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    Avila's El Ranchito

    3.7 (442 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Avila's El Ranchito Takeout or Delivery

    Avila's El Ranchito Photos

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    AVILA'S EL RANCHITO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Inside
    Rick S.

    I had a great meal during Happy Hour at Avila's El Ranchito. The tacos and taquitos were made with fresh ingredients and they were not salty. Our server was attentive and check-in to see if we need anything. Ambiance was festive with the Mexican music and old fashion decor. Great local place for delicious Mexican food.

    Happy hour tacos
    Mai T.

    This review is based on a single experience, so your mileage may vary. I came here during happy hour hoping to try their food for the first time. We were greeted by a super friendly server, who seated my party very quickly and was very attentive to our table. Granted, it was not busy at that time so the attentiveness was appreciated. Since I was not that hungry, I opted for their traditional tacos, one with chicken and one with shredded beef, which was reasonably priced for the two. It came without rice and beans, which I didn't really need. The tacos were generously stuffed with meat, lettuce and tomatoes and came in a crispy fried shell. I did need to add my salsa that came with house chips to add additional flavor to the tacos. The tacos met my expectation for what I expected. And the house chips were on point. Our server was friendly and personable, which made the experience good overall.

    Shaun Shine, server extraordinaire after his grueling 8 hour shift
    Naveen J.

    Shaun Shine was one of the best workers I have ever seen in my 44 years of living. He was polite with exceptional service, and even put his own secret sauce on the nachos for me! Will visit again.

    Burrito
    Sam C.

    It's a small restaurant in the shopping center and we didn't know what to expect. We ordered the steak and shrimp fajitas and the Azteca burrito. It's was all very tasty. The service was very good and very attentive.

    Melon Margarita, Ranch Water, Chips & Guacamole
    Tanya M.

    I had to share a few of my favorite things to get when I eat at Avilas El Ranchito!! The new melon margarita is a must try. So refreshing and perfect for summer! The potato taquitos are a must have every time I come to visit the foothill ranch location. They're my favorite!! I switch on and off between the different soups but was craving more veggies so got the tortilla soup no chicken and it was so delicious! The guacamole is always a must have as well. I love all The vegan options as well!! Love how the restaurant is decorated and the ambiance. It's such a vibe!!! The art work is really unique and the service is always impeccable. Super friendly staff and the owner is one of the sweetest people I have ever met! Highly recommend :)) you can't go wrong with anything on the menu but these are just my favorites from my most recent experience last night!! 10/10 everytime!!

    FIESTA TIME!

    Best service and food around! This was our favorite place to go when we lived in the area and now that we came back for a visit we knew where to go. Jesus and his team are not only friendly but very personable, making our visit memorable! Highly reccomend the fajitas and Grande Cadillac Margarita!!!

    Chips and salsa right as I sat down!
    Eden M.

    The staff were so friendly! I got there right at 4:30pm before the place was packed The service was fantastic! I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant! Lots of lights and conversation pieces! The food was so good! Big portions

    We shared the Fresco burrito wet with divorced sauce . Additionally we each had a Cadillac Margarita & chips and salsa
    Ashleigh P.

    We are from La Habra , so we are not newbies to El Ranchito's yummy menu . We moved to Irvine a year ago and have been struggling to find great Mexican Food. Thankfully we stumbled across El Ranchito's Lake Forest location today . We had great service by Marisol for dinner tonight .

    Potato Tacos
    Charrise L.

    Daylight Savings Time was in our favor today. Since clocks were turned BACK, we were all hungry by 4:30PM. Avila's El Ranchito is in a strip mall with plenty of parking. It's a small location and we heard that it used to be larger but they gave back space to the strip mall. Our party of 9 strolled in at 4:45 and were seated right away. We had 2 kids, 2 teens and 5 adults. Kids' meals are free with paying adults so that was covered. They had chicken fingers and fries. The teens had burritos that were pretty big. I had the shredded chicken taquitos and a potato taco combo. It was sooooo good. Also loved their warm Chips and salsa. During the time we were there, the place filled up and there were parties seated outside as well. Our timing was perfect. 20% mandatory gratuity with large parties. I would definitely return again. Delicioso!! Ok, bye.

    Tequila Espolón!

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    11 days ago

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    21 days ago

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    8 days ago

    We love this neighborhood Mexican restaurant! Our food is always delicious and the service is great!

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    8 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Jesus A is a GREAT server! Food is always so good and service is love coming here! The bartender makes delicious drinks too.

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    1 year ago

    The food is amazing, and the service is top notch. This little restaurant has become my family's home for delicious comfort food

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    1 year ago

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    Monica A.

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    11 months ago

    Jesus was the best server!! Very funny and great service! Delicious food!! Thank you Jesus

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    8 months ago

    Great service at this restaurant. Shoutout to my server Shaun Shine for the great service!

