One word: Disgusting. I went here with 6 other people tonight and it was probably the worst dining experience of my life. I got 3 beef tacos. The "beef" was identical to taco bell's meat. The "cheese" was non existent. I never had worse tacos in my life. I only ate 1 and will be chucking the rest. The rice and the beans were nothing to write home about. Everyone else enjoyed their meal. The drinks and salsa were really good. Since we (3 of us) split the bill, I paid 26 dollars for one taco, half a sangeria (I don't drink but we were out of our birthday's ect) and a spoonful of rice and beans. Never again. Also, the waitress was a mess. She was very confused about our orders and how we wanted to split the check. It was horrible. She was an older lady. Maybe she was just new or filling in for other people, but it was not worth her 18% tip because we had a party more than 6 read more

Directly from Mexico to New York this restaurant is authentic and delicious. The chicken enchiladas are to die for, in fact they're so good it's hard to order something else. That without question the superstar at this restaurant is the salsa but you can it-by the quart, which is never enough in my house. Close to the Thruway this is the ideal stop in when heading north or south read more

I frequent this restaurant every so often and usually get the basic Mexican fare. But last night I had the Puerco Pibli. Oh...My.....This was one of the best meals I have ever had! I truly recommend this dish if you want something amazing, tasty. Should be their Featured signature dish. read more

If I could give zero stars I would. I'm sitting at my table going on 50 minutes and still no food. This is after 2 years of my swearing I'd never dine here again from an awful experience the previous visit. The previous visit including a long wait time, the wrong food, no apology, and me leaving without eating after being there for over an hour. Honestly screw everything about El Rancho read more

Best Mexican food that I have had since I've left Southern Oklahoma! Everything was extremely flavorful and the portion sizes were decent. I am giving 4 stars only because there's a downside.... The downside: Expensive. Very Expensive. My Husband and I each had 2 margaritas (very small, I might add) and the kiddos only had water in addition to our meals and it was $100 prior to tip. The drinks were around $10 each. The entrees start over $10 each. Definitely not Southern Oklahoma Mexican food prices. Bring your empty stomach and full wallet to dine here. Will we return? Yes; however, perhaps as a date night as opposed to a family night out. read more

If you want local traditional Mexican food, this is your spot. We are huge fans. They have the best salsa, margaritas and enchiladas Ive had in the area. You do not want to miss this place. read more

Food was excellent but the service was awful. We had to wait over 20 minutes for refills, the waitress we had was rude and never checked to see how our meal was. The most bogus thing about this place is not being able to do more than one receipt per table. Ridiculous. read more

So we just went here based off of being hungry, food took forever to come out. Server (older woman) was not very helpful or friendly. I asked for simple roasted jalapenos (they have shrimp stuffed which I am allergic too seafood) and she said that is how it comes, they cannot make anything different. The bill was also high for 3 regular meals and 1 child meal. Really wished that we tried out the tandoori spot up the block instead. read more

I really like this place . The staff and the owners are great . The food is great also . You'd never know it from the outside .... pleasantly surprised read more

thieves! charge for top shelf liquor & give you bottom shelf. Owner is nasty and rude, and refused to have a polite intelligent conversation about it. read more

Sometimes I find it helps to think about prices in terms of the amount of time I've worked to pay for the item. Instead of a price being an arbitrary number, it becomes tangible. To put things in simple terms, not a single thing I ate or drank at El Rancho was worth even a second of my time spent working my irritating job. How El Rancho justifies their prices is beyond me. The outdoor seating consists of plastic chairs and tables. Water, if it's served, comes in cheap, plastic cups. You'll shell out $13 for three tacos, rice, beans and guacamole. $17 for carne asada with the same side. $15 for a enchiladas. ENCHILADAS. Tortillas filled with cheese and low grade meat! Seriously! Ordering an entree, say duck or whatever else they call mexican will set you back anywhere between $20 and $25. A pitcher of weak sangria, tasting like Juicy Juice with the alcoholic punch of an O'douls, will set you back an irritating $24. At these prices, El Rancho should have some pretty dope Mexican food. But they don't. Not even close. Here's a list of bad to worse. 1) Oddly thick salsa. I've made and been served fresh salsa many times. It never comes out this thick unless it comes from a store bought jar. Hmm... 2) Four shrimp, for $9, served in a butter garlic sauce. With white bread toast. But isn't this a mexican joint? 3)Awful carne asada. Carne asada is pretty difficult to destroy. It's marinated skirt steak. Not the most tender cut, definitely tasty if marinated and cooked properly. El Rancho massacred this steak, rendering it tough and inedible. I asked for it rare. It came out medium well. A waste of a cow. When pointing this out to the waiter, he appeared nonplussed. Unsure of what to do, he said he'd get the chef. A while later he came back, still unable to negotiate the issue of the barely touched steak and asked if I still wanted to talk to the chef. No. So he came back with the offer to charge me half price. So I spent $9.50 on beans, rice and guacamole. I'm not a stickler for bright, cheery customer service. At all. Give me a rude diner waiter or waitress, and as long as my order comes out correctly and my coffee cup remains 3/4 full, i'll happily give my usual 20% tip. As stated earlier, working blows. It really does. But waiters should be at least competent, backed by managers and restaurant owners who, at the very least, want to make sure their customers remain somewhat pleased, even if their meal wasn't completely satisfactory. El Rancho falls apart on a variety of counts. Make your Mexican food at home or get some Mexican at Main Street Restaurant down in the village. Both choices will be cheaper and leagues better than El Rancho. read more

