Rancho Grande

Reviews to this place were good so I had high hopes. Place needed a serious cleaning to start. Chips were almost 5 bucks. Ordered 2 tacos, they were so, so oily and the consistency was like ground sausage that had been flash fried back up to temp instead of pork. Not known to leave food on my plate, but I left most of it here.

Very good, inexpensive Mexican food. I had an horchata and carnitas and it was delicious. I would have given them 5 stars of the carnitas were fried a little more.
I don’t think this place is ever that busy, so I’d you’re looking for a quick, inexpensive bite, this is your place.

Disappointed because Boulder needs more «authentic» Mexican food. This place makes a mean Chilaquiles and Huevos Mexicana. However, I suffered from food poisoning after the last lunch visit. Was probably my tenth time there and unfortunately will be my last.

I’ve been meaning to try Rancho Grande for ages, particularly since my favorite, Casa Alvarez, closed. Well, today I had a chance to stop in and grab a quick bite. I ordered the smothered burrito, not to be confused with the wet burrito. Actually, I don’t think I could actually tell you the difference, even after he explained it to me. I got it with carnitas. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. I probably shouldn’t have gone for the carnitas. Carnitas should be tender, but also have a little bit of crispiness, and have a bold pork flavor. These weren’t particularly tender, had not been pan fried to crispy perfection, and were pretty bland. Maybe it would be better on a carnitas platter, rather than in a burrito — that’s probably my bad. The green chili was also a bit tame.
But the burrito itself was huge and well constructed. The service was friendly and extremely fast.
I will almost certainly visit again, and try something else off the enormous menu. I’m really fussy about carnitas, and I really shouldn’t have gone for carnitas on my first visit. I’ll get something else next time, and if it’s good, I’ll bump up the rating a star.

Place was a little dirty. As I was eating my smothered burrito I found a hair and they refused to refund my money and wouldn’t make me a new burrito because they had to close soon. Save your money and go to Taco Bell.

Great environment and classic Mexican food that reminded me of home back in CA. Very friendly staff that went out of their way to help us. Highly recommend the smothered burrito

A solid option for Mexican food. As authentic as it gets in Boulder. As others have pointed out, handmade tortillas, a funky little «salsa bar». I had tacos al carbon, which were really tasty.
The chips and salsa are extra. The salsa was ok, not spectacular. Also had some guacamole which was also just ok.
Just know that the décor or lack of it adds to what makes this place special in a land of chain restaurants that are beginning to rule parts of Boulder.
Overall, a friendly place I’ll come back to.

Great restaurant, they hand make amazing tortillas, and must have!

I’m eating the carnitas smothered burrito, let me say I have had better. Also the place is really dirty, I was the only one in the place when I got here for lunch and there is big piles of dirty on the floor. I have been really looking forward to eating here after all the good reviews, so disappointed!

Decent food, but just not an inviting place to be. Been there a few times and it’s always a «you don’t seem to happy to see me» customer experience. I could fall with that of the food was as good as the service is bad, but that’s not the case.

I don’t understand why anyone would give this place a bad review. It’s the ONLY place in Boulder that serves truly authentic Mexican food. The steak al carbon tacos are some of the best tacos I’ve ever had.
It isn’t fancy. They serve you so much food. The quality is simple and delicious. No frills and extra toppings. The flavors come from how they marinate the meats. It’s comparable to a lot of the divey Mexican restaurants in Chicago or LA. And it’s really affordable. If you don’t like any of those qualities, then you probably never had real Mexican food.

I was disappointed to see that they no longer offer the $ 2 breakfast burritos. It must have something to do with the new ownership.
We opted to try the $ 4.99 breakfast burritos instead. They are the same size as the $ 2 burritos used to be. We had also purchased one of the deals from
but the manager did not accept it because we hadn’t printed it off (we only had the digital copy).
The breakfast burritos were average. I’ve honestly had better $ 1 breakfast burritos from other places. They definitely aren’t worth the $ 5 that they’re charging for them.
Overall, we were expecting a cheap, quick breakfast and we were left feeling dissatisfied, overcharged, and still hungry.

I’m half-​Latino, grew up on Mexican food. The places I go to get it don’t have to be fancy but they do have to be clean, well-​maintained and have a pleasant ambiance. The food has to be good and attractively presented, even if there isn’t much variety.
This place may be clean, at least in the front of the house, but it’s so cluttered, junky and haphazardly decorated that it looks like something thrown together over a weekend with garage sale left-​overs. A flat-​screen TV took up a rather small space on one long wall with a lot of beer advertising signs, oddly arranged sports-​related items and other stuff that made it look like a half-​hearted attempt at a sports bar in someone’s basement.
Our booth’s glass-​top table was cracked deeply from side to side. As the crack didn’t poke up or feel rough the management must not have thought it needed to be replaced.
The 2-​page laminated menus state Page 10 at the top, which was strange. I ordered carnitas, and the pork was tender but so heavily salted I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. The conventional Spanish rice and practically liquid refried beans were bland. My fellow diner said his «mildly spiced» entrée was much hotter than he could stand, the flavors otherwise completely forgettable.
The corn tortillas were fine, and the server was friendly, but this isn’t a place I’d drop into again for casual dining. Consider it «authentic» only if you’re looking for poorly cooked, unimaginative food in a clueless setting that no proud Mexican would ever present to his or her own family.

Truly authentic. I had given up on ever finding a real mexican restaurant in boulder, but drove by this place today and had to check it out. The tacos were real good. I’ll be back soon to try something else, but hopefully this place stays for awhile even if it doesn’t suit the fancy schmancy Boulderites.

The people who work there are really nice especially the person at the counter and the chef who made our tacos. Plus the chicken tacos are very very good! The chips and salsa that came with our plate were great too!

Jury still out. Not as sticky inside as the outside left me expecting. Really good light, comfy interior to sit in, even if you have a larger group. Diverse menu. I ordered just a basic burrito, it was so so, but affordable. I want to go back and order a meal plate, high expectations for that.

FOOD WAS AMAZING!!! This is my new favorite Mexican place!

I am a glutton for punishment. I went back here today for supper. The service was somewhat better, perhaps because the restaurant didn’t have as many customers. This time I ordered the «Mexican torta» with carnitas. The sandwich was good, though I would’ve preferred a little more meat. It had sliced jalapeños, which I appreciate. And the bread could’ve been toasted a little better. The fries were freshly-​cut, and served super hot. So overall I’d say the food was better than my lunch yesterday, but not outstanding. And the service also wasn’t outstanding. I’m calling this visit «A-​OK».

Rancho Grande is now in business in the same location where Tortilleria/​Taqueria El Rey used to be. They make their own tortillas here, and they are warm, fresh, and delicious!
I stopped in for the 1.99 breakfast burrito. For under 5 dollars I got 2 generous sized, beautiful breakfast burritos. I wanted something vegetarian, and these were soooo perfect!
Very nice people, good service, and bless all small stores like this who are doing their best to do business in Boulder! :o)
They have a pretty thorough menu and serve 3 meals a day. Worth taking the time to check out.