We had recommendations on this place so we tried it out. We are in town visiting for family weekend at Baylor. The service was a little slow at first for lunch but once we got our food, our waitress was really attentive. I got one of the breakfast plates and my son got the fajitas. Everything had a great taste, and was probably one of the best meals we've had in Waco. I would highly recommend eating here. read more

Love from Vegas, we enjoyed the authentic food, drinks, music atmosphere ~ delicious! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Cheers! - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Good was really really good. It was a bit odd that fajitas came out with no sour cream or guacamole. Just a minor issue at least. Would be nice to get a little more tortillas with them too, especially if 3 people at the table order fajitas. Service was a bit slow but not horrible. The building is really nice with a great atmosphere. read more

I've lived in Waco all my life - over 6 decades. There are a ton of great Mexican restaurants in Waco. I've been coming The Ranchito 5 for almost 10 years. You know, once in a while you might have a really busy staff person who struggles to give service - but overall. . . . OVERALL. . . . this is my favorite Mexican food ANYWHERE. (beats anything in Austin, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Fort Worth) The staff? They are ALWAYS lovely and caring and attentive. In particular, some years ago there was a server by the name of Valeria - whom I believe left to attend Texas A&M. She's a real sweetheart and dotted on us like we were her aunt and uncle. Wish she was still there. Owners, please tell Valeria we said hello if you ever hear from her. Look, go there with a friend and order/split the Parrillada a la Diabla. Tons of amazing beef and chicken and green peppers - sort of like fajitas, but in sauce that's - I don't know how to describe it. Its sauce. Maybe cheesy. Maybe sort of gravy-like sauce. Never had anything like it anywhere. The folks with negative reviews just showed up on a bad day. Take it from a Tex-Mex snob that's eaten here with friends, visitors, family for almost a decade. I'm NEVER in doubt when we consider The Ranchito. read more

I happened to be in Waco celebrating the 4th and wanted margaritas to go. We found this place on yelp and it had 5 stars. When we arrived we knew it was a "for real" authentic Mexican food restaurant and of course had to order food to go as well. The shrimp and chicken quesadillas were absolutely delicious as well as the margaritas. read more

Bottom Line: Generous tasty portions at reasonable prices. Very friendly & conscientious waitresses. Top Line: I ordered The Ranchito's #4 carne al pastor platter and a glass of horchata to wash it down from the bright, smiling, and friendly waitress. Total bill ran around $11.50 including tax. Pre-meal chips we're middle of the road weight, not to delicate, not too thick. Pico salsa tasted fresh & had moderate kick. Onion & chile chunks gave nice texture. However, the "warm salsa" was off the scale crazy dynamite good!!! The temp was indeed warm, without being hot enough to burn. The flavor had umami written all over it. As if you'd taken a tomato gravy from a beef dish (like Swiss steak) with mushrooms in it, pureed & blenderized it, then thickened it back up to more typical gravy density. Rich, pungent, smooth, warm, beautifully offset by salty crunchy tortilla chips. It was all that and more. My tongue was doing the Happy Dance! That warm salsa is worth driving to Waco to get it. Even if you live in New Hampshire. Horchata was good, but typical. Lots of cinnamon flavor with a bit more of the rice flavor coming through than is usual. Big glass, so no complaint on portion size. Carne al pastor grilled pork was well charred (in the good way) from the flat top. Very, very flavorful. Some of the best I've had. Plenty of it piled on the serving platter, so again generosity in the portions department. Beans were likewise tasty, being well spiced and rich in texture. Whole beans (vs mashed refrieds) is a nice touch. Veggery was fresh. Avocado was ripe without being mushy. Iceberg lettuce was fresh & crunchy. Tomatoes were ordinary supermarket variety but decently ripe. Special mention to the pico de gallo for tasting *extremely* fresh with plenty of jalapeno chile chunks to give it plenty of snap. Spicy & righteous! The two flour tortillas accompanying the meal were warm, soft, and of the slightly thicker, more bread like, variety. The Ranchito is obviously a locals hangout by the clientele. I recommend it as a handy stop where you can get authentic Mexican food without breaking the bank. read more

