The Matador

Very nice atmosphere with good people watching and doors that open up to the outdoors. The guacamole tray, salsa and chips were great. Both of our main vegetarian main entrees were also quite good. I’m fairly picky about Mexican restaurants– they often having no flavor in their foods. This place is not one of them. Give it a try.

Delicious happy hour food! Great prices on food and drinks. Street tacos for $ 1.50 were very tasty. The $ 4 Mexican corn on the cob was to die for! So we’re the goat cheese stuffed jalapenos! I’m addicted and mouth is watering thinking about all of that. Bartenders do a great job with drinks. Will definitely be back asap…

Had dinner here last night for a first date. It was a great place for it! The atmosphere was great. Fun music, interesting lighting, private-​ish booth. The food was good, nothing I would call home about, but it was still yummy. Our waitress, Ali, was delightful! Great personality and infectious smile! I would definitely suggest this place to anyone :)

Don’t order the 20 dollar steak, was terribly overlooked and an overall small portion in comparison to the abundance of rice and beans. The torta was soggy and meh. Stick to chips and salsa and happy hour quesadilla. Service was bouncy and seemed overwhelmed.

Service was good. Our bartender Josh, was very attentive and fast. Food was good. Only one problem, please get rid of the glass washer. Very load and unpleasant with a very strange noise. It was exactly on the middle of the bar where I was sitting.
Next time I will pick a different place to sit.

Good stuff! They know how to make salsa and the drinks are nice with a good patio seating.

Though the décor is nice with vintage style hanging amber glass lights, I wasn’t in the least impressed by the food — overly cooked and poorly seasoned tex-​mex. We had chilis rellejenos and the rice was gritty and unpalatable.

We give it a DAVLIN rating of 23-​Food 25-​Décor 22-​Service (0 – 30 possible score)
Updated review: just went there a second time. Not good. Don’t go here on hot days!!! Their Air Conditioning is NOT sufficient to cool inside, it was miserable and they had all windows closed and manager (she) refused to open windows early evening when it was windy outside and cooler than inside! Scratching my head in that decision. Carne Asada Fajitas were great but flour tortillas in enchiladas are like ‘Rubber’ very disappointing and it was the same comment from two different people other than myself!
Well after reading some of the negatives it reminded me that bad news travels fast and good news travels slow. If you’re reading this you should remember to read between the lines and differentiate if you can, who’s being accurate and who is not worth listening to.
The other reviews made me realize that there are a lot of people who live around here that have no concept of attending an adult restaurant. I always scratched my head why some parents bring children to restaurants that are clearly for adults when they SHOULD be taking their children to Denny’s or some other ‘family’ restaurant! The last thing people want to do is to go to a very nice place and listen to annoying children being loud!!! Or worse, a baby crying!
The fact is this is an obvious restaurant geared for adults. Our kind of place. The first compliment I want to give is to the ambience. It is fantastic – from the décor to the very large windows that open to the street on both sides of the building. The staff was very friendly and down to earth. Prices were inexpensive, I think they should raise their prices! This would help keep a more high end clientele. In viewing the menu I knew the food was going to be good just based on their flavorings and descriptions. 95% of all Mexican restaurants make generic Mexican food! Yes, that food is good as well but, once in awhile you will come across a rare find. The only other upscale Mexican restaurant I have found is Javier’s in Newport Beach, CA.
At Matador, the food was good. I like how you can choose a traditional dish but then they have variety of flavors and spices from which to choose for the preparation. The Queso was just ok, it’s more of a bean dip with some cheese. They need to reverse it and have less bean dip and a lot more queso. With the Street Tacos they should allow you to pick what meat you want inside. Here they give you 5 tacos, each with a different meat and flavor. We found we preferred 2 of the 5. Chips and salsa were good. Salsa could be a bit more spicy. But the way they make it will allow more people to enjoy it. I would recommend having 2 salsas and let the customer get what they want. I like spicy, my wife doesn’t. The best plate I had was the Spicy Mexican Shrimp with habanero sauce and a Jalapeño Corn Bread. This plate was amazing! At the end of the day I told my wife, «Why would we go to any other Mexican place when we can come here for the ambience?» Most people take pics of the food. To me it’s all about the atmosphere.
We just moved to The Pearl and have not been to another Mexican restaurant in Portland prior to The Matador. No need for us to look any further!
We’d like to thank Corah our server. We enjoyed her company, very friendly and knowledgable.

