They changed the carne asada. It went from delicious and flavorful to bland, mediocre, different steak that I could find anywhere.

Really enjoy all the Avila El Ranchitos. Salsa and guacamole I really made well. I ordered this meal To-Go and got two item combination. Crispy chicken and shredded beef taco. Liked the shredded beef the best. Very filling, also the chicken soup is great!!! read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Two item combination plate, chicken soup, guacamole, salsa and chips - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

This was our first time eating at this location. Although the prices are a bit higher than typical mexican fare in places like downtown Placentia, the menu selections were pretty unique and plentiful. Also, you can't beat the historic atmosphere. We really enjoyed our meal. I had a typical 2 item combination while my wife had a tacos and soup combo (their homemade chicken soup). Additionally, we were really happy to see Alfonso, a former employee of the now-shuttered Felix Cafe for over 20 years that has found his way to Avila's. We were so happy to encounter him there after seeing him all those years at Felix. Avila's made a smart choice binging him on, he's such a nice guy and great employee. We'll definitely be back for the food as well as to see Alfonso. read more

So happy my friend suggested this restaurant. No idea it existed. It's wonderful because it is right off the circle but in a corner where there is actually neighborhood parking!! We honestly ended up here because I couldn't find parking near the restaurant we wanted. But it was meant to be because this place is my new Mexican 'go to' restaurant! We were seated immediately. The inside of the restaurant is gorgeous. It's built in a old historical house with beautiful stain glass windows and plenty of sunlight. We needed to be seated right away so they put us by the bar just next to the main room but it was completely fine. Our waiter was super friendly and took our drink orders right away. The menu had so many food choices, it was so hard to pick! I ended up going with the lunch special: autumn burrito which included chicken, beans, rice, veggies, salsa, and guac. I was surprised the lunch menu price was around $15 but once I got the burrito I understood...these portions are huge!! This burrito will probably last me 2 more lunches! The burrito came with a side salad with colorful veggies. The dressing was some vinegar base and it was delicious. Also, and most important to some people, complementary chips and salsa are included with the meal! That's how it should always be done! I also appreciated that they gave us 2 separate salsa bowls since there were 2 of us. The salsa had a kick to it but was so delicious and fresh I put up with the spice. I will absolutely be back here again soon! read more

See all

For a group of 15 recommended to reserve. We were there for an outing for 12 people. Place is unique since it used to be a church and stain glass windows and structure of the church is still present. They have a bar area. Parking is hard to find. Service was pretty good. I had the taco salad. It didn't have rice in it and was a but bland for my taste. read more

See all

Had lunch here recently with my boss, we had a work thing in the area. Came right when they opened, we sat on the patio. I have been to other locations but haven't been to this one. I live close to the one in laguna niguel. This location had the best food. My boss ordered a shrimp cocktail and beef quesadilla. She liked both!! I got shrimp enchiladas that came with 2 and a side of rice and beans. The enchiladas were so so good. The shrimp and enchilada filling was so flavorful. The beans were good too. Their tortilla chips tasted fresh, I like that they weren't too thick or hard. They were thin and crunchy, I loved them. Their salsa had good heat and I liked the fresh onions in them. Reason for 4 stars is because there were too many flies on the patio, they kept swarming on our food. I would recommend they get fans or something to control it. Would recommend! read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Shrimp enchilada plate. So good. - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

My wife and I visited this location this past Sunday. The food is good but the service was just ok. The waiter seemed as if he wanted to be anywhere but there. The location was half busy so not sure why the attitude from the waiter. Anyway, I had my go-to mole and my wife haas the taco and enchilada combo. She loved hers and mine was also good but not like it has been in the past. It was just good overall. But not great. read more

See all

My family and I went to El Ranchito, Orange for the first time on a Saturday. We were seated and attended to rather quickly. Service was impeccable and the food very good. The surf and turf was my favorite. Ambiance was a church, turned into a restaurant with stained glass windows. The prices were also reasonable. It's a must try. read more

