El Torito

I vote this is the best looking Mexican restaurant inside and outside. There are lots of empty tables. I don’t understand why we have to wait for at least 10 minutes to be seated. I can not believe they seat the people who came after me first. we got the buy one get one for free coupon image and used on all you can eat lunch buffet.
I was disappointed on the taste. The beef on the taco is so salty. There is nothing not salty that you can really eat. Rice and beans are salty too. Chicken soup is salty. When I went to get plates and bowls. I have to be careful not to get the dirty one.

I had an after grad party here for 15 people. I called a little over a week for the reservation and when we got there,
The people working had no clue I had a reservation. We had to wait a while so they could set up. I was glad they were able to still accommodate us. We only had one server but he was very good

The Lunch Buffet is worth it!
My co-​coworkers surprised me with a lunch here for my birthday! I’ve never been to an El Toritos before and am so glad I’ve been now. Go for the lunch buffet. There’s so many choices including enchiladas, tacos, and all the ingredients you could want. There’s complementary chips and salsa when you sit down as well. Ask for more chips and salsa if you run out.
The food there is really fresh and the service is fantastic. My co-​workers surprised me by bringing out fried ice cream with cinnamon bits. The servers all sang in Spanish and English and gave me a crown as well. It was all very fun and unexpected.
I would come back here again for sure!

I was craving a margarita so we came here, can’t get a better margarita. The margaritas are a lil pricey but our bartender Gonzalo made it all worth it. He was quick and very nice. Gave great recommendation and over all gave us great service. Well worth the money spent!

Gonzalo is the man. Great bartender he really knows how to shake it. Made the best spicy mango margarita with some delicious tasting spicy mango lollipop shots. He’s great will be at the bar anytime he is here

Wonderful service, great great food. Our Server Natalia today had the best attitude ever. Cadillac margarita just delicious!

That past two times I have come into this location have not been pleasant. Both times were during my lunch hour and both times I had to rush out the door. Today we came with 6 people, who were also on lunch. The server was very nice but it took so long for the food to be served. Every time I’ve gone lately I’ve had the same issue with food taking a long time to come out. Seems like they need more hands in the kitchen.

This is twice I’ve been to El Toritos and been disappointed. Last night I ordered the chicken flautas and the inside was cold. Not sure if it’s supposed to be that way here, but I’ve never had cold chicken flautas. I will say that the staff was wonderful.

This location is outstanding had lunch food have actually flavor service was great. The manager Ana was Awsom i highly recommend this location my hats off to the chef if i am going to eat at eltarito this the location

The brunch buffet was unique! There were dishes I never even thought could be a combination, for example the bean tostada with the sunny-​side up egg and tomato salsa on top! It was good! The waitress America was very attentive to whatever my family requested! To make everything even more accommodating, Hugo was constantly checking up on us to make sure we were being taken care of! That shows the management team will go that extra mile to give us a great experience, one we will always remember! Definitely a great brunch spot for all ages, they had dishes for the little ones too! Enjoyable atmosphere!

We went to Easter Sunday Brunch yesterday and we can’t say enough about Hugo and his staff. We came early because we didn’t have a reservation and Hugo set us up immediately in the bar area. He had told my husband the day before that he would do what he could but people with reservations would obviously be seated first. Our mimosas were always full, the food was, as always, exceptional. If you ever looking for a great place to go for Sunday Brunch, This El Torito is the best and we will go again and again!

Always excellent food and always excellent deals! I went on a Wednesday for their bottomless enchilada special (which is actually cheaper than just or ding the enchilada). I love their enchiladas so I was definitely satisfied with the food! However, service always seems to be an issue at this location. If you’re put at a table near the kitchen, the waiters come by more often. However if your put near the back, it’s hard to even get someone’s attention. We waited a very long time to even get water or the check. Normally if it’s just me, I don’t care. But I went with my family and a group of impatient Italians is never a fun time, so the wait became very apparent. Overall, I love the food and deals! Just maybe not this location in particular. (Unless it’s brunch! Can NEVER go wrong with brunch on Sunday’s!!!)

After a long day of successful shopping a gf and I decide that wine was needed. Well we couldn’t find a convenient wine bar so we settled on El Torito for Margaritas.
We take a seat at the bar since we were not eating. We had dinner at a location with boozie things. I see a pic of a cucumber chili margarita and knew I had to drink this. I had something similar at Sol Cocina in New port and loved it. So I order one and me and my GF start chatting. She quickly notices that several of the glasses in the stemware rack were dirty. One had lipstick, another what appeared to be pulp from last Sunday’s mimosas while others had white spots. There was a horrible smell like they needed to bleach their drains. Then while putting away more «clean» steam ware I initially see that it was dripping soapy water but then I notice it is broken. Basically at least in the bar they are not watching what they are doing in regards to cleanliness.
The margarita was good not amazing, but good and I’m happy they had this as an option. But basically the cleanliness killed me and I don’t eat here because there are virtually no vegan menu options.

02/​28/​2016
Came in and was seated right away. The thing is my fiancée and I waited 10 minutes till we had to wave someone down to help us or get us a server.
Employees don’t pay attention to their surroundings to make sure every guest is taken care of. In the end I didn’t leave a tip cause of what described and felt like they didn’t deserve it.

