Best Mexican food around, their fundido sauce is amazing. I live in Phoenix and will definitely stop and eat anytime i drive by this place. Servers are attentive but not annoying and the food comes out fast. read more

Who doesn't love Taco Tuesday? It's the best here at El Rancho! Also, I recently hosted a quarterly meeting with luncheon. I decided to give El Rancho a try for the catered lunch. I was quite pleased with the service. Everything was ready at the time I specified and I was even helped with loading the food into the car. The food was perfect, hot and delicious. I couldn't have been happier with the service and quality, and my meeting attendees loved it. Thank you! read more

Worst place ever!!!! Went here for the first time and my whole family got food poisoning!!!! The food did not even taste good and was not Mexican food to me. I do not recommend this place stay as far away as possible. read more

Best Mexican food in Payson, it has been there forever, try the green chili! Clean, friendly, fun They have a dog friendly patio area too!! I wish there were more places like this. Thank You! read more

We have been going here for years when we come up from the Phoenix area. I have never had a bad experience or meal. The staff has always been courteous and the food has always been great. I always look forward to going back. read more

Ate here while in Payson for the weekend. Food it excellent as always. Wife had the fish fry, who comes to a Mexican place for fish but every place in Payson does fish on Friday night, must be a small town thing. Dinner for 2 plus 3 drinks for $30 bucks, can't be beat. read more

Now to add to their fare, they have Taco Tuesday with dollar menu. Tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, beans, rice - for lunch only a dollar each. Heavenly and certainly if in town come and enjoy. read more

Been eating there since the late 1970's, great authentic Mexican food, and great margaritas too!

Neighbors love El Rancho and wanted to drive up for their Mexican fix. A 2-hour drive from Apache Junction was worth it. We each had something different: Senior Shredded Beef Chimi, Senior Navajo Taco, Sr. Burrito, and Chili Rellano & Taco. Except for the Sr. Navajo Taco, the others included rice & beans (refried or black) and a couple also included sour cream & guacamole. The Senior Menu seems as if you get a regular menu item (very large) but the price is about $3 cheaper! Everyone thought everything was excellent & we all brought half of our meals home. I don't think the chips were made in-house but okay. The salsa was mild but they did have a container of HOT paste-like red sauce that spiced up the regular salsa. Service was great, food served hot, and I would definitely make the trip again. read more

Our family has been in the SW for generations and we seek out Mexican food all the time when traveling. We were very happy with the food and service at El Rancho. Nothing fancy here, but quick friendly service, big portions for the price and the food was great. Shredded beef taco was stuffed with quality tender meat, pork tamale was perfectly steamed and tasty and the chili relleno was as good as any I've had. Thank you to the folks at El Rancho. We'll be back. read more

We love this place! My wife and I have been coming here to eat every Friday night for the last 5 years. As soon as you sit down the free chips and salsa arrive with the chips always warmed. The wait staff is always friendly, courteous, and on the ball. We love the margaritas and the many fine entrees as well. Whenever we have guests from out of town we always take them to El Rancho and they have been pleased with our choice. The friendliness, excellent service , and tasty food will keep us coming back for a long time. read more

As part-time Payson residents we eat at El Rancho almost every Friday night we are in town. We have always been seated promptly and the chips and salsa arrive almost immediately. The staff have always been friendly and very efficient, many times our drink order is taken by the hostess so we don't have to wait. The menu has a nice variety of entrees, both combination plates and ala carte. The food is consistenly good and served on "sizzling plates". They have also always been very accomodating with special food preparation requests. We always take visitors there for a meal and they have always seemed pleased with the food and service. We also occasionally go there for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday mornings and have enjoyed those meals as well. Same friendly service, good food and nice atmosphere. Our favorite Payson restaurant by far. read more

After eating here, I felt sad. What the hell did I just eat? I had two beef tacos with beans and 'rice', well they called it rice but it tasted how gasoline smells. The beans were disgusting as well. The tortillas made me want to spit it out. The beef was okay. If given the option to eat here or beat myself up, I'd choose the latter. read more

Wow. This place was unbelievable. Unbelievably pathetic, that is. Entered through the bar entrance. The bar had about 5 (or so) tables. ALL complete with dirty dishes and utensils, but no diners. (Just leftover, uneaten meals). Stopped off at the Men's room on the way to the actual Dining Room. One word, FILTHY!! As to the food. This is decidedly NOT your normal mexican fare. Unless the ONLY flavor you believe Mexican food should exude is onions!! The chips were HARD and stale. The waitress rude and inattentive. The attitude of the staff seemed to be "gotcha"!! You have to eat here because we're "IT" in Payson and you really have no choice. I got news for them. They're definitely not "it", for anywhere. Keep on driving folks, you'd be better off at most fast food mexican joints. There was one bright spot (sarcasm intended) about my meal. It sure cleaned me out as I was up and down all night with a bad case of food poisoning!! I will add one more item, though. Even though the bar's tables were empty of diners......the actual bar had a full compliment of drinkers. Judging from the conversation (loud, boisterous, profane) I would speculate that they were mostly (if not ALL) locals. The bartender was perhaps the loudest of them all. Mostly loud insults about anyone from outside this rural area. (Flatlanders seemed to be the most common adjective used with the curse words!) Country music blaring, rednecks drinking and partying and insulting everybody that looks slightly different. Definitely NOT a friendly bunch. They must serve some good drinks though, as that seemed to be the primary source of income!! IF you want good food in a clean establishment stay far away. Is there a no star choice?? Victor read more

