came to this restaurant yesterday for mother's day and had a reservation at 10:30am. we didn't get sat until 11:48am (mind you this is not the problem since we knew it would be busy). a big table next to me asked me how long did we wait for our reservation because we had got there at the same time for our reservations, i told them we barley got sat and they were shocked because they told us they had a reservation at 10:30 as well and got sat immediately. they were already done with their food by the time our reservation got sat. while not even there for an hour into our LATE reservation, the manager or whatever he was had the nerve to tell us that we needed to be done with our food in 5 minutes so they can put another party at our table. mind you, there was a sign that said you can have 1hr and 30mins. he tried to argue with us until we showed him our ticket with the time we got sat, he walked away like the sassy man he was. never ever going there again. DO NOT COME HERE for any type of special occasion. they literally had people sitting outside under a canopy like it was a family party with plastic chairs and tables. read more

They tend to seat more than a server can handle . So disappointing. ): Found burnt meat in chips. Had to beg for refills, and condiments. Even told hostess we came for my sisters birthday, it was not acknowledged. Although server was nice I could tell he was very overwhelmed and could not keep up with his tables genuinely felt bad for him. Management needs to do better in timing for seating. The location was amazing and has great potential. the food was overall ok we got the slow cooked carnitas and the macho combo. The carnitas was decent but the macho combo was not that great something was off with the cheese and the bacon wrapped shrimp was atrocious. read more

My friends and I came here on a Saturday night, and it was about a 30-45 minute wait without a reservation for a party of 5. We were seated inside without a view, but the interior was cute and reminded me of an outdoor marketplace. We initially chose this restaurant for their Happy Hour, which was advertised as 3-9PM every day, on their website, but the days and times differ for this location. They had a deal going on with $10.99 chicken fajitas and $9.99 chicken enchiladas. We also ordered the seafood taco trio (the shrimp one was juicy!), vampiro tacos with a side of Mexican caesar salad, and a margarita flight (original, mango, and berry - the mango was the best of the trio). Everything was great, especially the sweet corn cake. My absolute favorite was surprisingly the Mexican caesar salad! That dressing (apparently a Cilantro-Pepita dressing?) was on another level. I honestly wished I got a full entree of that instead of a side salad. The waitress was a little slow in getting us our check,. We had to flag down a different one for assistance. It was a busy Saturday night though, so that's understandable. read more

Took 30 minutes to take our order and another hour to receive our food only for every meal to look very unappetizing. The beans had no flavor, there was little to no meat in the enchiladas, and the carne was very dry and chewy. The waitress was friendly but I will definitely not be coming back. Felt like I wasted my time waiting for food that was not good at all. read more

I came in Wednesday morning , and had a splendid time. My server Jordyn was amazing and attentive and did I mention Beautiful, like the view ! The rice and beans tasted like Mexico. Yummy and fun! read more

Food was pretty good. Server was not attentive. He was not friendly. And he seemed bothered when we asked on status of our order. Took 45 mins to get food. They were not horribly busy either. read more

Food is awful and margaritas taste like premix. The only thing that was good was the chips and salsa and the view. read more

If I could give this restaurant 0 stars I ABSOLUTELY WOULD. The food is obviously microwaved, bland & frozen. The service was horrible, the server checked us ONCE, we ordered drinks that came VERY late, the server continued to blame the bartender stating "sorry the bartender is too busy" as he was placing the drinks down. He wasn't even aware of the promotions that were going on. It was just a mess. My husband & I decided to come here for our 13th anniversary because it looked delicious on tik tok. The biggest regret. This is a Chevys dupe but worse. Do not recommend unless you want bland food. read more

The service is terrible, food is bad Waited 45 min over my original reservation time to get terrible food. This place should have closed long ago. The only reason they are still open is because of the view. Plenty of other great restaurants in the area, don't come here. read more

El Torito - It's also very dirty. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

We believe in giving first, second and more chances. Part of that is because we really like the manager and usually the people that work here. Still like the manager. The tacos were tasty. The right crunch to meat ratio. The flautas were great. Should be called mini chimichangas. Light, cheesy and yummy. Would have been better warm I am sure. I started with the waitress taking our drink order. She pretty much dumped the drinks on the table and rushed over to the next table to get there order. While I understand on the one hand, we ordered iced tea and would have liked to get some Splenda but it was a dump and go. Lucky I had some in my purse for such an occasion. She came back to get our order in a pretty good amount of time. I made sure to say no jalapeños four times. It came with jalapeños and the three food items we ordered were pretty much dropped on the table and the food server was ready to fly off. We all three made enough noise for him to stop and turn around. We told him we had ordered no jalapeños, which he repeated twice before grabbing the plate and walking away as we asked for plates. We didn't get the plates. Hard to share food and eat without plates. A long time later the waitress shows up with the revised nachos that were cold and by then the flautas were cold. Plus, they are now charging a 4% fee because they say they are a local business, no, you are a franchise owned by a local person and why not just up your prices? The icing on the cake was while the waitress was handing us the machine with the bill we all saw her put the tip to 20% before handing the bill to us. Nope. Never do that. I actually usually tip more but not when you put the tip in. I am sorry but the chances, they are used up. This place used to be a pretty busy, now I understand why they arent. Wish you luck and I hope other have a better experience than these locals. read more

