El Rancho Grande
310 E Buffalo St, New Buffalo, MI, 49117
El Rancho Grande Menu
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Visit below restaurant in New Buffalo for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in New Buffalo for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in New Buffalo for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
310 E Buffalo St
New Buffalo, MI, 49117 - Phone (269) 469-9600
- Website https://www.elranchotexmex.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Accepts Bitcoin : No
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Sarah S.
10-year Favorite! We have been coming here for over 10 years, and Pete (the owner) is still serving up great food! We have never had a bad meal at El Rancho Grande! NEVER. We love that every holiday, the big ranch is decorated inside to match the holiday theme! The normal decor of John Wayne and The Alamo are a pleasant experience for all, not just history buffs! It really creates a Texas/Mexican atmosphere inside with the lights, decor and music. My son loves the life size statue of John Wayne and my husband appreciates the history of the Alamo and the republic of Texas. I love the beautiful Native American artifacts. Now the food: fabulous! Authentic Tex-Mex style food. Try the sizzling hot fajitas! Or a massive plate of nachos! Our personal favorite is the Brocheta de Filet and the Carne Asada. Both are excellent dishes and you cannot go wrong! Order extra bacon with the Brocheta, it's worth it! Their Cameron shrimp dinner is also excellent. Ernesto is a fabulous chef and he makes each plate beautiful and amazing! Drinks: they have a full service bar that can make happy hour last all day! Try the frozen margaritas- strawberry is my favorite! Service: excellent as always. Ask for Sara or Katie- they are super friendly and will take good care of you! Manny was another favorite, but retired from the restaurant over a year ago. Everyone is friendly there. There is also a covered porch if you want to sit outside. Don't miss a chance for great Tex-Mex and Mexican food. Try the Xangos for dessert- deep fried cream cheese crunchiness! Awesome! Cant say enough good things about his restaurant!
(5)Mick B.
El Rancho Grande tries really hard to be a upscaleTex/Mex restaurant, but in our experience it delivered largely bland and forgettable meals. Example being- I like good Mexican rice and what was served with my meal looked like rice that had been boiled in slightly colored water- with absolutely nothing else added! The complementary chips appeared to be baked rather than fried and the salsa served was on the thin and runny side; pretty much what you'd come up with if you watered down a Pace or other mass produced jar-salsa. Our server was very nice and attentive so that was a plus. The interior was well decorated but didn't look much different than thousands of other similar places.I felt that it was nice that El Rancho Grande has Dos Equis amber beer on tap and you can get it in a 32 ounce size or a pitcher in addition to a normal size glass. It appeared that this, at least on the night when we were there, was the place to take your young children and have them run around causing the servers to try their best to not run over the small fry while waiting tables. Overall our experience was not bad but we felt that there was not a lot memorable at El Rancho Grande to draw us back for another visit.
(2)Susan T.
The complimentary chips/salsa is fantastic! Staff is great, friendly and when asked gave us their honest opinion. My friend had the red sauce but the waitress told her about another red sauce that had a bit more flavor and a little kick, she swapped sauces and loved the dish. The rice is a bit bland but drinks are great and decor is wonderful. Great place for Tex-Mex
(4)Veronica P.
Good tasty salsa, friendly service and really fast -and margaritas are delish- The atmosphere is family oriented but just what u would expect. Overall great experience and authentic food!
(5)Sandra M.
My fajitas were bad...tasteless. The meat had a funny color and I felt I was eating funky meat, so I couldn't finish my meal. My husband's carne asada was pretty good and my son enjoyed his chimichangas. No one ate the beans though, because they also had a funny taste. I think they need to work on their cooking...maybe get another cook. Also, the prices were not reasonable. We are from Chicago, and have payed much less for similar meals at great Mexican restaurants in the city. Sure, they are probably the only Mexican restaurant in New Buffalo, but next time, we'll keep driving to Niles.
(3)Joshua D.
There really wasn't anything wrong per se, it just isn't very good. Bland is the way to out it. Our server was great and food came quickly but I don't think this was much to write home about.
(2)Tom A.
We waited fully 10 minutes not to be seated but to be aknowledged by anyone at the hostess stand. We were actually turning to leave when someone finally asked us if we'd been helped. A Hostess finally arrived and wordlessly led us to a table in the bar, next to a gaggle of loud drinking men following the Tigers game on TV. Asking to be moved to a quieter spot consumed another 5 minutes. Our chips and salsa did not move with us. Our family is vegetarian, and we usually find that Mexican restaurants offer the menu flexibility to accomodate us. Not El Rancho Grande! Basically we were treated like freaks, and our server was powerless to help us. The service was basically solid once we ordered. Most annoying: A restaurant with $12-$25 entrees that uses paper napkins and plastic cups. Pretty much Pizza Hut table service. I guess there's room for another Mexican place in New Buffalo.
