If I could give zero stars I would, this is our second time trying the restaurant and the service is the worst I have ever seen. Food is whatever, you get what you pay for but dang the service is SOOO BAD. Terrible, probably the worst service I have ever seen for a restaurant with plates in the $10 to $15 range. So let me just say first, I don't expect much from this level of restaurant (meaning I am not going to Bestia in DTLA) so my level of expectations for service are on par with what I am paying. I mean let's face it if I am going to King Taco I am not expecting 5 star service. But man, this place really is terrible on so many levels. I don't necessarily blame the servers either as they just don't get it poor guys, they are just too clueless to understand what they are doing wrong and it's the fault of restaurant and Corp management as performance is a reflection of leadership. Clearly there isn't much here. DID I MENTION TERRIBLE SERVICE YET!!! So let me tell you my quick story. Phase 1: Wife, son and I are driving around Pasadena starving and looking for someone to eat super fast as we were running low on energy. Time is about 6ish and we went directly to the bar thinking it would be super fast to get something to eat and leave. We seat ourselves at a booth (host sees us sit down), server comes up and asks if we want anything.....yeah genius a menu, water and chips....you know standard stuff you get when you walk into El Torito and sit a booth for service (or did you think I just want to sit at the bar with a 3 year old and do nothing else). Another poor bus boy brings us the aforementioned items rather quickly which is nice and made up for what I already knew was going to be bad service from the waiter. You know how you get the immediate feeling things arent going to be great when you arrive at a table? Phase 2: wife and son leave to wash their hands and waiter comes around and asks what we wanted, yet again genius a menu so I can actually look at what you have to offer. The sad part is I was going to get a margarita and some food now that I was sitting down and actually in a restaurant. So before he takes off, to what I am assuming is to go get us menus, I just tell him to get us guac to start off and then we would decide when we get menus and wife comes back. WHY? Because I am starving and just want to eat something at this point. Phase 3: menus never arrive (mind you that the restaurant bar area is at maybe 20% capacity on a prime Sat nite at 6ish --- not a good sign for their struggling business). FINALLY about 15 minutes into us sitting down some guy from the host stand ASKS us if we want menus. REALLY DUDE? no we are just sitting here for 15 minutes with water and chips. NOTE TO SENIOR CORP MANAGEMENT, you make money when your servers actually sell the items you place on the menu. Phase 4: 25 minutes into the event the waiter shows up with table side guac and then says "i'll be back" and disappears with our guac just sitting there. give it another 5 to 6 minutes and he comes back and COUGHS right in front of us, no "excuse me", no "sorry let me go wash my hands" and just goes right into making our guac. HORRIFIED BY NOW. but wait it doesn't end there. Phase 5: Waiter leaves yet AGAIN because someone across the room stands up and waives the bill at him, the poor soul has probably been waiting 45 minutes for this genius waiter to pay attention so he can leave after eating. So for now the 2nd time in a row the waiter leaves this time with our guac just sitting there in front us half made. I want to say now we have been there 30 minutes with no guac and the really funny thing is, the waiter still hasn't take our drink order. Classic horrible service. Phase 6: when he leaves the second time and literally disappears from the room (where the heck does he go???) we leave horrified over what just unfolded over the course of 30 to 35 minutes. What do I owe you? Nothing because all you gave me was tap water and chips, if anything you owe me for wasting our time. Not only will I not go back but I am going to force myself to write the CEO a letter, a useless waste of time considering he is trying desperately to hold off bankruptcy for the company, but for my own sake I have to do it. In conclusion, terrible, horribly, uneducated, unskilled (and whatever other name you can call bad) service. STAY CLEAR and go eat somewhere else for the $10 to $15 per plate. Good luck to all read more

We decided to just try this place without checking Yelp for once. And I'm so glad we did. With this dumb 2.5 star review I probably would have turned away. But I got the Macho Combo and was quite impressed. Everything had lots of flavor! I also loved that sweet little corn mashy thing they give you. Our waitress was so pleasant for it being an hour away from closing at 11 at night. That was nice. Chips and salsa were awesome too! I walked away very happy, and no thanks to these crappy reviews on here! read more

