I absolutely LOVE El Ranchito. The food is always delicious and the service is always super quick and friendly!

Expensive for dog food ! It was horrible! I ordered a salad and had no lettuce! I had to run out!

My husband and I stopped on the way back from kayaking it was delicious. The service was great the waitress was super nice, and answered any questions we had. He got the shrimp vera cruz, and loved it! I got the vegetarian combo 1 chalupa, one cheese enchilada and refried beans. It was really good I especially loved the sauce on the enchilada. read more

I think people only consider this good mexican food in crystal river because theres not exactly much to compare it to. Maybe you could describe this place as passable. The ambience is typical hole in the wall mexican place, which is fine. I'm from California where much of the population is Mexican and this place didnt come close to any of those places. The salsa was good, drinks come in a big cup with I liked since we were never offered refills. Guacamole was starting to brown and had little flavor. I had to use the lemon fron my water to give it some taste since no one checked on us. I ordered #26 - chalupa, chili relleno, and cheese enchilada. I couldn't eat it and left it untouched. There was way too much runny, goopy watery white cheese, not my style of mexican food. Chalupa had hardly any flavor. I asked for limes, never came. I pushed all my food to the end of the table. Waiter never came once. Busboy asked how everything was I I said I didnt like it and please take it away. He smiled and took the food, then waiter strolled by and dropped the check, barely glancing out way as he passed by. Only thing I liked was the salsa. read more

Absolutely horrible. If you have been out west and gotten used to authentic Mexican food, this might have been taco bell. I had the hot and spicy try if it you dare burrito and it wasn't spicy at all. To top it off I asked if they could put onions and cilantro in it and they looked at me like i was crazy. Drive by and don't stop. I would give it zero stars. read more

So I'd definitely categorize this as the best Mexican restaurant in Crystal River...because I tried the 'other place'...and 'uh uh'. It was my first visit to this one, El Ranchito Mexican Grill, and it's in a nondescript (read run-down) shopping plaza and from the outside, it's NOT much to look at...but the inside is a diner style restaurant and acceptable. I'm here to eat food, not look at the aesthetics of a place though as it blows my mind when people leave a review based on 'appearance only'. Really? I had the Chile Relleno (which is a large green chili pepper stuffed with cheese and fried). This restaurant adds ground beef to the relleno mixture and, although I was hesitant to try it that way, I did..and it was excellent! Loved it! I also tried my friend's guacamole and it was very tasty, albeit too salty. They need to reduce the salt in their guacamole for it to be "perfect". The crunchy (hard) taco was excellent and fresh and I loved it, too! THAT was an amazing taco shell! The enchilada was very good, too. The refried beans that came with the rice was flavorless and I would've liked to have seen a little bit of smoked flavor to give it 'pop'...but the yellow rice served with it was good. The tortillas served as an appetizer were good but the salsa lacked luster and needed to have a 'little' heat (as it was milder than mild). I took mine home and just added a bit of hot sauce to add the punch it needed and it was good. LOVED the Deep Fried Ice Cream, too, and broke my Weight Watchers diet to eat it...TWO words: WORTH IT! LOL Overall, I was VERY impressed with this restaurant and we will be coming back! The pricing is low to mid-range: reasonable for the amount served. I spotted AJ there (who owns both Biscuit Barns) and he is a foody, too, so I know that it's got to be awesome for him to be a regular. WE will be back again and I would highly recommend El Ranchito...especially over that other Mexican restaurant in Crystal River which will remain 'unnamed'. In all fairness, I haven't tried it for years now so maybe they have changed and gotten better. I don't know, but I'm sticking with El Ranchito. Try it, you'll like it! read more

Great food! Friendly service! Thanks for one of the best meals of my trip. Not to mention it was Christmas Eve, and they were open

Coming from Texas, we eat Mexican at least once a week. This is the ONLY Mexican place in town, and it is actually good. Not much English, but still a great experience. The queso was fine and the guacamole was good too. When you are are really going through withdrawals and you want good Mexican this is perfect. Good experience and will hit again before we leave. read more

This is the ONLY Mexican place in crystal river. We arrived at 5pm on a Wednesday And it was packed in the parking lot!! It was just opening but filled fast. This place is authentic Mexican. Fast service, nice servers, food is cooked fast and chips and drinks are always full. If we visit the area again I will be back! read more

We love to eat here and go almost weekly. For Citrus County is it the best "Mexican" around with friendly staff - although all don't speak English very well. I try something different all the time! read more

The restaurant was just perfect for what we wanted. We had been on the road all day, weren't real hungry and had already had a lot of seafood that week. Service was quick. Everyone was attentive and friendly. My quesadias were delicious! But the margaritas were horrible. I did manage to drink 2. Next time I will bring my Crystal Light margarita drink mix! read more

We are visiting from Idaho and in the mood for Mexican. Found this place on yelp. The staff was friendly and we had excellent service. We asked for recommendations, I chose combination E which had a taco, a beef enchilada and a chile relleno with rice and beans and my husband had the carne asada. The food was yummy, the prices were great, we would recommend and would definitely return. read more

