I'll tell you, I read through these reviews and I'm not sure what people expect. This is a taco shop, not Ruth's Chris or Morton's. We love this place. We eat here at least once a week. My wife actually prefers the Los Primos in Murrieta because their hot red salsa is "better." So I tried Los Primos last week for the first time and I have to tell you, the food is just not very good. I believe my exact words were "if you think this is better than El Ranchito, you're out of your mind." That was well received. The reason I'm giving them four stars is because as some people mentioned, they're very stingy with the napkins and salsa. Forget trying to shove any spicy carrots into the containers they give you. I will say this, the place is always spotless. It's not unusual to see someone wipe down the salsa bar and somebody sweeping or mopping the floor every time you go in. read more

Our family loves this place for a quick Mexican fix. The food is flavorful and we love the salsa! For a low cost Mexican fare you can't beat it! read more

I can't even deal with how rude these people just were. It was insanity. I was prepared for less than stellar service because I'd read the reviews before walking in. The lady that rang me up was combative and nasty. I normally don't really care to leave reviews like this but this chick was crazy rude. I asked for 4 salsa cups (they keep them behind the counter) and she was like here's 2. I said may I have 4 please. She literally threw one more down and said "you can have THREE." I said I'm happy to pay for the extra if you have a limit, but I need 4. She was like well we just upgraded our size cups and that should be enough for you. I was like dude at this point I don't care I just want 4 and you're welcome to charge me. She flung the 4th at me and slid my bag to me all aggressively and was like "whatever here's your food" and walked away. Wtf man. Not to mention the food was not amazing. read more

You have to know what to expect when you eat here, but when you do it is good. The street tacos are better than most, but what really wins it for me is their chips and salsa. Just that alone makes me a fan. I go here at least once a week and have tried various things, but I always go back to the 4 taco special (2 carne asad, and 2 grilled pollo) a large bag of chips and some of their yummy medium salsa. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. read more

I have never experienced the rudeness people have had. I get food from here all the time and always call it in to go. They are always really nice on the phone and in the store. They have the BEST grilled chicken super nachos. I would never order chicken over beef anywhere, except for these. They are absolutely amazing! I've also never seen them act stingy with the salsa. I ask for extra stuff a lot and I have never been charged for it. read more

I have only tried the tacos here, they are not bad, but you can get better at almost every other taco shop. The biggest complaint I have is with the service. The cashier was so rude. I simply asked if they offer any taco Tuesday specials and she gave me the biggest attitude. I dont understand what the big deal was with my question but I guess she didnt like it. Anyways I will never be in here again. read more

Guaranteed to get great tasting food. May be on the expensive side for fast food but the quality is worth it. Why save a dollar for cheaper quality and bigger portions of gross food? El Ranchito delivers the same quality and taste every time you order. Favorite is the 5 rolled taquito meal. Also very clean establishment every time I visit. read more

One of our favorite places! !! The girls at the counter are all so friendly. Food is always amazing.

Love them! good and authentic. We eat at this taco shop about 3-4 days a week and bring it in for our employees as well.

Today I ordered a carne asada burrito and 3 rolled tacos with guacamole. The rolled tacos were very good. The carne asada burrito had too much refried beans in it. If you ask me, ANY refried beans is too much to put in a carne asada burrito. Just a cheap way to make a burrito if you ask me. I'm paying for the carne asada, not a bean burrito. The taste was okay, but I just can't get passed all the beans. read more

I think everyone who has been here realizes that the employees are unfriendly and borderline rude. They have been for years. But, it's a taco shop...we are here for quick food...we can deal with that. As, we all deal with the incredibly stingy way they hand you one tiny cup for a bit of salsa and, when you ask for more they grimace and begrudgingly hand you one or two more tiny cups. To be fair, I have returned for three reasons. 1. They have the best shredded beef tacos ever! 2. Good hot salsas. 3. Very close to my house. After tonight, it is OVER! Ordered carne asada burrito... almost entire burrito was rice and beans. What meat there was in the burrito was NOT carne asada marinated in any way. Just some crappy meat. But really, I had to search for it. Look, I am born and raised in Southern California and we all know that a Carne Asada burrito = marinated steak, onions, cilantro, quacamole. NO cheap beans and rice!!! The guacamole also has less avocado then tomatoes. Beef tacos are still good but, I ordered a side of salsa so I wouldn't have to beg for enough tiny cups. I paid for this and then said, can I also have a few cups since my family doesn't all like the same type of salsa? I ordered 6 dishes and she gave me 3 little cups with no comment but "the look". Alberto's near Barron's on Meadows is much better now! Go there instead! read more

