You would not expect to find a great Tex-Mex restaurant in a small East Texas town like Trinity, but El Rancho Viejo, aside from its sister restaurant in Madisonville, is simply the best Mexican restaurant in the area. It is better than anything in nearby Huntsville. Cheese enchiladas are always my acid test for the quality of a Mexican restaurant, and those at El Rancho Viejo are excellent. It is the cheese that makes good cheese enchiladas, and theirs is very flavorful. The rice is very fluffy. The only disappointment was the salsa, which is very blah. I ordered a bowl of their hot salsa and mixed the two, which helped considerably. This is about as good as you will find in small town East Texas. read more

Fabulous TexMex restaurant. We stopped here last night mainly because they were the only place open after 8:00PM - and what a pleasant surprise! We started with their chunky guacamole, which was made to order with fresh avocado, lime, cilantro, etc., and was delicious. We then had a variety of TexMex specialities for dinner, including fajitas, enchiladas, chile relleno, tostadas and others. Everything was excellent. Even the standard refried beans were homemade and hand-mashed, as well as the Spanish rice with carrots, peppers and onions. GREAT food here, nice ambience and good service read more

I was really impressed with this place. The food was awesome. Everything we had was really good. The queso was a little bland but if you add some of their fresh salsa to it it's really good. Service was really good as well. My only complaints about this place would be the decor and the waitress who kept messing with the music. The decor is for sure the cheesy typical Mexican restaurant...weird artwork, random Mexican artifacts, that orange rusty paint color and anything to do with Mexican beer. The tables and chairs were pretty to look at. They are big wood ones with intricate detail work on them but if you look at the base of the tables almost all of them have coasters stacked to make them level and ours still really wasn't. A little tacky in my opinion. As far as the waitress that kept messing with the music that was playing throughout the restaurant she apparently wasn't happy with a few of the songs and kept changing it. The problem was the mp3 player was on top of the cabinet on the bar so she would stand on the bar. This happened at least 5 times while we were there. I will say I have never heard Tejano techno. :-) Bottom line if you happen to be in the area I highly recommend going there! read more

service is piss poor!! Food barely par l, at least mine was my son had just a kids meal corn dog they brought out still frozen in the middle. Then brought everyone else's food (including mine) but didn't bring my wife's food. When they finally did the chicken was cold in the middle which proves two things, one incompetence, and two they don't prepare the chicken fresh it's frozen. Price isn't good for the over all experience. Speaking of which, the overall experience is nightmarish. I've spent time shaking down prison cells at my job that were more comfortable temperature wise and decor. A/c must have been out and the fans didn't work which I pictured. I was part of a bigger party and all I payed for was my drink tab. The waiters never brought it so I went to the front to try and settle up and they rudely said "you'll have to get your ticket from your waiter" MY GOD WOMEN, as slow as they are it'll be Christmas before I get that!! Avoid avoid avoid!!!!! read more

El Rancho Viejo - Mexican Near Me - Trinity, Texas

Had to flag down a waiter just to get a menu. Taco shells were stale and service never improved

The waiter was the biggest issue. He did not bring the correct food and ignored us when we said it wasn't correct. The food took forever to come, and we were charged incorrectly. We paid to just get out of there. read more

My favorite dish here is the Anaheim Enchiladas. They are fantastic. In general, the food is good. If you are looking for a trendy, upscale place with great ambience and decor you must've taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque to end up I'm Trinity, TX. this isn't it. Not a fan of the bathrooms at all; they leave a lot to be desired. But, I didn't come here for the bathrooms, just the food. read more

El Rancho Viejo - Anaheim Enchiladas: beef or chicken fajitas inside Anaheim peppers, rolled in flour tortillas. Covered in red sauce and cheese. - Mexican Near Me - Trinity, Texas

Our waitress was in training and it was a Saturday night we had a party of 9. She and her trainer had to go back after orders were taken and asked several people at our table to repeat the order. My food wasn't good and they used hamburger meat in the Flautas instead of Fajita meat I didn't notice what it said on the menu. We left almost all the plates full of food. Also not all of our food arrived at the same time at least a 5 -10 minute delay. Our strawberry daiquiris were not made correctly and should have been made sweeter the margaritas per other parties in the group were fine. Lots of things we had to asked for multiple times. The atmosphere was super quiet. I wish we had chosen another restaurant. They need much improvement I have no intent to go back. Also they seem to be in a Identity crisis since they serve Chinese food other nights or make them both available all the time very odd. The dining rooms furniture also seemed dated and needed replacing several of us though our chairs might break beneath us... read more

This is the 2nd time we have driven thru and eaten here... Very friendly staff, fast service and very good food! Was happy again to be in these parts so we could eat here!n read more

They have great food. It's just a little pricy. They have Chinese food on Sunday that is surprisingly good.

