El Torito

Our dinner tonight was awesome. our server was Jesus he served us well but he had help. all the servers worked as a team. That is the way it should always be. the manager on was Manny. He really had everything running well. we notice a big difference tonight in the service and quality of the food.
The Fajitas combo was really good
Looking forward to coming back

NEVER AGAIN! Legit the absolute worst place to go for Taco Tuesday! My waiter was so kind but the 2 elderly ladies making the tacos were so freaking rude! I always go to the one Lakewood Blvd by the Lakewood mall but this time I decided to come here and boy was that a huge mistake! No wonder it’s empty in here! Horrible food! Chips were stale and the taco meet was dry! I am so freaking annoyed by all of this! The lady didn’t even make my corn the right way! Get your staff together please! ASAP!

Came here for dinner and what an experience… after being taken to our table we waited for about 30 minutes for a waiter come and introduce themselves and another 45 minutes to bring the food. Food was adequate, almost no flavor, quantities were sad, I ordered the fajitas duo and I felt I was robbed due to only getting 4 slices of chicken and beef. I don’t think we’ll be coming here anytime soon again.

So by default we came to me torito because all the other restaurants had an hour wait. Well I’ve been here for an hour trying to have a meal but I’ve just been told that their grill is apparently too small to accommodate the orders of carne asada that has been ordered. Now I’m no expert chef but I’ve grilled carne asada for my family for a birthday party of 100 people and no one ever waited 1 hour before getting fed. But here we sit waiting for some fajitas. Look I’m not a total a-​hole the food just got here and it’s actually flavorful and we are enjoying the food but to have to wait an hour for fajitas? That’s unnecessary especially when the restaurant is half empty. Did I mention I’m here with to kids under 5yrs old?

I tried this place again today and and the difference was noticable. The food taste was the usual but what made this experience stand out was our server Carolina. She was outstanding. She was a great server, the drink refills came without asking, the chips and salsa were refilled before they went completely empty. She even gave us status updates about our food. She came and checked on us regularly and never gave us a chance to ask for anything. Overall an amazing job.

I went to this location for a Paint Nite and decided to go early for Happy Hour. My friend and I went into the bar around 6PM and it wasn’t completely packed yet (yay). But the service was horrible!!! The bar, DURING HAPPY HOUR, needs at least 2 servers! Our waitress was sweet and nice but she can’t run the whole bar alone! We waited 20 minutes for chips and salsa. Our 2 margaritas took 30 minutes to get! Unreal! We should have just spent more money and ate in the regular dining area. The food was just OK but what can you expect for Happy Hour prices, right? I even went to the hostesses to ask if someone else could help our poor waitress because she was swamped once the bar area was full. They were soooooooooooo rude these 2 hostesses. They looked at me like I was crazy and didn’t say anything. They were just standing there, not helping anyone and just talking/​laughing to each other. Does El Torito NEED 2 hostesses? No way! One or both should have been helping the poor bar waitress. Geez. I would love to get paid to talk to my coworker and not do anything, smh. I will not be returning to this location. If you do decide to go, DO NOT EAT IN BAR DURING HAPPY HOUR. Good luck.