(1)Erin M.
Horrible all around!!! I was visiting my in-laws in New Buffalo this past weekend and we decided to eat at this place....Bad idea! First of all I am from Berrien county, MI so I have eaten at this place MANY MANY years ago. It was half way decent then...Now it's not. Our first "warning" sign was that it was Ship and Shore Festival weekend and the parking lot was basically empty at lunch time...If people didn't want to eat at the festival this place is right down the road...And it was pretty empty inside. We walked up to the empty hostess stand and waited at least 4 minutes before a waitress/server/hostess greeted us and told us to wait a few more minutes for a table when there were MANY free. While we were waiting THREE people left the restaurant before eating-one of those people was seated at the bar!! How bad does service have to be to leave when you're seated at the bar!!!? In addition, while we were waiting to be seated a line of approx. 8 people formed behind us so you know the wait staff saw there were people waiting and completely ignored us all. Once we were seated it took forever to get a server (the hostess!) and then the "vegetable" grande burritos my husband and I ordered had VEGETABLE MEDLY in them! NO JOKE! The red sauce on top of the burrito (the "grande" part of the name) tasted like ketchup! The vegetables were carrot squares, peas, and cut green beans just like from a can or bag of frozen vegetables....I was very surprised to say the least. This "grande vegetable burrito" cost approx $8 and was HORRIBLE. I could have gotten a lot better one from Qdoba or Chipotle. Finally-the waitress/hostess took a long time to come back and check on our table and when we were leaving I saw a "comment" box without any comment cards! How annoying! Like I mentioned-I am a Michigander and have eaten at this place before but it is AWFUL now. Do not waste your money!
(1)Marc P.
I should have listened to the other reviews. Service weak and food could have all been from a can. Tourist trap for sure. I have heard the Margaritas are good.
(1)Michael M.
We showed up for dinner and my wife wanted to wash her hands. She went into the bathroom and there was no soap. Am employee came in to clean the restroom and she said that they were out of soap and has been all day. We asked to speak with the manager and asked if this the bathroom that the employed use and she said yes. We informed her that her employees could not wash their hands. She was irritated about being asked about the lack of soap so we decided to not eat there and will not go back. Who wants to eat at a restaurant where employees cannot wash their hands.
(1)Sharon S.
Monster portions good tastes. Service was ok but our waitress was learning so hopefully will be quicker next time.
(5)Mary R.
This is the second time we dined here. I was much more impressed the first time than this past Saturday. My husband and I arrived for dinner. The restaurant was not busy. We were seated immediately, and a man brought us chips and salsa a few minutes later. Then things went downhill. We sat there for about 20 minutes before a waiter/waitress came to greet us and take a drink order. We did not know who our server was, but servers did walk by, and no one stopped by our table. There was a waitress with long blonde hair that didn't seem to be busy with diners, but was busy flirting with the two bartenders, the bar being right across from us. I finally caught the eye of one of the hostesses, and motioned that we had been sitting there a while. She rushed to us, apologized, and said she would find our waitress. Lo and behold, it was girl that was spending her time talking and laughing with the bartenders! The waitress acted like nothing was wrong and never apologized. By this time, we weren't as interested in the meal as the mood had changed. Our meal came out in minutes once we ordered, which made us think the food is all prepared in advance. The rice and beans were average. The hostess apologized again on our way out, but I think we should have been given an adjustment on our bill or a free dessert. Something. Don't think we will be going back anytime soon. Staff seemed to be more interested in their social game with each other than being focused on their job and providing a pleasant dining experience.
(2)Geoff L.
While on vacation we thought we would check out el rancho grande. Don't waste your time. The complimentary salsa, if you can even call it that, was basically Campbell's tomato soup and the chips were stale. I had the chicken tacos which had no taste and my wife had a burrito that was also bland. We asked for some queso dip and were informed they didn't have it. What Mexican restaurant doesn't have queso dip? You really have to try to make Mexican this bad. For this, one star.
(1)Rebecca C.
