Okay this has been the best morning buffet and mimosa experience I've ever had. They had a tri tip/ham, taco, and omelette buffet. Then they had enchiladas and everything you could like and finally menudo which was perfectly cooked. Desert was also very bomb. Then the bottomless mimosas was simply perfect every time. Maria O. Was our server and she has the best pours! Very convenient location and the parking was very easy. read more

El Torito - Tri tip ham Buffett - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Tremendous service from William. Very attentive making sure we were taking care of even on a super busy night. 10/10 definitely coming again! read more

Loved the service from Caridad she is the best!!!!!! Very good service everyone go to El Torito and ask for her.

Found this place going back to Phoenix from our trip to six flags. It was a Sunday and they had an all you can eat brunch buffet. So many options to choose from and they were all good! I tried most of them. Even options for picky kids and some dessert options. Our waiter was Beto and he was great! Attentive and quick service, always ready to get what we needed. We will definitely come back to this place. Best Mexican food we've had in a while! read more

I had a great experience at El Torito thanks to our waitress, Caridad. She was very nice, attentive, and made sure everything was taken care of. Our drinks came out quickly and our table was kept clean the whole time. Her service really made the visit enjoyable. Thank you, Caridad! read more

I'm back at El Torito Pasadena, and once again I was greeted by the same wonderful waiter, Jackson. There's something truly special about the way he makes you feel important and welcomed--almost like family. His service and warmth truly represent the excellence of El Torito Pasadena. I've been coming here since the 90s as a teenager, and this place holds so many precious memories shared with my godfather, my dad, and my grandpa. Although they are no longer here with me, Jackson's welcoming spirit brought back the nostalgia of those special moments we spent together. It felt like a piece of them was still here. The food is always on point! I had the veggie fajitas today, and they were delicious. Thank you, Jackson and El Torito, for keeping those memories alive and continuing to create new ones. read more

I always make it a point to stop by El Torito, and honestly, it's all because of Nestor. He is hands down the best bartender ever! His service is unmatched friendly, attentive, and he always makes you feel welcome the second you sit down. The drinks are always perfect, and his energy just makes the whole experience better. I literally come back just for his service. If you're here,make sure to sit at the bar and ask for Nestor, you won't regret it! read more

Our family have been here for the Sunday all you can eat brunch so many many times. So many options for food and it's so good And another the reason that always bring us back is the service. Mr. BETO is our family all time favorite server, we love him and really appreciated for his hospitality and services. Really recommend this place!!! read more

Went for Sunday all you can eat brunch and the experience was amazing! Maria S was a great waitress

My husband and I were near the Pasadena area for the day and literally drove by El Torito and since I have never been, I was excited to try dinning in for the first time. I had heard they had some good food and tasty chips and salsa. We made a reservation for 7 PM. Walked in a little earlier, but was seated right away. Our waitress was ELVIRA. She seemed off, very antsy was literally dropping all her tip money on the floor as she opened her notebook to take out order. My husband and I even joked with her, and said making it rain, and she was just standing there, no expression, like, ok.. She never once greeted us or anything. Luckily for her, we knew exactly what we wanted. We made it easy. An order of queso w chips, the fajita trip (steak, shrimp and chicken) and a couple of Sodas. It took a while for the chips and beverages to arrive. She made a comment, saying "ohh no one has brought you chips and salsa?" I said, no but its ok, take your time. We are ok. Finally, the chips arrived and the beverages. The chips and salsa were delicious. The chips are warm and salsa was tasty. When the food arrived, it was a different server. He couldn't light up the fajitas w his lighter, but that was ok. My husband and I dipped our chips into the queso, and it was COLD! I waived out waitress Elvira over and I told her about the queso and she just looked at me and took it. I wasn't sure if she was going to warm it up, offer an alternative item or what. She just grabbed it and left. The fajitas were delicious and the rest of the experience was ok, but our waitress never returned. Our beverages were out, no refills offered. I wanted dessert, but by then I was so turned off by her customer service, I just wanted to waive her back to give us the check. When she finally came, she just took the check and not a word. I spoke to and said, I am not mad about the queso, I was just curious is it supposed to be cold? You never came back. She said, rudely, I don't know i just serve it, and I was like, oh ok. And that was it. No expressions, no i am sorry, or how was the rest of your food! As a person who works in CUSTOMER SERVICE, It is hard to process the lack of personality this waitress had. I was so excited to try this restaurant, and she turned me off from ever returning. I leave this review in hopes that a manager can better improve and retain this waitress. read more

