El Ranchito Latin Cuisine

Great Food!! Friendly service! Decided to come back with some friends and tried the combo#2 plate last night. Place was pretty busy. A little bit of a wait but not more than other places considering the size of the place. I'm now a fan of Pupusas. My friends had some combo #1 and some plantains. The Food did not disappoint. I think I found my new favorite place for dinner.

Very Surprised to read the negative reviews here. Visited this restaurant on the advice of several coworkers for the first time this past week and found the food to be exceptional! The restaurant is not a big chain restaurant so don't expect there to be 10 waiters on hand. As for the fluorescent lighting comment, I find it a bit petty to say the least. Our server ( the only one on hand by the way) was friendly and the food was great. Will definitely come back!!

Not good

Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience from the minute I walked in. The ambiance was poor - fluorescent lighting beaming down on you while you are trying to have a meal, feeling like you are in a cafeteria. The food was subpar at best, I had to ask for a drink refill, and upon finishing our meal, the server asked us to come up to the register and pay, and we were not ready to leave yet and it wasn't closing time. I will not be coming back nor recommending it to anyone.

Should have listened to RicoD

undoubtly the worst Latin cuisine I have had. Sorry other bloggers... this is pretty bad! not very authentic, salsa was poorly made from dollar store tin tomato's no seasoning. Chips well over cooked in a fryer that was low temp as they were very greasy and pockets of bubble on them were filled with oil. ( at least the oil was not realy old!) Poor presentation and veggies were from a frozen medly, and were over cooked and as mushy as refried beans should be. Combo plate was unpalatable, i was looking forward to the experience and thought the first comment was just someone who didnt know there Latin Cuisine (sorry!- will listen to you know!) I am not a paid critic yet am a cook and have worked in the restaurant buisness for 20+ years. two thumbs down!

Fresh & spicy - just don't call it "Mexican"

London, do you know how lucky you are? You've got some really outstanding Latin food options here in town - and El Ranchito is no exception! A fresh, varied menu of all sorts of Latin/Central and South American treats. I think we might live in the pupusa capital of Canada - and those served here a good (although the filling is perhaps a bit sparse). We came with a relatively large group and found the service was adequate but inattentive- and the decor is colourful and casual. We have lots on the menu we still need to try - so we'll be back! .... So we've been back, and I've adjusted my review. The food on our return visit, unfortunately, just wasn't up to the standard of our first visit. Not terrible, just not quite as good and thus we have to consider our experience with the place inconsistent.

Finnaly i can say something about the " mexican restaurants " in London Ontario This restaurant is not mexican, no recommended ! I am 100% mexican thats why i say so !

I don't have too much to say about this place, except that their flavours taste crisp and distinct. Sometimes at Mexican places (among others), it doesn't matter what you get, it sort of all taste the same. This was not the case here and everything tasted fresh. The chips and salsa were great, and they have a few different hot sauces on the table (which will always win my liking.) Need to visit again and try some other things. Update: Went there again last night, and the food was GREAT. The chicken was absolutely perfect with a nice char flavour on the outside and super tender and juicy on the inside. Don't get the steak if you're expecting something thick and juicy, because it will be charred and salty - however that is just the way my girlfriend likes her steak so we pretty much had a perfect meal.

Recommended

First thing I wanted to mention about El Ranchito is that it was recommended to me by several Mexican co-workers. That in itself should speak volumes about the authenticity of their menu. The food is varied, and a little daunting for those who don't know the cuisine (like myself). Luckily they have several sampler type options, so largely we all ordered different things and shared which worked out perfectly. The food was good, lots of strong flavours like I would expect. We were greeted with bowls of salsa and nacho chips as we sat down, and refills came several times. It is a fairly small place, though they have spaced out the tables well enough. Staff was very friendly and I would definitely go back.

Great experiece as usual. Mexican, Latin...

Great experiece as usual. Mexican, Latin, Lithuanian, who cares? A charming little place, and the food was wonderful. The service was very attentive, and the food came surprisingly quickly. The tables were almost all taken on a weekday night. Going back again soon!

Me and my girlfriend drove by here and decided to...

