As good as it gets in Waco, TX. I recommend the Michelada! For the love of GOD, Waco!! You need better restaurants like this one.

They have the best authentic HORCHATA (no powder here!) you will find in the area. I absolutely LOVE their salsas too. I tried the combination fajitas (chicken, beef, and shrimp) and was not disappointed. The portions are large so you have plenty to share and the tortillas are HOMEMADE! Yes, homemade and delicious. The pricing is affordable and they also have food and drink (Margaritas!) too. read more

Bacon cheeseburger very good, nice zing, excellent price. I don't eat hamburgers often, but when I do I get it from this restaurant, much better than most other places. read more

They have horrible service I asked for chicken quesadillas and they gave me beef and then when I asked the waitress what I ordered she said chicken.. they are rude and could care less about customer service I will never come back here read more

Very good authentic Mexican food. Not your typical Americanized fare cover in soupy beans , lettuce, tomatoes, and dry rice. Would dine there again. read more

They have a great breakfast burrito! The tostadas are great as well. The service is a little lacking though. We have been here a couple times and each time, our waitress doesn't come by to refill our drinks. But they are all very friendly! read more

Feckin good spot! Al pastor and barbacoa tacos off the chain, gf had the chicken fajitas and loved them. One of the best mexican places I've been to. read more

Delicious. Great, friendly service. Food was fresh, authentic Tex Mex cuisine. A recommendation for anyone passing through town. Our only regret was that we couldn't take our leftovers with us, our hotel room had no microwave to reheat and eat the rest. read more

Great food and even better service. Staff is always so friendly. Love their breakfast especially. Shrimp quesadillas are a hit and can't go wrong with the mixed fajitas. read more

Excellent!! My wife and I went there for the first time today for lunch. The food was fantastic and very reasonably priced as were the margaritas. My fajitas mexicana were different than the usual chain restaurant fajitas in look, but MUCH better. The charo beans were the best I have ever had. My wife's mexican plate was also fantastic. Service was great! Next time we are in Waco, we will definitely stop there again. read more

My first time eating here and i would definitely come back! The food, service and micheladas are great!

I really liked this place. The only thing I would change is the basket of chips. Not near big enough. Had to keep asking for refills. Besides that everything was very good. Good food great dervice. A very good place & not very expensive. read more

Terrible! This was the worst meal I can ever remember! I had fajitas, and the chicken was like leather and the beef the same.

No matter how good the food may be, if you find that your server is completely revolting and disgusting, you will not enjoy your meal. Keep that thing locked up in the back room! read more

No way! Service was horrible. There was a roach on the floor dead but evidence they were there. Some of the food was good but do not ask for more tortillas they charge extra but do not give enough for the meal. Very disappointed. Came here based on previous reviews but our experience was bad. This was my birthday weekend fun in Waco but this was not a fun experience. read more

I've been several times. The food has always been good, but most of the time the wait staff is slow and rude.

Food was solid. Nothing to blow you away. The prices are good. Specials even better. Margaritas were good. Definitely would recommend.

Mixed feelings about this restaurant. The service was pretty poor and inconsistent. Had to ask multiple times for salsa and chips. They also forgot my wife's margarita order. The food that we got was fantastic, however. The Mexican plate, fajitas, and quesadilla plate were all good. But the portions were kinda off. For example, my wife has the fajitas which came with a big plate of chicken and onions, etc. but only two tortillas. Likewise, the chips that we had were plentiful, but a meager amount of salsa. Also...no soap in the women's bathroom. Would recommend this place based on the food, but don't go in with great customer service expectations. read more

Great restaurant! Service was excellent. Margaritas were excellent. Large Margaritas are $5.99 ($1.99 on Tuesdays). Salsas was very good. There were several choices for salsa. Queso was very tasty. It was a HUGE bowl, Two of us couldn't eat all of it. Beef enchilada dinner was very good. But, again it was a great deal of food. There were 3. I could only eat two of the 3 enchiladas. So, large margarita, queso, and beef enchilada dinner was $17. Wow! The same meal at On the Border or other restaurants would have been $20-$25. I highly recommend this place. The only negative was that the Juke Box was too loud. But, they turned it down. Someone must have said something to them. I didn't. Great place. read more

Good food but terrible service. One of the worst service experiences I have had in Waco. They messed up three orders. It took over an hour to get our food and we had to take an order of enchiladas to-go. Wouldn't recommend this restaurant for a party over two. Beware of terrible service. read more

The Ranchito is a great restaurant with good food for a great price. It has a calm, peaceful environment. It is family friendly from the stools for kids at the sink to the many options on the kid's menu. It is quiet enough to be able to hold a conversation with someone across the able but loud enough so that conversation to not be heard by the person at the next time. The menu can be a little confusing, but there are so many options that there should be no one who feels as if they cannot find something to their liking. The restaurant gives a lot of food to customers. The portion sizes are large and filling. Customers will not feel like they got shorted. The restaurant is very well kept and clean, while the outside appearance may seem a little run down, there is great pride taken in the cleanliness of the restaurant. I saw many tables constantly getting immediately bussed this is just one of the many examples of how there was great strides made to keep the restaurant clean. The service was truly above par especially for a restaurant in at this price point. I never had to ask for a refill, my waiter was on top of my drinks, and was constantly refilling my chips and salsa as well. It truly is a pleasant experience that I would recommend to everyone. There are many Mexican restaurants to choose from, add "The Ranchito" into that list and give it a try. read more

