We got in to the restaurant on Fathers Day weekend a little late, 10:30 pm when they close at 11. Our chips were a bit stale and we asked if there was fresher chips and the server responded with it's the end of the night, it's all we have left. Kind of disappointing to hear that. The servers, bussers and staff talk loudly in front of customers about restaurant issues, instead of allowing customers to enjoy the ambiance of eating on the water. In a great tourist area. Found. A French frie in our nachos. How does that happen? Strange. Vacuums near us, I guess understandable. People cleaning everywhere, it is late. But it feels like we don't exist here. read more

Went there with friends and it was a very a good experience. Our server Isabel did a fantastic job and probably one of the best experiences we have had because of her attention to detail and professional behavior. Definitely coming back and eating here again. read more

Went on a Friday evening; beyond packed, but the bar area had available tables: bonus. Mojitos = 5 stars Carne Assada Burrito = 5 stars Excellent music playing (a variety of 90's alt rock, 2000's music, etc.) I will def be back! read more

This isn't authentic Mexican food but sometimes it hits the spot. The fajita salad is delicious and plentiful. They have a decent taco Tuesday and happy hour drinks. The down side is the service is extremely slow and they suffer from either poor management or not having enough staff. During my first visit my parents and I waited an hour before our food was served. The second visit the waiter was MIA. At my third visit, I asked for water and never it. read more

I have always loved going to torito for their great food but adriana was a great server and now can recognize this restaurant for it's service. She was well attentive and almost read my mind when I needed her assistance. definitely one of the best server experience i've had. read more

I used to love this place, until.... A friend came into town for a visit so we went out for what should have been a sure thing. Restaurant had a long wait so we went to the bar. A table finally opened up in the bar area, so we took our drinks and sat down. We all finished our drinks and then waited, and waited.... and waited. Yep, in a bar our drinks sat empty. No one came to help us. Finally a waitress came over and took our empty glasses, but she forgot to ask if we wanted anything else to drink. Strike one. She finally got around to taking our orders, then a few minutes later took the order of the table next to us. More waiting. Chips empty, no drinks, long wait. Then I see the table that ordered after us with a tray of steaming food next to their table. Strike two. More waiting. And waiting. At last our food came. I wish it hadn't. I ordered the "Sizzling Enchiladas." THE FOOD WAS COLD!!!! How do you serve cold "Sizzling Enchiladas????" Strike three. Another ten minutes passed, just long enough for me to become very angry, and when the waitress returned I told her she could take my plate because the food was cold. So she took it. Didn't ask if I wanted something else, didn't ask what was wrong with the food, just obliviously walked away. We got our check, and I had her remove the item. As we were leaving I found a manager and explained the embarrassment we'd experienced taking our out of town friend there. They apologized and offered to comp our meals. I said I'd already paid, and I wasn't complaining to get free food. I just wanted them to know how horrible the service and the food had been. She gave me a card and said we could come back any time on the house. I said "thanks but no thanks." I never want to repeat that experience. I haven't been back, nor will I be back. read more

Love El Toritos and the staff. I've had a couple great experiences here. Bomb as f@#! Carnitas. Great service Yoana thanks for taking care of us. The manager said hi, everyone was very nice. Will definitely be back. read more

Great service and beautiful area for a restaurant. Came in for brunch where we were the only couple in the restaurant. Their food is overpriced for what you get. Usually you get many sides for the same price, but not here. Just two pieces of bacon with small amount of French toast. Our server was very kind but it was overpriced for what we got. read more

Came here to grab a bite to eat, it was pretty busy and the wait wouldn't have been that bad but that wasn't the problem. Hostess was very unfriendly. Seemed like she was in a bad mood. They offered us a seat by the bar but got no menus and no one came to offer at least a bit of service or even a hello. The table was very wobbly so we moved to a different table. A couple who had already been sat and had menus was approached by one of the waiters and literally walked past us. I'm sorry, busy or not busy, group or no group, you show the same courtesy as any other. We got up and left and I bet no one even noticed. Glad I didn't leave my money here for that kind of service. I've had better service and more attentiveness at a Chili's than here. read more

I've been coming to this place for many years now and Maria Cruz the server never fails to deliver an exceptional experience. She truly makes us feel at home every time we come in. We recently came again with my family for the breakfast on Monday and the food was fantastic and of course Maria Cruz took great care of us. She made sure we never were in need of anything and food came out fresh and hot. The Monterey omelette was delicious I highly recommend. We will be coming again very soon thanks to Maria C. read more

Went here again a few weeks ago because I really like that fajitia salad. We decided to sit in the bar. Again 3 tables that came in after us where served before and it took us forever to get the server to assist us. it was half full in the bar and only 2 tables in our serves section. I hate to say it but I don't think I will be back .bummer. read more

