El Torito

My hubby and I usually like to try different foods, but the one cuisine we never really had was Mexican. I know, living in California and Mexican food isn’t one of our typical choices? Blasphemous!
But for our Monday lunch date, we decided to stop by El Torito, more for its convenience than to satiate our actual desire to try the place out. To our surprise, the restaurant is absolutely LOVELY on the inside. It looks like an old-​western, Mexican pub with its tan stone walls and pillars, pots of vibrant succulents, sombrero hats hanging from the ceiling, and colors of red, green, and white throughout. Clearly a lot of thought was put into El Torito’s design and it definitely paid off.
At first, we thought this was going to be a typical sit-​down kind of meal when surprisingly the host at the podium told us we had the option of enjoying the lunch buffet as well. Excited to try a multitude of items, we decided to go for that and made our way to the main room where various dishes were displayed, like spicy flavored rice, soft tacos, pork and beef spreads, enchiladas, and even salads. My personal favorite had to be the pork and beef. The spices in the sauce and the tenderness of the meats was out of this world. I went back for seconds just for those.
My hubby, however, wasn’t too fond of the soft tacos, preferring the hard shell ones, and some of the dishes offered, like the soup of the day, was a little bit too fatty for my tastes.
Still, the one thing that really stood out for us was the service. The host was so incredibly warm and welcoming, especially when we were both super confused about the layout of the place and what to do. Our waiter was also very nice, refilling our drinks the minute it was low and providing clean utensils whenever needed. Their service definitely earns a star on its own.
While the authenticity of the restaurant is certainly a plus, we can’t say the food was amazing. Perhaps we just don’t have the proper palette for Mexican food? I guess we can’t be certain until we try other Mexican restaurants, but for now, El Torito will just do.

This was definitely one of the worst El Toritos I’ve been in. Service was slow and the food was mediocre. Will not come back to this joint.

I was looking forward to this Taco Tuesday happy hour since it is so well known. However, I’d also read the reviews showing the rising prices and things going downhill.
You can get the a la carte tacos in the bar area or the AYCE option in the restaurant.
At the bar your server gives you an order to slip to take to the taco station across the room.
The service was fine but the tacos were cold/​room temperature by the time you got back to your table so not as appetizing.
The margaritas were tasty and strong but at $ 5 not the best happy hour pricing around and not enough to overcome the cold tacos.

My family has been coming here for over 10 years. If you want margaritas for happy hour look no further. The chicken wings are way better than Buffalo Wild Wings. The service had gone down the past few times. But today the service was on point thanks to our server Carmen.

Tonight there was 3 of us that walked in the restaurant, there wasn’t a Host/​Hostess at the desk, there was a couple sitting on the bench, when the hostess finally arrived at the front she asked how many and a name we told her 3 and gave her a name and she said the wait was 30 minutes, mind you they weren’t busy! We said ok and I went to use the restroom when I came out the couple on the bench had been sat and the hostess wasn’t up front, I walked out the front door to the other two people in my party as 2 groups of 2 walked in and they got sat right away!
This is bad for business! I’ve worked in the restaurant business for 11 years and this is defiantly not a way to treat paying customers! I’m not planning on returning to this location anytime soon!

Very friendly staff and always checked up on us if we needed anything. Love going to their Lunch buffets. Well stocked assortment of dishes to try. Definitely would recommend it to others and friends.

Horrible service the wait was way to long. We were a party of 8 and we could see plenty of tables open yet they wouldn’t seat us. They were seating others that had smaller parties even though we were first. The only reason we stayed is because it was my dads birthday and he wanted to come here. My mother in law had to help clean our table since the waitresses were not doing their jobs. Management is also horrible didn’t want to talk to me about the bad service. Never again never again

Really tasty place for Mexican food! Lunch buffet is amazing, the green sauce for the taco bar is the best. Also been here for dinner and had the Macho Combo, very tasty and has all of their most popular dishes!

