La Rancherita Bakery - Santa Ana

I was really looking forward to visiting this restaurant to try their salt dishes, but I was let down by the empanadas. I ordered a cheese empanada, and it was extremely dry; I guess that’s what you get when it’s baked, whereas I’m used to them being roasted. On the bright side, the saltenas were delicious! The interior of the bakery was quite small, with just a few tables to sit at, giving it a very intimate feel—almost like being in someone’s home. It’s best to speak Spanish when placing your order, although some of the staff do understand English. Overall, it didn’t quite meet my expectations, and I’m not sure I would go back.

Great salteñas and nice service! We stopped by Kate after a long trip and he baked us some delicious salteñas and we enjoyed the food and service!! Thank you!

I really enjoyed eating their salteñas(Bolivian meat pies . It 's like an empanada but with a juicy stew inside that has meat, potatoes, peas, boiled egg.. . The dough that the empanada is made of is my favorite, a bit sweet. Doesn 't perfectly match the flavors from the salteñas from Bolivia where I am from, but they are still very tasty ?. Their llajua (Bolivian hot sauce is tasty, needed to be a bit spicer for my taste.In the past I have also bought frozen salteñas from them to take them to northern california and my family really enjoyed them. Just place you order ahead of time and buy dry ice.They also have api(purple corn hot drink and cheese empanadas on the weekends, which i really enjoyed eating as well as Mexican pastries or pan dulce.Tip: eat salteñas while they are hot?

The bakery is supposed to open at 6 AM, but when I called to pick up an order at 7 AM, the man told me they only open at 8 AM. Seriously? I haven't tried the food yet, but it doesn't seem like the quality or service is very good.

I absolutely love the silpancho, pique lo macho, and her salteñas!