Taqueria Rancho Grande

This has been my favorite place for about 9 years now. I’ve had multiple birthdays here and dragged as many people out to it as I could every chance I got. In my opinion, El Rancho Grande consistently made the best tacos I’ve ever had. Tacos al pastor from here were the best ever and it will be hard to find any as good as they were here. Their quesadillas were also a favorite of mine in the past and still are even now for my mother. It will be very hard to find a sufficient replacement Mexican restaurant now that it has closed.

I need to give Chris M. a shout-​out: without his review I would have never found out about Taqueria Rancho Grande just driving down Winchester. Now it’s usually the first place that comes to my mind when I go out for lunch.
Rafeo, the man in charge, speaks better English than I do, which makes him an excellent Spanish teacher, when he is not busy ringing up sales, or helping his waitresses. He recently made it to a local TV (channel 14?) cooking show and he told me he has gotten some business from the publicity. I would love to find out when there will be a rerun.
They have a huge menu and great prices. With at least 10 different kinds of tacos to choose from, I don’t usually venture far out of the taco zone. Their tacos aren’t huge, and I can eat three on a good day – two if I don’t exercise self-​control and fill up on those great chips first. However I don’t recommend their fish tacos unless you like crumbled/​minced fried fish. The non-​taco items I have tried include chicken tamale, chile relleno, fish ceviche – everything is freshly prepared and very tasty.
Service couldn’t be friendlier.
Many Memphians know that some of the more authentic Mexican food in town can be found along Summer Ave. and Macon Rd., but with Taqueria Rancho Grande, Emilio’s Grocery, El Giro Gallo, to name a few, Parkway Village is giving Summer/​Macon a run for the money!

Well I am glad I stopped in here! As anyone from Memphis knows the area is a little dodgy but I find some of the best food in the city in areas like this. The place is much larger than it looks from the outside. One side has a stage and more of a club feel to it. I sign mentioned 2 for 1 beers during karaōke. I grabbed a seat and was immediately greeted by a super nice gentleman that was very helpful with talking through the menu. I tried a few different items as usual. The chips are similar to Las Delicias and were good. The salsa is a smoother blend with a smokey grilled tomato and pepper flavor. Very good and had a little kick to it. They also brought a bottle with a very good smoked chipotle red sauce. First course was an order of Pepino con chile y limon (cucumber with chile and lime). Next was Ceviche de pescado con camaron. (Fish and shrimp ceviche) and the final course was beef ribs with vegetables and sides of rice and beans and corn tortillas. The ribs are sliced thin through the bones, grilled and were great. The rice and beans were ok but nothing to write home about. The ceviche was very good and is a standard I use to judge a new place. I would however try just the shrimp by itself. Just my preference. I was told the ceviche is made daily in small batches. It tasted fresh and was very well seasoned. The cucumber was great. Cold, freshly cut with a great flavor. It was a fantastic side to the heavier beef and is something I will order every time I come back, and trust me, I will be back! It came to my attention that they make several different Molcajete styles and can’t wait to try them. (I was alone today for lunch and just couldn’t eat that much food). They do have beer and even had Pacifico on tap. (One of my favorites!). The prices were very reasonable given the quality of food and the people working were very friendly. This is completely my kind of place! Muy bien!