Delicious Delicious! The food from the beginning, complimentary chips & salsa flavor and freshness on point! We went during lunch so we got to enjoy the lunch specials. The Aztec Burrito was very savory and filling! I got the Caldo and tacos combo; soup, flauta, taco. Everything was so mouth watering. The building is beautiful, an old rustic church with stained glass. The staff was excellent and attentive. We will definitely be back again soon! read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Aztec Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

Heard good things about this place and I'm glad I ate here today with my family. Food and service was on point and the inside was pretty with plants. read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Avila soup combo w chicken enchilada - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

Food is always great! Even for delivery. One of the best Mexican restaurants in Orange County

This was actually my second time trying this place out and again it was a hit. It is so close to work so makes it that much more convenient. This trip, I ordered the Taco Salad with grilled chicken and it was yummy. I would have enjoyed more chicken in the salad but it was still yummy. The ambience of this restaurant is very relaxed and the workers are really helpful. They have outdoor seating in case you don't feel comfortable sitting inside. Overall, really good place and I am sure I will be back. read more

What happened to the food in this place? We been to the HP, Santa Ana and HB locations and the food taste here just went down the drain. Very disappointing. Party of 4 and the only dish that was ok was the traditional chicken soup. negative 5 stars!!! read more

I am not sure how this place has decent reviews but from my experience the service, food and ambiance is overall poor. The young lady seating people had no knowledge of the menu or specials. Main server was ok but our drinks were all sugar and very little alcohol. Food was served cold as if it was sitting in the kitchen all day with stale chips and mediocre salsa. I say go elsewhere there's so many local Mexican restaurants and this it's not "Mexican" food. It's mediocre Tex mex. We will not be returning! read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Nachos with nothing but cheese. Blah! - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

Our first time visiting this restaurant. First of all our food took LESS than 5 mins to get to the table. Already a red flag. Carnitas was described as "Delicious chunks of lean pork, marinated in lemon and garlic. Tender and juicy inside, crispy outside." Totally lacking flavor. Not crispy AT ALL, and primarily DRY. The servers asked if we 'would like for them to crisp it up' for us. Why would you need to do that when it's described this way in the menu?! Also ordered ground beef & potato tacos. Again, no flavor at all and where was the potato?? This dish came with pinto beans. Again, FLAVORLESS. This meal was clearly NOT made to order and likely just sitting around waiting to be served. Unbelievable that you're able to keep so many establishments open with this quality of food. Definitely won't be back. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone with SO MANY BETTER Mexican restaurants surrounding you. I wouldn't give any stars but can't submit this review without one. read more

I'm beyond grateful for their Chicken Rice Soup!! Highly recommend to my raza out there! Sabor de abuelita in every bite! Service is top notch! These guys were on it, no blink of an eye, requests arrived at our table just moments after asking. Ambiance is peaceful and calm, given the location used to be a church. The beautiful stained glass is stunning during the day or night. Cozy cabin, homey feeling for sure and they consider all customers it is wheelchair friendly all over :) read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Chicken Rice Soup - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

Good Food . Fast service love the ambiance you feel like your in a church :) Our server was so friendly read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

The service was nice as far as customer service goes but the food is not authentic at all. The albóndiga soup was lacking. The meatballs were dry and had no flavor, lemonade tasted artificial and they don't hand make tortillas or have horchata. The place was beautiful and in a very nice area but the food was so awful it's a shame because I really was looking forward to having a good meal. Very disappointing read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Horrible! No flavor and dry meatballs - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

Great service and food. Lunch on the patio was lovely. Portions for what we ordered were very nice. I had a vegetarian burrito, and he had a baja bowl. read more

We had a really large group and the service was amazing! They accommodated us with short notice and we had one of the best waiters I've encountered in a long time. The food was fantastic and I would highly recommend this restaurant! read more

