It's sad to see so many negative reviews that are filled with prejudice microagressions. Shush and go to Taco Bell. ‍ I grew up in a small town latiné community and once I moved to Ft Wayne I was homesick for the food. El Ranchito is on par with those restaurants from back home. Great Tacos, Tortas, Menudo and refreshing aqua Frescas. The staff is lovley, and even the ambiance reminds me of the restaurants from back home! This is my goto for the best Mexican Food in town! read more

Food was nasty it's like they do not season there meat at all. Don't ever get the steak tacos there!!! Anything with steak in that case!! Again no seasoning at all!!! The only thing that is really worth that is the horchata which is sad mind you it's a "Mexican Place" read more

I ordered 9 steak tacos from this place in person/carrout I tried to call the number they had listed online but it was invalid. I will decide to place my order. I waited patiently and after about 20 minutes, I started to question when my food would be ready after 30 minutes. I asked them what was the holdup and they told me it would be ready. I've been requested for my money back after my food was not ready after waiting 30 minutes, but they insisted on having the food ready. and I still had to wait an additional five minutes. The service was terrible and the workers were not friendly. The food was okay I requested a complimentary free drink and the horchata was really good. read more

Overall experience at this restaurant was not good. Restaurant is not well lit in the evening on the outside. Went in around 9pm on a Friday night. Place was not that busy, but we waited and waited and waited. No prices on the menu or anywhere to be found, so prices are up to them I guess. Server brought one basket of chips and salsa. They took our order, then we waited and waited. We should have left. It took over an hour for us to get a plate of nachos and 4 tamales. I saw several couples that were there before us share in the frustration. Food was similar to other Mexican places. Would not visit here again. I left a 10% tip because I'm not a complete jerk when it comes to bad service, but it wasn't until I got outside I noticed they charged a 15% service charge???, so congrats to them for getting one over on me. Never again. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

Always too busy, food quality is now poor because it's rushed. I'd only visit for late night options.

This place is amazing. A few months ago I did that there food was nasty and I'm never going back. Well I did go back, the steak tacos were amazing! (Better than famous taco too) the girl is also very kind, although we didn't get chips and salsa at the start, we asked for chips and salsa when we ordered and she was very helpful and went to go get it! The tables were also fixed as well for the vibe there. I will be coming back. read more

The single star awarded in this review is only included so I *can* write a review. Walked in at 5:00 on a Friday, maybe 4 people total at tables in the dining area. Planning to order takeout, so we went right to the counter. We waited for someone to approach us and greet us or at least acknowledge us, but to no avail. While browsing the menu, we noticed that none of the dishes had any description of ingredients/inclusions, nor did the menu display prices. The entire experience, albeit brief, left a bad taste in our mouths. We left and visited another local Mexican establishment, instead. First visit will be our last. read more

Always empty inside! No one is waiting on you when you 1st come in! Salsa was Delicious, but Margarita was not strong and was to Foamy? Menudo was fresh and hot, but way more broth that meat! Barely had meat in the soup!!! read more

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We stopped in last Saturday. Very slow that night, but we still waited a while for service. I ordered a strawberry margarita which arrived in a smaller size the ordered. No tequila in the drink. It was just crushed ice and strawberry syrup. Because of the less than friendly service, I took a few sips, but did not send it back. I only ordered queso, and it came out room temperature. My husband's food looked okay, but kind of edible. Besides the poor service, bad food, and lack of tequila, the bill was the shocker. 38.00 for two people, and I did not order a dinner. My husband told the service staff about the lack of tequila, and was given a shoulder shrug and a smirk from the other employee. Not a friendly place to go, not good food, and being overcharged. No prices on the menu too. I wonder why! read more

I am so sad at what has happened to this restaurant. My boyfriend and I used to love coming here. Now they try to charge for chips, add hidden fees, and give people salmonella poisoning. Do better. read more