I’m giving mixed reviews about this place because the staff was extremely pleasant. I wish I could rate them and not the horrible food. But before I start my rant on the food I must give a big thank you to this one waitress whom I failed to get her name (shame on me). After we ordered our appetizer from one waiter a wonderful waitress took over. Mind you both were great but she was special. After she took our order for the entrees, she said to my girlfriend «if you need some help feeding your son let me know. My girlfriends son is in wheelchair recovering from some medical issues. We both thought that was really sweet of her to even offer feeding him, but we also wondered why. We never had anyone working at a dinning establishment offer to feed the little guy even though he’s capable of feeding himself. So after a few minutes she came back over and explained why she offered to feed him. She has a son who was injured and is also in a wheelchair, so this is what she does. She offers to feed disabled people who may need help, so the family can enjoy their dinner. (I’m seriously tearing up while I type this.) This wonderful Angel (I so regret not getting her name) is just amazing. She told us her story and how her son is recovering so well despite what the doctors said. When her son was injured she left her family to stay in the hospital with him for many months, she’s his biggest advocate and now my inspiration. She talked to us for some time just explaining her struggle and triumphs, and how good God is, we really appreciated that. She is the standard on what a waitress/​waiter should be. Hands down the best part of the visit. Management should clone her.
Now let’s get to this horrible food. First the place was almost empty. Olive Garden next door, crowded with people standing outside waiting to eat should be hint to management why their place is empty. Ordered some Mexican Hot Wings, tasted old like they were leftovers from a previous day. My girlfriends son had a pizza, the pizza looked like the pizza you buy from the supermarket and get 5 for 5 $. Pizza dough was all thick with some crappy cheese like sauce on it. My strawberry Margarita was blended ice with fruit, no liquor. I had 2 and absolutely no buzz and I’m a light weight drinker. My chicken enchiladas had very little chicken with a massive amount of cheese like white sauce. My better half had a chicken, steak, and shrimp plate and she didn’t even rave about her food like she normally does, and she loves a good meal. I don’t want to say don’t go here because the employees are great, but be carful of what you order. I’ll say this, they need another Chef or different management that will focus on the food. My bill was 95 $ and it blew my mind, I was paying a lot of money for crap food. I still tipped over 15% because my waitress was amazing. Not her fault the food was horrible. Step your game up El Torito, just walk over and look at the crowed at Olive Garden, that could be you one day. Inspire to be better. Para mi camarera, Dios te bendiga y su hijo. Five stars to the front room staff, –1 star to the chef.

I thought this place was great! Food was excellent and so was the service, I wish I knew the name of the waitress we had because she was so funny and friendly. The food was hot and super yummy. I also had a strawberry blended margarita that was fantastic. Definitely want to come again!

We ordered To Go tonight. The guy that helped us at the front was very nice, excellent customer service. We waited at the bar while our order was prepared. The drinks, a Corona Rita & Sex on the Beach were good. The chips and salsa… Chips were good but salsa wasn’t. It had really no flavor. We also had guacamole, which was good. Waitress named Coral was really nice. It took longer than I’d have liked to receive our check but they were nice enough to combine the To Go order and the bar tab all in one, so that was nice and convenient. Overall, great customer service. They need better salsa though lol. ;)

Let’s start with I’ve been here b4 and was good, but this time on a Sunday I went for the Sunday brunch. Let me start when we walked in most of the food tray were empty ! Had to wait for them to fill food then I asked a employee why do they wait till trays are empty she smiled & walked away. Very lil selection and to top it off I have the guy make me a egg and there’s a tip jar, them I got a taco and another tip jar really ! Wow and waitress wants a tip wtf.
The meal is all u can eat but please put food for customers can have a variety not just beans and sweet corn. For the 20 bucks I should not have to tip every single employee. The el toreto in Anaheim is awesome it’s alway filled but I decided to try this one cuz I was in the area. NEVER AGAIN VERY Disappointed. I paid $ 12.00 in tips plus 50 bill.

Really nice place first time going for brunch and Serena the bartender make our first time my wife and I very special. Very helpful and precise on her recommendation. Very fast and attentive during our time there. the margaritas were really good and my wife love their dessert options they were having. Definitely I would return to patronized el Torito the food and the service that employees like Serena make to their customers like my wife and I return soon.

The worst restaurant trip ever in general. We came in at 6pm for there «so called happy hour». Keep in mind; this restaurant is EMPTY. Sat down with my husband for about 20min. Nobody came and greeted, noone asked for our drinks. Not even our menus. Finally our waitress came and did not even greet a hi or hello and just asked «what do you want to drink?» She took about 10 minutes for 2 waters. She just put the drinks down and just left. We tried flagging her down for our menus. And she just said «hold on» Seriously?!? FINALLY. We got our our menus and chips and salsa. Did not even acknowledge us with the menu or even the deals for happy hour. We decided to order the all you can eat enchiladas. ALL YOU CAN EAT?!? Pssh yeah right! Takes about 10 minutes to flag down the waitress. Food takes forever. By the time we received our food, we were full out of frustration.
Didnt even get a water refill, but so quick to give the check. Never again.
This place is «sooo busy» with their 3 parties, I cant even imagine how it is when it really is busy!
Save your time, money and patience and go somewhere else.

