Rancho Viejo is one of the better mexican food places in Pullman. Being from Southern California I expect a certain level of authenticity when it comes to my mexican food. The meals are hearty & reasonably priced. Upon sitting down they give you your chips and salsa in a timely manner.
One bad experience:
It was a pretty busy weekday evening and my boyfriend & I had ordered specialty drinks. I think he had a Roy Rogers & I had a beto. I wanted another beto because it was so good but loaded down with ice. So I asked our waitress. She said, "No! You have to pay!" I am aware that specialty drinks are not free refill and I would have to pay for it. I'm not trying to bum free drinks off of you, woman.
But her reaction was normal for a college town. I can imagine some people either not knowing about that billing practice or trying to get away with it at the end.
Anyway I give Rancho Viejo two thumbs up! The place is very nicely decorated and it reminds me of home.
Really good food. Â The service was good even when the place was packed for move-in week.
Drinks were good and priced well.
The portions were a little small, but they were very fresh. Â The Sosa was good but the chips were industrial quality. If they made the chips fresh this place would get five stars. Solid restaurant for mom and dad to go to when visiting the kids at WSU.
For the record, I am from southern California, so I have very high standards for Mexican food
I visited Rancho Viejo for the first time last weekend. It was only four in the afternoon and the weather was bad, so we were almost the only ones in the restaurant and service was very fast. The staff was incredibly friendly, and our food arrived quickly. I didn't care for the salsa and chips (Maybe I'm just partial to the ones at Casa in Moscow?), but the chicken enchilada I had was incredible.
They were a little slow to get us our check, so they gave us two helpings of sopapillas with strawberry sauce on the house - they were amazing! I don't think I've ever had such a simple dessert that tasted so good. I will definitely be coming back to this place in the future.
I think that the people that dislike Rancho have tastebud issues. :)
Their salsa that comes with the chips is a little too hot for my liking, but I could care less. Their spinach and cheese enchiladas and Chimichanga jarocha are INCREDIBLE. If I could afford to eat out all the time with my fiance, I would want to go here every night! I would definitely recommend going for dinner as their dinner menus are much bigger and better. Lunch is still good though
The servers are always very kind and humorous, always appreciative of their customers. I love the sopaipillas they bring out in the end.
My favorite restaurant in Pullman!.
What can I say about this restaurant that hasn't already been said? Other than the fact that I've spent over a decade immersing Myself in the Mexican culture (which - thank the Gods - includes the food), I can say that the waitstaff, host, and chef are definitely the real deal (and entertaining as all Hades). I'm exceedingly leery of ANY place that claims to be about Mexican food, since it's really easy for anyone to mess it up, but, upon the insistence of My handsome boyfriend, I decided to give Rancho Viejo (Old Ranch, in Spanish) a try.
The interior was pleasantly painted with scenes depicting Mexican ranch hands on horses, young Hispanic children singing and playing guitars while riding burros, beautiful women dancing in long, flowing dresses. Along with these scenes were hand-tooled saddles and hand-crafted sombreros, all showcasing their tooled edges and Mexican designs.
The booths were high-backed and wood-topped while the tables were topped with vibrant floral tiles. Our waiter, Oscar, was just as vibrant, constantly checking in with us and making sure we were well-supplied with the customary chips and salsa.
Once we had decided on our appetizer and meal, we settled in to enjoy the ambiance. Oscar was rather disheartened to find out that My boyfriend wanted nothing to do with any of the vegetables that were to be served with the dishes, but immediately perked up when I offered to take them all. I was more than pleased to find that they served horchata (a sweetened rice milk with cinnamon), even though they didn't advertise it on the menu. I think Oscar was pleased as well that I had asked for it without looking at the menu beforehand.
The Rancho Viejo Nachos with ground beef were okay, but were lacking in seasoning on both the beef and, well, just about everything else. The cheese was completely melted, which is a feat in and of itself in most places, however, it simply needed more. Not even the sour cream and the guacamole could save this dish. My recommendation would be to have salsa and tomatoes and olives and even some lime and salt slapped on there to see if they will lend the requisite kick this appetizer was lacking.
The burrito by the same name that My boyfriend hand was apparently good enough for him, since he inhaled it in record time and was eying My rice and beans with a hunger normally reserved for Me. He had the chef combine chicken and beef rather than choose between one or the other, and said it was a great combination, even though Oscar stared at him strangely for a long time after we ordered.
My Burrito Asada was wonderful, although it could have used a touch of cilantro to bring it up a notch. The steak inside was tender and juicy, the tortilla was soft, and all of the flavors mingled in a precise dance, as it should in Mexican food.
