I take my Tex-Mex very seriously, having been a researcher and recipe tester for Robb Walsh's The Tex-Mex Cookbook. And I am always looking for places where you feel like you've taken a time machine back to the 60's. Is it possible? I'm tempted to call this one of the greatest Tex Mex combo plates in Texas. But there are too many restaurants vying for that title. So, if I call it the 2nd greatest combo plate in Texas, I'm probably safe. But seriously, (on the day that I went, that is), it was vintage, it was classic, it was perfect. Big scoop of delicious guacamole. Perfectly realized Mexican rice (with just the right hint of cumin). Excellent frijoles refritos (made with manteca). A mild and perfectly seasoned chili gravy covering cheesy enchiladas.And, as you'll see from the photos, they make their own leche quemada, and it is chock full of pecans. Highly recommended. It's worth the road trip. You can have fun visiting all of the antique shops on Main Street and then having your terrific Tex Mex lunch. read more

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Love El Ranchero!! Great food! Great service! Great ambiance! Loved visiting with owner while we were there! read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Tommy's Tacos and Cheese Enchilada, Beef soft taco with Guacamole tostada - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

I come here at least once a month. Food is always on point! Service is so friendly. Vibe is very family oriented. Plenty of space and location on Main Street in LP. Lots of shops near by to walk off the food! Highly recommend this gem! read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Delia's plate: barbacoa, beans, fries, eggs and flour tortillas and coffee - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

Went there today and the experience was disappointing from the start. Walked in- no one told us if we needed to wait to be seated or sit ourselves until another customer finally saw us and told us we can sit anywhere. Did that then we placed an order for our drinks and when we told our waitress for a little more time to look over the menu- she left. We waited over 10 minutes and she never came back until another waitress approached our table and asked us if we had placed an order. When we told her "no" she said that our waitress had left and not told anyone that we were waiting to be served. We just ended up leaving and walking away- so much for trying this place out. read more

Terrible service. No engagement, communication with waitress. She definitely did not want to be there. Brought our food. set it down and left. Never checked on us and never even said Thanks when she took our payment. Yes we left a 20% tip even though she didn't deserve it. Just won't come back or recommend it. Food a little over-priced and just barely o.k. No lunch menu or specials. read more

When in Laporte I always come here as I have for over 30 years cheese overload lol plus the owner is good with people the prices are not out of line as some say stay home tight wads and the beef is seasoned great not to salty like some restaurants been there 30 years DO not confuse this restaurant with the one in Deer Park not the same owner and the quality is not the same enjoy folks! read more

I had a delicious taco :) staff was nice and the taco was larger than expected. It's a cool vibe too - bustly and homey.

Everything is great about this place!!! We have never had a bad meal in the past 16 years! Food is always hot and delicious. The owner is very friendly. Great food, great staff! Restaurant is always clean. read more

While in La Porte today we stopped in for brunch. We had about a 20 minute wait even though there were empty tables. The service was so so, nobody checked on us to see if anything else was needed and they messed up the orders twice. They didn't have good attitudes to begin with but that's customer service nowadays. The hot sauce and chips were good. I Ordered the tripa taco that I asked be on a corn tortilla so that had to be changed out because they put it on flour tortilla. The tripa was cooked crunchy to my liking after they changed out the tortilla. It had good flavor after adding cilantro, onions, lemon juice and salsa, as well as salt and pepper. The barbacoa taco was very greasy but generous with the meat. Too high $$ for the taste at $5.95 a taco. Mexican Potato taco with a piece of bacon added was good on the flour tortilla. The ambiance was casual and busy. Very colorful decor. I wouldn't make a special trip just to come here but that's just me. I can find better tasting food in Pasadena or surrounding areas especially for the amount spent. There's plenty of parking behind the restaurant if you can't find any on the street. I don't recommend this place, but this is just me. read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Tripa taco, Mexican papas with bacon, barbacoa taco. - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

The food is decent to good, the service is personal, and occasionally slow. I recommend you peruse the menu and ask for whatever you want at the time you order, and when your order comes out! They don't make you wait but they also aren't in a hurry. The staff is pleasant and cordial. I order all over the menu as it is consistent. A word of note: these guys open early! 4:00 am daily! Prices are normal for this cuisine. I'd say the ambience is utilitarian, not nice or too nice. If you want you can park right on the street or in the back! They also have my favorite beverage, Topo Chico read more

Decent enough spot. Prices may be slightly above average for what you are getting quality wise based on my personal experience. From what I can gather review wise, it is normally quite good. The location seems very popular with the older local population and local workers/law enforcement. I can see why they would come here. The employees seem friendly enough, perhaps family oriented. Didn't get to talk to them much, but no issues there. The food was okay, but... But something was off with my order. The unsweet tea I was given tasted like a chemical laden soap, and I mean that without exaggerating. Not sure why that was the case. Food had a hair in it... But I will attribute this to an off day. Still, I had to take a star off for that. The location looks fine. I enjoy the cantina style look a lot. Overall not bad. Just needs a little work, and I'm willing to come back and try it out again later, and bring it to the original four I wanted to give. read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Front of the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

