This Beloved Tex-Mex Restaurant in Texas Set the Standard for Tex-Mex Dishes

One of the original Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin in the 1950s …

Ouch! Those tortillas are hot.

That’s right. Matt’s El Rancho is a long-time favorite of locals and travelers alike.

Tex-Mex is one of those traditions Texans love to invite others to. It’s a great night out for clients from out of town or even for your in-laws from another state.

It’s one way that friendly Texans like to introduce others to the good food and good times we enjoy in the Lone Star State. And that journey often starts at Tex-Mex.

Enchiladas, fresh tortillas, salsa, beans, and so much more. Are you ready to eat up?

Plan your next visit

Matt’s El Rancho ranges from $20 to $30. It’s not cheap but not too expensive either.

A great place to go out with friends, clients, coworkers, or family visiting from out of town.

Matt’s is great for happy hour, a retirement party, or any celebration worth gathering for. Or there’s a private dining room, if you’d like to host an engagement or anniversary party.

Make reservations on Open Table online, if you have a large group or are worried about snagging a table during rush-hour time.

They’re open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. They close an hour later, at 11 p.m., on Friday and Saturday. And they shut their doors at 9 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. They’re closed on Tuesday.

That’s one thing to keep in mind as you’re planning any late-night dinners or events. It varies a lot! Some nights, it’s 10 p.m., others 11 p.m. or 9 p.m. Know before you go!

Saturday is their busiest day, by far. They’re busy pretty much all day, as soon as doors open until they close. They stay busy on Friday nights, too.

Parking’s a breeze. They have their own parking lot, and there’s plenty of space.

Finding the restaurant isn’t too difficult either. It’s a large building with a big sign out front. Can’t miss it!

Tex-Mex fare

Let’s begin a tour of the menu with one of my favorites, the enchiladas!

I judge a place by how well they handle their enchiladas. Are the tortillas fresh? Is there flavor to the chicken?

As is typical, Matt’s enchiladas are served with Mexican rice and refried beans. Enchiladas range in price from $14 to $19.

There are Bean or Cheese Enchiladas with chili con carne. A classic! Or you could order Chicken Enchiladas with ranchero sauce.

Other variations include beef, chicken, cheese, or shrimp enchiladas with tomatillo sauce, chile con queso, sour cream, a guacamole salad, chipotle sauce, or chile con carne.

Shrimp enchiladas are something unique, if you want to experiment with a new dish.

Or if you’re vegetarian, order the Spinach Poblanitas, which include spinach, onions, poblanos, and mushrooms with suiza or tomatillo sauce, as well as vegetarian rice and black beans.

Besides enchiladas, Matt’s has a plethora of other foods to try. Order up appetizers, soups and salads, drinks, and bottled beer.

Main dishes include tacos, chile rellenos, seafood, grilled steaks, Tex-Mex dinners, fajitas, lunch specials, and naturally, desserts.

Get Shrimp A La Matt Martinez for $30. It’ll be worth your splurge. This meal comes with grilled colossal Gulf Coast shrimp, two bean flautas, two cheese flautas, ranchero sauce, and a guacamole salad.

Or go for the Fish A La Mexicana ($28). They’ll bring you grilled Gulf Coast redfish with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, ranchero sauce, cheese, sour cream, and jalapenos, with a cheese flauta, Mexican rice, frijoles a la charra, and a guacamole salad.

Others at your table are going to want bites of your food!

Can’t decide? Block off a little extra time to read through the menu, which is quite a long list.

Matt Martinez’s tamales

One thing that Matt’s emphasizes is that it’s not just a restaurant. It’s a Texas story.

That’s a bold claim to make about a Tex-Mex restaurant right in the middle of one of Texas’ most iconic cities, Austin! How can you not be a restaurant?

But that’s precisely where Matt’s story starts.

It’s a Texas story because it had a hand in shaping one of the major cities of Texas. Not just a city, but the Texas Capitol.

Let’s travel back in time a bit to meet six-year-old Matt Martinez. Go on, “Howdy, Matt!” He grins, gap-toothed, up at you. It’s a time in his life when his dreams are taller than he is and Texas is a mere mountain to climb, as nimbly as six-year-olds inevitably do.

The year is 1923. Matt’s there, on the corner. He’s selling tamales from a little wooden pushcart, proudly a place of business for him, in the foreground of the Texas Capitol. Undaunted, he looks up, one eye squinting, “Would you like one?”

