Taqueria El Ranchito — Restaurant in San Jose

Pulled a 10 hour work day “no food or water” to say I was hungry would be an understatement. As I was driving on Camden Avenue I spotted a couple of fast food joints that I tend to frequent so I pulled in the shopping center driveway, when lo and behold I spotted this hole in the wall place. As I walked in I noticed that they have an extensive menu, so much so that pops and I had no idea what to order, I asked the cashier what’s good? “Everything” she replies. I laughed and said I’ll take one of everything then “then she laughed” as we were deciding pops noticed a TV with revolving pictures of there food items “I’ll take that!, as he pointed to the screen” (Shrimp fajita plate, with shrimp, red peppers, onions, rice, beans, tortillas, green onions, guacamole and sour cream) and a coke please. I ordered a Carnitas quesadilla (thinking it would be small) I also ordered a Totra “boy was I wrong!” And a horchata to drink. As pops and I waited for our food I went to there condiment bar. The bar had all you can eat warm tortilla chips, freshly made pico de gallo “so delicious” 4 different sources for your chips and food, sliced roasted hot peppers fresh lime wedges, turnips and mix veggies. When we got our food I was blown away by how much food they give you and the quality of it, the presentation was also appealing to the eyes, oh and did I mention it tastes great also? My only complaint actually was the price point, $35 and some change seem a little high But overall the food and quality is good at this...

My wife and I travel all over to try new restaurants and we tried this Taqueria for the first and I am really impressed with the quality and taste. I had the chicken enchilada and taco combo and I really enjoyed every bit. The chicken wasn’t dry and the carne asada had real good flavor and also wasn’t dry. I would recommend everyone to try it at least time. The prices range from $9.99 to $14.99 but was very filling. The green avocado salsa was real good as well. I will definitely be coming back again. Only thing is that there is very limited seating.

Update, 6/26/21: My wife and I went back to Taqueria El Ranchito today to see if the first time was just an anomaly, and “Yes” this restaurant is on par. I tried the same dish a second time and it was even better than the first time around. I've been looking for a good Mexican spot in the south side and this is hands down one of the best.

For reference, I think La Victoria Taqueria is 1 star, Burrito Factory is 1 Star and most of the taco trucks in the south side are really not good. I do however give La Costa 4 Stars, Taco Mania 4 Stars and Super Taqueria 4 Star (But only because I grew up with it on the Eastside of San Jose and it brings back great memories, and the food is pretty good). ...

Absolutely terrible experience.

I placed an order online for pickup and paid in full. After arriving to pick up my order, they stated they did not receive any order. They looked at the receipt on my phone and verified everything appeared to be in order, however, offered no resolution for me. The owner was apparently in the back but simply told the cashier there was no order, and refused to come out and discuss the issue with me. After making me wait over 20 minutes and offering no resolution, I finally stated I would dispute the charge with the credit card company and left. There was not so much as an apology or any effort whatsoever on the part of the restaurant to attempt to remedy the situation. They simply did not care.

There are many restaurant options in the area with excellent customer service that deserve our support during these crazy times. This is not one of those restaurants.

I will not...