Friendly staff, excellent food, and speedy service. Great margaritas at a great size and price. I have gone to El Rancherito for quite some time and I can say I've never left disappointed. read more

Friday night was busy but the service was good. Had to send an enchilada back because it was cold but the steak burrito was good. read more

El Rancherito - Steak burrito rice and beans, chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Illinois

I asked for Tito's, club soda, and lime. The server brought me a SIXTEEN OUNCE glass full of club soda with ONE SHOT of Tito's in it. Seriously. He brought the drink and it sat on the table forever bc I thought it was the water I asked for. I always carry lemon flavoring with me to add to my water. Eventually, the food got to the table and l thought I'll just cancel the drink. I added the lemon flavor, tasted.... PURE CLUB SODA. I'm like what is this... wait! This can't be my drink?? I asked the server, How many shots is in this? Thinking maybe there's something else here‍ He confirmed, ONE. All I could do was laugh and tell him to take it back! Moving on... the chips and salsa were good. read more

I love this place! Salsa is so good, service is great! I always share a fajita with my husband and we love it all. We enjoy the atmosphere and the parking lot is always clean. read more

service and food is always spot on. i eat here often sometimes twiced a week. great staff! have never had a bad visit.

Who knew you would be able to find authentic Mexican food in a town like this? I mean, for real, who knew? This was my first visit to this area, but I took a cue from the others that had visited here before when it came to where to eat a sit down meal at. I love me some good Mexican food and try to partake in it as often as I can. So when I heard that there was something other than a Taco Bell in town, I was down. Pulling up to this place you think that this must be some type of joke as you are pulling up to a run of the mill strip mall. But once you walk inside it's like you are transported to a mercado. They really did their thing in here to transform it to make it look like you were in a Mexican area. Be sure to look at the specials as you walk in. I assume they change frequently, but when we were there they had a great special on margarita pictures. Can't pass that up. Take your time looking over the menu and don't feel bad about it. You want to make sure that you get exactly what you want and not settle for just anything on the menu. I can tell you that I looked at every item on the menu before deciding on the Burrito Lleno. A tortilla as big as a car tire is filled with rice, beans, lettuce, sour cream, and either shredded chicken or ground beef (I went with the ground beef). Then they top this with a red sauce and cheese. When this thing showed up I actually said, "I won't be able to finish this." But I did, and I was proud of it. It took some time, but that thing went down like nobody's business. I mean look at that picture of it. It's really an amazing feat for me to devour that thing. But maybe the margaritas helped? There are few places that can nail Mexican cuisine, and I am glad that this place did just that. read more

El Rancherito - That's one massive burrito. - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Illinois

We really liked this place. We're in town for two weeks and are here twice. Chips and salsa were great, though I'd say salsa was tuned for gringo tastes. I had chili Colorado the first time. Steak was grilled well and was flavorful. Red sauce was tasty too. Second time I had tamale and burrito combo. Both beef. Both were excellent. The beef has a little strange texture but good taste. Will definitely return. read more

Too mainstream. If anyone has suggested this restaurant, it's because they are closed minded, uncultured swines that would also find Hot Pockets as a delicacy. Portions are off balance, service is iffy, and you'll probably be waiting on a refill for a minute. They lack one key ingredient in the restaurant... SOUL. read more

The best Mexican!! The grilled chicken chimichanga is to die for, but really everything I've ever had there has been delicious. Freshly made salsa and warm crispy chips are served as soon as you sit down. And you never have to wait to be served at El Rancherito. It's so easy to eat there on lunch break from work because their service is so fast and friendly. read more

Used to drive there for takeout all of the time. Had to be in Salem tonight and ordered 4 dinners to go to the tune of $86.97. When I got home, 30 miles away, noticed there was ONLY 1 small container of salsa and the bag the chips were in was soaked with grease. Called about the salsa & was told "that is what we do". Guess what I will do....never go back. The food has gone down hill, and as I attempted to order, the woman was incomprehensible. Not sure if it is new management or what. You would think they would put more salsa in for an order that cost that much. Go elsewhere, not there. read more

If your looking for authentic Mexican food and atmopher, look no further. We've tried almost every menu item and they are all great. The staff is always friendly and goes out of their way to keep all customers happy. They also take Covid very seriously and do not allow people to break the guidelines. read more

I had the shrimp nachos and omg it was amazing. We asked for a side of Shrimp and it was amazing. Come here read more

El Rancherito - two plates of food and a bottle of beer - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Illinois

Nice place with a good menu. We had fajitas and a single order was plenty for both of us. Our friends had guacamole made table side and said it was great! read more

El Rancherito - Flaming fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Illinois

