Taqueria El Ranchito

Great authentic Mexican food in an area lacking much variety. I stick with the tacos, tamales, rice, and beans special. Both chicken tinga and steak are execellent.

I am so happy that I decided to stop in when I was in the area! I am usually never in Richfield, but Taqueria El Ranchito is now on my list for when I do go there again. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a taco fiend. I ordered ahead of time over the phone and decided on getting the asada (steak), carnitas (slow roasted pork) and the al pastor (marinated slow roasted pork).
The three tacos came to about $ 6 (about $ 2 per taco) which is normal for the price of authentic Mexican tacos.
I arrived to find a very small parking lot, but nothing that was difficult to maneuver through. They had my order ready right when I got there. I have noticed a lot of businesses converting to the use of ipads, and this is one of them. It seems as though it makes the payment process more efficient. Let me tell you, making a quick stop here for their tacos was a genius idea. Those bad boys were so worth it. The tacos were smaller than I’m used to, but they were all scrumptious. My favorite was the carnitas. I should’ve ordered 5 of them. They were the best carnitas I’ve had in the twin cities, and that’s saying a lot coming from yours truly aka taco fiend.
I also wanted to note the white sauce that came with the tacos. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I haven’t seen it at any other taco joint. It was tooooo good. Topped off my tacos just right.
I hope to be coming back to Taqueria El Ranchito sometime soon. Their carnitas are not something to be passed up!
Extra note: They DO NOT have barbacoa tacos, so don’t bother asking y’all. I did everyone the favor of asking and I was told that they don’t have them, so that covers that question.

Great carne asada tacos! I enjoyed mine with a side of creamy refried beans and mildly seasoned rice. Also had a jalapeño tamale — spicy & delicious! On the down side, this is a hole in the wall: plastic plates & utensils w/​paper napkins; however I must note that although there is no ambiance here, it was immaculate. Somewhere to get great food but not somewhere to hang out. Also, no alcohol here so if you want a beer or marg with this delicious food just order to go! My biggest complaint is that I want more but I’m too full

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the horrible décor and the depressing location in a strip mall, but these empty promises of incredible «authentic» Mexican food are a joke. I will say that we didn’t get the burrito which seems to be the best item to get based on other reviews. The food we did get contained dried out, unseasoned chicken and steak. I also ordered chips and salsa which I guess just meant a huge bowl of chips that were cheaper than Santitas with no salsa. You can pay the same or less for much better «authentic» Mexican food on or around Lake Street and Eat Street off Nicollet.

Amazing food, amazing flavored water and salsas right on point! Highly recommend this place. We had some vegetarian tortas, quesadillas, and coctel de camaron. I am not from around here but the rating is what made me choose this place and it was perfect.

My kind of dive.
Yes, it is a dive with minimal décor in a small strip mall. The food is great, the counter person was willing to customize for my brother and you can eat very inexpensively.
Tacos:
Buche — pork stomach
Acorazado Milaneza — beef head
Carnitas
Cheese enchiladas
Asada burrito
All of the above were very good.

Don’t let this hole in the wall location fool. Awesome food. Ordered 7 items all solid authentic Mexican.

Catrinas has become my gold standard for a certain type of locally owned, hole-​in-​the-​wall burrito joint against which I plan to measure all contenders. If not for Catrinas having set the bar so high, I might have given Taqueria El Ranchito four stars. As it is, still a solid three.
A while back I had enjoyed takeout from here when a friend picked up some Grande burritos on the way over to watch a movie with a few buddies (Standing in the Shadows of Motown, highly recommended!). I had selected steak for the protein. What arrived was an enormous, generously filled tortilla bursting with fresh, flavorful ingredients. A couple of hot sauces were included on the side, a piquant greenish pepper sauce and a smooth but fiery concoction a bit like a hot mustard. All-​in-​all a satisfying repast.
I stopped by myself the other day for takeout. I immediately took in what others have previously observed about the sketchy atmosphere. The wafting, musty odors, harsh, industrial lighting, randomly stacked boxes and a general dinginess that was actually a bit depressing.
The fellow behind the counter was, to be generous, brusque and business-​like. Again, like others I found the menus confusing. He offered no help. I finally settled on carnitas for my Grande burrito. I started to specify my preferences for added ingredients and was told rather gruffly «it’s all in there.» (Included was Spanish rice, pinto beans, lettuce, cilantro, guacamole, cheese and salsa). OK, the lack of choice makes it simple I guess. Add to this narrative that at ~6:30PM on a weekday I was the only customer (and remained so for the entire time I waited for my burrito) and the whole experience was a bit of a downer.
Thankfully my order was out pretty quickly. The tab for the Grande was ~$ 10 ala carte. Maybe a little on the high side but still, the burrito proved to be tasty, well prepared and filling. So, if you’re willing to brave the somewhat murky surroundings, you should walk out with a substantial, savory and ultimately satiating meal.
BTW, the lot in front was entirely full except for a spot that said it was reserved for customers of the nail salon next to the Taqueria. I popped my head in their door and asked if it was OK for me to park there while I ran in for a takeout burrito. A quick nod said all was well. I can’t guarantee that I set a precedent should you try the same thing. But, thanks «Nails Only» for letting me use your parking spot! Much appreciated. May your business prosper.

Interior is a bit of a mish mash of furniture, and outdated, but the food and the service are top notch!!! Definitely coming back.

This is as good as it gets for a local taco dive in Richfield. Love the Asada tacos!

Food was good. The serving size is smaller than what I’m accustomed to. Also, bit pricy for the serving size you get.

