El Torito

The food is great! This is my favorite restaurant, they have a really good happy hour from 4 – 7 and their taco tuesday is all you can eat tacos :) Super authentic and traditional, great service. Gilberto is a very friendly waiter! Love this place!

My first time to El Torito, won’t be my last. Food was delish and atmosphere was over the top. Our waiter, Gilberto and his helper Alberto were fantasic. We were there with a large group (13) and 2 birthdays. Gilberto took pictures and gave out somberos to the birthday girls. Did I mention the food was delish. I had the carnitas fajitas. Best fajitas I’ve ever had.
Can;t wait to go back.

I liked El Torito’s brunch quite a lot! Their brunch is $ 20 with unlimited champagne but you cannot order anything from their regular menu. You can make your own mimosas from their drink station! They have a great selection and make it easy to get around to each station. It was breezy to be a vegetarian here and their flavorful desserts was the biggest part of the buffet station. I wanted to give them a 2 star review because our server was bringing down our happy vibes but the gentlemen that played the music for us were so nice! The sever was not friendly, helpful, or attentive. He didn’t ask if we wanted the unlimited champagne that comes with the brunch. We had to ask for it 30 minutes into our meal. Just like we had to ask for refills on water, to pick up our plates, and for our check at the end. The best part was when we’d ask him for any of these things, we’d see him a second later wandering around with his hands behind his back. So, although El Torito’s is actually quite a great brunch destination our server didn’t make our birthday celebration fun in any way.

Horrible team service at this place. Britnie is great but don’t expect anyone else to offer up any help. We waited 20 minutes to get water and only our server was decent enough to apologize. The manager and rest of the staff was horrible in acknowledging anyone, including the large party next to us. Our bus boy who’s name I didn’t get was also very helpful. Food was good for me but others in the party weren’t too happy. This place is definitely not indicative of the service I usually get at other El Torito locations. I would have given them a one star if it wasn’t for the waitress and bus boy.

I came here for brunch on Sunday and they did not disappoint me. Having free alcohol is always a plus and their food was delicious. I loved the horchata drink and you can’t go wrong with a taco bar with freshly made tortillas. Come early cuz it can get very busy.

Been a fan of El Torito for years. It’s really a hit or miss at this place. There’s only been a few times that service has been slow but almost every time it’s a win! Never had a complaint about the food here.
Their chips and salsa… YUM!!! My favorite! My two go to plates are either the fajitas or a combo with a chile relleno, cheese enchilada and beef taco. Delish every time. Hubby usually goes for the macho combo but I’ve recently brought him to the dark side and now his go to plate is the 1800 fajitas! So good! Steak, shrimp and chicken fajitas with rice, beans, guacamole and corn bread. The grilled onions and veggies are so good! I could eat those all day! Must try. You won’t be disappointed.
Last time we went we had Gilberto and Juan helping us out. What an awesome duo! Gilberto was meant to work in customer service. He just has this way with people. Always so cheery and happy. My kind of peep! Seriously, guy cracks me up. Had all the couples taking pictures and just making sure we smiled. Between Juan and Gilberto we never had an empty drink and they knew to keep the salsa coming. LOL We usually always get Beto as well and he is awesome! Trio of awesome guys all around. Manager came up to our table too and made sure we had everything we needed. Great customer service.
Went to brunch once and it was pretty good. Unlimited mimosas… yes please!!!
I’ll most definitely be back.

Okay after 8 or so check ins I guess it’s time for a review. We tend to go here for happy hour on Thursdays. It’s been a while since we’ve come in though. We lived a tad closer then. The last time we came with the kids on a Wed … the kids meals were free — not sure if they still offer that promo or not but we made sure we used it from time to time. Looks like they have some new/​different staffers and they were super friendly & professional. That’s been pretty consistent for us.
Three dollars off for the selected happy hour items. Cool deal & I’ll take that! Happy Hour started at 2pm today. Oh yeah!
I had a Coronrita & the hubby had the Classic Cadillac. Both were good.
Cup of tortilla soup and I tried their chicken wings for the first time. Those came sizzling hot & once they reached the perfect temp they were quite good. We both liked them.
Hubby orders the chicken flautas & he cleaned his plate so I’m guessing those were pretty good too. I noticed the neighboring seemed to occupy happy guests too.
So apparently their Happy Hour works!