Idalia was amazing! She was super friendly, kind, and attentive. The service was great, and she made sure we had everything we needed. We had a great experience! read more

This is my go to El Torito, primarily because it is the closest to me and my sisters love it here. We decided to bring mom for her birthday on a Saturday night. Staff were extremely friendly and their bread pudding dessert was amazing! Our drinks were brought out promptly, however, we were 45 minutes in, drinks almost empty, and still haven't received our sampler appetizer plate. When we notified staff, they were attentive to it. By this time, food had gone cold. It's okay, we'll try again next time. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

My family and I have come to this local restaurant for YEARS, specifically for Mother's Day brunch. It's buffet style and we used to go all the time. Unfortunately, they've really lost the plot. They rush you to come and go, the amount of people they cram in is not for us anymore. It's borderline unforgivable as there's no room to move around. I feel bad, it had a charm to it before. Now it's not the same. My mom and dad recently went for dinner right before the rush.. my stepdad didn't want to say anything about the plate he received but my mom did speak up. These were their fajitas, she asked for more veggies and they tried to charge her for extra bell pepper.. which again, crazy. In the end they brought them peppers at no charge but, perhaps this is a recession indicator. read more

El Torito - Steak "fajitas" - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Great Service from Beto! He made sure my mimosa was never empty. Friendly and always smiling. You can try all Mexican dishes, which are also on their full menu. The coffee bar catches your eye when you're checking in with the host. Loved the whole experience! We will be back soon. read more

My husband and I had a delightful time tonight at dinner, mostly because Elvira A. was a super server who helped us with a smile and very cordially. And the food was delicious. read more

Randy was great! He's so friendly and creates a fun ambiance to enjoy your brunch time with friends. A great variety of brunch food selections. Highly recommend coming during their bottomless mimosas brunch on sundays! They heavily pour here and are quick to top you off. Fun times at El Torito read more

El Torito - Bottomless mimosas - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Came to brunch today and had an amazing time. Food is always delicious and customer service is always exceptional. Serena at the bar is the best. Jonathan, Maria S and Randy are always friendly and helpful. The best staff at El Torito by the bar. read more

We are celebrating a Birthday and came to our favorite Restaurant, the ambiance, Service and most important, the food, Are excellent!!! There is so much variety is hard to choose. Thanks go out to Carlos, he is Great! read more

Good Mexican brunch! Lots of options .... Enchiladas, chilaquiles, chiles rellenos etc. Great, friendly environment. Clean and comfortable. Carlos also provided great service! Definitely recommend! read more

Service was terrible. We were seated and nobody had acknowledged us for a while - no waters, chips, etc. We had to get up and flag someone down to take our order several times. We ordered the fajitas duo (shrimp & steak). Both were a bit dry. On the menu it said the fajitas come with a choice of corn or flower tortillas but got charged $2 for the tortillas. Shouldn't it be included? Most places offer tortillas for free with fajitas.. The only thing I really enjoyed was the sweet corn cake! read more

El Torito - Steak & shrimp fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

First of all, the service was impeccable!! Thank you Trino for being so kind, courteous, and attentive. We started off with chips, salsa, and guacamole. You cannot go wrong with their chips and salsa and table side guacamole. So yummy! I ordered a Cadillac margarita which was on point. The perfect balance of alcohol and mixers. Even the Pepsi was nice and strong with good carbonation. My daughter and I both ordered the salmon with lemon butter sauce. She had sautéed spinach and I had the sautéed veggies with a side of rice and corn cakes. Everything was seasoned and cooked perfectly. We topped it off my a shared bread pudding which was nice and warm and moist. Topped off with ice cream and caramel sauce. It's the perfect ending to our meal. read more