Countless times at my favorite place on 23^rd. Get the nachos. Just get them and trust me. And add the chicken or steak. You’re welcome.
There is almost ALWAYS a wait so be prepared in case you come and expect to be seated immediately. Also take note that they don’t take reservations-​even for large parties.
Their margaritas are strong-​I recommend ordering strawberry with a sugared rim. They’re also very sweet so expect that.
Chips and salsa come out immediately and they do a great job keeping them filled for the full table. Usually I prefer chunky salsa but theirs works-​especially if you’re a «salsa person» and can pour it over whatever you order.
On warm nights they completely open up the windows for that indoor-​outdoor feel. Sooo nice but bring a sweater because remember, it’s Portland.
Matador is 21+ only-​no exceptions.

For wanting lunch on a Sunday, this place is decent. The restaurant wasn’t crowded at all and we stayed for 2 hours drinking coffee with plenty of refills. The waitress didn’t try to rush us out the door at all.
The food itself is meh… It’s your typical white flavorless Portland Mexican food. I got the burrito and asked for the spiciest sauce… There was no sauce and it was… Not the best burrito. I wasn’t wild about the place, but I was also hungover and just really wanted food.
Bottom line: friendly and fast service on a Sunday when every other brunch place is packed. But nothing notable about the food.

Overall experience — we were not terribly impressed. I think the best food we had (in a party of four) was the brussel sprouts appetizer. The sprouts were perfectly cooked and the sauce was light with a taste of lime and under ten dollars = amazing!
The guacamole was expensive and didn’t taste very fresh, so if we come back we will stick to chips and salsa which were great! Light and crispy chips and spicy, tasty salsa! We tried four different meals and none of them were stellar, two were overcooked, one was small and other was bland (but adding the left over lime sauce from the brussel sprout appetizer dish helped). The service was overworked or at least seemed that way and we even ran into some worker drama in the restroom, which made us feel less comfortable than we were to start. For the price, the food, the service and the crowded atmosphere, you will most likely not find us here again anytime soon.

Love their nachos! I was a wee bit disappointed in everything else, but I think I’ll give it another chance. I had the calamari taco and I felt regretful after. The service here is great with an extremely attractive staff.

Food — delicious! Usually super good and just what you’d want.
Service — superb servers but hate how busy it always is. They do great though and are really nice. My one complaint why I don’t give five stars is the wait time, crowdedness, and my nachos today the cheese wasn’t completely melted. :(
Ambiance — one of the best ambiance in Portland! It’s dark (not too dark) they have fires and a beautiful wooden bar and booths. It’s gorgeous, and really creates a fun and relaxing vibe.
Price — happy hour is amazing! Normally kinda spendy but if you go 4 – 6 or 10p-​1a for happy hour it’s well worth it with large portions.

Sometimes I ONLY come here for the chips and beers, only because its a block from my house. I’ve had dinner here but would not recommend it if you prefer anything close to authentic Mexican food. I ordered street tacos once and would not order them again. Im from LA and nothing here tastes remotely authentic. Everyone eating here seems like they’re dressed up for a Vegas nightclub.
I just learned the other day that if you have a dog you will be seated before people that were waiting longer than you, outdoors of course. So if you have a dog and its nice out, you’re first to sit! Weird rule but whatever I like animals.
I think they require the hostess’ to wear tight clothes and weird outfits.
The quesadilla with mushrooms on the appetizer menu is probably the best thing they have to offer besides the alcohol.
If you’re just starting your night off and maybe you live nearby, MAYBE go here before you go somewhere better.

We love The Matador
The happy hour is great
Great environment
Great staff
Great!

Love the service and the menu. Best tortilla soup and nice spicy margaritas. Friendly atmosphere. We love to be back

I had heard that this was a great spot to hit for happy hour — my bad I was early. But you know what, the prices were still reasonable.
Very comfortable setting. We did change tables because the sun was to bright up front (I know, right! Sun to bright if February in Portland!). Any the moved us to a table further back and bonus the ambient noise was quieter back there (tip of the day).
Our water was came out quickly as well as chips and a really good salsa. We ordered the Grande Nachos with shredded chicken and the Classic Margaritas. The margaritas were the best I’ve had in a long time.
The nachos came out quickly and were spectacular! Heaps of toppings and shredded chicken, and it tasted even better. What is key to good nachos is having crispy chips all the way down to the bottom even under a he toppings — and they did it here.
I’m looking forward to another trip in to check out more of the menu.

