Service was ok, my food came out quick. They don't give you salsa to go. Maybe because they want you to buy their jars of salsa. I definitely wouldn't recommend their breakfast burritos. I got a sausage and a bacon and I don't think I tasted any meat in either burrito. Definitely some better places in the area that I would go to next time. read more

Amazing. I love this taco shop so much. The food is incredible and authentic. Everything you order is cooked with love and so much flavor. The salsa bar is excellent. The prices are reasonable. The staff is kind and attentive. This taco shop is clearly the best in Poway. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's welcoming, homey, and yet serves up some of the best, most authentic Mexican dishes in the whole city.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I cannot recommend this place enough. read more

Yum yum yum! just had the best burger at El Ranchito. This place is known for super delicious traditional mexican dishes; tacos flautas enchiladas. But today I tried the cheeseburger. The meat was so tender & tasty. I'm not huge fan of burgers but I know I'll crave this again! try it yourself. read more

Been coming here consistently for 31 years! Family owned yes the prices have risen. But the quality of the food is always high! They care about what they serve. Never a bad meal in all those years that has to say something! Highly recommend! read more

Honestly ordered two menudo and rolled tacos for my friend she tells me she allergic to dairy honest mistake never been here before so I'm in same shopping center a door over run to tell them there busy I walk n the lady says it's coming it's ready basically I'm so sorry I apologize said it's my mistake and she takes rolled tacos I get two menudos I pay I ask her if I can leave signed tip 7.00$ for the inconvenience she says it's fine then some other old Hispanic ladies who works there buds in and says next time cancel it on phone I look at her smile said ok sorry left get almost home see no condiments I call back they give attitude and say oh you have to get them yourself I'm like this place sucks with customer service they could've told me that when I was there not be mad over a accident lol when I offered to tip them smh never coming back . read more

This is my all time, for life, FAVORITE Mexican spot in ALL of San Diego. I have quite literally fallen in love with this place. All burritos are delicious. I also love the plates. They have a nice salsa bar available for free. I will say prices have gone up in the past year due to inflation but still worth every penny. read more

Amazing staff and food. Best rice and beans I've had from any taco shop. They also have great salsas. Getting more pricey but that's happening everywhere so can't reaaaally complain about that. read more

We love this place and have been coming weekly for years. We love the carne asada burrito and the pollo asada burrito. Also love the fajita plates. They also really support the schools and community with many fundraisers. Love them! Feel very lucky to have them in our town! read more

First time chicken chimichanga $16 dollars for this no rice or beans.I threw it away gummy tortilla gross chicken florescent green guacamole how is this Mexican food went to El Indio where I got the same thing for $11 dollars and it was pure heaven.This place is an insult to Mexican food read more

Best taco shop in Poway I especially love their refried beans and their breakfast potatoes.

love this place ! it's so hard to find an amzing non greengo mexican food spot in this area . eveything taste homemade , love it

Best Mexican food in all of Poway! If you're looking for something delicious, make sure to go here!

Updated review: still a solid 4 stars for everything else I love to eat here: rolled tacos, flautas, carne asada fries and their burgers, of all things, lol. But they started putting lettuce in their carne asada burrito! No bueno. I bit into my burrito and not sure if it's used as a filler but for the price you are paying for it, I'd prefer it be all meat. Just my preference. Love the salsa bar with many different options plus the free chips when you dine in. I'll continue to support their business but if you are not a fan of lettuce in your carne asada burrito, make sure you request it without. read more

This place is great we went there after hiking at Poway park this food is fantastic servers are great they have a wonderful selection of food I would recommend this place if you're hungry read more

This place is super stingy with their salsa and over priced. I came in to order a carne asada burrito ($9.50), California burrito ($9.50), and 4 chicken flautas ($3.25 each), orders for 4 people. The total was $32 + tax = $34.48. I paid credit and there was $1.12 charge on the receipt. Have no idea where they came up with that amount. I couldn't figure out the percentage. While I was waiting for my take out order, the salsa bar only had disposable paper salsa cups with no lid. I asked the lady for a plastic container with lid. She gave me two. When my order was ready, I ask the young girl (a different lady) if I could get more containers. She saw I already had two in my hands and proceeded to hand me some. But then the original lady who gave me the first containers spoke to the young girl in Spanish. The young girl turns around and hands me one container and says "sorry". I'm like, wtf, I order four orders and you're only going to give me 3 containers? She shrugged it off and said "sorry" while giving me the side eye that the other lady would kill her if she had given me more than one and didn't give a crap that my order exceeded the salsa cups. I still don't understand because the salsa was open bar. You could fill up a bunch of the paper salsa cups if you dined in. Are they that cheap? I know they advertise and sell their salsa in jars but still, that's uncool. I didn't get to try the two burritos but they were smaller and flat compared to other places. I was excited to try the chicken flautas from all the hype on social media. When I opened up the foil I was very disappointed that it wasn't fully loaded with toppings like shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole. It was only melted cheddar cheese and sour cream. It was deep fried to perfection but I would have preferred more chicken stuffing and fully loaded toppings. Based on the fiasco with the salsa bar and how the flautas turned out, I would rate this 2.5, rounding to 3. Other items must be good because this place was packed that I couldn't take a decent indoor photo. read more

See all

My son and I stopped by a few days ago, hungry for yummy Mexican food. All I can say is, run, don't walk to El Ranchito's. We ordered the fresh fish tacos, which that day were fresh salmon belly (salmon delivered that morning from Alaska, we were told), or fresh red snapper. Both were so good that we're still talking about them!! We took a veggie burrito home to my husband; he loved his as well. Fresh, fresh ingredients, careful attention to detail. The owner brought by a surprise, to us, of a tasty dessert. Can you tell we'll be back...and back? You place your order at the counter, and when ready it's brought to you. Complimentary warm chips and several choices of salsa from the salsa bar. [[HIGHLIGHT]]A modest location, but wow, they've got it down!![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Great service, great prices. Will likely go again when I'm in the are. Highly recommend

Okay, 11 years after my original review, I've matured and learned to appreciate El Ranchito for what it is and the purpose it has in San Diego. Specializing in flautas is a niche that no one else does and honestly it does everything right! Burritos, tacos, combo plates...all that it's right on the money! But I still primarily come for these gigantic chicken flautas because they're incredible. I recommend eating it in the shop so you can load up on all the red sauce and replenish your horchata. It's quickly becoming one of the places I take all my San Diego visitors to taste the SoCal flavor. read more

El Ranchito Taco Shop - Chicken flautas - Mexican Near Me - Poway, California

First time here and the food was delicious, the customer service was very nice and polite. Thank you you make a difference. read more

El Ranchito Taco Shop - Fajita plates - Mexican Near Me - Poway, California

I ordered the soft asada tacos on a Sunday afternoon to go. YUM!!!! The food is perfect. They have a fully stocked salsa bar with pickled jalapeños, salsa, cold lemons, and all the fixings. The food came out nearly immediately. The tortillas weren't greasy or gross form the grill they were perfection! The staff was nice - we ordered to go so don't know what their in service care is like. Very much mom&pop type, great vibes. Highly recommend. read more

Still the best flautas and beans ! Fast service. We drive from imperial beach to poway just to eat flautas. I always buy a jar of salsa too, super yummy and spicy read more

El Ranchito Taco Shop - Shredded beef flautas - Mexican Near Me - Poway, California

See all

If you're looking for some homemade Mexican food, look no further. This spot has delicious food made to order with small wide menu selection. Call in orders are nonstop for the locals and they have ample seating inside if you want to eat there. read more

See all

Very big disappointment. Ground beef meat in rolled tacos. Where's the shredded beef ? Watered down guacamole, added filler. Carne asada fries. Dry u chewable meat. Never again with this place !!! read more

Amazing food and service fresh and yummy!, Thank you so very much from the Xavier College Prep dance Team!

We had El Ranchito cater the food for the Memorial service for our son Donald Willhite (known as DJ to most) last November. DJ loved Ranchito. Alejandra was so wonderful to us not to mention patient with me! The order was for 100 people, and she had it ready and delivered on time and helped us get it set-up. The food was as amazing as it always is, and everyone really enjoyed it. Thank you again to Alejandra and her hard working team for making things a little easier for us read more

Food is half good. I know it's place for profit owner but it's so expensive and quality is not what you expect for Mexican meals. I prefer Jalapeños in Carmel Mountain as they care about quality and service. read more

Went in about 20 minutes before closing. Decent prices, clean , and food was hot and yummy !

Family owned and consistently great food. Been going there for more than 25 years. My go to for Mexican food. Always the freshest ingredients prepared perfectly. read more

We have driven from San Marcos to Poway just to eat here - the BEST Mexican food ever.

Gotten too expensive over the past couple years. An entree went from around $15 to now $22 for one meal. Plenty of other cheaper but good quality Mexican options in Poway. read more

Gotta get the Cali Burrito! You gotta wait a few mins but that's fine it's worth it. Looking forward to my next visit!

I grew up in Poway and came here often. Over 20 yrs later we still come to eat here when we are back in town. The food is still great!

I'm truly baffled by how this place has managed to get a 4-star rating. This was our first and definitely our last visit, thanks to their shockingly poor customer service. We spent $46, and when my husband asked the cashier for more salsa cups, she had the audacity to question how much food he had purchased. If they're going to limit salsa containers based on the amount of food ordered, it shows they really have no grasp of good customer service, especially considering their overpriced menu items. read more