Avila’s El Ranchito

This is a great Mexican spot! We usually like to stop here for dinner on our way home from a long fun day at the beach. It’s great for families, patio seating, and a good menu. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve eaten here, and always get great service. Another bonus is the many TV’s throughout in case there’s a good game on that we don’t want to miss. We’ll be back!

The worst quality control ever! I placed a pick up order over the phone for an enchilada plate with two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. And a kids chicken taco meal plain chicken only with a lemonade. They told me 10 minutes, because it wasn’t that busy. I showed up 15 minutes later and the hostess told me to grab a seat is going to be a few minutes. 15 minutes later they come by to take my payment. 5 minutes after that they bring my food. So I leave and make my way home. I get home open up my bag and lovely salsa spilled all over the top of my plates, they didn’t put the lid on right thats problem #1, after cleaning up the salsa off my plates, problem #2 my kids chicken taco is slathered with cheese and it’s melted all over it, so I can’t even take it off, my child cannot have dairy products, so thanks now it’s the dogs dinner. Problem #3 I cut into my enchiladas and guess what that’s wrong too. I have shredded beef enchiladas. Not what I ordered. I opened them up and there’s not even any cheese in them at all just some chewy overcooked stringy meat substance. Problem #4 they didn’t even give me any utensils or napkins, what if I wasn’t going home? Am I supposed to eat with my hands? Problem #5 they didn’t even give me my child’s lemonade and I didn’t realize it until we were halfway home and my son said he was thirsty. Complete fail. Not one thing in my order was right! Not one thing!

Tried this place for taco Tuesday… was not impressed. Buffet was blah. Mushy chicken and decent beef tacos, chicken taquitos (which they ran out of an replaced with some tostadas) and burritos, and of course sides. The chips, watery guacamole sauce and salsa were good. Would maybe try regular menu, but no more taco Tuesdays.
There’s not very many tables, so after 6:45 PM it’s standing room only. Okay dinner for only $ 5.

Came here yesterday after a nice day at the beach. Nice restaurant have both outside and inside seating. We were greeted right away, decided to sit inside. We were served yummy chips and salsa (: I decided to order some chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce. Portions were big! Beans and rice were very good. The only thing I did not like was the tomatillo salsa was too salty. Other than that everything was good.

Avila’s soup is delicious. Two people and one kid, no drinks, yet you spend $ 50! Please, it is Mexican food,

Came here for lunch on a Saturday. Not too crowded so we got seated quickly which was great. Order 2 margaritas and lunch. One order of veggie fajitas and one Azteca burrito. The fajitas came with 2 tortillas and when I asked for more, they aid it would be an additional charge. They were already $ 14 for veggies and them you want to charge more for more tortillas. Ridiculous, every other place I’ve ever been to brings more as needed. Also charged $ 3 to substitute shrimp for chicken so the burrito was about $ 15. Not worth the money and I’m very disappointed they would charge more for tortillas. Food was ok but not for that amount.

I have been to this location many times for the all you can eat Taco Tuesday deal. Great food for a great price, you can’t beat that! There isn’t a lot of seating so I usually go before the dinner rush hour or else it is hard to find a seat. They usually have sports games playing at the bar too.

Janine and the entire Newport Beach staff is absolutely amazing!
Never ever have I had service so welcoming, friendly and kind. The experience was so much more than mediocre thanks to them!
Thanks for the amazing food, SERVICE AND HOSPITALITY, and enjoyable night.
Again, STRONGLY recommend!

Taco Tuesday here was so bomb. You can’t go wrong for $ 5 buffet of Mexican food. Margaritas are really strong and cheap, which is another plus. The vibe is young and fun. The music is very good and they also have live music too. Definitely a good Taco Tuesday to go to if you have the chance and a lot of fun. Would recommend this place 100%.