Three decades pass from the days of that tiny pushcart outside the Texas Capitol.

Now, we’re in 1952. Matt and his wife Janie open their first El Rancho on East 1st Street in downtown Austin.

Well, it’s not the downtown Austin we know today.

It’s not yet full of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed musicians, artists, bands, and tech gurus. Its roads aren’t navigated by shoppers glued to phones, skillfully dodging cars, people, dogs, and kids.

This is Austin of the 1950s.

Matt and Janie had only 10 tables at that first El Rancho. Not much, by today’s standards.

Just a few tables isn’t going to get foot traffic in and out the door faster than you can say “Lone Star.”

But that wasn’t Matt and Janie’s aim. They instead focused on meaningful experiences with each customer they got and were happy to welcome anyone into their tiny restaurant.

Matt, out front, greeted each new guest like a close family member, with a smile, a firm handshake, and a gentle laugh.

Janie, in the back, cooked everything from scratch using her own recipes. It was truly a labor of love, for both Janie and her husband Matt.

Of course, word spread!

Everyone wanted to try this new El Rancho place. They stuck their hands out to shake Matt’s hand and ordered up meals right and left from the kitchen where an aproned Janie wiped her brow.

El Rancho became a beloved part of the community. It wasn’t an unknown little restaurant people were afraid to try. Out the doors spilled warmth, good smells, and even better company.

Over time, the restaurant grew in size, space, and reputation.

In the 1980s, Matt’s El Rancho moved to South Lamar Boulevard, where it continues to welcome in hundreds of customers every day.

Matt’s El Rancho is, of course, named after the original Matt who started the business with a few tamales out in front of the Texas Capitol.

I think he’d be delighted to find his small business kept its Austin roots, all these years later.

Today, Matt’s El Rancho is still family-owned and family-run. The Martinez family carries on Matt and Janie’s legacy from a century ago.

Gloria, Cecilia, Cathy, and Estella, all Martinez family members, keep a watchful eye trained on every tortilla, chip, and plate of enchiladas, like Janie always did.

The kitchen at Matt’s knows the drill: by hand, from scratch, and with pride.

And its reputation? Through the roof!

Matt’s El Rancho is a favorite of Longhorn sports fans at The University of Texas at Austin. Matt’s was even a preferred choice by Lyndon B. Johnson, who had their chile rellenos delivered by plane to Washington, D.C.

That’s commitment, right there.

That history as a ’50s Tex-Mex restaurant carries forward, too.

Their innovative recipes, including fresh-squeezed lime juice margaritas, Mexican seafood dishes, and Bob Armstrong Dip, have turned into Tex-Mex traditions beloved all over the state.

Though, at its core, Matt’s philosophy has stayed the same: real food, real hospitality, and family, at the heart of it all.

Craving enchiladas? But how do we get there? Type Matt’s El Rancho Austin into your Maps app.

Where: Matt’s El Rancho, 2613 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, Texas 78704

Matt’s El Rancho makes food from scratch. Anyone who’s tried a tortilla that’s made from scratch … you can’t go back.

It’s a transformative experience.

Wrap that hand-made tortilla around some chicken, sauce, rice, or beans, and you’re set.

We all know enchiladas aren’t meant to be eaten over the sink, hot from the microwave, with only half the lights turned on in the kitchen’s eerie darkness.

No. It’s a meal that’s shared with brilliant lights, art-covered walls, smiling waiters and waitresses.

Crunching of chips. The anticipation you feel when salsa is set down on the table. The “this is going to be hot” from your server, so you know it’s about to be good.

That’s the vision Matt carried with him, standing behind his pushcart and handing out tamales.

It’s tough to peer into a murky future. Uncertainties. Doubts. Dreams, half-clouded by past failures.

Can you really make this dream a reality?

II’m sorry? Did you say this pushcart will become a Tex-Mex restaurant? That’ll define Tex-Mex for a century to come? No way. Won’t happen.

I’m glad that six-year-old Matt didn’t hear those voices. Or if he did, Matt didn’t pay them any mind.

Okay, place one hand on that flour tortilla, steaming, hot to the touch. Before you jerk back your hand, wait a second.

There’s a little hand mirroring yours on the other side of the tortilla. The hand of a little boy in front of the Texas Capitol calling out, “Tamales!”

Find them online at mattselrancho.com, follow along on Facebook and Instagram, and pull up directions on Google Maps before you head out — because a century of Tex-Mex tradition is worth every mile of the drive.