Bad Idea, stay away. . . .After a day of hiking on the rim and now being very hungry I venture into this older looking Mexican restaurant. A bowl of chips and weak salsa were brought to the table right after being seated. I ordered ice tea and it appeared quickly. I checked the menu and asked about the green chile burrito combo, I asked if i could order that but did not want the tortilla wrapped around the meat, that I just wanted it separated. The waitress looked me like I was crazy and did not understand how I could come up with that request. I explained for about three minute " no exaggeration" that before the chef was going to put the green chile in the tortilla to stop and just put it on the plate and then place the tortilla on the same plate next to it and that nothing else would be different on the order. She still seemed puzzled but then said " I can bring you a bowl of green chile, beans and rice on a separate dish and a tortilla. Giving up and being starved I consented to the latest choice. About 5 minutes later I get a bowl of soup/green chile stew with a tortilla lining the bowl, a small side of beans a small side of rice and a statement from the waitress " oh you got an EXTRA tortilla on the side boasting like I should feel lucky that I was not charged for the tortilla not being drenched in the soup bowl along with the other tortilla. Again I was starving, so I was going to make the best of the situation and dug my spoon into the bowl of green chile/soup and could not locate any meat in the bowl. I could not believe that after two minutes of digging in the soup I came up with two tablespoons of hamburger meat which I placed on the other plate next to the dried out beans. By the way, I didn't ask for soup. . . I wanted the Green Chili. I did not even take a bite I asked for the check and walked to the cashier to pay, the waitress approached me and asked if something was wrong with the meal, I told here they was little or no meat in the green chile and that the little bit of meat that I found during the search turned out to be hamburger and that the the beans and rice were very dry plus the tortilla was soaking wet from laying in the soup bowl. she responded that they use hamburger for their green chile.I promptly showed her the menu where it stated that pork was listed for the burrito filling she then said that she gave me a bowl of the green chile stew not the stuff that they use for the burrito. I just gave up and paid the bill. The waitress and the cashier seemed unconcerned that a CUSTOMER who had a bad experience with a meal and with a waitress that could not get the order right, neither one made any attempt to remedy the problem. I paid the full price of the order which was $4.50 more then it should have been because the waitress brought me everything ala carte instead of what I asked for in the first place. DON'T EAT HERE, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU WOULD ORDER ANYTHING COMPLICATED. read more

Excellent food, excellent service! I only wish I lived closer, the best Mexican Food in Arizona hands down!

The restaurant is always packed and loud Food is good, but greasy. The grease drips from the food. read more

Had a meal to go very poor packaging as the food food is not what we ordered flavor was very poor will not be back

Holy smokin enchilada! Pass this one by. The absolute worst of gringo mex. The Chile Relleno looked like a corn dog, full of grease and over fried. The chile inside the greasy breading was thin and stringy. A perfect chile relleno should be light and fluffy on the outside with a freshly roasted green chile stuffed with real cheese inside. The enchilada was the worst I have ever had in my 55 years of eating mexican food. The corn tortilla was stale, the cheese was the consistency of velveeta and the sauce was tasteless. AND, this combo plate was so overpriced for the quality and amount served, though as I did not even finish the plate, I was glad I didn't have to leave more on it! The Hostess was not very friendly and seemed bothered to be doing her job (a comment already mentioned on other reviews - and I agree). The server was friendly. If you know what good mexican food is, DO NOT GO HERE. The drive in take out/eat in just south from here is so much better and authentic. JUST PLAIN BAD MEXICAN FOOD. read more

We kept hearing how great the food was and the parking lot is always full.Everyone was right.It was excellent.Great friendly service and all our meals were delicious .This will be our regular favorite now. read more

Excellent service.. food was overall abt 4.5 but we never had to even think about needing anything with the attention we had from the staff. Liked the hotter salsa option also. read more

Dog friendly patio is full of smokers. Wait staff has an attitude and the hostess doubles as the parking lot police. I literally threw away a Starbucks cup and she lectured us at the hostess booth about using their dumpster. Patio seating full of bird poop and appetizer plates had crusts of food. NASTY! read more

El Rancho is one of our favorite restaurants on our drive to Phoenix from MN. It is a great plsce with both good food and a pleasant staff. We look forward to stopping here on both directions of our trip and are slways pleased with the tasty food. read more

