Aunt has a number of food allergies, so she conveyed her requirements to the server, whom was a little standoffish about some of them, but noted he would inquire with the kitchen where there was doubt. After all of us ordered, he returned to confirm that everything would be cooked according to her needs and all was good.
A little while after that, our food was delivered and we began. My Aunt ordered the Denver omellete (which comes with rice and beans) and seemed to enjoy it. It looked pretty large and filling. My wife ordered the chicken flautas and said they were just ok. I ordered the two carnitas soft tacos, which comes with rice and beans as well, and really enjoyed them, but wished that there was one more taco instead of the rice and beans.
Besides when the server came to take our order and then later drop off our food, he didn’t check in on us at all. No drink refills, I had to request more napkins three times from two people before they were delivered by someone else, and I had to flag him down to get the check (which he totaled up and applied tax to by hand without any calculator). The total for our three dishes plus a diet Coke and glass of milk came out to about $ 36, which is pretty reasonable. Aside from the service, the brunch was good and we had a nice time.

So we went here on a Saturday morning when they first open. They open at 11:30 and people were waiting for margaritas. The place is a type of classic Mexican restaurant feel, with the classic music and of course football on the TV. We sat next to the bar where the majority of our entertainment happened. I really enjoyed over here in the conversation of the girl that didn’t know that antibiotics birth control and thus she has a kid now.
But the food was very good I had a carne asada burrito that was quite tasty. The wife had an enchilada that she appeared to enjoy very very much. The service was a bit slow but there are only two people in the entire restaurant the cook and the waiter. I’m assuming later in the day more staff would arrive. It’s safe to say we will be back at a good time. This is Steve Justice signing off.