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Slow service. Only got 2 tortillas with fajita plate and had to pay for more. Only came with cheese & pico; no sour cream or guacamole. Ordered a Horchata and never got it. Beans had way too much cumin. Really just ok. My family enjoyed theirs a little more but two didn't get Mexican food. read more

My wife and I have been coming to this spot for 3 years and the quality of food and service have always been fabulous. We sit by the jukebox because the it's the loudest spot in the house and it's by the door so we can watch people go in and out. read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Tacos El Carbon - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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My favorite Cuz and I came here for lunch and spent a good time catching up. I thought it was cool that they brought out two types of salsa: one with absolutely no heat, and the other with a good kick. I also liked that we could take our time eating and then pay at the register when we were done. The food was good, the service was timely, but gosh their seats at the tables are something dreadful. They are very hard and super uncomfortable. I can guarantee you no one thinks thier chairs are comfy. I really should have taken a picture of their chairs because when I reflect on my experience there, that's what screams out to my memory. I'm sorry to rant like this. Haha! During my injured days, these types of chairs would leave me needing a cane to get up. Thank God I'm healed now but beware of the chairs, Lol! Bring a cushion! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Sourcream chicken enchiladas plate - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Good authentic Mexican food! Excellent service! Reasonable price! Will stop again next time I pass through Waco!

Food is always soooo good highly recommended the number 16 and number 48 this place is a must try

Food was good but service was super slow. Half of us received food with no forks to eat it with. One of the kids meals was missed.

As soon as you walk into the door you are hit with blaring music. So much so we couldn't hear each other across the table. My husband got the carne asada. He said it was ok. I got the mini tacos. Very dry and way too much cilantro. Service was ok. We left most of our meal. I couldn't get out fast enough. The waitress didn't offer to go boxes. We'll not be going back. read more

Absolutely loved this place. The location is off the beaten path of downtown Waco. Just wanted some basic sit down Mexican and it definitely delivered. They were very good about sitting people at every other table and booth and the staff wore masks. Food was great and came quick. The margaritas were also delicious! Some of the best I've had. Will definitely come back while passing through. read more

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Would not recommend this place at all. We just left after paying for our food & not even eating it. It wasn't good at all. The lemonade & rice was and that's about it. I got the crunchy taco plate & the meat was almost like shredded & way over seasoned. The chips were so stale. To top it off I found this shredded metal thing in my beans. Like a can piece fell in when opening the can? I don't know but this place had so many good reviews to turn out so bad. The people behind us even complained about the good reviews & im assuming the food being opposite. Our server was good though. read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Never disappoints. The best tacos in Waco! The drive thru is always quick and staff are friendly. Could not recommend enough! read more

In the past 3 years that I've lived in Waco I absolutely loved going to ranchito about once a week this Saturday 12/21/24 afternoon was the first time anything like this has ever happened to me and my family I'm in complete shocked on how this restaurant lets servers lie to your face and I hate to but someone on the spot but I just don't think this fair and I want to make everybody aware and to stay away from a server like Michelle i completely understand and know how gratuity works and I respect that what I don't accept is that she completely denied the gratuity and still my husband left a $20 tip on the recipe he did not notice since he doesn't know how it works but I noticed once I got home and seen the receipt I made a call and asked just to verify before making this post and yes the restaurant did in fact added gratuity keep in mind that's Michelle her self charged our table and and denied the gratuity I hope everyone pays more attention when paying! And just to add on the service was horrible I think for now we will just have to take our family elsewhere. read more

This is a little by the way spot that we thought we'd try since the food reviews seems positive. As some other reviews indicated, service is hit or miss. Our drinks came out right away but the chips and salsa came a bit after we placed our order. We didn't really know who our waitress was since we had to stop waitresses passing by to get service. On the receipt it says Bety. As for the food, I ordered shrimp a la diabla and asked for some roasted jalapeños since I love spicy food. It was good and I'm glad I asked for the extra umph, it needed it but was flavorful overall. My boyfriend ordered the shrimp cocktail which he seemed to enjoy and our friend ordered a ground beef chimichanga. Two of us ordered large margaritas but from the pictures you can see a clear difference in size and when I asked about it she insisted it's the way the glass is made and they are the same. Um no. We had to ask to have our plates taken after we ate since we were still sitting and trying to enjoy our drinks. They seemed to clear tables quickly between parties but that really seemed to be a higher priority than making sure the customers were served. We won't be back. read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - The cost of our meal for 3 people and drinks. - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Amazing food, with friendly fast service, and the drink were strong without loosing their flavor! Kid friendly and the drive thru was moving quickly outside. We will be back! read more

