The quesadillas were ok, but I really wish they had more seasoning! I had to ask for more sauce to give it more flavor. Even though I paid a bit more for a different meat option, I expected it to be more flavorful but it ended up being lacking. The servers were very nice and I appreciated the complimentary chips and salsa, which I enjoyed more than the actual meal. The ocean view was nice but the parking itself was confusing. It was blocked off on one side, so my friend and I just ended up parking somewhere else. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Positives: margaritas are really good, got a nice window seat, strawberry ice cream cake is good, hot wing strips are good and salsa is good! Negative: nachos chips tasted stale, the banana cheese cake chimichanga has good flavor but when she finally got around to bringing it was cold. The flautas were not good and the quesadillas weren't good either. Only one out of the four was good. All in all I was not impressed. read more

The best food on earth! The most excellent service on Earth I always have the best time cuz I go alone so I sit with the bartender area who is excellent and this past Easter day I got to meet the general manager Mike super nice hard worker the whole staff is amazing thank you for having me and a little extra thank you for the marshmallows with the chocolate on top ;-) that was cool love you El Torito's you're worth the drive it was two and a half hours to drive just to eat at your restaurant read more

Happen to arrive during Sunday Brunch. The mimosa was bottomless the tritium the best I ever had. Chile Verde beyond words. And our server Cres pleasant, kind, and full of smiles. Best brunch I ever had. read more

We're back here again and it's still just as amazing. Their drinks are delicious. The waitress recommended a coconut margarita and now I am obsessed. There are mahi-mahi tacos were my favorite. read more

Food was good! Service not so good, cold coffee, cold food and server didn't bring refills.

My grandma loves this place so we took her here while passing through. Personally, I was neither impressed or disappointed. It's fine. The good: - Views - Server was very nice - They validate parking and you can linger a bit The meh: - Slowwwww without a reservation. But that's normal for the area. - Prices are standard for the area. - Food was also just okay. It's not especially good or especially bad. It's basically what you'd get at any mid-tier Mexican place but for a few dollars more in tourist upcharge. The not so good: - OMG. please update the upstairs bathrooms. maybe it's just because I am short so I see the world at a slightly lower angle than everyone else or something, but as I opened the door to the bathroom I fully made eye contact with someone in the center stall of the womens' room. The gap between the stall wall and door is WAY TOO BIG if I walk in and get an eyeful of someone pooping. Lmao. Jump scare of the century and also nasty. - They seem understaffed. The hostess was so overwhelmed she just sort of stopped answering questions and froze up. read more

Food was outstanding. Wait was average, however the server was great! Jordyn was consistent with refills, check ups and super polite. Definitely will dine in again. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Took 15 minute to get water. Ordered chicken/steak fajitas. Chicken was totally dry and not even sure what the steak was. Took another 30 minutes. Showed with no tortillas. 10 minutes later they told us they were out of tortillas. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

DECRIMINATION! As a w Person who has been working in HR RELATIONS FOR OVER 10 years I'm aware of how employees should not be recrimination against customers for language barriers. I am a proud Native American woman who comes teary with her family to celebrate not one by two birthdays (drove 2hours to Come to this location) anyway both my sons birthdays were celebrated there last night. I asked my waitress if I could please get a co trainer to take the rest of the "consume" home from the birria tacos and the waitress she was with laughed at me and looked at her maybe because I said it wrong. Wish I could of got her name but I was in shock of the treatment she was a younger lady with big lashes. My waitress was nice but not this person . My children looked at me and my husband like they didn't u destined why she laughed at me . Thanks for the birthday memory. We were a party of 6 by the way. read more

Service went well and food was good. We took our 2 young children and they liked the chips and lemonade and looking out the window to the ocean view. It's convenient if your looking for a place to eat near the aquarium. The parking is validated for only 2 hrs and afterwards we were told 10 each hour so we parked free on the street. read more