I work right by this location. Typically I’m not a fan of franchise Mexican food but I have been coming here for their lunch buffet for at least five years. Management has changed a few times. They have some people working there. There bartender Serena and a few of the other people there are great. Karen The hostess and I talk every time I come in.
The food is pretty good. I am vegetarian and can’t eat beans. I usually have their green sauce cheese enchiladas and rice. The green sauce cheese enchiladas are the best enchiladas with green sauce I have ever had. I eat them about once a week.

Went to have lunch here… Let me just say… SERENA did amazing… Kept our sodas filled, our table cleared and to top it off when they ran out of tortillas she went and made sure we had those at our table right away… She went above and beyond the call of duty. Looking around all her tables got the exact same treatment. Just comes to show she’s on top of her game… We will be back for sure to seat on her section!!! Thanks SERENA!!!

Asked for hot wings appetizers 50 min later got them almost cold and I asked for a side of Buffalo sauce then the girl brought me grease lol yes chiken grease
And we ordered the $ 50 fajitas a. d they have like 1 lb ½ of onions at the bottom and not enough meat for $ 50 platter waited almost 1 hour for our food .you get 2 stars because the chips and salsa where good.

Disgusted by the way they conduct themselves at this El Torito. It literally made me not want to ever return to another El Torito in my life. This location is simply out of control. Rude, Unfriendly, AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE, & poor food quality. TURN AROUND & go to a different El Torito if you really want it, this location is not the place.
Started off in the Bar due to Dining seating being over 20 minutes, Sat down, Waited for the rest of my party. Host dropped menus off few minutes later, overlooked the menu & literally sat there for 15 minutes without being acknowledged. No Drink Menu, Water, Asking If I was waiting on others nothing. The bar Server Maria, saw me because she was helping plenty of other guest in the bar. I proceeded to ask to be sat in the dining area due to the dirt poor customer service of Maria & had to wait another 15 minutes! At that point my entire party arrived, we sat down & our waitress was friendly but didn’t seem to know if they were able to do a lot of things. She wasn’t sure about sugar on the rim on a margarita instead of salt, she was unaware if soup was still available, and was unsure if their wings on were fried or baked. She was very kind but kept saying «Oh I guess we do that» or «Looks like we got it». As we waited for our food, we witnessed not once but TWICE, two separate parties being directed to tables that were full of previous customers food from the hostess, how embarrassing. This branch needs major help, Jesus take the wheel & fix it. Food was not even warm, half of the food was cold & everyone @ our table got sick the next day! Barf!

Went to have lunch with my family. The waiter was horrible she didn’t give us utensils or napkins.
She didn’t check up on us at all and forgot to bring my mother a soup she order. At first she also forgot to give us chips and salsa. She didn’t ask us for refills at all also. I wouldn’t go back there. It was bad customer service after all.

Came here to eat dinner last minute. We didn’t have to wait and where seated right away. Our waitress was super nice and helpful. I ordered enchiladas that where good but spicy, everything was spicy! Even other people I was with said it was spicy, I like spicy food just very unexpected. Over all great food I would recommend this place and come back !

OMG the men’s bathroom smells so bad, I had to hold my breath.
People — do something about it
Won’t be back soon.
Not much more to say until management addresses the issue.

I’ve been here many times for different dinners.
If I’m coming for lunch then i order the 1800 fajitas. Its about $ 20 and has shrimp, grilled chicken and asada. Also rice and beans and corn cake. The tortilla soup is so good too.
Once I came for a buffet private party and it was really good too. All you can eat rice and beans and chicken/​asada and another meat. The margaritas are really good as well.
If you sign up online they send you deals, usually on fridays that are worth it. Attire is casual and plenty of parking. Depending on how many people are there, depends on the wait time.

I absolutely love this place on Sunday mornings find me there eating waffles and whip cream and abuelita hot chocolate YUM they have a taco lady, omlette guy and menudo and ceviche. and I can’t forget the flan, arroz con leche and bread
LOVE WITH BRUNCH 9 – 2 I I think.;)