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On the road with the family and chose to stop here vs all the fast food options off I-57. Great decision! Party of 5, done in an hour including multiple chip refills - service was fantastic. Kids' quesadillas were simple, half-fold, no accompaniments, which suited them perfectly. The rest of us had chile relleno, fajita burrito, chimichanga- well flavored but not spicy. Ask for the spicy salsa if you like more heat. Portions were ample! Will definitely keep this in our list of travel stops - better Mexican food than in our (midwestern) hometown ! read more

Food was less than appetizing, my girlfriend couldn't even eat any of her meal. We had a to go order and are back on the road, wish we would have stopped somewhere else. read more

Whenever we're in Salem, stopping in here is guaranteed. The menu is diverse so they have pretty much anything Tex Mex you'd expect. Also, there are drink specials every single day of the week - including Friday and Saturday. Friendly staff, good food, drink specials.....you can't expect more from Salem. read more

We went on a slow day and there was only two other people seated. This excited me because I assumed service would be amazing. We sat down and got our drink orders. All was fine. We ordered our food: my mom got the fajitas, I got the enchiladas supreme, and my friend ordered the enchiladas Ranchero. None of us were impressed. My mom didn't get half her meal (the wraps or side salad) until twenty minutes after we got our entrees and only received it because she asked about it AFTER he finally came to check on our table, I didn't get a drink refill AT ALL, and my friend didn't even get what she ordered and by the time he came to check on us she didn't want to wait to get a new entree. So she took a bite and just finished off the chips because her food was inedible to her. The next day rolls around and I wake up sick as a dog and on the toilet for two hours! I wasn't sure it was the Mexican food I ate until my mom called asking if I was sick as well. Don't waste your time or money here! read more

Not the best Mexican food, just average; however, the amount of food this restaurant provides is humongous. Though served fajitas have too much onion and jalapeño compared to the meat portion. Decent family restaurant on a budget. Consider the rating 3.5. read more

El Rancherito - a plate of stir fry vegetables - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Illinois

We have enjoyed a late lunch here on several occasions. Never had problems with the food, always tasty and portions are generous. I usually get their "Burritos Verdes" which is always good; my wife jumps all over the menu, typically picking a la carte items for a lighter meal and equally enjoys her choices. Two areas needing improvement, however... ambience, and service. The place is an echo chamber. Get an exuberant party at any table, and conversation becomes challenging, get a second group... forget it. Since we usually dine out for a peaceful getaway from the distractions at home, the noisy setting just isn't our style. Service, as mentioned in other reviews, has recently become spotty. We used to receive reasonably attentive service. However, on the last two or three occasions service was so bad we decided to no longer put up with what appeared to be a trend, instead patronizing their sister location in Mt. Vernon when we feel like Mexican cuisine. read more

This is my families favorite Mexican place to go. We can't say the service is ALWAYS great. But it's usually better than average. As with any place it depends on who you get as your server. Some waiters/waitresses are better than others. However, we have had only a one example of less than stellar service here. The chips and salsa are excellent!! I've tried a different dish just about every time we have went and have never been disappointed!!! I would recommend this place to anyone. read more

I have to say if you are planning on going here, for your sake dine in. The carry out is laughable. They either lose your order, or you get there and wait an additional 15 minutes to get your food. Was there in a slow evening and the food was cold by the time I got it. Food is ok for southern Illinois Mexican food. About what you would expect. read more

The majority of the food I have tried here has been 3 stars Tex-Mex. Service can be slow, especially after the post-church crowd arrives, but the chips & salsa are pretty good. My 4 star rating is for the carnitas, which are flavorful and juicy. I highly recommend them. read more

Food was pretty good at this place. All I had was a taco bowl and there could have been some more meat than what I was given. For what I got it was good. Chips and salsa was great! The service wasn't really lacking but our server never really can to check on us or see how our meal was. I would go here again just wouldn't be my top pick. There are many other places to eat so next time we'll check more of them out. If you want decent Mexican type food this is it. Maybe our server was having a bad day I don't know, we all have them! Who knows next time we might be blown away read more

Best Mexican food in Salem...hands down! Great food, tasty margaritas, and an attentive staff. During the summer they have karaoke on Wednesday nights and that's always a good time. Don't waste your time with any other Mexican joint in Salem, this one is the best! Take this advice from someone who knows great Mexican food (I'm from the southside of Chicago). read more

Had a terrible experience and they agreed to make up for it. Thanks for doing so as Father's Day was very busy and we believe in second chances. Stay in touch with customer feedback both good and bad as we choose where to spend our hard earned money. Thanks again and we will see you soon. read more

First on a positive note, the food is pretty good. Have eaten there a few times. But, the last 2 times I tried to order take out on the phone, they told me "wait a minute" set the phone down and left me there without another word. A lot of noise in the back ground. Stupid me, waited on the phone for about 10 minutes and then hung up. Tried to call back and for the next hour, got nothing but a busy signal. The first time I can understand that they get busy, after the second time, obviously they don't want me business. I will not go there again, nor will I recommend this place. An otherise decent restraunt killed by lousy customer service. read more