El Rancho Steak House — Restaurant in Quintana Roo

I’m not sure what’s changed in the last three years, but something clearly has, and not for the better. Compared to other Iberostar restaurants that don’t require reservations (which are hard to get anyway!), this one just isn’t worth the trouble. We arrived at 8:30 PM, and our main course didn’t show up until nearly 9:50 PM. We ended up leaving around 10:30 PM, not because we were done and then just chilling after, but because we got all courses took that long. The portion sizes were very small. Now, I get that small portions are a thing in high-end, fine dining restaurants in New York, but this is an all-inclusive resort. A half-baked potato as an appetizer? Really? The salad and fries were served in tiny bowls, barely enough for one person. The grill was good, so no complaints there, but the portions were ridiculous. Also, bread was served at some tables, but we weren’t offered any, which would have been nice given the 20-minute wait between courses. Last time that had tasty bread and herbs infused butter, but this time we god nada. The server wasn’t bad, but it was clear he was stretched thin. He didn’t have time to pay much extra attention to guests—wine refills only came after a nudge from another server. It felt like they were understaffed, and overall, it left a poor impression. The only redeeming feature was the restaurant’s design, which was thematic and well-done. Some music would have been a nice touch though; instead, we sat in awkward silence waiting for our food. If you’re really craving that grill, go for it, but otherwise, it’s not...

My friend ordered a New York Strip and asked for it medium rare. It was served well done. He sent it back and the second one was also well done. He ended up with no steak at all for the night. Then he ordered a coffee. Twenty minutes later he walked to the coffee shop, got a coffee, and came back just as the coffee he ordered was being served. My father and I ordered our steaks medium rare and got them medium well. It took over two hours for the meal because the service was so slow. Another friend ordered the prime rib and it was at least 60% fat. Also, the dirty dishes weren't cleaned between courses. This was easily the WORST meal of our entire one week stay. I would never go back unless the ENTIRE staff...

Food wasnt bad, but the menu is very misleading. All of the steaks are New York Strip, just cut differently and given different names (Soho, Manhattan, etc). Cooked well, but very fatty and needed some more seasoning. My husband ordered the "blooming onion" appetizer, but it was actually onion rings. The fried sweet potatoes are sweet potato chips. The warm apple pie wasnt warm at all, and it was a tart disc with apples on top instead of a slice of pie. The cheesecake was coated in coconut, which wasnt mentioned...