I'm a local who has lived here all my life. There are only a handful of restaurants that my family will go to. This is our top restaurant. We have been going here since it opened. The staff is absolutely the most friendliest group and their appearances are immaculate. The restaurant is ALWAYS clean! The food is delicious. I have never been to a restaurant where I haven't had a least one "off" meal except here, it's always great. No they do not serve alcohol because that's a tribal law in Cherokee. Only the casino can serve alcohol. So for the folks who grumble about no margaritas; welcome to Cherokee! ‍That's how it is and no fault of the restaurants. My favorite dish is Pollo Rancho Veijo. It is an enormous flatten and grilled chicken breast that is smothered in white cheese sauce and served with rice and sautéed California medley vegetables. As I can't eat really spicy foods this dish is perfect for me. Oh and its scrumptious and tender!My husband apparently likes to make his mouth sweat so he always orders their pico de gallowhich looks freshly prepared each time. He says it is the best ever. Don't forget the guacamolenom nom. read more

The food was undercooked, raw chicken or pink in the middle, can you say Salmonella?.....Just the nastiest place in Cherokee. As a local, I will never go back and urge you to look elsewhere for edible food. The owner just laughed and said it was cooked,,,,,not with pink inside. The service sucked as no one came to check on us which led us to ask for the owner/manager.....Shewwwwww! read more

Rancho Viejo - Pink uncooked Chicken - Mexican Near Me - Whittier, North Carolina

This is the kind of place where you don't have to worry about what you're wearing. Everybody was friendly, and service was quick. They give you chips and salsa immediately and I must say the salsa was really good. I chose a combination burrito enchilada and it was OK. My nephew ordered the grilled chicken quesadilla and that looked better than my food. He liked it. I would go back if I were in the area. It's just dependable food. Nothing to get excited about but nothing to send back either read more

Great mexican food, with large portions and friendly staff. So glad I stopped here to eat while driving through the Smokies.

This was the best Mexican Restaurant we have eaten at so far. The food was fresh fast and delicious. The wait staff is very friendly and outgoing definitely recommend this place. read more

So so happy to find this natives owned restaurant! The dining environment is awesome, people are so friendly, food is delicious and the portion is generous. And it is so cheap! What else can you ask for in a popular tourist destination! read more

Friendly staff. My girlfriend lives to eat here. They know her order by my face. Nice and clean. Food is really good. But they can get busy. But that's nothing for the only Mexican Resturant in Cherokee. And the Horchata are great. read more

What a find in the middle of "no where". Very reasonably priced authentic Mexican fair. Fried dorado, shrimp fajitas, chicken soup were all dilicious. Didn't expect this place to be so good. read more

The staff is so friendly and quick. The food is fresh and they have a full menu with lots of choices. To bad they can't sell margaritas, but I guess that's life. read more

This is hands down the best Mexican food I have ever ate. Staff was nice and fast. Food was excellent. Wish there was one of these in Myrtle Beach SC. read more

We stopped here a few weeks ago while on vacation for dinner after visiting the Cherokee Museum. Excellent food with excellent service at a great price! read more

After our 11 mile hike, we were craving some good Mexican food.. We looked up some on Yelp and found that this was the only place close by. As I stated in my tip, don't follow the directions. It will not get you there. We asked the guy at the coffee shop and he gave us direction. We got there about 5 o'clock and the place was empty. At first I was a little worried but then realized that maybe people weren't off work for dinner yet. We were seated and greeted right away. And our drinks came within seconds. My baby ordered a combo with the chili relleno and enchilada. Portions were huge. And that was the best relleno I've ever had. I also got a combo with taco and tostada. Also huge portion. They were very tasty. We also asked for some extra tortillas, but they were not homemade.. Oh well. The place also smelled extremely clean. I would go back. read more

I give this place a four only because this town is hard up for decent food. Veggie fajitas were especially oily as in all Mexican restaurants for what reason I'm not sure! The salsa was very sweet with no taste of spice whatsoever. Same sauce over burritos, taste more Italian than Mexican! Also there is no alcohol here ! read more

I am a vegetarian. The food here was so good. The salsa is fresh and delicious. The guac was yummy and bright. The cheese enchilada, while maybe too heavy on the cheese (is that possible) and the bean burrito were both covered in white queso and enchilada sauce. They were freaking good. The bean tostada was eh, but the other two items more than made up for it. Only bummer is no margaritas or beer to accompany the meal. read more