Definitely a little gem! Was driving down from a Baytown meeting and wanted something to hit home. Their menudo is fantastic and if you ask for their house made bolillo to go with it you will definitely be pleasantly surprised. read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Menudo with house bolillo and their machaca breakfast taco - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

Great food. First time I have eaten here. It didn't disappoint. I ordered the Chili Relleno plate. I will be going back read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - First time going here. Thought we'd try it on Cinco de Mayo. I will be going back. This is the Chili Relleno plate - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

WOW! Is all I can really say about the breakfast tacos. The service was also very good at 4:30 AM. Very nice interior and beautiful music playing. Five Stars! read more

Ordered a Tommy Tacos plate with Guacamole and had a frozen Margarita on the side with chips and salsa .. Wonderful as usual. read more

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Great food-- Authentic Mexican. Go hungry the portions are large. Prices are reasonable and the service is friendly. Would definitely recommend. read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Enter for an authentic Mexican experience. - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

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Tommy tacos are a favorite of ours. Carne guisada is simple but tender. Their salads are great too!

I really wanted to like this place. My husband tried it before us and raved about the tacos. The tacos unfortunately did not deliver. Not only that, my daughter's tacos had flies coming out of it. She persevered (I know, gross but it's clearly a small, local restaurant) and was not happy with the taste. Salty, dry meat with a lot of cheese. There were flies flying all over the place and I know they could see it since our table was right next to the register yet they did nothing to catch or kill them. A bowl of cheese was $10. Each of those coke bottles is $5. The enchiladas were too salty, and then the menudo tasted like nothing. It had absolutely no flavor. 2 stars for friendly service. read more

This is our first time here and wasn't impressed. Waitress took long for everything. For a water and coffee, 10 mins. Food, 4 tacos and a menudo 25 mins. We arrived at 9:50, sat down right away. Huevos a la mexicana tooooooooo oily! Made the egg taste weird. I do have to say the tortillas where the only thing that we enjoyed. Homemade! read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Menudo didn't have flavor and too much fat pieces. Cilantro, onions and jalapeños didn't do anything to help the flavor. - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

Ordered 4 tacos "rice,beans, guac & potatoes" to go. ($20 for 4 tacos & charged extra because it was to-go). Left & checked my order in my vehicle & was given the most ridiculous amount of guac (which I got charged almost $4) I asked her for more & she said that's the regular portion size. (see pic) she got the manager and after making me wait almost 10 mins (I'm on a tight schedule) they gave me a tiny container saying this one is on the house. Ummm no, I paid extra for it. I will not be returning. I was going to make this my regular breakfast place for my work meetings (20 people) & they lost a customer over a serving of guac. How ridiculous! This is not how you run a business! read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - This is a "serving" of guac! - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

I wish I could give this place more stars but I really can't the minute you walk in there's a musty odor. The only thing that was nice was that the service was good. The chips were great the salsa was flavorful the queso was oh well it was cheese and ground beef and it was served cold. We ordered beef enchiladas and grill pork chops the grill pork chops were as tough as a leather boot had absolutely no flavor whatsoever and the beef enchilada well they might as well say it was really a cheese enchilada because they must put 10 lb of cheese on it. We've been here several times but we're done we can't go through the misery again sorry. read more

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I had passed by this quaint restaurant many times before finally stopping by today for lunch. The business is located in 2 or 3 original brick century-old buildings. The interior was very well renovated and clean. The main thing you'll notice about the food is that it is very different from all the other Mexican food in Harris County. It actually tastes like what I imagine old-time Mexican cuisine did. The salsa for chips was distinctive, with lots of oregano and celery, and not spicy. But the enchiladas were amazing, drenched in a ranchero sauce that had stewed tomatoes and peppers. So good, and so unique. Staff was friendly and prices not too bad. read more

Very family oriented and a very helpful staff that wait on you I have been coming their for over 30 yrs now and we love El Ranchero I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. Great Food Great Staff Great owners read more

So I'm back again! I was craving some food and we'll this was the place to come! I enjoyed this so much I ordered the same thing. It is hard to to stray from what is good. I can't wait to eat my food. For the best place to eat some food authentic Mexican food this is the place. read more

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Quality of both food and service are great. I hope to grow a mustache like Leo one day.