Should have checked Yelp before going... The food was overpriced and very underwhelming. The rice was bland, as was the entree feature. Enchiladas Mexicanas were incredibly dry and had next to no flavor. I left quite a bit on my plate and did not ask for a to-go box. Disappointing experience. Only positive was the drinks. Bottled beer and a strawberry margarita went down just fine.
(1)Brandon W.
If you don't like spicy food, or tasty food, this is the place for you. I'm not sure how someone can mess up enchiladas and beans, but they've done it. On a positive note. The chips were good and so were the French fries.
(1)C Y.
Grande flavors make up the food of El Rancho Grande! One of the best Mexican dishes I've ever had was the Don Pedro special. It had luscious, hearty, tender steak cooked with a tangy sauce and bacon. Served with some queso fundido with some not-so-spicy chorizo and tortillas for a wrap. Fast and friendly service. And the chips, bottomless. I don't know anyone who wouldn't go back there.
(5)Tommy A.
Wow! I don't give out many one star reviews, I know the power they can have and I take hurting somebody's business with a bad review seriously. However, this place deserves it. On a power packed Michigan week my buddy and I were just two FIPS returning back home. I already think Redamak's is a joke so we tried this Mexican place. Some of our 6th senses went off right away, but the place did kind of look cute so we thought it had a chance. I'll start with the good. Our waitress was extremely nice, and the chips and salsa were decent. Ok, now the bad. My buddy ordered the tostada special, and I got the 3 mini burritos, both with beans and rice. When it comes out the first thing I go for is the rice. Now it looked old, in fact it was old and reheated, I know what I'm looking at. Then the next bite was the beans, for me the crown jewel of bad eating experiences. These beans were either rotten or something contaminated them. Ever pour yourself a bowl of breakfast cereal with milk and take a bite just to realize the milk was spoiled? Well that's pretty much what these beans tasted like, but even worse cause the taste stayed with you longer than spoiled milk does. I must of asked my buddy 10 times, can refried beans really go bad like this? Is there cream in them? I don't believe there is any dairy in refried beans. Too make a long story short, this was atrocious. Lucky my mini burritos didn't have beans in them. Although they were pretty forgetable with a ranchero type sauce that obviously came from a can. By buddy wasn't as lucky, the tostada had beans layered on the bottom. It was quite comical watching him try to scrape the meat off the top of them and just eat what he could. We're not complainers so we didn't say anything to the nice waitress. In fact it didn't help that she was so nice cause we didn't want to break her heart with how God awful the place was. Anyhow the place looked neat, and maybe it is good for a Margarita, but frankly I beleive the sooner it goes out of business the better for everyone involved. No good!
(1)Nancy H.
First time we had ever been there. The place was busy. The wait staff was all very young and seemed confused. We sat for a long time before someone came for our drinks. After about 15 minutes, two other tables were seated next to us. Then our food order was taken. However both other tables got their food about 10 minutes before my husband and I got ours. We both got tacos. Steak and chicken. Corn and flour shells. Both of us agreed they had very little meat and almost no flavor. One of my husband's steak tacos appeared to mostly be burnt bits scraped from the grill. However, the worst thing happened in the restroom. When I went to wash my hands there was no soap. One if the waitstaff was also I there so I told her. She said "I told them a while ago but it takes forever to fix anything around here". So now I know that not only can I not wash my hands but neither can the waitstaff when they leave the washroom. Yuck!!!!
(1)Scott S.
Solid Mexican place we ate at while staying in New Buffalo. There's nothing here you haven't had before and it's certainly not as bad as the reviews would lead you to believe.
(4)Jen M.
Not a bad joint at all. The food was decent, we had no complaints. Strong, inexpensive margaritas! Great atmosphere with fun decor, though I would like to note that we sat in a booth with stained glass depicting a cowboy shooting a bison (New Buffalo's Mascot)! Our server, Emily, was excellent! She truly went above and beyond to make our experience at El Rancho memorable. We'll be back next time we're in town.
(4)Cathy L.
Amazing! Delicious salsa! Fresh! Fajitas were delicious! Great service too. We are on vacation in the area and ate here last year! We will come back every year! The kids meals were wonderful!
(5)Stacey W.
Friendly staff, Great place to work, Owner is really nice and keeps an eye out for his employees and customers. In walking distance from the beach/town
(4)James P.
Attempted to eat at two other restaurants only to discover they had an hour wait time. Found the parking lot at El Rancho three quarters full so gave it a shot. Stood at the head of the line 20 minutes as a party of 8 only to loose priority to 4 other groups coming in behind us....parties of 12,6,4 and 7 with no reservations. Not the way to win over customers. The 4th party given priority over us was the last straw - out we walked. As a periodic customer for 8 or so years I've scratched this hole off my list. Was our third choice anyway as the food is edible but unremarkable.
