El Toreo

This is the best Mexican restaurant in Cottonwood Arizona family own food is really good and the service is by far the best I love to get the Carnitas plate big portions excellent food if you’ve not try this place it is a must you won’t be disappointed that I guarantee!!!

Amazing, have been driving past this restaurant for years, finally stopped. The dinner was HUGE and delicious. Very authentic. Very clean, the staff is happy, singing, smiling, great atmosphere. Definitely our new place for authentic food. Everyone must try this restaurant. So. good…

I came here with my teenage daughter last weekend and she had the steak quesadilla. She had this look on her face that only parents of dramatic teenage girls would understand. I, having been used to the histrionic goings on of my beautiful teenage girl, didn’t expect much when she insisted that I try her yummy looking morsel… wow! I was in for quite a shock. How could this little hole in the wall restaurant in Cottonwood, Arizona be more delectable than some 5 star restaurants in Dallas? I don’t know and honestly, I don’t care. Just don’t ever let this place close. Absolutely incredible. Love love love this place. Going again this evening. Yummmmmmy

Pretty good home made Mexican food. Excellent rellanos. Nothing fancy but it’s clean, has good food and pretty decent service although if you speak Spanish, it will be easier if you want any substitutions or changes.

I eat here 3 years ago and remembered how fantastic it was. Being from Phoenix I have a lot of places to choose from. Nothing compares to this place, I’m setting here again sad because I can’t eat another bite.
Wow its so good, the tacos are pure heaven.

I was in town on business and chose this restaurant based on the reviews on Unilocal.Boy, was I disappointed. Let me start off by saying that the staff were lovely and the service was very good, but the food was at best, mediocre. Everything looked and tasted as if it were out of a can, from the rice and beans, to the canned enchilada sauce masquerading as «salsa» for the chips. I ordered a shrimp quesadilla as an appetizer and I can honestly say, I have never seen any food that was as oily and greasy as this. It was unedible. I ordered the «Camarones Tampico» for my dinner. It was bacon wrapped shrimp with rice and beans. The garnish for the canned rice and beans was a single slice of Dole pineapple straight out of the can. The bacon wrapped shrimp had been fried until they were so dry, they were almost unrecognizable. The two stars that I gave this restaurant are based solely on the friendly staff that could not have been nicer. The food, however, was really bad.

Delish!!! Great home made beans and rice. Interior reminds me of a place in Rocky Point MX. We went on a Sunday, brunch was available. Brunch was egg and chorizo, bacon, potatoes, cheese enchiladas, fruit, flan and many more choices. Service was semi quick and attentive. Would be my go to place in the area for good Mexican food.

We recently moved to the area, and have been coming to this restaurant nearly every week. The food is flavorful, authentic, and good portion size. The salsa always has a nice «kick» to it. The pork carnitas is great, quesadillas wonderful, and enchiladas with verde sauce (make sure you ask for verde) is the BEST. Every staff person there is friendly and accommodating, great service. On our last 2 visits, we even got a sopapilla «on the house» nice! I think it must be a family-​run business, because everyone there gets along well with each other. Its a fun local place, and nice to give business to local people who take care of their customers. Give it a try, you’ll like it!

Walked in and waited for about 4 mins before someone came out. Then he walked in and told us we could sit anywhere, but he did have a tray of about 6 Margaritas to hand out to 3 different tables. It then made sense why he wasn’t around at first (he was making the drinks). The service was good, food was good, and normal pricing for a Mexican food restaurant. It felt like a family owned restaurant, and we like that. Salsa and chips were good. We will definitely come back here to eat when we come up from Phx.

Walked over to this place on cinco de mayo 2015 I I Was ignored for the first 15 minutes, maybe serving a party of one was unimportant. When I was finally seated it was a good 40 mins till I was offered something to drink. It wasn’t overly busy this night so I can’t imagine what the issue was. The food was mediocre and service was HORRIBLE. Can’t bring myself to being tortured a 2^nd time I can’t see how they stay in business. Maybe the secret is take out but why should I pay hard earned money to be treated poorly again to find that out

Good excellent. Impeccable ambiance. When craving Mexican food this is where locals go

Chips and salsa were excellent. Chips are warm and the salsa flavorful with the perfect amount of spiciness. The Chili Verde Nachos (large) could feed 2 people. Tacos were perfect along with the chicken enchiladas and nachos ranchero. Service was friendly. It took about 15 minutes from the time we ordered to the time plates landed on our table (meaning everything is made fresh and cooked to order).

We found on Unilocal while returning to state park after a day in the red rock country.
Wonderful chile relleno. Poblano chile cooked to perfection. Mole sauce on enchilada excellent.
And the service was really good. You can tell they care. I asked for a special prep not on menu which they did.

We love the Sunday brunch buffet. Good food, all you can eat with champagne for 10.00. Best value in the area.

Saw this place on the way up to Sedona to go 4 wheeling. Decided to try it on the way back and didn’t regret a thing. The drinks were strong and good. The food was delicious and the service was fast. I particularly liked their salsa. I definitely recommend people to stop here if you are in the area.

We went there and we’re sitting for at least 20 minutes and wasn’t asked for drinks. We finally got our drinks and placed our order. After 50 minutes of waiting we finally got our food but it wasn’t great at all. Do not come here!

Wow! I hate Sedona’s tourist locations to eat, they are always over priced and poor service. Lets just say when I go hiking in sedona, I will NEVER eat there again after going here! The chips and salsa were absolutely amazing! I got the steak fajitas and they were to die for. Its pretty awesome how they serve them too. Im definitely looking forward to all our hikes in sedona, so we can eat here again in cottonwood! Every one needs to eat here instead of that dumb oxcana restaurant in Sedona.

Our party of 10 enjoyed celebrating my grandpa’s 84^th Birthday here on Wednesday night. The chips & salsa were good (and fresh), the service was awesome and the food was very reasonably priced. We all ordered different items and every single person was satisfied… including our 5-​year old twins. ;) Why only four stars: the rice was BAD… the veggies were insanely dehydrated and it was dry. Also, the interior could use some updating but it was clean and homey.

We never would have gone to El Toreo if not for Unilocal.Even with less than 10 reviews we were willing to give it a shot when we found ourselves in the mood for Mexican on vacation and we were happy with did.
You will be sold by the time you finish you first chip with salsa and from then on you can’t go wrong with a full menu of tasty options. I went for the taco plate with steak and although I filled up on the amazing chips and salsa I was very impressed with the rest of the food. The rest of the people I was with were happy with their choices and overall we all thought it was a great value for some great food. If you ever find yourself in the area you won’t go wrong with El Toreo, just make sure to leave a review so more people can find out about this place.

It is indeed hard to find good Mexican food once you leave Southern Arizona but El Toreo is pretty doggone good food. I ordered their Star Special and got to choose my 2 entrees and it was cheese enchilada and bean tostada to fit my veggie fix. It was all very tasty. I loved the contrasting temperatures of the food: What needed to be hot was hot and the salad with guacamole needed to be cool and it was.
It’s plain and doesn’t have a festive atmosphere like Plaza Bonita down the road but I honestly think the food is much better here. Nothing a little bright paint can’t fix.
I look forward to eating here again when visiting Cottonwood.