Service was very slow. We waited over 1.5 hours for food and my food order was incorrect! The food was not authentic tasting. More wait staff is needed! read more

Debbie is 5 stars! Tonight as a party of 2 as we waited for a table Deborah A. passed us several times greating and smiling at us as she husseled and worked her tables, we were then lucky enough to be seated in her section. We were there for dinner but she turned it in to a "Night Out." She shared some history of the restaurant with us which we loved and helpped with realistic recommendation on our selections. Since today is Sat of the 4th of July weekend it was busy but once we were seated everything moved quickly. Debbie and team did a great job and we greatly appreciate it. We try hard to give fair reviews with good and poor service, but this time Debbie was exceptional and her service has not gone unnoticed. We will come back again looking for her. read more

I have never spoken to a manager after a meal before, but I needed to this time. The 2 stars are for the bus boys who helped us out so much when our waitress disappeared for 15 minutes at a time. Didn't get water for 45 minutes. Had to wave down a busboy and got water quickly. The waitress showed up 15 min later and left 4 more glasses, so now there's 10 glasses for 4 people. 2 meals were wrong. Ordered mahi mahi tacos and shrimp showed up. Ordered no rice and extra beans, but all rice was served. It tasted like the house margaritas had less alcohol than the Costco jugs. The salsa dishes are about 1/2 deep, so we had to wave over busboys several times for refills while we waited an hour for the food. The food was very tasty when it was finally served. And finally, we had to head back in to have our parking ticket validated a 2nd time, since the machine tried to get us to pay an additional $10. read more

Good service, food comes in time. Had breakfast limited but good choices. The view is absolutely awesome right on the ocean. Food quality is good had a good experience the place is busy but not crowded. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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I had the worst experience here! When we first came in we had the hostess completely ignore us while they talked to each other . We didn't get helped out until about 10 minutes after ,as we stood in front of them no welcome or acknowledgement. They then charged us someone else's table food on top of ours . We had to get it corrected twice and they somehow charged us 3x the amount and was told we had to wait a few business days for us to receive our money back . The hostess also seemed to be in a bad mood projecting her attitude to us , Sarah whoever worked your 6/27/26 shift around 3 (hostess ) does not like you we all heard her complain about you . read more

A take away order. Great food but not what I ordered. Ordered carnitas got fajitas. Had to ask for the flour tortillas that came with it. Ordered guacamole and had to go back and ask for the chips that were supposed to come with. Very confused service - but yummy food. What to do what to do. 5 stars for taste 1 star for competence of service. read more

In all fairness it was 10PM and we had just closed down another restaurant. I had creeped on the menu here and only wanted an item for dessert. We went in and it took a while to get seated even though they were pretty empty. Should have been a red flag but I really wanted that dessert. I got a raspberry lemon drop and my partner got a giant margarita with gran marnier. We got the queso dip to enjoy as we had drinks to enjoy before the dessert. Our waiter was a no show most of the time. We had to ask multiple times for water and napkins and even the dessert. There was a young woman who helped us but our waiter walked past us several times and was oblivious. He was not very personable and finally when we got the dessert that we came for it did not have everything it was supposed to come with and the scoop of ice cream looked like something that may have been for an individual bite on a spoon. We had a good time because we were together but man was the service horrible. I can't imagine charging that much and not even waiting on your table. I had always walked past this place and wondered what it was like and now I know. read more

I haven't been to an El torrito in years so i decided to go for some late night Mexican food. Service was horrible!..waited 45 minutes for my order which was only the three birria taco combo ( hardly any meat and one scoop of rice) . I also ordered the watermelon Margarita which had no taste of watermelon and hardly any alcohol. Furthermore, they ran out of chips! Total price $45.00 ....don't waste your time or money here they're way better places in Monterey than El torrito. read more

went back it's horrible please if your mexican don't buy anything from here it's not authentic at all your better off going to taco bell!!!