The view is amazing but the food is not so much. I had so so spinach enchiladas. They did not get my order correct and my mojito was terrible. I'm pretty sure it wasn't shaken at all. We could see whales from our table but it was not worth the money. read more

Visiting beautiful Monterrey and had the best food server Maria Cruz, so attentive and had a wonderful table side manner!!! Food was delicious, prompt and hot! Best Experience! read more

Such great food snd service! Our server was Gaby, she was friendly and made me feel comfortable. I'm a picky eater a d she was able to explain the menu to me in detail and remember adjustments I asked for in my order! She made our experience great!!!! read more

I came to eat tonight with my family. Luz was our waitress and she was on it with everything we ask. Very friendly and kind! Luz was the best! She made our night! Thank you Luz! read more

Ruben was amazing, one of the best servers I've ever had, and I've been a server for years. Food was so good! Alcohol was great.

Good: - nice view - chips and salsa were tasty Bad: - food was disappointing, bland, ordinary - even the iced tea and water were sub-par - very expensive for what you get (2-3x San Francisco prices) - mexican food in the midwest is much better than this I would not eat here again. read more

I've never walked out of a restaurant after ordering before... until now. So first let me say, I was sad to have to come here in the first place, but it was Christmas, we didn't have reservations anywhere (weren't sure where we would be at dinner time since we were on the road), and everywhere else that was open was booked up. So here we went... This has got to be one of the most prime locations on cannery row, yet for some reason it belongs to a run down old El Torito... whatever, they do have a beautiful view! When we walked in they told us there would be a 20 min wait for a table, no problem, we waited at the bar. We ordered our drinks and then realized the entire bar seating area (fairly sizable) was open seating, had we known that we would have just sat there to begin with. No sooner did we get our drinks than our names were called, I asked if our drinks could be transferred to our table, but was told we had to pay for the drinks before leaving the bar, weird, but ok. After being seated it was taking a while for our server to come get our orders, so I told my partner what I wanted, and went to the restroom. When I got back the waiter had come, but they were out of what I wanted, so now we had to wait for him to come back and try to order again. We finally got an order in... We started with their tableside-prepaired guac, which I appreciate since you can choose to omit the onions (I HATE you onions!). After the guac, two baskets of chips, and the tables all around us which were seated after us getting their food and eating all of it, and no follow-up visit from our waiter, I decided it was time to leave. Over 45 min., no food, no waiter, had to leave. We still had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. Left $15 for guac. Avoid this place if you can, the food I did see looked like typical Americanized Mexican anyway. A tasteless, watered-down version that pales in comparison to the real thing. read more

Rosario was an absolute Gem. Great service, made us feel like family and not just a dining guest. Will definitely be back when we visit again. read more

They couldn't accommodate a vegan at all. I'm just super shocked because Mexican food is a lot easy to customize to be vegan than American food. read more

My mom, 1 year old son and myself tried to go here for lunch today thinking it was open since there isn't ANY sign of them being closed for a complete remodel. It was a joke since we left something at home for my son and we drove all the way back to that side of town for it to be closed. Just disappointed that there isn't anything saying y'all are closed. Was looking forward to happy hour. Maybe should have something saying y'all are closed somewhere on your website!! read more

Second chance for this place. Several open tables with few people seated anywhere. However we waited 15 minutes to be seated. We were seated in the bar when we wanted dinner. We don't think the waitress liked her job much. Service was really slow. We sat with dirty dishes and a spilled water on our table for a long time. When She finally asked us if we wanted our check, really what we wanted was our plates and spilled water cleaned up. We asked for some bean dip for our chips. Didn't come out until diner. Our check showed they charged us for 2 bean dips plus a dollar for the cheese they put on top. ( check your check) what the heck? The food was good but I would not recommend this place to anyone nor will we come back. read more

My daughter ate here on Sunday, April 26 and became ill immediately after eating here. She had food poisoning. I emailed their corporate office and will be contacting the health department. Apparently, in 2014 they had a violation: 09/22/2014: INSPECTION - INITIAL FIELD ACTIVITY Violations: Critical - 1 Noncritical - 0 Code Severity Violations Corrected On Site Complied On Date K001 Minor Demonstration of knowledge; food safety certificatiion I cannot even imagine how many people, especially children, who got sick this day. What are they going to offer her an apology and comp her next meal? Sorry the damage is done! I would advise everyone to definitely eat elsewhere! read more

We had a very wonderful experience at this establishment and it was all thanks to our waitress Grisel! She not only was kind, but before we even ordered she had us laughing and knowing that this would be an amazing experience! The food was really good as well! read more