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Pancho is the best bartender! Always so friendly! Thank you so much for making my kids and myself have a wonderful thanksgiving experience with you all! Thanks Danitza for your staff and GM Mike! Keep up the great service that you all do! read more

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Super fun place to grab a meal. Delicious drinks. Guacamole was good, not fantastic-- but we scraped the bowl clean. Super friendly service. Bathroom upstairs. Parking in lot out front read more

El Torito - SLOW-ROASTED CARNITAS - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Excellent Cadillac margaritas. The food on the other hand. We ordered an appetizer which came out in a decent amount of time and cocktails at the same time. Had to actually stand up to get someone's attention to get refills. Waited a little over 40min for our food to come out. I ordered the carnitas street tacos. The meat was tender and had good flavor, however, the bottom of the taco had some sort of spicy sauce that was not listed on the menu. The charro beans were tasty, but also seemed to have a dollop of salsa in them which was not listed nor mentioned when I specifically asked. Overall, nice atmosphere, courteous and friendly wait staff. Will I go back?? Maybe for cocktails, not a meal. read more

Amazing food and great service. Would recommend 10 times out of 10. Great music and atmosphere, view of the ocean and buffet brunch from 9am-2pm. read more

10/10 the food taste absolutely delicious waiter cres is such a sweetheart and delivers right away

Came in on a Friday night! We had a reservation so we were sat right away but I'm sure we wouldn't have had to wait without one either as there were plenty of tables. First impressions, beautiful space right on the ocean! You can't beat it! A little loud but not unbearable. Our waitress was nice and very prompt. We got our food fairly quick and it was all pretty good! Small complaint about the barría tacos. They barely come with any birria sauce! I got a tiny little sauce cup of it. Any birria lover knows you need more than that!! Other than that, the drinks with delish and everything else was great. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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I had a terrible experience at this place. I waited over two hours just to get seated and get my food, only to find out they ran out of my food, and then they only refunded me without offering a proper replacement. When I finally ordered something else, they didn't even pay for it. Also after waiting 2 hours for my food they finally said "We do not have any more ...." And people who were came before us got the same thing before us. To make things worse, instead of fixing the problem, they just gave us chips to "keep us full," which is completely unacceptable for a restaurant. Also they took so long to clean the tables and that is probably why it took over an hour to get seated. I am so mad and will never be coming back and you shouldn't either. read more

The food and service was excellent. I ate far too much food but it was too delicious!

I will never step foot into the establishment again. I am extremely allergic to Cayenne pepper on top of that I have an allergy to the epi pen. My friend and I ended up here because we wanted to have an appetizer and a view of the water. We sat in the bar area as they were extremely busy. We stood at the desk to check in for at least 10 minutes and no one approached to put our names on a list. We decided to go to the bar as there was only one couple sitting there. I asked the bar tender to make sure the items we wanted to order did not have Cayenne pepper. He flat out refused and laughed about it. Smiling the entire time. I explained I was extremely allergic and would have to go to the hospital. He continued smiling and said he would not ask. We would get what we got and he would not direct me as to what on the menu did not have Cayenne pepper. We left. Unbelievable. I have never had an experience like this. Worst dining or non dining experience of my life. I would not recommend anyone to go here. This establishment clearly has no care if someone has an allergic reaction to their food. For me with the epi allergy this is life threatening. I could not be more disappointed. read more

The service was slow and our server never asked if our food was good, or refilled our waters. The restaurant looked dirty with trash under most of the tables. The lights kept getting brighter and dimmer. Plus, there's a surcharge that's not listed anywhere for rising cost of labor. read more

Had lunch in the bar. I could live on the chips and salsa it was so good!! Francisco aka Pancho was attentive and personable. Highly recommend El Torito. read more

Excellent brunch! We had such a great experience. Cres was an excellent server, so nice and professional. The food was beyond excellent, the menu is small so I was worried but every dish we got exceeded our expectations. Delicious. The views are spectacular. So glad we decided to eat out for breakfast today! read more

El Torito - Mimosa and a view - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Every time I go to el torito I always have a fun time with my family in the bar with Carlitos & panchito. The best service in the Bay Area

We walked from Cannery Row to Fisherman's Warf to do some last minute shopping for the day and for our trip. On the way back we decided to stop in and eat something other than seafood. We ordered our meals and enjoyed what was made. DELICIOUS!! They sat us next to the windows, very dark outside, couldn't see anything. The staff was on top of everything, helping each other out. read more

We came here on Monday night around 5:30pm. We got there just before the dinner rush. It was quiet and we were able to snag a window booth. The service was friendly and the food was satisfying. We got the chicken fajitas, love the flavor, and the enchilada side and the taco trio. The meat was perfectly cooked but I will say, our food was barely warm. It wasn't hot at all. For the price and taste, I'd come again though. Ambiance - casual and affordable dining with views of the ocean. Parking - private parking available. read more