The only issue I had was at the end, when Oscar asked if we wanted dessert. My boyfriend was full (for once) and I wasn't (again, for once). As a treat, Oscar brought out a pair of homemade sopapillas: deep-fried, flour tortilla triangles, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and drizzled with a touch of honey and some strawberry syrup. Lord and Lady! Light and decadent, all at once! I am immensely grateful to that man for indulging Me.
As a result, I would go there again, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for pretty damn good Mexican food served by an awesome waitstaff. I would also suggest going for a walk afterwards, because this meal WILL stick with you!
Took my freshman son to dinner and thoroughly enjoyed this place. Â He had the Carne Assada and I the beef fajitas and both were excellent. Â Service was attentive, portions were generous and the price point was in line with what one would expect in a college town. After having the worst hamburger in my entire 58 years at the local brew pub during a previous visit (hint-it's housed in the old Post Office), I would return to this Mexican food restaurant in a nano-second. Â Que bueno.
Review Source:Nice interior, ok service, tasty food.
I think I did crave this restaurant several times after I visited them once.
I love their enchilada, but I believe it is not pricey when you compare to other restaurant in the same location.
Most people have bad experience in this restaurant, because servers speak spanish and i believe it is something related to service culture? I am not sure if it is because of service culture or that is what they really is, hah!
But overall, I will visit again, not bad food, love hanging there with friends, atmosphere quite good, ambiance quite nice, why not visit again :)
Admittedly, this was not my FAVE, but it definitely delivered a consistent product - inexpensive Mexican food, served up friendly and fast! Â Accomodating for small or large groups, it was always busy here.
I actually spent my 21st birthday dinner here, ordering a pina colada as my first carded drink! Â Haha...
I think this place is over rated. I've eaten here several times because my friends were "all about the Rancho" but I would always choose to eat elsewhere if I got to choose.
The food was always a little dry and didn't have a lot of taste to it. Parking was always ridiculous. I swear they only have about 5-8 spots for the whole restaurant.
sure, i'll have mexican food tonight. Â my friend is moving in across the street, and i've been helping her with little projects. Â this was the first time we went to rancho viejo for dinner, but i doubt the last. Â
first, decor: Â it's spot on! Â i could only see my friends at the table and people walking by. Â perfect. Â i didn't have to stare at other people while eating.
food: Â A-ok. Â not bad at all. Â the salsa is fantastic. Â finally, someone dared to serve something spicy and not from a jar. Â i tried the chicken and mushroom thingy with the sour cream base sauce. Â i forgot what it's called. Â i always ask the server what their favorite thing on the menu is. Â our server whimsically replied, "everything". Â wow, you sold me. Â then he recommended this dish. Â it was okay. Â nothing special. Â the cream sauce sort drowned out the flavor of the chicken. Â it came with tortillas, three of them. Â yes, just three. Â i like to make small little burrito sized tortilla things, cause i'm weird like that. Â so, three tilla's was not enough for the dish.
drinks: Â i've always wanted to try a singapore sling (thank you, tom waits), so i tried one here, "rancho style!". Â honestly, it tasted like k-mart. Â really, try it, you'll understand what i mean. Â it was good, but totally reminded me of tube socks for 99 cents, and blue light specials.
overall, nice. Â i can dig it. Â not the best i've had, but it'll do for dusty old pullman.
The good things: Â Great service from someone who spoke Spanish (and English). Â Inexpensive food. Tasty refried beans. Â Excellent pork tamale. Nice decor and good music.
The bad: As is found in almost all Mexican restaurants I've tried in the Palouse- bland, bland, bland enchilada sauce! Â Also, the chicken in it tasted disgusting. Â Get some spice up here people!! The salsa was also not very good, and a bit vinegary. Â Yuck. Â The rice was also flavorless, although it looked as though it was going to be great.
The good does not outweigh the bad in this case. Find someplace better.
Thoroughly meh Mexican restaurant of average quality combined with poor salsa for not-good-quality chips... The dishes were all beef oriented without the good traditional pork dishes being available. Only advantage was that the Korean exchange student I was taking out to dinner thought it was great--she'd never had Mexican before to compare it to. No refills on the drinks, either, which are very small for a Mexican place, and they're kinda snooty about bringing a glass of water.
Oh-well. I hope this place is not owned by the same people who own the El Rancho Viejo in Vancouver; I assume they're totally unrelated because they're as different as night and day, and mercifully for me I now live in Vancouver!
