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For a Friday night this place was empty. Better for me I get all the attention, and no I am not an attention whore no that was the drunken fool sitting at the table across from us being a total pain in the ass. It looked like the waitress was ready to smack him upside his head I know I wanted to.
I started with ordering a melon margarita to see how well it stacked up against El Toritos (my fav drink of all time) and I have to say not even close. First negative point it came in an itty bitty glass WTF how is that going to get me tipsy? Second negative point hardly any alcohol so it was like sipping kool aid. So needless to say I did not achieve my goal of lushiness for the evening.
The food though on the other hand muy bueno. My friend and I ordered the steak fajita for two. While we waited there was chips and salsa and fresh hot flour tortillas with butter. Yes they make the damn things right there can you believe it. No it wasn't a little old Mexican lady rolling out tortillas it was a machine in the middle of the restaurant . My friend and I got a kick out of watching, yes it would have been much more fun if I was tipsy but nevertheless cool. Our Fajitas came pretty fast to the table sizzling and smell GOOD! and they weren't selfish on the meat either. It was served with rice and beans on the side. Not sure what kind of rice it was, it sure as heck wasn't Mexican. It tasted bland and no flavor, but my first bite of fajitas wrapped in those fresh tortillas made me forget about all that. I was moaning it was so delicious the people at the next table were probably wondering what the hell was going on under the table. One of the best things was that they kept refiling the tortillas Yippie who gives a rats ass about carbs right?. I seriously loved this place. One thing though was that our waitress went MIA and we had to finally get another waitress to bring out check.
Yes I would go back well minus the friend of course but that's a whole nother story!
This place is good. First time I have had fresh flour tortillas and they are amazing! You have to understand, I normally get corn tortillas because I feel they have more flavor. But for these fresh ones, I can eat those alone with a little butter becase they are so tasty.
The food is ok as well. Nice and fresh.
The tortillas...you can't beat them.
My friends and I usually meet up here a few times a month for lunch. The waitresses always know our order. For my carnivore friends, I suggest the steak tacos. There is always a bunch of meat so I can make 1 or 2 more tacos (gotta use up those fantastic tortillas!). For those who prefer something lighter, the mahi-mahi fish tacos or ahi fish tacos are DELICIOUS. You have to check with the server though, sometimes they don't have them.
I love that you can order your enchiladas with red sauce, green sauce, or Christmas sauce (both red and green). Make sure you look for the specials board near the hostess station.
I would give this place a 5-star but I really don't like the rice and beans. To me, they have no flavor. BTW, you can sub out the rice and beans with any dish for a fresh green salad.
The strawberry margaritas are muy bueno!
I've been here a few time over the past couple of years.... We don't really get out to corona too much... I've always complained about going here. I really don't know why, because I've never had anything i didn't like.
Last time we were here I got the Caesar al carbon` salad. Let me tell you... probably the best chicken caesar salad I've ever had.
Be sure to get your tortilla's when you're there.... They are homemade right in the center of the restaurant and alway fresh and hot.
Been several times the chips and salsa are just OK but the made right in front of you tortillas are great! I always get Steak Ranchero (not on the menu) but they have made it for me every time. its great! staff is so so and the location kinda blows but if you want steak ranchero go there!
I love this place. I used to drive over an out to go there, and not that I'm living in the wonderful IE, its not that far of a drive. The fresh made tortilla are awesome, and the salsa is great too....most of the time. The salsa is made in smaller batches, making some great, and others ok, and yes..even occasionally not that great. But most of the time, the browner the salsa, the better it is (smoke flavor) and the pinker, the more tomato tasting.
I personally love the Tacos Al Carbon, they arent the largest portion, but you get 3 carne asada tacos, cooked however you want them, and are really good.
The best Mexican foods hands down in the U.S. Great service. Get the Tacos Al Carbon and a cadilac marguerita and you won't be disappointed. Don't let the neighborhood fool you.
love this place and i've been going for years. always ordering the same thing anchos nachos with steak and i order a single taco al carbon just to dump extra steak on my nachos. the margaritas are delicious and strong. of course the infamous tortillas are mouthwatering im a fan of butter and i slather it on the tortillas and chow down. besides the fact that almost 20 of my friends have a one point worked here and my friends dad is pepe the sweetest manager ever! the atmosphere is a nice family place never negative. just a place to relax and have fun.
I have been a customer of anchos for the past 15 years and it never seems to disappoint me. We always get the usual which is ribs, warm soft flour tortillas, and the blended margaritas. The margaritas are made fresh everyday and are delicious! I can't get enough of them because they are so good. The tortillas are made right in the center of the restuarant and are always fresh and HOT! the ribs are cooked to perfection and are fall off the bone amazing. occasionally we get the asl carbon tacos and they are awesome. the meat is juicy and tender and not tough at all.