Not sure what my food even was. What I ordered and what I was given were not the same thing. I tried to eat what was supposedly ground beef but it almost made me sick. The salsa was good however. Rice and beans were pretty good too. Service was so-so. I also order what the menu said was $7.99 meal with a tea but when I checked out it cost me $15. Guess the tea is really expensive. I won't go back. read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Omg this was some of the best Mexican food I've had in Texas next to none! Queso Flameado was amazing and I want to go back to Waco just to eat here again! read more

There few places that can cook a better ribeye that I can, but these guys nailed it. No pictures because it went too fast. This was a great dinner and my wife and I are already looking forward to the next time we can come back to The Ranchito and to Waco. Best place in all Waco!!! read more

This restaurant has great service and I love their breakfast tacos. I ate there every Saturday.

This place was amazing! I had the Queso Flameado, and hubby enjoyed a perfectly cooked ribeye steak. So delicious, and wonderful service. Will definitely be back when we are in Waco again! read more

Food is really good but our waitress didn't seem to care about serving us. Took forever to take our order. Forgot our lemons until we finished eating. Put a taco on our tab that we didn't order. Only checked on us twice. She cared more to stand at the bar and text.. so foods great but hopefully you don't end up with our waitress. ‍ read more

UPDATE***** they won't allow me to post o or comment on their fb site because of my bad review. They deleted any comments other than my initial review and basically banned me. I messaged them telling them what happened today, and received no response. I guess customer service isn't a priority. We came here because of the yelp review.....it was HORRIBLE. We ordered drinks and food and I asked for a water. I had to go find the waitress after about ten mins and get water. Then they brought my husbands plate, didn't say a word.... I figured they would be back with mine right after..... NOPE.... I finally flagged our waitress down (she was busy talking and hanging out with her coworkers up front).... she said sorry they messed up my order it would be out in a few mins. This was as my husband was finishing his meal. I cancelled my order. We will NEVER be back. I wish there was less than one star to give! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Still waiting for my food at this point.... never got it - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Good food and good service. What else can you say? W staff was attentive and chicken burrito and chicken fajitas were excellent.

Delicious food and great atmosphere! Service was excellent. Will be back again in the near future!

Lively Mexican music and a bar are at the entry to this restaurant, so make your way forward and you will be seated at a booth or tables and chairs further in. A vast well worn menu had all of the usual Tex-Mex entries, street tacos, tortas and appetizers, plus a short list of seafood possibilities. I was after simple and found their enchilada notation intriguing - red, green or sour cream, cheese, beef or chicken. I ordered chicken enchiladas with green sauce and discovered they could be fajita or shredded, as well. I got shredded. My husband ordered beef fajitas ($9.99). They had fajitas on a sizzling skillet as a different entree, too, and my husband didn't ask the difference. They brought small bowls of contrasting cold tomato salsa and a delicious warm creamy tomato sauce with decent chips. My $7.99 three enchiladas, refried beans, rice and small lettuce and tomato salad plate was very good. Tart tomatillo sauce with melted Jack cheese coated stuffed enchiladas and the savory refries were more than enough for lunch and unbelievable for $7.99. A large order of guacamole was perfectly prepared and a bargain at $3.99. Interestingly, my husband's fajitas were more like small guisado chunks with jalapeño cooked right in. Different from the usual sizzling strips; but terrific, he said. His was a simple platter, too, with refries, rice and the salad, as well. He asked for a squirt bottle green sauce (spicy!!) and was very happy with the two thick homemade flour tortillas that came in the warmer. It was too much food and we took half of it home. Our smiling waitress was gracious as was the young man who resupplied us with salsas, cleared our table and brought me a to go cup. The waitstaff wear headsets in this very busy Mexican restaurant (it was a Sunday) and our service was flawless. Inexpensive and wonderfully prepared, we had a good experience and good food. I have seen some of the poorer reviews and I'm at a loss to explain their experience. I have had Tex-Mex all over Texas and found none better for the pricepoint. Read the menu carefully, ask questions if need be - they have everything you could imagine from shrimp cocktails to mixed grills and bargain daily specials. read more

