I like the El Ranchito and also the one on the northeast corner of the White Lakes. I am told that they both are operated by the same leadership. El Ranchito decor is more like a diner and the White Lakes one has retained the old "Carlos O'Kelley's building they took over. Both have great food. Can't go wrong. read more

This is some of the best Mexican food in Topeka. Their chile verde went downhill after their remodel, but after switching to their Burrito Gordo Timoteo I had to come to Yelp and review our old stand bye. My wife swears by their pollo loco plate, and the shrimp topping my steak tip burrito were excellent. read more

Food and drinks are good, it is a little on the pricey side compared to other Mexican restaurants. It's nice to have something on this side of town so hope they make it. read more

I thought I was going to post an "Update" to a previous review to this spot I have been frequenting for a couple years. Sadly for them, but more realistically for readers, I had never written a review in better times. In fact, since my first visit, both the food and the service have gone down hill. Today I encountered a completely apathetic group of four hosts who had no enthusiasm or charm. And my meal was a shadow of previous offerings. While the slow cooked pork in my Chile verde was quite good, the portion size was laughable and just covered in tomatillo sauce that was way too tart. In a town full of good Mexican eateries, I would remind the folks here that they're not doing the customer a favor by providing good service and quality food at a reasonable price. read more

El Ranchito - Not much pork under there! - A blue plate contains Mexican cuisine including rice, meat in green sauce, beans with sour cream, and a foil-wrapped item. - Mexican Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

I used to live in Topeka back in my college days.... The area has exploded with new business... So I rate 5+ stars! Yes this place does white cheese dip the RIGHT way. (As if I'm a professional chef) the family loved it. Ordering was easily done online and lightning fast it was ready. Short walk across the street from hotel.. Still hot when I got it back. Had fajita taco salad and it was delicious! Mask life was in effect. & It was posted at the door..+2 stars The crew got me a margarita as I waited for my order to finish up!!!! A generous amount of chips came with our order. Ordered large cheese dip & had plenty to share. Their house salsa was flavor packed and the heat was there!!!.. Yummo. This experience was pretty delightful & delicious. +5 stars I will go back for sure. They get a phenomenal review from me. The staff is friendly & delightful as well. Keep up the good work. My monies were well spent! Respectfully, Bryan Yukon, Oklahoma read more

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Authentic tasty food with fast friendly family service! Marg specials are yummy! They are open again! read more

worst costumer service long wait time cold food i they don't speak english spit in food

First time in and I'm doing a Topeka Chile Colorado tour. Chips and salsa were forgetful-salsa very tomat-ey and chips seemed like bag chips. The tortillas for the Chile Colorado were legit and very good. The sauce was awesome and there was a lot. The meat was more long strips and many strips still stuck together. Most places I've had it, it's cut up into small bites which makes for a more tender chew in the tortilla. Beans and rice were ok. I've only got a couple months left in town so I likely will not return. read more

We came with our family to try out the local Mexican cuisine. This is mediocre Mexican food that lacks true authenticity. The salsa given to us with our stale chips literally tastes like pizza sauce. It's like they borrowed the pizza sauce from their neighbor "Pizagel's" for their salsa. The entrees are fairly priced and are okay. I've been to other Mexican restaurants that stuff their chimichangas with more meat for the same price. The staff are friendly and responsive to our requests. The margaritas are strong and good! read more

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We love El Ranchito! Their food is always good and the service is always fast! I have been coming here for years and have never had a bad experience yet. read more

El Ranchito - Chiefs Burrito!! Beef burrito with rice, beans, avocado, & sour cream, smothered w/queso blanco, yellow queso, & red sauce! Go chiefs - Mexican Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

Absolutely wonderful food! Best I've had since leaving Southern California. Authentic food at reasonable prices. Service is excellent and fast. We are regular customers. read more

I don't know if I can really give a full review on this restaurant. I always just get two tamales, and they're pretty good. The service has always been fast and efficient. Always get water to drink so I can't comment on the margaritas. read more

Service is off the charts. Visited on a Friday night so anticipated a wait. Took 15 minites. The chips and Salsa followed us to the table. The server was amazing. In fact all the servers were hustling all over. The food was better than the servers! Our favorite spot! Definitely worth your time and money! read more

Get the Jalapeño Margarita - delicious with just the right amount of heat! I had the Fajita Quesadilla with chicken which was very good.

