so far, this is the most deceptive yelp rating we have found. this is NOT a 4.5 star mexican restaurant., and it really isn't even a 3 star eatery. our start here was good, with tasty chips and salsa and a kind waitress whose english was very shaky (all of which we took as a promising sign).  we had high hopes as we waited far too long for our food, but the warning signs were already there; the worst margaritas ever, not even one other party arriving for dinner, and a drab dining room that looked much better in the photos. when the food finally did come, it was just disappointing.  and while the salsa that came with the chips was good, both the red sauce, and green sauce that was brought to the table with the food were both lousy. the beans were salty, the rice was weird, and i believe the taco shells were from a box. not one in our party of 5 were the slightest bit impressed with the food quality. not sure why it's so difficult to find decent mexican food in this town, but it is! steer far away from el ranchero, it's one of the poorest i have ever been to. cannot believe that some people ranked it so highly! the only one in the east valley has received rave reviews from us so far, has been \"susies mexican cafe\" in east tempe. take the drive!