It's was a Tuesday night and I was roaming the streets and I decided to come down here to see what all the FUNK was about and as I walk into the cantina I see everything POPPIN(excuse my lingo, but everyone was just having a great time) LAUGHs everywhere! So I order my first Lagunitas tall boy from Linda (6) and I keep an eye to see if she would bring it right after the pour and sure as heck, she did. Great, cause it was busy!! I order the carnitas dip 10 Tacos: 15 stars cause wow so many options in meats and sides Rumorosas sliders: 10 The bar manager came to our tables to check up on us a few times when or server was busy she brought chips and our second round. Her name was Veronica and she really was attentive!! Service was amazing... I live in Azusa but I much rather come to el torito in Pasadena. Cons: wish the party lasted longer Will come back with con workers read more

Chips and salsa are good, and they're unlimited. I've tried a couple of things on the menu, and they're not bad at all. They have Taco Tuesdays every week in the cantina. When I used to go, they used to be 99 cents, but I've been hearing that they bumped the price up to $1.50. Good place to come for Taco Tuesday when you just want some tacos and beer/margaritas for not too much money. Parking is a huge lot, so that's not an issue. Service is average. Never had a bad experience. read more

Came in on a Tuesdays night. Had to seat myself, had to flag down someone to clean the table, took me 20 minutes! After we sat down it to another 20 minutes to get anyone to acknowledge us! Food was terrible, taco enchilada combo. Enchilada was tough and cold. Taco was ok, beans tasted burnt... Rice was hard. F Not coming back! Food came before drinks. RUDEST servers ever! read more

We had great service our waiter, Ernesto, kept the bottomless mimosas flowing. The choices for brunch are all great it was hard to pick and choose before getting full. The Banana Fosters made by Richard were delicious ! read more

Great food, great service, clean, and over all a good experience highly recommend it to anyone. Richard was great at his post making fried bananas. Vanessa P, our server was attentive and polite. read more

Great Sunday buffet!!! The ceviche is BOMB!! So many choices. Accommodated our party of 15 quickly. Thank you Serena!!

We had the best service today for brunch with our soo we team. The food was amazing and the service was fantastic. Serena was the most attentive server and thank you for the birthday song!!!! read more

Went for the brunch. Disappointed that there are no chili rellenos for the brunch. The rest of the food is ok. Nothing spectacular. The rice is a little blah. They could add some fresh grilled vegetables instead of the steamed variety. Churos are not bad. read more

Wow, what a disappointment our last visit to El Torito's Sunday Brunch was! Compared to our last visit in early February, this time around, their brunch was reduced to a mere Sample Brunch! Their pickings were pretty skimpy. Their Omelett Chef was not up to par as far as presentation & quality was concerned. Their taco meats, (chicken, pork & beef) were dry & tasteless. Their Margaritas were watered- down. Our hostess was pleasant, but our waitress was pretty much never around when we needed her. I don't think I'll continue to be a patron of this establishment. I will settle for better food & service elsewhere! So sad to see such an iconic restaurant go down. read more

I enjoy the food here and usually the staff is friendly. Try getting one of their combo plates to get the best bang for your buck. The table side guac is awesome and award winning! (no seriously) I took off a star because last time we were here it took the waitress at the bar 15 minutes for my friend and I to order drinks. We were ready to get messed up that night, but instead went to a local bar that wanted our cash. Still food is good and I only took off one star. read more

Amazing!! Came here today for dinner with my fiancé and we loved the food! Norma was our hostess, she was so sweet & efficient! She was hosting all of the tables in our area & was on top of it. Wonderful service as always! read more

muy bien servicio de parte de Beto nuestro servidor, bien rápido y muy atente también muy amable :)

This is an El Torito. I do not know what people expect. I used to love coming here when I was in high school. High schoolers probably don't read Yelp but if you do, this is a chill date spot for a high school kid, not a prom date or anything but just a regular friday, hit this place up, and then move on. Other than that, if the food isn't really considered Mexican food, it is overall is decent food. The Margaritas are weak, really weak, like they don't seem to have alcohol in them weak. All you can eat tacos are really low quality. I would just stay away from all you can eat menu items in general. The regular menu stuff is pretty good. This place is never going to win any awards for it's food. The restaurant overall is old and beat up. The reason I go here every time I am right near here (i.e. at Bed Bath and Beyond next door right-near-here...so, don't go out of your way to go here) is because the service is always excellent. I have eaten at the two independent Mexican spots within a mile of El Torito and have been treated like crap, or told that I cannot come in a half hour before closing even to make a quick to go order, or I was served crap food...but at El Torito, the staff consistently give solid service. If you feel nostalgic about 80s and 90s pre-Chevy's corporate Mexican restaurants (same corporation BTW) and want to get good service, go here. Don't go here expecting super authentic and delicious Mexican food. I would bet the CEO of El Torito himself doesn't even expect that. read more