Service was excellent and food was delicious. Husband loves the cheese dip and for the both of us it was only $23 for our meal. Definitely recommend if you're in the area. read more

We have never been to this area of Florida and took a chance on this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant...SOOO glad we did. OMG food was outstanding!! Service was Excellent!!! And our bill was $20 bucks. We Will be back. It's worth the drive!! read more

I've been coming to this place for a little over 10 years and it's a go to for Mexican food in my family. I usually get the Shrimp Diablo or vegetarian chalupas and I am never disappointed with the food. read more

We probably eat here at least 2-4 times a month. We love it! Great food. Service is very nice. The staff actually know us by name now because we frequent the place lol. They even joke around with us and make us feel very comfortable throughout dinner. They don't pester you by coming to the table 20 times like most places. Authentic mexican food here! Only Mexican place in Crystal River. Will definitely miss El Ranchito when we move. read more

Food was very good and service was fast. Queso was served a little cold for our liking, but other than that- great food. Free wifi made it a plus. We will go back for sure when in town. read more

Good Food but Horrible, I mean horrible customer service, bad attitudes and I really like the food but it is a really big issue if they don't know simple common courtesy! read more

Very good restaurant. The ingredients are fresh and delicious. The chips are done perfectly and the salsa dip is spicy without burning your mouth, in other words, prepared perfectly. The refried beans are seasoned just right and the mexican melting cheese topped them off great. All of the food was exceptional and if you haven't tried this restaurant yet you're in for a treat at very reasonable prices. The wait staff is charming and very attentive. read more

Chicken chimichangas and fajitas are great. The free chips and salsa are appetizing. If I want mexican, I will go here.

Spanish really is the primary language at this restaurant, so english ordering may or may not get you what you think you ordered. Not a pleasant experience so we will not be back. read more

Been here two or three times with a good friend of mine, the decor is awful and the food is just okay it's hard to order because none of the servers speak very much English I always found myself repeating myself when I order and using the menu I do have to say the wait staff are nice but I don't go out of my way to go here. Definitely not my favorite place to go.. Won't be recommending to anyone. read more

Poor food quality Service staff friendly and helpful but slow Prices kind of high for run of the mill strip mall Mexican read more

Gross food. Beef looks like Alpo and chicken chimi was all dark meet. The chips and salsa were good so we filled up on that. it also came with a side of rice, so I had chips and rice for my lunch. I didn't eat my chicken chimi. I really think Taco Bell looks like fine dining compared to this place. This is the only Mexican place in town (I'm not counting the chain restaurants because I rarely eat at a chain restaurant) so they can be as bad as they want and still get business. Bypass this place! read more

Horrible. I've read reviews about a restaurant being bad, but went anyway and had a good experience. Everyone has an opinion, but folks trust me it's bad. We have heard others say the same thing. Service is terrible. A friend went last night, had to literally grab his waiter by the arm to get the check. The lack of a good Mexican restaurants in Crystal River forces some to give in and go here from time to time, but it's pretty much a regretable experience from everyone I know who has gone there. I got a chile relleno, worst I've ever had. Not even a whole pepper, not a poblano, and a BLOCK of partially melted white Mexican melting cheese on it, covered with some tomato sauce and more cheese. I had to hunt for the pepper. All the cheese was making me so sid to my stomach I threw most of it away. The waiter was very rude to me also. There should be an option to give no stars, I would use it here. read more

excellent service always, never have we had a bad meal. This is our go to mexican spot.

We went there about 3 years ago the first time and again yesterday. As I remembered it was tasty and the portions were typically large. Both of us ordered the same items which were still flavorful but this time the fajita quesadilla portions were noticeably smaller than before. My wife found the red salsa too spicy so we asked for a white salsa and I was surprised when I got the bill that was $4.25 extra unlike all the other Mexican restaurants that we have been to where there is no extra charge. Apparently that was the white queso dip (which I found rather bland) and not salsa blanco that we normally enjoy. Both of us commented afterwards that we would have rather gone for some Chinese food. read more

Bad idea... Dont eat here unless you like milky ice nat tea!! We were there for 8mins and our food was rushed to our table. The plates were soo hot it literally burnt our hands.. I asked if our food was microwaved and was told yes it was "re-heated". Luckily we ate nothing and only paid for 5 drinks and dip witch was $20 i would be upset if we decided to eat and then have to pay for that pig slop...the el ranchito in Inverness is waaaay better.. Save your money and go to taco hell..... read more

We were in this restaurant this week. The service was great, price reasonable and the food was fantastic. Their homemade salsa is the best. We ate here last year and the food was just as good as I remember. Definitely will go back. read more

We eat there at least once a month and have always had great food and service. The gripes I just read must be gripers about everything. Try it, you'll love it. read more

WORST Mexican food I have ever had. Service terrible. Don't waste your time or money.

Friendly helpful staff. Stunning food. Camerones a la Diabla were spectacular. Be wary of the cheesy dishes though.