Ranchero is a fine establishment. I hesitate to give it five stars but actually I don't have anything bad to say and for a foreign food place in Istanbul that in and of itself is outstanding.
First of all, I had the most lovely melon margarita ever. Having turned 21 after leaving the US I can't say I've ever had that many margaritas. But this one was strong, delicious, and flavorful. It really was great.
I got a combo fajita (beef and chicken) and it was also tasty and nice. It came with 10 hand-made tortillas which was the perfect amount for the food that I had. Very, very nice.
It also came with black beans, salsa, guacamole and a white sauce I wasn't familiar with. All nice and fun and hard to find elsewhere of course. My dinner date and I also shared a plate of nachos which was excellent.
I want to complain about price -- for our two dishes and two drinks the bill flew past 100TL -- but honestly, how often do you get to eat Mexican food in Istanbul and if you tried to make the dish/drinks yourself you would easily spend that much in supplies. For that reason, I find it acceptable.
The only thing I would advise them to do is make beer a bit a cheaper. Who wants to spend 13TL on a 33mL draft beer? Yikes. I would have stayed longer and had a few if the price was more reasonable.
After your meal they serve a little lemony blue drink which is some kind of curacao based, non-alcoholic delight. It's kind of like a shot but not. A not shot. Very nice touch.
Service was average, they were attentive but not friendly. No one said bye as we left, which is a bit unnatural in Turkey but didn't bother me that much. :)
All in all, highly recommended for a special night. read more