I've been coming here for 20 plus years. I enjoy the way they make the homemade soup and the little salad w/ thousand island that comes with your dinner meal. The lettuce is always fresh and crisp. And the dressing tastes homemade and it always leaves me wanting more. But, thank goodness by the time my mouth is wanting more..the food comes. Because by then I am already almost stuffed with their home fried tortilla chips and salsa. Their salsa is the best. I like spicy! So, if you like spicy without any smokey chipotle taste,,,,this is for you! I am a creature of habit when I find a steadfast meal. I always order the Cheese enchilada with green sauce and a crispy fried taco. And it always is perfectly fried the way I like it with the chicken inside of it. Beans and rice are always yummy. The home-made margarita mix is yummy too. Try a pitcher if you don't need to work the next day. And finally, I appreciate family run & operated businesses, so when I am in the area I always try to go here. And you should too! read more

El Ranchito Restaurant - um. did someone say Margarita?? yum. - Bars Near Me - Riverbank, California

WE came into Modesto and dined at El Ranchito with my brother and sister-in-law on 10/13/22. Former "Modestoans" we have not eaten at El Rancho in over 30 years, yet my brother eats there once a week! I can see why: the chips and margaritas are excellent, salsa just a bit too hot; I had the chicken suiza enchiladas with green sauce, which I finished, minus the beans and some rice. I liked the salad too. My husband had the chicken mole enchiladas, which he enjoyed them very much. My brother and sister-in-law had their usual, tacos, and I can't recall the other item. I can see why they return every week! read more

My husband has been going for almost 25yrs. And we go there at least 2-3x a month. Outstanding service and food. No substitute! Family friendly and feels like home. The margaritas never disappoint. read more

By far my favorite Mexican restaurant ever. Their fajitas are unmatched. I love every soup they make! I've never tasted a better chili Colorado. I just really love everything, never had a bad meal. read more

Love the food, margarita are the best. Lobster dish is so great. Love the tacos and tostadas.

I have been going to El Ranchito ever since we moved to Riverbank 8 yrs ago and it still remains to be my favorite place to go for Mexican food! The food is always good and hasn't disappointed us yet! I highly recommend you try it if you haven't yet! read more

Service is always the greatest!! Love the family, so welcoming, I have been coming here since I was a child. Absolutely the best Mexican food anywhere!! Everything about this place is 5 read more

El Ranchito is the place to go for authentic Mexican cuisine. Their soup is incredible and they always rotate it so you get a new one every day! I have yet to find margaritas and enhiladas as good as theirs. Highly recommend checking them out. You won't be disappointed! read more

Great Food and Atmosphere with their famous margaritas. Family owned for years with a loyal following.

The food is always amazing and the staff is great they are all like family. The only place I will go eat Mexican food at when I am in California read more

We have been going here for 40 years. The family is so kind and remember everyone! The food is AMAZING! My go to is the grilled chicken tostada or the shrimp! I am giving 4 stars because of the noise level.....however it does not stop me from going bet the food is so damn good!!! You won't be disappointed! read more

We sat at our table for 24 minutes maybe longer by the time I started to watch the time and no one acknowledged us or took our order. Not even a " I will be right with you" tried to get the servers attention a few times but she kept walking past us. read more

If I could give a zero I would. They have seafood, but can't make a shrimp burrito? They have a veggie burrito but couldn't make veggie tacos for my wife? Don't come here if you have to modify your meal at all. They do not work with people, at all. read more

Been coming here for YEARS! I love this place and I love the family that owns it! You cant beat the $3 margaritas on Wednesdays! read more

El Ranchito Restaurant - a drawing of a cowboy on a menu - Bars Near Me - Riverbank, California

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Our first visit, and it will be our last. Ordered fajitas and they were awful. It's as though they put no effort into the dish. Just one giant blob of meat and mushy beans. Very little flavor. And they only provided 3 small flour tortillas. Just not impressed overall. I am being generous with 3 stars. read more

I have loved eating at this place for a very long time. All of their dishes are wonderful. I worked there for 10 years. They're chili verde cannot be beat read more

Their enchiladas and margaritas are the best I've ever had. George is the nicest guy and provide excellent service. The bar area was very clean and has fast service read more

