El Toreador

Food was just like any other Mexican food I’ve had to be honest.
This place was okay. Came here with my roommates when we woke up from a wild night the previous night. Was hoping for some type of «Taqueria» status food.
(We should have went to the mission, I know)
We had to wait 20 minutes to be seated, but that was understandable for a party of 6, and how busy the place was.
Service was okay. Waiters seemed to be annoyed or pissed off whenever we asked for something. Our utensils set on our table were dirty, nothing but eye rolls from their waiter when we asked for new ones. When we asked for more chips for the salsa, they only gave us one bowl of chips back, when we had 5 bowls given to begin with.
I probably wouldn’t come here again to be honest.

Saw what looked like an owner bring in 2 pit bull type dogs this morning in to restaurant before it was open is that health code violation? I was having coffee in my truck in front of store

It makes me sad to write this review. This was one of my go to restaurants in SF when entertaining out of town guests. It was good food in a truly unique and fun setting. There was a party of four of us that got there around 2:15 on Sunday and their brunch ends at 2:30 so we were given dinner menus to choose from. Two of us ordered items that were supposed to come with soup and when the entrees arrived with no soup I inquired about it and the waitress said that it only comes with dinner not lunch… even though they gave us dinner menus and charged us dinner prices!!! The entrees are also supposed to come with tortillas and when we asked for some the waitress said that they are only served upon request and then proceeded to ask how many tortillas we wanted!!! Never before at a restaurant has a waiter/​waitress asked me how many tortillas I would like with my meal. And when the bill came they charged us for each tortilla!!! The food is ok… the atmosphere is great… and their business practice shady. El Toreador is definitely off my list from now on.

Good Mexican food near home. The owners are so nice as are the wait staff. We go there regularly.

Food is generally very salty. I had the spinach enchiladas, and while the rice and beans were warm, the enchiladas were cold. Don’t know is this was the waiter’s fault or not. Pretty standard Mexican food, nothing special

On January 15^th 2016 we have the opportunity to celebrate my mother’s 73^rd birthday for lunch the food was outstanding, and the service was excellent. I would recommend anyone visiting San Francisco in the West Portal district to have lunch or dinner at this restaurant. Definitely will be back soon

I’ve been here almost 3 times and I am a fan! Their portions are large and delicious! Their salsa is AMAZING! I could not stop eating it! I wish they didn’t use chicken broth for their red sauce (I am a vegetarian). They have a variety of vegetarian options! Besides that authentic mexican food I would say!

The drinks are good but watery, the food is not what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant. The food does not taste authentic especially when it comes to the meat and chicken. Oh and service is too slow!

Visited here on a Saturday night. Most places in West Portal are not very big, but are absolutely crammed full of people. This spot was no exception, and it meant standing just about the entire time. The ceilings and walls are absolutely encrusted with all manner of interesting things, bright colors and festive themes. I could probably have done without the collection of hipster beer bottles near the door though. Hah.
But never mind the crowds. You can take all the notice of the wild décor that you like or don’t like.
Come to this place for the food and the service.
Very friendly staff, definitely about the most polite place I can remember, and the staff are fully bilingual (Spanish/​English).
Sure, you might pay a little more here than at a neighborhood taqueria — but the sheer volume of your portions and the quality of every single item on the menu.
Bring your appetite. Bring your friends.
It’s not great for large groups, that said, it’s a small place.
On weekends it’s absolutely jammed.
Just, they don’t do the best salads in the world.
Everything else is top of the class.

Atmosphere was pretty cool. However, I have eaten twice here and both times the food was disappointing.
1^st time: I had a seafood burrito and the taste was really awful. Only ate half.
2^nd time: I had the enchiladas rancheras and the ranchera sauce tasted & looked like it should be on top of spaghetti NOT enchiladas. Plus, the sauce was extremely watery and bland.
On top of that, not even the beans and rice are good, lacks flavor.

