OMG!! If you want some yummy food this is the spot!! Food coma at its best!! Don't walk RUNread more

If you're craving good Mexican food and are tired after swimming at the beach, stop by El Rancho…read moreand get your fix! This hidden restaurant is around a 12 min walk from the shore and neatly packed with long tables perfect for bigger parties (4 to 6 people). The few times I've been there, there had only been one waitress manning all the tables, but she does a good job of keeping tabs on everyone. I haven't had a chance to try their other items on the menu yet, mainly because I keep going back for the grilled chicken chimichanga. Let me just say, it is heavy, cheesy, saucy and satisfying! Especially given the refried beans, hot rice, sour cream and salad, this is a hefty plate. Each time I order, it ends up in the to go box, ready for another meal (and I can't say I'm upset about that :) ) that's all from me, ty for reading!

The chorizo torta is absolutely amazing! Everything is fresh & flavorful. Service is friendly &…read morewelcoming. Would recommend 10/10

The food is amazing! Freshly made, with solid authenticity and flavors…read more The service could be better, staff may be short of staff since you may not even think anyone works there. The staff works in the kitchen and occasionally is seen near the counter. You may have to walk up if something is needed. There are booth style tables and high top with chairs to choose from. You could BYOS (bring your own supplies) (napkins/toilet paper/hand-soap). The bathroom isn't the most clean, it's for customers only and only one person at a time. The hand soap dries out your hands. Toilet paper is small and thin. Again the food is amazing.

This is not your ordinary Mexican restaurant! It is one of the best you will find in this country…read moreand I have not eaten better Mexican food whether in NYC, Bay Area, Chicago, LA, Arizona, and even Mexico! Notably, the specialities are Oaxacan. So we stuck to those and ordered a chicken with mole negro and tlayudas (without meat). Wow!!! These were both incredibly delicious. The mole was the most delicious I had ever eaten anywhere including at Oaxacan food festivals and I nearly licked the plate clean!! Every taste of this was heavenly...you could taste the chili and chocolate and many other ingredients complex and rich ingredients that created a chocolate nutty aromatic sauce with a smooth and deep chili burn. The chicken in which it was braised was among the most tender and fall-off-the-bone moist chicken I have ever eaten. The rice and black beans it came with were equally delicious. The tlayudas was my first: wow!!! It was so complex and balanced like the mole,but much lighter and with more complex textures. There was what seemed like a baked flour tortilla buttered with black bean paste and different cheeses including Oaxacan fresh homemade cheese and cheddar cheese and even a type of creamy white cheese topped and layered with fresh lettuce and avocado and vegetables as well as pickled cactus to create a panoply of flavors and textures, light, delicious and perfectly balanced in each bite. Thank you for this wonderful culinary experience!!

Legit Mexican food and baked goods. They're open super early (6am I believe) and that's a good…read moreindicator that the food is authentic because they get a lot of workers coming in for breakfast. You will feel like you're in a family restaurant in a small town in Mexico.. there is no tacky decor or even a bar. It might actually be a little intimidating for some lol You come here for homemade food, not ambiance. The mole is made fresh and was great in the tamales. Squash blossom quesadillas were delicious and a huge portion. Huevos rancheros also hit the spot. The fresh OJ was super sweet. They had tons of breads but we didn't try them. Looking forward to stopping in again next time I'm in AP.

This place is definitely a local dive. I circled the block twice trying to find the parking lot…read moreit's not exactly where yelp says it is but I eventually got there. There's not much here by way of decour, empty tables and pictures of food wearing at the corners. But I was welcomed warmly first in Spanish and then in English. This place is family owned a kind mother and father smile from the back and their daughter runs the counter. There is a digital jukebox which someone chose to use halfway through my time there, it is loud and would make conversation difficult, but not impossible. I ordered the pork burrito which came with generous servings of rice and beans, which were flavorful by themselves it was truly a large meal. As they cooked my meal fresh they brought chips and salsas, both salsa were tasty and flavorful instead of just hot. If the chips were warm it would be heaven. The wait was a little long for a lunch break meal, but the quality and portion was well worth my time. Flavors are clearly a priority here and my stomach is thankful! For $11 I got a huge burrito with sides and a bottle of water. They have Spanish bottled sodas and home made juice if that's your kind of thing. Good little gem hidden in Long Branch, there are MANY good Spanish restaurants to choose from in this area, consider this one a strong competitor. Make sure to put money in the tip jar here it doesn't get any more local than this.

Excellent service and great food. Greatest chicken quesadillas!…read more They are warm and welcoming.