This is a great place for Mexican food, it is was the 1st Mexican food place I tried when I moved to Waco 5 years ago & still is!It my go to for authentic Mexican food, I don't go anywhere else. Has the G3 for me..Great staff, Great food, Great service! My husband and I bring all our friends and family here when they visit. It is Waco's hidden gem for REAL Mexican food.. stop by you will go back! read more

I'm only giving this place two stars because we had decent service and the margaritas weren't actually too bad. I had the taco dinner, beef tacos, the meat was cubed which I thought was odd, it was way over cooked and no flavor. The rice it came with was ok, the beans were not that good. I guess if you're in the area and were hungry and wanted slop Mexican this is your place. read more

Absolutely perfect! Tasty authentic Mexican food, cooked up fresh. Friendly, quick servers and good prices. What more could you ask for?

We were in town for the day and decided to give this place a try. Judging by the reviews which were on opposite sides of the spectrum, I can see why patrons can go either way. The place is not the newest or trendiest but it makes up for its shortcomings with pretty good food and service. We were promptly greeted and seated. Standard chips and salsa to start though I must say the salsa was above average in flavor. I ordered the carne guisada (stewed meat) while my wife had the gringos burritos. Our food came out relatively quick. I would say mine was average in portion and flavor but the tortillas were good, authentic corn, not the ordinary store bought. My wife's plate was excellent, very tasty. The sauce (Chile con queso) really set it off. Our waitress checked up on us regularly and was very cordial. As I mentioned before, it's not the prettiest or trendiest or the biggest but they do have some good food and service. I couldn't find it in myself to give this a lower rating only because of that, it's more like a solid 3.5 stars. read more

We made a stop here for lunch as we traveled from Houston to Waco. Using Yelp we again found a great local place to eat. I recommend the Willey Nelson and Onion Rings. Be sure to save room for the fried Oreo's. read more

Skillet fajitas were very good - fresh healthy food. Service was good and margarita was on special. Overall a nice place to get some Mexican food. We would eat here again. read more

Came down from DFW for a day trip and found this place on Yelp. Food was wonderful(mixed fajitas and steak ranchero) homemade tortillas are great. Felt like a neighborhood cafe. Staff was very friendly and helpful. We will come back! read more

The food was good, but the service was not up to par. I must have waited 20 minutes to get the check. So, food 4 stars, service 2 stars.

Excellent food and service, reasonable prices. Best Mexican food in Waco. Stay away from the chain restraunts, eat here.

We were out of state for the week and couldn't wait to get back to Texas for some "REAL" Mexican food. Boy did the reviews get it right. The Ranchito was what I wanted. Never have I been treated to 2 different red sauces with the complementary chips. Both awesome. One was more like a cool pico style, the other smooth and warm. The queso was good. We had enchiladas, cheese and chicken with beef and gravy and a beef taco. All was delicious. The guacamole was fresh, and tortillas homemade. Biggest thrill was the refried beans. I've always believed they should taste like great charro beans that have been mashed and reheated. Finally, someone got it right! They were simply the best I've ever had. Normally I turn up my nose after one bite. Yum! read more

Everything was real good until I started finding pieces of glass in the salsa. I will not be returning.

Great food! Definitely a hole in the wall type place. Would recommend if passing through Waco. I ordered a chicken fajita taco and a side of guac it was delish! read more

Finally ate at The Ranchito! After seeing all the good reviews, I had to go. I'm a Waco native and remember back in the 80's when this place was Ira's and my grandparents went there for pancakes. Anyway, we sat down and were handed a big menu.There's a lot to choose from. I was in a steak kind of mood, but the picture of #15 Guadalajara looked good...not quite steak, not quite fajitas, but something in between served on a cast iron fajita pan on a bed of onions and bell peppers. It comes with awesome charro beans, rice, and a plate of pico de gallo, guacamole, lettuce & tomato and lime wedges. For $9.99! The thin steak meat was cut into wide strips, and had a flavor I've never tasted, but in a good way. Yum. Small homemade tortillas, some salsa...I'm a happy camper. Of course we had ordered the large Queso, which with the warm chips, was addictive. Only $3.99. My sister got the Carne Guisada, tender stewed beef in sauce, and my mom got 2 Gorditas (big mistake, 1 was more than plenty!). Topped it all off with sopapillas. Total for all 3 of us was $35, drinks and all. They had a $2.99 12 oz. margarita special (peach, mango, or strawberry), but we stuck with tea. So yes, I will be back. I wound up taking half of my food home there was so much, plus I ate a lot of chips and queso. Great servers, who wear an earpiece to communciate with the kitchen on the spot if needed. They stay open pretty late, til 10 pm on weeknights. We were leaving at 9:30 on a Wednesday night, but a few people were still coming in. Great place. read more