We don't come here because the food is amazing (meh) or because service is wonderful (where is that waitress, my drink is still empty) or even because of the atmosphere (loud noises!). We come here because it is the only place I know of that keeps happy hour going late. I'm talking about half price drinks and apps way later than most places. The crispy chicken flautas are my personal favorite, and the giant margaritas of course. It might be just me but it seems like the metered parking on cannery row just keeps getting more expensive and I hate having to run out to pop a few more quarters in the machine. Enter the free parking at El Torito. It is definitely more relaxing sipping my giant margarita knowing that I'm not going to get a ticket from another over zealous Monterey cop. Oh and I have only been here once during the daylight hours but the view is amazing. I am still surprised that a chain restaurant was able to snap up such a primo location. read more

Wonderful experience, food, view and great customer service!! Easter Brunch with the family for second year in a row and definitely plan to come back. Joe and his staff provide excellent customer service, the food was delicious, and great views on the water! read more

El Torito - View from our table! - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Yeah, it's a chain, but I'm cool with that, especially when a) there's a great view and b) the place is kid-friendly. Re: item b., they actually ran out of highchairs when we were there -- they were all in use by other kidlets -- but we got one as soon as it was available. Helpful, efficient service. Servers didn't mind when my little toddler wanted to run around and even let us have a lime (a ball, to my little boy). My mega-huge mango margarita was tasty enough, if not particularly alcoholic. My a la carte chile relleno was good, too. Loved being able to look out at the ocean and the birds and the sea lions (or were they otters?). A good option, esp. on the dicey culinary landscape of Cannery Row. read more

Such amazing view along with spectacular food quality. Cres our server was so great with very fast service and so friendly!

Our server tonight, Jose, was amazing! Had a great time and the food was good! :D highlight of my day! read more

El Torito - Jose is the bees knees! - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Great time here at El Torito's Wed. Night. Ask for Joe the manager. He'll make you feel like family. Always a great time when Joe is around. You'll want to come back. read more

Ugh, what a waste of calories, stomach space, and money. I remembered El Torito being delicious when I was younger.. Either I really wasn't picky back then, or we had an exceptionally bad food experience here the other day. We came here for lunch, and we were seated immediately in a booth with a wonderful view. There, two stars. My boyfriend ordered a large beer, but they brought out a regular size. The waitress came over and was like "Oh, they gave you a regular. That's okay, right?" Well, gee, when you put it THAT way, I guess so! We ordered the Mexican hot wings for an appetizer. They were HUGE, and they gave us a ton. I would have liked them, had the chicken not been breaded and fried beforehand. I really did not like the breading AT ALL. Yuck. The sauce was extra spicy, which is good, but I never got the taste of the chicken with that spicy sauce... I got the taste of spicy breading, and plain chicken. It just didn't work. For our entrees, I ordered the cheese enchiladas. When they brought them out, I could tell that it wasn't going to be good. First of all, it didn't look warm at all. A few bites told me that I was right about that. Everything on my plate was lukewarm. The enchiladas were not well done at all. I've made enchiladas before, and I know that your supposed to heat up the tortillas and kind of soak them in sauce beforehand.. El Torito definitely didn't do this, because the tortillas were stiff and not good. I could tell they made the enchiladas, THEN put sauce on top. I couldn't even taste the cheese!! My boyfriend ordered the carne asada. The meat tasted like a big slab of fat. Actually, that's basically what it was. He had the same issue that I did with the cheese enchilada that was served atop his meat. His favorite thing about his meal? The flour tortillas served on the side. We would have ordred dessert, as I remember loving the fried ice cream, but the meal made me so sick, and I was in the bathroom for so long that my boyfriend paid the bill and was waiting for me in front of the restaurant. No complaints though, my stomach couldn't take anymore of that place. We were sick for the rest of the day. I was so sick that we spent an hour sitting on a bench on Cannery Row, just trying to get my stomach to calm down. With all the different options in Monterey, I'm really sad that we wasted our time at El Torito. read more

After waiting 90 minutes, we were still waiting for our second round of drinks, so I went directly to the bar for my glass of ice water. Bartender looked at me, then turned around and continued wiping things. I asked a server walking through the bar area how I might be able to get my hands on a glass of water, and she apologized and started scurrying around trying to help me. When I returned to the table, the food was there, but icy cold, so my husband and I walked out. Our friends stayed and ate, but they never received tortillas for their fajitas, and I guess their food was also chilly. I guess my soup never arrived at all. What a waste of valuable real estate. read more

