Ramona's Cafe — Restaurant in Lordsburg

We were traveling from California to Las Cruces, and was looking for something to eat. We looked up restaurants nearby and this place had fantastic reviews, so we decided to stop in. First, the address on google is incorrect. They have recently moved, and we got lost looking for it. The new place is bigger apparently, as the other reviews said there were only a handful of tables and that definitely wasn’t the case here. The food was decent. There’s 5 people in our family, and 3 people liked their food, hence the 3 star rating. My son said the tacos were outrageously delicious. My husband said the green burrito was amazing, but their green sauce was super spicy. We are Californians, so that might be just us. The chips and salsa chips were SUPER crunchy. Again, maybe a NM thing? My other son and I had chicken chimichangas. We eat those at every Mexican restaurant we go to, looking for “the best one”. This one was definitely the worst one. It was just shredded chicken inside a fried tortilla. It was VERY Dry. I wouldn’t eat it again. The front desk said kids menus were available, but when I asked the waitress, she said they didn’t have one, but offered some items that were “kid friendly”: my daughter ordered the cheese quesadilla. It was super small and it didn’t even come with a side. She ended up eating a 1/4 of my chimichanga and beans and rice from all of us. The staff was friendly, but there was so many “errors” on the menu that I think is completely unacceptable. The sodas didn’t say no refills except by the iced tea and horchata. My husband ordered a coke and received a bottled soda that is obviously no refills. The chips and salsa said $2.99 for refills, but they gave them to us for no charge. Not complaining, just stating discrepancies. Once we got our bill, everything was charged higher than what the menu said. My son said he saw a sign on the menu that said a fee was charged for non cash payment. That’s fine, but when I asked the cashier before I had to dig for cash, she said no fee was charged. I questioned the difference in prices on my receipt and she asked her manager and her manager said, it was a 4% tax (tax was also charged to our bill) that would come off if we paid cash. 🤷🏾‍♀️, but they don’t have a card fee use?? 🤦🏾‍♀️ I paid cash and it brought the total down by $2. Overall, it was a decent place, but I definitely wouldn’t stop by again in our travels, which is a bummer considering how fantastic other reviewers rate it. Maybe things changed with their move, as sometimes...

Hey Fellow Googlers!

I have to be upfront as I wonder why this place is rated so high. My husband and I ate here and granted it wasn't bad but, it wasn't good either. The food across the street is 100 times better and literally half the price.

Service: This was by and far some of the worst service we've had in a long time. We walked in and were sat in a booth tucked back by the party room and the salad bar and promptly ignored. There was a very loud 6 top of very needy elderly people and 3 other 4 tops. There were at least 3 waitresses. So, they werent busy. We waited for 20 mins to put in our drink and food order. We got our sodas promptly but, waited on refills, were ignored when we tried flagging down any waitress, and waited another hour for our food to come out. I had to finally walk up to a waitress, who was quite rude about it, and ask where our food was and if we could get refills. "I'll ask your server" and huffed off. Seriously? We thought it might have been because we're a gay couple as the other tables had gotten their food well before us and they arrived much after. After being in Lordsburg a bit we don't think so as their last 3 mayors we're gay.

Food: The food was by no means bad. It was unbelievably bland, unreasonably expensive, and small portions for the price. My chicken fajitas plate was over $18 and smaller than my hand. My husband's enchiladas were about the same and super salty. I was told by the waitress that 1 trip to the salad bar is $13 while an unlimited was 15! The quality of food on the salad bar was high but, a small salad bar plate for that much isn't worth it. Granted, I can understand it's an interstate restaurant in a struggling small town but, quality of food and flavor is still important. Everyone in town still rants and raves about Ramona's and will ask if you've been there yet. Unfortunately, even they admit it was better when she cooked and was in their previous smaller location.

Atmosphere: Not bad but, you can definitely tell it was built to be an American-style miners restaurant before being made into a Mexican one. It just doesn't have that Mexican vibe yet.

As a foodie and fellow chef who has been worldwide, tasted so many amazing cuisines, eaten in so many fantastic locations, and previously published his own monthly food column, I know good food. Would I suggest this place? I wouldn't say no but, it wouldn't be my first or honestly my...

This is my second time here, the first time 5 years ago at their previous location.

I had the number one combination with green sauce: 2 fried tacos, tamal, enchilada, rice, beans - $15. It was all very tasty. The service was efficient and genial. The restaurant is clean. Bathroom is large and clean.

I'm a little perplexed by some of the negative reviews. One person gave 1 star because the restaurant was closed - at their old location! After they had moved to the new location.

Another basically complained because this restaurant doesn't have the same menu as the restaurant that was previously at their new location. I mean, come on!

A couple reviews complained that the taco contains a beer patty. And it does! But it was delicious.

Two others complained that the enchilada and tamale are too spicy. I have to disagree. I mean, sure, they're not California style "Mexican food": they have flavor and aren't smothered in melted cheese.

Anyway, don't believe the haters. This place will never be my favorite Mexican restaurant, but it's tasty, reasonably priced, and...