RICHIE deserves a 5 star rating: He was kind, professional an very attentive. He earned his tip an my patronization. He never left my party unattended & we never had to summons him. The BEST server I've experienced in a long time...... an I eat out often. read more

Went here last night for the first time with the college bff, bff co-worker and a friend that I met at TGI Fridays at Rosemad a while back. The four of us had a great time last night for their karaoke night from 7:30 to midnight. This establishment has karaoke every Friday and Saturday night my buddies and I will definately be back. read more

Beatriz is an incredible waitress, very friendly. I always come here and look for her. She always treats us like family.

The two stars are only for the food. The service was good and their happy hour margaritas is the only reason I'd go back. But the food is meh... read more

Loved the food and loved the service even more. Ashley was an amazing waitress, thanks El Torito!

Second time in a row enjoying Taco Tuesday! Shout out to our great servers, Claudia from last Tuesday 2/9/15 and to our amazing server this week Nicole. Both servers were attentive and all around nice people! read more

You're killing me El Torito. After a nightmare of a Taco Tuesday experience a few years back at the West Covina location, I have been frequenting the Pasadena location for a cheap taco fix. Everything was fine, until it wasn't. Just last Tuesday I had the WORST experience here ever. It should have been a warning sign when we were seated and waited for quite some time (over 10 minutes) to be acknowledged by a server and were told, "your server isn't here yet, but I'll take care of you." I don't think "our server" ever showed up and the one "taking care of us" did anything but. I wasn't timing anything with a stopwatch, but it was a good 15-20 minutes before our drink orders were delivered, from there it was another 15 minutes before our tickets for tacos were brought to the table. We never received napkins or flatware. When the last of our party of 4 arrived and ordered a drink, he waited about 20 minutes and just went to the bar to get it himself. The drink was sitting there waiting, ice melting in the extreme heat. Did I mention it was hot as balls in the bar area? The server apologized for forgetting about us, but never picked up the pace. Second round of drink orders took as long as the first (and no one ordered anything complicated.) The place was busy on Taco Tuesday and perhaps they ended up being under-staffed, but apologies and one dish of ice cream for all 4 of us didn't make up for the bad experience. read more

Decided to sit in the Cantina because there was no wait. After being ignored for 10 minutes, we finally got menus. After 10 more minutes, someone finally came by to het our orders. Literally seconds after that, 3 different servers asked us if we had been helped or needed menus. There is no system here. It's every server and every patron for themselves. The service is mostly friendly once they have claimed you as their own. But clearly there is a lack of leadership and organization here. I haven't even received my food and I'm already Yelping... ******** Ok. Food's here. And it's pretty good. Ordered the tacos jalisco and the beef was tender and juicy. Was it worth the wait? No, but what arrived was a nice surpise. Kudos to the waitstaff for putting up with this chaos. read more

I went to El Torito on March 16th and Serena Soto was my server and she did an amazing job!! She definitely is one of your best servers!

Great service tonight provided by Ashley on taco Tuesday. The asada taco on flour tortilla ....is yummy. The tacos are delicious and the table service is awesome. We will be back. read more

We came in for brunch for our mothers birthday, it was great! Kid friendly, there's something for everyone, our server Serena was slammed but she still made sure we were all doing okay! Richard was also very nice friendly! We recommend the fried bananas and ice cream which he introduced to us. read more

Stopped in for Saturday afternoon lunch. Service was really friendly and Ralphie was a very attentive server. Every time I've stopped by the food has been consistently good. Even the salsa is good, and i hate tomatoes! read more

Food is decent but the service is almost always terrible at the bar. You seat yourself which is fine but there's no logical order by which servers/waiters come and take orders, bring food, follow-up, etc. Not sure if I'd recommend coming here. read more

