Taqueria El Ranchero

Been a long time customer for breakfast frequenting this restaurant 2 - 3 times a week, between 8 - 9am. Today someone came up to me and said servers do not come in until 10am. But I have been coming here for breakfast (served 7am - 12pm). He said they only serve breakfast as takeout until servers come in at 10am. Not sure what he was trying to accomplish by having a longtime continuous customer get up and walkout. Im pretty sure I won't return. The nice Filipino barback tried to get me to stay but Im not sure the other guy wasn't a cook and Im not taking a chance of him spitting in my food.

We have been a big fan of taqueria el ranchero for many years! Usually we dine at the original location in Wahiawa. We live in town so it’s well worth the drive. We love the the Molcajete and have ordered it our last four or five visits. Tonight we decided to go to kapiolei and it was a Big disappointment! First off the seater had us informed is there was a 10 min wait, after twenty min I asked if we were at the top of the list since several parties were sat. and they didn’t even have us on the waitlist! Finally we got a seat and ordered our family favorite! When it arrived, hence we had to ask them to check on our order, over a half an hour had passed. The beans and rice were cold . They only gave us five regular tortillas (not the home style shown in the photo )we were told only had regular tortillas . No cactus! No cheese! No beans in the bowl! It was just a bowl of sauce .It was very disappointing. When we asked the server to speak with the manager she just offered us 25% discount of the one dish when we sent most of it back! We left hungry and frustrated .

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Awesome servers

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great service. We watched the Monday Night Football game.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Awful service tonight. Music was WAYYYYY too loud. Wife got her food, waited 30 min for mine, waited another 30 minutes for the food for our kids. Didn’t even get everything we ordered and they snatched my wife’s to go drink. Won’t be back.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Update as of 09/09/2025, Service was absolutely horrendous. Food was brought out 30 minutes apart for each family member.. We ordered two of the chicken taquito entrées, proceeded to only receive one, When we mentioned the mistake, they proceeded to bring us aside of just for taquitos instead of the entire entrée like we had originally ordered. When we were packing up our to go boxes, they proceeded to snatch our to go drinks away from us. Considering how much I spent for a large horchata, I’m very pissed about that considering I barely got a couple sips. Chips were burnt and disgusting, probably old as they were stale. Absolutely do not recommend this restaurant anymore. What a waste of a family night out. If I could leave zero stars after this experience, I absolutely would. HORRIBLE.

Original 5 star review:
Came here for a friend’s bday and it was so good! Will definitely be back. The virgin margarita they made me was absolutely delicious, the salsa was the perfect amount of spicy, and the steak fajitas were perfection

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Very expensive, less than mediocre, flavorless Mexican food. Will not be returning.
Our server could have smiled maybe once? But didn’t.

Best on the island

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Tried this spot nd the food wasn't Mexican. It has no Mx workers so that should hve been a sign. Overall place atmosphere was good. Just the food wasn't anything close to Mexican cuisine especially stay away from the pozole.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

I got served watery green salsa, sloppy greasy quesadillas and tacos it was all just way too messy. All this was served on a little tray basket that had holes in it so grease got all over my table and hands.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 4

I went to El Ranchero for dinner right before their Friday event. The ambience was nice, the restaurant has a vibe. A lot of people at the bar enjoying their pre party prep 🙃 I ordered beer and their birria tacos! 🌮 It was delicious! They serve chips and salsa as well. I didn’t stay for the party but I have heard good things about their events, so I do recommend! For chips&salsa, a glass of beer and the tacos my bill was $29. Not bad at all!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Birria Tacos

Spacious, there is an area for entertainment, the staff was kind and friendly. The desserts were great!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Worst service ever, I do not recommend going here. The guy that waited on us barely spoke to us, never came by to check on us and just acted like we were invisible and he didn’t want to be there.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

The experience was a hit and miss. Food was okay. Taco were served cold. The drinks were better than the food. Service could be improved a little. Waitress was nice but didn’t check on us as much as we would have liked during our meal. Mind you wasn’t packed. Maybe an off day. Would possibly give another chance. As I mentioned drinks were good. Place was clean.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

No ground beef option on the menu. The salsa wasn't salsa, it was just pure liquid like hot sauce out of a jar. Food wasn't very good at all. Barely ate any of it. Service wasn't great. Server wasn't very attentive.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2