Unfortunately this place just has some of the worst customer service I've ever encountered. Nothing changes either. You call for a to go order and you'll be lucky if they answer, and if they do, every single time they make you wait sometimes for up to 10 minutes before even taking your order. When you get your order if you are able to get it put in. 80 percent of the time something is messed up/forgotten. Eating in is just the same, little to no recognition of your presence and if you are recognized it's very poor service. The worst part is the food is really good. But poor service kills any business. read more

Another Mexican restaurant in Topeka? Yes it seems. One afternoon my usual spot was packed so it was suggested we go here. If you grew up here you'll remember this place as a Pizza Hut back in the day. The building sure looks like a PH building and a few fixtures (for the jr sleuths out there) still have the Pizza Hut logo. You won't find pizza here but you'll be happy to find really tasty wonderfully fresh Mexican dishes. They have good Mexican beer and tequila selections, also Fanta orange on tap! The lunch specials are a good deal, dinner sized dishes but a few bucks less. Lunch specials are Monday-saturday till 3pm. If you are getting something to go these guys do it right, hot food, a bag of warm chips and salsa. If you need it to go this would be a top spot in my book. read more

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Thought I would have a great birthday celebration here but after an hour they shut down both restrooms and the kitchen seemed to go on break for the night. Apparently owner doesn't realize that restrooms are important to a business. Feel sorry for our waitress who was only in her 2nd week. read more

El Ranchito - a refrigerator with a sign on it - Mexican Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

I'll be honest, I'm giving this place an extra star for being in an old Pizza Hut restaurant. That being said, it's a solid 4 stars. The staff is friendly and service is pretty quick both dine-in & carry out. The highlight of the menu is the street tacos, offered with a few different meat options. So good. I wish their chips were a little lighter but the salsa & queso are both great. read more

Loved the food sooo good and well seasoned! They even have real sopapillas !!!!Mmmm BUT the restaurant was VERY noisy...

Fast service, large portions but not so much you have to decide between taking it hope or finishing it. Had a carna asada burrito and husband had another burrito with green chili sauce on it and both were excellent. Chips and salsa were not anything fancy but yummy and the toddle loved them. read more

Delicious food! And the cheese dip is amazing. Service was quick and friendly as well.

has wonderful food and have good custOmer service for people and have good tacos that taste like they are straight from Mexico they have good cookers read more

They have good food, I normally get the lunch fajitas with chicken and it is seasoned well and tastes very good. However they do have one staff member who is slightly rude. He will talk very quietly and then get petty and rude with you for not knowing what he says. He is very dirty and sometimes you can see dirt under his nails. The rest of the staff is very friendly. If it wasn't for the one employee I would give them a 5 star but he is aweful. read more

Excellent food and service at reasonable prices. Our go to place for great Mexican food.

My favorite Mexican restaurant in Topeka! Awesome owner and wait staff. You can't beat the food read more

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El Ranchito seemed nice and it was local in my town so I decided to go and give it a try plus everyone in my town loved it. I called in and the guy who picked up the phone didn't seem to happy to speak to me. I told him I wanted the seafood quesadilla but he kept on saying "Chicken" and I thought you know what? I might as well get the chicken because maybe it'd be good. I mean how bad could it have been? When I got there they didn't seem to happy and it got even worse when I got home and opened my food. The tortilla is soggy and oily and the meat is pretty average. Maybe I'll come back in the future but so far I don't see it happening. read more

El Ranchito - Mexican Near Me - Topeka, Kansas

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The carne asada street tacos were DElicious!! I could eat them every day. And the serve coke!

Best Fajitas in Topeka. Generous portions and a friendly atmosphere. To go only lately for us, but ready quick and easy pick up.

