They accept cash, card and tap to pay. El Ranchero is our go to spot. Everything on their menu is amazingly made with a lot of love and delicious flavors. Hole in the wall vibes, hidden gem but has been here for 28 + years!!! Here are some of our favorites birria de chivo, tacos Dorados, shrimp tacos, taco de Tripa handmade corn tortillas. Our absolute favorite/ read more

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It's like your eating at your tias everything in the menu is good EVERYTHING 5 star And the lady's there make Yu feel even more comfortable read more

If you want a homestyle food that makes you feel at home and delicious flavors must try .. love going Sunday's for birria and menudo

First the blonde waitress was rude ! Second , I ordered a bean tostada that had the thinnest layer of beans and a ton of lettuce I could have made a salad from all the dang lettuce on the soggy shell. I was not happy with my taco either again a ton of lettuce and like a teaspoon of meat ! I will never go back there at all ! read more

Omg YUM! This place had the best $4 shrimp taco I've had in the Valley. My boyfriend had a carne asada quesadilla and it was very big and very filling. The salsa they bring to the table with the food is also delicious and just the right amount of spicy. This small whole in the wall is such a great find. We told the cashier that it was our first time and she gave us great recommendations to try. Great first time experience! We'd happily go back for more read more

No wait. Food was done fast and ok taste careful when you bite into your taco I bit into a bone. Hot sauce was deliouse. And price was reasonable read more

El Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

The best tacos dorados I have had here in Az . Everything is made fresh and they have hand made tortillas made daily ! You will not be disappointed. read more

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El Ranchero is a small Mexican restaurant just right off the Main Street of 19th St and McDowell Rd. I went with a group of friends and we ordered the red menudo, sopes , carne asada tacos, lengua tacos, and horchata. The carne asada tacos were good nothing super special as for the red menudo. My favorite item were the sopes and would probably come back just for those alone. Horchata was good and not super sweet or cinnamony. Overall I would say it was good food to try but nothing over the top. Would I be back, maybe. read more

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First off only cash is accepted. I saw a review on TikTok and wanted to try this place for some time. I had the gorditas and my wife had the asada tacos and we split a bowl of caldo de res. Everything was fresh, hot and very tasty. This is the best authentic Mexican food I've had since moving to Phoenix a year ago. read more

El Ranchero - Gorditas, asada tacos and caldo de res with a side of beans and rice. - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

If you're looking to eat authentic Mexican food that tastes like it was cooked in abuelita's kitchen, this is the place to eat! I've had so many meals here and every single one reminds me of my childhood. Seriously, it's comfort food. It doesn't even taste like it was made in a restaurant. The prices are getting a little high, however. A bowl of menudo shouldn't cost more than $10. Does that stop me from eating here every time I miss my mom's cooking? No way! It's worth it. read more

El Ranchero - Caldo de siete mares - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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First there's a big sign that says cash only I mean it's 2023 and after covid so there's no way I will walk around with cash. And second nobody speaks English there which became an issue while ordering I had to go based on pictures on yelp. The food was ok a little too expensive for that and too salty read more

Delicious food super recommended it's only cash they have a variety of authentic traditional Mexican dishes and it's also very affordable read more

El Ranchero - Ceviche tostada - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Amazing tacos with home made tortillas ! No complaints I will definitely be back to try more options read more

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Authentic Mexican food . Delicious. Everyone is so nice . Totally recommend this place . You never get disappointed, every time we go here we are happy read more

Kinda easy to miss this spot, only decided to come cuz family told me this place was good. Very traditional food, atmosphere, and the tortillas are handmade. Tacos de cochinita were very delicious the rest I had were alright. Sauces were pretty decent as well. This spot is for those who want Mexican food not an americanized taco shop. Would like to come again and try more food. read more

El Ranchero - Tacos cochinita tacos al pastor - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

food is amazing and taste authentic. highly recommend. Try the rancheros sooo delicious

