I cannot get enough for this place!! Their food is authentic and simply amazing. the service is phenomenal. What else would you need?! Great selection of beer and soda. Daily specials. Affordable & definitely worth your money's worth! As a college student & native southern Californian this is hands down my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Omaha. I usually make a point to go on Thursdays when I can get my 4 asada tacos for 5$!! read more

El Rancho - Friday specials 2015Feb27 - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

See all

I have been here several times and will keep going back. The amount of salsa and chips you get prior to your meal, even breakfast are amazing. They range from spicy to mild and everywhere in between. The last visit was for breakfast and it was great. The coffee is Folgers but they steep it with cinnamon sticks and I couldn't get enough. Full plates of eggs with warm tortillas. You will get an authentic breakfast with without a high price. Lunch is great too! read more

El Rancho - Salsa tray brought with every meal. So many choices! Did I mention this is free!?!!! - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

Visiting Omaha and got take out from here. Prices were very reasonable and you get tons of food and the take out was super fast. Everything we got (chiles rellenos, enchilada plate, milanesa) tasted amazing with tons of flavor. Salsa and chips were also super good. Wish we had Mexican food as good as this back home. Thanks El Rancho! read more

AWESOME and AUTHENTIC food!!!! I had a taco pastor, taco chorizo, taco lengua and a half of carne asada sope......AMAZING......and the SALSA PENTAGON?!?!?!?!? WOW - the habanero was the best but they were all GREAT. Only flaw of the night? Needed more chips. I HAVE to get back here again even though the "tour of South Omaha" could take a year or more. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!! read more

Went back just now. Divine. The salsas have gotten even better. My husband had the enmoladas which he scarfed down, thoroughly enjoying. They had this fabulous mole that was sweet and spicy and everything right. I had 2 tongue tacos that were tender and tasty. Service was again very friendly and we can't wait to come back! read more

Best seafood ceviche ever - can't ruin your meal with octopus. I have never been to this place in person, tried it for the first time during Coronavirus shutdown. We ended up ordering from them three times in one week read more

I ordered to go and used food delivery app. The food was Luke warm which is to be expected from food delivery app. Who can say how long your take out has been sitting in a bag waiting for the driver to arrive and then the amount of time it sits in the car. I had sopes, beans and rice. The portion of beans and rice was very tiny. Maybe 1/4 cup at best. The sope were chewy and stale. In the future I might consider eating in the restaurant since I did use a delivery app. read more

Words cannot describe how much I love this place! Food is amazing service is spot on the people are great just an AMAZING family owned and operated authentic place!! I'm from Southern California and moving to Omaha was rough glad I found a place that's inexpensive and mouthwatering!! read more

True Mexican food. We were a party of 5 and all ordered different items from the menu. Except for me, everyone liked the food they ordered. I had the chicken enchiladas with the milder, red sauce. The enchiladas were nice and full, three to a plate with rice and beans. But there was a flavor to the red sauce that I can't quite place...I'm usually pretty good about isolating a flavor but this is something I haven't had before and now I know I don't like it. They serve up a hearty plate of food for the price so you definitely get your money's worth. The fajitas were good, sizzling hot steak with onions and peppers and handmade tortillas. The tortillas had a more "wheaty" flavor and a slightly fluffier texture than mass-produced tortillas, which makes them great. One of us ordered the shrimp and garlic but was served a "shrimp Diablo" dish. My friend had no complaints, loving what she was served with the amount of spice she requested. The two guys ordered burritos, one beef and bean and the other carne estada. They were presented with big burritos stuffed with rice, beans and the meat they requested. Again, everyone liked what they ordered. The restaurant is a little building in the middle of a neighborhood. On the Sunday afternoon we were there, a vendor was selling mangos, papaya and pineapple in the lot. It's one of those places that easy to miss and if you are in need true Mexican food, you'll be sorry. read more

Not sure the rave about this place, the salsas they serve are terrible and the center bowl was radishes, green pepper, while garlic cloves and bay leaves, wasnt even sure what to do with it. I ordered the chicken enchiladas and everything was dry and flavorless. Glad it was cheap so I wasnt made about paying for it. read more

Not sure where all the high ratings are about but we will not be back. It took almost an hour to get tacos and a quesadilla which were both lacking flavor. I had two bites of the quesadilla and didn't even eat the rest. Since they do no serve regular salsa but of variety of other sauces, we asked for guacamole which apparently they did not have during lunch? Asked if they had queso... no queso. Loud and service was poor. Save yourself the trip and money and go somewhere else. read more