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    Page 1 of 12

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    I had been seeing La Tia Tacos popping up here in South OC. Curiosity got the kids and I when we…read moresaw that they had birria. We have our go-to Mexican joints down here and typically stick to them, but recently had to add La Tia Tacos to our rotation. La Tia Tacos in Foothill Ranch, is in the town center's food court where Rubio's used to be. La Tia's is bright and airy, colorful and modern. The restaurant space has dining inside and outdoors in their own patio as well as the food court seating. There is an awesome salsa bar off to the side. The salsas and veggies are all home made from scratch. They're absolutely delicious. Refillable drinks are available at the soda fountain, some in bottles at the register too, but the star beverage for me is that fresh brewed tea. I have to get a large cup every time in case they start closing up and toss it out, which happened once. What we've ordered: 1) quesabirria tacos - 5/5. They have a special plate that comes with three quesabirrias and consome for $11.99. Add fresh chopped onions and cilantro, squeeze some lime, dip and enjoy. So good. 2) blackened shrimp taco - 5/5 3) carnitas taco - 5/5 4) la tia bowl with carnitas - 4/5. I liked everything about this but wasn't a really huge fan of the sauce. 5) la tia plate with carnitas - 5/5. I enjoyed this one. Comes with beans and rice. Perfect with the red onions and the marinated carrots from the salsa bar. Served with corn tortillas. The menu has a lot to offer and is bound to have something for everyone in your party. Since discovering La Tia, we've literally been there almost every week. I still have a lot of other food items to try and I'm sure we'll get to that. The service has been good and the lady at the front remembers my family. She greets us with a big smile every time we see each other which makes for a pleasant experience.

    Definitely becoming my newest fave taco spot. We get daily style tacos and it's amazing because…read moreliterally our family of 5 has plenty and sometimes left overs. Their salsa is great, which is typically my prerequisite The meat also seems to be good quality, though all we have tried is the asada so I can't speak for anything else. Overall we do love this taco spot.

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    honestly i usually hate parking around here because it feels like fighting Thanos just for a spot,…read morebut parking was super easy and we parked right out front with no problem at all and was free. total Tony Stark VIP treatment lol The service was excellent and very attentive as they checked in on us to refill drinks and checked how the food was. Very friendly and the staff were basically moving like Spider-Man around the tables. The food was excellent and very fresh and tasty. It was so good that we came back the next day for the Sunday brunch! We really loved the fish tacos, which were out of this world. Neck and neck with that are the Chihuahua tacos where the meat was tender, and the cheese was charred into the tortilla to give it a very wonderful flavor,, kinda like Iron Man blasted it himself to get that crust. We also tried the Carnitas tacos and a couple of others, which are also very tasty. This Sunday brunch was lovely and our favorite was the steak ranchero and the ceviche, as well as the corn cake. But basically the whole buffet was excellent,, felt like an actual feast in Asgard. We had a Diablo margarita and that was excellent! definitely hit with a kick like the Hulk tbh. One of the two days we sat outdoors, and it was lovely with plenty of space. The second day we had a nice booth and there was plenty of space and seating was very comfortable. basically as chill as hanging at the Avengers compound. Definitely five stars!

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    Mr. G's Tacos

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    We came here for the THHS Boys Volleyball fundraiser. What a great little place! Service was…read moreEXCELLENT! Food was good - we ended ordering more since the guys were still hungry. We started with a carne asada burrito, Adam's 50/50 burrito, chopped salad with carne asada, and Sonoran style hot dog but no bun and on a bed of lettuce. Food was great, along with the super spicy salsa and salsa verde. Second round for the guys included 3 tacos (carnitas, barbacoa, al pastor) and loaded fries with barbacoa. I would continue to support this great business. As we dined in, we observed their great customer service as well. They treat everyone cordially like family. They remember their regulars' names and orders. A couple kids came in to show their good report cards so they could get free treats (they were so polite and respectful kids - looked like they were in junior high). Oh, they mentioned to a customer that today is their 2-year anniversary. We'll be back to support them!

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    Xclusive Mexican Kitchen - Taco Sampler

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    I come here every month or so with my wife and kids. The food and margaritas are delicious. The…read moreservice is great, they are very friendly and there's no hesitation to fix any mistakes. My favorite Mexican food in Orange County. I love this place!

    My sister and our pups went to eat at this wonderful little restaurant after a great hike with our…read morepups Kobie-Star and Willow . We sat outside in their outdoor patio where they had a couple of TV's -one with the basketball playoffs going on ( my favorite)! The staff was just amazing and welcomed us and our pups and brought out water for both pups without us even having to ask for it , love that . They have lots of food to choose from but we stuck with the traditional combo plate : Cheese enchilada and carnitas taco - mine was a crunchy and hers was soft taco ( both were delicious). I also ordered a delicious blended strawberry margarita and it didn't disappoint. Our servers were : Enrique and Alfonso both were great . They brought us extra bean mixture dip for the chips as their dips and chips are AMAZING as is their food . If you haven't tried this place, you must try this place as not only is the food great , the people that work here are really amazing and that made our time here even better . We checked their hours and found they are open ALL DAY something like 8AM for breakfast -10 PM like what ??? Not everyday but most days , this isn't fast food either ... You have to try this place and for those who want to eat inside it's nice inside or sit at their bar or sit outside at the really big outdoor eating area , you can't go wrong ... Stop by after a Target run it's near by !! Thank you to you all for helping us and our pups - Enrique and Alfonso we will be back for sure !! Thank you again ! Prices very reasonable! Location corner in center - plenty of parking Margarita $$

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    Avila's El Ranchito - mexican - Updated June 2026

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