Zach and I grabbed lunch here a few weeks ago and were pretty pleased with the experience. The salsa was okay but almost too spicy so that you couldn't really taste it. The chips were good, though. We got lunch-sized portions and I thought it was perfect but it wasn't quite enough for Zach. We are smaller people, so I definitely think that a large guy would need twice as much food to be satisfied. My only real complaint is that the restaurant seemed dusty. We were sitting near the window and it was really sunny outside, so we could see dust floating in the air.
Review Source:I scheduled a lunch meeting for 15-16 people, at 11:45 on Friday at Rancho, and I am happy to report that the service was excellent, the food was hot, fast, and fresh, and special requests were accommodated graciously and without error. We were provided with plenty of fresh chips and salsa, and our water pitchers were refilled promptly.
This is a great place to have a lunch meeting. Very reasonable prices make it affordable for everyone and the efficient service allows you to keep to a tight time frame.
Be sure to call ahead a day or two in advance, ask for the "side room" for meetings, and speak to Pedro. (It also doesn't hurt to check back early on the day of your event) There is a bigger room downstairs that they might be persuaded to open for larger gatherings.
Rancho is a great place to try if your group is looking for a change from the other usual meeting places. We had a great experience and we will be back. Thank you, Rancho!
Probably one of the best places to eat at around the WSU campus. They're cheap, super fast and the chips & salsa are awesome.
The only thing I ordered here that I was not happy with was the Chalupas. I don't know, I wasn't digging the super crispy-fried stale-tasting dough. I ate the beef and veggies sans crispy dough frisbee.
They have a smallish parking lot nearby, but it can fill up fast.
This is Jodye and I's Favorite place to go in Pullman. Â The same couple have run the place for years, and wouldn't you know it they still recognize us!
The food is good, but this is a place you come for the drinks. Â Some of my favorites are :
The Mexican Flag - a shot that comes to you on fire, a must-do on your 21 run
Frog in a blender - it's essentially a daquiri of green and red and literally looks like you ran a frog thru the blender
Strawberry margaritas - yummy!
This was my go to for mexican while doing time out in Pullman. Â Thursday nights were usually reserved for margaritas and chile relleno's. Â The old Rancho really does it right, they have suprisingly good food and consistent service and man o man can they pour some stiff rita's! Â Oh and its an old WSU tradition to drink a mexican flag here on the night of your 21st birthday.
Review Source:Woohoo! is right. This is the best classic Americana Mexican food place in Pullman. Whether you get the Rancho burrito, or the mango margarita, you will be enjoying the food.
Like all restaurants of this type(Azteca) the food is all basically the same thing wrapped in a different way. That doesn't mean it isn't good or the service isn't fast and nice. Because it is and they are.
The parking isnt great, but there is usually somewhere within a 1-2 minute walk where you can find a spot. 1-2 minutes people, walk some.
This is my favorite place in Pullman. Â I love mexican food especially when it comes in great sized portions, good prices, and comes out fast. Â I have been there many times where it only took about two minutes to take my order down and only about another 10 to get my food. Â Service is very friendly and speedy giving you a great dining experience. Â I have eaten here time and time again with no disappointments. Â
Beware, the salsa is super spicy while the food is lacking it. Â So you're safe if you dont like spice but if you want some then just pour some of their salsa on there!
Parking is a bummer because of it's location in the downtown area. Â There is a parking lot above it, street parking, and if you go down the one way street on the right you can find a free public parking area. Â The restaurant has plenty of seating on the inside for large groups too so bring tons of friends!
This place opened when I was in college, and I didn't give it a chance. Â It's a bad location with no parking, and it was in a building that was obviously cursed. Â During my first couple years, it had been home to 3-4 failed restaurants, part of the building had been hit by a runaway road grader, and another part had a fire.
That was 12 years ago.
From the start, this place had excellent, friendly, and speedy service. Â The food has always been very good, although it's generally toned down spice-wise, where I'd prefer it more authentic. Â It also has a full bar downstairs, which was nice in college - dinner and tequila all in one stop. Â They even decorated the place in sort of an adobe/southwest motif, with clay tile and a few nice murals and appropriate wall decor.
I stopped here tonight, and nothing has changed. Â We were seated, fed, and cleared out of the place inside of 40 minutes. Â I had the signature enchilada, and it was damn tasty. Â It wasn't quite as hot as I'd prefer, but I blame that one the person with me who had to order a steak, which no doubt took longer to prepare than my food.
Alas, no tequila on this stop. Â But it remains on my list of places to stop when in Pullman.
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