El Torito is one of those locations that I find myself constantly coming back to for the environment. The food, while good, isn't exceptional; You can probably find yourself enjoying atleast something on the menu. With that being said, the view, location, and staff make El Torito the perfect place to "hang out". There's a great ocean view, you can walk around cannery row or just enjoy the beach, and the staff are always friendly no matter what day I find myself in here. Aliana specifically is a great conversationalist and curious person which makes it easy to spark a conversation whether solo or with a group. In short, if you're not sure what to do, find some time to walk into here and try it out--don't be shy and give yourself the time of day to meet one of the El Torito staff. Grab a beer while you're at it. Cheers! read more

The service was ok. I got the street taco trio with carnitas. The rice and beans were good but the meat itself had no flavor the Cole slaw at the bottom of the taco is what made it taste good. It was an okay restaurant but I don't think it's a MUST go to place. read more

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It's white washed Mexican food, nothing special. You're basically just paying for the view. Service is alright. If you want real authentic Mexican food, do NOT come here for that. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Horrible service. Once me and my partner entered, the hostess was already giving an unwelcoming attitude. They sat us in a table far way from the booths next to a window even though there were plenty of booths used by others. So, for them to sit us at a table far away from others was an odd move. Our waitress took 30-40 minutes to even take our orders and gave me the wrong drink, the utensils were dirty. Flies were everywhere. Another waitress dropped water on my partners shoes. Just overall, horrible customer service. We left because it would take so long to get our orders and other reviews said that the portion sizes were small so we will not risk it to see if it's true and waste anymore time. I have never walked out of a restaurant but this place is the first place to make me do it. Don't come here. Fast food is better then this place. read more

Overall the food was pretty good, except my chicken enchiladas had to be sent back since they were definitely undercooked. The replacement meal came out quickly and the waiter was nice about it. The reasons I am leaving a 2-star review: -We had a 2PM reservation and still had to wait 45 minutes to be seated after being told multiple times by the hostess that it would only be a few minutes. She didn't seem to have a way to provide accurate wait times as she was constantly being asked by waiting parties "how much longer?" -Once we were seated by a more experienced host, service was ok, but had to wait about 30 minutes to get a water refill. -Probably hard to control, but despite the nice views of the ocean, there were quite a few flies floating around the dining room. - Parking was validated for 2 hours, but we were charged $10 for hour #3 even though the very slow seating and service pushed us past 2 hours. read more

El Torito - Sizzling Chicken Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Great food, service was good Maria was attentive When they say bottomless mimosas they mean bottomless mimosas read more

This El Torito location provides a great dining experience aesthetically. It is in a tourist location and is right on the water with tables that have an ocean view. Other Yelpers are correct that their service is pretty bad in terms of getting seated. However, once they finally get you seated, at least in the bar area, the servers are very friendly and pretty attentive. We just went for happy hour two times on our last visit in the area. We tried and like the mini tacos, taquitos, and salmon tacos. The Mexican pizza, basically nachos on a big chip, was really awful and we definitely recommend avoiding it at all costs. We couldn't finish it due to quality, which rarely happens for us. We tried their happy hour signature margarita, which was $6 on our visit, and without fruit flavor, both blended and on the rocks both salt. The flavor is just ok, it seems watered down, but there's definitely some alcohol in there. We also tried their pina colada and like it. They put in one shot of rum, which like the margarita you can't really taste, but eventually you can feel it. We also tried their fried ice cream dessert and Mexican chicken salad. We enjoyed both of these. Everything is a little pricey now, but especially the salad. However, we enjoyed it. If they forget to offer you complimentary chips and salsa, then be sure to ask for it. There is a brown and a red salsa. Tastes vary, so ask for both salsas if they only give you one so you can see which you like better. We didn't refill, but the chips and salsa used to be refillable. They have a private lot with a gate/arm, but you can get a validation when you eat. Make sure to keep the ticket and don't let them take it even if the exit gate is up as it may close while you are inside. You can probably walk around the cannery row once you get validated as long as you don't take too long. Even though the seating and table clearing was slow, we had a mice experience here watching the sun set over the water during happy hour on two different nights. We recommend being patient to get seated and possible get your order taken and give them a try. read more

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The food was plentiful and the service was exceptionally good. We got a ttable right in front of the spectacular view. Very enjoyable!!!