The staff is truly very very nice and hard working. The rating is based on the food, which quiet frankly was as bad as it gets. The food was cold, stale, tasteless. Cups and plates are filthy. Atmosphere is terrible and the restaurant feels like it is the original building from 1920.
Save yourself a long time in bathroom and go elsewhere.

El Torito has done it again, perfection has perfected itself into the most delicious Carne Asada plate ever. Each bite was an absolute flavor explosion. Gilberto and Beto are the dynamic duo who are better than Batman and Robin when it comes to service excellence. Looking forward to my next meal here.

Excelente servicio por parte de Alberto, el guacamole, on «side table» y los chiles toreados, pusieron un toque de mas sabor a mis alimentos, estaría muy bien si tuvieran música de mariachi, de ambientación, los baños muy limpios.
Gracias muy rico.

We stopped at this El Torito while in town 5 stars mostly because Gilberto our waiter was attentive funny and made the evening! .oh.and the food was spot on as well.
All you can eat Mahi tacos on friday… Delish.

The food was good, normally the food and service at most locations is better. We arrived at 8: PM which I know on a Sunday at 8: PM the staff is not wanting to be there, but if you have your doors opened then your customers deserve better than ok service. I ordered the Mexican Burger
(Mexican Burger ½ lb. ground chuck, guacamole, bacon, pasilla chile, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and chipotle aioli. Served with jalapeño-​garlic fries.)
The first thing that kind of Threw me off was the knife that came with the burger was stabbed all the way through the burger (top bun to the bottom bun). One has to wonder why a chef would do that? But hey it’s Southern California, and maybe the stabber grew up in the area and heard about the Manson family leaving the fork and knife sticking in Leno Labianca and was using my burger to act out his aggression instead of becoming a serial killer (it was 8: PM on a Sunday)
The Chef did a good job in preparing the burger, but if it was a ½ lbs of hamburger (even precooked weight) then I’m the most famous food critic in the state. I eat my burgers deconstructed, I remove all the items put the patty back between the buns and eat the burger then all the fixings so here is my opinion on my meal itself;
Grilled Onion, outstanding!..
Pasilla Chile; «meh» it was there, kind of looking more like a deflated leprechaun shoe, probably came out of the refrigerator so it was tasteless.
Lettuce; Where the patty was too small the Romain leaf was the main focal point.
Tomato; (singular) probably came out of the refrigerator so it was tasteless.
Guacamole; maybe it was with the chipotle aioli.
Bacon; once small piece, not enough for us bacon lovers to savor the «UMMM Bacon» taste.
Chipotle aioli; I think they may have ran out and used Mayo instead.
Jalapeño-​garlic fries; hahaha snort, snort hahaha. I like the taste of Jalapenos and the fires reminded me of a trip to London England and ordering Cajun fries at a Cajun restaurant, the fries were spiced up with Lowery Seasoning Salt And as my trip, I didn’t even notice anything more than Lowery Seasoning Salt and maybe a taste of garlic salt.
The waitress came by once (flagged down by my daughter and offered my daughter more Iced tea, but even though her boyfriend and I were sitting at the same table, we didn’t get a refill.
I tipped the waitress about 10% because I felt she really didn’t attend to us but once, and then only to a 3^rd of our party, I could have understood that if the place was packed, but there were only three small parties eating in this area.
My daughter and her boyfriend enjoyed the meal, but they did order Mexican food and I did ordered a hamburger which I should have known better.