So, for the last several years I haven't come here for dinner, so I won't comment on its regular menu. This is a review for it's Sunday Brunch. $20 per person all you can eat and all the mimosas you can drink (though, if you get the wrong waiter, warning: they might try to cut you off). Not all of the food offered in the buffet is "great," but most of it is "very good." For example, they have an omelet and taco bar. Because I only eat fish, I can't comment on the taco bar, but the omelet bar is great. They have both Mexican and American breakfast fare, so that along with you enchiladas, beans, rice, ceviche, horchata, sweet corn cake(!!!) and pan dulce you have pancakes, frosted flakes, sausage, and brownies. Also, there is plenty of fresh fruit to be had here. My only gripe about this, and tip to you is that if you have kids, they will still charge you $20 per person, which in my opinion, is unfair because (1) kids eat less; and (2) they don't drink Mimosas. Nonetheless, it's a great deal for adults, and you get to eat brunch with front row seats to the Bay. read more

Nice atmosphere on the bay. Good salsa and tasty margaritas. Happy hours specials...DELISH!!! read more

El Torito - Mexican street corn $4 Tacos $5 Sliders $6 - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Our plan 'A' turned out to be closed on a Sunday evening, so this place became plan 'B' as it was nearby. To no-one's surprise the food was typical El Torito (good, but not great - and there was plenty of it!), the service was typical El Torito (good, but not that good) - so a typical El Torito three star experience. The extra star (no surprise here if you've read the previous reviews) was for the location - we had a table next to the window looking out over the bay watching a harbor seal relax on the rocks and a sea otter go hunting for its dinner as the sun went down and sail boats plied their way across the bay. So was romance in the air? Err, no; our party was made up of four straight guys. There was no hand holding or accidental clashing of spoons during the shared dessert, even when the sea otter's antics were distracting us from our food. read more

Happy Hour ends at 6:00 p.m. NOT 8:00 p.m. like they used to have it. That was one of the best things about El Toritos, CHEAP drinks at happy hour. The boyfriend and I ended up spending $80 between the 2 of us including food and appetizers. Does anyone know of a happy hour around Monterey or anywhere where it ends around 8:00 p.m? I told a co-worker about this and she told me that as a local, I need to avoid the touristy spots, she still couldn't recommend a later happy hour tho! Mad about happy hour. Just mad. read more

We're talking about El Torito's here so I can't say anything spectacular about the food. There are way more authentic locations you can hit up within 10 miles of this spot, but it's familiar and it's right on the water so you have a wonderful view if you're fortunate to be seated near the windows in the back. I'm a Monterey native and the last time I set foot in this building it was Casa Maria (Monterey old schoolers will know what I'm talking about). But me and my lady were entertaining a friend and they chose to eat here. The food was per usual, nothing to write home about but tasty for the most part. I had the Macho Combo which was a chile relleno, what they call a sour cream & chicken enchilada, a beef tamale and a taco (carnitas in my case). The enchilada was just a plain chicken enchilada with the thinnest, baked on layer of sour cream on top. No cheese, just a little diced tomato sprinkled over it. Fancy name for a forgettable item. At least put some cheese in it or add more sour cream... letdown. My taco was pretty good and the meat was well seasoned. My tamale was also pretty decent but the mole was more on the sweet side than I prefer. The chile relleno was the star of this meal as it was pretty much perfect (probably one of few items that El Torito's actually gets just right). Now comes the bummer of the evening... our server was an absent minded slowpoke! She was quick to greet us and take our drink order but she took forever bringing it out. On top of that one of the cups had a crack in it and the drink was seeping out slowly (didn't notice that before you filled it up?). After the food came she rarely visted the table again, but when she did she brought refills... except each time she showed up with the wrong ones! This happened twice. When she brought us our check we had her split the bill so we could use 2 cards... she got our friend's amount right, but why did she over-authorize our card for almost $6 extra?! After i noticed the mistake I waited for her to come back to collect the slips but she never came. I eventually had to call for a manager and have her clear up the situation. Okay, not too big a deal, but it never should have happened in the first place. I don't get mad very easily at all during dinner, but extra crappy service PLUS overcharging me will get you a damn good look at my pissed off side. The manager was very understanding and friendly but after the typical El Torito food and the extra crappy service, I don't think I'm ever rollin' back into this location. I guess there really was a reason I stayed away so long. read more

We came in for a drink and to rest and ended up having appetizers and Margaritas. They were amazing and the service was great. The spicy margarita was one of the best I've had. I would definitely recommend this place. read more

Came for another visit I just love their window seating where we can watch the otters playing in the seaweed, dolphins feeding and whales swimming by. Food is tasty and serving sizes are large. I did have to request napkins, silverware and my check but waitress was friendly and kept my beverage glass full. Lots of onsite parking help to make this a preferable eatery if you are visiting Cannery Row. read more

I tend to go here all the time, because it's decent mexican food, with a cool view. Try to get a window seat. We always see otters, and one time, we saw a pod of dolphins! They have taco tuesdays, with a taco bar that allows you to create your own tacos, to your liking. And while I'm not a tequila person, these flavored margaritas are also really good!!! read more