The el pollo tacos are enough for me to come back every single time. I always do carry out, but I have ate in the restaurant a handful of times. Service has always been great. read more

First timer, poor customer service, I ordered a simple plate the Mexican rice was grainy/crunchy, the frijoles were very watery and the carne asada tacos were soggy and multiple thick fatty pieces. I will not be back read more

Bet!! The servers are in the back room making fake 5-star YELP reviews, because they sure as shit are NOT greeting customers, communicating/being courteous to customers, refilling chips or drinks, cleaning the place, or doing anything to benefit anyone. This "taco ranch" is far from authentic or deserving of anywhere near 5 stars. Been visiting this spot for over a year. I am leaving a review as I feel customers should be aware before dining here. Pros: Menu in English, however prices are scratched out so you have no clue what you'll pay. Plenty of tables to clean yourself, as you seat yourself. TV to watch all the Hispanic soap operas one can stomach. Cons: Very argumentative wait staff. Language barrier seems intentional only to later be used against you when order is incorrect, wrongly priced, or wholly fucked up! No free refills on drinks or chips. Less than hispanic-ish salsa...like wtf is this stuff? Tomato paste + water + ro-tel? Automatic 19% in fees added to final bill when paying credit card. This is not on the menus, explained during order, or explained when checking out on the Clover tablet. 15% auto gratuity (I had a 2 person party), 4% fee for non-cash adjustment, and the tax. After you put card in slot it asks you to tip your waiter. Full stop, at this point you don't even know the 19% has been charged. Very deceptive!! Biggest con - THE FOOD IS HIDEOUS. Hispanic is my favorite cuisine and this place bloodstains the other fine hispanic restaurants in my area, hands down! read more

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Wanted tacos and decided to tried this place. The steak tacos were good but the Birria were disappointing. Not the same as I had had elsewhere, a picture would had help as I wouldn't had ordered it. read more

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No ranch! No chitos! Embarrassing!!! I don't speak Spanish but I know ranch chitos when I see them. Not here.

This is a place that absolutely does not like Black people! Bartender rude could not get service and served everyone else... then announced they were closing after my party left started playing music again! Couldn't believe this was a reality. Such a horrible experience it's funny literally in 2022. read more

This was literally how my taco was, one taco is for also 3$ and this one had barely any meat in it. I would not recommend ever going here. I've been here multiple time and they tried to charge me extra before, and the service is not very good. I would give it a 0.5 if I could. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

Great tacos and food, shitty service. With that being said I had the carnita, asada, and pollo tacos. All were delicious but I wished I had not gotten the chicken, it just wasn't as good compared to the others. I also tried a chicken tamale and it was good, nothing overly exciting about it ....so if your looking for a tamale that tastes like it should then definitely get them. One of the people in our group ordered a quesadilla that looked so good I ordered one to go. Finally the horchata is great here. The service is just a bit slow....we got our menus, after about 7-10 minutes they asked us for our drinks orders and food. The lady waiting on us missed a drink and didn't bring it until the food came. We didn't see the server again until after we were all done eating. We waited again for another 10 minutes after we asked for our bill. To be clear this is not my first time here and each time it is always slow service. The food is worth the wait especially when they are one of the few places open late lol. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Birria tacos are amazing, was not prepared for that. Lady up front was nice, and they had the takeout order ready to go on time. Definitely plan to be back read more

Went so far downhill lately, do not go unless they change management and/or wait staff. Not worth the headache.