Where do I start. Customer service is not that great! Food? That was not Mexican food whatsoever! Food is bland and not authentic. And the price is insanely high! Not worth it! Overpriced mediocre food! read more

The food is very good, shrimp enchiladas and tacos are phenomenal. The drinks were decent, but nothing to write home about. There's plenty of seating by windows that look out into the bay. My biggest complaint is service. Our server didn't come off as very friendly, then accidentally filled our cups with soda water instead of sprite. Not a big deal, but it took reminding him twice before he corrected it. Given that it was a slow day during slow season, that's just disappointing. read more

Food: Our first time to this location. My husband had the shrimp chicken and steak fajitas. It had good flavor but a smaller portion than we had expected. I had the shrimp enchiladas which once again was smaller in portion than what we've had in other restaurants but had okay flavor. Complimentary chips and salsa once we were seated. We also had the strawberry mocktail as well as the cucumber mocktail which was refreshing but not recommended as it tasted like just flavored water for about $5. Service: Friendly and in a timely manner. We were expecting our fajitas to come out sizzling but the waiter that brought our food pulled out a lighter to create the sizzling effect....like what? Lol Ambiance: Nice and themed Spanish colonial architecture. Kind of had a old run down feel to it. Nice ocean view seating. Parking lot could use some cleaning up and the bull in front of the restaurant had a broken horn sadly with a sign that says please don't climb on the bull. Service: read more

pros: -loved my tableside chicken fajitas salad and the crunchy flautas appetizer -stunning views of the bay -service was excellent -lots of parking in the restaurant's lot read more

El Torito - FAJITA SALAD - GRILLED CHICKEN - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Today is my birthday! My son lives in LA & couldn't be with us to celebrate, so he made us a reservation at El Torito & covered the whole thing as a birthday gift for me/us. When he made the reservation (for 5pm) he told them it was my birthday & requested a table by the window & all the silliness that usually goes along with birthdays at El Torito (servers singing, etc). They agreed. Well... We arrived at the restaurant and our table wasn't ready. Ok. We waited for about ten minutes, then were escorted to a window table in the bar with soccer games on TV etc (they didn't ask us if that environment was ok, but whatever). Our table had nothing on it. No silverware, no napkins. Nothing. A server showed up after a bit of a wait. Took a drink order. Awesome. Chips & salsa. Great. Still no napkins or anything but ok. She takes our food order. We wanted to start with Table-Side guacamole It's fun. The server makes it right there, etc... it's my birthday! Let's do it. We order our entrees as well. Hubby & I both order Mexican Caesar salads to start. We sat for quite a while. Finally, a different server comes by with trays of food... it's not ours... it's the table next to us... but this random server takes a bowl of guacamole off their tray and just puts it on our table. No words. Nothing. Just a bowl of guac. It was so odd. Ummm, ok... but... where's the "Table-Side" part?? We started eating it with our sad, broken chips, lol. Our server's walking by, so I ask her if they don't do table-side anymore. She says she thought we wanted Happy Hour guacamole umm, no. But ok. Then... our meals arrive. Random server again. I immediately looked at my husband, and I knew we were thinking the exact same thing. No Mexican Caesar salads I told the random server that we were supposed to have salads, & he said he'd tell our server. Awesome. She came out with salads. Now we have a table crammed with plates of food. One problem. Still no silverware or napkins. We ask a different server for forks etc... she obliged, but kind of acted like she was doing us a favor, lol. No apology or anything... it was just weird. Whatever. Ok We have a lot of food now. It was all pretty good Lots of leftovers... yum! Steak in the fajitas was a little chewy, but other than that it was yummy. Ok... time for dessert or a song or... anything. A completely different server popped by and mumbled something about dessert & walked away. We all just kinda looked at each other like "What's going on?" Lol Then our original server shows up with the check. She didn't ask if we wanted dessert or coffee... nothing. No birthday song. No birthday flan I know I'm not 6, lol, but it was supposed to be silly & fun like my son requested when he made the reservation The whole place appeared to be very unorganized with poorly trained serving staff. Food was great (besides the chewy steak), but the service was a big disappointment. read more