Best Mexican comfort food in town. My favs are pupusas & cortido for lunch or dinner and huevos abinal for breakfast (breakfast is served all day too so great for brunch on Sundays!) Always great food and service! read more

My new favorite Mexican restaurant. I've lived in south omaha for 23 years, never knew about this place. From the awesome salsa flight to amazing entrees, give this place a try. Can't wait to bring friends to impress. read more

Service was bad until she wanted to get paid then she stayed at the table. Food was gross. Small portions. Nothing even like the picture on the menu. Taco meat was flavorless. And to top it off screaming kids(not the restaurants fault) read more

Awesome service and excellent food. Traditional Mexican food. This family run and operated restaurant is one of our favorite places. It is so affordable that we leave huge tips because we can. The staff is bilingual and extremely helpful. Family friendly, but serves alcohol. Fresh and flavorful. Quick service and most meals take less than 15 minutes. The chicken fajitas are the best in Nebraska and one of the best we have ever had. You will be given free chips and a home made salsa tray with 5 different flavors. Once you give it a try you will be back. read more

Good but not great. We got flautas and they were dry and not as good as our local mexican place. More chips with the salsa would have been nice. Service was slow. read more

Went here with some friends tonight after a long day of school. I was impressed with the chips and variety of salsas that were provided as a complimentary appetizer -- not many places still do that. The service was also exceptional! Our waiter went out of his way to accommodate the needs of our large group. I ordered the steak fajitas, and they were pretty good. I must say, however, that I think there is room for improvement with the food. Nothing was quite as flavorful as I had hoped, including the salsas and tortillas. Still, a tasty and reasonably priced option. Also seems like a fun place to watch soccer! read more

One word " Not only Cheap but Also Best" I found this place few weeks back and have already made 5-6 visits and want to go many more times. Worth my trip all the way from west omaha: I just love the authentic Mexican food there. Order corn tortilla. Salsas make me feel very fresh! Staff is super nice. read more

As a guy from Los Angeles where Spanish speakers (mostly from Mexico) are the majority, you'd think there'd be great, authentic Mexican food on every corner. Perhaps I'm in a rut and I should take as a sign, that it's time to find some better places to eat Mexican since my local place pretty much has old white people eating there. It took me going to El Rancho in Omaha to start anew, my quest for great Mexican food in LA. I found El Rancho on Yelp and I'm glad I did. It's not a glitzy, clean chain place. No, it's a local neighborhood place tucked into a tiny grungy shopping corner. My daughter and I were the only Anglos in the place and I took that as a good sign. The food was delicious. The chips are corn but with a thicker bite to them. Served with 5 salsas, we had fun trying all of them, most of which were flavorful and had kick. I thought I was going to have to order my daughter a pitcher of milk. The meat was flavorful and even the beans and rice were tasty. Our party of 3 had 2 chicken tacos, 2 al pastor tacos, 2 chicken and 2 ground beef enhiladas and a plate of grilled sliced, marinated steak and onions. All of it was delicious. I really liked that red enchilada sauce was no where to be found. Authentic, flavorful and freshly prepared, come to El Rancho if you want quality food from a local mom and pop place without the squeaky clean, sterile atmosphere and instead are ok with families chowing on great grub at cheap prices. El Rancho, I will return. BTW, my daughter and boyfriend have returned 3 more times in about 2 weeks, so, yeah, they love it, too! read more

Wide selection of salsa's. Great service. Homestyle cooking and authentic. I enjoyed the enchilada combo meal.

Knowing my my prediliction for meats and spicy sauce wrapped in happy jackets of corn, my son asked me if I was going to get tacos on my trip to Omaha and I laughed it off. But after landing, my culinary choices looked a bit...limited (for an important caveat, discovered later, see "The Boiler Room"), so I thought, what the hell, when am I going to be in Omaha again? El Rancho was within a long walk of the hotel, and the cash-only, spanish-only, five salsa thing mentioned in the reviews looked intriguing, so I went for it. Jackpot! Buche, lengua and chorizo; roasted green chili salsa, tomatillo salsa, a red, some weird orange thing, the green mayonaiss-y one and grilled, pickled jalepenos. Plus they take credit now. Don't even think about those Mexican-style places in Old Market, drag yourself out to El Rancho. read more

I do recommend them, I love their chilaquiles!!! They can get really busy/full but People come in and out you'll get a spot quickly.