I’ve had an amazing time at this place every visit. The ambiance is great and the indoor firetable is a impeccable touch. Great place for a date. Janyne is an amazing server if you get her you are very lucky. The carne asada anything is amazing and guacamole is a must. This place has an incredible selection of tequila too. Bottoms up.

It’s okay but just okay. Food was okay, nothing too special. I felt like it was overpriced. The service was good and the atmosphere is nice and the place is nicely decorated.

One of my favorite places for happy hour! Please go try their hh nachos. They also have great margs and large entrée portions for a reasonable price!

I’m surprised to see this place only has 3.5 stars. My boyfriend and I come here at least once a month to sit at the bar and eat. The food is always delicious and we usually get a 2^nd meal out of them since they’re so big. The bartenders are always super nice too. The happy hour is awesome. Big fan!

Bought gift cards from Costco. Loaded up all 4 kids excited to try a new place. They don’t allow kids. Might have been something worth noting on cards or making it clear on the website. We now have hundreds of dollars in cards we cannot use.

We only went here because we had a gift card and after our meal, we gave them the gift card to pay. The server came back and informed us that the gift card machine was broken and there was nothing they could do… That is BS. The manager came over and told us the same thing. They wouldn’t even comp our food! The manager gave us another $ 10 gift card (umm???).
After being in the restaurant biz for almost 10 years, I was extremely disappointed by this customer service. They should have told us at the beginning, before ordering anything, that the gift card machine was down, instead they conned us into spending $ 60+ there.
Needless to say, we are not satisfied and will not be returning to this establishment.

Frequent visitor here and am always impressed by the food. The beef is so delicious I’ve never had anything like it. I recommend the taco salad, it’s the size of your face! Hands down the best salsa and margaritas. I more recently tried the jalapeño cucumber and was blown away. And I always get the bacon wrapped jalapeños, which are a group favorite. The only thing I don’t love is the service. Sometimes it’s pretty terrible but sometimes it’s amazing. Wish that was more consistent, but besides that I always enjoy eating there.

The food was good. The service was HORRID.
One of our Cadillac margaritas came with a dead fly in it (no joke) and when we brought this to the attention of our server (which took 10 minutes because she never came to check on us) she simply whisked it away and then 10 minutes later brought us a new one. No «im so sorry this happened» from her. And on top of — she charged us for that drink. She never made eye contact with us the whole time. When we asked her what was good she simply rattled off a list of generic menu items with no emotion. Needless to say I will not be back.

They’re a bunch of lying pricks. We had a gift card and the told us at the end of the meal that the gift card reader has been «off line» ALL day and would not take our gift card. That was the only reason why we went there; to spend the gift card. We went back to Costco right away to return the gift cards. They had to call and verify the balance and they gave Costco the run around about how they’re not authorized to check gift card balance. It wasn’t until Costco said that they were Costco that they had the authorization. Meaning, the gift card reader miraculously started to work. What a bunch of greedy jerks, didn’t want us to use their gift cards that we bought from Costco.
The positives: The ambiance is nice and they give you decent portions. Guacamole was good but needed a dash or two of salt. Happy hour menu has a lot of options at a very reasonable priced. The chili verde was delicious. It was one of my favorite items I ordered. The cucumber jalapeño margarita was spicy and delicious. I didn’t taste the cucumber but I still liked it. The nachos were decent.
Now on to more negatives: not a family friendly restaurant (only applied to people with kids). Minors are not allowed. We lied to the host when she asked if we were all over 21. The chicken tortilla soup had an off putting sourness to it. I had a chorizo and an al pastor taco. The chorizo did not taste like chorizo. It had no spices that you would associate with chorizo. It was basically a ground pork taco. The al pastor also tasted like a basic pork taco. The shrimp quesadilla was bland and needed some salt.

