DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA – After months of renovations and a longer-than-expected wait, Rancho Cantina has finally opened its new downtown Danville restaurant.
The restaurant began its soft opening on Monday, August 24, at 501 Hartz Avenue, on the prominent corner of Hartz Avenue and Church Street.
Rancho Cantina is currently welcoming walk-in diners. The restaurant says its full reservation system will become available on September 1.
A Lafayette Favorite Expands to Danville
This is the second location for Rancho Cantina, which has operated in downtown Lafayette for more than a decade.
Danville residents Nico and Alice Tzikas took over the Lafayette restaurant in April 2024. They expanded its operating hours and began planning a second location closer to their hometown.
The opportunity arrived when Cocina Hermanas announced it would close after nearly seven years at the Hartz Avenue location.
The transition was first announced in March. At the time, the owners hoped to finish the remodel and open Rancho Cantina by early summer.
That date came and went as renovations, permits and other preparations continued. The restaurant later cleared a major hurdle when its state liquor license was issued.
Now, nearly two months after that original target, the doors are finally open.
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Wood-Fired “Rancho Cuisine”
Rancho Cantina describes its food as “rancho cuisine,” inspired by the Spanish, Mexican and early Californio cooking traditions that developed during California’s ranching era.
The menu is built around a wood-fired grill and includes familiar Mexican favorites alongside more substantial grilled dishes.
Diners can order tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, sizzling fajitas and small plates such as ceviche, guacamole and Rancho nachos. Wood-fired entrees include carne asada, brick chicken, fresh seafood and the restaurant’s Vaquero Platter.
The Danville location has the same core menu as the Lafayette restaurant, but the larger Hartz Avenue building allowed the owners to add a more substantial bar. The drinks program emphasizes tequila and mezcal cocktails, including several margaritas, along with beer and wine.
The restaurant has also added more salad choices intended to appeal to downtown Danville’s lunch crowd.
A New Look, And Outdoor Tables
Again, the building previously housed Cocina Hermanas, which opened in 2019 and became a popular downtown gathering place before announcing its permanent closure earlier this year.
Rancho Cantina remodeled the space with a warmer, more rustic design intended to complement its ranch-to-table theme. The corner location includes outdoor seating along one of downtown Danville’s busiest restaurant stretches.
For the Tzikas family, the opening also represents a chance to bring the restaurant they have been operating in Lafayette into the community where they live.
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