Came here for brunch for the first time. Wow. Didnt know they had a brunch buffet... i was just coming here for a taco salad and BOOM... Champaign mexican brunch buffet. Maria our server, was great. Showed me all the food and tended to my table really well. Menudo, tortilla lady, chilaquiles, tacos, enchilladas... mmmm... read more

Wow, this place is COLD!!! I actually wrapped myself in my 2 year olds blanket. My legs were aching it was so cold! I couldn't wait to get out of there. Atmosphere was great for the family. Our three 2 year olds loved the mariachi guy. As for the food, everything seemed very salty. My favorite part was the personal sized deep fried ice cream! read more

We attended for Taco Tuesday! The manager was very pleasant and offered us two sample Fish Tacos and half and Elote, which were new to the menu! The ambiance was nice and and our waitress was very sweet and attentive! You can't beat $5 margaritas, $3 Elote, and $2 Tacos! Not fine dining but fun for a good price! If you would like more of a selection for your Tacos and a Cadillac Margarita instead, then visit the Grill locations. They are a bit pricier but you get better quality and more options. read more

El Torito - Taco Tuesday - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

I dont leave too many negative reviews for restaurants but wow today was the worst restaurant experience I've had. It was my moms birthday and we had such bad service. Our waiter looked like he was upset at us, it took forever to receive the food, get the check and we had to Ask about 3 times for happy birthday song. It really ruined my moms birthday night out. I understand if they are short staffed but the rudeness and lack of any care was unacceptable. Plus the food was awful. Never going back. read more

We had an incredible buffet lunch today for St. Patrick's Day. It included green mimosas and Cadillac Margaritas at a discounted price. Really enjoyed the Mariachis :) Ri chard and Jonathon are the best. Made our time an Experience. Thank you El Torito Pasadena! read more

Today is my Birthday Day MY Husband took me to EL torito restaurant in West Covina Today. We order our food at 6:40 PM and we didn't get our food in 2 hours. There was not much people in restaurant for them to waist that much time in cooking 2 slices of meat. There was 6 other clients that arrived after us and guess what" they got there food first. The client were white. The waitress was extremely slow and the serves was not good at all. And to top it off l got served a tiny piece of meat. My husband carne asada was much bigger and his plate was less expensive. One of the waiters noticed we were not happy at all. He called the manager over our table, the manager finally arrived to our table and all he had to say was carne asada & shirmp takes longer. I don't think so especially not 2 hours. I had a bad experience today on my Birthday Day and I'm a regular client here. I dont recommend this El torito restaurant in West Covina no more. I will rather go to GuadaLajara Mexican Grill Delicious food there. Customer Services its Excellent. Just look at these plates. read more

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The food here is consistently average. It's not too authentic, but not completely whitewashed either. We went on a Sunday and realized that it was a buffet brunch. They had a taco bar, omelet bar, desserts, bacon, menudo and some other random stuff. The service was good and my kids love any restaurant with chips. read more

The quality and abundance of the food served remained the same even though out the pandemic. The food was amazing and the portions were as big as always. Our waiter, Ernesto was very nice and attentive. read more

Recently came here for brunch and it was amazing! Sat in the bar area which has multiple TVs with the football games on. The music playing was a great vibe! Our server, Vanessa P., was amazing! Checked on us frequently, kept the mimosas coming and made sure we were always taken care of! I will definitely be coming back! read more

This El Torito is our go to for family brunch on Sunday's. The staff is always so courteous and attentive. The restaurant is very clean and organized. We have always had a great experience here. Our server Beto and the manager Veronica are so incredibly nice and accommodating. read more

Margaritas were ok but the rest was terrible. Combo fajitas were skimpy for $20 and steak wasn't really edible. Server was clueless. Have us the wrong price when we asked how much the Cadillac Margaritas were and when we questioned it she said "my bad". What's with that? How about I'm sorry I told you the wrong price, let me adjust it! Don't waste your time or money coming here!! read more

Torito brunch was on point! Lil man had all the bacon he could eat, and I had all the mimosas I could drink our waitress Vanessa P provided us w/great service. Be sure to ask for her the next time you have brunch here read more

We went to El Torito for Sunday Brunch. It was delicious, everything was warm, and there was a lot of variety. Our server, Maria, was very attentive and extremely kind. And the banana bar with Richard was such a treat. Highly recommend! read more

The best Brunch ever and our server Beto was excellent and professional the manager Veronica both make excellent team we really enjoyed thank you read more

Really Good service and food!!! Veronica the manager and our waiter were amazing. I recommend coming here for brunch with the family.

