My all time favorite place ever! Best burrito in the world. Love you El Ranchero nothing tops it

As this place is across the street from our condo for the next 3 months, we thought it was appropriate to hit it up on our first night. We arrived early (or so we thought) at about 5:30 on a Friday night. The bar area was completely full and the seating area was about 2/3 full. By 6, the entire joint was completely full. I don't know if this is a lesson to us about eating on weekends in La Jolla, or if this place is just that popular. We were immediately given some chips and salsa. The salsa was chunkier than restaurant salsa typically is, which is a good thing. Also, it had some heat that hit you after you were done chewing the chip. Winner. We decided to try the cheese crisp, as many yelpers mentioned it as a must have. This thing is huge (see picture). It's a ton of cheese on top of a fried tortilla. We opted to spend the extra $2.50 to get green chiles, and were very glad we did. They covered the crisp and added fantastic chile flavor. We restrained ourselves from eating all of it, took about half home to leave room for our entrees. Like the appetizer, we loved our entrees, but didn't finish them. I had the skirt steak, which is served with a cheese enchilada, rice, and FANTASTIC copa beans. These beans are topped with cojita cheese and taste like they were cooked in a pot for hours. I could eat a huge bowl of these with some pork for a meal. The steak was grilled and had the appropriate marks. I liked the marinade/seasoning, and it went well with the large cheese enchilada. This was a large dish, I'm a big eater and I took home around half of it. The wife had the shrimp tacos, and she would get these again. They were crammed full, after the chips and cheese crisp, she could only eat one. This was a fun atmosphere, lively and jovial. Service was great, plates never sat on our table too long after we were finished them with. Water glasses were never empty and drinks were refilled quickly. This is a great small joint, one I'm sure we will return to many times during our stay. read more

Verdes El Ranchero - Skirt steak, served with a cheese enchilada and rice/copa beans (not pictured). Delicious. - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Fantastic FOOD! Crunchy tacos are so hard to find and this is gourmet, delicious hard shell tacos. Yum yum. Go get some!!!!!

Best mexican sit down restaurant! The service was great and the food was amazing. I highly recommend this neighborhood gem. Our food came out hot. My margarita was refreshing without being too sweet. read more

Went on a Tuesday so it was quite busy and service was slow...however got the shredded beef enchilada and they were quite tasty and the place was nice. Besides the long wait time, my only other complaint is that my friend asked for more salsa and sour cream and was charged for each - salsa was almost $3 extra! - a heads up for the extra charge would have been nice. read more

Hands down my go to place for great Mexican Food in La Jolla; actually my favorite in San Diego. Today my Server/Chip continued their legacy of warm friendly service! Kudos to the whole team! read more

Verdes El Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

Margaritas were terrible, the salsa is made with canned tomatoes and the food was mediocre. The guacamole had no flavor, it was solid avocado and nothing else. This place caters to locals, which is great if you are a local. The green sauce was very good. read more

Since the beginning of COVID, I have not been more uncomfortable than when I was sitting at this unorganized restaurant. The tables were never wiped down/disinfected, and not only were some tables being waited on and some were ignored (like mine), I went in to ask for a refill of my soda and with his bare hand, he handed me a straw from the bar counter that was sitting in an open tray, not in a wrapper. Food was ok and overpriced, but it is 100% not worth the dirty lack of COVID precautions.. tables are not 6 feet apart, and several people showed up confused on how the seating and ordering worked since a sign on the door says to order inside, yet tables who were ordering a lot of food and drinks were waited on at their table, regularly checked on. read more

My wife and I were in San Diego with my Aunt and Uncle and went to our yearly pilgrimage to a local San Diego restaurant with some friends that live in La Jolla. El Ranchero is right around the corner from their house so we walked by Mitt Romney's house and then off to El Ranchero, which I heard had San Diego's best Michelada, one of my favorite drinks. Beer, ice, hot sauce, soy sauce, Worcester sauce and some chili powder around the rim. I was stoked. The place has been around San Diego for multiple decades and it was kind of divey, but in a cool way. We sat in a back corner booth that sat the six of us. I of course ordered the Michelada and the rest of the table got Sierra Nevadas and some Mexican beer. I ordered Pacifico in my Michelada. My Michelada came out and it was just lime juice and beer and ice, I was surprised, but it wasn't half bad. I ordered a straight Pacifico for my second drink though. I ordered the fish torta, which was pretty good. Large soft bun and a huge hunk of white fish. The sauce was beautiful, but being fish it was pretty bland even after adding some Cholula sauce to it. It was solid though, and I could only finish half of it. Great leftover lunch the next day though. My wife got a bunch of sides like coleslaw, which was vinegar based, some beans, some tortillas, and some salsa, which was different than their normal salsa, it was more of a pico de gallo. She made her tacos though and she liked them a lot, I had half of them for lunch too. The rest of the party got crisps, which were like a quesadilla which they loved and my uncle got a taco and tamale combo and he loved them. My aunt got the taco salad with beef, and it looked real good and it came with a ton of meat on it. Our service was fantastic and the prices were very reasonable. We had a lot of laughs and began our walk back to our hosts house for some ice cream and drinks. A wonderful night! read more

We've had dinner here a couple of times recentl and really enjoyed both times. The food is so flavorful! The seasoning really set it apart from the traditional Mexican food. Its a bit pricey for Mexican food, but well worth it! read more

Food is amazing! Great service for to go orders. Enchilada's & shrimp burrito were 5 out of 5!

I came down to La Jolla for my wedding dress and fittings from Orange County. The first time I went down there I was hungry and stopped by here to try it out, since then, every time I come down to SD I make it a point to come here. The food is authentic and the margaritas are delicious. Chips and salsa are good too, everything is good about this place, I always had a wonderful experience, and I plan to return soon after this quarantine for the amazing food, service has always been superb as well. Love this place. read more

The food is to die for. This is one of the best mexican restaurants in San Diego! The service was great and friendly, and the food was even better! This restaurant is also taking excellent COVID precautions. read more

An enjoyable experience overall, slightly marred by overpriced wine. The food was good though, and the service was attentive and friendly. A nice spicy salsa to start went down well with free chips. It's not the actual price charged for the wine, but the fact that they are heavily marking up cheap bottles that annoys. Keep the pricing the same, just buy better wine and all would be well. read more

This is the best mexican food in all of San Diego. Look they have been around for 75 years!!!! This tells you something. We had the chili verde burrito just now and it was wonderful. Not one piece of fat in the pork. Very impressive. read more

new to this area of La Jolla and checking out all of the local restaurants. loved this find after a long day at the marine street beach. we had a group of 5 and tried everything from chips and guacamole, carne asada tacos to chicken burritos, chimichangas, and chicken tortilla soup. also had margaritas and drinks. everything was flavorful and well cooked. service was great. prices very reasonable for the area and quality of food. we are locals that have a high bar for authentic Mexican food. highly recommend this spot. will definitely be back. read more

We were headed for the taco stand but the line was too long, so we came here instead. The menu looked promising, and we were really looking forward to the surf and turf burritos. Besides the size, everything else was underwhelming. They must have burned the entire batch of carnitas because all the dishes we had with carnitas were so burnt that we couldn't finish them. Guacamole was literally just mashed avocados and lemon juice, which turned out to be fine for the baby but bland for the rest of us. Shrimp ceviche was ok. Chips and salsa was ok. Service was terribly slow even though it was after lunch hour and there were only a few tables. Would have given it 3 stars if the prices were reasonable, but it was pretty expensive for mediocre food as well. read more

Been coming here since 2007 and keep coming back for one reason: the cheese crisp. Everything you love about mexican food on one plate. Its so hard to order anything else because its just too hard to pass up. I also really enjoy the cheese enchiladas, that is, when I can part with the cheese crisp. Cant really comment on the service, because I used to be roommates with one of the servers, so my experience was probably much different than everyone else. If you are in La Jolla and want Mexican food, come here. Under no circumstances should you go to Su Casa, which has some of the worst mexican food I have ever had in San Diego. Dont let the cute patio fool you, come here instead. read more

I like the decor of this place! They did a good job with the color scheme and decorations. I tried the beef taco and the chicken taco. They beef taco was excellent. I liked the seasoning they used on the beef, and the flavor of the lettuce, tomato and fried taco shell worked well together. The chicken taco was pretty good except it was slightly overcooked and the chicken was a bit crunchy. The free chips were great. read more

Too many other, really good, options for Mexican food. Had chicken taquitos and cheese enchiladas. Chicken was bland, but tender and juicy. Enchiladas were lacking that onion punch that makes a really good cheese ench. Also found the marg to be weak tasting. Was disappointed on lack of tamales. That was a big reason for trying this vs Puesto. The salsa and chips were quite good. read more

Parking is hit or miss because you have to look into the neighborhoods for street parking. FREE CHIPS & SALSA. YAAAAS, this is exactly what I want when I come to a sit down Mexican restaurant. I discovered this place after a long day of being at the beach and fell in love with it ever since. I came here on a Tuesday evening with two other friends and we sat ourselves down. Our server always made sure we had water and it was not difficult to flag anyone down. I noticed it's a family owned restaurant and a lot of locals come here to eat. Verdes El Ranchero is like the Mexican version of an American Diner which is refreshing to have in San Diego where it mostly has Mexican food joints. Their combination plates comes with a side of pinto refried beans and spanish rice. You can pick and choose your protein as a tamale, enchilada, tostada, or taco. I ordered mine with a shredded chicken enchilada and shredded beef taco. The plate comes out hot so be careful when you start eating! My enchilada has this red sauce that gave it a nice smoky flavor and the taco has a crispy tortilla that contrasted the shredded beef. Even though it was shredded, both proteins were moist with flavor. The rice and beans were also really yummy and definitely satisfying. Sidenote: They have multiple TV screens to broadcast all the sport channels. Great place to catch up with some friends or take your family out to eat! read more

