A new restaurant in Westborough just had its grand opening on November 18th, a Mexican cuisine restaurant with the name Rancho Alegre. Rancho Alegre, which translates from Spanish to “cheerful ranch”, is located on 50 East Main Street, right across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts. Despite only having been open for a few weeks, the restaurant seems to have been a big hit among locals, with many people wanting to try it or go back. Recently, I went to Rancho Alegre for the first time to see if it lived up to my expectations and if it should be recommended to other people.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the building was that the whole place seemed vibrant and welcoming. All the walls were painted a cheerful yellow, with traditional Mexican tiles lining the doorways. Every part of the restaurant made it seem like a true fiesta, from the decor all the way to the Mexican music playing in the background. My family and I were received welcomingly at the entrance, and the staff led us right to an empty booth.
Right as we sat down, our waiter served us complimentary chips and salsa, handing us two baskets of chips instead of one because we were a group of five. The salsa was a red tomato one, and I thought that it was delicious. It had a fresh, bold flavor that went excellently with the slightly salted tortilla chips. I could tell they had added onion and cilantro, which made the flavor pop even more. I found the salsa to be slightly spicy, enough that I didn’t add too much salsa on one chip at a time. It’s worth mentioning that I do not have a very high spice tolerance, so the average person would most likely not mind the spice at all.
When they took our dinner orders about 10 minutes later, I decided to try a couple tacos with two different fillings, Al Pastor (marinated pork) and Carne Asada (grilled beef). The food got to our table fairly quickly for a sit-down restaurant. My taco order also came with a tostada (a corn tortilla with the consistency of a chip) filled with beans. The first taco that I tried, the one filled with Al Pastor, was one of the best tacos I have ever tried. The pork was warm and tender, pairing excellently with the tortilla. What made it so notable was the seasoning, which added so much flavor to the Pastor. One thing I liked about these tacos was that they were not overflowing with filling, because a lot of Mexican restaurants tend to serve you so much meat compared to tortilla. They also came with two tortillas per taco instead of one, which prevented the bottom from getting soggy. The second type of taco that I had was the Carne Asada taco. The meat was a little tough, and it did not have as much seasoning as the Pastor. It was not very juicy or flavorful, but it was cooked nicely and went well with the taco. I personally would not order it again, but I would definitely come back to Rancho Alegre for their Al Pastor tacos.
When looked up online, Rancho Alegre has 4.6 stars on google reviews, with a ton of comments and ratings left on it that are nearly all positive. A few people noted the restaurant’s “great atmosphere”, and how they had amazing staff service despite its recent opening. The public’s overall consensus is that the restaurant should be highly recommended to others and has great food. When compared to the few other Mexican restaurants in Westborough, it definitely seems the most authentic with the best food. Of course, it is not as cheap as fast food places like Chipotle and Taco Bell, but Rancho Alegre truly captures what Mexican cuisine tastes like. Places where food is mass produced could never imitate this.
Though slightly pricey, I would definitely recommend Rancho Alegre to anyone looking for a fun, casual dinner. The restaurant’s amazing food with authentic tastes, combined with the cheerful atmosphere, truly gives the whole place a fiesta vibe. Rancho Alegre’s hours are from 11:30 am to either 9 or 10 pm, with the exception of Sundays and Mondays, where they open at a later hour. The public all seems to agree that Rancho Alegre is more than worth a shot, so don’t miss the opportunity to visit this new restaurant and partake in the unforgettable experience Rancho Alegre has brought to Westborough.