What awful service!!! The food is fine, but the customer service is Terrible so i had to tell everyone. I ordered a street taco and halibut taco To go. My fault for not saying I wanted it a la carte but its also the waitress' fault for not asking either. She brought me two huge orders of some "TRIO"... I never said that! I felt bad and immediately apologized and she said nothing and fixed my order. But the way I was given the taco was not okay.. (See photo on their page). Hardly any meat, one tortilla, no lime, so lame. The meat tasted fine but the way they presented and served it was not worth $4. Not even close. I talked to a manager about it (which I have NEVER done) and she was like "oh yes the waitress told me about this. ..This is how it comes. ... Do you want me to just wrap it for you?" It just wasn't even worth it. I was so mad. Taste fine. Bad service. read more

El Torito - Ordered a taco to go.SERIOUSLY?!?! What the hell! $4?!!?! Wow. You can get better tacos ANYWHERE ELSE. - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

It was a fail for Cinco de Mayo. We ordered delivery. They sent out the order of someone who was waiting at the restaurant for pickup. We drove to the restaurant to get a refund. They gave the order that we brought back to the person that was waiting there... if we have the virus, now that person has the virus too... And now they're remaking our order. On top of that, the order was said to be delivered by 5 but came at 6. Now it's 7:30 and still no food. Also no one picks up the phone... they gave us no apologies and nothing for our trouble. read more

Ok seriously I hate to say this, but the service here is terrible. I honestly don't know how this place is still even opened. I came in for taco, and it wasn't packed, but the food was salty, and I had to ask multiple waitresses if they can bring me a drink. The crazy thing is they charge you an extra 3% when you eat here, and I honestly don't understand why they would even do that when the food is , and the service is terrible. read more

What happened to El Torito!! I was a patron with family years ago and have not been back in awhile. I was really frustrated with the poor service and how the place looked when I came back for the first time. They do have a good lunch spread, I went safe and had the tacos and they were ok. Meat was dry and it needed a lot of salsa. The beers are limited on tap so a margarita is a good choice, but I haven't had one in awhile. The service was really bad, I waited awhile in the front and then just sat at the bar and waited there for another 10 minutes. The bartender apologized and I was served promptly, but no smile and no personality to anyone there. This place I think is busy for brunch and maybe later night crowds but it has not changed much, but the things it has changed, are not good. read more

We ordered the All You Can Eat Enchiladas. Sadly, we waited for over an hour to get our food- from sit down. Our kids were just about done with their meals before we even got our plates of enchiladas. We ordered a second plate, while we were eating the 1st round. It took another 20 minutes for them to come out. We ended up packing them to go. So much for "all you can eat". We usually have a good experience here. We've come twice for my grandmother's birthday with a large party. Never had a problem. Tonight just wasn't their night. The server was kind and a pleasure. read more

Great Vibe. Awesome options for Taco Tuesday! Not too crowded, good service. Ernesto was our server and he was pleasant.

I love there tacos. Amazing service , come for taco Tuesdays and Sunday buffet are the best. Food is really good. Highly recommend. Ernesto was our waiter for the night. Thank you! read more

I love coming to El Torito! Best places to come and celebrate birthdays. And they extended Happy Hour till 9pm!! The waitress Ashley was very attentive and we didn't have to ask her for refills she would come and asks us if we wanted more right before our drinks were done!! Kept us updated on our food and brought us our drinks in a timely manner! Will be coming back again at out next celebration!! read more

Randy is a great server. He is friendly and attentive. Our food was delicious! Loved it

Love coming to this location. Everyone is awesome. Food is excellent. Our favorite server is Randy .

Kathy was great! Will come back soon! Enjoyed my food and drinks! Everything was enjoyable with friends. Wait wasn't super long. Food came out hot and delicious! read more

Went here for happy hour. Our waiter Ernesto was really great and attentive! Food was good and came out quickly.