Food was superb! I had three tacos (carnitas and el pastor), beans, and rice. Traditional smaller tacos on two tortillas garnished simply and quite delicious.
If I had any complaint it would be with the price versus the serving size. I had my meal and a soda and it was $ 12 before tip and that struck me as out of whack.
I was the only person in there and the service fast and the food piping hot. I’m rating on the good points rather than the pricing concern.

A complete hole in the wall place that has amazing food!
We usually take the food to-​go so the interior has never really bothered me, but yes, it doesn’t have the best ambiance. It’s also usually just one guy that takes the orders and makes the food, so if multiple people order at once, the food can be a little slow to get.
BUT, the food is so good, I don’t care. Their burritos are delicious (as are their tacos, from what my boyfriend says). Definitely use the sauces that come with your food — they add a nice kick.

One of my favorite taco spots! Always quick service. The carnitas and steak tacos are the best!

I had steak tacos and it was sooooo delicious! The place is kind of dingy, the tables were sticky, and there were no customers (8pm on Saturday), but the food makes up for all that. The rice and beans were also very flavorful which is important.

No frills on the inside but delicious food.
I usually go with their chicken burrito but the steak is also delicious. I would recommend their sauce as well.
I will continue to come back

This place is amazing! I know what real Mexican tacos are like. My boyfriend is Mexican and his mom makes amazing tacos, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think these tacos are even better! Best I’ve ever had! I had the carne asada tacos and a jalapeño tamale. Wow. So delicious! Fair prices too. The sauce they put on the tacos is crazy good. The beans were good, but the only thing I wasn’t impressed with was the rice. I highly recommend this place!

I liked the ma and pa feel of this joint and the food was simple but good. The décor of the spot is rough and the food comes on foam-​ish plates which is disappointing.
The menu is really confusing though. They have loads of meat types, but my girlfriend and I realized after ordering separately that we could’ve saved probably $ 10 if we pooled together for a larger two-​person-​load combo of tacos, etc. They should re-​do their menu setup because it doesn’t make a lot of sense to the average gringo. It should be much more user-​friendly and practical.

Substance over style = Taqueria El Ranchito.
I was a bit nervous, when I first stepped into this joint. There’s an odd and foul lingering smell, the tables were sticky, the back of the restaurant was unlit and had stacks of random boxes, and the bathroom smelt atrocious. Not to mention, my cashier/​cook had the sniffles, and I thought about the possibility that I could catch a summer cold for the rest of the summer. But you know what? I’ve been in worse situations (E.g. Eating some questionable organ meat in some back street alley in Hong Kong.), so I decided to take the risk. And, I’m glad I did, because their tacos are pretty damn good.
I ordered a couple of their carnita and al pastor tacos, and washed them down with a non-​alcoholic sangria.
Al Pastor: Juicy, sweet, and soft — the flavors are much different than the ones served at Los Ocampos or La Hacienda. Also, I usually don’t like the pineapple in my al pastor, but they make it work.
Carnitas: Hearty and with a nice spice. Solid.
My meal also came with two bottles of unknown white sauces. Do they add flavor to the tacos? Sure. But, I don’t know if it they were memorable, or would recommend to use them.
Prices: For four tacos and a drink, I paid something slightly over $ 10. Pretty good.
Service: Fast!
I usually don’t let ambience take away from a place, especially with mom and pop shops, but those smells, whether in the main dining room or bathroom, just made it difficult for me go to the bathroom or stay seated. If they improved just that, I would def bump it up a star!

The South Metro is fairly stark in terms of quick bites at ethnic eateries. Aida (Middle Eastern) and Joy Pattaya (Thai) top my list, but I sought other options. Unilocal searches continually returned results for Taqueria El Ranchito, which received stellar reviews. I scoured the internet for a menu, as they lack a website, but my efforts were fruitless. I refused to attempt Taqueria El Ranchito without the ability to study a menu in advance (I’m picky about food – too much cheese and oil scare me). This weekend I finally snapped and decided to take a leap of faith.
We pulled into the ghost town of a strip mall housing Taqueria El Ranchito. Peering into the restaurant, I spotted only a single customer. I suddenly had second thoughts about my dinner choice and urged my boyfriend to take us somewhere else. But, no, I’d finally mustered enough courage to give this place a shot sans menu, there was no turning back now, he reasoned.
I am delighted that I gave this place a shot! While the ambiance is non-​existent, the food is very tasty, quickly prepared and reasonably priced. I admittedly don’t always have the patience/​concentration to decipher unfamiliar menus, so the owner was helpful in explaining how his place works. The majority of patrons order: (1) tacos (3 baby-​sized soft tacos on corn tortillas), (2) burritos (heavy as a brick), and (3) tortas (Mexican sandwich). There is a long list of meats you can choose to stuff any one of these 3 options. Don’t count on any veggie options.
I got the chicken tinga (shredded chicken) tacos. Excellent! The meat was flavorful and moist. However, an order might leave some with heartier appetites still hungry. BF got the chicken burrito. He thought it was overstuffed with rice and light on the chicken. I do see his point, but I’d have no qualms ordering it again. Squirt bottles of 2 mystery sauces were delivered to our table. These sauces sealed the deal for me, particularly the creamier, spicier one. And, I am happy to report that I didn’t find this food swimming in grease or a puddle of melted cheese.
While I have absolutely no basis for drawing this conclusion, Taqueria El Ranchito seems authentic… maybe it was the menudo and other mysterious meat-​based dishes that led me to this claim. And, while I do like me some Chipotle, it felt nice to support a local business and even better to get some tasty food in my belly.