La Rancherita

Sad to say this place is no longer in business. Too bad best Mexican in town. My wife and I went on Monday and place was gone.

The only thing fresh tasting is the Guacamole and Platinum tequila. The food tasted like frozen Mexican meals you can buy at the store.

Outstanding food! Items ordered this trip:
Chimichanga
Chicken Flautas
Dip Sampler
The Chimi’s were fantastic and filling. The accompanying rice was well-​cooked and tasted delicious.
Chicken Flautas were fried well and arranged nicely on the plate. The taste was phenomenal and went well with cheese dip and guacamole.
The cheese dip was a little salty, but not overbearing. The highlight was the guacamole. Made fresh, the chunks of veggies made the dip come alive and the avocados were ripe and tasted great. I would be a little disappointed at the portion if I ordered the guacamole live, which is made fresh at your table. The dip could have been a little larger. Maybe it was because I was really craving fresh, good guacamole.
The facility is nice and somewhat upscale. The atmosphere is lively and fun. The wait staff is attentive, accommodating, and friendly.
Overall a great place that we will definitely be back to!
They are very accommodating on substituting items.

We stopped by nc to fly out on vacation. The hotel recommended a Mexican place, but it wasn’t opened until dinner so we searched for an alternative. La Rancherita looked good! We got a free cheese dip for checking in on Unilocal,but that wasn’t the best part. The ingredients were so fresh on our tacos! The meat on everyone’s was well seasoned with a kick, and the service was great. My mom loved her marg. When we return, we will be sure to get the made at the table guacamole. Love love loved this place!

Burrito tastes good.

If you are for looking for a high end Mexican dining experience, this restaurant has it. The Atmosphere, the wait staff (we had Alex but they are all so nice) and Rene’ the manager who comes around to make sure everything is just right.
We started with a xx on tap and a Margarita. The beer was huge and only $ 5.75. The Margarita flavors are incredible, made with fresh ingredients and there had to be 2.5 shots in it, for only $ 9.95. We had the special Enfrijolades which featured 4 enchiladas (2 chicken and 2 shredded beef) and the Carnitas, where ithe pork was cooked to perfection and was all tender. These entrees were $ 9.50 and $ 11.50!!!
Incredible value and not the fast mexican you may be used to.
I also tried the sangria, which is made from 3 different wines and was really, really good.
This place is my new favorite.
Steve

Lived in southern California for ten years. Loved the Mexican food there and love it here. I am hooked on the fish tacos and carnitas tacos. Not the usual slop in most restaurants. Good ingredients, fresh herbs.
I keep coming back.

The two stars here are strictly for the decent food that they have. The food was not impressive, but it wasn’t bad either. Their live Guac was not that lively however, not that great to taste. The service here is HORRIBLE absolutely horrible. The entire restaurant was basically empty, but the hostess still made a face seating us. Like she was really doing us a favor. The server took forever to get our food, waited to ask for chips refill; would give us the chips and no salsa to go with it. I will never go back to this place, many other Tex-​Mex places available to eat at.

Brought family this time to rave reviews. Fajitas. Enchiladas. All excellent. Guacamole was amazing. Fourth visit and won’t be last. Still some things to try on menu

I give this restaurant 5 stars because one does not often find a chain mexican restaurant that has individuality and appears to make their dishes a step apart from other am/​mex restaurants.
We had the Al Pastor– wonderful pork in tacos with an unusual sauce and pieces of pineapple. Fabulous. We also had the vegetarian Relleno that had broccoli and other grilled veggies in it. Refreshing and good!
The waiter was a bit off (not the greatest follow thru) but the food was so fabulous I still give it 5 stars!

Everything was ok. The salsa was fresh and tasted good. I had the enchilada (one cheese, one chicken)
I won’t go out of my way to go here, but if I’m in the neighborhood, I would stop by.

I eat at this location of La Rancherita at least once a week… and prior to the last few weeks, I would have given them a 4 – 5 star rating. But lately one critical aspect of the meal is off — THE CHIPS.
But first, the good stuff…
Service is always good, sometime very good. The servers tend to be out on the floor most of time and they come by the table often, but no too often.
The food is the best Mexican (for your basic chain) of any I’ve had in the area. I’m a big fan of the lunch tacos. Great flavor. Served with beans (refried or black) and rice. Made with fresh ingredients and good portions for the money.
Seating never seems to be a problem, even when they are busy. I usually eat with a group of 3 – 4 from my office and we’ve never had to wait at lunch. Also, there’s decent outdoor seating as an option.
The SALSA is the best I’ve tasted at any of the Mexican restaurants in the area. Chunky, slight hot, slightly sweet. It tastes homemade. If it’s from a can/jar…I need to know the brand.
Now, about THE CHIPS…
When we first started eating at La Rancherita about 6 – 7 months ago, the chips were better. They were crisper, lighter & fresher tasting. Over our last 3 – 4 visit, they’ve been hit or miss. They are frequently dark, obviously cooked too long to the point of being slightly burnt with a oily taste. I’ve spoken to the manager about them and he explained that they are trying a different chip and the kitchen is still learning how long to cook them. Also, since the chips are typically cooked in advance… they can’t really prepare fresh ones. As I’ve said, they are hit or miss. But in my last four visits, they missed 3 of 4 times. And for me and my lunch companions, the chips and salsa are a critical element of eating at a Mexican restaurant. They really set the tone for the meal.
My regular lunch companions have suggested finding another regular Mexican joint, but I’ve suggested giving La Rancherita a chance to get this straight. Hopefully, they are working on this glaring issue.
It would be a shame for us to have to find a new place, because the location, price and food make it a great lunch time choice for us. But I’d rather eat Tostitos from a bag than the ones they are serving right now.
Update: The chips issue has been solved! The last two times I’ve eaten here the chips have been light and crispy. Also, I’ve tried a few more things on the menu and they’ve all been good.

