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    El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant

    3.8 (64 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican
    Open 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

    El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant Photos

    EL RANCHITO MEXICAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant

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    Two Shrimp and one al Pastor tacos
    Melissa N.

    I have been coming to El Ranchito for quite a while, and it is one of my favorite authentic Mexican restaurants around. They are one of the few places that serve shrimp street tacos. I never have luck finding those, so I happily get them here. They are located in a run-down plaza, in a not-so-fancy part of town. But, this doesn't mean you shouldn't tried them out. Prices are extremely cheap, and the food is wonderful. They also have daily lunch specials. Tamales and Horchata are always good here, as well as, any of the tacos. But, I don't discriminate against tacos, I love them all equally. The girls immediately bring out chips and a spicy salsa. The chips are much thicker than your regular tortilla chip. It actually took me some time to like them. Now, I really enjoy them. Service is super friendly, but practice your Spanish. It is a very simple restaurant. They have been making a few changes since my last time here. They have revised the menu, and even they added a TouchTunes jukebox. Yep, I like them.

    Delicioso!!
    Mark P.

    Good cheap eats. You'll find them sort of hidden in the back of a small mom and pop Mexican grocery store in a worn out part of town that's obviously well past the comfort zone of most fainter types. Brushing up on your Spanish might help but isn't necessary. They do these really thick chips I've come to like and their salsa's on the spicy side, at least for Orlando. Their tacos are cheap and really good. They have some adventurous choices like tongue and hard to find shrimp but my favorites are the chorizo ones. The Caldo de res is wonderful here and there's a cooler with interesting sodas. Love that Horchata! ...but there are times they're off enough to weigh down my rating from a four.

    Desire R.

    Good ass tacos. A hole in the wall, diamond in the rough. The tortillas where so warm and they had a beautiful fresh smell. The meat was falling out of the taco, they do not leave you hungry or wanting more.

    Randy J.

    We have lived in Orlando 16 years coming from California. We are always searching for good Mexican food. It was my birthday and Mom asked if I wanted to go to Agave Azul in Winter Park. It's more upscale Mexican restaurant and we like their food. I said I'd rather go find a new hole in the wall Mexican place like El Peublo on 426 (warning their hot sauces are WAY Hot). It's small authentic Mexican food joint in a strip center next to Race Track station. We searched Yelp and found El Ranchito. Read reviews and I said I'd like to try this Mexican restaurant. I'll tell you it did not disappoint! The Flavors of their food, the chips and their perfect salsa! It has some heat to it but the right amount we finished the bowl. I'll include some pics but should have taken before we started eating! I ordered the enchilada plate that comes with 4 enchiladas AND your choice of chicken breast or thin flat steak. I ordered 2 chicken with green sauce / 2 beef enchiladas with red sauce with steak as main meat. It's a good amount of food! The green sauce has some heat to it over the red sauce being more mild. Next time I'll be ordering 4 chicken enchiladas in green sauce with the thin steak. Mom ordered 2 asada tacos and enjoyed her food as well. It's not fancy place... it's a small Mexican Market with a decent size restaurant inside the market on right side of store. I think it's a hidden gem. Exactly what I wanted... real authentic Mexican food. I feel as a California raised person that has been spoiled with great Mexican food growing up... we are always looking for authentic in Florida. Habaneros or Amigos is NOT authentic. Give El Ranchito a try and see for yourselves. I give it 5 stars and a California approval. After dinner they have a meat counter to pickup meats for home... produce... and full little Mexican market to take home your favorite staples. Bam! P.S. I saw a review saying unsanitary? Uh, no. Maybe that reviewer needed to go to Agave Azul I remember specifically saying to Mom. The bathroom is definently old, but it's really really clean. (I'm a weirdo about clean bathrooms)

    Chicken fajitas
    Ashley C.

    Hole in the wall with decent food and decent prices. Definitely not fancy. The servers are not very attentive and the chips are hard and could leave you with broken teeth if not careful. The salsa they provide is considered "mild" to them but very spicy to a softee like me. Overall okay. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there but I'd go again if I was in the area. The quesadillas were my favorite out of everything I tried.

    Ho L.

    Fancy? Definitely not. Delicious? Absolutely! This is hands down one of the best little Mexican restaurants in Orlando. Sure, it's located inside a grocery store, but the food here is fresh, tasty, and perhaps most importantly, cheap! Forget those hipster $4.50 tacos in Winter Park. Here. you get something just as flavorful, if not more so, for about $1.50. If you love Mexican food, you owe it to yourself to check this place out!

    Chorizo and asada tacos
    Dest B.

    Always a gem, they updated the menu. Looks nicer and cleaner. But their tacos are spectacular! My boyfriend had the quesadilla, he got into it before I got to take a picture but so much meat in it. I love it!

    That ceiling has mold over customers that eat here

    This place is so slowww when not even busy. Food took a whole hour and restaurant was very unsanitary and unprofessional Cashier was rude Very UNORGANIZED! First time and last time here!

    Carne asada
    Latoya C.

    Warning: Ladies do NOT and I repeat DO NOT wear heels to this place. I made that tragedy of a mistake and I ended up face down on the floor. Now that the announcement has been made..... This is some of the best cheap Mexican food I have had! Most Mexican food is cheap but this one takes the cake. I decided to give this place a try after church one day. I should have left my heels in the car or put on some flats. The restaurant is inside a grocery store. The surface of the grocery store is fine. When I entered the restaurant it was made of tile (that wasn't the problem). The floor was uneven and had a dip or two in it. As I was walking to my seat my Louboutin didn't have enough leverage and down I went.....was I embarrassed? No. Even though the entire restaurant seen me, I was on the floor laughing. I got up laughing. I crawled to the table and took a look at the menu. Everything was so friggin cheap! I got a few tacos and had a bite of a burrito. I recommend the chorizo or carne tacos....They all are delicious! I loved the variety of sauces on the table. This place was awesome! I will be returning without heels or barefooted at the least to get to this yummy place!