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Food & ambiance was great But what made our day/ experience a whole lot better was our server RANDY He was so cool, patient, & attentive. Ask for RANDY. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

We've come to this place maybe 3/4 times when we're around and each time unfortunately we're never served/acknowledged within 30 minutes. So we went again today. No water, no drinks, no food order was taken, they just gave us chips as we sat and that was it. It's not like they asked us and we just said "not ready". They just didn't come to our table after seating us, mind you they seat people after us and they get their drinks asked for and is brought to the table. Still not one person has came to our table to even give us water. We left and didn't order anything. It has never been like this before and truly it wasn't worth waiting when it seems like this is a reoccurring issue. read more

Great atmosphere, great happy, great bartender. Came here on a Friday and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had. Highly recommend if you want to decompress with some drinks and laughs with friends. read more

Absolutely worse food ever! I used to go to El Torito Decades ago, in fact I was surprised they are still around. We got baskets of the worse chips I've ever tasted, mealy and flavorless, bad aftertaste. . The waitress let us know a pitcher of margaritas would serve 5 and much cheaper than ordering separately.... Absolutely horrible, the 5 of us who ordered the margaritas only had a few sips and didn't finish them. Mexican street corn was salted so heavily it was inedible. The Mahi Mahi tacos were good. I ordered chicken tortilla soup had very little chicken in it, it was topped with way too many tortilla strips and a huge glob of cheese with mushy diced potatoes, and 4 pieces of cubed chicken, not appetizing at all. The happy hour menu is for the cantina only 3-9pm everyday. Our waitress was very sweet. For some reason she took away our water glasses instead of filling them up when I told her I had wanted a refill she took a glass off the tray , I asked her how did she know it was my glass. She didn't answer, but did not come back with a fresh glass or water. When my sister stood up she almost slipped on a shot glass that was on the floor. The chairs felt like they were sticking to the floor. Since this was a birthday gathering the server was very accommodating, as we brought our own cake , and brought plates along with the servers singing happy birthday and a free birthday flan with a candle. This really was the worse meal I had for the week visiting in Pasadena. I can see how a large group would enjoy this venue as it has 3 large rooms, and an area for serving buffet style. Another big draw back, instead of the bathrooms being hidden in the Cantina, Where we sat we could see everyone going in and out of the bathrooms. Save your money, find another Mexican restaurant to go to. read more

El Torito - A shot glass on the floor that my sister almost slipped on - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Our server Randy was amazing. The food was delicious and the facility was great for an early dknner. Be sure to try the banana cheesecake chimichanga - my wife absolutely loved it. The only reason for not getting 5-Stars was that our second appetizer didn't arrive. It was taken on the bill, which was good; however, it would have been better to have received it as ordered. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Came here after work for some food + margaritas and the experience was actually better than expected! We got the Margarita flight and all 3 flavors were really good - the mango and blackberry were on the sweeter side but really tasty. It's always a fun time with margaritas and chips/salsa! It was surprisingly pretty busy on a Tuesday evening. Our server was friendly and accepted the free entree I had with no issues or delay. We sampled off the happy hour menu and got the birria beef tacos and mini crunchy tacos. Both were amazing! The birria was so flavorful and dipped in the consume was even better. We also got fajitas which were mostly good but the steak was so chewy and tough - really don't recommend getting the steak fajitas. The shrimp was the best of the combo. read more

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Had a great experience and our waiter Sebastian was amazing! He was super attentive and the food he recommended was delicious! They had fun music and we were able to watch the Dodger games too. read more

I haven't gone in 5 months my family and I went back this weekend and we had dinner I remembered our server Jackson helped us out the last 2 times we went there so I requested him and wow we are always delighted when he attends our table he goes above and beyond for us, we wanted to try other stuff on the menu! And he knows exactly what to recommend never fails us!!! Thank you Jackson. read more