Like another comment said. Good restaurants are hard to come by in this area. The food is great and their salsa rocks! I would give them five stars but their service time lacks when busy. Which they are busy pretty much every night. Their food is great and it feels clean. The staff are friendly and that makes up for the slow service. We are moving out of trinity and I have to say this place is the only thing I will miss about this town. read more

Holy Cow it's Good! If I lived anywhere near Trinity I would be eating at El Rancho Viejo all the time. The salsa was fantastic. I had chicken fajitas and they were marinated before cooking and were Great! The beans had a good flavor. Reasonable prices and had quick service. My next time passing through I will be stopping for a great meal again. read more

It's okay. My main complaint is that over my 3+ visits, the service has been slow. Some of the waiters don't appear to have been very well trained. The food is pretty good, and like most Mexican restaurants, the selection of mixed drinks is pretty good. The beer selection leaves something to be desired, though. The place is busy almost every night, and the parking lot fills up quickly. So, overall, not bad, especially for a town like Trinity. read more

We went here for lunch, waited an hour before we got our food , our drinks were never re-filled, when we FINALLY got our food my food was burnt and just generally did not taste good. read more

Not bad for the middle of nowhere. We were traveling from Tyler to Houston and wanted somewhere to eat for dinner that was a step up from Taco Bell. We got it here. read more

Took my two girls out to lunch and walked into El Ranch Viejo at 1:50pm on a Weds, waiter came a bit after we received our drinks, chips and salsa. Which for openers was very good and the Salsa Verde was excellent. Waiter returns and in middle of ordering, he stops me and informs me that what I ordered was lunch special only. I said that's right that was what we wanted. He had a slight attitude and let me know that the lunch special over at 2pm. It was maybe 5 min after 2 and I let him know we walked in a full 10 min before 2. He got our order approved with mgr or whomever. Fine, rough start but good to go. Our food was brought out, my and my oldest daughters plate was so HOT from being under salamander to melt cheese that I burned my forearm when it barely touched the dang plate, it was also a full 5-10 min before food cooled enough to eat. Not good. My oldest daughter cuts into enchilada, takes a couple of bites of one of the enchiladas (she ordered 3 beef enchilada lunch) and all three were cheese. We informed waiter, he asked if we wanted to "change the order" I told him no, we wanted to get the correct order please. He apologized said no problem and after another full 10-15 min finally brought correct meal. Ok fine. I ask for check, he informs me that today is NO CHARGE. I told him I appreciated but insisted on paying, he again told me no there was no bill. I told him it was not necessary but appreciated it and offered to pay again. He waived it off said no bill and left. Due to having no cash at that moment I went up to front cashier, bought a piece of candy intending to buy the milk candy and put a damn nice tip on it and explained the situation to the lady at front desk. She asked where we were sitting, kept nodding her head and handed me the bill for the full amount. WTH?? I mentioned again what waiter had said and why and she just shook her head and informed me that the full bill was in place! I just paid and left not willing or caring enough to make a scene about it but I am non-plussed to a certain degree. First, attitude from start, second incorrect meal brought and blame tried to be laid at our feet and third I was more than willing and able to pay the bill, never asked for a comp on anything but then for the waiter; after argument from me insisted to meal was "no charge" then to be fully charged. WE will never be back and I'd advise others to look elsewhere. Sadly, it appears poor management, bad attitudes and lack of communication is going to ruin this place. OK food but everything else destroyed the experience. read more

The Chinese food is really really good! Surprisingly! Since it is a Mexican place. The display of food could be a little classier, but the taste is great! Our waitress told us that a Mexican guy cooking Chinese food for about 15 years was back in the kitchen. Chinese food is hard to make, for me anyway, so I was totally impressed! read more