While I do love their cilantro pepita salad dressing and there is one carne asada steak on the menu that my husband enjoys coming here for that is pretty much it.
I have yet to find a dish that I love and have tried several of their salads, fajitas and fish dishes, all a bit bland in flavor.
Service is ok, the food comes out quickly and the portions are fair.
Prices are a bit high for the quality that you get and it does have a chain restaurant feel to it.
Ok, but not worth rushing back for.

Went with the family for some margaritas and it was good.
They are a chain of restaurants and nothing to special about this place but they are not bad either.
Service was nice, seated quickly, food came out fast, was accommodated when requested for more napkins etc…
The thing that i really liked is when you sit down they immediately give you chips and salsa and they refill it pronto.

Cuando viejo a los Estados Unidos es un placer encontrar tiendas mexicanas y es aun mejor si esas tiendas tienen todo lo que busco. Esta tienda queda a unas cuadras de la casa donde yo me estaba hospedando así que en cualquier momento me daba mis escapadas para venir aquí. Es muy famoso este lugar entre la comunidad mexicana por el hecho de que se encuentran cosas típicas como para preparar los deliciosos antojitos mexicanos y para aquellos como yo que quieren encontrar productos como sabritas y Bimbo aquí se pueden surtir. También cuentan con la venta de carne de res y puerco, tortillas y un sinfín de productos. Si no ves lo que buscas pregunta al encargado y él te dirá si te lo pueden conseguir y asi no te quedaras con las ganas de nada. Mi tía me recomendó este lugar y ahora yo se los recomiendo a ustedes ya que el personal es muy amable y los precios son justos.

Stopped by here with William S for a bite to eat before heading to get some cupcakes. This was the first time I’ve been to this restaurant, and found it odd that only half the restaurant observes the happy hour deals. The staff seemed pretty friendly, and we were seated quickly.
The server brought the chips and salsa when she came to the table for the drink orders. I thought the salsa had a good flavor, yet lacked the nice kick of heat I like in a salsa. I ordered the combo plate, and opted for the Mexico City Chicken Flautas and Beef Barbacoa Enchilada. It came with spanish rice, refried beans, and the sweet corn cake for the sides. The flautas tasted pretty good, though it was a bit cheesy and sometimes made it difficult to taste the chicken. Something to dip them into would have made them a lot better also, like some kind of salsa or sour cream. The enchilada had some flavorful meat, but I think I would have preferred it in a taco.
I also had the blended mango margarita, which had a nice mango flavor and wasn’t overly strong. I’d recommend sitting on the happy hour side if you wanted to get more than one, and had some time to just relax and chat.
Overall this place would have received a 3.5 stars if I could give that, and I wouldn’t mind coming back to try some of their all you can eat specials during the week. They also have a Sunday brunch menu that I’d like to try out sometime, I just have to get enough motivation to get up early on a Sunday.

Andrew J and I decided to get some grub before checking out the Unilocal cupcakes event, so this nearby stop was in our targeting sights. El Torito is a Mexican chain restaurant in the US and this would be visit número uno for me. Upon arrival, we were greeted right away, and it seemed like the joint was pretty empty as the dinner rush hasn’t been through yet. Clean dining area and the bathrooms mind you are clean.
The server dropped off complimentary fresh tortilla chips and salsa. They tasted average, with the salsa barely giving any sense of picante spice. The menu has your standard mexican dining fare with daily specials. I opted for the chicken fajitas with flour tortillas for 12.99. I could have done the unlimited fajitas for 4 dollars more, but I wanted to save my appetite for later.
Fajitas came in sizzling hot as expected. This dish also came in with mexican rice, pinto Baan soup, guacamole, and a sweet cornbread dessert spread. The amount of chicken vs veggies in the skillet was unfortunately more veggies. The chicken tasted tender but not much flavor. I felt as if adding in the guacamole and salsa were the saving graces of the fajita. Mexican rice was fluffy and good. The bean soup was a nice alternative to refried beans.
Our server for the most part was decent with waiting time, however we were after we ordered everything that bar specials were only at the bar (cantina). I’m not going to knock them for that, but just be aware and ask in the beginning. After our food was delivered, people started coming in fast, and the service got slower.
Maybe I would come back during happy hour specials at a different El Torito location, but you got to be at the bar. So until we meet again, adiós!