Great experience at El Torito in the bar area. The service was excellent especially our waitress Marisol. I feel the need to mention this is my favorite restaurant of all time and I'm really glad this location held its promise to deliver great food and service. Chow read more

so wilson and i went here for a good deal. we had a coupon which sort of is like the happy hour pricing. anyways, lets get down to business. I ordered the taco sampler and wilson ordered the fiesta grande platter. well the only thing that stood out was the quesadilla and it wasnt even that great. the tacos were alright. we just decided to get a little bit of everything. i like beans but the beans were just noooot good. so no on the beans. also, when you order a margarita here, please ask for more alcohol cause otherwise you are just drinking a smoothie. will we go back, well thanks to the economy being so bad right now, probably yea but i wouldnt go here without that coupon haha read more

Can't lie - only came here for a free birthday lunch. If you sign up for their e-mail club, they'll send you an offer for a free entrée. Anyways, it didn't look that busy for a weekday afternoon. They have a buffet lunch option too for about $9 if you're in a hurry. Large parking lot surrounding the building too. Anyways we were seated promptly and were immediately brought chips and salsa. Mmmm. I love free appetizers. After perusing the menu a bit, we decided on the sensational combo and the macho combo. Both came out on a giant platter they call a plate. My sensational combo had a carne aside pineapple soft taco, a crab meat chimichurra, and two grilled shrimp skewers. The other combo had a chicken tamale, a grilled chile, a carnitas taco and a carne asada wet burrito. Both came with beans, rice and a small mound of corn cake. The corn cake was like moist cornbread, sweet with real corn bits so it turned out to be my favorite part of the meal. The worst part of my meal was the shrimp. So, so, so salty. I could barely get it down - no amount of water that I drank or rice that I ate after it would get rid of the saltiness that overwhelmed my mouth. I think I ate two and took the rest home to re-cook it to make it blander. The crab chimichurri was the second best thing on my plate. I doubt that it was all real crab meat but the filling was creamy and soft. And I liked the sauce it was smothered in. The taco was ok too - the sweet pineapple worked well with the spiciness of the beef. I tried bites of my friends. Didn't like the chili but I don't like chili in general. The tamale is ok - I've definitely had better at hole-in-the-wall places. The wet burrito was my fav on that dish. I think I just like foods with sauce - makes everything taste better. Didn't care for the taco either but the hard corn shell is not my preferred wrap. The pork was tender though. Service was alright. Nothing outstanding. Food came out in a reasonable time and a perfunctory inquiry of if we needed anything else was asked. And the plates were cleared and the bill was placed on our table without asking. Oh and what was nice, was they applied the free birthday entrée to my dish even though it was more expensive than my friends. read more

Just had a family event there for Sunday Brunch. I've had several celebrations there over the years, reserving the back room. They have really stepped up Sunday Brunch. The food is great. Karen Cruz, who handles catering events was extremely helpful in making the reservation and handling contract needs through email. Amanda, was our server that morning. She was awesome! She helped with tables and room set up and alone, she handled our party of 40 with ease. She was friendly, professional and our family just loved her. One of the best celebrations we've had there. read more

Great costumer service and the food was delicious. Had different food options and even dessert.

Came here for my work christmas party and loved it! Great service! Very friendly, very quick and politely. The food is amazing! They have a buffet and its always stocked up with great variety! The staff is amazing and were constantly checking up on us! read more

Not happy with the fajitas. They were not sizzling and they were served with potatoes in the fajitas. Rice was cold. It just wasn't a good dinner. Our waiter was understanding and gave us 20% off each plate and didn't charge us for the drinks. Not planning on returning. read more

This location has become my new favorite! Our server, Crystal has been awesome! Took care of us and always had great suggestion when we were indecisive. She was very friendly and was willing to answer any questions we hard regarding drinks. She recommended to me the Cadillac Margarita and absolutely enjoyed! Thanks again Crystal for the hospitable service! read more

That was my first visit to El Torito and I really enjoyed it. They have a broad brunch menu and great service. Our server Marta was very professional & attentive. Richard was also very helpful when chose my desserts. read more

Very busy and festive. Wait staff is attentive and fills the mimosas asap if needed. Buffett is generous and well sorted with variety of mexican treats. Great for big parties. Props to the banana loco man. read more

The manager sent me an inquiry that was very responsible and asked for my info to follow up - so that's a good sign of a place that is trying harder!! read more

The services sucks!!! I went here on a Sunday night, it was not busy and it took forever to get our dinner..

