For our monthly Girl's Night Out with work, we went to La Rancherita. Their fresh salsa rocks! Very fresh ingredients, loaded with flavor, and great use of cilantro! Yum! The service was really good with our group of 6 for din din. We sat upstairs, so it was a little more private than being down on the main floor in a big open area. I ordered the Tiras de Pollo, which was smoked chicken with a creamy sauce, some rice, and refried beans. That was also EXTREMELY tasty! I would go back again...and again...and again...and again. :)

I used to love eating at this restaurant. Last week I went with my mother and uncle. The food was good but the next day we were all sick. Obviously, the cook didn't have clean hands and the vegetables weren't washed. I will never eat here again.

I would give this place a 5 for an average score but others have over-rated it so much that I think a 4 will help balance it some. It's ok authenic mexican, meaning you probably have about 60-70% chance of getting what you order and service is slack. If you like authenic mexican---it's no different than any other. Someone raved about the salsa. Sorry to say it's the same cheap tomato sauce with onions and cilantro. You don't have to be an elite foodie to know that everything and I mean everthing is average at best here. Reasonably priced greasy mix of the same ingredients. Not very clean. Not a very nice decor. Nothing to see here. Keep on moving. Granted I eat a lot of Mexican and often prefer Tex-Mex---Believe me when I say I know Mexican food inside and out. I have eaten and hundreds of mexican restraunts. I cook a lot of Mexican and everything I make is much much better. I don't mean to say I am somebody important, just that I am very qualified to rate this restraunt and the best I can say is...average at best.

I'm still an El Rodeo enthusiast, but La Rancherita is right up there! Everything is very fresh and the service is phenominal. My parents were visiting and I took them there- they said they preferred Fiesta Mexicana in Cary but were extremely satisfied with the entire meal. I took a coworker there for lunch and he couldn't stop raving about the food and service. He said nothing was too spicy, nothing was bland and everything was hot and fresh. Definitely a gem in the land of Crabtree's chain restaurants.

La Rancherita is the best kept secret in Raleigh. The food is fresh and excellent. The service is always good and it is very inexpensive.