This place is like home Homemade Mexican food everything on menu is delicious the tacos and tortillas are one of my favorite's grate winter spot and food definitely will be back with family read more

Food is always amazing ! Not really a long waiting time they are pretty quick .definitely recommend

Rude service, tried substituting some items in my burrito and was rudely denied. Just rude

If you want authentic & feel like ur eating in a family owned restaurant in Mexico... this is it! Everything freshly made include Including tortillas & salsa. Had Barria per recs on Yelp, super good. Like to back & try more of their dishes. Btw take some fresh made tortillas home... 8 for $2 read more

El Ranchero - Barria & homemade tortillas - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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This is my favorite little Mom and pop Mexican nook in Phoenix. I was born and raised in Mexico. I can honestly say the food is authentic, they hand make their tortillas. I am a white menudo girl and their Menudo is the cleanest most tasty menudo around. The birria is also delicious. I've been coming here for almost 20 years when it didnt have an "El Ranchero" sign outside. If you know you know. read more

I always get birria in this place. Not sure about other food but the birria is really good. Waiting times are not so good. I don't know why it takes too long for them just to serve a plate of birria. I love the handmade tortillas. I would leave them 5 stars but I don't like the fact they only accept cash. read more

If you are looking for the most authentic Mexican experience in the eastern Phoenix area, this is definitely the place to go. Be warned, a translator definitely might be necessary! My amiga and I had this spot recommended because it's one of the few that serve Birria and I would definitely agree on the quality. Birria is a kind of goat soup that is spiced heavily and served with tortillas. The restaurant itself is more or less a large room with tables and a cashier stand. The menu is 90% Spanish, and there were definitely a few things I had never heard of before. Every time I've gone there I believe I have been the only non-Spanish speaker there, but for the most part everyone is very friendly. Again, this is not a date-spot or a place to impress anyone (unless they are snobs about traditional Mexican food!), but rather a good place to go to kick it with some Telemundo and delicious food. One last piece of advice if you're headed there - bring cash! They definitely don't take credit. read more

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great authentic mexican food, Ive had the gordits tacos dorados and fish/shrimp tacos, super affordable and it is cash only. Also make sure you get there 45 mins before closing of youre dining in read more

El Ranchero - Shrimp tacos and tacos dorados in the back - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Don't do it. Worst place ever. No sign on outside to find the place. No Parking. Door on side that you would never know it was for use. Order at the counter cash only. We we're party of 5. We got 4 menudo ok for 8.99 it was a child size bowl. No flavor just a thick red soup. Horchata was watered down so was jamaica lightly pink color all water. I couldn't find one thing nice to say about this place. read more

CASH ONLY! Good food and good service. You will leave happy as long as you don't pay attention to a few things...this place is kind of a dive. The food is good, so I keep coming back. My friends, family and I have tried several things on the menu. We like the birria, caldos, sopes and desayunos (breakfast) This may or may not be the place for you, but give is a chance. read more

**They close at 8pm every day. Once we arrived a little before 8 and they said they were closed (although the main door was open). We could have gotten something to go but we were turned away instead. This place is all about the food and very little about the service. Cash only, I think also they only have evaporative cooler, so I would not recommend during the summer. I have not been impressed by the menudo, but the tacos and tortas are good. Also, this is one of very few places where you can find tripitas, although on my last visit my tripitas burro seemed to be a lot a beans and not much tripitas. Salsas are very good. Aguas frescas (flavored iced beverages) are super sweet and not very good. Sis and daughter had the pineapple and both were very disappointed, it tasted more like kool aid and not a real fruit beverage. (Agua fresca/agua de frutas) About parking, they have like 3 spots on the side of the restaurant (West side), and then there is more parking away, East of the restaurant, past other businesses. At least they remodeled and have more windows and light now, because this place used to make me claustrophobic. They have a TV that seems to be always on with old Mexican movies or TV shows. That said, I hope you like it, every time I come visit I kind of regret it, lol. I get kind of a sad vibe... : ( read more