Fantastic Tacos Friendly staff and strong margaritas! Always s clean and the service is fast read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Delicious strong margaritas - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

Authentic Mexican restaurant. Wife and I each had tacos based on a recommendation. Waitress was very nice but kitchen messed up our order. I got one extra taco and they forgot sour cream and cheese which was ordered. Choriqueso was an appetizer and very good. 3 choices of salsa all of which were very good. All in all, tacos were good, not great. Steak a little dry. Fish tacos though were awesome. Worth a trip as an adventure. Does not have a full bar. Located at the end of the strip mall to the south. read more

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BEST Taco's in the pow dunk town of Ft Wayne! Besides being the most authentic in taste they are the cheapest as well. Yes there are a couple ghetto spots on the south side that sell taco's for a $1 but they are 1/2 the size & loaded with salt instead of flavor. The new bbq item's I've had are great too! The brisket taco's are a Must!! read more

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The food is pretty good, prices are okay. Plastic glasses have a Slumdog grease on them and they are in fire need of a plumber for the restrooms. How hard is it, really, to leave cheese off of a plate of fajitas? No cheese, no sour cream, no dairy please!! Oops, sorry doesn't make it right! Remake it, or offer a discount for the half of the meal that had to be discarded on a napkin. I've never seen fajitas even served c with cheese. It is as if the cook went out of his way to !and someone sick! Leave the kids at home unless you WANT them watching borderline porn on the big screen! read more

So my daughter and I stopped here for lunch today. Have to say it's a little jem if a place. The prices were fantastic. The wait staff was good. Even though we stopped by for a late lunch. There wasn't anyone in there. I ordered 2 tacos that were made with ground beef. I love how authentic they are. They come with onion and cilantro. I also got lettuce and tomato on the side. My only complaint is that the meat was very dry. Even with the salsa and guacamole on it. But they came out on corn tortillas. Which are my favorite by far. My daughter got the steak nachos. Which came out looking fantastic. They were loaded with meat, cheese, jalapeños, refried beans, tomatoes, sour cream and lettuce. She put the extra extra hot sauce on them to top them off. The prices were fantastic. We got all this food on top of drinks and I paid 20 for it all. Gotta say that's a pretty good deal. Will definitely be going here again that's for sure. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Loved the guacamole. Super cheap too. - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Amazing tacos!! This place is open until 4am! It is great for when you are out late or you just want some delicious tacos! Their carne asada tacos are incredible! They are only $2.50, even though they are not super big it only takes 3-4 to fill me up. Also their horchata is delicious and never disappoints. It also is reasonably priced for the quality. Highly recommend! read more

we were not attended by the waiter. She kept walking past us and attended customers who got here after.About 20 minutes later we then got attended by the hosts person and the waitress attended other customers but not us. read more

Best Mexican in town! Its a little run down on the inside, but that's part of the charm. Cant go wrong dinning in or doing carry out. Their tacos are my go to! read more

Just an FYI tha Taqueria El Ranchito ranks as the WORST Mexican food place I've ever tried in my entire life! The "carne" asada was a bunch of chopped up gristly meat product with zero flavor or seasoning. The "birria" was a glop of flavorless mush. The corn tortillas taste and texture was closer to that of cardboard. The drinks were okay, which was why we didn't just leave To top it off, service was a mix of non-existent and terrible. No one ever came back to check on us after they dropped off the "food". Seriously, not a single time! They all sat in the corner talking and we were the only other people in there (obviously a bad sign). AND... they freaking charge at 15% gratuity on every check! They don't give you an itemized bill, just a total, so we would never have known they charged us the tip already if we hadn't insisted on getting a printed bill! We normally give 20% so they'd have ended up with a 35% tip. With the awful service, I can see why they trick and force people to pay it. Yes, we tried to talk to them about the issues, but they had zero interest in our feedback so I'm happy to give it here. read more

If you like REAL tacos and Mexican food, this is the place. Nothing fancy, but good prices, cold beer, and fantastic food.