I hate to leave stars because we have loved the Avilas restaurants our whole lives and grew up with them. But it looks like they now cook everything with beef fat. Some will cook some things for non meat eaters but not this location. As most people are good with animal fat as an ingredient in everything vegetarians can no longer partake here. Not even in the potato tacos. Best of luck ! read more

My rice and beans lacked flavor. While the restaurant is cute, it's very loud inside. There is better Mexican food to be had. A bit pricey too. read more

Very nice open plan to eat and drink on the inside. They also have patio seating that faces the street with nice lights. There is a bar and a few big screen TVs. The food was good and our server was nice. read more

See all

Guys night out last night and a buddy recommended Avila's. Staff were very friendly. Service was excellent. I was impressed how fast our order was taken and served. The chips were warm and the salsa perfectly chunky. The Guacamole was fresh and delicious. I ordered the Carne Asada plate. The rice and beans very flavorful and the Carne Asada was tender and had a great marinade. So good! Would have given five stars but the House Margarita lacked flavor and tequila. The ambiance is very nice. The location used to be an old church. Really cool. Lastly, the pricing was good. You can take your family there and not break the bank. read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Carne Asada Plate - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

I wish I would have taken a picture but being that I invited people there, I didn't want to make it obvious that I was judging as soon as I arrived. The table was so sticky. It had old residue on it and the menus wouldn't even slide. We had to peel them off to flip over. Then there were many flies. We couldn't even eat our chips because they kept landing on them. To be honest, let's hope they do better soon. read more

The best! Food, service, atmosphere - 10 out of 10. We don't go out often but when we do this is in our rotation. Even if they are busy on a Taco Tuesday the service is still excellent and quick. read more

Lovely restaurant. Nice and clean. Came here for lunch. Staffs were very nice and helpful. I ordered the Chile Relleno plate, it was delicious. Will definitely come back again. read more

See all

Came here for lunch with a party of 5. Service was fast and friendly. The place is already decorated for xmas....nice touch! I got the steak summer fajitas. They tasted pretty good but these were not a sizzling hot skillet plate like I pictured the fajitas to be. Looked like more of a salad bag piled high on some veggies on a plastic plate. Cheese/guac was extra. I've also had much better salsa that comes with the chips at other mexican restaurants. This tasted OK but more from a can. Overall, I would come back and try something else. Everyone else in my group enjoyed their meals, I just think what I ordered wasn't their best item on the menu. read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Early with their xmas decorations but beautiful inside - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

Clean place,good food,great service, Margaritas are great I'll continue to come here because every thing They do points to a good time I'm never disappointed read more

Service is 10/10, very attentive staff. Very kind. Unfortunately the food is sub par. I don't know if we just hit an "off" day because i used to love this place! We got the combo plates, two shredded beef tacos with refried beans and rice (my go to) unfortunately everything was not very flavorful. The shredded beef taco we both thought was chicken bc it had zero flavor. Beans were good. Rice standard. Chips and salsa was ok. Ambiance is good, i mean its a beautiful restaurant. Very clean. Spacious. Nice patio. Honestly go to Tacos Jalisco down the street. Its a hole in the wall but their Mexican food is always on point. read more

Excellent food, affordable price, good ambiance, very friendly staff Love the restaurant read more

I came here for lunch with some of my coworkers. I have been to their other locations before but never this one. I like the inside a lot more and their Christmas decorations were so cute! I was not super hungry and almost got a burrito but changed my mind last minute. I ordered one of their lunch specials which was the Avila's soup and 2 chicken flautas. I enjoyed the soup and the flautas were not bad either! I would say with this location - it's harder to find parking but the inside is more aesthetically pleasing! read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Lunch Special - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

