Avila’s El Ranchito

This restaurant has great ambiance– it’s an old church with wooden rafters and stained glass windows. The service is friendly and the food is just alright– especially for the high-​ish prices. Great location though and good if you’re craving Mexican food.

Nice staff. Everyone helps you here not just your own waitress love the beautiful old church and the stained glass windows. This is our second or third time back hope the food is as good as last time

I just celebrated my daughters First Communion luncheon here! I can’t express how impressed I was with the service from the staff. Everyone from the owners to the servers. They went above and behind to accommodate my guest and myself. We used the banquet room, the food was plenty and delicious. The managers were awesome! Thank you for making it an unbelievable experience!

hijole! the chile verde here is so yum, i always regret not getting more to take home with!
came here late afternoon on saturday and having not eaten all day, my appetite was revved up. the chips and salsa are very nice to start with (tho, i would prefer a little less onion in the salsa). good flavor and that is always a good sign when eating mexican food. the salsa tells me a lot about what to expect from the «main attraction».
having ordered the chile verde here before, i already knew that was what i wanted. but the menu is very plentiful. lots of choices. and they’re pretty generous with the ingredients. a lot of places skimp. and i for one appreciate getting a nice serving of the chile verde. i try to order things that, number 1: i don’t know how to make. and number 2: i know i won’t ever be making.
food came out quickly and once again, did not disappoint. had to stop myself from cleaning the plate tho. no need for a tummy ache. got a take home container and enjoyed the rest later that night.
and if you want to walk off some of the meal afterwards, downtown orange is right there; it is a cute, old-​timey place to burn some calories and maybe some more $$.

Excellent service. Excellent food. The waiters were over the top in making my day that much more better. They started with fresh hot chips and salsa. And I have to say it was endless. Our chips basket was half empty they brought us more. Just can’t say enough good things about them.

Food was good but somewhat of a pricy lunch for tacos and a beer. I wish they had more of a happy hour or lunch time special. Great location and love the building.

Avila’sEl Ranchito is my go-​to on Tuesday night for Taco Tuesday and on the weekends. Their margaritas are killer and half price on Tuesdays. A heaping helping of chips and salsa are provided to anyone for free, even if you are only sitting at the bar. Tacos are cheap and tasty, and you can get anything from steak to chicken to fish. Each taco runs about $ 4 and comes with rice and beans if you ask. Service is spot on and friendly and the atmosphere is comfortable. It can get crowded on weekends so prepare for about a thirty minute wait after 5:30PM. Cadillac margaritas are their main selling point!

The food was very expensive had no flavor and the portions were tiny never coming back

Plenty of reviews already talk about the great food, but I want to take a minute to praise their service.
I am one of those unfortunate women who experience nausea all day, every day throughout my entire pregnancy. Halfway through my (delicious!) meal, those crappy pregnancy hormones kicked in. The wonderful staff immediately saw my distress and ushered me to the nearest trash can.
Afterward, they graciously showed me to the bathroom and the hostess, incredibly and thoughtfully, brought me a warm wet towel, a roll of soft paper towels, and offered me a soda water to settle my stomach. The kindness and quick thinking of the entire staff turned what would have been an incredibly embarrassing situation into just a minor inconvenience. Thank you all so much — and the shrimp tacos really were lovely!

I took a couple of friends to eat at Avilas yesterday afternoon. Completely disappointed. Service was not up to par. The food was ok. Nothing to write home about. The one thing that chap my hide was this— I just had a huge ankle remodel and have a cart to get around. They have no access to bar area for my cart. You had to sit in bar to eat Taco Tueaday and get the discounted tacos. So I asked if I could eat in dining room because of the access issue. They said, I could but my friends had to order off dinner menu. Really sounds like Avilas is more worried about the dollar than the customer’s satisfaction and food quality. Just lost me me!!!