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Talk about Bull... I want to love El Torito and I've tried hard but it's just not working out and it's them not me and we're through! The good: The corn cake and rice are delicious. The restaurant sits right on the water for nice day time views. The Bad (and theres allot): Took 15 minutes to get seated with reservations. We had previewed the menu and ordered as soon as we sat down, but food service took over an hour to arrive. A long time for only a 3 item combo and a street taco plate. It took 10 minutes for chips to show up and another 10 for our water. Ambiance was non existent. The nicely refreshed decor was lost in a hot mess of crying hungry children that were clearly over all the noise and waiting. It felt swampy hot and the windows were fogged, till someone opened the door then it was cold. The silverware was dirty and the kitchen was obviously overwhelmed. So much for a nice dinner out on our baby moon. It made memories but all the wrong kind. If you're craving El Torito stick to take out or try somewhere else that cares. read more

When we checked in, the hostess was not the friendliest. Very short and it seemed like we were bothering her. We were able to be seated at a table with a view of the beach. The window seal had missing paint and was dusty. As the night went on, the restaurant became hot and the windows fogged up. There was no air flow. We also had a light above us that kept flickering. The drinks were okay. Not the best we've had. They were mostly ice. The food was not good. Lacked seasoning and flavor. We had to go to the waiter booth to ask for utensils. When we did receive some, they were obviously not clean as a fork still had rice stuck on it. This place has been a one and done. Would not recommend. I would go somewhere else. read more

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The food left a lot to be desired. I was expecting authentic Mexican flavors when my husband and I decided to visit. Judging from the full parking lot I expected the food to be super amazing. Instead I was met with unauthentic flavors, lacking presentations and food returned to the kitchen. The staff was great though! Very kind and understanding people. Will consider going back if El Torito decides to revisit their flavors. We ordered the quesabirria tacos and the burrito ahogado. read more

The food was delicious and the service with Marcus was EXCEPTIONAL! Will be going back soon because of this.

Put in a reservation on open table for 6:15 arrived and got seated and waited for 2hrs for them to tell us our food got taken to another table and that it was gonna take 30 more minutes. Our food arrived and in two of the entrees they served us no filling in the tamale and it was supposed to be chicken filled but had nothing we did not receive our food till 8pm don't go on a busy day the quality of food and service is terrible read more

El Torito - They brought our original order out at 8pm after we got to booboo order - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Fast seating I went at a peak time 4pm. I ordered the bacon wrapped shrimp. It's 4 pieces, no rice or beans for $18. The shrimp came out covered in sauce. It was not mentioned in the description nor showed in the pictures. I had to wipe the sticky sauce with napkins to eat it. Friend had nachos that were not of good quality ingredients. Will not return. read more

El Torito - Bacon wrapped shrimp - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Holy crap the breakfast is fantastic. The churro pancakes are super tasty. They've even got special butter on em. The huevos rancheros was spot on and the chilequilles (my phone refuses to help me spell that right) were super freakin tasty. Definitely coming back here. read more

We love coming here because the food is amazing! The kitchen staff is the only thing that keeps us coming here, because the wait staff cannot ever figure out how to provide service. The service here absolutely sucks! Every single time we are here....it's the same. Tonight we sat down at 5 p.m. and I am writing this review at 5:20 p.m. and we still have not even had our drink order taken. If the owners would fix the service, they would probably make a ton more money since I know we would come here way more often (again, the food is amazing), but alas, the service absolutely sucks. 0 stars!!! Finally got our order taken at 5:23 p.m. read more

Dirty, rundown, no onsite management, poorly maintained, health risk, expensive for quality, ample parking. WTF happened? The restaurant was nice 7 years ago with engaging staff, clean, flavorful, well maintained. Don't blame the Pandemic! This is a management issue. Head to Taco Bell... better tasting, similar quality, cleaner, & less expensive. read more

The bar top service was good. It was 30+min wait for seat in bar area took another hour to get food after order. Service was good just took a while for everything besides the drinks. Food from Happy hour menu. read more

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Beef tacos and tortilla chips were good. Plenty of free iced tea refills. Nice view of the ocean. Clientele seemed older. Bill was higher than expected. Secure parking lot. read more

Had a very nice breakfast here, margaritas flight, churro pancakes, carne asada and eggs. The carne asada and the relleno sauce it came with was very good. Will come back again. read more

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Just want to say a huge thank you to Debi the bartender! And as well as the general manager! Both treated me and my daughter super well! They made sure both drinks and food came out perfect! And trust me, they did! I'll be back soon! Thank you! read more

Got seating quickly, everyone eating. No big crowd. Took 10 minutes to get just water . Waiting another 10minutes no salsa and chips ! And a server in back kitchen talking and playing with her long hair. Another server wiping food upon his pants! Horrible service and terrible hygiene ! We will never eat at that location ever again read more

Best Suday brunch we have ever had. Homemade tortillas and a great variety of Mexican dishes. The ocean view just adds to the experience. bottomless champagne helps as well. I suggest reservations as it gets packed on Sundays. Even though crowded their service is excellent. Will always go there when in Monterey. read more