VEGAN Burrito option in South O!!! I was so excited that El Rancho can make a vegan burrito upon request!!! The very fluent in English host was SO FRIENDLY. Upon request she brought me the package of the flour tortillas they use-it contains vegetable shortening NOT lard. I explained that I wanted a bean burrito with all of the plants that they have (lettuce, onion, tomato), NO cheese, NO sour cream. So they made me a vegan burrito, and were happy to do so!!! Restaurant is colorful and friendly. Lots of room for seating, the tables are not jammed together. Lots of parking out front. Prices were in line for the area. I'm so excited that I now have 4 authentic vegan burrito options in South O!! read more

Good food, chips were the best I've ever had in a Mexican restaurant, thick and non-greasy. The server waved me off when I started to order something she felt wasn't their best and pointed me towards the Mexican steak. Glad she did, 'twas great. read more

El Rancho - Complimentary chips! - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

Food and service was fantastic. Because the menu is in Spanish, I wasn't sure what everything was beyond the basics. My waitress made a suggestion and is was extremely fresh and flavorful. I usually opt for corn tortillas but they're always thin and fall apart. These are made in-house and are great. They're thicker and bigger than commercial corn tortillas--very tasty. Highly recommend. read more

Definitely one of my top spots in Omaha for authentic Mexican food. They usually have very good lunch specials and the salsas they bring out are unique and delicious. They have El Salvadorian pupusas that are not on the menu that are incredible - ask for them. Also if you are feeling adventurous try the tripas tacos. Very good service as well in my dozen or so visits. read more

See all

2 stars and here is why: It was super busy on a Saturday, a good sign but this could have been the root of the confusion that ensued. We ordered 2 papusas, 1 steak gordita, 3 tacos (1 'cheek' 2 al pastor). What we got was 4 Giant Papusas, 4 al pastor tacos, 1 'mystery meat' taco, and 1 steak gordita. Our bill was larger that what it should have been, and I'm fine with leftovers, but the meat in these items were sketchy at best. After diving into the gordita, my husband said the meat was rather chewy. My basket of al pastor tacos were dripping in a red sauce, and bite after bite were fatty chunks. I threw two of the al pastors away for the lack of pork and all fat. When the 'cheek' taco arrived, it again was swimming in the same red sauce as the al pastor tacos, and the meat was rubbery hose-like meat (perhaps tripe?). I've had cheek tacos many times before, and this mystery meat was NOT beef cheek. Kind of made me lose my appetite. The saving grace were the papusas, thank goodness for those and the large condiment/ salsa selection (why only a tiny dish of tortilla chips though? seriously, 8 chips!) We had been here before, and enjoyed the food. Unfortunately when the quality goes down hill, I most likely won't go back to the establishment. read more

I'm almost hesitant to write a good review, because I don't want their secret to get out. You keep voting La Mesa the best Mexican restaurant in town, Omaha...the rest of us will eat at real, authentic Mexican restaurants. Do yourself a favor and try their tongue tacos. Seriously, best, most tender tongue I've ever had. Their buche (pork stomach) tacos are also delicious and do not in any way taste like, well, stomach. Pozole on the weekend is satisfying and full of pork and other delicious things that really warm you up on a cold winter evening. The servers have all been very nice, and you can't beat the price. read more

For the first time in Omaha, I found an authentic Mexican food restaurant; since moving from Texas. The food was great and so were the Michelada's. The waitress staff would be hard to communicate with if you didn't know a touch of Spanish when asking for something specific - but the menu is easy to read with both Spanish and English translation. If you like "real" Mexican food, not the midwestern "Mexican food" then I highly recommend it. read more

El RRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrancho!! I cannot resist saying this without rrrrrrolling my rrrrrrs followed by a possible AIYAIYAIYAI! Anyway, I love this place! Why? $1 tacos on Wednesdays AND awesome crispy as F chips with five different types of salsa! I'm probably making myself sound like a total cheap-A but I will seriously get two tacos and a water with lime paying only $2 for my entire meal which also includes the chips and salsa. Like... is this for real???? I've never had any of the other food because it goes over my $1 budget, but the tacos are fantastico! If you don't like authentic mexi tacos, then you won't like these, but if you do you can get anything your little burrito heart desires inside the taco! One time I got head.... You know... head! When I saw that on the menu (which is all in Spanish btw so don't forget your google translator app) I had NO clue if I was going to get little chicken heads in my taco or what?! I guess it's just a part of the head other than the cheek because that's also something you can get in your taco if you want. My fave here though is Lengua - very soft and flavorful! Gimme some tongue and let's make out you dirty taco!!!! Now the penta-salsa... I feel like I'm tasting the rainbow because all of the salsas are different colors and I apologize because I can't tell you what any of them are!!! There is this light green ecto-plasm one that might be cilantro based?? Then there is regular salsa verde which is not regular by any means as it is delic!! Then there is another shade of green that might be made of four-leaf clovers? I don't know people... you'll have to try it yourself. Then there is the red salsa which is VERY good! And last but not least (and not shown in my picture) some orange one that is not cheese based... Maybe it's made from Oompa loompas? Again - not an expert. In the middle is pickled stuff to go with your crispy as F chip dipped in penta-salsa. Feel free to mix and match as you choose. Oh and my friends that I come here with LOVE the guac here... like there is never enough so if you are a guac fan, definitely give it a try. Smear it on your face if you are feeling frisky. I feel like this is my shortest review to date!! But I need not say more - If you want a cheap seven minutes in heaven with a taco and cinqo de salsa, check out El rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrancho! AIYAIYAIYAAAAAII!!! read more