Sunday brunch at El Torito is a must! Such a good deal for all you can eat/​all you can drink mimosas. I didn’t partake in the drinking, but you can bet that I took part in the eating! ;)
Started with waffles and warm melted syrup with Apple filling on top. Oh man. Too good! So good I ended up with another plate! They had an omelette station, and a taco station with two cooks ready to prepare your food. Salads, drinks, lots of breakfast items and Mexican food to cater to anyone’s taste! You won’t leave hungry.
Service was amazing. Our server was on top of refills every second. We had a pretty large group (many who drank. A lot) but he was ready and willing to cater
To our needs.
Cleanliness of the restaurant was great esp during brunch. No issues here.
The bar area is pretty big and they had the game on for our entertainment. Parking could be a bit tough at the moment as it seems like they are doing some sort of construction, and it’s next to a BWW.
I’ll come back! Had a great time.

Came here for Sunday brunch and it was amazing! We had a large group (they take reservations) and were greeted upon arrival; make sure your whole party is there on time as they don’t seat you until everyone’s accounted for… we had a few stragglers (haha guilty).
They had a variety of delicious Mexican favorites! I’m a fan of menudo and thats what I chose as a starter-​I loved it. They also serve posole too (soup with chicken and hominy) I didn’t have any but it smelled amazing so I’m sure it was tasty too. The rice and beans were just like grandmas and their chile verde (kind of like a beef stew cooked in Mexican spices) was the winner for me! I’ll definitely be back for that! There’s a taco lady there too, the tortillas are fresh and perfect. For those that like a sweet bite they have churros cooked to perfection and a bunch of other classic Mexican desserts. They also feature the American classics like omelettes made to order and waffles with all the fixings. Oh and I forget it’s all you can drink champagne-​all of our flutes were always full our waiter Juan was prompt and such a nice guy!
The ambiance was great. They even had a mariachi walking around the restaurant playing beautiful tunes. If it’s your birthday they give you a sombrero and sing to you-​super cool.

Food: went here for brunch on Sunday. Food was amazing! So much variety of Mexican and American food. They also have horchata, Jamaica, milk, OJ and hot chocolate. I got a freshly made omelette, waffles, sausage, potatoes, ceviche, sweets, and chicken tenders. They have fresh corn tortillas made on the spot and really good carnitas tacos with all the common toppings. Bottomless mimosas are included. Everything was hot and refilled promptly. Bean and rice were also good as well as the chile con carne. Costs about $ 18.
Service: our server was Juan and he was amazing! His crew had our plates cleared and ready for more. He filled everyone champagne quickly. Everyone at out take was very pleased w his serving. He did a great job and he had good character. They sing people happy birthday and give them a small flan and a free sombrero. Fun place to go for brunch. We made a reservation for a large group and we had to wait for a majority of the group to arrive before we were sat.
Parking: parking lot gets full especially later in the morning on Sunday’s. You will eventually find a spot. The lot is shared w other places in the strip mall. It’s all free.
Ambiance: great atmosphere w all Mexican theme. Bar area has many TVs w sports on. Main dining area does not have TVs. Mariachis go around and sing music.
Great experience here for Sunday brunch and I will have to come again one day other than Sunday. Taco Tuesday sound tempting here based on how good their tacos were on the Sunday brunch.

Great place for Happy Hour. Full bar and a variety of Tequila! Hell yeah! Happy hour starts at 3pm-​closing everyday. Good service at the bar, our server was always asking if we needed anything or if we were okay with okay. They also have food items that are cheap on the happy hour menu as well; tacos, appetizers, chips and salsa.
Great place for dancing too. They do karaōke on certain nights, so if you’re looking for a fun night, this would be a good option to explore.
If you’re in town and in need of some good Mexican food and overall, a great environment try this El Torito location out.