This is probably the best Mexican restaurant for the West Portal area. It’s not that they serve the best tasting Mexican food but it is a family, 2^nd generation business and the price is very reasonable, large portions, staff is friendly, lots of neighborhood folks come here and I like their enchiladas. They don’t take reservations so you have to sign up on the list hanging by the door. It’s not a big place but turnover is pretty fast.
The decorations are quite the hoot. I ordered the beef enchilada, chicken taco and chicken tamale which came with pinto beans, shredded lettuce, rice. They’ll gladly refill the tortilla chips basket. Food was better than our last visit in the past year.

Rude waiters called to place an order, I asked for a dish and instead of the guy saying we have different types of the dish he was really rude and just made me want to just cancel order… OK so I don’t know your menu lingo sorry work with me so I can get food and you can get money… Hello so much for customer service. Will not ever eat here again.

Be very careful if you dine here and have a peanut allergy: several of their sauces contain peanuts or peanut butter. I communicated with the staff about my peanut allergy when we sat and they did stop me from ordering something with the allergen for my own meal, but they overlooked the fact that another diner at my table had an entrée that also contained peanuts and unfortunately, I did share that food before it was brought to my attention.
If you have a peanut allergy, stick to the margaritas and salsa verde to be safe. And if it’s a really, really severe allergy, one where cross-​contamination of equipment could be an issue for you, this might not be the place for you.

Bummer! We just had lunch a few minutes ago. We ordered a shrimp quesadilla and a carnitas burrito. 40 minutes later our food finally arrives. Really!!! Come-​on!!!
Our waitress was «clumsy.» Drink re-​fills, missing utensils, slow service, lack of any updates on the food delays. I could see she was busy in the back, socializing or arranging everything else.
We over-​heard similar complaints from diners from nearby tables. 1 ½ hours later and $ 28 for mediocre food=means we won’t be returning. There are far better places to eat for less with prompt service.

Came to this little spot on West Portal because my dad and I were hungry for some late lunch. We never heard of it beforehand so this was totally spontaneous.
We were seated right away by a super nice waiter, who was very friendly and outgoing! We got our drinks right away and the food came quick as well.
I ordered some basic steak tacos, which exceeded my expectations! There were only 2, but they were stuffed with meat, salsa, lettuce and cheese! It also came with a small side of rice and beans, which was perfect because usually the sides at any other place I’ve been to have been way too large for me to finish.
The retried beans were AMAZING. The best that I’ve ever had. They must be making them the right way, because I finished them off very quick. My dad got a veggie burrito, which he was very fond of as well. The food was a perfect 10.
The inside of the restaurant has a lot of character, with the hundreds of knick knacks and décor.
The only downside was that these 2 older people sat next to us, out of all the empty seats, and felt the need to raise their voices too loud. I wasn’t really interested in hearing about their personal lives and political views, but what can you do? That’s not the restaurants fault however, as the waiter was nice enough to let the guests pick their seats.
I highly recommend this to anyone in the area looking for a bite to eat!

Wow! What a find. I have to admit I was drawn in by the bling of color glow from the street. But when we walked in to this diamond in West Portal we were immediately enamored by the colorful décor and warm ambiance of the place. We were seated immediately and promptly attended with water, chips and a cute carafe of homemade salsa.
Our server, Pedro, followed shortly with a hospitable smile and sample of the galactic sangria. WOW!
Everything about this place exceeded our expectations; the chips and salsa, soup, enchiladas, chimis, and of course, the Sangria. We will definitely be back!