Love the food. We like getting drive thru from there. Ambiance leaves a bit to be desired but it's ok. Good makes up for it. Service is usually good too. read more

Delicious margaritas, Tuesdays are $1.99 for house margaritas! The food is amazing and they have an incredible amount of options. Go here! Friendly staff and awesome atmosphere! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Love this place! I find something I like and I stick with it. Found this place through yelp and a picture of Molcajete Jalisco snagged my attention. Everytime I go through the Dallas/Austin route I make sure I swing by here for the authentic Mexican food (unlike my experience in OKC last week!). Hubby cannot stop snacking on the chips and WARM salsa. Me? Had to stop because my regular dish has a huge portion and is quite filling! Authentic tortillas basically forces you to order a second order. Too bad this restaurant is not in my hometown in Dallas! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - So good I forgot about posting a pic before I dove in! - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Really good breakfast tacos! 3 for $2.99 on weekday mornings in the drive thru. I shouldn't be, but I treat myself on the way to work every so often, guilty pleasure. My ham and egg tacos on homemade flour tortillas are stuffed fat with the filling. The chorizo and egg ones are really good too. I think though the kicker is their salsa which doesn't taste like every other restaurant's salsa. It tastes like Italian tomato sauce for some reason and I love it. Pour it on some spaghetti! :) I've tried some of their other plates too inside sit-down and it was on-par with what you expect from so many taquerias in town. Service is good as well. read more

Food was good I recommend it the drinks are good too this is one of our favorite restaurant.

I come here all the time, I love the food!! But lately that's about it and sadly if it wasn't for the food I wouldn't even bother. The service is terribleee... the servers congregate at table in front of the restaurant, barely wearing mask, laughing, joking, completely neglecting there tables, playing on their phones and eating food, which some of these are very serious health violations. I asked to speak to a Manager, I was told there was no manager there. How do you have an establishment open without a managerial staff on site is beyond me!!!!! Ranchitos Michelada was hands down the best I've ever tasted in my life, and now idk what they're... it's either tooo salty or watered down. All in all, I don't understand how people can see past the horrible service and fading taste we've been accustomed to. read more

We live nearby and it's one of our favorite breakfast places! Super excellent burritos and Taquitos! Their lunch menu is really good as well. The staff is super friendly and I like that you can tell everything is handmade. read more

The food was great and service was quick! The panchos plate was good but sauce was a little spicy for my husband's liking. My fajita and cactus plate was amazing. Meat was tender and seasoned perfectly. read more

Food is always great there. We eat there often. Tonight we had a terrible server. She didn't provide silverware even after she brought the food. I had to ask another waitress, but that didn't get silverware either. I waved my arms to get their attention. She was sitting at a table! She brought us silverware, no apology, no asking if we needed anything else. Just walked off. Every time I've eaten there they always bring extra napkins, green sauce, and check on us. Not BLANCA. We did have some other interaction, and the girl was just rude. I asked for the check and she said I have to pay at the register. I know that, but I wanted to see the check. When she brought it, she very rudely told me I would have to pay at the register. read more

Food and service was Very Good, we tried the servers recommended dishes and she was spot on. Only one issue, the music from the juke box was so loud that we ate as quickly as possible to get out of there. Would like to go back but will get it to go next time. read more

This place was absolutely worth every penny. The service was top notch and the food was amazing. We are visiting in from Phoenix on business and I highly recommend it to anyone coming in looking for a great Mexican food restaurant. The portions are huge and even for a guy like me. Y'all know I love food, this place takes the cake in Waco so far. Thanks for a great meal! read more

The Ranchito 5 Waco - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas