Avila’s El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant

One of my favorite locations of the Avila restaurants. Beautifully decorated, excellent selection of tequilas today we came in and ordered the bar menu. The steak quesadilla is excellent asada flavor was amazing and I also the Mazatlan shrimp tacos. All made right in front of you in a small front of the house open kitchen. Friendly service and delicious food. Thanks Avila’s

Went on Unilocal to find a good Mexican place close by where we were vacationing. This place was close by and had 4 stars. So, we thought, «let’s try it». The service was horrible. It took forever to order. The bowl of chips was teeny tiny. When our food finally came it was mediocre at most. I followed suggestions on Unilocal and ordered the chimilinga. It was dry and boring. Basically a little chimichanga without cheese and onions and peppers. My friend also ordered the chimilinga but lucky for her the waiter messed up and brought her the wrong thing. Our waiter was super friendly but that’s about it. Hoping tomorrow nights pick is better!

LOVE this place. Everything is good. atmosphere is chill. Very welcoming place. I come to eat rather than drink but i see people doing both. Lunch time during the week is the best time for me. the salsa is amazing. Top items are the soup and the margaritas are big hits.

My co worker and I decided to come here for lunch today and we are so glad we did. First, I can’t say enough about our server/​bartender, Paco. He was the most attentive, the quickest, not to mention the most handsome server/​bartender we’ve had in a while at surrounding places. We both had the lunch special with mama’s soup & cheese enchilada and it was the perfect portion and delicious. It really hit the spot. We really appreciated the manager, Peter, walking out to make sure everyone was enjoying their experience. If I had more hands, I’d give them 4 thumbs up!!!

Not the best place for taco tuesday, cheap and definitely get what you paid for. Not the servers fault she’s only working by herself. It’s taco Tuesday so meant to be a busy night, right? Food was good over all but slow service cuz of short staff.

We came on a Tuesday night for taco Tuesday and the service was outstanding. Our waitress Danielle did a great job! So refreshing to have a server that is happy and attentive these days! That alone was worth a review! The food was good– street tacos, chili relleno, carne asada, taco salad. Margaritas were good and the really enjoyed the skinny margarita!

I am so tired of ordering take out for our family and discovering our order is completely wrong once we get home. It’s verified over the phone and not prepared accurately. Not once. Not twice. Every time. This time we encountered and exceptionally RUDE manager, Peter. His comments were curt and uncalled for. We frequent El Ranchito because of its close proximity. The service in the restaurant is mediocre and the take out service is deplorable. The food is fair at best and certainly not priced for its value. Either way, customer service is nonexistent! Honestly, El Ranchito is risking losing local customers for all of these reasons. There are far too many options to waste money on this kind of consistent aggravation. It would be wise to excel in customer service when you are failing on so many key check points. Sadly, Peter could not muster the professionalism to humbly accept the error in an effort to maintain long term customer relationships.

Amazing food! Amazing service! We like to come visit at the Newport Coast Marriott villas for vacation and whenever we come down here this is the restaurant that we go to. One of the most authentic Mexican restaurants I’ve ever been to. Thanks for the great experience!

What a lively, fun place. That said… our experience was NOT great. I made a reservation about 45 minutes before we got to El Ranchito. Made it via phone and spoke to someone. Gave her my name and phone number. Confirmed the time and # in our party.
We arrive and the hostess (a very nice young lady, who I probably gave a bit harder time than I should have) tells me we don’t have a reservation. I told her we did. She looked at her sheet and couldn’t find my name.
I explained to her, and then the manager, Erma — who was VERY accommodating and did her best for us — that I did make a reservation and spoke to someone there. The hostess said «not me.» (So much for the customer always being right. Now, there are a number of El Ranchitos in California — did I maybe call a different one, and make a reservation there? Hey — could have happened. But I checked my trusty cell phone, showed Erma and the hostess the number dialed and they said that was their #. So I didn’t make it up. Then the hostess (for some reason, and this could be why I turned on her a bit) says: «But that was 45 minutes ago.» Yes, dear. It was. When I made the reservation.
New to California — and for some reason they don’t let kids sit in a «bar area.» I’m guessing that’s the law, but there was a large table wide open with seats available in the «bar area» and they wouldn’t let us sit there.
Erma said they may have a table open in 15 – 20 minutes. We said we’d wait (this was after they tried to have us sit in a «gift shop/​waiting lounge» area. Then I noticed some people walking out from the back of the restaurant. I said, looks like a table may have opened up. Erma said she’d check — she did, and lo and behold… a table was open!
After that: service very slow. Waiter nice, but took his time. Food — serviceable, if not really good. My Chile Rellenos had great flavor.
I’d like to come back, as it’s an affordable and convenient restaurant — and as I mentioned, lively bar scene. And ERMA (could be «Irma») was really terrific. She did her best, with a bit of prodding. The other hostess needs a little «people skills training though.»
But this wasn’t the best experience. Guess I’m a bit of «Bah Humbug.»

So happy Janine is back, she and Vida are a great team. When me and my friends go out on the town we can’t sit still, we can’t sit down until we get to el ranchitos!+

Food was amazing! Home made tortilla were delicious, so was the skinny margarita. Definitely a must go to if close by.