Me and my girlfriend drove by here and decided to stop in. To our surprise the restaurant was pretty busy and kinda small, but we were greated by a very friendly staff member and seated quickly. The bring you out some nacho chips with salsa but our chips were kinda on the stale side. We ordered and our meal came out pretty quickly, I got the Chimichanga's and my girlfriend got some kind of seafood taco bowl. My chimichanga's were very good but they were also very small for the price, like I honestly left hungry wanting some more tacos! My girlfriend on the other hand complained that her shrimp was not very fresh and the taco bowl was too greasy. For the price I would say what you get is not worth it at all but maybe I just have to try something else on the menu first, We might give it another shot, might not, but it was nothing special the first time thats for sure.

Notwithstanding the negative (and suspiciously...

Notwithstanding the negative (and suspiciously similar-worded) entries on here complaining about this place not being "Mexican", we found this place was amazing. High points included: * many varied drinks from Latin America, including coffees and Horchata, a kind of drink made from sesame seeds and rice * an interesting selection of foods from several countries in South and Central America * Laid back service, rustic decor * good portions and very filling food Drawbacks: * service can be slow and a bit disorganized, a bit too laid back Overall we highly recommend it.

Glad this is not a Mexican restaurant - it's...

Glad this is not a Mexican restaurant - it's Latin America (Central & South America of which Mexico is not a part of!!) Four of us with four different meals and everything was fabulous ... except for the service. There were only 2 people on tables on a Saturday. And, there is a veggie option with many of the dishes (yay!). We're already planning on what to have the next time we're there. Prices are amazing - terrific during these times.

I definitely have to agree with the Mexican...

I definitely have to agree with the Mexican. Expect a long wait time to receive your food. I was recently there and other customers received their food who arrived after my party and received their food first. While I too, waited over an hour for food to arrive. The waiter did not have much patience at all and this appeared evidently when i asked his what they had for alcoholic beverages as a list of beverages was not available and that on the menu consisited of only 3 types. I am in favor of supporting local london restaurants as opposed to restaurant chains. And so I try to offer my support and received untolerable service. El Ranchito is not capable of keeping up with its food orders with the amount of tables in the restaurant. Also good service, is keeping your customers "watered" - rather then sitting at an empty table with neither food or a drink in your hand.

My fiance and a couple of friends went to this...

My fiance and a couple of friends went to this Latino Restaurant last night (09.01.09) and her and I waited 15 min to get offered a drinks, we all got our drinks but her, then after another 10 min she got the worst Cesar we have ever seen in our lives, no rimming and even worst no garnish for a huge price (over 6 bucks) anyhow we ordered our dinner at the same time as the drinks, we decided to leave the El Ranchito after we didn't get served our meal after one hour. Anyways I spoke to the manager and he didn't even offer us anything to make it up, so we paid the drinks and left. Its been the WORST service in our lives. Painting job is HORRIBLE. Drinks are very EXPENSIVE. Waiter was RUDE. IF YOU READ THIS, WE DON'T RECOMMEND YOU TO VISIT THIS HOLE CALLED A RESTAURANT, THERE IS MORE OPTIONS IF YOU FEEL LIKE EATING MEXICAN FOOD.

It doesn't claim to be Mexican.... it's Latin

It is nothing like Mexican food... and it is DELICIOUS Latin food! Can't wait to go back!!! Here's how they describe themselves: Bienvenidos! Welcome to El Ranchito. We are proud to welcome you to a little taste of the many different cultures that make up the wonderful world of Latin America. Here you can sample a variety of authentic dishes from several Central and South American countires, cooked and prepared in their traditional recipes.

mariachi !!!!!

food was awesome, inner decor little ruff...but tha's part of it. Mariachi on weekends is a blast ....I love that little old dude with the boots and authentic outfit....fun to sing along

I love this restaurant!!!

The service was excellent, I love the latino atmosphere, and the food was amazing. We went home so satisfied we decided to come the next day for lunch and everything was just as great. I would definitely go back and eat there anytime. Best latino restaurant in London. 2 thumbs up!!

Pleasant & different experience

The menu offered a great variety of latin food. The atmosphere isn't the greatest -- but we didn't mind at all. Something different, with good variety, and great prices -- that was most important to us. The service was excellent. I would definetly go back

I love this placce and have been going here for a...

I love this placce and have been going here for a few years now. It is nice for a first date or lunch with friends. You couldn't ask for friendlyer staff, better food and for that mater the prices are great. I will go back time and time again.

authentic central american food

I love the food from Nicaragua and was very happy with my order,ordered over internet and was ready when i got there and everything was excellent. can't go to Nicaragua everytime i want to eat so am very happy El Ranchito is here to keep me happy till i go on next trip in winter. will be back often to eat there.