Great little find in North Carolina! The food was fantastic! No wait on arrival, we were quickly guided to a table. The fajitas my husband ordered were mouth watering! I tried the number four which was ok. If I came back I would definitely avoid the ground beef, all the other meats were fantastic! Beer on tap was perfect and not too over priced.

Saturdays is $ 5 margaritas. We had the blue coconut and the mango, and the mango was good but mine, the blue coconut, was pretty strong. We went at a random time– 2pm, and sure enough, we waited nearly an hour for our food, which was decent, nothing special… but our waiter never came to check up on us. I’ll give it three stars for the $ 5 margaritas.

I’m happy to say that I’m increasing my previous 3 star review to a 4 star. I’ve been back a couple of times and I still don’t think the service is spectacular, but I haven’t had a rushed experienced or an intrusive waiter which is great. I’ve also tried other items on the menu including chicken tinga tacos and the spicy steak tacos which were both fantastic. I will continue to visit La Rancherita for all my Mexican cravings!

The only reason why I’m giving this restaurant two stars is because of the food. We came in here on a Sunday with a small group of people. I checked into Unilocal like I always do, and to my surprise I got a free cheese dip coupon! Yah! Cool. Free cheese dip.
Waiter came to the table and he seemed angry, like not even wanting to work. This was the gist of the entire evening. More glasses for our margaritas? Sorry… wait 10 minutes, remind them again, OK here are your glasses. More water for our guests? Sorry… wait 10 minutes, remind them again. We’re ready to order? Yes, after 20 minutes we are ready to order. I had to stand up and get the waiter to come over, and when he took our order he seemed annoyed and didn’t even want to be there.
Look, I understand people have bad days, but instead of making your customers have a horrible experience it is best to tell your manager that you need time away from customers, maybe go back and help someplace else in the kitchen, etc. If you are the manager helping customers (which one guest at the table wanted to complain to the manager, but we were afraid that the server _​was_​the manager), then act like a professional and do your job. Basic service was non-​existent which made the food not even a good experience.
Yes the food was very good. I won’t even get into it here because the service was so bad that you shouldn’t even go here to try the food.
Time for the bill! Wait ten minutes. When I got the bill and guess what was on the tab? Oh my $ 4 cheese dip that was free for checking in on Unilocal.The waiter removed it after asking him to (at this time we were on our second waiter, I guess the first one didn’t feel like working at all anymore).

Great shrimp chorizo tacos!!! I would have rated the joint higher had we only gotten those and the queso. I ordered the Baja fish tacos which lacked flavor and moisture. I recommend stopping in for date night… margaritas, queso, shrimp chorizo tacos, and maybe another blood orange margarita… Good luck amigo!

I’ve been going to Sol Azteca whenever co-​workers want to get Mexican for the past two years and it just doesn’t really do it for me. I’m surprised I hadn’t discovered La Rancherita earlier which is much better. The food and the ingredients there tastes better and fresher. I had the steak fajitas here and overall it was good though the meat was a little bit on the tough/​bland side. The chips and salsa come with the meal and are pretty good. The salsa actually has good substance and flavors to it and is not the usual watery tomato glop you get at other places. Also, if you check it via Unilocal you can get some equally yummy tasting queso for free as well.
Service is a bit underwhelming, but lunch prices are pretty good and the portions are large.
Food: 3.5÷5
Other: 3.5÷5 (Service: ³⁄₅ & Value: ⁴⁄₅)

My coworkers and I were craving Mexican, but our temporary office space is far away from our usual mexi lunch haunts. I searched nearby and found La Rancherita. Tried it last Friday and it was so tasty I went back today (Monday). It is in the Harris Teeter shopping center so plenty of parking. The restaurant is split up into 2 rooms — one with a nice looking bar (with TVs) and some booths, and a back room with more booths and tables. There was a party of 18 today, so this place can handle large groups. The salsa is chunky and flavorful — lots of fresh cilantro. The chips were cold but that was a minor issue.
I tried the following:
Chicken Enchiladas Jalisco (Two chipotle-​chicken and bean enchiladas topped with a dried-​chile red sauce, onion, cheese and guacamole salad). Really tasty. The guacamole tasted fresh, unlike the frozen stuff you get at other places. In fact, you can order guacamole and they will come and make it at your table. You can’t get fresher than that!
Veggie Sincronizada (Large grilled tortilla sandwich stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, onion, tomato, jalapenos, melted cheese, and garnished with avocado slices; served with rice). There was a nice amount of heat with the jalapenos. I switched the side of rice for beans and the beans were well spiced and a nice consistency (I don’t enjoy pale brown and runny refried beans).
Service was fast and very friendly. We’ve found our new lunch fav!

I love coming here in the summer and sitting outside. They have a special house made spicy salsa that is fantastic and the blood orange margaritas are definitely worth a try. My boyfriend and I like to split the fajitas but this last time we ordered the steak Fajita quesadilla. It was light on steak and the onions could’ve been cooked a little longer but good flavor and the rice was very tasty (as a side note I’d ask for the sour cream on the side if ordered, the put it on the lettuce for some reason – see photo).
We’ll keep coming back because it’s a great atmosphere, the food is delicious and we always get our money’s worth. The service is a hit or miss so take someone you enjoy spending time with in case of a slow server… Enjoy!