El Toro Bravo

The food and the catering service is unmatched! We ordered food for an End of the School Year Lunch for a local middle school! Laura– the catering manager– called after we ordered and offered to deliver for free! The food was so delicious and there was plenty of it! Lots of staff members were able to take home leftovers! We will definitely be using El Toro Bravo again for future events.

They used to make a huge stuffy carne asada burrito but new staff made it smaller & loose. They charge a quarter for extra sour cream. Adiós senores, goin’ back to Alberto’s (by Edinger) where it has a pickled jalapenos, carrots, fresh salsa etc FREE of charge.

Great place to pick up carnitas for dinner. We grab the family pack with tortillas and salsa.
We also ask for pico de gallo and salsa verde along with the red sauce. Sometimes they are out of tortillas which is too bad since they are good! We have also had them cater small parties. $ 115 feeds everyone with some leftovers and they will deliver if the order is over $ 75.

This place was recommended by several people. Today I finally got to experience El Toro Bravo. Overall, great place to grab some delicious Mexican food: tacos and burritos :) It’s not really a sit-​down restaurant but there are some tables and chairs inside and outside if you wish to eat there ~ it’s definitely got the «hole in the wall» vibe. The tacos are huge… I ordered 3 (hard-​shell and soft) and ended up saving 1 for later. Even two tacos were quite filling. It’s affordable and food is amazing (especially the hard-​shell tacos!). There was a bit of a wait, they apologized as they had a large catering order… Other than that, I’m pretty happy with my experience and am looking forward to going back whenever I need to satisfy my taco fix.

Excellent food. Crap service. When we came in for dinner these to guys where standing around chit-​chating. It took them forever to take our order and even longer to make the food. I mean, how long does it take to wrap a burrito anyway? We could have driven to the Costa Mesa location and got our food before these guys finished. Oh, and there was no Horchata either, they said they hadn’t had a chance to make any. We will not be returning to this location.

I don’t usually take things personal but when I went here the other day I felt very discriminated against. Believe it or not I’m Hispanic but don’t speak spanish. I went in here and was talked about in Spanish and knew it. I don’t speak it but understand it very well. Not ok to make fun of me by the food I order. The old man that was making my food was talking to other men in the shop about me. Not ok! This establishment needs to be looked at by their main shop. They are allowing this shop to be ran very badly.

Was in the plaza and wanted a quick bite so I Unilocaled El Toro Bravo and went in because it had good reviews. The customer service was great, they let me sample anything I wanted. I ended up getting a carnitas taco because the al pastor and carne asada were not that flavorful.
For $ 3 you get a huge taco. Like really huge. But right after I ate it, my stomach started hurting and gurgling, which means the quality of meat wasn’t that great here. Sorry but won’t be returning.

The old guy that cooks in the back is so grumpy I thought he had to be the owner. In most of these type of establishments that is what you find. Some grumpy, overworked, non too concerned owner just trying to make it to retirement. Or maybe just the next day…
With that said the food is awesome! This is my go to place when the family is coming over for dinner and I don’t have time to cook. $ 50 more than feeds eight adults with tacos, beans, rice, chips and guacamole. The meats are all being cooked while you are there. Everything is so fresh. The salsas are spicy as well. Family dinners include chips, soda and all the fixins you need for your tacos such as onions and cilantro.
I come here quite often and find that the rest of the crew is extremely friendly and accommodating. We just overlook ol grumpo. It’s fun trying to make him smile.

I’ve been craving/​looking for a good Mexican place ever since I moved out of Los Angeles and came across this place online and I gotta admit it’s pretty darn good. I ordered two carne asada burritos and carnitas nacho and they were amazing, large portions, flavorful and etc. the only knock I have to say is I didn’t see the old guy cooking using gloves.

Got here late one night after work. They let me in right as they were closing, which was nice. I had never been there before so didn’t know what to order. So I kept it simple with two beef tacos and a chicken burrito, which came out to about $ 12. Quantities are huge, it was enough for my wife to have for dinner and lunch the next day. Prices are definitely reasonable for what you get. I think my wife and I liked the beef tacos over the chicken, but I’d go back to try more. I was impressed how they are a little market where you can buy a lot of food for parties or to bring home.
Only bad thing is the shopping center it’s in has the worst parking. It’s tucked in the corner by Starbucks, but the lot is so small. I also wish they gave you chip with your order, but they do sell bags of their popular chips.
Also, tried the spicy salsa and didn’t find it that hot, but maybe got the wrong stuff.

K this probably was the most disgusting place in the way they prepare your food.
1. They touch raw meat and don’t wash their hands
2. He scooped the sour cream without a spoon (he used his hand)
3. Oven didn’t look like it’s ever been cleaned
4. There was a hair in my tamale
5. He microwaved my rice and beans
Like what kind of food place is

My go to spot for picking up lunch for a group since it is yummy and the cost per person is not as high as fast food and it is much healthier. They give you a lot of valiue and when you have 4 – 6 friends or a group of worker you need to feed it is perfect. The staff is efficient and clean (the to go packing could be improved) stir coffee cups for salsa?)
Love ETB

Walking in it smells like authentic Mexican food which made me very happy. Unfortunately the young man as cashier was lacking in the customer service department. He seemed to not care about the customer at all. While we were looking at the menu over head, small menu, he even took a phone call and stepped out side then spoke to us in a rushing tone. The older man preparing the good seemed sweet though. He forgot to give me the salsa on the side and the cooked jalapeños which I was looking forward to. Our order was to go. The food was ok but I’ll be going elsewhere to satisfy my Mexican food cravings. It’s a very small place tucked in next to the Starbucks. One table inside I believe.