One of my all time favorite mexican places in the area! The food is authentic and not at all mediocre. The salsa sauce is on point. If you have never been here consider trying the chicken soft taco special or a breakfast burrito. read more

One of the most yummy Mexican restaurant around and yummy food great service you can even call ur order in for pickup so it's ready when I get there could eat there in peace or take it to go and set in front of ur tv and enjoy and to make it even better live up the street from it a great choice if u having problem with ur home cooked meal not hard to fix just go el Ranchito taco and u have dinner prob fix can go wrong u can order anything at anytime of the day u can have breakfast at lunch and dinner if u wanted for some one that doesn't know read more

We love this place. However, tonight I ordered a carnitas plate without rice and beans and asked for lettuce instead. I ended up with a scoop of carnitas and nothing else. They even forgot the tortillas. :( I will have to figure out something else for dinner. read more

The shredded beef tacos are the best in town. We tried many places since moving to town, but have been to this place every day this week. I made my wife go today because I was embarrassed to return yet again. read more

paid for a larger guacamole & they gave me the TINY little lime cups of guacamole, chips have no flavor, the cashiers are so rude, & it's completely over charged. waste of time. read more

Beef rolled tacos had pieces of rubber gloves. Clerk argued and wouldn't even look at the meat. Have eaten here for more than 10 years. Won't go back!!! Look before you eat. read more

9$ for 5 rolled tacos seems a bit high.... Like way high . I ordered them with sour cream ,lettuce and tomato . The food came with hardly any of any of the things that drove the price into the next tax bracket!!! The taste of food was average. Then dinning room is average. Service was typical ( massive ascent). Go to Aztec tacos down the street. Soooooo much better food! read more

Worst mexican place ever!!!! Ordered for me my wife and son. All the meats in the food we ordered was beef rather that chicken like we ordered. Took the food back and all the lady said was sorry. didn't replace the order or even give a refund. When i asked to speak with a manager the guy did not soeak a work of english. Where the hell am i mexico of the united states!!!!! Tried calling back every day for the next few days and there was never any manager or supervisor there to talk to that could communicate with me. This place is junk. read more

I have lived in Temecula for 2 years, and have had a chance to try most of the Mexican style places around the area. This is by far my favorite shop, and my go to when in the area. Their cooks are excellent with dish preparation, and the employees are always very helpful. They always offer enough salsa cups to enjoy their salsa station. Meal Portions are excellent and the restaurant is always clean and maintained. I highly recommend El Ranchito to anyone who enjoys Mexican style cuisine, and the staff are helpful while I train wreck the language while ordering food. read more

If you want hair in your food and staff that don't care then El Ranchito Taco Shop is the place for you! Absolutely worst service and disgusting food. When we showed them the big black hair in our soup they could care less and refused to give us a refund. I DONT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE! read more

So far this is the first time being here. Waited almost 30 min to get my food to go. When I walked in there was no other customers there. I asked the lady for no onions or tomatoes on anything. Two out of three things I ordered were filled with both. They also don't have cups out for sauces you have to ask them for some and they give you only a couple. I will say the food we could actually eat after picking out all of the tomatoes and onions was decent. But it's really not worth the hassle! read more

i agree with scott, the workers there at el ranchito have ATTITUDES... you don't have to be mexican to get courtesy around there, you just have to work there (i am mexican, and am a very polite and respectful person), i did not get the customer service i would of thought from a fellow mexicana.......so my fiance and i went there on thursday night to grab a late bite to eat, the girl was rude with the ugliest look on her face and to top it off, the food was GROSS and the meat looked liked cat food!!! i know good mexican food when i eat it, and this shouldn't even be called a mexican restuarant. i took 2 bites of my taco and threw it away.. we ended going to in n out down the street for some real GOOD FOOD!!...i would NOT reccomend this place to eat at and would NEVER go there again read more

Good (expensive) food but the worst customer service I've ever seen!!! We only go if absolutely nothing else sounds good. They have some annoying warning about not being able to share drinks and are super stingy with their salsa cups and napkins. They really need an internal makeover. read more

Ordered a breakfast burrito. Instead of potatoes, they used a hash brown. The burrito was so small for the price and they only put one piece of bacon in it. Don't waste your time here. Terrible quality. read more