This place has been here for many years and I had heard it was a good place for Mexican food. Maybe when it was the only place for Mexican food it was a good choice but now if you live near Kingston there are many places to get really authentic fresh well-prepared Mexican food which is not what I got at el Rancho. The food was edible but overpriced and not very tasty or expertly prepared IMO. read more

I didn't love this place. The food was just ok - quesadillas were greasy, the tacos were just meat and lettuce-- no cheese. I asked for sour cream and they charged me $1.50 for a small amount! The beef was flavorless. The best part of the meal was dessert-- fried ice cream. It was way too expensive for the quality. I won't return. read more

The food here is cautiously spiced to the point of being bland, the kitchen unwilling to modify menu items (or if they do it seems to be a big deal) and the drinks: small , amateurishly presented and expensive for what you get. Make sure you ask before ordering because they might give you the most expensive pour without telling you what the price is. And Lord help you if you complain! Then their Castilian rudeness emerges. Mexican? Not. El Rancho? Si, but add a "u". read more

This place is to die for my steak came out to a perfection. The stuffed pepper forget about it that is if you like spicy food. The pork wow just wow. I am in the restaurant business and I will recommend this to anyone. If you are near the area you need to check this place out, no it's a must very good food and the employees are very nice. I was on my way home after a day of snowboarding then my buddy saw this place open and the need that we needed to pee but I never imagine that it would be this good. The margaritas are good too. Now I know the place to stop by on my way back home to Long Island. read more

We got to the area late and went here because it was close to our hotel. Food was very bland. I had a beef burrito and the meat was very dry and tasteless. Service was fair. I probably wouldn't go back. read more

^on our way home from an ill ski trip, my cravings were beyond satisfied, salsa was INSANE, I've spent months in the great country of Mexico and this restaurant captures the real deal that is Mexican culture. read more

Best place ever !!! Don't miss it a great place for real Mexican food service off the charts a real family place.

Love the salsa! I am not a salsa eater usually but their salsa is delicious! I also love the tacos, and the margaritas on the rocks with salt are amazing! You can sit out on the patio in the nice weather or in the restaurant or at the funky little bar. The waitstaff is very friendly and knowledgeable, it is definitely a great place to meet up with friends. read more

Good experience. Old mexican decor. Don't be picky and rate it less because of it. Food was great. Chips and salsa served to start.

Truly authentic Mexican food! Their quesadillas are homemade, I love their steak salad and margaritas and their family vibe!

This place has been serving authentic Mexican food for a long time. I love the tacos here and the cute Mexican waitresses are easy on the eyes as well. read more

I was hopeful, but disappointed. Keep driving all the way to Tannersville for Panchos! I guess you cannot have two good Mexican restaurants within an hour of each other. That said, the salsa was remarkably similar to Pancho's so maybe they share suppliers or ownership. read more

Waited over an hour and a half for our food and then when it came it was cold. It tasted like a soccer mom tried to cook Mexican food in a microwave with ingredients from Walmart. $16 bucks and above for an entree, really? Taco Bell tastes better and I don't even like Taco Bell. read more

I love the food here. Simple, delicious. They've been gong for 30 years, so they must be doing something right, and they stay with it.