A good place for some comfort TexMex. First off, the warm salsa is fantastic and the chip were crunchy and fresh tasting. We tried the Mexican Dinner #2 and the fajitas enchilada plate for an early dinner. The plates came out hot and pretty good. Instead of refried beans we got a la charra, a great choice if you want a more soupy bowl of beans cooked with bacon and onion and green bell pepper. Service was good and the ambiance is authentic. A good local joint for our TexMex craving. Come give them a try if you haven't! read more

I've been coming here for over twenty years and have always enjoyed the food. It's been awhile since I had breakfast here and it was still as good as I remember it and the service was excellent. So why three stars. As other reviewers have mentioned they have a fly problem. They have to address this issue. Especially if I'm eating inside the last thing I want to be doing is shooing flys away from my food. This can be a great little restaurant don't ignore the problem. read more

Mouth watering tortillas food has never been bad customer service attentiveness could be better

Great tasting food. Had two bad experiences with getting served. Went today waited over an hour never received our food. Use to love this place. Sadly won't be back. read more

My office orders breakfast here all the time and my family comes here regularly. My favorite waitress is Marjeli. Food is so good and the staff is always friendly. Parking sucks sometimes but there is a small lot in the back and an entrance for quests so you don't have to walk all the way around. read more

This is a hidden gem. You wouldn't think much driving by but do yourself a favor and go inside. Their queen is delish. Tommy tacos. Best breakfast in town. read more

Beautiful family friendly Mexican food restaurant in the area! You should try their famous Tommy's tacos read more

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant - Best Mexican food in area! - Mexican Near Me - La Porte, Texas

I've actually been coming here since I was a kid and usually have had good experiences. Most recently I've noticed that the quality of food isn't where it used to be and my main concern are the waitresses that are greeting and taking orders. The older one with the glasses isn't polite and when taking orders, just walks away without asking if that's all or if we'd like anything else. There are no COVID systems in place as just recently (today) they attempted to seat us right in the middle of multiple large parties and refused to seat us elsewhere not next to people. The person we spoke to just rolled her eyes at my mother when we asked to be seated where we weren't crowded. Unprofessional and definitely does not take the health of patrons seriously. I won't be going here anymore especially when you disrespect my parent. read more

Flies and gnats around our table! Disgusting Fajitas were tough and the vegetables were not cooked. Cheese enchiladas were skimpy and little cheese in them and the corn tortillas were not cooked! read more

Hands down the Owner is amazing. He is so delightful and came to our table to check on us. The enchiladas were some of the best I have had. The gravy was so so tasty. This place is a cute little gem for La Porte Main St. We love this place! read more

Ok, I gave them a 2 because the food is good! But the service is terrible! My husband and I went to have breakfast before heading to Mass about a month ago. I ordered one taco and my hubby two tacos. We waited almost an hour and never got our food! We left because we would have been late for Mass! This morning we thought, ok maybe it was just a bad morning, tried again! We waited twenty minutes before we were even offered drinks. We had been waiting 45 minutes and still waiting for our food. I got up once and served us and another patron coffee (because none of the waitresses had bothered) and at that point, we asked for more coffee and one of the waitresses responded , "only one refill"! I'm sorry but that is ridiculous!!! As I said, the food is good but Leo you have to do something about the service!!!! read more

My sister and I were out doing some shopping in old downtown LaPorte and decided to grab some lunch. This was the first time for me but, my sister had been here before and enjoyed their menudo. I order barbacoa tacos. They were good, to fatty but, good flavor, they came with all the right fixings so I enjoyed them after picking some fat out. I tried the menudo, it's not for me is all I'm going to say about that. The salsa has a decent flavor it's just very thin. Made my tacos pretty sloppy. Queso is nothing more than melted cheese, I've had better. Side beans and rice, decent. All in all this visit was just ok. Somewhere between 2.5 to 3 stars read more

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Ok so I frequent this place pretty often. It is my go to place for Breakfast and they open at 4am! Are they fast? No. You order and then they make each taco fresh from scratch. No pre made stuff here. Each breakfast taco is made exactly as you ordered. They also include some of their awesome chips and red and green salsa to go with the tacos! I usually load up on Fajita egg and cheese tacos so I have enough for several days. The staff will recognize you by name if you come often and you will feel special. Then of course you can go for lunch or dinner and get either their amazing tommy tacos or their super cool burger on a home made bun. They aslo have some daily specials that are inexpensive and tasty for those on a budget. In fact now thatI a writing this review I have decided I must stop in tomorrow morning. It's that good that I will wake up early read more

Awesome place with delicious food! Like going to your grandmother or mom's place without the flying chanclas lol. Tip: sweet tea is super sweet ( you may want to get half and half unless you like that) read more

Poor quality Tex mex, service was good. Salad was good. 5 of us at table and only salad was good. Fajitas looked good but tortillas came out considerably after the skillet read more