I been a fan of Avilas since they open this location. Unfortunately not so much anymore. A recent visit revealed higher prices that were already kinda borderline high before, for what you get. Plus, they took the Veggie Burrito off the menu. Was my go to. Gone. The service has always been just OK. It’s SUPER Noisy in here when it gets busy.
Bottom line for me is that it’s OK food and service but at these prices and not having my Burrito on the menu I’m kinda over it. There’s better, quicker, less expensive options for Mexican food all over SoCal.

I’ve been to this location a number of times over the years, and it’s pretty good but not as good as the one in NB. It’s funny to see the old PJ’s Abbey stained glass still up on the right side of the restaurant – PJ’s preserved the church that used to be there and it’s nice to see that El Ranchito is too.
We came here on New Years Day when our usual Mexican spot, Los Cabos, was closed. The food and service were average and no different from the non-​holidays that I’ve been there. I am devoted to the Chingolingas, which are basically chicken flautas. The rice is always lackluster, but the guacamole and chips are always good. A nice alternative to Jalapeños!

Food is very blah. I had the Azteca salad and it was a store bought iceberg and cabbage mix with dry chicken, very disappointing. The chips were also store bought and awful, and the salsa had no heat whatsoever. My boyfriend got a meal and came with beans and rice and both were lackluster.
Service was also fairly poor for our group of 12, at one point every drink on the table was dry and I when I asked for a refill I was surprised no one else was offered one.
However, I give and extra star for how easy going they were about splitting the check 6 ways.

Chicken Tortilla Soul for the win!!! Love this soup and it keeps me coming back! This location is inside of an old house, there is a patio and a room for private parties. The service is always quick and friendly. The food is yummy– they have a great happy hour and taco Tuesday! Flauntes and that soup are my favorite.

If I could give them six stars I would. This restaurant is lovely, inside an old church, and extremely family friendly. We went on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. with a toddler in tow and they could not have been more accommodating. They sat us right away, immediately grabbed us a high chair (we didn’t even have to ask), and welcomed us like we were regulars even though it was our first time there.
The menu is comprehensive and includes all of the standard Mexican fare but the flavors are far more pronounced that a typical Mexican restaurant and they definitely highlight seafood throughout their menu. Don’t fear, there are plenty of chicken, pork, beef, and veggie options available too. A minute to talk about the kids menu: it is amazing. It is portioned correctly, has plenty of options, and they offer a toddler plate AND a baby plate option. I’ve seen toddler menus before but baby options? That is how you earn a sixth star. Anywho, we ordered the toddler plate which consists of rice, beans, and chicken on a toddler friendly plate and they brought it out fast, far before our food delivered. Fine by me, preferred actually and definitely appreciated.
Adult food: the chips and salsa were good, especially the chips, and the salsa is not spicy at all but well rounded in flavor. We ordered a bonata fiesta platter and would order it again in a heartbeat. Avila’s garlic butter sauce was something I would gladly swim in any day of the week and will probably spend the next week dreaming of it.
The service was outstanding, from the servers to the runners to the management we felt like they really cared about their diners and their restaurant. The place was packed but it never felt crowded. It is well lit so you aren’t cowering over a single tea light to see your menu or each other, and it’s inside an old church!
Avila’s El Ranchito I hope you stay in Orange for a long time! We can’t wait to go back.

Lunch Special Avilas Soup was excellent!!! We got ourselves free (choice corn or) flour tortillas which were piping warm, doughy, and fresh. Coming here again when I get the chance because I like me some good soup that’s flavorful, warm, and speedy.
Gotta love quick and welcoming service