(1)Amy T.
Yuck. I do not recommend anything here, poor food, poor service.
(1)Elizabeth F.
Not as bad as some people are making it out to be. Pitcher of margaritas for $20, fresh chips and salsa. Service was good. For being your only choice of a Mexican restaurant in new buffalo, wasn't bad at all.
(4)Jane B.
Visited El Rancho with my sister last week. We ordered the ubiquitous margaritas and they were good. Our waitress was very attentive and sweet. I ordered the beef taco dinner; my sister also had the taco dinner, but with pork filling. We also split a pork enchilada. The tortilla chips and salsa were tasty, the enchiladas were yummy, but both orders of tacos were bland. Maybe the taste is geared toward the myriad of children who frequent the area in the summer? Even so, I'll definitely return
(3)John P.
Ambiance is okay, and the service is good. I'd even say the drinks are good. The food is not good. It looks okay but isn't even acceptable as americanized tex-mex. It's just bad. Mole flavorless, shrimp microscopic, everything underseasoned and underspiced. Bland. I hadn't checked yelp first, I'm not at all surprised to see a 2.5 rating, my thoughts exactly.
(2)Ashley S.
I'm surprised by the disappointing reviews as I've only had delicious food and a positive experience. Perhaps they've made some changes since the last review posted. Food: The chips are on the greasy side, but they are so tasty. The salsa has a medium spiciness and is a thin style vs. chunky. I get the veggie burrito and my husband the seafood tacos. El Rancho Grande makes my favorite burrito suizo. I was able to customize my burrito to swap out different ingredients, but when my husband asked for one taco of each seafood offerings rather than picking one for all three tacos he was told that he could only pick one. To drink, he ordered Malbec which he said was surprisingly good and he was served a huge portion. I had a margarita which was good, but not very strong and with ice only took about 4 sips before it was gone. Service: The service was good. It took our server a little while to check in on us when we arrived and we had to ask for waters, but overall it was fine. Dining: This place has one of my favorite Mexican restaurant decors. There are knick-knacks everywhere and, my favorite, a saloon style room with Indian statue. Really great ambiance. This will always be a destination when in town for the tasty food.
(4)Brenda K.
Terrible experience. I decided to try this place as I drive past it nearly every day. Turns out, people weren't lying. The food is literally tasteless. You're better off making your own Mexican food at home with mediocre ingredients and good ol' taco bell seasoning packets. Seriously. Don't go here. You'll be disappointed. Rios down the road is 5784398 million times better.
(1)Cassy C.
Visited here last night with my family lets just say we all left EXTREMELY disappointed. The food was so bland an just blah it was the first time I've ever had to season my food at a Mexican place. We even ordered dessert to try to make up for the monotone dinner and I got the red velvet rum cake on special and it was neither rum nor red velvet, it had a blackened bottom and cheap shortening frosting. Not to sure a return visit will occur here. Worth the drive to go down a few miles to hacienda.
(1)Jeffrey L.
This is a great place, always friendly great chips and salsa and the food is great.
(4)Armando A.
The food is amazing, its not entirely Mexican, I would say is Hispanic food because they have US (Burritos, Chimichangas) Spain, Mexico and Colombia. the Chicken soup is from free range hen, you can taste is not regular in store bought chicken. I tried the Mole and Carne asada, meats, but The meat is tender, even the if you ask it well done, dessert are few but delicious, not too sweet, the flan was authentic, I was on winter, I bet is crowded during summer. The ambience is wonderful Texan-Mexican decorations, and the waitstaff are really nice
(5)Dennis D.
One word: disgusting. I was forced to go here after the place I originally wanted to dine was closed off due to a festival. I would have been better off starving. The "authentic" claim by this "restaurant" is dubious at best. Anything tomato-based tasted like it came from a can or jar or paste. The salsa, at least I think it was supposed to be salsa, tasted like it was infused with Prego or Ragu. I have had bad mexican food, but at it's worst it still had a little kick. Not so with this place. The food was so bland I felt like I could have been eating sawdust. Even oversalting it didn't even help. As for the margaritas... You'd think that you can't screw a margarita up. They did. I honestly came here expecting to down a few of these and enjoy a vacation buzz. The first and only one tasted funny. I can only assume that the bartender didn't know how to make a real margarita and used a mix. Whatever mix he used, it wasn't very good. The only thing I found redeeming was the service. As this was my only visit, I could assume it was a fluke (given the other reviews). Unless there is absolutely no other place to eat, and you have no food at home, and you've not eaten for several days, you should avoid this place.