    Approach from Edgewater Dr
    MIKE V.

    Great grocery store for those everyday Mexican meals. The restaurant side provides LOTS of food, inexpensively. Most of their prepared food is take-away, but I always sit and enjoy the food in a quaint, yet comfortable space where I can catch up on the "telenovelas" Reviews from another Food review website: "Best Mexican and a Bargain Too! I love Mi Mexico! All items are freshly made and authentic. Also, they are very flexible and will alter all meals to suit your needs. Taquitos with soft corn tortillas are the best. Order individually and they will keep them coming until you scream ¡Basta!" - Rhett - Dec 19, 2009 "BEST Mexican this side of the border This place rocks. It is good, it is cheap and really it just has amazing food. I am craving it now just thinking about it. Now when you go most of the staff including wait staff doesn't speak much english. Also grab a drink from the cooler..." - Chris Rank - Aug 6, 2008

    Tacos to die for. These are al carbon and carnitas :)
    Michael L.

    Absolutely delicious and courteous, super good! Love it. I had tacos asada, al pastor, carnitas and they were so good and fresh! The salsa is homemade. The little grocery store next door has a fabulous selection of fresh produce and meats. I can't say enough good about this place. Open at 8 am and until late!

    Pechuga Asada

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    They closed. Visited last week and doors were chained. Tried calling to make sure and doesn't go thru

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    El Patron Restaurante Mexicano - Enchiladas

    El Patron Restaurante Mexicano

    4.2(2.7k reviews)
    16.1 miInternational Drive / I-Drive, Horizons West / West Orlando
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    Nic at the bar was great. Food was wonderful - Order the quesadillas and Mexican bowlsread more

    Disclaimer: this review is for the lunch buffet only…read more I went with my family to try the $18.49 all you can eat lunch buffet. This was my first time experiencing a buffet for hispanic food and for this price point in Orlando, this is an amazing value deal. The server regularly brought us out silverware, napkins, and refilled our water. The place is decorated very fun and plays latin music which was lovely Not only was there an unlimited assortment of lunch foods, but an entire bar of fresh toppings for tacos (or rice bowls) and made to order desserts which were included for free! Not everything on the buffet line was the best but given the amount of options, price, and how good the great items are this is still worth a five star rating. I unfortunately did not take pictures of the food before I began devouring everything in sight to the point of near-collapse, but I will do a quick rundown of the buffet highlights: The best meats were the fajita steak, chicken, and shrimp made fresh in cast iron skillets, as well as the chicken lengua which was super flavorful and tender. The mexican rice, beans, fajitas, plantains, and street corn were also excellent. Fresh quesadillas, chips, and corn tortillas on standby with homemade queso and salsas. The flan and mini churros were the best I've ever had. Super rich, decadent Carmel flan. Mini churros hot and crisp on the outside, filled with a gooey soft milk chocolate center. They were delicious. Items that were disappointing: the tamales, mini chicken flautas, and beef chimichangas were just okay, lacking the seasoning and flavor that other dishes had. The beef barbacoa was not as tender or flavorful as the shredded chicken surprisingly. The mixed seafood was itself a mixed bag with some shrimps / scallops overcooked to much while others were perfectly cooked. The chicken mole and beef tri tip were room temperature despite sitting on hot plates. The tri tip also varied widely in doneness throughout the slices and not super tender. The rice pudding was pretty standard, and the tres leches cake was weird as they crumbled the cake into pieces before soaking it.

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    Solita Tacos & Margaritas

    4.0(289 reviews)
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    Adelitas Mexican Cocina Bar & Seafood

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    A bummer experience, unfortunate for a restaurant with potential…read more We went on a Wednesday and ordered the fajitas (weekly special) and the chipotle chicken. The fajitas came out without the sizzle of the skillet (disappointing but not a deal breaker) and the chipotle chicken was overly salty. I would have gladly let my server know the food was too salty, but unfortunately they nearly completley absent our entire dining experience. We love the table salsa and could not find them in the restaurant to ask for more until our food was delivered. But after that, we never saw them again. It wasn't until the bartender noticed us looking, that we were able to ask for our check. There was maybe 4 tables in the restaurant during this time and 0 staff presence.

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    Five stars without a doubt! I have been visiting Reyes for quite awhile and they have never…read moredisappointed me, my family, or my friends. We all love this restaurant so much! I didn't realize they were also affiliated with other local restaurants as well. I can't wait to try the others. Reyes is not your average Mexican cuisine. They have a modern twist to their menu. The food is simply bursting with such great flavor! I liked anything and everything I have ever ordered from their menu. Whether it's for brunch, lunch, or dinner, you will always have a delightful experience here. The decoration and ambiance alone is exquisite. The customer service is top notch. The people of Reyes truly care about their customers. I just went for magical dining last night. What lovely selections on the menu for $40! I ordered the beef empanadas, lamb birra (comes with a side of corn tortilla), and finished off the night with their guera cake (hybrid between a flan and tres leches). Our experience was nothing short of amazing! Thank you to the Reyes team!

    I went to Reyes the other night with friends for the happy hour. It was pretty busy for a Friday…read moreafternoon, but we didn't need a reservation. It was definitely a lively crowd. We sat at the bar and order the margarita. The drinks were good, just an average margarita. The bartenders were very attentive even though it was crowded. Additionally, the people at the bar were super friendly. I'd definitely go back and try the other drinks.

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    El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant - mexican - Updated September 2026

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