Avila's El Ranchito - Costa Mesa — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Absolutely the BEST MEXICAN FOOD IN CALIFORNIA! If you want the real deal, this is the place! The atmosphere is fantastic and so warm and welcoming. John, our waiter, was so kind, happy and so appreciative that we chose Avila's. As a Native Californian, it has been a while since I have eaten at this restaurant, since moving out of state... And I'll tell you it was better than I remembered! My husband had the chili relleno, which was light, so filled with flavor and cooked to perfection! The rice and beans are out of this world! He said they were better than his grandmother's and mother's who are actually from Sonora Mexico. It was seriously packed with flavor, fresh and so delicious it was like a party in your mouth! For me, the quality of the guacamole is always how I judge the true authenticity of a Mexican restaurant. And let me tell you. Avila's guacamole never disappoints! It is fresh, flavorful and absolutely so delicious I didn't even need a chip to enjoy it but rather just ate it with a fork and a smile! The chips are fresh, crispy, warm, and not one bit greasy... and they just keep on coming! I ate enough chips and guacamole that I thought I was going to pop! This was literally my meal! Chunky and smooth at the same time and so packed with flavor you could actually taste the love. Even though we got there shortly before closing, we were treated as if we were their most important customers. The service was excellent, even the owner visited our table to make sure that everything was perfect. So classy! For dessert we had the fried ice cream... I could eat that everyday. Best on the planet.... And I've traveled extensively through Mexico. They sent us home with a large bag of chips to enjoy on our ride back to Arizona. So generous and eager to please. I can't say enough good things about Avila's. Especially our wonderful waiter John. That man goes the extra mile to make sure that you are pleased with every plate placed on your table. if you are looking for the best Mexican food around, look no more... Stop here at Avila's and you will leave feeling so amazing and satisfied! We love Avila's and plan on returning the minute we get back to Cali. Love! Love! Love! Folks, Avila's is the real deal. And the prices are more than fair. We were shocked at the price of our bill. We expected it to be double of what it was..... And it was so good, we would have paid triple! So visit Avila's anytime you are in Costa Mesa. You won't regret it. And trust me, you will be back again as soon as possible! And don't forget to ask for John as your waiter, he goes the extra mile to make sure you have everything that you need and are completely satisfied and happy! BEST MEXICAN FOOD IN CALIFORNIA! HIGHLY...

TLDR: Huge potential but heavily disappointed, bland food. Service 4/10, food 2/10.

I’m writing this review in the El Ranchito parking lot because of my disappointment. I love Mexican food. My personal favorite is carnitas wherever I go. But I have to say this was so bad I wrote my first review of food on it.

First the good:

The host moved quickly, he greeted us and was very friendly right outside the door.

Portions are very generous. It’s a lot of rice/beans and the carnitas/tamale we decently sized.

Chips were very crunchy, one of the better tortilla chips I’ve had and the basket they give is plentiful.

They do a good job of filtering out customers because they get busy quickly, we came at about 5-6 pm on a Sunday.

You get to see them make some of their tortillas on a grill which is nice, there’s a big flour source where they make tortillas. But I could see plastic bags of premade store bought tortillas right next to it, which I can’t help but feel we received.

Now the bad:

The service: I don’t mind if a server is busy, we live in a work shortage so taking time is no issue. But our server did not bother to offer to refill our water or ever check if we needed anything. Again, they were busy, that’s not the major issue. But he also forgot to bring our additional tortillas we ordered, and the only fast service we received was to give us check…while we were still eating. We paid cash, and he literally gave us change from his own wallet on the spot. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, you’re welcome to decide. It seemed close to impossible to get his attention.

The food: we ordered carnitas, a tamale and an enchilada. The carnitas was horribly dry, bland and the “sauce” that it comes with was quite sour. The enchilada had this awful beef taste, like it was either bloody or not thoroughly washed. I couldn’t quite figure out. The enchilada tasted like how a petting zoo smells. The tortillas, we got flour and corn, both were cold and bland. Which reminds me about the chips, they were cold too. Very crunchy and quite good, but they were cold. The complimentary salsa had massive onion chunks, way too much cilantro, and was almost bitter. Despite watching the woman make tortillas, they tasted about the same as something from Walmart.

I don’t mean to come off scathing, I genuinely want them to do better. They seem to have lots of service, and to be honest I’m confused as to why.

Edit: very lucky to get two stars because the host was...

Had a taste for really good Mexican food so we googled what was in the area on the way to the beach. Viola! Avila's El Ranchito popped up. I haven't been to this location but I've been to the one in Santa Ana. The manager greeted us immediately we can in. There was about a 20 min wait for inside dining. So we waited it was pretty chilly outside even though they have heat lamps. I was ordering so no alcohol tonight, probably next time 😁. The cops and salsa here are so good. I ordered the chicken taco salad which can't in a large flour tortillas with lots of chicken, lettuce, beans, pico de gallo, cheese, guacamole and sour cream. Hubby ordered the carne asada tacos, he added shrimp and it comes with rice and beans. I'm giving 5 stars because the service we received from the manager and the food was amazing!!!!!! Our server...... Well she gets 1 star, unfortunately I don't remember her name. She was rude and very short then once my husband asked her to come back then she got a little nicer but not much. We would say thank you and she would just walk away. She didn't check on us once our did was delivered. She became really friendly when she gave us the bill. We'll be back but I'll make sure we went get her...