Tequila Ranch Cocina — Restaurant in Northlake

A below par experience across two of the three major qualities most Mexican/Latin food enthusiasts look for: 1) chips & salsa; 2) margaritas; and 3) entrees.

Chips & Salsa: the chips are the extra thick corn chip that tastes too much like the $.99 bags of off-brand tortilla chips. The basic salsa was minimal in flavor, almost as if it needed salt to bring out some more brightness in it.

Margarita: the house margarita swirl was top-notch with a Silver label tequila for excellent flavor.

Entrees: flavor-wise, these were reminiscent of a Chili’s restaurant attempt at Carne Asada; it was just okay, but well below par for a dedicated LatinX flavor profile. Major Americana-style chain restaurants should not be comparable to this price point of Mexican/LatinX food offering.

For the price point of about $20 to $30 per entree, Tequila Ranch Cocina is not in the same league of food flavor, service staff, or ambiance as relatively close by (for the area) options such as Mi Dia from Scratch or Gloria’s Latin Cuisine.

The food flavors for what we ate (Carne Asada tacos with Mexican rice and refried black beans -+ Chicken enchiladas with the same sides) were good but not noteworthy. As the only Mexican restaurant for miles in any direction, it’s passable Mexican food. But a restaurant should not have to be successful in spite of itself, but rather because of itself.

As of this review in April 2023 when the restaurant is still brand new, Tequila Ranch Cocina does have a great house Margarita made with quality tequila, but unless you only go to the bar inside for the drinks, this restaurant is likely going to be frequented by patrons who simply don’t want to make the drive to better quality Mexican/Latin options, of which there are more than a few within a 25 to 30...

I’ve been reading some mixed reviews but we went anyhow. It was Friday about 6:45pm. We experienced no wait for a table.

The chips are crunchy…not thin but not THICK. No oily residue. The salsas were a tomato based one with very mild heat but good flavor. The verde salsa was a tomatillo salsa with a touch of avocado (smooth green) and cilantro with some heat to it. We found both unique and tasty.

We got salmon tacos and carne asada tacos.

These were really REALLY good. We ended up swapping tacos because the salmon ones were very spicy. The same pepper in on the salmon as is in the accompanying green sauce (not the same salsa verde). Pickled onions and some crumble cheese finished them off.

The carne asada tacos were tender and loaded with peppers and some grilled onions on the side. Served with another green sauce that was delicious.

We honestly loved the food.

The margarita ordered came in a tall glass, not the usual wide style. Judging by the giggles my wife had after, it wasn’t weak.

We were having date night so we splurged on dessert. We got the tortilla bread buddin. That’s the name, not a typo. Bread pudding, ice cream, plantains with two sauces. Combine them into spoonfuls for the best effect.

On top of all this, we met Kimmy, our server. She was adorable and I think the fun was on both sides. We’ll be asking for her in the future. It’s nice when you meet good people.

Other employees were nice and attentive and looked like they were enjoying working, which means a lot to me as a former retailer and current customer service guy.

This was our first time there and we did not expect to like it this much. We will be...

I have been so excited to have a Mexican restaurant outside our neighborhood to eat good chips and salsa. Went here for mother's day and was highly disappointed. The salsa was some sort of take on salsa but was not good by any means. They didn't have a very large menu to order from. Asked for flour tortillas and they came wrapped in paper, so they cooled quickly. It looked like they took store bought tortillas and grilled them to look home made. Queso left a lot to be desired. One of my daughters asked for an enchilada minus the sauce plus cheese and they said no al acarte so she ordered something else and did the same thing and they gave it to her. My wife had chicken pastor tacos, and another daughter had cheese quesadilla, and one of the babies had chicken tenders (frys were the best thing) , we all had water. I did not order food. My bill was 71 dollars before tip. The service was lacking our waiter spent most of his time talking to the rest of the staff. When he took our order I said start w the ladies when he came back with the water I had to tell him to start w the ladies again. I will say this the place is very nice, but it is what I would expect for the location.

Unfortunately I can not recommend this place. Drive to Ronoke and eat there much better selection...