The service is always on and I have never had any complaints! If you are a regular, the manager comes out to talk to you and always asks how your meal was. He's very nice.
The salsa is amazing, btw.
3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4 for their unique tortillas that are a hybrid between a gordita and traditional flour tortilla. Served to you warm at unlimited quantities with their fresh salsa, this is really the ONLY reason to come here, but well worth it!
Food is of about the same caliber as places like Don Jose, El Torito, Acapulco and although is tasty nothing exceptional.
Recommendation: Doesn't matter because it's all about the tortillas
Food: 3.5 out 5, tortillas 4.5 out 5
Ambiance: 3
Service: 4
Noise: 3
Price: Overpaying by about $2-3
**Hidden Gem Alert**
When Ancho's open 20 some years ago it was an instant success. The food, service, atmosphere, the whole business of treating customers like they were king including the kids, VERY family friendly here. In Ancho's early years I was still living at home in Norco, I would come here 2-3 times a week with my parents. Crazy, I've been here over 100 times easy. It was the first place I had ever seen with a tortilla press machine right in the middle of the dining room. They serve 'em straight off the machine to your table.
There are 3 owner/operators and one of them is always on the floor meeting and greeting the customers. They seem to hire college aged kids for servers and they are the best around. I'm always amazed how good the servers are here. Someone really knows how to hire and train here.
They aren't just kid friendly here, they are kid accommodating. They bring 'em tortilla dough from the machine to play with like playdough. After your meal the server walks them over to the Ice Cream freezer so they can pick one out.
I love the Mesquite Grilling. You can taste it in everything here. If you don't like it your gonna hate Ancho's. I mean somehow even a plain cheese quesadilla will have a Smokey Mesquite flavor to it.
The quality and quantity of your meal have always been great here. The prices aren't "cheap" like the good ol' days but, the overall value is still very good at Ancho's. I can't give you a favorite item for me here, I like it all and usually order something from the "specials" board.
If I've ever had a "bad" experience here I can't remember it definitively.
Yeah, it definitely can be crowded at times for dinner any day of the week. Grab something from the Full Bar and wait it out. Never seems to be excessively long.
Given it's location in the Heart of Friggin nowhere they knocked way out of the park here and have continued to do so for over a couple of decades now. Nice.
This place is great I wish they had a Long Beach location. When I lived in Riverside I was always happy for a visit to Anchos.
My favs
Tortillas
Margaritas
Ribs
This place was as full as I've always remembered, even on a weekday evening.
Pros: The homemade tortillas were hot, thicker, and tasty. It's the first time I've ever spread butter on warm tortillas and dipped it in salsa. The meat of steak ranchero plate was good as well as the sauce but it came out lukewarm. I remember it being hot (almost sizzling). It sort of detracted from the taste. The accompanying rice was flavored well and the beans were in a good broth.
Cons: The combo #2 had two chicken enchiladas, one chicken hard taco, and one tamale. The chicken in all three items just seemed bland, no flavor. Although the tamale was wrapped in corn husks, it was a little dry and disappointing.
We've loved the food and experience we've had here before so we're going to give it a second chance and come back at a later day.
I think Ancho's has good food, not a must have or anything I would crave. The taco's are made with really good meat. A bit expensive, but tasty. The tortilla's are warm, made fresh, and served piping hot. As for the rest of the food not really memorable. I ordered ribs and they tasted average.
Well its Riverside, cant expect to much. Someday someone will turned this town into a worthwhile destination for food.
Anchos is always reliably good!! The service is another issue. When they get busy (and I mean BUSY) they have a hard time keepin up - sometimes! But the tortilles, butter, chips and salsa keeps you goin till the real food arrives! I love the chicken fajitas! SO YUMMY! I highly recommend TABBY as your server! Shes the best. She always gets the order perfect and your drinks will never be empty! Avoid peak hours as it gets PACKED here!!
Another bonus - they support their community by being involved in local charities and kids sports teams. They are supporters of Meals on Wheels of Riverside!
Best thing about this place is the service. Our waiter was really good, and the manager (or owner?) really impressed me. He just seemed very friendly, and when he noticed two guys standing by the door waiting to get seated, he offered them a table in the bar area and got them chips and salsa. On our way out, we told him how good our waiter was. We sat right next to the tortilla making station, which you get at the beginning of your meal with butter, and are really good. I got the chicken enchiladas with 'Christmas' sauce, but I liked the green sauce more. Next time I'm in the area, I'd go here again.