Do you find yourself craving something and end up ordering too much? Yep that was me today at El Toro Bravo.
As I patiently stood in line to place my order, I debated between one or two tacos but then I saw someone pass with their plate so I went for three.
Cabeza– meat from the head of a cow. Not stringy but needed some salt but good flavor overall.
Carnitas — shredded pork. Yummy! I split this taco with my husband.
Carne Asada — I’m going to say it was good because my husband didn’t share this one with me.
Tacos come with the standard found toppings of cilantro, onions, and green or red salsa. However, I don’t know if I looked hungry but each taco was made with three tortillas! This led to tummy overload since these were the regular size tortillas.
The only downside is that they didn’t have lengua and I wonder if it’s due to being a satellite location. Friendly service but inside sitting is limited.

Food here is excellent! Really authentic and ready to go. Favorite Mexican fast food in the area

This location has good carnitas, taste just like the original location but still not the same bc the tortillas aren’t freshly made here.
The parking sucks at this location, you’ll be blessed to find a spot.
The wait isn’t long and they serve you quick but there are only three small tables so don’t plan on bringing the entire family!
Other than that the food is great and would definitely recommend this place to anyone who’s looking for some good tacos or burritos!

I’ve been coming here regularly for a year. Fuck this place now. As someone in the business myself, I cringe when my crew turns a customer away even a minute before we close, but this place takes the cake. Not only did they send me off totally empty handed, but the cook/​meat guy is always unapologetic and often unfriendly. Fortunately, you had one employee in there tonight who has a shred of customer service sense, because I can’t say that about most of your team.
This is the second time in a row that I’ve arrived well before closing time, and they told me they were closed already. It’s the third time if you count the situation when they said they were closing, but managed to scrape some leftover scraps together. In fact, I was here at 7:36 tonight and, according to the crew on staff, they close at 8. Although, according to Google maps they close at 9. According to the OPEN sign on their door combined with the unlocked front door, they were still open. But that’s beside the point. It is 7:36 PM on a Friday night and their warming trays are all pulled, the food display is completely empty and the bleach is being applied liberally.
What kind of operation are you running here? Are you so flush with cash that you just don’t need the Friday night rush? This shit boggles my mind. I’m sincerely baffled and would really love an explanation how you’re able to pull it off. If you read this far and would be willing to sit down with me to explain your business model I would love to buy you lunch and talk about it, but we’ll go somewhere that I can be sure will be open. :) Seriously though, Email me at pklein3[at]yahoo[dot]com.
I guess if I had to have something positive to take away from this, it’s that I can confirm that they do clean the joint. I wasn’t certain of that before seeing their closing routine in person. There’s your one star and the last time I’ll ever bother to try to eat here. Fortunately, the El Toro store in Santa Ana has better carnitas anyway.
Good luck.

Decent burrito with decent prices. We walked in and was greeted by the gentlemen in the back of the counter. I was needing a breakfast burrito and they had various kinds. You can choose carne asada, canitas and chicken. I opted for the carne. The eggs are not made fresh to order and they were already pre-​made in the container. The guy put a large tortilla on the grill, chopped up the meat, added eggs, cheese, cilantro and medium salsa.
The portion is generous and the burrito had good flavor. They offered a student discount if you show your school ID. When I questioned the discount, the guy behind the counter said that it was only valid M-​F. (There’s no sign indicating that notation.) The guy gave me the discount anyways, but that was a little shady.
There are a couple tables inside and a table outside. This place is right next to Starbucks off the Red Hill exit in Tustin.

I was in the area and didn’t want to eat the same old food so I checked Unilocal and saw this authentic Mexican spot. The reviews were varying, but it was a short walk from Tustin HS where I was attending an event.
It’s a typical «hole in the wall» and has all the standard selections. I wanted to try a good cross section of items and the prices were low so I opted for a carnitas taco, chicharron taco, pork and chicken tamales.
I wasn’t able to eat it all since the portions were huge, but I especially enjoyed the chicharron taco since I don’t often get that in south OC.
My tip is to order in Spanish, when possible. I used just enough to hold a conversation and the cook was happy to load on way more food than I needed. He knew I wasn’t a native speaker, but was thankful I attempted to connect with him. It made just an average trip to his store into an above average experience.

This was a nice find thanks to my foodie coworker. Hunger strikes, we’ll go the distance for good eats. Since I’ve been accustomed to the Mexican food down in San Diego, its been quite challenging to find good quality restaurants that are at par within their category. Either meats are dry, not enough substance, or even worse, lacking of flavor. This place, however, done quite well. While it didn’t hold that same feel that I’m use too, it held up well on its own.
We both had a barbacoa tacos which were packed with meat and toppings. Always a plus when you have quantity. Normally, its a trade off between quantity and quality. But surprisingly, it did not lack in quality. Everything was made fresh right in front of you. I saw the guy pull out a babacoa from the pit of sauce and chopped it up in front of us. He also did the same when preparing our carnitas nachos. Chip was light and crispy while not being hard or stale. Meat was juicy and full of flavor as well. I would recommend you share that with 2 people or more.
Parking here can be challenging during lunch so be sure to have ample time or have a driver wait in the car for you while you pickup. Only thing I regretted was not getting enough hot sauce. Personally, it wasn’t hot but this topic is quite subjective between individuals. I would recommend you stop but and check this place out. Its a nice surprise for me to find decent Mexican food. Win for today!