Verdes El Ranchero - Shredded Chicken Enchilada & Shredded Beef Taco with Beans & Rice. Couldn't resist and took a bite right before! - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

The happiest of moments here are spent with the cheese crisp. I'm a bit in awe of the prices, but the taco Tuesday tacos, and the happy hour prices are great. So, well, go on Tuesday. Or say screw it, and get the cheese crisp, because that's all that's important. I've only been there twice, but the service was great both times. Nice guys, reasonably quick service, friendly, so I'm good on that. Bathrooms are clean, atmosphere is pretty nice. Sort of a cross between sports bar and nice restaurant. In terms of food (other than the cheese crisp), I'd recommend the carnitas. Not the Carne asada. Nooope. Not the most delicious thing ever. The salsa I really like, and my date loved the chips. I'm neutral on corn chips unless they're lime tostitos, but they're crunchy, so I'm good. read more

Verdes El Ranchero - Enchiladas with green sauce. - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

Hands down the best Mexican food in ALL of Southern California. The best food and I can go on and on as it's that GOOD!!! I love the shredded chicken and everything is just mouth watering... I travel to Mexico frequently and I know quality and this restaurant surpasses them all! read more

This spot was good! I liked the chicken tortilla soup. It was a bit on the pricey side but after all we are in La Jolla!

I went to Verdes for dinner tonight, only my second time coming here, and my god was it a scene. A man in his seventies at the table next to mine feigned sick because he supposedly had a piece of avocado skin stuck in his throat, so after explaining that, he stood up, tried to vomit on the table, threw a glass of water on the ground, and walked out. Five minutes later, he came back in and was very vocal about how this avocado nearly killed him. When another customer told him to be quite, the grown man in his seventies asked if he wanted to go fight him. Needless to say, rich white people are dumb as hell. Kudos to the staff that have to deal with these people on the daily. Also, the food was pretty good. Not the best, but you could do worse. read more

Great outdoor seating! Great service, cynthia took care of us with lots of care! And great big portions! Man I left full and satisfied. Nice experience read more

We ate here for a late lunch after visiting the Birch Aquarium. They served chips and salsa right away. The chips were very good, the salsa on the hot side, but good. We also got bean dip and guacamole, both good. I got a chicken enchilada (with red sauce, the milder of the two sauces) and carnitas tamale, (no sauce on that,) both very good. Hubby liked his carnitas tacos. Brother got the chicken enchiladas, too and really liked them. Kids got steak tacos and liked them. The service was good, and I liked the decor. We will definitely go back. read more

Really disappointing. My boyfriend and I came here for taco tuesday while we were in the area and we were pretty disappointed. The service was good, we were brought chips and salsa pretty immediately and ordered quickly as well. My boyfriend got tacos off of the special menu but since there were no vegetarian tacos on special I ordered off of the standard one. The prices were kind of ridiculous. The prices for everything were too high for it to seem worth it. I ended up getting a vegetable burrito because the waiter said it was pretty large and it was the price of two tacos. It pretty bland and aside from lettuce and tomatoes there weren't any vegetables in it. Overpriced and not great value for what you get. read more

The current four star rating is right on. My wife's cousin wanted a sit down Mexican restaurant with chips and salsa and this was the result of a quick Yelp search. The service is very attentive. They fill up your chips and salsa before you are done with the basket you have. We were pounding chips like we haven't eaten for days! The fajitas are big enough to share for two but fairly pricy at just under $23 for shrimp. They were really good. The happy hour menu isn't too great and a small margarita is just about $6. It is a good option for a sit down Mexican option in La Jolla, but probably not one that we will frequent too often. Great service, good food, higher as expected price for the location. Pretty much exactly what you would expect! read more

Verdes El Ranchero - Shrimp fajitas! - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

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There is no joy like finding out there's a fantastic, friendly restaurant just down the street from you. VER was the most welcoming restaurant I have been to in La Jolla. The hostess (manager?) introduced herself by name, welcomed us to the neighborhood, and went out of her way to make sure my daughter's high chair was clean. Service was prompt and attentive, best of all, the food was beyond-expectation delicious. It was packed to the walls, and now I understand why. I ordered a vegetarian burrito, which had every reason to be bland, and it was flavorful (and huge!) and I loved every bite. We'll be back soon! read more

This is our go-to Mexican Restaurant in La Jolla. I love the Seafood Burrito with Shrimp and extra white sauce, my partner likes the Carne Asada Chimichanga. Their pitcher of Margarita isn't too expensive. Very tasty food, quality is above-average and not greasy - really refreshing! Cynthia was our server; she is amazing! Very attentive and genuine - we haven't had that good of service in a long time, which makes eating here even more enjoyable. Highly recommend! Thanks Cynthia! read more

Awesome carne Asada fries and their mixed drinks were absolutely AMAZING!!!! Loved the food and environment!

overpriced! $14 for a 2 taco combo plate? $10 for chili relleno al carte. the food was good but I don't think it was worth the high price since there were so many other great places for half the price in the area read more

Verdes El Ranchero - $10 chili relleno with sour cream and salsa - Mexican Near Me - La Jolla, California

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