Sadly, I cannot give a rating based soley on the food- but rest assured the food is good. I grew up in San Diego, so I know good mexican food and this is probably the best you will find this far north. Unfortunately as a business owner I do value service and the service is terrible. I have been a regular for years and spend $100's here each month, but now I can no longer get enough salsa to satisfy my tastebuds. They view every order the same- regardless of how many people you are buying for or the dollare amount; I get the same number of salsa cups with 1 combo as I get with 5 combos- this makes no sense. Don't try and reason with these people, they never had lessons in customer service and frankly I don't think they care if they lose customers (they probably don't have to because as I said the food is good). The funny thing is I don't mind buying salsa, in fact I buy my salsa for home use from them- but if I'm spending $20 plus on food and I'm asking for enough salsa for what I'm buying that's a whole different ballgame. Do any resturants charge for condiments for the food you are buying from them? I too would love to find another great place to go in south Temecula, because I really do like to give my business to people who value it. read more

The food is ok. For how below average it is it's pretty expensive. No chips with your meal that is extra. Food is soaked in grease and tastes ok. No wow to anything. Taco's are $2.50 each and just lettuce tomato nothing special. Burritos taste better than the Taco's but quality is level of cheap chain. read more

Food tastes good but a little too greasy. Their prices are a bit high for the quantity of food.

Crappy tacos like my Irish mom used to make back in 1986. Actually my moms were better. At least hers weren't sopping wet with tasteless water. I can't believe they're in business in Southern California. And what's up with the salsa cups they give you? Literally thimble sized. Go anywhere else within a 200 mile radius if you want better tacos. read more

The BEST for cheap, good, mexican grub. better than the location on winchester. just dont go for the extra stinky menudo.

Decided to give it a try by getting a breakfast burrito. I usually consider breakfast burritos a "safe" choice, hard to screw up. Wow that was not case for el ranchito. To start off throughout the whole burrito there were eggshells. On top of that the tortilla and ham had no flavor. read more

Wimpy sauce. Wimpy portions. Wimpy horchata. Wimpy atmosphere. I'd say this place is wimpy.

I love the flavor of their shredded beef tacos, beans and rice. Clean restaurant, quick & friendly service and tasty food. Whenever I've asked for extra napkins, salsa cups etc... they always oblige. The price is what I would expect for good Mexican food. They also have Tuesday taco special. They also serve delicious pozole and tasty chicken soup! read more

I almost come here every morning for the breakfast burrito, it's delicious. I get the bacon and egg very filling, The food here is great. The girls in the front know what Custumer service is all about, been in business for years and they got it down pretty well!! Very good vibe every time I walk in. Thank you! read more

I'm a Mexican food junkie and started going to El Ranchito since they opened many years ago. At first, the food and salsa was great (I've always felt you can tell a good mex place by the quality of the salsa bar) but in the last couple years, it seems the quality is slipping AND the it seems someone is watering down the salsa . I hadn't been there for probably close to a year and thought I'd give it another chance yesterday. I got my burrito to go. The service was great. The burrito? (scale of 1 to 10) gets a 5. My biggest disappointment was the salsa. More watered down than ever!! And what's with the mico-salsa cups? Oh well... I'll try again in a few months. read more

A few weeks ago I went into this restaurant. I've been going there since they opened. My brother and his family were over and I was telling him about this amazing taco shop. We went there and ordered over $55 of food. Asked the cashier for extra salsa cups and little plastic bags for marinated carrots and jalapeños. She told me the owner had instituted new rules. Only two small cups for salsa and 1 plastic bag for each order. I can understand that if I had ordered one burrito. Besides being embarrassed by such bragging I had done for this restaurant, I got angry. Since I had just ordered I knew they hadn't begun to cook my order. I asked the cashier to cancel my order and refund my money. She was shocked and didn't know what to say. I realized it wasn't her fault but the owners. They should google " it's about the pickle". I wasn't going to write this review but it has been bothering. The people who work there have always treated me well. Unfortunately I have not and will not return to this establishment. Just wanted to let them know how to succeed in business. read more

We had a machaca burrito and it was yummy. The salsa bar is also great. Happy we found this place on our way home from palm desert.

tasty food but so ridiculously cheap on the salsa. You have to fight and get dirty looks when you ask for another container & you wouldn't believe how small the damn container is. There are better places - Aztec Tacos is across the street - unlimited salsa! read more

My family has been dining in this restaurant for 4 years now why do I go back!!! Well the food is good the service is OK my daughter loves the place!! I think you are over priced and tonight the restaurant gave us a small I mean small salsa cup really !!!! you're business is doing well don't push it!! you will lose you're best customers ........ read more

Gave me the wrong burrito and when I came back she said I took the wrong one ( was handed to me by an employee). And then gave me my burrito that had been sitting there for thirty minutes. Horrible customer service!!! Will never go back!!!! read more