We went here for a HH /​White Elephant Meetup get together. I did call ahead to let them know that we were coming and if they would be so kind as to hold some tables for us. She said that they don’t take reservations but to call back 15 ahead of time. I said ok… well I made it there early to let them know again. I was greeted by the waitress and she didn’t really smile but said she «thinks» that she could accommodate our group of 15. She left to check and while she was gone a very friendly male came up and asked if I I’d been helped. I said yes that she had been looking for space for our group. He asked what for and replied «just 15?!! :) No problem at all!» He was sooooo much better customer service wise than any of the other women waitresses or hostesses. We are a group of 15 and I got treated a little bit rudely. I ignored it as we got a table… I had HH garlic shrimp and guac which to me a great value :) They were yummy! The margarita was just so-​so. We did ask too if they could do separate checks but boy we felt like ti was an inconvenience in the end! She took all the credit cards. then came back with them all mixed up and had to sort them out again. I get that we are a lot of people… but c’mon.we waited a long time for the checks to get straight. My friends all said the service was lousy and the waitresses were rude. Things were forgotten as well. Tortillas, glasses of wine, etc. I tried to be nice and call ahead so that this place knew what to expect and to be prepared for it. The experience last night made us feel like The Matador is ill suited for large groups. I’d go back for a date or a friend for happy hour… but this place needs work with customer service. Thank you.

Food is good, but overpriced– because it’s on 23^rd… and the wait staff is not the most friendly or down to earth. I had 2 margaritas and did not taste any tequila in either of them. Fun atmosphere but will choose other places over here.

Get before six o’clock and enjoy great happy hour. The happy hour options are the same size of the regular menu, but with better price. The place is well known for margaritas, all of them were fantastic. I visited on Monday, it was kind of busy, it seems a great place to hang out and meet locals. Our bartender Mike was very friendly.

I’ve been going to Matador for a couple of years now and it is consistently good food. Although, their burrito does give you a bit of a gut bomb… But it is delicious!
The one gripe is that there food is rather pricey for the quality. Yes, it js good but it isn’t the best Mexican food of all time. Also, for lunch they don’t have any lunch time deals. I think this is a shame since a lot of people work in NW Portland go here. Just a thought.
What they do really well is have a good happy hour menu and great prices. They also make really good drinks.
I recommend his spot for a great HH spot or if you’re looking for a nice place to snag a drink in the summer (they open up all he Windows and it’s very nice.)
3.5 Stars.

This place was excellent all the way from the first check in to the time I left I had a great time there, ordered one of the signature margaritas and it was fantastic had some chili wings which were great and we topped it off with the street tacos and everything was on point the salsa was awesome and everything was just fantasticwhen you’re in the Northwest highly recommend a Matador so are the best places over there

We went to Matador after a friends theater show and it was perfect. The drinks were delicious and strong, and the food was wonderful. We all shared a nachos and then I also got the shrimp quesadillas during happy hour and it was so delicious. The atmosphere was also really great! I am going back to Portland to visit friends again in a few weeks and I hope we find time to stop at Matador again for so

I was in town from Boise and met my sister and mom at The Matador for lunch. We have a Matador in downtown Boise, and I love it, so I figured it’d be a great place to stop in.
My mom was seated when we got there. It was a weekday afternoon, so the place was pretty empty. A few tables of quite guests, served by a couple of slow-​moving waiters. Our waitress, Kristeen, welcomed us with lackluster enthusiasm.
My mom and I ordered margaritas. I went with a mango margarita, and it hit the spot. For lunch, I ordered the taco flight (I believe it was on a special menu). It was okay, but nothing to right home about. One of them (I couldn’t really tell them apart, and our waitress didn’t bother to distinguish them) was way too spicy, and one was very bland.
My mom also got the corn as a side; I don’t remember the name of it. It, too, was on a specialty menu. I thought it was overly spicy and heavy on the cilantro. My mom couldn’t eat it because of the spicyness.
Our waitress was not friendly and very nonattentive through our meal. Because of this, my mom only tipped her 10% ($ 4, which is not the worst we could have given her).
BUT GET THIS. When my mom received her credit card statement, Kristeen (our waitress) had taken the pleasure of DOUBLING her tip. I don’t believe an extra $ 4 is enough to make a big fuss about, but the amount of integrity she had to lack to do that is! I could not believe that a waitress would do something like that, jeopardizing not only her own image, but that of the restaurant’s as well. I imagine she thought my mom wouldn’t even notice. How dirty.
My mom called and spoke with the manager, who was happy to reverse the charge. I don’t normally use social media to complain about wait staff, because I know it can be a shitty job, but I fully hope that she gets reprimanded for her actions.