We stopped here on a road trip so this is a 5 star rating based on our one stellar experience. Service was excellent. Food was even better than excellent. My husband's spinach enchiladas were wonderful and my chicken enchiladas had delicious shredded chicken inside, and the perfect mix of cheese, verde sauce, and sour cream on top of them which absolutely blew my mind. We have a lot of good Mexican restaurants in our home city, too, but this was better than most I've had anywhere. The beans and rice were as good as our favorite hometown spot, too! The dining room was large but rather dark with a bar atmosphere and a couple of guys were walking through who seemed to have had a few beers already (this was during lunchtime). It just added to the dive-y yet fun ambience of El Rancho Viejo for us, but some might not feel it's a family friendly place. Everyone was very friendly to us and I was completely pleased with the meal and surprised at how inexpensive the prices were, too. read more

Service absolutely sucks at this place. I came in was seated and sat for 30+ mins before I was even graced with the presence of a waited. I was asked to order my food before I even ordered my drink and then it wasn't even my waiter who brought me my drink. I had to stop and ask someone els. Sad thing is my waiter asked me three times what I wanted to drink and said he'd bring it but never did. The salsa sucks if you ask me. The fajitas where bland without hardly any flavor and the strips of beef where like chewing on leather. I had to get up and track down my own eating utensils. The really sad thing about this is it wasn't even busy. No flaws should have hindered the service in any way. I could understand if it was jam packed with people waiting but it wasn't. Needles to say I will not return hear because the over all experience was about as good as Obamas fight against ISIS, it sucks. If I could give a zero or negative star I would. So I'm forced to give a one star. read more

The only reason to go to this restaurant would be for the warm salsa and Chinese food on Sundays. Everything else there is mediocre at best

We love the food and the service. There are not many choices in this community, but I feel this is a good one.

Awesome Chinese food on sunday and wednesday night and awesome mexican food every day i love the special hot sauce they make for me and the cooks its is very hot but awesome my favorite place to eat read more

For such a small community, we have an amazing restaurant in Rancho. Occasionally the waiters can be a little less than friendly, but I'm there to eat. Lol They have the best, best, BEST shredded cheese. It does NOT come in a bag already grated. It's great for family dinner or a girls night in the bar. Two thumbs up!! read more

Good restaurants are hard to find in this neck of the woods. Ranch Viejo is Very Good! I had the daily special margarita, it was Mango and it was great. My husband had the regular frozen margarita and he said it was top notch. They have a daily special, today it was 1 enchilada verde, 1 cheese enchilada, a fajita quesadilla with sour cream, guacamole and lettuce and spanish rice for $7.99.It was excellent. Their homemade chips and salsa served before the meal was also exceptional. The chips were thin, crispy and still warm from the fryer. Not greasy or tough like some. Hubby had the Cowboy Special with 1 cheese and1 beef enchilada. 1 taco, 1 cheese puff, beans and rice that he said they were all great. Our waiter was attentive, prompt and very friendly as were all the employees we had contact with. The bar there is large and very nice and has a smoking section. The restaurant is separate and has no smoking so everyone is happy. You can order dinner from the bar as well. As we are originally from south Texas we moved from great mexican food land up to east Texas and this restaurant is our favorite up here. read more

My favorite place to eat in town! Typical Mexican fare, more TEX-MEX. Love their salsa and their guacamole. It's the best! Friendly staff attentive to your needs. I've always had good service. read more

The beans can be a bit runny and there is never enough rice and beans. Other than that, everything I have had from this place has been pretty good. I have been there 5 times in the last 6 months or so. When it gets busy, your order will probably take a while to get to you...I think my average wait has been about 30-45 minutes vs the 15-20 minute wait when they are not busy. But the salsa and green sauces are good enough to eat with chips until your food comes out. I also have ordered pickup a few times and the food is the same. I have found the staff there to be quite friendly and nice. Parking can be tedious at times, but do it like me...either order for pickup or go eat there a little before 5:30 to avoid waits and parking place searches. My favorite is 3 cheese enchiladas with queso and double rice and double beans. read more

I am Mexican-American and, although it is not as good as my mother used to make (she did everything from scratch), El Rancho Viejo is pretty dang good. I'm a local and whenever my family has a hankering for comida mexicana, I take them there. The correct telephone number is 936-594-1494, not the one listed here, and it is located on the southside of town on Hwy. 19. read more

If ever looking for a good place to eat this is it!! Food is always excellent, service above and beyond! Margaritas are the very best! Dining area is spacious and welcoming! The portions are large and always feel like you get your moneys worth! My husband doesn't like to go out to eat much other than a burger but, he will always go there!! Highly recommend!!!! read more