Usually I have a great time in rancho Mateo, but when it comes to sitting at the bar, if you're not a man, the girls working behind the bar will barely give you service and when they do, it seems like you're bothering them. read more

Good vibes here, good music, service has been great too. Food are large portions. And they come out pretty fast. Also appetizers are delicious as well such as the avocado shrimp appetizer. Honestly one plate can feed two people easily. Eat half, get a box and you have dinner for the next day read more

First timer . We actually passed by this shop and wanted to eat something quick .. got some pastries and short eats like empanadas. I loved the ambience of this place . So much space to sit and eat. Outdoor was also good . Pastries were ok . Not that sweet. It was different though. Parking is major issue . Road side parking is difficult to get and I'm not sure if they have visitor parkings. Overall good for a one time visit .. read more

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I entered by the bakery door by mistake. The person at the bakery asked me to exit the restaurant and go over around to use the restaurant entrance, even when the bakery and the restaurant are in the same main salon separated by a small hall. read more

Rancho Mateo - Interior - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

This is a huge steak house on Elmora section, great atmosphere, I only had appetizers which were delicious, and a Mojito, but I'll be back for more. read more

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I love how this place has relocated to a more convenient location! There's easy parking and fast service. The food was delicious. The steak was tender and the tilapia was perfectly fried. I can't wait to go back to this lively location! Every time I'm here I feel like I'm transported back to Colombia. Definitely a must for game days as well! read more

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New place to be. They went bigger than ever. Great ambiance. Xmas decor was pretty. Food was great. Busy so I've seen myself going towards the bar to get a quicker drink. Table service was not great. Perhaps short of staff. They still need training. But will go back to give it another try during the week. read more

I'm from out of town. (Queens NYC) Everytime I come to Jersey, I barely find any good food & not for nothing but for me to come from the melting pot of the world where the food is almost amazing everywhere you go, this place isn't as bad as the reviews it's got. I think it deserves well over 3 stars. I had a picada & it brought a decent amount of meat. The meat was well cooked. It even had smoked Ribs ! (Not a fan of smoked food but this was fire). I had some plantains stuffed with chicharrón and that ají was top tier. 10 out of 10 for this appetizer! The ambience is great. I can only imagine watching a soccer game in this place. The service was great (a little off but overall great) . The staff were patient. I love the design of this restaurant. I would definitely come back some day. Approved read more

Nice place to be for lunch. Close to work, service is good. And food is pretty tasty.

There is always something yummy when eating at Rancho Mateo. Love their food and ambience. My favorite dishes are cazuela de mariscos, tostones Rellenos de Camarones and aguacate relleno de Camarones. My family enjoys la bandeja Paisa and other dishes. I wish there was parking on this location and that the wait wasn't so long. read more

Rancho Mateo - Cazuela de mariscos . Bandeja paisa - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

Wow, is all I can say. The moment you walk in, you get the full colors Colombian energy. The place is beautiful, very artistic. It reminded me of walking the streets of Cartagena. The service was with a smile, our waiter Alejandro did a great job from the start to the end. They had a vast selection of drink choices and cocktails. The food was great as well, with reasonable pricing. There is a fresh bakery that you can get fresh bread, dessert and fruit shakes from. I will try that out next time. I highly recommend this place! read more

Service was great. A good choice to go with family or a date night. The food was delicious. Perfectly made. I highly recommend! The mojito was strong but made how I like it. The steak was juicy and the shrimp was perfectly cooked. Everything gets an A+ rating!! read more

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Food is very average, but I guess people go here for the ambiance. Service was TERRIBLE. All the waiters/waitresses had a bad attitude and tried to overcharge me when the bill came. They include gratuity which is no problem at all, but then they also charge you one price for cash and another higher price if you pay with a credit card (also inconvenient but fine). I paid cash and the waiter tried to give me back the change as if I paid with a credit card - a scummy move considering if he had just given me the change, I would've given him more tip than the $4 he tried to scam his way into getting. I confronted him and his excuse was that the restaurant didn't have $1 bills. A big, popular restaurant with no dollar bills - hard to believe. Whoever is managing this restaurant needs to step in because 80% of this review is based on the experience had and not the food. read more

THESE GUYS ARE ALWAYS LATE. If you order your lunch at dinner time this is the place for you. Every single time, whether I order from yelp or Grubhub there's always a 45 minute DELAY. I spent more than $60 at a time. I'm done w these guys. Update - after 2 hours of waiting for 2 salads and steak w rice (3 miles away). Here is what I got. read more

Rancho Mateo - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

As for as price, quality of service, ambiance and drinks, everything was good. Was a bit disappointed when main dish arrived and the fried Yuca and tostones were more on the cold side. We loved our drink 5/5 read more

Food is mid. Not a lot of flavor and the service is slow and inattentive even though they were not busy. They also charge you for everything including birthday "free" dessert. The mini empanadas were filled with 95% potatoes and 5% meat. The juices were flavored and loaded with added sugar. read more