I’m from LA so while visiting Portland my friend insisted that we needed to try this place. To my surprise it was delicious. All the food was so good. We came during happy hour. We had the Tacos, al pastor & the carnitas. In my opinion the carnitas tacos tasted better then the Al pastor tacos. We also had the stuffed Jalapeños, strawberry salad, chicken tortilla soup, chips and salsa & the best corn on the cob.
Our server was Monique, who was very sweet & delightful. We had a couple of laughs, she definitely provided great customer service. Their host were not the greatest but overall it was a great experience

We missed happy hour which it sounds like is the big draw, but we came here on the 4^th and had a nice meal except for a very weird service fall out at the end.
Sat at the bar for drinks. One small thing is the wine comes in very thick glasses. Just makes it seem clunky vs having a nice glass of wine.
The hubs and I both ordered off the seasonal menu. His taco tasting plate was an awesome portion of 5 tacos for $ 11. I had the chipotle shrimp salad which was tasty. Neither was anything to write home about, but good food at decent prices. Chips and salsa were also quite tasty.
We were there for about 2 hours and didn’t see our server/​bartender at all for the last half an hour. Which is weird because we were sitting AT the bar… we had to ask another bartender to refill our water and then after much waiting flagged down the other bartender to get our bill. He then got the code to get our bill from our original bartender who didn’t bother to come out to give us our bill. Just seemed bizarre. If he was doing a shift change or something I would think he would come out to tell us.

My girlfriend had talked about wanting to go to Casa Del Matador for quite awhile, and we finally made it over there last night. I really dug it a lot.
I was immediately captivated by the façade, and wrought iron décor. The same goes for inside, where there is a fire roaring (with an adequate exhaust fan, thankfully), more wrought iron décor, and a general rustic feeling.
As far as food, we shared the $ 5 nachos, and I also got 2 carnitas tacos for $ 5. So often when you get nachos, all the good stuff is on top of too many plain chips below. Thankfully, they layered up and they were real good throughout! I was impressed by the flavor of the juicy carnitas, and size of the tacos. They claim Tex Mex, and for sure live up to it with big plates, low prices and good flavors. (see photos)
For drinks we both had a Top Shelf Margarita, opting to go with the Hornitos x Patron vs Sauza, as we both feel there’s a big difference between well and more expensive tequila… While it goes down, and the next day, haha. The margaritas weren’t super special, but were good. I’ll probably try the sangria next time.
I recommend going during happy hour, as their menu is pretty extensive and the ambiance is good!

Anna and I wanted to sit down. We’ve had a little project today, and enchiladas sounded good.
The service was impeccable with chips and salsa placed at our booth as we sat down. There were quite a few people in there for lunch– some drinking margaritas and some beer but the noise level was fine.
The salsa had that super smoked taste that I don’t care for but some do– I use chipotle peppers but not in that quantity and I got the enchiladas verde for lunch. The tomatillo sauce was on the sweet rather than ‘zingy’ side and it just wasn’t my thing. Anna got some chicken sandwich she was perfectly happy with.
All in all a mediocre experience that could change into a good one — say, if you had a bunch of drinking pals and you were there at night. The fireplace is gorgeous even if the long horn skulls are over the top. How many Texas long horn skulls does a restaurant really need anyway? I love ‘em but they were everywhere.
The guacamole needed a bit more lime (kinda bland) but the chips were crispy and fresh– the rice was the standard orange stuff. For over $ 30 I really wish I could say it was better, but I can’t. Still, the customer service was excellent and it was very clean. Take your Grandma…

Really love the ambiance of this place! Came in at 5:30 on Thursday in the midst of happy hour. I lucked out because I was meeting people who already had a table, but it didn’t seem like the wait was super long for those who weren’t so lucky.
First off: their house margaritas as delicious! Seriously one of the best I’ve had. I definitely recommend getting one :). Complementary chips and salsa are delicious as well. Inside tip: I thought the salsa was great, while my dining companion thought it was too spicy. Guess it’s a spiceyness preference. We ended up staying for dinner too; I ordered the blackened fish tacos. They were good, nothing to write home about though. I would have preferred them in corn tortillas however. 2 fish tacos, beans and rice for about $ 13. Not too bad I think.
Overall take away: really cool place to come for a margarita and a taco during happy hour. Nothing special, but a nice option in the neighborhood.