El Rancho Grande — Restaurant in Clarksville

El Rancho Grande is a Mexican Restaurant off Exit 11. It is a fairly new restaurant so happily the restaurant was still very clean and neat. The metal 'art work' in the front of the restaurant is very distinctive.

The staff all seemed to be authentic Mexican or Hispanic if you prefer. The service was excellent and friendly. It was enjoyable to eat here and I felt that the people working here appreciated me eating here. You cannot say this about every place a person eats at nowadays.

Now to talk about the food. The most disappointing thing I tried was the thing I was brought first, the chips and salsa. The salsa was insipid. Absolutely flavorless. Fortunately, El Rancho, like most Mexican restaurants, have an amazing house (homemade) salsa. You just have to ask but beware, it is hot!

The tortilla chips had no substitute and were positively dreadful. Had the chips and salsa been better I might have rated El Rancho a 5 stars but the first thing you get without ordering cannot be terrible. First impressions and everything. The chunky guacamole was also good but personally, I prefer other restaurant guacamole offerings.

The tacos al Pastor was excellent and authentic. Complete with pineapple as it should be. The regular soft beef tacos were tasty and juicy with a fantastic tortilla to boot. Almost everything eaten was amazing. El Rancho Grande was very good restaurant that deserves a try if you are in the mood for great Mexican food and great service. Just bring your own...

Not a single lick of salt or pepper on the steak my husband got. I ordered the appetizer with flautas and tiny quesadillas. The shredded chicken was not seasoned at all. Rice and beans were wack. Didn't taste salt or citrus on anything. They aren't pictured bc it wasn't good. I was tired and just needed food. I didn't even take a picture of the menu like normal bc I didn't think I would make a review. But it was trash, so i thought I should mention it. We didn't even finish it. I threw most of it away. We were staying at the hotel next door so I didn't have anything to make it better. Hispanic food is my favorite, and my husband is an executive chef at a Hispanic restaurant. The parking lot was full to the brim and there was a waiting list. The menu was massive, so I really didn't think it would suck this much.

I saved the steak and put it in the cooler for the last few hours of our drive bc maybe I can fix it with salt once we get to our new house. We also paid like 80 bucks for all this stuff plus the drinks, so I didn't want to just lose all that.

Genuinely, all of it was lacking salt, flavor, and clearly love from a Hispanic person who cares about food. Estas gringo pinché comida. No bien, no sabor, y no amor. No mama's way señor. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Michelada was good....

Not for Foodies, but Locals Seem to Love It

We tried El Rancho Grande while in town and were hopeful, especially since it seemed to be a local favorite. The restaurant was clean, and the service was decent, but unfortunately, the food just didn’t deliver.

As someone who appreciates hot, flavorful, and fresh food, this fell short across the board. The kids’ meals were especially disappointing. We asked for cheese pizza and were given pepperoni. Not a huge deal, but when your kids are picky eaters, it matters. The pizza was clearly microwaved, the chicken tenders looked like they’d been sitting around all day, and the fruit was just a store-bought fruit cup. Also, no non-carbonated drink options for kids? Major miss.

The adult plates looked nice but lacked flavor and freshness. Nothing was seasoned well, and everything tasted like it had been sitting for a while. To top it off, the carrot cake with fruit was freezer burned and completely inedible—we tossed it in the trash.

While I’m glad this place brings joy to locals, it’s not somewhere I’d return to or recommend for anyone who genuinely loves well-prepared...