Located amongst the beauty of Old Town Orange, Avilas Mexican Restaurant is just off the beaten path. It’s basically located in the neighborhood behind the main thoroughfare in an old craftsman-​style church. The property is beautiful with a nice patio area, off-​street parking, and beautiful landscaping and a fountain.
Walking in, it does echo, like an old church should. They have beautiful hardwood floors and it’s nicely organized inside. Though it was bigger than I thought it would be in there, they do have tiered seating, which makes it appears larger.
We were seated in the middle of the restaurant and the way that the tables are, it felt like we were on display. I didn’t initially care for the seating, but as it filled up with other parties, it seemed to grow on me. The chips and salsa was pretty good. The chips were hot and I definitely appreciated that. The salsa was chunky and we absolutely love chunky salsa, but we did have to salt and pepper it, as it was a little bland.
My hunny ordered the chicken taco and enchiladas combination plate. We are cheese lovers, so when we saw all the cheese from the pics that other Unilocalers posted, he immediately went for that one. I was having a real struggle between the chicken molé and the shrimp fajitas. I LOVE veggies, so the fajitas were really calling to me, but I also love some good molé and I was anxious to try theirs. However, I went with the fajitas and I was glad that I did. It was delivered on a half-​moon fajita plate. They were absolutely delicious and there was some kind of sauce in it that so damn good, I wanted more! It was seasoned well, but I did sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it and it was even better. The beans and rice were seriously delicious; better than I ever thought they would be. It tasted more on the authentic side and not on the commercialized side. That speaks volumes to me, because I love the authentic taste of food, especially Mexican, which is my favorite.
Of course, I didn’t finish all of my food, which speaks to their generous portion sizes. I happily packed it up to take home. I was shocked when our server brought out a reusable Tupperware container for my leftovers! I thought that was very eco-​friendly of them!
Had we not been going elsewhere for dessert, we would have totally tried the fried ice cream, because it was definitely screaming at us! However, we were able to keep our strength through that struggle! In all, we really enjoyed the food and will definitely be back. The service was awesome! Everyone worked as a team and checked on us consistently and the food came out within 10 – 15 minutes of us ordering.

Love the location! This Avila’s El Ranchito is an old church! It’s definetely got the feel of Old Town Orange. When you eneter the restaurant you immediately notice the church architecture with the nice stained windows!
The bar area is average, seats about 7 people at the bar itself and has other seating arrangements in the bar area. There are several smaller televisons to catch sports.
We sat at the bar itself although there is a full service dining room. They have about 6 beers on tap from Dos Equis, Modelo, Pacifico, Budlight etc… along with your typical margaritas.
I ordered the Azteca burrito where you had your choice of meat. I chose shredded beef as my main filling, along with beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. The shredded beef was tender-​onie! Perfect!
My friend ordered the chicken fajitas which were cooked to perfection.
We ordered a side of guacamole with our chips. Guacamole was pretty good but wasn’t tableside where they make it fresh in front of you. Maybe they have that option but the bartender didnt offer it to us.
Service here was pretty good. The parking lot is kind of small but so are all parking lots on Old town Orange.

I love the building… an
with stained glass windows and high ceilings. Totally a great place.
Went there on a business lunch (though have been there a few times before)
I had the «tampiquena» on the lunch menu. Comes with carne asada, chicken enchilada, rice and beans. Though I switched the chicken enchilada for a cheese one.
Everything was as delicious as the picture looks. My client also ordered the same and was equally impressed.
It’s an great place to eat aesthetically and for the food. Definitely come back here more and more…

We came here the other day before shopping at a local antique store. The building was so beautiful and the food was good. We really had a nice, relaxing meal here.
The stained glass windows are wonderful here. Once an old Baptist church, the restaurant has a cool nostalgic feel. We liked the history behind the restaurant and thought the building was truly lovely.
The food was really good and arrived fairly quickly as well. I ordered the Seafood Enchiladas and my son ordered the kid’s Chicken Taco meal (with rice and curly fries). We were pleasantly surprised by how delicious our meals were. We also liked how fresh and tasty the chips and salsa were too.
Although our meals were brought out quickly, the service was a bit slow at times. What impressed us was when the gentleman who worked in the bar rushed over to us (in the restaurant side) to refill our soda and lemonade. We thought he really went out of his way.
For a nice meal in this great old restaurant, El Ranchito is a great place to grab lunch while shopping in Old Towne Orange!