Love to be greeted by the short Mexican co-owner ! LOL ...Great guy and he knows how to run his restaurant. The flour tortilla machine in the middle of the restaurant makes it a pleasant experience. The tortillas are good thin for my taste but good.
We usually have Mexican food maybe once or twice a year. Since discovering this place a month ago, we've been here three times already. I agree with another poster that the home-made salsa is variable because it made in batches...but it's never been bad. Love the fresh home-made tortillas. This is what really does it. I always get combo 3 which I love and my husbands loves the chicken fajitas.
Always a good time.. Warm tortillas with butter, a dash of black pepper, and salsa. SO good!!!
Anchos is one of the better Mexican like restaurants I have been too. The biggest draw here is the freshly made tortillas brought warm to your table. The service is quick and friendly and the prices are pretty reasonable given the quality of the food. My personal favorite dish is the combo fajitas (chicken and steak). Other menu items are also very good. Anything with the Chili Relleno is worth tasting. The only negative to this place is that it can be addicting and I went so much that I got burned out on it. I started going back on a measured basis and I'm very happy to be eating there again.
Food here is good but not great. They seem to know how to cook the food right but they can improve by adding more flavors and seasoning. Maybe its because I do prefer more flavor to my meals if I'm trying an ethnic restaurant. Tortillas are served warm with butter and they also offer chips and salsa before your meal comes.
As for service, its EXCELLENT! We had Tina as our server and she got our order down! She checked back with us frequently and was very attentive.
I live in the South Bay but kept on seeing their commercials ran on CNN and thought if they could afford an ad here, they must be good! When we left the restaurant which was around 8ish PM, I noticed there were no street lights in the parking lot. It was pitch dark. Then I thought to myself maybe they used the electricity funds towards the CNN commercial? Or maybe CNN is hurting?
Final verdict? I can now say I've tried this place whenever I see their commercial and don't think me and my friends would drive out of our way back again.
This place makes some of the best tortillas you will ever find on this side of the border, hands down!!!
For a cheap lunch or dinner, just order the queso inflamado (melted cheese with chorizo) and free unlimited tortillas!!!! This will run you about 6 bucks and you will leave stuffed!!!
I am a former employee and yet I keep coming back here to eat b/c it is really, the best mexican food ever. Tortillas and salsa are the best! Servers are good and the managers are nice and attentive. I always make a trip there when I'm back home in Riverside.
Oh, and to Colleen below. You sound like a very negative and unhappy person. :)
The first time I came here was almost 15 years ago with my neighbors and their parents. Boy am I glad they did so.
The only thing I really get here is the fajita plate. Why? Because it's probably the best fajitas I've had at a Mexican restaurant to this day. What makes them really good are the warm, soft tortillas. They have this tortilla machine in the middle of the restaurant so you can see that they are made fresh on the spot. The salsa and chips are good as well, although the salsa can be hit and miss sometimes (only because I like it spicy and the last time it wasn't). The margaritas here are usually strong too, so you won't be disappointed in the drink department.
I usually don't give 5 stars, but I think this place deserves it. Is it the best food I've ever had in my life? Probably not. But the fact that I'm never disappointed by their food (ESPECIALLY those tortillas) and service merits a 5 star rating. Highly recommended!
This place is so good, we have been a few times and I brought family here when they came from New York. I am knocking off a star only for the fact that on a couple occasions we have waited longer for our table than mentioned. Can't blame them for being crowded on a Friday or Sat night though.
I always get: Steak Tacos Al Carbon Fresh Flour Tortillas Filled with Famous Steak. The meat is always perfect, amazing grilled flavor and they have the best fresh tortillas that they make right in the middle of the restaurant. I have been with large parties and everyone has always enjoyed their meal. My husband and I can bring our 2 year old here which is nice because the place is not crazy, but it is casual and relaxed enough to bring a kid and not worry about disrupting other people.
I recommend this place for a casual date or a relaxed family get together.
I tried this place once and wouldn't go back. The portions are huge, and the only word that comes to my mind when describing the food is just plain "gross". I do agree with many that the tortillas are good, but that's pretty much all that's worth going for.
So I went here with some friends a few months ago, and one of them was from Orange County. She informed me that people over there go on and on about how good this place is. To that I say, WTF? The food is blah, the service leaves something to be desired, and the decor is tacky. No thank you.
amazing Mexican food, cheap beer and freshly hand made tortillas. All relatively inexpensive. just go eat there damn it
why is this review so lame?
when you find out, let me know.
This place is all about the fresh flour tortillas with butter and salsa. I would be happy just eating those.