Where is the hostess??? (5min later) Oh, there you are!!! The hostess was very soft spoken. She was not rude at all. She was just trying to do too many things at once. Finally, we were able to order our food To Go. I would say the last time I have gone to El Torito was more than 5 years ago. After we ordered, we waited patiently and were constantly watching other customers walking in and waiting to be seated. Once again, no hostess at the front lobby. The service is really awful and they need at least 2 people working as hostess. The food on the other hand is average and that’s all I can say really.

I’ve come here around 3 times and food is usually always the same, but service was really different today. (In a good way!)
We got seated quickly and the waitress, I believe her name was Kaitlyn, was a lot better than any of our other servers the past 3 times we came. Service usually is pretty slow and foregetful here, and they never came by our table. But Kaitlyn came by at least 3 times and was always really quick with what we needed.
Okay, back to the food, it’s decent food for an ayce lunch buffet. Nothing spectacular, but not bad for only ~$ 10. Whenever I need to stress eat, I come here to pig out!

It was my cousin’s birthday yesterday so she wanted to celebrate by having happy hour + Taco Tuesday here at El Torito in Milpitas. One of our mutual friends went ahead to get us a table as there were delays in actually setting up a time to meet at the restaurant. From what our friend was told by the hostess in the front of the restaurant was that you cannot have all-​you-​can-​eat tacos for Taco Tuesday at the bar, but you can have it outside or in the dining area. The waitress that was taking the drinks told us that the hostess was wrong and that it was actually the all-​you-​can-​eat tacos were for dining area ONLY and that outside was $ 1.50 tacos. There was a bunch of confusion on how Taco Tuesday works, but we ended up staying outside anyway.
$ 5 signature margarita for happy hour was on point tho. Strawberry margarita, blended with sweetness and alcohol. It was the only thing that saved me. While everyone ordered tacos, I ordered the buffalo wings for $ 9.99. They were delicious and spicy for me so I loved it. Once the whole confusion for the Taco Tuesday thing was settled, everyone was satisfied with their tacos. It ended up being a better deal for $ 1.50/taco because they weren’t eating hella. They all mostly had like at least 6 before stopping. Only one other person ate like 10 tacos. Still a better deal if you’re going to eat 10 or less tacos on Taco Tuesday.
Overall, this was an experience for me where I might just want to come here once in a while for tacos, since everybody was raving about the carnitas, it made me wish I got the tacos instead of the wings.

This is a good place to grab drinks during happy hour or eat their guacamole!
We walked in, got seated, and received REALLY stale chips. We had to ask our server to replace them for us. On top of that, the waiter messed up our order! To make it even worse, the waiter ARGUED with us unnecessarily saying we didn’t order the other dish. Just to let you know, there were 4 other people on the table that heard my friend order the dish. I found that extremely rude! Came here on a weekday when it was empty expecting better service, so I was definitely disappointed.
Either way, I have tried the guacamole and quesadilla so far. My cousin tried the enchilada and sister tried the flautas. We all agreed that it was pretty ordinary.
The only thing I love here is their guacamole. They make it fresh and customize it to your taste! If you come here, definitely order one!

Sarcasm:
Heyyyy. I’m here right now, at 830, enjoying the ambiance (vacuuming) and my food (at some point, maybe).
End sarcasm.
Why vacuum during business hours? Why is my food taking so long in a nearly empty restaurant? I am hungry. Please give me food. Or please feed me more chips to make me happy.

It was a great time enjoying happy hour and music at El Torito with my fellow co-workers.Tuesday Taco and it was only $ 1 for a taco so we ordered at least 10 tacos per person. They played great music and the the atmosphere was enjoyable. Had a great time with our group being loud and watching the sports.