We made a special trip to Payson just for El Rancho on this cold rainy night. They didn't let us down. Chicken taco and cheese enchilada for my wife and as always the chili relleno for me. Chips, perfect. Salsa, fresh. Marg, strong and big. Friendly waitress. Worth the trip. read more

What an awesome place! As luck would have it for us, it was Taco Tuesday! Very reasonably priced and most of the men (7 of them) ordered one of everything, as did my husband. With an enchilada, tostado, taco, beans and rice for him and an enchilada, tostada, and margarita for me, our bill was only $18. Don, our server, was absolutely the best! So jovial and friendly. I can only imagine people come in there to see him. Food was terrific, service above terrific, and the margaritas were quite tasty! Highly recommend this place. read more

Yuck! The enchiladas was soaked in something called jalapeno sauce. It was gross. The rice was burned. Also the tacos tasted like they were stale and the iced tea was too sweet read more

We went there tonight around 6:45 it was fairly busy, but not too busy. We got sat right away and then we got our drinks, but no server was there for over 30 mins so we got up and left and went else where. They didn't even say oh we will be right with you or have you been helped yet? Nobody greeted us. Worst service we have had there! read more

bad food, even worse service. no authentic mexican food. didn't even finish, just paid and left.

Very dissapointed we always drive by this place that seems busy so we decided to stop by, we ordered a cheese crisp that was cold the service was slow the Indian fried bread was good though read more

The problem with El Rancho is likely not an easy fix. Many years ago this restaurant was owned by a Mexican family, and the recipes reflected a sense of Mexican authenticity. It was good, consistent, but not great. The El Rancho of today obviously lacks Mexican "know how" in the kitchen. It brought to mind the "Mexican" my grandmother would make that seemed to always call for a can of cream of celery soup. She lived in Arkansas....this is Arizona. Green chili pork burro with inconsistently chopped bell pepper stuffed into the burro accompanied by some sort of ball park white cheese nacho sauce. Really? And of course a nice pile of chopped lettuce for visual effect. I Hate being critical of a small town business but please don't use the word authentic to describe your food. The word is not taken lightly by Mexican food lovers and demands the pledge to deliver authentic fare. A one star review but gave two because my service was timely and my server was pleasant. read more

I have been here multiple times. Live in payson. It is convenient but on multiple occasions I have gotten cold food tonight I ordered a carne Amada taco with no guacamole and the waiter had the balls to come out with the taco and ask if.i would take the guacamole off. I told him no because I am allergic. Really. If he knew it was wrong it should have been returned to the kitchen m I will go to la Sierra from now on. Sad. Because. I want all businesses to prosper in my town but la Sierra has never gotten my order wrong and the ambiance and staff are far and above those at el rancho.! read more

Love this place. Don in the bar is a perfect host. The food is consistently fabulous, generous helpings, and the cheese crisp is the best you will ever find. Service is always fast and courteous. In this town you can always tell who excels..take a look at the parking lots. read more

The food is nothing special, but it's tasty and filling. The food is a good value and the wait staff has been friendly and efficient whenever we've been in. read more

Not the place it use to be! Much better places in town! This place was sold a few years back and the food has suffered. Instead try El Mexicano just a few blocks down the road! read more

Driving through Payson AZ yesterday, 05/30/15, after a hike and stopped by El Rancho. The reason we stopped was they had a lot of cars in the parking lot. The salsa was very chunky, tasted good but not spicy like we like it. We noticed a bottle of hot sauce on the table and put some of it in the salsa and wow it was great then. We completely loved our meal. Both were delicious and TRIED to eat it all but got too full. The rice was a surprise at the taste, want a bowl now for breakfast. Very good flavor. Beans were nothing special but not bad. Our enchiladas and beef tacos tasted wonderful and we will definitely go back when in the area hiking or traveling. read more

Excellent food and service! Friendly, local and a nice selection of beers and spirits. Dannie, Heather and Don are all great! Kudos to the kitchen staff and cooks as well. read more

Great food! Place was packed so we ate in the bar! Matt, the bartender, was swamped but paid great attention to us and gave us great service! Totally recommend this place if you are in Payson and love Mexican food as much as we do :) read more

Awesome everything. Salsa and red sauce kill it. The red sauce was stunning. Service was prompt. Someone came by all the time. Will be back for sure. read more

This is not a restaurant I'll return to when I'm next in Payson. I ordered the spinach enchiladas...the plate was delivered to me with enchiladas so swimming in sauce, cheese, & grease, that I could hardly find them. The salsa is good and the service was ok- but the the food was so poor that I won't return. Normally, I like to support local businesses, but in this case, I'd go to Chili's down the road instead. read more

GREAT STOP! Super fast, friendly service. The food was very good---not very spicy but great flavor. And VERY reasonable price!