Someone recommended this restaurant because of the good Colombian food and I was amazed by the menu and ambiance. The food was delicious and the service was very friendly. We ordered carne la llanero and was very tender and tasty. Also to drink we ordered Aguapanela con limón and it was refreshing. The restaurant was nice and clean. read more

Rancho Mateo - Menú - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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BEWARE..... I've been going to Rancho Mateo (Elizabeth NJ) since they were at their previous location without a problem until last week. The quality of their food has diminished and their service was worse. I don't remember the name of the waiter I got but, not only did he mess up my order, although he was apologetic in person, when the bill(with tip) posted a few days later, someone changed the $10 tip to a $40 tip!!!! Because I did not save my receipt, now, I am going to be working with my credit card company, as they did not want to provide me their copy of the receipt (to see how it was altered) until I provided mine. But this taught me a lesson to save my receipts and take a picture if my signed copy before giving it to the waiter! Needless to say, I Will NEVER be going back to this place. read more

Loooooveee this place! Boyfriend and I went to celebrate some accomplishments and we both left very pleased with the food, service and ambiance. We didn't make reservations but once we got there we checked in and after 10 mins of waiting, we got our table so pretty quickly in my opinion. We sat and immediately got greeted by our server who was very welcoming. We got our appetizer (chicharrones con guacamole) absolutely delicious. We also had some signature cocktails (mine were a bit on the sweeter side and I'm not a fan of a fruity cocktail but I still liked it enough to order a couple more) and our entrees were NY strip and skirt steak with some sides, both of our steaks were cooked perfectly! They had live music, as half Colombian, I appreciated the OG music they were playing. Overall our experience was great and we will definitely be back for some good food and cocktails! Great place to celebrate birthdays just FYI! read more

We had decided to give this place a try on our way home from jersey gardens. Word to the wise it gets busy here and the wait is crazy. We got there around 6:30 and waited an Hr i don't usually wait that long but all the other restaurants close by were just as long. They are a fairly large place but it seemed a lot of big groups and people celebrating their bdays so you know they weren't getting out of there fast especially because they serve alcohol here. We were a party of 5 seated at a table for 4 which the table was a tad crowded when our food came. Portion sizes are actually pretty decent but not as big as some other places in the area Flavors were good though . All in all we enjoyed it minus the wait and it being super crowded read more

40th Birthday family celebration for our Son Chris. Food Amazing, party of 16 and all served together Hot. Our Waiter was on point, Mateo himself oversaw our needs. Decor great, sports on Big screen TVs for the guys/girls. Will be back ,worth the 45 min ride. Nick/Terry proud parents North Bergen. NJ read more

The ambiance was very nice, good place to just chill talk and listen to live music. Surprisingly for the amount of people there, the service was still very good and food was never late or behind. But my reason for two stars, is due to the horrible food, super mid. The prices are WAY too high to be giving me stuff I can probably make in a microwave. I got the breaded shrimp and I thought I was eating gas station food. The appetizers were 14 dollars and it was enough to feed a small man child. If you want to eat good food, you're better off eating from a little street cart. read more

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Rancho Mateo, and the experience was nothing short of exceptional. From the moment I stepped in, the warm ambiance and inviting decor set the stage for an enjoyable evening. I recommend the appetizers, any of them on the menu, are unbelievably tasty. The food is a wonderful representation of the Colombian cuisine. Very nice experience. read more

Una muy buena experiencia y nuestro mesero 10 de 10 gracias Franklin 24 y 25 nuestra mejor atención

First time at Rancho Mateo and it won't be my last! This is a proper Colombian steakhouse with typical Colombian food and of course amazing steaks. I had the skirt steak with maduros and white rice while others had the bandeja paisa, everything was delicious! I usually prefer my steaks medium-rare, but even the well done steaks are just mouth watering. The restaurant has a great atmosphere as well. I would 100% recommend. read more

La comida deliciosa, el servicio muy amable, porciones grandes de comida. Muy bonito ambiente, agradable. read more

Rancho Mateo - Michelada - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

Great music!! I came here with a friend to try out some great Spanish food and I was not disappointed!! There was live music, a lot of people and amazing food! We came on a Friday and there was about an hour wait time. When we came, we barely made it in the door- the waitlist was so long. However, after waiting about 20 minutes- seats became open at the bar. We asked the hostess if we could specifically wait for seats at the bar and she replied that we had to wait in general for "any" seats to be opened. This was not the case as my friend just sat down when seats opened up at the bar. I ordered the "Ultimate Pina Colada" that came with an extra shot and for my entree, I had the "Shrimp and Steak". The food was DELICIOUS; there was literally nothing bad I could say about my food. Although it was super crowded, it did not seem like it took too long for our food to come out. On top of this, there was a ton of people there celebrating birthdays and such. There was a Mexican band that really seemed to appeal to the crowd making it that much more fun. Overall, I had a great time at this place- no complaints! read more