I have been going to this El Torito location for years. I recently came here for a Sunday brunch for my best friends going away party. They have indoor and outdoor seating. For Sunday Brunch, you have pretty much an all you can eat buffet with hispanic food. The brunch was 17.99 $ which was not bad, because bottomless mimosas were included!
Heres what the brunch had;
— bottomless mimosa
–taco bar
— omelets (you make your own)
— fruit
— dessert
— rice, beans, chile verde, carne asada, chile reyeno, other meats
— egg scrambles
— small salad bar
— horchata
— and more!
we sat outside, because it was a nice day. Even though we were outside, our waiter came to check on us constantly and to fill up our drinks!
I have also been here for dinner and my favorite choices are the fajitas or mexican Cesar Salad!!!
Overall, the food is good, the service is great, and the atmosphere is nice. I would say that overall 3 to 3.5 stars.

It was a Friday night and slow. We met our friends here who had already been waiting for us for an hour. Our friends were waiting a long time for their food, they had waited 15 mins even after we got there for it to be placed on the table. The server was nowhere to be found EVER. And when he showed up he was reluctant to get us drinks. And then when we wanted to order he was correcting us very obviously about the menu’s pronunciations. We waited a LONG time for our food (3 drinks in by the time we got it) and it was terrible. Tacobell is better quality.
There was also a bug problem. On this night there happened to be a thick line of ants crawling across the wall all night right behind us. When I rested my arm on the back of the seat they were all over my friends and I for disturbing their little line. So the ants got in the food, on us, in our hair, on the table. We told the server who did nothing about it but say «oh.» And then we told the girl at the front who said she would tell the manager. He came. And didn’t offer another plate or a meal or anything.
Oh and before we even finished eating a girl starts vacuuming up the area we are sitting in. Literally 3 feet away from us. Not only was it gross but it was extremely rude.
When I would come here 10 years ago the place was busy busy. But now it’s plain to see why it’s empty all the time.
The service really gets me. My friends and I work/​ed at restaurants. We tip very generously bec we know what it feels like to be on the other side. But this place. Well I was appalled. It’s time for new management here.

Service was ok, could of been friendlier. It didn’t seem that busy.
I do like the chips and salsa as it’s always fresh. The person who kept our chip basket full was doing a great job.
I ordered the table side chicken salad, and it tasted good with everything mixed together. I had the dressing on the side. They cook it in front of you and place everything on a plate after they get it off of the cast iron pan. The chicken was a bit dry, but I do like dry chicken.
I came here with the 25% friends and family discount, and that was nice. I would come back because it’s the closest El Torito to Fremont. I do like the food though and the taco Tuesday. I came here for that before and it was a great deal.

********************* 1194 *********************
— Taco Tuesday, come early, the line can be longgggggg!
— Happy Hour
— $ 12.99 all you can eat Mahi Mahi fish tacos, come with beans, rice, cornbread and salsa, so good!
— Margarita with Don Julio Anejo = delicious.
Sit at the bar to watch games, wish they have bigger and newer TVs, I would come more often! I usually came later and where I sit at the bar, no view of TVs.
The service is always better here than the dining room area. I love the fresh spicy salsa and chips here, and its FREE.
The 2 bartenders here on week nights are always so nice and make awesome margaritas.
If you looking for authentic Mexican food, visit East San Jose, if you want a fancier version of Mexican food, like ‘Amexican’ style, come here.

Lunch Buffet $ 9.99
They get super busy around lunch so I normally get a huge a plate of salad and a bowl of grilled chicken to put on top of my salad and eat it at the bar. At the bar there is no wait for a table.
Some of the stuff at the buffet doesn’t look fresh so I stick with the salad and meat from the «Taco Bar»
They have fresh tortillas and meat for tacos. Street style tacos.
This place is not customer service driven however the grilled chicken for tacos during the buffet is good and the lettuce is fresh !

My party just wanted to cool off after being baked at Levi Stadium’s top deck. El Torito seemed to be a perfect choice. Better yet, they had Stella Artois on tap which is my cousin’s favorite.
We sat in the bar area and ordered pitchers of Stella Artois and appetizers. Our waiter/​bartender was one cool guy. He multitasked pretty well as he was the only one stationed at the bar area. Cool thing was he sent us home with a souvenir. We left as happy customers with a decent buzz.