Avila's El Ranchito - Foothill Ranch

I ordered the shredded chicken enchiladas suizas and it was filled to the brim with bones. I would have said the food was tasty if it wasn't downright dangerous! I found not 1, not 2, but 5 chicken bones in my enchiladas. It was like eating through a minefield, I had to be extremely careful with every bite. Im actually nervous I may have swallowed a bone at this point eith how many came in my enchiladas. This place needs to do a significantly better job at preparing their food or it could seriously injure or even kill someone!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Enchiladas

Food is good, staff is great!! I'd hold off using the restroom unless it is an absolute emergency...

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

My kid took me to avilas the other day and wow i was amazed by their service. It truly is how they say it is. I love the food and the sever shaun was a lot of help

I usually go to the Avilas in Corona Del Mar or San Clemente. Those are consistently good. The one in Lake Forest is horrid, so I didn't know what to expect from the Foothill Ranch location, good or bad. I knew this was a very small hole in the wall location compared to all the others, but it didn't matter as long as the food and service were good. I called before driving over to confirm if they had potato tacos for taco Tuesday. They said they did and gave me the price. I was not advised via phone that you have to buy drinks in order to order taco Tuesday tacos. We would not have gone if we were told that, as we never order alcohol or soda. I sat down and ordered 2 tacos while I waited for my friend to arrive, while looking at the rest of the menu. We also planned to order some enchillada plates. The chips and salsa was pretty awful and tacos were just okay - pretty bland. My friend arrived and we were discussing what other items we were going to order when our server told us we had to order drinks. We told the server if that was the case, we would leave, because we only wanted waters. The server comes back with a manager insisting it's their policy we have to buy drinks to get the tacos. I asked him why they didn't tell me that then when I called and asked about their taco Tuesday right before I drove over. The manager tried to convince me I had called the wrong location, which was BS. He said he would not make us order drinks this time, but don't expect to do it again next time. And he got his wish. There will never be a next time because of how that manager treated us. Instead of ordering more food like we planned to, I paid the check for my 2 tacos, and left. And my friend and I went to a much better Mexican restaurant with better tacos for taco Tuesday along with our Enchilladas, and where we were not treated poorly for only wanting water to drink. That manager is probably the reason why more than half the tables were empty when we went there. If you treat people that way, people aren't going to come back, they are going to share that negative experience with others, and they will spend their money where the customer service is good and they feel appreciated. Would not recommend this location.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 2

Food is decent . Overpriced- service is slow. Service is horrendous

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 1

Great Service, Fun Staff, Good Food!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Quesadilla

Food was just ok. Decor was random but customer service was the best around!

Always a good time.

It was just okay. We ordered a special soup, a platter and soda. It was quite crowded for a Wednesday evening though, may be because of the valentines week.

Consistently good food!

Such a lovely family vibe restaurant. Best salsa, best margaritas, best Mexican food in the area. Servers are great! Jose did a wonderful job, and if you’re lucky you may even get to see an Avila! Family is what this place is all about, and you can feel it right when you enter. Also they do a great happy and a Taco Tuesday. This is your go to spot!

Great food and service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Taco

Shrimp was delicious

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Avila's El Ranchito- Foothill Ranch is a smallish-sized sit-down Mexican food restaurant, with excellent food, great service, & a cutely decorated interior, that made me smile.

Service for our table of 7 was impeccable all evening. Our chip & salsa bowls, as well as our drinks were refilled so quickly, when out, I was amazed.

The star of the show, by far, was Avila's most delicious Mexican food. I ordered a 1 Item Combo, which comes with their deliciously mild Spanish rice & their equally amazing refried beans, which were generously-covered, in a lava flow of cheese. My Chile Relleno was so good! The tender egg outer shell, coated with cheese, plus a most ? sauce, covered a humongous & tender Chile pepper, which oozed cheese, when my fork pierced it. Cheese Lovers will think they've died & gone to heaven, after biting into this.

All the food items our family ordered, looked incredible, & the true test, all 7 of us eating quietly, was achieved, with flying colors.

Avila's Foothill Ranch, is comparable to each Avila's location I've eaten at: Huntington Beach, Corona Del Mar, & San Clemente, plus I think the service at
this one was better than these other three.

I loved it!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great vibe. A very unique atmosphere with an artistic Mexican theme. Well decorate, very homey and comfortable. Lots of parking in the mall. Food selection was pretty extensive and what I like is that I'm familiar with the dishes. The portions were sufficient and offered great value. I didn't like the tortilla soup. I expected it to be creamy with crushed tortilla but instead it was broth with soggy tortilla chips swimming in the soup with other vegetables like potatoes. I should have read the description more carefully. It was more than I can eat nonetheless. I'd try other dishes next time.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3