El Torito

We where a party of 16, they sat us outside in the heat. The manager i assume would not let us put the shade up to get any breeze. He said the door had to be shut because of the A/​C, which i understand but it was so hot out there they could have put us inside with tables pushed together. This was on Father’s Day at 12:30 we did have reservations too.

Five stars for this location, because the service from our server… MARIO!
I have been to this location serval times and just now did I feel compelled enough to write a review about this place.
Mario (our server) was really great with suggestions for adding more spice to our table side guacamole and even brought us out his special habanero salsa… it was amazing!!! Also we had our kids with us and he knew their order for tacos should be plain without having to ask for it. That alone was impressive (I might be easily impressed), but he really made us feel like we were at home and like we’ve known him for years. He’s kind, patient, and really friendly. He should be the manager of this location!
Shout out to the kitchen crew for making our dinner so delicious for our visit that evening. The food experience was just as exceptional as Mario’s service.
Thanks Mario and the Kitchen crew for an unforgettable experience yesterday.

We live up the street from El Torito, we love the tacos and the Tuesday specials but Shawna and Laura make our nights! Even with a full bar they give the best service and super prompt especially on the drinks. It’s always a good time with those girls!

Good service as soon aa we walked through the door. Everyone was very attentive. The food was nice and hot and service was fast. We are new to the area and love the ambiance. We will be back.

Sorry, El Torito, but your food tastes like a $ 1 frozen Mexican dinner. Horrible! Not just this location, all El Toritos that I have been to. I’ve heard the alcoholic beverages here are good but I’ve never tried them. The only way that I will eat here is if there is a meeting planned by someone else, to meet here. Food, bleh!

I recently held a family dinner at this location’s semi private room and everything was smooth and easy. Diana ensured my guest were taken care of and food arrived on time. Thank you for making our family event a positive dinning experience.

You have a great manager in Eric Fernandez, he’s very compassionate about his job and serving the clientele that come to eat here at El Torito!
I will come here everything I’m in town!

Awesome place no matter what time you go out service is always great food excellent pricing fantastic no wait Cinco de Mayo

April 25^th, 2a016… Today I witnessed continued harassment of the bartenders at Eltorito by their Manager Erik Fernandez.
I have been a VIP card carrying member of this establishment for the past 10 years. Harassment of personnel is extremely disappointing, and I plan on going elsewhere if this type of treatment continues
The bartenders have established a great relationship with their regulars, in particular, Zach & Mario. They should be respected for the job that the do, day in and out. If this treatment continues, I will need to take my business where Managers respect their team

This place is amazing. One of the better El Torito locations, in my opinion. The restaurant is clean and nicely presented. Wait staff are friendly and accommodating and the Sunday brunch has recently been revamped and it’s AMAZING! Definitely worth a visit. The daily dining specials are a great way to save.

Have not been to this location in over a year, but was anxious to try their all-​you-​can-​eat Sunday Brunch. Two stars for the huge variety of foods offered and the excellent service. BUT, 3 stars deducted for the following:
1. Egg station cook refused to cook me fresh scrambled eggs, and just told me to get them out of the bowl of old ones at a different station. WHAT? He would have made me a much more comprehensive omelet if I asked, so why not some nice and HOT and fresh scrambled eggs… particularly when there was no one else in line at his station?
2. NO labels on anything in the entire buffet… Not at the entrée or side items tables, Not at the juice station, Not at the salad bar, Not at the dessert area. This is a big time FAIL for any restaurant, as many of us are on strict dietary plans and NEED to know what we are eating at all times. And, if we are Jewish, we need to know if it is pork, chicken or beef in the mystery dish. Even the nearby lowly Hometown Buffet has signs on everything you eat. If they know enough that it should always be done. I was shocked that the male manager I talked to at ET had never even been to Hometown Buffet. I would think that would be the first thing you would do in a new position is to check out the nearby competition to see how THEY run their operation.
. Last time I checked this was a County Health mandate as well… You simply can’t put out 50+ dishes and not label any of them. What is wrong with corporate, as the manager told me it is their preference? WHAT? Have they lost their minds. What happens when someone eats something they are allergic to and has a shock to their body and is flopping around on the floor? Can you say BTL (big time lawsuit)?
3. The $ 20.99 fee for the brunch is not excessive IF you are a big drinker, as that includes unlimited Champagne. However, there needs to be a lower price (say $ 15.99) for those of us who drink only coffee or Coke. Why there is not a two-​tier pricing structure is beyond me and something that definitely needs to be adjusted. WHY should I have to supplement the alcoholic drinker’s costs when I am not imbibing? BAD PR, and a reason why many non-​drinkers will not return back. Who’s idea was this? Corporate or local management?
4. Much of the bowls of food were only hot on the bottom, with the top few inches room temperature. This is NOT a good thing and also a health risk for not meeting minimum temperature requirements (typically 140+ degrees F.). There should be a person dedicated to nothing but frequently stirring and folding over bottom to top the food in the bowls to ensure customers get HOT entrees and side dishes. The eggs, sausage, bacon, and chopped chicken were all room temperature and not appealing.