I can honestly say, after bringing my mother and girlfriend to El Torito for their Mother’s Day Brunch, I really feel like they just dragged them out back and punched them both in the face repeatedly.
So, yeah, the El Torito brunch on Mother’s Day. On a normal day, it’s a 2-​star you can be full over and be satisfied; but it suffers greatly on a packed morning. And on a day like this, with church getting out and everyone and their mother (heh) stopping by, it was packed and chaotic and utterly horrific. Alright, let’s break it down.
The line is out the door and the wait is 90+ minutes; I was ready for this, got there early so everyone else in the family didn’t have to stand around. Closing in on our time, we watched as another walk-​in group, the same size as ours, that came in after us, got seated first; this is despite the fact that we heard the manager tell them that they were right behind us in seating priority. Going up to ask about it, the manager suddenly reappeared and told us he had a table and will take care of us immediately.
We got shuttled out to the back of the bar area to a raised table that was too tall for my toddler and a high chair. He apologized without offering any solution, standing there awkwardly, until I finally asked for a booster seat and he ran off after promising to bring one back. After about five minutes, we realize that the manager wasn’t coming back and I had to go off to get a booster seat on my own. After another five minutes, we realize that no one is going to bring utensils or napkins and I have to go off and get those on my own. After coming back with our first plates from the buffet, we realize that no one is going to fill our drink orders, and I have to go off to the bar and take care of that as well.
On a normal Sunday, the buffet is situated in the center of the lower floor, allowing diners to circle the heated trays. The area is then lined with dessert tables, a waffle maker, and an omelette and taco stations. It’s open, easy to access, and they keep everything well stocked. Today, they moved everything to the bar area, forcing the main buffet down to a single line and compacting all of the stations against one wall.
Remember, this is Mother’s Day, and there are probably three times as many diners than usual. So, there was no room for lines, no room to move about, and no order or structure to anything. People were cutting, standing in the wrong lines and not knowing it, there was rarely any clean plates, tables were complete messes that no waiter could reach to clean, every food dish was running out, diners were yelling at each other from across the room, dogs and cats were living together … it was mass hysteria.
Plus, you can mix in the fact that the food was essentially the same as every other buffet day (minus about 15% of what was usually there to make room for a fajita bar), there was rarely any waffles as they seem to be able to only make one or two every five minutes for the droves of patrons, we never got refills, my son fell out of the booster seat from the tall bar seat twice, and the overall food quality was just … m’eh. All of this for a higher price than usual.
I know it’s a busy day, I know they were probably understaffed, I know it’s going to be difficult. But, this El Torito has been around since I was a kid. I think they have been through more than one Mother’s Day in the past. They should have been ready, they should have taken precautionary steps, they should have done something other than just get some extra conference tables and chairs.
When we were finished, all of us (including my mother) kept wondering if we should just leave and skip out on the bill (the rationale being that with no waiter ever coming, no one would notice or miss us). We finally found the bartender, gave him the tip (as he was the only one had paid any attention) and went to the front to complain. The manager, the one who had abandoned us from the start, apologized profusely, and then proceeded to blame everything on that bartender. Apparently, he was in charge of our section (the entire upper deck), and the manager told us he was responsible for our miserable experience.
We rolled our eyes, shook our heads at the clueless coward of a manager, and we left the El Torito Mother’s Day buffet. I’ll never come back on or near any holiday ever again and I’m not sure if we’ll ever come back on a normal day anyway. I suggest all of you save yourself the pain and utter torment and commit to doing the same.
This was supposed to be a nice breakfast for mother and girlfriend on a special day. I felt like a horrible son and boyfriend for bringing them to El Torito and subjecting the people I love to this barnyard explosion.