Gordotas are good also love the shrimp tacos, rice always good and order side tortillas

Pretty good not all that fabulous the food was great couldn't tip well with the lack of service but still if you're looking for a cheap meal this is where you'd want to place to go read more

El Ranchero - My menudo (rojo) - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Whether your hung over or like to indulge in a big bowl of mendu, this hits the spot!! I tried the red mendu, added cabbage, cilantro, onion and extra lime juice and it was sooooo good! How ever, the ceviche wasn't that great! The shrimp was dried and the vegetables tasted fishy like it had been sitting there for a while. Not recommended! read more

El Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

It is a small authentic restaurant tried the sopes enchiladas and quesadillas all were very delicious and tasted authentic

Best authentic Mexican food restaurant! Clean, friendly and reasonable prices! Tacos and birria is what I usually order always great! read more

El Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Best AUTHENTIC Mexican food in town! Food is full of flavor , I can't pick between the shrimp ceviche or shrimp tacos or caldo de birria very hard but those are deff my top 3 faves from this location. Tortillas are freshly made here. If you are looking for very tasty food deff recommend it . read more

El Ranchero - Freshly made tortillas - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Best birria de chivo ! The tortillas are freshly made and they have a great menu filled with delicious options. Only reason I did not give five stars is because it's cash only. read more

Very good food!!! The sopes and gorditas are very tasty. The food is very authentic and they have good size portions. Cons: Cash only. They close at 8:00pm read more

I love this place. My family and i have been going there for almost 2 decades. Their food is truly amazing and their customer service beyond great. You have to try the sopes of carne desebrada and papá they're so good. Their birria is also good. The tacos dorados and bistec ranchero are a must try. read more

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If your looking for home style comfort food this is your place. They have really good stuff read more

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Got three al pastor and one carnitas taco. All were amazing, and HUGE! Literally the most food I have had for a cheap price. Highly recommend!! read more

Don't be suprised if you have never heard of or seen El Ranchero. It is an inconspicous building located just west of the 51 on McDowell. I had driven past it several times and never realized it was even occupied much less a restaurant. Firs off there is nothing at El Ranchero that is bad, in fact it is all good from the tacos & quesadillas, to the sopes. There is one item on the menu however that stands above all else......THE BIRRIA!! (goat soup). You must understand that the birria here is not only good for Phoenix, as is the case most often with Phoenix Mexican food, It is good for everywhere. I have eaten birria in many a cities in the U.S. and Mexico and this one is definitley tied for first. I believe the secret is El Ranchero's cooking staff. It is made up of mostly older women with the magical hands and love that make Mexican food great (a common sight in mexico, but very rare in the U.S.). Not only to these ladies make a delicous slow cooked birria, but they also make fresh tortillas to go along with it. Buen Provecho Note: Nothing goes better with birria than hand made fresh tortillas, an ice cold mexican coke, and a hangover. read more

First, I'd like to say is that the only reason I didn't give El Ranchero five stars is because of the setting. The spray painted building, walk up ordering and telenovelas SHOULD be overlooked due to the quality of the food...but I know that some people calculate ambient qualities such as these. Personally, I would risk crossing the 38th parallel to get food like this. Words of warning: No English speakers there, but gringos are welcomed with accommodating smiles and nods. Also, CASH ONLY! Once you get past the skin of the place and down to the food only one thing should be known... El Ranchero is, without a doubt, serving some of the best food in Phoenix! I got an order of carne asada gorditas with some rice and beans. I noticed that the gorditas came with a sort of Au Jus (later I found out that it was the caldo de res). The gorditas alone were a wonderful conglomeration of carne asada, potatoes, lettuce and onions. But when I added a dash of amazing salsa and a splash of Au Jus (caldo) the meal sang. Wow! I'm glad I finally went after passing it up so many times. read more