Awesome Mexican restaurant! Love the food and the service!

Good food - I liked the quesadillas. Tres leche cake was excellent.

The items on the menu can be a hit or miss, so I stick with certain items. Their salsa is AMAZING! I would definitely ask them what they recommend and not be adventurous. read more

I love El Rancho-The family who owns this place is so wonderful. Whenever I am home visiting, I try and stop in and get some of the best Mexican food in the HV. Their Salsa is amazing-I even received a quart of it as a birthday gift from my good friend. The margaritas are tasty, the food is fresh and the service is amazing. From ages 7 to 13 it was all about the enchilades suizas. The sopapilla is also very good. read more

Food was delicious and the owner/waitress was very friendly and gave us good service. Menu is a bit pricey, but then again both of us had a couple of beers and an app so that could explain the $78 check for two, but I'm always happy to support a local business. Will definitely be back read more

For those that don't know mexican food very well, should try what they consider to be "the best" and then try El Rancho. I've been anywhere to high class mexican restuarants in New Mexico, to California, anywhere from holes in the wall to taco carts, and I'll say, I never thought the best mexican place would still be in near my hometown. I've been going here since it opened up 20 something years ago, when it was a mushroom factory me and my friends used to skate around in when it was abandoned, I've watched the children there grow into beautiful young ladies, and I've never tasted an equal to the sauces that are made here. The salsa and ranchero (red) definitely steals the show. I've even tried to take some of the salsa home, but the surrounding aromas of the kitchen permeate the air and the customer is usually hooked, especially when a new plate of steaming fajitas comes out of the kitchen. Like I said, definitely a place to stop in at, especially people coming down from sking, mos def a great end to a day on the slopes, as my wish, I've been in LA for a few years now, but I've still yet to match an equal to El Rancho, my advice, the "tres enchiladas" I get one beef, one chicken, and a cheese, with ranchero sauce, it will have you hooked the first time. read more

Relatively speedy service, large portions and tasty food. I ended up eating here twice during my 3 night /4 day stay in Saugerties since it was open later and was close to the HITS show grounds and the hotel. Really good guacamole and salsa. Their rice and beans were nothing to write home about but everything else was very good. read more

I found this restaurant from reading other on-line reviews. We needed to find something close to Bearsville as we were going to a concert. After eating, I found that the ratings were very accurate. The food is definitely above average for mexican food restaurants. I had a flank steak with rice and beans. I prefer my meat well done and was surprised that not only did they get that right but the steak was still juicy. Not many cooks can accomplish that. Prices were typical for mexican food - starting at $12 for combination plates and extending into the low $20's for specialty plates. All-in-all, a very good meal and we will definitely come back. read more

Decent food. For 20 bucks I got two beers and dinner. The menu seemed limited to me. A good atmosphere as well. The salsa was excellent

It's just great. Especially their salsa. Even if we ate somewhere nearby cause we were not up for Mexican we stop and get some salsa. Tip: Buy at least 2 big tubs because you won't want to stop eating. One big tub lasts about 1 meal for 5 people, at least in my family. read more

We stopped here on our way home from skiing, not expecting much but hungry. The service was awesome but the food was GREAT. We were pleasantly surprised. In particular, the Mole was amazing. I see the other reviews of this place and am surprised. either they went on a bad day or we went on a great day. But nonetheless, the food and service was great and we look forward to going again in 2 weeks after skiing! read more

Good food good portions. Went with a group of about 12 almost everyone ordered something different and everyone was happy. Burgers ordered medium may have been more rare than medium. read more

For a moderately priced restaurant they do a good job. Friendly waitstaff, quick service. Food was good with large portions. We sat by the fire on a cold night. Good vegetarian options for me and meat eater options for the husband. But the WATER. Oh my god, order a glass of regular water just to experience how stunningly bad it is. Then have something else available to put in your mouth immediately. I don't know what's wrong with it but the waitress just shrugged and said "well water." read more

The food was not good. The waiter was not particularly friendly. It seemed like a sad place. The food was oily-tasting and did not have great flavor. We didn't finish everything (portions were large) but did not take it with us. I don't plan on returning. read more

Solid, unpretentious and delicious food, reasonable prices and very good service. My husband had the tamales and said they were among the best he's ever had in a restaurant. The only cons: food was slightly over salted, and the tomatoes on the tostada were ridiculously underripe (just don't bother!). But overall, I highly recommend it. read more