Well the views are great. The food is alright. We didn't have a reservation so there was a 30 minute wait. Once we were called in, we got the chips and salsa. But our order took wayy too long to come by. Maybe another 30-45 minutes. It wasn't peak rush hour and still the wait was just a lot. I would honestly only rat this place for the beautiful views they have. The food was good but something worth waiting over an hour for. The waiter spilt the drink on me, which wasn't as bad and I wasn't upset, cuz accidents happen, they moved us to a different table, which was nice. Food still took way too long! I only ordered enchiladas and my friends ordered burritos and tacos. It was loud and there were a lot of birthdays which was a good sign cuz people come by to enjoy birthdays with their families. read more

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Terrible experience. Placed my order online at 708pm, received confirmation email my order would be ready at 730pm. Arrived for pickup and it is now 823pm and my order is still not ready. Ordered 1 appetizer and 1 entree over an hour ago and they haven't even started it. Unacceptable. Asked for a refund and it took forever for them to even find my order. Then asked for a confirmation email showing my refund, was told they don't do that, but to "trust" I will get my money back in 3-5 days. Complete waste of time, avoid this place. read more

Food : this place has pretty good food and comes out at a good time Service: the service is good all the servers I've had are really great and full of energy , the host are very welcoming and the bussers do a great job and the bartender carlos is a very attentive Ambience : the place is a Mexican style restaurant with a little bit of vintage feeling and the ocean view is amazing read more

Came for the Sunday all you can eat brunch buffet. I didn't know what to expect as this was my first time. It was nothing short of options from mexican to American breakfast favorites and includes desserts. Omelets, crepes made to order. The whole presentation was clean and well put together. You are also a served a fresh hot stack of pancakes upon getting seated. It also comes with bottomless mimosas. Service was great. I would say it is worth the $40 per person. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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This place was by the hotel I was staying at on vacation so I decided to try it. The salsa has a great flavor and the food was really good. Definitely try that bacon wrapped shrimp when you go. Our server, Eddy, was very friendly and on top of things. It has a beautiful scenery of the ocean and it's decorated very colorfully. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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THE HAIRY FLY OF IT ALL. They were willing to accommodate our semi large party however when the very first item arrived (chips& salsa) a long black hair stringed from the salsa to chip in a disgustingly delicate manner. Before the food or drinks arrived we were attacked by beach flies. Appetizer arrived after a 45min wait our cheese dip had already solidified. Although we were first table in the section (it was empty when we got seated) we were served last even after another large party. Now let's talk about the pile of weird crust/crumbs in a booth that looked like it had been forgotten about (see photo). Once entrees finally came I felt immense sadness that we came here for a special event and we were ignored and it was dirty. We still paid and tipped but it's a dump and I will never allow my family to come back here again. read more

El Torito - Dirty trash /crumbs. Lack of cleanliness. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Americanized Mexican food family restaurant chain is just fine, sometimes. Prices are competitive with other mid range restaurants, in the area. The location over the Monterey Peninsula Bay waters, makes the view outstanding. I appreciate the private parking lot, because tourist spots like Cannery Row, have ridiculous parking prices. The parking structures can charge up to $60 per day (crazy)! As a single, I sit at the bar and get great service.Self seated immediately and I am in their face, so hard to ignore (lol). Bartender was very nice and checked in, often. Great they still provide free chips and salsa, while you wait for your food. Good portions, good basic food, good service: off main dining times is always better, for service. Enjoy! read more

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