(1)David T.
Terrible experience that the good could never outweigh. First, we were told they had a table for us and as they sat us, they tried to take the table back and then changed their minds. I ordered fajitas without onions. I received onions in my fajitas. I sent them back and received the same plate of fajitas except they had picked the onions out except not all of the onions. Only the ones on the top. We will never go back.
(1)Frederick W.
Awful. I had a taco salad with ground beef. The meat was gray, the color of oatmeal and mushy as well....everyone at my table had horrible food. I am not a picky foodie who finds fault everywhere. This is really a horrid place. Driving home, I honestly felt like purging. Others the same The only reason we went there is because it was the only restaurant with room...all the other places were full with lines of people waiting outside (a weekend with some events in New Buffalo)
(1)David N.
yep .... I have experienced much better Mexican food. Not many choices in New Buffaflo, MI but I will steer clear of this place for now on.
(2)Natalie S.
Have ordered multiple things off the menu and have not found one single delicious thing. And my chips always arrive cold. On to the next...
(1)B K.
Pretty awful. Went once and will never gain...Overpriced and not very good food...Go to Rios much better and actually worth the money!!
(1)Michael U.
Great atmosphere. Food is good. Very great service. New Buffalo has several places for fine dining - this is not one of those. A great place to drink, watch games and get decent food. PS - The parking is ample
(4)Mike K.
I'm a first time Yelp reviewer, but I had to warn others before they wasted their time waiting for marginal food and typically marginal service. We've eaten here several times over the years and it's never been much more than average, but we had a taste for Mexican food, so decided to try again. After being told it would be a 15-20 minute wait we waited 30-40 minutes before inquiring again on our status from the hostess. She then told us the kitchen got backed up and an additional 20 minute plus wait was in our future. It was interesting to then see a booth sit empty for 20-25 minutes a few steps away. The owner stood there next to the hostess station most of the night observing, leaning on a wall, but not lifting a finger for his over worked staff. The one bar tender (serving 100+ people) tried to keep the patrons hydrated and also tried to help us get a table, but to no avail. Even she couldn't help, or get her owner/manager to lift a finger to help her, other waiters, or us get a table. We left after about 65 minutes never to return again for the marginal food. The oblivious and uninterested manager says it all for me. Good luck if you frequent this place. You won't be seeing this reviewer there again. Oh and by the way he wasn't very concerned when we expressed our dissatisfaction as we walked by him to leave.
(1)Matt B.
I ordered a pork burrito with no tomatoes. I received a chicken burrito with tomatoes. This was not a good sign. Nice interior, but weak food prep makes it a place of no return. Seems like a place I could drink at--the margaritas were pretty good--but our food was underwhelming, with little flavor and no creativity. I got my chicken burrito returned quickly, and a new pork burrito was just as quickly brought to me. Almost too quickly, you would say. What's worse, if you order a burrito without tomato, you apparently get meat and lettuce in a burrito shell. No cheese, no beans, just meat and lettuce. And the massive rush of heat and steam that came from inside it when I cut into it made me wonder if a microwave was in heavy use in the kitchen.
(2)Beth L.
The nearby Redamaks was packed as usual so we opted for this place. Next time I'll just wait or use Yelp to choose another place. Hostess was nice but that's where the service ended. It's like our server couldn't wait to get our table wrapped up so he could get back to the 10 other wait staff hanging by the bar and host stand. The weren't short on staff, just on service. And yes, I'm partially cranky because he never did show up with my second margarita. Speaking of, the margarita was ok size for $6.75, or so I thought, until I realized what percentage of the glass was ice... 4 sips and it was gone, WAY before the entree arrived. Yes, I loves me some margaritas, so disappointing to say the least. The food - meh. Guacamole was shiny - not exactly sure how they managed that. Red sauce was fairly bland. The kids' "chicken strips" looked like deep fried worms. Not sure what kind of scraps they used for those but yuck. Again, next time I'll look around. There are definitely more places in the area than the always busy Redamaks and this place...
(2)William N.
I had lunch here once and was underwhelmed. Decor is "festive" and I didn't have a problem with our waitress, who I thought was pretty nice. I just felt the food was marginal at best. I can't imagine coming back here again.