Decent Mexican food. House salsa has a little kick to it. I ordered my Fiesta burrito chimichanga-​style. I thought it’d be more of a «wet burrito» but it just came fried with a side of guacamole and sour cream. Either way, I was happy with what I got.
I had two margaritas. The first was great, and the second was undrinkable and had to be sent back. But other than that, no issue with El Ranchito.

Thank God I don’t live here. I was missing home (Dallas, TX) and I needed a dose of tex mex/​Mexican food. It was either here or Fred’s. We came here because it had more stars. The food was okay, to say the least. I had the tacos and my fiancé had the burrito. The salsa was disgusting! It was like dipping stale chips in cocktail sauce. HB is in dyer need of good Tex mex/​Mexican food. I will never go back here again.

Location specific review:
In comparison to the peninsula location, this location is much more low key. It’s more of a family oriented crowd as opposed to an out of control belligerent drunk vibe that you get on the peninsula (that out of control belligerent drunk is sometimes me. Sorry). Anyways, it’s a perfect option of you are looking for something that’s quick and easy.
General overview:
You like feel good yummy in my tummy Mexican food? Well this is the place. I like to stick with the
combos at el ranchito. Get the three item combo: crispy taco, enchilada, and the chile relleno or flautas. Also make sure to get Mama Avilas soup. You won’t be disappointed.

Prob the go-​to taco tuesday spot in Corona Del Mar area. Got there about 4pm, parking wasn’t even bad, must have beat the crowds, the place was pretty empty but gradually filled up.
Ceviche tacos? YES

Things are Looking Up…
The Best Bartenders in the World, Paco, Rod, Ivan and Vida.
I’m Back to Loving this Place, it’s Cheers in CDM.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name :-)

It’s been awhile since I’ve been here. The last time I went it was across the street. Back then it was a trailblazer, a larger Mexican restaurant that was our first choice over El Torito and Acapulco, before the Javiers and Sol Cucinas and Gabby’s invaded Southern Cali. This was even before Chipotle. A lot has changed since then.
Avila’s still has great salsa and good chips. The main dishes are solid but I don’t know if anything differentiates them from the next Mexican restaurant. The same can be said of the mango margarita I had, which was on the weaker side. I don’t think the food has changed too much, I just think that the offerings in the area have.
Mama Avila’s Chicken Soup (free with Unilocal Check-​In!) — This was my favorite dish! Clear chicken broth, large chunks of slow cooked chicken breast, tomatoes, serrano peppers, rice, cilantro and generous slices of avocado. The soup base is just chicken stock, not the syrupy, creamy red stuff that many chains now serve out of a can. The soup feels very healthy without skimping on any ingredients. Crumble some chips on top and you have chicken tortilla soup! I would totally order the large bowl of this for $ 10 as my meal next time.
Carnitas Chimichanga — I just felt like having a crispy shell, so for just frying my burrito, they charge an extra $ 4. Sometimes you just pay the price. Is a $ 4 «Chimichanga Style» fry job worth the upcharge? Of course not. I turned my $ 10 burrito into a $ 14 chimichanga. Okay, ignoring the price differential, the carnitas inside are good. Big blocks of tender but crispy on the edges carnitas meat, not too fatty, seasoned well.
Fajitas — My friends asked if they could do half and half on their fajitas and that was no problem. You can order half of one meat and half of another and they will just charge you for the higher of the two meats. We ordered shrimp and steak. They brought out shrimp and chicken. It took them a little while, but they brought out an additional side of steak for no extra charge, letting us keep the chicken. The fajitas plate is huge! You can definitely split this between two people
I hadn’t been to Avila’s in almost 10 years. I enjoyed their food but it’s just not as sexy as it was 10 years ago. They have opened more locations, but their competition at the same price level has stepped it with creative offerings, more complimentary salsas, multi-​colored chips, mood lighting, jalapeño margaritas and elote. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just something I noticed. If you add on additional ingredients or menu items a la carte ($ 6 dinner salad, $ 6 taco, $ 7 enchilada), it can be a killer. Stick to the combos and set plates and you’ll do fine.

Terrific food! Proactive, friendly staff! Comfortable atmosphere!
Limited parking in back — pretty common in CdM.
The food is excellent. We’ll be back!

This is a solid Mexican food option. The service we received was ok. Our server made a couple minor mistakes, but nothing serious. They were able to seat us right away. It was a small booth, but it was better than waiting around for something else to open up. They brought out chips and salsa right away and were pretty on top of bringing out more.
I ordered a two item combination plate with a cheese enchilada and a crispy beef taco. The cheese enchilada had very good flavor. It was also a good sized portion. The crispy beef taco was ok. Not as impressive as the enchilada, but good enough. The rice that comes with it was a little bland.

First time visitor and was very satisfied with the fare. The service is what kicked it up to 4 stars, as without, it would’ve been a solid 3. Most definitely order Mama Avila’s soup! Order an entrée, check in, and a cup of that deliciousness is free. It was a happy surprise. Also happy hour (M-​F 3 – 6) prices are grool.