I normally order the beef enchiladas. You get 3 huge enchilada's stuffed with shredded beef and topped with lots of sauce, red or green. I like to put sour cream all over them. I can only eat 2 of them though, 3 is just too much.
I don't enjoy their rice or beans, so I just don't eat them.
Again, it's all about the tortillas at Anchos.
Back in the days (late 80's early 90's) it was a MUST if you craved the mesquite grilled steak fajitas & fresh soft tortillas. Haven't been back in years & judging from the reviews either something has changed or man reviews are not from locals.
I don't have good memories of Riverside. Once in a while I make a list of things I would rather do than visit Riverside. This is today's list:
- Wear a dog collar and live in a cage at Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels
- Rupture a kidney
- Get tasered
- Visit Fontana
Having said that, there is one place that will take the edge off of being in Riverside and that's Ancho's. Strong margaritas, swear-to-god melt in your mouth steak tacos and tender, buttery tortillas make you forget, albeit for a moment, that you are in Riverside. When you leave the restaurant it's OK to fall to your knees and sob, head in hands. I understand. Just remember, it's only a 40 minute drive to Ontario Airport. STAY STRONG!
Food here is three stars at best, but like Rachel T says the fresh tortillas is what gives it that extra star. The tortillas are thick and sort of pita like and tastes great with just butter or with their fajitas or as soft tacos. Even before my meal I had three of them.
The food was average. The soft tacos were meaty and piled high with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. But like the fajitas, the meat was sort of bland. Nothing that a little guacamole and salsa couldn't fix though. It's not authentic Mexican food but it doesn't claim to be, hence "Southwest" in its name. I would definitely come back though because of their tortillas.
Heard this was a great place.. Damn those people must be high. Service was horrible , food was horrible. nothin special about the dry tortillas
I don't remember much about this place except the TORTILLAS! Bread lovers everywhere you MUST come here.
OMG seriously these are the best mother freaking tortillas ever given to me at a restaurant. They're fresh and WARM (not microwave warm or just put on top of a grill for 30 sec warm either). You can see the little assembling machine baking them in the middle of the restaurant. So awesome, I was in bread heaven!! I was like a little kid watching each one fall into the basket. "I want that one, and that one, ohhh and THAT ONE!"
I didn't even eat what I ordered (I knew this was going to happen when I took one bite out of the tortillas.) Luckily, my brother isn't a bread lover, but a meat lover and knew the drill to stay away from MY bread if he wanted to keep his hand. He told me that his plate and my plate were good though haha
I've never understand the hype this place gets. This is certainly not Southwestern food, and doesn't even seem like truly authentic Mexican food. The food isn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but just not the best that you can find.
The only saving grace is the freshly made tortillas.
I was hesitant when a friend told me that their carne asada was one of his "all time favorites." I think I was already won over once the tortilla, salsa, and BUTTER was delivered to our table. I'm a sucker for warm, soft, fluffy flour tortillas (but then again, who isn't??). I ordered chilaquiles and the bf ordered the carne asada. I loved the carne asada, but the chilaquiles were only eh for me. It was definitely worth the drive to egypt...as Ed. V would say. Hi Ed :).
Multiple California friends suggested this place to me, so I decided to check it out.
After eating the food I decided that i'm not going to take food advice from them anymore. The food was marginal. Chips and Tortilla were pretty good. Salsa, Atmosphere and location were bad. The ancho bbq sauce is pretty good on the ribs, but they are covering up the fatty meat.
Living in LA where Mexican restaurants are a dime a dozen, you're probably asking how good can it be? Hmmm...Coerced a cousin into taking an hour drive after commuting for two hours...After starting off with fresh tortilla chips, flour tortillas, and salsa, she was already convinced how legendary it was...The carne asada is one of my all time favorites...The rib eye is outstanding, too...There is only one Ancho's, so you're gonna have to drive to Riverside to check it out...
Just like other yelpers, I am going to rave about the tortillas. Anchos truly has the secret recipe to making the best tortilla. The tortilla is thick and moist...it's almost like a pita bread. The servers bring the tortillas hot off the tortilla machine to your table. You can even watch them make it. If you are a tortilla lover this place is a must! As for the food- its ok but you can find other Mexican restaurants with similar quality or better. Anchos speciality is their tortillas!
Offering more of a tex-mex style of Mexican food, Ancho's is a great find in Riverside. Guacamole is GREAT and their Nachos are delicious! For dine in or take out...Ancho's is definitely a great place to visit if you're ever in Riverside!
Riverside, CA
Category: Mexican
Riverside, CA
Category: Mexican
Riverside, CA
Category: Mexican
Riverside, CA
Category: American (New)
Riverside, CA
Category: Italian
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