I haven’t even felt the need to write any negative review in such a long time until now. I went with my boyfriend and a couple of friends yesterday night and received the worst service. I come here often and not once had a bad experience, even spent my 21^st here! But our servers just clearly didn’t give a damn about what customer service really means. Let me just say, I’ve been a manager at a restaurant before and I understand all the ups and downs of the food industry. I don’t at all expect anything to be perfect but I DO care the MOST about how someone serves you or treats you. Little mistakes on orders don’t bother me, but what DOES bother me is the way someone handles it.
Melissa was our main waitress. She was nice, I didn’t have much of a problem with her to begin with. We ordered and waited about 30 minutes for the food. The server who brought out our food, Caleb, (yes I asked for his name cause I was that upset) was THE worst server I have ever encountered thus far. He double checked what our orders were and they were incorrect. So we kindly said we asked for no beans. Instead of apologizing and fixing the mix up, he pulls out the order receipt and says «You didn’t want beans?» And I repeated what I just said. And he continues and says, «Oh.well it says here on the order that she rung up that this is what you wanted.» And finally I got frustrated and said «well it’s not and I’m telling you this isn’t what we wanted.» After I said that, ALL he did was say «Oh. Well who was your waitress? Well maybe you can tell her when she’s back.» AND WALKED AWAY not even making eye contact! WHY are you in the customer service industry if you don’t even know how to be respectful to a customer or guest? WHY should I ever have to go that far? I hate having to be aggressive. Should you really question me if I said that’s not what I asked for? It could all be so simple and a fast fix if you just apologize for any mistake and do whatever you can to correct the issue.
Melissa came back and apologized but what bothered me is they didn’t seem to even put in effort to fix it. She just said «I’m sorry about that. Well you can just put the beans to the side and I’ll bring you guys a plate of rice.» Are you kidding? At this point we were just ready to leave.
I apologize for this being an essay but I just had to share my experience! This whole thing just makes me think twice about ever going back. They’re lucky I didn’t care to stick around and ask for a manager. Hopefully someone from management sees this though.

Hosting staff is literally the worst I’ve ever seen. What kind of a system are you running here? It’s not difficult, first come, first serve. With bigger parties, it is assumed that it will take more time to be seated. However, bigger parties who came well after me have been seated. RE-​TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES! It’s not rocket science.

New Taco Tuesday a total bust. We went in hopes of trying the new style but between the wait and the measuring spoon for the meat you choose, it’s ridiculous. Completely overpriced $ 1.99 taco. All day long it is worth $ 1.00 but not $ 2.00.