We've eaten here many times and like their food. However, at least 3 times we've driven with our family to this restaurant on a special occasion (yesterday it was my husband's milestone birthday) only to find it closed. We live in Modesto so we go out of our way. I look online and each time it says they will be open. So once again we meet our family there to eat and are embarrassed because now we have to load everyone back up to find somewhere else. I am looking for recommendations for a new favorite Mexican restaurant. read more

Great food and great service. Had the chilaquiles with two fried eggs and beans. Absolutely delicious. We went on a Saturday night and it was packed. The only down side was other patrons waiting for tables were standing next to ours. I would definitely recommend this place for delicious, fast Mexican food. read more

The food can be good depending on what you order. The service also fluctuates; some of the staff are very kind and attentive, and some of them are very grouchy (you'll know who's who right away). One time we were approached and told that their policy states no outside drinks, so they confiscated our ICE WATER. Get better tasting water and we won't need to bring any in. You're rolling the dice here. read more

If you want authentic Mexican food like my suegra's then El Ranchito is the place. Hands down! Las tripas eran muy sabrosas!

I've been coming here forever and am shocked by any of the negative reviews here. Every time I come the foods hot and delicious. I love their chips.. more texture than other restaurants. Also their soup that comes with the entrees is to die for. It always has the same broth and sometimes it has pasta or different variations but the broths soooo good. It's always crowded but I've never waited longer than 5-10 min and that's like once out of the dozens of times I've been here. Lots of ppl means good food. 5/5 100% read more

The food is delicious and always consistent! Everything is good! Also great margaritas. The service is excellent. A family vibe (many of the employees are family). We've been dining with them for over forty years. Highly recommend. read more

I'm soooo very mad and disgusted, and disappointed!!!! I called 2 weeks ago to make a reservation for my daughters birthday for 12 guests, I was told that there are no reservations, but that we would have no problem getting seated. We got to the restaurant, and the only people that were there were the carpet cleaning company. The restaurant was closed!!! I was lucky enough to find another restaurant close enough to accommodate my birthday party!! I've never had bad food, there, but the service this time, was atrocious!!! read more

Food was delicious and very fresh. Excellent service with friendly staff. Would definitely recommend.

family owned and operated. nice salads and prices on drinks. the staff treats you like their own and will do what they need to do to make sure you enjoy your meal or drinks. this is a valley staple and we are lucky to have them read more

Best restaurant in the area! Great food, service and atmosphere!! No other establishment even comes close!

Finally came back here after a couple years and my wife said why aren't we coming here all the time? 1st... the flour tortilla chips are the bomb!! 2nd... the red sauce is awesome and the Suiza red is...to die for. Plus meal came with a side salad and a terrific split pea soup. Going out on a limb here but best split pea ever. Kids enchilada plate came with ice cream desert, my daughter cleaned her plate. Also the service was exceptional!! Melanie was terrific. Friendly, efficient and professional. She took great care of us from beginning to end. The young lady helping out and bringing waters and such was great also. Top marks for service and food at a great price. We'll be back! read more

We have New Mexican Restaurant to visit in Riverbank, CA Yes and we literally stumbled on this place. The parking lot was FULL which is always a good sign little did we know that they were all in the BAR. Yeah boy! The food was good. 2/10/2019 The service "NOT SO MUCH " The owner did NOT MEET THE CHALLENGE! I asked to speak to the management and he took his time. The after attended the people that came more than an 45 minutes after us, he came to our table. He explained that they were under staffed and that is why the server was RUDEAfterwards, he sent a drink with an apology First, NOT GOOD, sending us off "Drunk" May not be in anyone's "best interest" since we Drive from ATWATER about 45 miles away. + it was freezing inside! I think we will Rethink coming back! read more