Plenty of parking, average prices, friendly employees, and great food!! I love El Torito and their Flautas are the absolute best!!! We got the Chicken Flautas and the flavors sure dance in your mouth!!! :0) it's perfectly flaky and crispy and yet soft. I also really like the chips and salsa put out upon your arrival. I wish the chips were slightly warmer but it was still appetizing! The chicken was dry but I loved how the onions were flavored! We tried the banana cheesecake cinnamon dessert and it was good (but not mind blowing). I want to come back and try their drinks :0) the mojitos and cocktails look amazing! Our server was friendly but sometimes it took awhile to get help because he was working at least 3 tables. There are plenty of seats inside so it's great for group meals. read more

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I had brunch at El Torito today and our server, Beto, was absolutely incredible! From the moment we sat down, he made us feel like VIPs. He was warm, welcoming, and had the perfect balance of professionalism and personality. Our drinks never went empty, the food came out quickly, and he checked in at just the right times without ever hovering. What really stood out was how attentive he was--he anticipated what we needed before we even asked, and somehow managed to stay upbeat and friendly even though the restaurant was packed. That kind of energy and care is rare to find these days. Beto turned what could've been just a regular Sunday brunch into an experience worth raving about. El Torito is lucky to have him on their team--I'll definitely be coming back and requesting his section every time. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

The place was packed but we got in much quicker than the expected wait time we were told. First time doing the brunch and glad we did. Maria S. gave us fantastic service. She checked non us several times and helped us navigate our options. There's definitely something for just about everyone. Even our baby girl found food she liked. The al pastor tacos were my favorite followed closely by the chicken fajitas. My girl loved the ribs. There was more that I plan to try next time. read more

Had an amazing Sunday brunch here! The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was great. Our server John was outstanding, attentive, friendly, and made sure everything was great. I definitely will come back and request John as our server read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

My husband love it here. Used to go to the one in Covina but we came to the one on foothills twice, more recently... love the hacienda like vibes inside. Not bad for a chain. Also, the bar looks nice - more renovated than other locations... the place is nice and we like to dine in the bar area. It's more lively Anyways, big shout out to our waiter, Richard. He waited on us last time too, and gave us excellent drink/food recommendations. He's super accommodating and friendly. Great customer service overall. We left super satisfied. We recommend the Cadillac margarita + Cantarito for drinks. Btw their seasonal old fashioned was phenomenal (large ice cube in case you're worried). read more

Great experience last night for a large group of 22 personas . Taco tuesdays and margaritas cannot be beat! Food was delicious. Service was excellent! Olga and the busser did a wonderful job. Plus side is the incredible parking lot in pasadena! IYKYK. Will be back again and again ! read more

El Torito - DELICIOUS - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Had a beautiful time with my family after a long day at universal! The service was amazing, especialmente jackson es muy amable con toda la gente! La niña, el muñeco y la mamá vamos a regresar! read more

Been going to various El Torito's in So Cal and I know they don't have as many locations as the old days but I am still a fan. Come on, they had me at free (good) chips and salsa!!! The Pasadena location has been my go to. Came for an early dinner and discovered that they have Happy Hour EVERYDAY from 3-7 pm so we went to the bar side and tried the Happy Hour menu. Good prices and they were busy so everyone had to wait longer for food but they kept the chips and salsa coming. And, if you are a Costco member, go get the El Torito gift cards ($100 credit for $80) to further sweeeten the deal. read more

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El Torito never disappoints. Their brunch buffet is amazing as always, and their service superb. Thank you Beto, our server for being so welcoming, warm and serviceable. :) read more

Good food and great service! Our church group met here and had an awesome time! We recommend groups to check this place out!

We came here for a birthday celebration during Sunday brunch. The food was delicious and so many options!! The service was good despite how incredibly busy it was. The ambiance was ok, I mean the music was too loud, it could've been turned down a bit. I would really like to go back soon! read more