Quick service, polite employees, big beautiful tables, several small rooms allow for an intimate setting even in this large restaurant. The food portions are generous and everything comes out hot and delicious. They bring out tortilla chips and refills faster than you can ask for them. This location is great for a day of shopping and then dining as it is located in the Best Buy, BB&B, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Ross and Pet Smart. read more

This place is to Mexican food what Olive Garden is to Italian food. Take that as you will. I had the super duper combo (not sure what the actual name is). It has shrimp fajitas, a shredded beef taco, a chicken enchilada and some sweet corn filling that probably comes from their tamales. The plate looks like what Chuck Norris would dine on before deciding on which animals would escape extinction. The shrimp were cooked medium, it is rare to find a place to cook them to medium. They are juicy and tender. The onions and green peppers were softened but still had some of the crunch.The beef taco had a cabbage slaw that added some nice crunch and sourness to the taco. The chicken enchilada is bathed in a nice green tomato sauce. The only change I would make on that dish is to add more of the sweet corn mash. i will have to try the corn tamales next time. Oh, they also have freshly margaritas by the pitcher... you know, if you like that kind of thing. read more

The happy hour here is fantastic it lasts all the way from 3-8! the street style tacos are delish and i really liked the salsa here. The margaritas could have been stronger and really that's why one goes to happy hour so deduct a star for the lack of tequila. Overall not my favorite or most authentic Mexican food place but not a bad choice for the happy hour! read more

Thank you for letting us hold our holiday meeting in your restaurant! You were so accommodating and we really appreciate it. The food and service were fantastic! Excellent chips and salsa and iced tea! read more

One of the best waiters (Angel) we have had in a really long time... The food was great; Beef Enchiladas Rancheras and the Macho Grand Combo were very flavorful and delicious... read more

El Torito - Mexican fried ice cream... Yummy... - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

I attended paint night there and the service there wasn't great. As I walked in the hostess just told us to walk in and she proceeded to walkway. The food took a great while to come out. More than 30mins. After that the ONE waiter they had for about 20people in the paint night only came around 3-4 times within 2 hrs. I has to get up find a manger and let him know I needed the waiter. Side note the manager didn't seem to care. He proceeded to talk to the hostess and suck on a lolly pop. I love paint night but will not attend if it's at this location. read more

This place sucks! We ordered the champagne brunch but they ran out of champagne. Didn't get any. They wouldn't reduce the bill. Also, they stop stop stocking the buffet after 1:00. Did I say this place sucks? read more

Not bad for a chain Mexican restaurant. Service could definitely be a little better, but the food is a decent value for the money. My wife and I both enjoyed our entrees. read more

Pretty Good. Once again, don't go here often but the Chicken Fajitas were good as expected. Food did take a bit longer than expected, but good comapny makes the time pass faster read more

Good lunch option & very good prices. The chicken salad is yum!

I have went 3 times on a Tuesday night (Taco Tuesday) in the bar and karaoke with Marisol(you may remember her from Acapulcos in Monrovia years ago) from 7pm-closing depends on the crowd. Each time I have gone the service and food have been great and the drinks too. I will be returning and encourage all you karaoke lovers to come try it out here, she has alot of songs besides what the restaurant has. See you there! read more

Recently returned and actually ate. Food was okay but the waitress's insistence that Happy Hour prices couldn't be honored at 7:01pm seemed more than a little cheap. The biggest issue I had with the evening was the awful karaoke set-up in the main eating area. You heard me: I spent an hour trying to swallow down the smallest taquitos I've ever been served while trying to ignore the really, really bad rendition of 'Sweet Georgia' being blasted in my right ear. This place is just plain bad - cheap and tasteless. But it seems very popular. Go figure. read more

This place should be 5 stars!! Amazing ! Delicious... Best service and fresh! Wow first time and my entire family loved it !!! We will be back ... And prices are good !!' read more