Just got back from Restaurant it was around 4:30. The floors had food all over them. Half dozen table with dirty dishes on them. No excuse for a dirty restaurant. There were only two tables acupied. Service was okay. Wait 30 minutes for are dinners to arrive. Both dinners were cold. Told the sever it amaze both of us that only took 5 minutes. We mentioned it to the cashier at the register. His reply was he couldn't help the poor kitchen help? I can imagine even poorly run kitchen serving cold food? Maybe the serving staff forgot about our order? Since the restaurant doesn't seem to know how to deal with a customer complain. I know to deal with a restaurant that doesn't seem to care about serving cold food. It will be a long time for my wife and myself will make the effort to go back. That's what a consumer can do. The restaurant wasn't that busy for the poor condition of the place or the cold food. read more

Such a hidden gem! My husband and I were in town and looking for something to eat for lunch and I'm so glad we gave this place a chance! It doesn't look like much in a shopping center, but we were very impressed with the food and service. Highly recommend! read more

Very good food and excellent service. Glad they are open for in-house dining. They separated tables in between for COVID distancing. Hubby had dinner Chori Pollo and I had chicken soup. Both were excellent. read more

Waited 20 minutes to get menu and drinks after being seated AND after 3 tables seated and ordered after we came in and were seated. Had to ask for menus and drinks. I finally asked to speak to manager which lo and behold was the one I finally got to bring us menus. I complained asking if anyone going to take our order? Her excuse was they were doing the best they can. I explained I understand that but you managed to get 3 tables waited on with orders , drinks , etc that came in way after we did. No "sorry we overlooked you"or response. Just looked at me with a silly smirk on her face. Had to beg for more chips. And they weren't very busy. Salsa good. An elderly lady came In with oxygen and no one acknowledged her for at least 15 minutes before she got seated. Unless you have hours to spare and really really want Mexican food, skip this one. The service is beyond reprehensible. Cherokee nc rancho Vieho next to the food lion. read more

We arrived just before 9pm. As tourist we had no ideal the restaurant would close at 9. Most in our home town close at 10pm. Staff was very nice to allow us to go ahead and sit down while a few minutes later they locked the doors and turned others away. It was all good till the chips and salsa came to the table. The chips were old and had been laying around to long. The salsa had only a tomato taste, not a normal salsa style taste. I ordered the Pollo Loco chicken and my spouse ordered a taco and rice. My chicken was like rubber and she said her taco shell was old and tasted like it had been wet at one time. I don't think I would eat here again. Even though we were on vacation, I wouldn't recommend it to others. read more

We stopped in here for lunch while in the area. It was decent but not great. The food was good, not bad lol. It was just decent. The service was good but the waiter had a hard time understanding English. The food seemed authentic. The prices are good. The atmosphere is not that great. Kind of boring and dark. read more

Rancho Viejo - Mexican Near Me - Whittier, North Carolina

What a gem! My wife and I were looking for a nice dinner after a long hike. We came across this place through Yelp and absolutely loved it. When we walked in and saw the crowd we were concerned, but we got a seat very quickly. The salsa was just spicy enough and the chips were fresh. My wife ordered the guacamole salad with chicken and it did not skimp on the guacamole. The fried tortilla shell was just right and crunchy. I ordered the Mexican quesadilla and it was excellent. The chicken and chorizo were cooked well and just spicy enough. It was the best quesadilla I've ever had. The only knock is that since we are in Cherokee, there is no alcohol served. Oh well Life Goes On! read more

I've lived in NC for 20 years now and have found two Mexican places that are decent. One is in Boone and one is in Whittier. Unfortunately I live in Raleigh which is ~4 hours away from both. I had the Pina Ranchera (based on the recommendation in Vincent F's Yelp review) and it was amazing (and huge). My wife and daughter split a normal order of Chicken Fajitas and that was also pretty amazing and also huge. I don't think they ate half of it. We ate around 6:30 PM and we hadn't had a meal all day so we were starving and we still walked out stuffed and left food on the table. Thankfully my daughter is starting at WCU this fall so we'll be able to come here occasionally. read more

Rancho Viejo - Rancho Viejo - Pina Ranchera - Mexican Near Me - Whittier, North Carolina

This is a place to get amazing Mexican food. Their salsa is amazing! This place is open all year, so when it slows down in Cherokee you can always count on Rancho Viejo for your Mexican food cravings. Keep in mind on The Qualla Boundary, you can't get alcohol in restaurants. read more

This place is extremely overpriced and not worth the $50 spent there. The enchilada had sauce that I'm pretty sure was ketchup, the rice and beans tasted microwaved. And the $4.99 cheese sauce was served in the salsa saucer. If I could give this place negative stars, I would. Don't be deceived by the amount of cars in the parking lot, it must be for the Chinese place two doors down. 0/10 would not recommend to my worst enemy. read more

Didn't taste that great, but I have never been so sick in my entire life. Poisoning is not fun!