El Rancho - My fave! Best $1 tongue action ever - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

See all

Best Mexican food in Omaha hands down! I have never been disappointed! My husband and I are from Arizona and always take our friends and family who are visiting us there and they have all loved it as well. From their breakfast to their lunch and dinner you can't go wrong. Also if you order coffee they serve it with pan dulce and they have free chips and salsa all day. read more

El Rancho - Chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

My second favorite Mexican place in Omaha! The platter of salsas are not to be missed, and the Mole sauce that they use on their dishes is outstanding. Tacos are fairly standard here.... I would recommend ordering one of the entrées on their menu instead of tacos. Restaurant is very clean, services friendly, and prices are extremely reasonable. read more

I've been told numerous times that to find great Mexican food, you need to go to south Omaha, especially anywhere on or close to 24th street...and damned if they all weren't correct...I ordered the huevos and chorizo...it was really really damned good...even the refried beans were great, and how often does that happen...Of course, that wasn't enough, so I ordered a couple of "street" tacos with pork, al pastor style...I normally prefer it carnitas, but they made me a convert...the service was great, and the prices can't be beat...yes, it's in a dodgy area and strip mall...but often, that's where you find hidden gems...I'm extraordinarily glad we came...this is one place that is worth taking a chance on...and as a helpful tip: the menus are in Spanish...actually wasn't a problem, because once I found the egg section I knew what I wanted lol... read more

El Rancho - Chorizo and eggs - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

See all

El Rancho, you're pretty cool. Somewhat sketchy, and possibly a little scary depending on the time of day, but pretty cool nonetheless. Do not be alarmed (necessarily) by the bars on the windows and the door. NBD. The interior is nothing special, nor does it need to be, as the food speaks for itself. I love that they have daily specials (tacos, hay gurl). The salsa platter is not to be missed (but damn is it spicy). I almost got glutened here, but I asked the right questions in time and my body was spared the near misery. Cute husband got enchiladas, I got flautas, and we were both pleasantly surprised by the subtle but distinct seasoning of the meat. The rice is out of this freaking world. Also: jamaica! I would eat here again because of how close it is to my house, but would possibly not come here at night. Up to you, though! read more

The salsa tray is worth the drive across Omaha by itself. Lengua and head tacos are excellent. Also, Chili Rellenos. Several seafood dishes on the menu, all of which are great. Fresh food and friendly service. read more

What a hidden gem! A few coworkers and I hit this spot up for lunch today. The food was authentic and simply amazing. I got the chicken enchiladas and potato flautas with rice and beans. The chicken was shredded and tender as could be! But before that let's talk about their chips and salsa....6 different kinds of salsa served with freshly made tortilla chips. The flavors ranged from refreshing to sweet and tangy to hot and spicy...I mean c'mon! You can't get that just anywhere! Give this place a shot, I'm telling you, you will not be disappointed. Enjoy! read more

The salsa plater was disappointing. The green chicken enchiladas were sweet and not good. It was a cute dive with good service. But there are better places to eat. read more

El Rancho - Chicken green enchiladas. .they are ok wouldn't order again . Great service and cute divey place would try again just something else. - Mexican Near Me - Omaha, Nebraska

OMG. We have lived in Omaha for 4 years after living in Tucson and San Diego, and this is the first Mexican restaurant to truly impress. SO GOOD. I never leave reviews and had to after such a delicious meal. (We ordered though DoorDash.) read more

Visited El Rancho last week. Ordered the Enchiladas. Food was OK but not spectacular. Staff was friendly and quick with our orders. Prices reasonable. read more

We came here for lunch and we were blown away. The staff was beyond friendly, gave us a huge assortment of different salsas and sides (which I personally really love). We both got their special which was 4 beef/carne asada tacos for $5.99!!! Authentic flavor , excellent corn tortillas, very fresh experience as a whole. Next time you are craving high quality Mexican food - El Rancho is the spot. Come Here. read more