The taste of the food is pretty good for a franchise. The salsa was good and chips warm. Had the tortilla soup and it was very good. Tried the Cesar salad with chicken. They make their dressing with pumpkin seeds and it was right on. Will have this again for sure.
Now the service at this location is hot or miss. One time the service is excellent and timely, food and drink came out fast, friendly. The next day the service was slow as cumbersome even though it was light with customers and wait staff was gearing up for lunch hour.
Overall I will go here again however typical to franchises; managing host, wait staff and other employees seems to be a lost art.

El Torito is best know for the Authentic Food and Atmosphere.
Met a Client Lunch and I honestly had very low expectations. I mean the last time I visited an El Torito was over 20 years ago. The only thing i can really remember from way by when was there breakfast buffet was really good.
So again we all did the Buffet and surprisingly it was really good. I was impressed. I had a gal make me a carnitas burrito and it was outstanding. I tried a little bit of everything and all the ingredients were very fresh and flavorful.
I really like the complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were light and the salsa had a little kick but man those were good. I think we went through like 3 baskets.
I really enjoyed the lunch buffet and id come back again but probably not to this location because its a bit far from where i live but maybe the Westminster one.
Anyways if you are looking for Authentic Mexican food and experience then El Torito is perfect for you.
Thanks for reading.
Matthew Y.

Our server Ximena was real attentive, friendly and she took good care of our orders. She would come by every 5 – 10 minutes to check up on our food and refills.
When we walked in, we were greeted by the hostess. We requested a table for a party of 2. She insisted we go to the cantina since its self serve and when we told her no thank you, we’d prefer to get a table. She told us that it’ll be a bit. Note, it was Sunday evening. Not one person in the waiting area to be seated. The parking lot was fairly empty and there were about 6 tables taken up during that time we walked in. After we waited, she turned around and walked us over to our table. I’m not sure if it was because she didn’t want to walk us over to the tables or what the case was but it was very rude of her, especially since she’s on the clock and working. Her body language was unwelcoming and it appeared as if she was being lazy and she didn’t want to walk. She was a fairly heavy set lady.
The only reason why I’m giving this rating a 5 star rather than a 1 star is because it’s not fair to rate our server a bad score since we was amazing and it wasn’t her fault that her coworker was being lazy and unwelcoming. Overall, our serve made our experience a great one.

I was in and out in under 30 minutes. I ordered a house margarita– humongous– for only $ 5 on happy hour. I also ordered table side guacamole, about what you’d expect.
My main entrée was steak fajitas. It was Monday so fajitas were on special. This was the worst steak fajitas I’ve had possibly ever. The steak was flattened to make it look like a larger piece as a whole, and then sliced diagonally to make individual pieces appear larger. There was quite a bit of gristle so it made eating the fajita itself a chore.
Contrary to all the other reviews, my service was almost too fast. I had about 3 minutes between the arrival of my Guac to arrival of entrée. I practically didn’t have a chance to breathe. Had they spaced out my items a little more I probably would have had more to drink.
Overall it was okay, but I’ll check out other nearby options before coming back.

Shout out to my server Deysi B, she made me feel special for my birthday dinner here. She was attentive, and brought me an extra corn thingy that I like to take home.
We came on St. Paddy’s and the place was not overrun with drunk people yet’ but I guess you would go to an Irish pub for that! Had the 1.50 Taco Tuesday, and we shared my birthday dinner fajitas. Had enough for lunch tomorrow.
I will come back firths $ 1.50 taco and hope that Deysi B is my server.

I have been to this location many times over the past 15 years and have seen a great place go downhill. Located at Valley View and Katella in the city of Cypress sits this standard El Torito with lots of parking. Plenty of tables and booths inside along with a full service bar. They have a open kitchen where you can see through the clear windows what the Chefs are doing.
Their menu and recipes constantly change. Their chicken fajitas now consist of a very thin sliced overcooked chicken breast on a bed of grilled peppers and onions minus the old sizzle it used to let off. Mine were a little on the dry side, and had 3 times more veggies than meat. For $ 15.00 and about ¼ pound of meat its not worth it anymore. I miss the old fajitas from years ago.
Their salsa here is constantly good. A little on the cold side though. Chips are hit or miss. Some times they are fresher than other days.
Service is always hit or miss. Lately, its been more of a miss. There is 1 Señor who has been there for years, hes on the short size and is an older gentleman, he’s my favorite. But sadly this afternoon we were not in his section.
To me a good wait staff can make up for what a resturant lacks. If the food sucks, and the server checks on us, keeps our drinks filled, ect, it can be redeemed.
However, today our server had difficulty with time management, never refilled our drinks, rarely checked on us, and forgot an item. It was not very busy, but she sure did disappear a lot. We waited for for more chips and salsa, never had a drink refill, waited for our check, and we waited for her to pick it up. Again, she was gone. By now, we just wanted to gi home.
On Sundays they offer a good buffet with an omlette bar, waffles, tacos, conchas, salads, ect.. As well as a good lunch buffet during the week. Your better off at one of the buffet verses dinner. That way you wont need to rely on the service staff to help you.
So 2 stars based upon the smaller portions and ineffective wait staff and the changes Ive seen over the years.
I will return, but for the buffets. But for thr win AAA members save 10%.