Not the best Mexican style food placed I've been too. The food was very low quality and the flavor was very bland. I've had better food at school cafeterias. The staff was very nice and they food was brought out very quickly which is saying something for out group of about 13 people. But I would not go back to this place for any reason. Good service does not fix bland and low quality food, it's almost like they don't care what they put in front of you and got all the food from the cheapest places possible without worrying about how it might taste. For a guy that loves Mexican food it may seem harsh, but the food was that bad. I hope they read this and improve the ingredient purchasing, as they service was fantastic and this could be a great places if the quality went up. read more

My last stop in Bryson City/Cherokee and as expected this place kind of sucked food and staff up to par withthe rest of my in town experiences... better luck next time read more

We were in Cherokee sleeping in nearby campground and ventured out for groceries and a meal. We found this little jewel in a shopping center next to the Food Lion grocery store. I had the chicken soup. It was such a generous serving I took part of it with us. Wonderful chunks of chicken in a savory broth with cilantro and veggies and rice. It was more than meal for me. My husband almost always gets fajitas, wherever we go. It is amazing how different they are from place to place. He enjoyed these, and the shells were fresh and soft. The service was great and we enjoyed our meal. My only "but" is not with the restaurant, but with the outlying parking area. There was plenty of space, and more than enough room for an RV. However, we parked on the outer spaces near a covered picnic table. As we were leaving we were approached by couple seeking help as they had been abandoned by their ride and had belongings stolen. We were back shopping a month later, the same couple was hanging around approaching patrons again. read more

Sometimes you have a meal that you don't want to ever end. That sums up this place. The lunch cheese steak taco was absolutely delicious. Wonderful flavor and fresh. The salsa here is also really, really good. I would not hesitate to eat here again. Very authentic and very good. read more

Great food and service. Ate there 2x on our last trip to smokies. Very clean and take covid 19 guidelines seriously.

Love this place! Food is excellent and portions are huge! Nice atmosphere and attentive staff! Definitely a must to get your Mexican food.

So, we came to gamble at Harrah's Cherokee Casino and found Rancho Viejo only a couple minutes away. What a find! Authentic Mexican food done right. read more

Amazing service, great food, would definitely come again! One of the best Authentic Mexican food you could ever have. Really good tacos, filled me up. read more

After such good reviews we had to try it. Very nice service staff. I wanted some fresh vegetables and chicken and found Pollo Rancho Viejo on the menu. Perfect for this weary traveler! My husband, a picky eater was happy with his meal and thrilled with the guacamole! The place could use a little upgrade but alas it's the good food we were after. I highly recommend! read more

We eat here on our annual fishing trip to lake Murray. It's always good and predictable with decent prices. We will be back

This was the best place to eat in Cherokee and the service was great! I highly recommend everyone to try it even if your passing through. Chips were hot when brought to our table and cheese dip was good as well. read more

Authentic Mexican restaurant. Totally took us by surprise. Very good food, great service. Ordered the dish that comes in pineapple, very tasty. read more

Rancho Viejo - Absolutely delicious Mexican food. Great service. Totally took us by surprise to find such good food here. Will definitely come back again. - Mexican Near Me - Whittier, North Carolina

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My husband and 2 boys loved it! The fajitas and huevos mexicanos are to die for. The only complain - the tortillas and tortilla sauce are from a bag and a can. Good coffee. read more

Excellent restaurant. Driving through town while on vacation from Texas and we were craving Mexican food. Found this place and decided to try it out. It did not disappoint! Food was fresh and hot and the service was great. I would highly recommend it (and the lunch prices are terrific!). read more

Great dining experiences are hard to come by in Cherokee. Rancho Viejo is the exception. The chili verde and Chile Colorado were fantastic. Fast attentive and efficient service. Wait staff friendly. The food was authentic and very very good. read more