I usually am not a cat that goes after Mexican food. don’t get me wrong, its not that I don’t enjoy or appreciate Mexican food, but when you grew up eating a lot of it through the years of being a young cub, you start to seek other ethnic foods. needless to say, it had been a while since I had Mexican food.
it was a Sunday afternoon and some friends and myself were deciding where would be a good place in the west portal area to grab something and fellowship for a while. one member of our clan of individuals recommended El Toreador as a great place, so despite some inward reluctance, we went on in.
what an interesting establishment. immediately I was greeted by a wave of your stereotypical «Mexican» decorations all through the building. literally, there were all kinds of crazy décor on the walls, hanging off the ceiling, this was kind of a trip I have to say. We were seated quickly at a table which had a very interesting lamp above it that seemed to have a shade made of a plastic bowl. very interesting. so far, a little quirky, but I’m a quirky cat, so I like quirk.
we all ordered a variety of things and of course were given tortilla chips and salsa which like any group of 20 – 30 somethings, finished quickly and had multiple refills. I ended up ordering a veggie burrito. simple, but seemed to be something that I would enjoy.
service was quite quick and the server was very kind and caring. refilling water and chips often.
the burrito I had was quite delicious, and I am so glad it wasn’t one of those monster burritos some places will make that you can barely put a paw around. perfect size for me and was beautifully served. everyone else’s dishes were also quite satisfactory it seemed.
price wise, I’d say this falls right around average in terms of what you would expect to pay at a Mexican restaurant. not too high, not too low, but pretty decent.
I’ll probably make my way back here again sometime, overall a nice and quirky experience for me. :3
*chirp!*

Really good Mexican food with fun décor.
Pros:
The place is designed kinda like a fun circus, it’s tacky and awesome.
The endless salsa (and chips) they provide is amazing. It’s spicy, tangy, smoky, and just wonderful.
Their food quality is great. My shrimp chili verde was delish. Ask for free corn tortillas too, piping hot.
My friends loved their crab quesadillas, spinach chlili relleno, chicken mole, shrimp taco salad, etc.
Con:
They don’t have micheladas!
Drinks are a bit weak
Their menu doesn’t show everything they have (like regular fajitas)
Big fan!

Every time I come here I have to wait for a table. I don’t mind though. I can pop next door to the pub and they will come and call your name when your table is ready.
Anyways, El Toreador. Adiós mio, so many chingaderas! This place is a family run place with tchotchkes everywhere. Plenty of pictures of their French bulldog! It’s a lot to take in visually.
The food is the best sit down Mexican food I’ve had in Northern California. Everything I’ve tried has been outstanding. Plus, their beer list is incredible and features at least 100 beers. This place really pleases everyone I invite to dine with me.
PROTIP: Expect to wait and beware of the salsa — it’s deadly.

I LOVE el toreador. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and little has changed (ahem– the monkey who slides across a rope in the back of the restaurant. RIP). Great for kids because they’ll probably be quiet, too busy staring at the walls.
The food is delicious. They give you big hot plates of what you ordered in a timely manner. The refried beans are probably the best I’ve ever had. I typically order the enchiladas or if I feel fancy, the Enchiladas with molè sauce.
Drinks are great too. They make a mean margarita that’s a must try.
They don’t accept reservations so it’s best to get there early and have a drink next door while you wait.

ok so I pass by for the first time to order a burrito May 16 4:15pm (to go) because I’ve always walked by this place but never ate there. The place was not busy as there were maybe at most two tables seated. I was immediately greeted by a male host or possibly server was very nice and accomodating. There was a waitress there though that glanced at me (not the nicest expression on her face when she looked my way) and did not so much as acknowledge me and made me feel somewhat awkward. I ordered my burrito from the host/​server and paid 8 dollars and some change for it. As I was waiting I noticed how my burrito was being prepared in the kitchen. They put all the nice fixings on it… but to my dismay, the woman who was preparing the burrito put the burrito in the microwave to heat it??? Come on $ 8.50 for a burrito and you put it in the microwave!!! That is just wrong. Will never come back again. This is West Portal, they should have better standards than that. Two stars only cause the host was attentive. And to think… I could have just went to Bull’s head to spend that same money to get a very good burger that is not just put in the «microwave» to cook!!!