Good food - service, not so much & whatever you do DON'T use the restrooms even during normal times & especially with COVID now - the sink drains into an open bucket under the sink & toilet paper is your only option to dry your hands read more

I had a pretty bad experience here. To be fair, the wait staff was quick and efficient. But the food was mediocre at best. The sticking point for me was the kitchen staff carrying on an entire conversation about me, if if I wasn't within hearing distance and couldn't understand what they were saying. I should have just left but, frankly, I was so embarrassed that I didn't want to call any more attention to the situation than absolutely necessary. I just wanted to leave quietly and save what little of my dignity I had left. read more

Best Mexican restaurant in Topeka! The food is exceptional!! The service is quick and the employees are always friendly and service with a smile. read more

I've been to this place several times. Always trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. This was the final straw. First off the service is always terrible, cranky and acting like you are a pain to help. Next their food is cold once if arrives and it is maybe a step above dog food anyways. Nothing special. The only good thing is the 99¢ margs which you'll need in abundance to get through the process. I'd recommend ordering 2 at a time because you'll get through your first and not see your server again for 25 minutes. Will not be back. Smells of tequila and toilets the moment you walk in! read more

We ate there for the 1st time last night and had a wonderful experience. The staff was friendly. We were immediately greeted and sat at a booth. Decor was typical of other Mexican restaurants here. Bright colors. Latin music was playing at a decent level. Was loud enough to hear, but could easily still have a conversation with no problem. Server was very nice. Paid attention to my 5yo and didn't dismiss him as some servers do. Salsa was great if you like cilantro. I do, so it was delicious. Chips were fresh and warm. Ordered our food and it came in about 10-15 min. Everything looked as good as described in the menu. One of my favorite Mexican dishes is grilled chicken breast with chorizo and cheese. I've had it called Choripollo, Pollo Fundido, and I'm sure a few other things. Here they call it Pollo Michoacano. Best I've had in years. Chicken breast was super tender and juicy. Chorizo had great flavor. And most of all, it wasn't completely drowning with cheese. well balanced. My wife had the Alambre. Steak, bacon, and ham tacos with sliced avocados and cheese. It looked and smelled phenomenal. The steak was pretty epic as I had to steal some from her plate. The food was hot and fresh. Overall, a very good experience. Server got quite busy as the restaurant filled to capacity and took a little while to check on us, but it was completely understandable. We got there just in time because as we were finishing up we noticed there were no empty tables. It's a fairly small place. Prices were normal for the area $9-11 per meal avg. Service was good, not exceptional. Menu did have lunch specials on it that seemed to be less $. We will be going back. Especially since it's only a mile or so from our house and we didn't have to go to Wanamaker on a Saturday night to get a decent meal. read more

This is the Mexican food in town! We are never disappointed in the food. Every dish is a taste bud pleaser.

When we went for supper the other day, it was a little uncomfortable. We didn't know where to stand to get help and nobody acknowledged us for a few minutes. Granted, it was very busy. The table we sat at was super short, to the point it was awkward to sit at. The service was okay and the food was good. I know they just opened and it's right by my house so I know I will go back. read more

Very friendly staff, great food. Everytime we are here we are greeted with a handshake and smiles. Very nice family run business.

I took my special needs son to El Ranchito for our FIRST outing since COVID. We have waited for over a year for this outing. First -- the waitress - DID NOT wear a mask (the other waitress at other tables did). Not cool. Next -- the waitress kept STARING at my special needs son. (He didn't make sounds or any behavior. He simply sat there) At each time she came to the table, she stared at him as if he was a horror movie. Not cool again. Lastly, there was no smile, and ZERO personality. I felt as if we were a major INCONVENIENCE to her. It's the first time that I haven't tipped in several decades. I WILL NOT BE GOING THERE AGAIN. Too bad, because I know local restaurants are struggling -- but this is definitely NOT how I expected to be treated. And I'm hoping that they will train their waitresses to be more RESPECTFUL and PLEASANT to ALL customers. VERY DISAPPOINTED -- and I hope when I finally get the nerve to take my medically-fragile son back out into a public restaurant, we will be treated kindly and with respect! read more

Food was good! Servers not very friendly, not exactly rude but just seemed too rushed for any extra niceties and once the order was taken and food arrived they never checked back for refills or to see if we needed anything. Overall good and I'd recommend it to friends. read more

Best in Topeka, the lunch specials are great portioned and the food is always amazing. The owner is very friendly and always stops by to check on how we are doing. They upgrade meat to carne asada for only a dollar! Prices are very reasonable and everything is always hot and fresh! Service is always good, even when it is really busy we are not forgotten about. Have recommended them to everyone looking for good Mexican food. read more

The worst I've had in last 10 years If I could give it a minus 5 stars , I would. I have never had any worse.