The food was good however our waitress was very rude. We were greeted by everyone in the restaurant except from our waitress. She had a sour attitude. We were the first ones there and we were served after the people that came in after us. She was a brunette with red lipstick and a black shirt. Never again will I want to come to this location.

The food here is pretty good. It is a fun place with sweet service. On Tuesday nights there is live music for a lively taco Tuesday! Good place to hang out and chill with friends. Very strong margaritas (a positive) with a reasonable price. Been coming here since college at UCI and love it.

I always love the warmth of El Ranchito and this is one of the original locations. It is mostly bar with larger seating outside and a smaller section inside. I like that they always have quick service, delicious warm chips and good salsa. A good bean and cheese burrito does it for me and does not disappoint. Large windows look outside, which is great for people watching. Quick service, friendly people, good food!

Came for Taco Tuesday, its hard to beat all you can eat for $ 5. I wasnt abel to take full advantage of the taco thing since there were onions mixed into the meat. But they had bean & cheese burritos and jimmy changas which just about made up for the taco situation. I’d totally come back. Oh I preferred the green guac salsa… and the chips.

A Classic!
Taco Tuesday is the best deal in town.
Menudo on Sundays.
Avila’s soup is delicious.
Service at the bar was on point.
Thanks Jen & Michelle!

Pretty good Mexican food. I have eaten at this Newport Beach location many times over the years. The Taco Tuesday gets pretty busy. The food is slightly Americanized but still tasty. Very good enchiladas. Salsas are mild but tasty too. A bit too much cheese on everything. One thing to know about Ranchito is that each different location is run by different members of the Avila family so some locations have better food than others.

I went here twice for the $ 5 unlimited tacos on Tuesday (after 5pm). Make sure to bring cash! There weren’t really many places to sit/​all the seats were taken. I thought the food was ok. There was chicken and beef but the meat was kinda mushy and not that tasty and I got tired of eating the food faster than getting full, and my friends felt the same way. I mean it’s good for the price, but I think the food tastes alright. It’s not horrible, but it’s not the best tacos.

I cannot even give it one star. I ordered shrimp and steak fajitas and they accidentally delivered it to the table next to us LITERALLY 10 mins after we ordered it… it sat with them for at least 5 mins before they got the attention of the server who quickly rushed it back to the kitchen…5 mins later they bring out the SAME platter and put it on our table!!! The guy who originally received it said jokingly «I only had a couple bites» I jokingly said to our waiter «wink wink we didn’t see anything» he just gave us a dirty look.
Aside from the fact we were served a meal that sat with another patron before we got it… the shrimp was spoiled and the gray «steak» CRUMBLES we got were so shameful I couldn’t even attempt to eat any part of this dish. I’ve never been a food complainer but being served this rotten filth made me feel inclined to warn people… unless you’ve had 4 margaritas, you will wish you never ate here!!!

After reading some the reviews, I thought this was going to be a good place for Mexican food. Not so much. It wasn’t horrible but didn’t live up to some reviews. Firstly, the salsa brought with the chips was like tomato juice with chunky spring onions and jalapeño. Way too hot for us. I just dipped a chip, I usually scoop. Secondly the fajitas had very little steak, it was mostly peppers. Though well seasoned, I paid for steak not a platter of peppers. The steak on the platter was chopped small so you had to dig through the peppers to find the meat. Ordered sangria that was not good at all. Hubby liked the guacamole.
Bottom line, won’t be returning.