It was 88° today (after hitting a frost 2 nights ago), so we drove down the shore. It's Cinco de…read moreMayo as well, so we figured we would get some Mexican food and headed to Long Branch. We stopped at a couple of Mexican restaurants. Somewhere either way too trendy or way too expensive or way too crowded. One had live music but a terrible singer. So we decided to drive down Broadway and passed a bunch of places. We found a parking space and just walked and came across this place and figured what the heck. Best choice ever! We were the only gringos (always a good sign) and ordered fajitas and a grilled chicken dish with a red sauce. Both were excellent and our total was $33. It's BYOB and we brought some margaritas and had a great time. Excellent service & huge portions. We will be back next time we are down the shore looking for Mexican. You should try this restaurant, too.

We really enjoyed our fajita dinners - chicken and shrimp fajitas served with warm and soft…read moretortillas, rice and beans. Friendly and helpful server- willing to put up with my meager Spanish. We felt like we were back in Isla Mujeres, Mexico!

Update 2: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we got - Chorizo…read moreCemita, Chorizo tacos, rice and beans, sautéed onions and peppers (new find, highly recommend), and something I thought I wouldn't enjoy much but ended up having most, Chicken Enchilada in salsa verde sauce. Communication can sometime be a little difficult, but the food more than makes up for it. Update 1: 5 stars again, got delivery via the restaurant a few days back. The arabes had great flavor, and lasted for days. Chorizo tacos were obviously the favorite, as expected. Also, was blown away by how filling and delicious the Cemita was. Support local businesses, if you can, please! I was starving after my massage and ordered tacos to go - two tacos with chorizo, potatoes, onions and one with chicken, smoked chipotle. Literally sped home to eat them (I had one in the car right away. Don't regret it) Amazing, amazing tacos. The chorizo tacos said onions (cebolla) but they were long stemmed bulbs - not sure if they're called something else but I loved them (please let me know if anybody knows what they're called. Check photIt came with lime, radish and green salsa (not sure). Red Bank has awesome options if you don't care about these places being small, cramped and not upscale. Top quality authentic Mexican food. I'm going to go back soon to try more of their menu.

I love tacos, especially when they are authentic. Red Bank has no shortage of Mexican restaurants…read moreso I went on a mission to find lengua (beef tongue), which can be hard to come by. Thankfully North of the Border came through. I like to try a variety of tacos but unfortunately NOTB, like many others, does not let you mix and match. Therefore, I chose an order of 3 lengua and 3 chorizo tacos. I also ordered a bottle of coke to go. I had to do a double take of the receipt as my total was pushing $30. I asked the woman at the counter to break down the prices and confirmed that the lengua tacos were $13 and chorizo were $9. This threw me off as an older picture of the menu shows all tacos priced at $7. I really enjoyed these tacos. They were super authentic and full of flavor. I may order again but will be shopping around first to find tacos that are more reasonably priced.

My husband and I ate here yesterday. Let me just say that I have ordered catering from here as well…read morefor a party I hosted and it was good. So we decided to show some love as we are Puerto Ricans ;) and well we love our culture and food. Cute little spot nice and clean and loved the decor. Friendly waitress. We decided to try a chicken empanada it was good but the hot sauce they had was cholula which we are not a fan of. Definitely needed some homemade PR vinagery hot sauce on them tables or at least Tabasco, or even goya. I got the fried pork chunks very tender and the amount was a lot but they did not serve any lime with it. I did not want to bother the waitress it was only her serving and she was busy the rice and gandules was ahhh good but missing something. My husband also got the same rice and said the same. His fried chicken was tasty tho. We decided to try the guava flan oh lordy it was over load SWEET!! too sweet!!!! Will we come again????? absolutely!!! I just hope they have better hot sauce!!!!

Great little byo! Good food and such friendly staff that makes you feel at home! I messaged them on…read moreInstagram saying we had a group of 12 coming and they had a whole set up in the corner of the restaurant for us including a little table for our drinks and white elephant gifts. They stayed open a little late for us and were so attentive! But most importantly, I loved how responsive they were on social media and how friendly they were in person! Don't sleep on this place if you're in the area!

Wonderful place for really fresh Oaxacan dining. Some of the best salsa verde and chilaquiles…read morearound, and there is a lot of competition! We also loved the shrimp a la mexicana, which was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of chili peppers. I also recommend the sopes, which have a great chewiness and corn flavor. On any given day the menu seems to vary, since this is not a high volume restaurant. However, there were plenty of tempting options, for both vegetarians or pescetarians as well as meat lovers. Though the location is a far cry from the pretty - albeit sterile - setting of Pier Village, which is only a few blocks away, we never felt unsafe, and appreciated the plentiful free parking. The waiting staff was patient, welcoming and friendly, though I have to say that ordering could have been tricky, since she did not speak much english. But that all contributes to the authenticity of the experience. Overall we were so impressed with the quality, flavor and service that we chose this restaurant to cater a going-away party for our daughter, who is crazy about the food of this part of Mexico, as well as the overall culture and warmth. Go check it out, but don't tell too many people about it since we don't want to lose our table there!

Great authentic Everything made from scratch…read moreRight near beach- Great atmosphere Great owners