(2)Katie H.
When driving to Detroit, this is my winter lunch spot when Redamak's is closed. Tacos Duncan are freaking awesome (and when you order it they always fawn over your daring... it's meant to be really hot but I honestly don't think it's that bad). Like any decent Mexican joint, you get unlimited chips and salsa. If I wasn't always driving when I come here I'd love to try the margaritas. Make sure you take a peak at their shrine to The Duke.
(4)Anna W.
eh. My boyfriend and I stopped here after a 3 day, 280 mile relay race in northern Michigan where we had very little to eat and we were exhausted and hungry by the time we got here. EVERYTHING should have tasted good to us. I had been here once before, and thought the food was okay and was willing to give them another chance. The decor is fun, but it is definitely touristy and tex-mexy (read: unauthentic and tries very hard). The chips and salsa were very good, so I thought we were off to a good start. I ordered 3 tamales and they came with beans and rice. I thought this was a pretty good deal for $10, since tamales typically come ala carte. Well, the tamales were the worst I've ever had. They were dry, cracked, and crunchy in some areas. Truthfully, they were hardly edible they were so dry. I think they perhaps had been frozen? I'm not sure but I will never order them again. I didn't even touch my rice because the bite I had tasted greasy and not super flavorful. The beans (typically one of my favorite parts of a mexican feast) tasted the way frying oil does when it gets old. All in all, I was extremely disappointed.
(2)Jack P.
If you happen to be passing through New Buffalo, MI, keep on driving. We paid a visit to this place on a Saturday evening. We were greeted by some catatonic young staff members, sat in this 4X6 foot room which looked like the former foyer (now that the main entrance is in the back), and promptly ignored for a good amount of time after that. I heard the couple behind us who was leaving say that they would rate the setting and decor at 100 and the service at 5. They didn't even rate the food! We did finally get some drinks and a menu. Doug's margarita tasted like it was made with bathroom water. They gave me a can of Tecate, a slice of lime, but no glass. I guess I was supposed to figure out how to shove that lime in the little can hole. The promise to return and take our orders/bring a glass went unfulfilled for about another ten minutes. It may have been that they were understaffed, or that our having Mexican was not meant to be, but we decided to pay the bar tab and leave. I warned some people who were coming in about the service, and they should NOT expect any, and they high-tailed it back out to their car. We did end up having excellent Mexican in a very well run and delightful place called The Red Arrow Roadhouse, further down the Red Arrow highway in Union Pier. I would highly recommend the place. I probably will never get to taste the food at "Rauncho Grande." those bad service experiences spoil me for good. As as long as there are other choices, I'll try something else. (See my review of "La Scarola" for a completely different outcome of what began as the same problem as we had at the Ranch)
(1)Joe P.
Do yourself a favor and do not stop. Resist the urge of trying this place out because of it's fancy exterior. The service was barely tolerable. The food was completely uneventful. I could not wait to leave. But wait, I had to because my waitress was scarce. I ordered the chiminchangas. Out came 2 little chimis with a small pile of the most boring rice I have ever eaten, It was flavorless. The one small thing that tasted okay was the oh so tiny dollup of quacamole on top of my chimis. I have 2 words of advice for the principals of this restaurant. Start Over.
(1)Mark A.
Really liked this place. It is a little pricey but the decorations and atmosphere were very authentic. Would go back again!
(4)Susan G.
This is the absolute worst Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten at and I think others agree -- Check out this place's parking lot on a busy weekend and you'll see very few cars in it and the reason is the food is just poor.
(1)Lyn B.
EL RAUNCHY GRANDE!!!! I am SOOOO glad to have found so many people on Yelp who agree with me that this place is sooooo bad!!!! If you know and appreciate good Mex. food do NOT go! Overpriced, small portions, stale tostada shells, microwaved rubber steak....ETC. NO response from call to management until I started posting the hard truth all over their Facebook page LOL! Waitress was nice, food and margaritas TERRIBLE and I did give them THREE chances....the only reason I went the 3rd time was because a group was going and I had no choice! I will NEVER darken their doorway again and I suggest you don't either.
(1)Andrew G.
Service is always OK, atmosphere is excellent, and if you get the right dish and know what to order you'll have a really good meal - downsides are that every dish is not good, some are outright plain, they are overpriced for the quality they provide, etc, etc. If it were not for their shrimp over rice with mexican garlic toast dish I wouldn't go back... however if I judge just off that dish alone... it's a four star experience.
(2)