$ 5 AYCE taco Tuesday’s — served buffet style after 5:00 PM.
First impressions:
* You pay (cash) at the door, they give you a wristband. There’s another person that does ID check and gives you a 21+ wristband.
* I had noooo idea this restaurant had a bar – I thought it was an ordinary taco/​Mexican food joint. but with its location in Newport, I should have known better LOL
* music was LOUD but they played hip hop, which my friend enjoyed
* it’s crowded and seating seems to be scarce (I came at 7 PM) so have someone stake a table out while you’re in line for tacos
Food:
* there’s a server that does your soft tacos for you — carnitas or chicken? I think
* assortment of taquitos, mini hard shell tacos (which was actually my favorite!!!), tostadas, bean and cheese/​veggie burritos, eye. Makes the $ 5 ayce tacos an even better deal!
* also has a regular chips and salsa bar
* I ordered a house margarita ($ 6) and it was so strong — but good. Their coronas were $ 5, I believe.
Service:
Sort of nonexistent, besides for the girls who go around and take your drink orders if you haven’t already gotten it at the bar
We’ll be coming back for all of our taco Tuesday needs ~~~

Solid taco Tuesday. $ 5 AYCE pork&chickrn tacos, rice, beans, bean&cheese burritos, pork taquito & chips n salsa!
There was a live band when I went this past week playing songs u want to sing and dance to.

No Taco Tuesday specials on a Tuesday. Laters.
Hello Maribel, $ 5.00 all you can eat tacos after 5pm was not mentioned once by one of your waitresses, and neither was it on the menu. Instead, we were guided to the $ 10.00 taco plate. Please advertise it better. Thanks.

$ 5 all you can eat Taco Tuesday’s! On Tue nights the food is served buffet style, there’s a taco guy that serves chicken and beef tacos. I prefer the chicken but the beef is good two. The meat is sort of wet so they are messy to eat but there’s utensils so it’s okay. You dish up your own beans, rice, taquitos, burritos, and hard shell tacos. There’s also chips, salsa, green sauce, onions and cilantro.
Most things are gluten free, I steared clear of the burritos, Mexican rice, and taquitos to be safe (not sure if they were flautas). I also skipped the green sauce bc I wasn’t sure about the dairy content, but everybody raves about the green sauce it’s suppose to be really good.
It gets loud and standing room only after 8pm. Dj also starts around 8. If you actually want to sit down and enjoy your meal make sure you get there by 7. If you’re looking for the crowded bar scene, go later.
Overall, it’s not the absolute best taco Tuesday I’ve ever tried but the amount food and options for the price is unbeatable.

My recommendation: the bean and veggie mini burritos at the $ 5 all you can eat taco Tuesday bar
$ 5 all you can eat Taco Tuesday bar is not a bad deal. The food is decent for the price. I liked the beef tacos more than the chicken. The beef is mixed with potatoes but the chicken was a little dry I thought – beef and chicken are your only two taco options. The taco bar also has Spanish rice, beans, mini burritos (the bean and veggie burrito was good), taquitos, and chips and salsa – a pretty nice variety.
Food wasn’t spectacular but good. It gets pretty crowded as the night goes on so if you don’t come early enough you may spend a lot of your night hovering for tables or eating standing up.

Unless you go to UCI, this place is probably going to be a snoozefest for you on Tuesdays. If you don’t live within walking distance, come early to get parking or face the wrath of post-​6PM street parking in Newport.
The $ 5 all you can eat includes some subpar Mexican food but who can really complain for such a low price… There’s also a variety of drinks specials ($ ⁴⁄₅ beers and margaritas) so there’s that too.
Taco Tuesday depends on the crowd and Avila’s definitely attracts the collegiates of Newport. Jam packed nights tend to coincide with the beginning and end of the quarter which explains the large influx on college kids. Management is pretty irregular on when they actually close down– sometime it’s as early as 10:30 and sometimes it goes until 11:00.
Overall: If you’re solely here for the food, I would definitely skip out on this place and head somewhere else like Taco Rosa where you can get amazing shrimp and lobster tacos.

Their taco tuesday is legit. A big group of my nursing school friends came here to celebrate and it was perfect for us. Pay the $ 5 at the entrance and unlimited tacos, burritos, taquitos, and chips/​salsa all night. Their drink specials are awesome– $ 7 skinny margaritas!
There were plenty of seating and the crowd was cool. Only thing is the bar is $ 20 credit card minimum — just FYI.