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Service there is great. Servers are usually attentive but I will admit it is very loud there because of the music and the tables being cramped so close together. You kind of have to almost yell to be heard. Portions are huge esp for the price. My favorite is the Bandeja Paisa. Only complaint about it is that the chicharrón isn't crispy. When I bite into the cascara I want to hear the crunch and feel the vibrations in brain lmao. Other than that it's really good flavorwise read more

The food is great!! The ambience is great on Saturdays night!! We were singing and dancing with Rafael José and the best service from Viviana Santos!! We were lit !! Wonderful family and friends time read more

Rancho Mateo - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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Four stars because the food here is good. But, when ordering a platter that includes rice, the rice portion is too small for the amount of food in the platter. Delivery is always on time, but presentation could be better. Trays often come messy and leaky. read more

Someone's grandmother is back there cooking! This food is sooooo good. Perfect home cooking. All the flavors are there. I can't get enough of this place. It can be very loud at times and the staff barely speak English so there is a language barrier but the taste of the food outshines everything. read more

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Came here for my birthday dinner. Party of 10 and I didn't make a reservation. They sat us immediately upon arriving. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant close to the kitchen. They had live music playing and were surprisingly busy for a Thursday night. We started with a large pitcher of red sangria. We got about 11 cups out of it. We got the empanada as apps with came with about 6. As an entree I got a shared the picadas mateo. Which is a meat platter that comes with steak, ribs, pork, sausage, yuca fries, tostones, maduros, potatoes and arepa. It comes with a salad and we ordered a side of rice. The meal was suppose to be for 3 but it was A lot that we had leftovers. My cousin for a breaded pork steak which was huge and he said was really good. Someone else got a Bandeja paisa, bistec encebollado, and garlic shrimp. Everyone had left over because the portions were huge. We all had a great time there. Everyone enjoyed their meal. Will definitely be coming back ! read more

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The atmosphere and place nice and family friendly. The food was on point and our waiter make sure everything was too our delight! Definitely will come back! read more

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Our regular Colombian favorite was backed up. We were in a rush so we went looking for another place. Sooo happy that we did! First - the ambiance. So nicely decorated with Colombian style, bright wall murals, cool trinkets all over. Second - service was great and as an added plus the waitress spoke English (we always manage though even if they don't). Because we had to catch a flight, we asked her to get our orders in quickly, and she did. Third - the food - so good and nice portions! The soup is delicious - both the chicken soup and the tripe soup. The bandeja tipica was excellent, with beef, pork, rice, beans, plantains, and some avocado. What's not to like for $15.50? The skirt steak was also excellent, tender and well flavored. Someone in our party also got the bistec caballero, which had a nice sauce over the steak, with eggs. She loved it. Put it all together and you have five happy customers walking out with full stomachs! We also took some of their pandebono (cheese bread) and empanadas to go. Can't report out on it as of yet but it sure looks good!) We have found our new favorite Colombian restaurant! read more

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Came here during lunch to check Out the desserts. I saw pics on yelp and they looked yummy. I was sadly disappointed. I chose 1 cakes for 6$ but had to buy another due to the 10$ minimum card use. I also got the tres leches cake. The oreo cake was extremely nasty and dry. It tasted like heavy card board. It was dence with no flavor. Only upside was it looked pretty. The tres leches was better. If they didnt soak it in milk it would of been dry too. LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING!!! DESSERT LOOKS GOOD BUT TASTE BAD read more

Rancho Mateo - Looks good, taste bad (cakes) - Steakhouses Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

This was my favorite Colombian spots before they moved to the new location. The new spot is beautiful but the food took a dive. Hopefully they get it together. read more

The food is quite authentic and delicious. The attendants are friendly and quite helpful. We went on a crazy busy Sunday it and they allowed the 5 of us to wait at the bar; the drinks were a great start for Sunday Lunch. Love the folk art displays, the ambiance is also authentic and brings me back to Colombia read more

Great place to dine family friendly very attentive and great prices, food is delicious drinks are great

New Rancho Mateo (Elizabeth) Nice huge beautiful restaurant!! Too bad the service was worse than GARBAGE!!! Came in with my family got seated quickly but unfortunately never got a server to come over and ask us not even for something to drink!! Completely IGNORED!!!! After half an hour of just sitting we decided to leave this horrible serviced restaurant and to NEVER come back!! If you want to eat go else where or to the one in North Bergen which was what we did and had better experience over there. Suggested advice to the owner, invest in training your servers if your want your business to prosper!!! read more

It's very busy and loud if that's what you like. Live music and big tv screens. Was very crowded but was seated quickly. Menu was impressive. Food was delicious. Service was quick. Very good experience. read more