End of January, 2016. I am confused and somewhat mortified. What has happened to me? Could it be… my world is turned upside down and I will have to eat my shorts and admit I would return here?
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my saying I would go to El Torito for brunch, let alone find myself saying I liked it.
It was a Sunday morning like any other, wondering *where* to do breakfast, but with one caveat. We had an out of town visitor, plus my foodie daughter and her clan, who were expounding the virtues of champagne and mimosas for brunch. We were talking 5 adults, two picky children. As Unilocaly as I claim to be, finding a Sunday Brunch that could satisfy everyone’s needs, and with champagne, is not one of my strong points. Frankly, I don’t do buffets. My daughter stepped in to help, and came up with El Torito… buffet, AYCE, phony Mexican food. Ptooey, thought I. Wary and reluctant to say the least, I zipped my lips and prayed.
We arrived minutes before they opened, a handful of customers lingering in front. As the doors opened, smiling faces greeted us and personal escorts offered the 50 cent guided tour, proudly announcing this was… the…very…first…day…of a brand new, progressive buffet. Yep, new and improved. Strategically stationed throughout the large dining area lay colorfully displayed, huge tables overflowing with food, some manned, some self serve, ready made or customized foods, and professionally dressed, eager staff ready to perform their assigned duties:
* omelets with a beautiful array of filling choices and a tall, slender chef, smiling and ready to do justice to my choices
* custom burritos and tacos, again chef manned
* a custom salad table, chef assisted
* seafood (boiled shrimp, two kinds of ceviche), cooked maybe not exactly perfectly, but still tasty.
* steaming hot entrees such as chile verde (oh yeah, yum), chile rojo, huevos rancheros
* menudo and some other soup choice
* the traditional bacon (nice and thick), plump sausages, and gently scrambled eggs
* their signature sweet corn cakes
* a kiddie table decked with tasty bits and cereals for those picky younguns’ appetites
* large beverage containers, self serve, labeled as horchata, jamaica, orange juice, coffee, tea
* the obligatory table of fresh chips and salsas (sorry, no guacamole)
* fresh small selection of full sized pastries, mini flan (yum!), rice pudding cups, and mini churros (yum too!)
* free flowing champagne and sodas
After a brief introspection, I faced the agony of carefully choosing, yet confident in knowing that if I did not care for something I could push it aside, guilt free. I could return for a multitude of other items that most assuredly had equal eye and nose appeal. I did not feel the need to «eat» my $ 21 worth of food (I have thankfully gotten over that obsession, smh); mine was rather a need to walk away satisfied, licking my chops over something that dared to brag of Mexican flavors. And then there was the joy in knowing someone else had to clean up after me and the brood. Yessssss!
This may be a buffet, but the service and personal attention was above reproach. We had everything we needed at the drop of a hat. The buffet table offerings never went dry and unattended. There was even a well decked «drink cart» that passed by each table, ready to upgrade your free drinks to select beers, even custom-​made Bloody Marys (mmmmm), for a price no doubt. Not taking the bait, still we IE-​landers thought it was pretty cool.
So, if I could only get over the road block from the masses that are attracted to such a broad table spread, and the most deafening of caucaphony, I would have to say this was a most successful venture.
I have to applaud you, little bull. You and the great management who designed this delightfully conceived, feeding frenzy circumstance have managed to grab my attention. I shall give you a carefully chosen 4.4999 star rating, and pray that this welcomed metamorphosis continues to deliver quality as well as quantity. Yeah, I admit it is most likely catered to gringo tastes, but still quite good… so, see you next time I have a demanding number of discriminating mouths to feed. Most happy!

THIEVING SERVERS
Be alert, the waitresses at this El Torito like to revise the tips you leave on your credit card. My bank statement shows that she gave herself $ 25 more. I have not been back since.

I feel bad writing this review.
I ordered the «build my own combination» Chicken Machaca Crispy Taco, Beef Barbacoa Enchilada and Mexico City Chicken Flautas. They were all disgusting and took me the remainder of the day to digest. Flavorless, dry, empty calories for a 15 $ meal.
Sadly, despite what was on my plate, everything was great: my waitress took good care of me, the place was clean and there was football in the bar section.
If I ever come back, I will just order drinks.

Gave El Torito here another try and they have redeemed themselves. Service was great, management came to check on us which I appreciated.
The food is still a hit or miss, fish taco on the baja plate was not great, just no flavor in their fish, pass.
I did enjoy the chicken fajitas as well as the fajita salad made table side was fantastic.
My husband really loved the carne asada plate and said that was worth coming back for alone.
Kids meal is still skimpy and lackluster, will have to order my son something off the regular menu next time.
In all, worth coming back for the fajitas, their famous cilantro pepita dressing and the carne asada was the best thing off the day.

I’ve been coming to El Torito for a good 9 years (varies locations) for their happy hour and taco Tuesday. This is my first IE El Torito spot to try out and this particular location and taco Tuesday special has been a major let down.
We got only all their tacos (pollo, carne asada, carnitas) for their taco Tuesday for $ 1.50 each. The texture of the meat and tortilla was just awful. The tortilla was like rubber or playdoh like texture; meat was very chewy and tasted like it’s been frozen for a long time before they decided to use this batch. The salsa and chips, tasted old and uh not like how I’ve tasted at other locations.
El Torito is a big franchise it should taste the same regardless or their cooks. Unless their sodium in their preservative got the best of their food.
Their customer service was great. I was greeted by this gentlemen. We sat at the bar or Catina area and the staff there were as attentive as they can since it was pretty packed. We were seated and got our checks in a timely manner. Two stars for that.
Would i come back? Not to this location to the very least. And not to taco Tuesday. Where’s Taqueria at?! Lol.

What great margaritas! We ordered so many and they were delicious. I loved the frozen pomegranate house Margarita the most. We had fresh guacamole which I thought was good but I am not sure why they mixed shreadded lettuce into it. I had a delicious combo dinner with the beef taco and enchilada with rice and beans. I had to take some home, as the helpings were very generous. Service was good. I would definitely check this place out again sometime.