Super slow service, took over 90 minutes to get our orders of tacos. The food was good but service was beyond awful. It took over 20 minutes to receive ice waters, waitress never was around. People walked in maskless and then were vaping in the restaurant. No one said anything. They were fulfilling to go orders but not the customers in the restaurant. read more

I tried El Ranchito today for lunch. The last time I had tried their glorious tacos was a few summers ago from their food truck. They have since then expanded into an actual restaurant. The inside is clean but nothing special. I find the best authentic cuisine to be found in spaces that do not care much about the decor. Which is fine by me when the food way surpasses the ugly tile I am looking at. The ladies working were very friendly and the tacos were done fast. Possibly waited 5 minutes. I ordered 3: carnitas, pollo, and asada. The tacos are served taqueria style with white onion, cilantro, and your choice of salsa. I chose salsa verde and their hot salsa to accompany my tacos. The hot salsa is HOT. It is almost a smokey hot and left my lips burning after. It was best paired with the pollo while the verde was best on the carnitas and asada. My favorite was the asada-- the steak diced. The carnitas were the second favorite. I wish the protein was a little bit juicier and not as dry. The pollo was bland but the adding of salsa made it a great taco. Each taco is $2. It is a deal. Very authentic. I plan on venturing out on the menu but it will be tough to get away from these delicious tacos. OPEN VERY LATE. Open until 3am Monday- Thursday and 4am Fri-Sun. If you need a late night fix I recommend these tacos over taco hell. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Carnitas, pollo, and asada tacos. $2 each - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

A great place for both traditional Mexican and American style tacos. The chorizo was flavorful, but not too spicy. But don't worry, if you like a spicy taco, all you need to do is add some of the complimentary salsa, which IS spicy. Wait staff were very compitent and friendly, even though it was a bit busy when we were there. read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - Dining area and art on the walls. - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

Shitty service, shitty margaritas, had to ask twice for basically everything, and they add 17% gratuity when they barely even come to your table. read more

It was very dirty, there was sauce on everything even the tvs. None of my friends touched their food. We paid and left. I would NEVER eat here again. Save your money and eat anywhere else. read more

Started coming here roughly 5-6 months ago. This was my go-to place when i was hungry and didn't know what to eat. the food was great and i had a good experience every time. Now, whenever i go with my friends, we order chips and it takes roughly 10-20 minutes for them to get back to us. when we are done with out drinks, first we have to flag down a waitress and order drinks. THEN, it takes them another 5-10 minutes to get the drinks for us. Also, prior to us asking for drinks, no one came to the table to ask how the food was, if we needed refills, nothing. i'm not sure what happened to their business model in the last month or so, but i am not a big fan. read more

One of the best tacos here in Fort Wayne! The steak tacos are by far the best here! The service could be better to be quite honest and they could remodel the place because a lot of the seats are worn down to the point that the springs are broken and there's holes in them. Aside that, they have karaoke nights in which is extremely loud. It's very distracting, plus you practically have to shout your order to the waitress and scream at them when you need more water in your cup. But overall, this place is tucked away in an almost completely abandoned plaza hut don't let the location fool you. If you're in Fort Wayne and you're here just avoid Thursday's because that seems to be the night in which they have karaoke. So if you want to enjoy your food and don't want to scream at your server, come on any other day. 3.5/5 stars read more

Don't come here if you're in a hurry. Everything moves at a crawl. 20 minutes to get our food after ordering. Place isn't very clean either. Tables covered in chip crumbs, menus stuck together, bathrooms serviceable, but not great. Makes me wonder about cleanliness of the kitchen. Service isn't very good either. Served half a baskets of chips, our drinks, and then nothing. Couldn't even get the servers attention. We had to go to the bar and request service to get more chips. That said, the food is great. No complaints, very authentic, very tasty. read more

I've recently went and got 3 steak tacos , and 1 shrimp . DELICIOUS !!!! Nothing more nothing less to say ! read more

Taqueria El Ranchito - 3 Steak Tacos , Shrimp taco! - Mexican Near Me - Fort Wayne, Indiana

I love this place. The food is amazing, favorite taco place around here. But..... service SUCKS. Been sitting here for 20 minutes without drinks or chips. another server brought out the food before we even got the drinks or chips and salsa. read more