Mari Chuy’s Tequileria - Rancharrah — Restaurant in Reno

I'll start with some positives: We were seated right away. The place was clean. The location is nice, isn't congested, and has esthetic appeal. Wonderful selection of tequila.

Now onto the food.. incredibly disappointing experience.

The flavor was not quite there. And worse yet, the meals really weren't even cooked correctly.

I got the molcajete. Insanely bad. Cheap, small shrimp and way too much cheese. Frankly, I've never seen cheese melted into the sauce like that.. and now I know why. This is better suited to garbagy American fast food. Another issue - they don't sear, sauté, or grill any of the meat. I asked about this thinking the kitchen had just forgotten. When I asked, I just received a puzzled look. So I went to look at their Google page to show the waitress. Then i realized why she was confused. They just don't do this. Why? No clue. It doesn't take that long and adds so much flavor to the dish.

The entire table agreed that the only thing that was worth getting was one of the appetizers. I can't remember what it was called, but it was essentially their grazing board. That was amazing. But I noted that likely they didn't make any of this and simply assembled it - granted, presentation was very nice.

O boy, I forgot to mention one of the worst parts. We start eating the rice and all start looking at each other. It's awfully familiar, but also clearly devoid of any flavor that could be described as "Mexican." Not kidding, we're pretty sure it was Uncle Ben's rice. Not a joke.

This place is a joke. And then you look at the clientele and realize it isn't catering to many Mexicans. The whole place is filled with the fairer-skinned people. And this makes sense.

No offense to non-Latinos who haven't grown up on good, home cooked Mexican food. But.. this food is for you guys.

The food at the taco truck by PJ's is considerably better. And at a fifth...

This is from a visit a couple months ago. Three words: Gourmet Rip Off. This new surrounding area is nice and upscale/yuppy'ish - had a DJ and couples, singles and families conversing, playing lawn chess and generally an upbeat, white-collar, festive atmosphere.

The restaurant therefore mimics the surroundings with a semi-upscale modern interior as opposed to a more cozy atmosphere of your typical authentic family Mexican restaurant.

They (like the surrounding areas) are catering to upscale patrons looking for "elevated" yet casual dining experiences. This is reflected by the creative menu, high prices, and small portions. I mean really small portions compared to your typical family Mexican restaurant. My 22-year old son would need to eat three entrees here to get full as opposed to one in a traditional family Mexican restaurant. I ate my small (barely larger than a golf ball size) scoop of rice in two bites. Is it really going to cost that much to give a generous portion of low-cost ingredients when the main entree (enchiladas in my case) are about half the size of a traditional Mexican restaurant?

And to boot, wine pour were laughable. 5 oz at best. I have no problem paying a premium for a good portion of good food in an upscale atmosphere but I left this place feeling like this establishment is trying to milk the patrons for all they are worth given the new, creative surroundings of Rancharrah. A recession would totally clobber this kind of a development. This is a splurge kind of Mexican Restaurant assuming you're not very hungry.

** PS. For comparison I included a photo of what my plate looked at a restaurant I ate at 3 weeks after for the same price and it tasted as good with about 3 times the food and not just 3 times the...

Great fun spot at Rancharrah. Very good chips and salsa and variety of excellent classic Mexican Dishes with some flair. My wife and I have always had very nice and pleasant service. Last time we were in they had an unexpected Concert and we were able to select a table with a perfect view on the covered patio. It was like a 10 person Latin Jazz Pop group with several horns, keyboards, drums, guitar and male & female Vocalist. Then there was an Award winning Men's Vocal Quartet that was also fantastic. To finish up they all performed a few songs together, crowd really Loved it. 03/02/25 Have been a few times now. Went in today for late lunch. Great service by Jasmine, super patient, fun and knew the menu and kitchen. Started with some chips with red salsa also served with nice fresh Pico de Gallo, was really good. Had Barria Tacos recommended by Jasmine, they were excellent, came out nice and hot, 3 Tacos loaded with beef and some grilled onions on top, barria sauce was excellent like one of best I have had. Really nice meal and time. 06/24/25 Went in for Happy Hour and early light dinner. Had Cheese Quesadilla and Potato Taquitos with Chips and Salsas. Chips and Salsa are Excellent. Quesadilla and Taquitos were really good, very creative and tasty. Wife also had 2 Happy Hour Margaritas and said they were really good. Nice people...