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The food was as good as the service, TERRIBLE. The woman who took our order was rude and I felt very rushed by her when we ordered. We ordered a michelada, margarita on the rocks and a orange juice. The michelada was brown and tasted terrible, my margarita was almost pure tequila and ice and the orange juice tasted sour and had carbonated water in it. My husband and I both ordered the combo plate with chile verde, chile Colorado, a chile relleno, a enchilada and crispy taco, I substituted the taco for a tamale. It was horrible. All the food was mixing together making it almost impossible to enjoy anything on the plate. The enchilada was mush, the taco was soggy, the relleno tasted like it had freezer burn, the tamale had a weird taste to it, the Colorado sauce tasted more like a mole, and the verde was ok. All of it was warm and got cold fast making it taste worse. The "soup" that comes with the meal was salty and I love salt and the salad was basic and had a thick slab of thousand island dressing. Rice was bland, beans had a burnt aftertaste and the flour tortillas tasted like cheap store bought cold and uncooked. The chips were half flour and corn tortillas chips. The flour ones were over cooked to the point that they were dark brown with a bitter taste and the corn chips were generic store bought no flavor chips. The place did have a lot of customers but, (and I say this with love) it was mostly older people. Maybe our experience was the result of just an off day? In any case, I will not go back. read more

Hunt it down. It's hard to find, not just because it's in a little town, but also because the building is almost completely hidden from the road and the entrance is tough to navigate, but it is so worth it!!! Twice we've been here and twice we've had great service, great food, and great drinks. They don't just make Mexican food, they create culinary dishes with a Mexican flair. This time Hubby had the New York Steak - seasoned with Mexican spices and cooked to perfection! I tried the chili verde and stuffed myself with every last bite. So good! All the way from the basket of corn/flour chips to the homemade corn soup and house salad, it was delicious! It's far away from home, but I can't wait for the next trip to the lake so that we can stop here again. TIP: Try the fish or shrimp. They are house specialties. read more

This place is always packed. I recently moved to the area and wanted to find a good Mexican restaurant. I ordered the enchiladas and I LOVED the sauce it came with. Never had something like it before. The people I came with didn't really care for their food... The service was ok, but nothing really impressed me and my family. Might be back.. but it's already been 6 months and I haven't been back since and it's down the street from my house. read more

Excellent from top to bottom. Great service for years! Family owned and operated. Amazing staff that has been taking care of my family for years. My grandpa always gets the Chile Verde, very consistent. You can taste the tomatillos in every bite, not to sour like you find in those imitation restaurants. The Chile Relleno was my favorite. It's to die for. The sauce has such a rich flavor that pairs so well with the peppers. I also ordered the special of the day which was some of the best marinated chicken breast I've ever had before. Thank you so much El Ranchito for the years of delicious food and friendly service! read more

Huge burritos. They need to update their price menus. The service was quick. The restaurant was clean and vibrant.

I've been going to eat here for over 20 years. But after Covid, the customer service and food is.

We were in there last week in November 2022, I had one of the good house plates. It was chili, Colorado and chili Verde and some other items. My partner had the three item combo and we each had a couple sodas. We left the waitress a $10 tip and when the charge came on our statement the amount was $72.21. Since we didn't keep the receipt, we really had no proof of what exactly happened other than I'm pretty sure we got billed for some xtra tip money. And to top it off, the lady who is waiting on us, was talking about her placing orders for items, and the costs going up, so I'm pretty sure she was more than just a waitress. Well, that's one way to keep costs in check. I had to call the bank to dispute an extra $10 on my bill. They told me they're going to still get their full amount but I thought I'd let the rest of you guys know who eat here watch your account watch what you're paying shame on these people for doing this. read more

We simply love this place, the food is really good and tasty and of course the drinks are the best.

Food was cold. Waiter was rude. Think his name is David. Seriously? How does a place survive with that kinda service.... I was contacted by Tracey( I assume an owner ) I was threatened by her to remove my review or else?? I'm guessing when she has received other bad reviews , she has done the same thing. Instead of an apology for the horrible experience , I received a threat.... seriously? This restaurant needs to be boycotted. read more

I've came here quite a few times over the years. This last time will probably be my last. I ordered a plate of tacos. On the one plate that I had a single taco with a different meat, I had a huge woman's black hair laying across my taco. I was a little grossed out but I get that things happen. I told the server who apologized and took the plate back to have a new taco made. About 5-8 minutes later a new taco comes out. The tortilla was super hot, meat was cold. If it was freshly cooked, the meat would have been at least warm with hot hot the tortilla was. I'm assuming they reused the meat and threw it in a new tortilla. When the first tacos came out, they were all hot. At this point I was pretty grossed out and not happy. If that's how things are done, I won't be back. read more

Love El Ranchito. Great food.. Family environment.. Soups are delish .. doesn't matter which one they are serving. Try a shredded beef taco.. you won't regret it read more