I had really high hopes for this! I used to love the el ranchito in long beach. The first difference is the salsa. It is too spicy and not a good enough flavor to tolerate the heat level. The chips were overcooked. I like a light and salty chip. The beans and rice were good. So were the crispy shredded beef tacos. The building is very cool. But voices carry like a mo fo in the old church structure. read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

Great ambiance. Service was terrific! Food was exceptional. Came out hot and quick. Never had to ask for anything. Drinks were refilled quickly. Alcoholic drinks were superb! read more

Absolutely must try! The Shrimp Bontana plate. Add beans and rice, you won't regret it. This dish is outstanding. It's a plate of large wild caught Mazatlan shrimp. They are so meaty, kind of taste like lobster. They are grilled to perfection and taste buttery and garlicky without the sauce. The sauce! Amazing garlic butter sauce to add additional flavor. It'll definitely blow your mind. If you have ever been to Puerto Nuevo for their Lobster you'll love this dish. It taste so much alike. Shrimp just melts in your mouth. Highly recommend this dish! Their Pomegranate Margarita's are great as well. read more

See all

Went to dinner with my kids grandmother and thought we'd check out this spot. I think the restaurant may have been an old church at one time, beautifully stained glass windows! However, While the atmosphere was not busy, the service was not the best. It took a while just to get chips and salsa and order drinks.i will say when we did our waiter was super friendly and greeted with a smile.We ordered margaritas to start, mine was super sour and hard to drink. For an appetizer we ordered a sampler with flautas(chicken and beef) mini tacos and a quesadilla. Not a fan of this and definitely not enough seasoning. For the main dish, I ordered a bowl, came with black beans, fish avocado and rice(I asked for in the side) this by far was the best! Maybe we came on an off day. It's possible I'll try again. read more

Avila's El Ranchito - Sampler - Mexican Near Me - Orange, California

See all

This is what I call O'reliable Mexican food. Best Mexican restaurant in Orange hands down. Fajitas are very good here, and the service is attentive and the food comes out super fast!!! read more

I ordered a shredded beef tostada. Problem was that they charged $20 for a 6" tortilla with beans and lettuce and maybe a teaspoon of beef that you could hardly find or taste because it was shredded into tiny little strings the size of dental floss. All I could say was WHERE'S THE BEEF? Don't bother! You can go to Moreno's down the street and get real portions that are delicious and the service is friendlier too. read more

I've always gone to the Costa Mesa location and it's been my favorite Mexican restaurants. But decided to go to this location to celebrate a birthday and it's definitely a very unique setting. It actually used to be a church and without even asking it looked like a church as soon as you saw what it looked like on the outside and on the inside. It was pretty obvious. I also asked the host and he said it started off as a church, then became an American restaurant that served steaks, and then it became Avila's El Ranchito. He even pointed out one of the paintings that portrayed the original layout of the building and surrounding areas. I got there at 5pm and soon after that several other parties were slowly coming in too. It was Taco Tuesday and Happy Hour at the time but you had to be seated outside on the patio or at the bar if you wanted to order from those menus. My party unfortunately did not want either menu so we ordered from the regular menus. I was disappointed but I'll have to definitely check out the Taco Tuesday and happy hour menus some other time with different people for sure! Haha!!! I ordered the taco salad which was yummy. The crispy tortilla shell was so flaky and perfectly fried, it melts in your mouth. I added the shredded beef and they gave a big portion of it. The chips and salsa were good, but the salsa seemed way too spicy this time. I don't remember the salsa being that spicy. I had to ask for an alternative which was pico de Gallo but unfortunately they charged $1.50 for a tiny container. Definitely was expecting a better portion. It was not worth it. And since it was for a birthday, they did offer a complimentary fried ice cream which was so good. I would definitely order that again. This was a very nice location, pretty mellow compared to the other location but maybe it was because it was a weekday and early. Our waiter was super nice too and other servers were constantly cleaning up our table for empty dishes which was nice. read more

See all

Excellent Food Drinks are good Service is always good & courteous Highly recommend read more