Enjoyed a quick lunch. Service was fine. Nice atmosphere. Large spaces indoor and outdoor. Ordered the Mahi Mahi street tacos. Plenty of heat, marinated fish. Flavorful read more

El Torito - Mahi Mahi Street Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

Had a craving for Mexican food today. Haven't been here in awhile. The street taco were delicious. Accompanied with delicious beans, Mexican rice and sweet corn cake. The plate presentation was excellent. We sat in a quiet area that made you feel like you were in some far away place and enjoying this wonderful meal. Ample parking and the service was good read more

El Torito - Street taco trio - 2 chicken and 1 steak - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

Amazing Service ,Food !!! Beto the server was very attentive and caring with us. He was always on top of all of our necessities and was very approachable. The ambiance was very warm and comforting read more

The food was good and the service was excellent. Caridad was our server. She was friendly and attentive.

Our Servier Maria S. Was fantastic! Food was great, service was amazing, it was a bit loud for my liking, probably because there was lots of large parties but overall great! read more

Hello my old pal! I haven't been in an El Torito in yearrrs. But man did I frequent this place. Located less than 10 minutes from my old workplace in Pasadena on Lake, it was a quick drive over for food and drinks. This was the spot for once a week happy hours, good bye parties, brunch with the girls, a place to watch the games, and the occasional liquid lunch with the boss (sshhh). I had been craving El To lately but have been skeptical about dining in due to Covid precautions. I had a couple friends describe their most recent experience and I decided to give it a chance. Last night, my fiance' and I had a long awaited date night of dining in and I don't regret it. The changes to the bar area was impressive. The bar is new, huge TVs everywhere, tables are well spaced, and the opening up of the wall leading to the outside patio looks great. The new torches outside gave off a subtle glow that added to the inside ambiance. We ordered drinks while waiting for our food. I had a Cadillac Margarita, he had the House Margarita. Our food came out fairly quickly. I may or may not have done a little happy dance wiggle in my seat while having the first bite of my fave... the Carne Asada and Cheese Enchilada plate. I cannot duplicate the sauce on that carne asada for the life of me and I crave it from time to time. No one else's carne asada ever comes close to El To's. My fiance' had the Shrimp Mazatlan Enchiladas and was pleased with his meal as well. The only con to last night's experience was that we had to make quite the effort and several times to flag down our waitress for the check. Other than that, we had a great time, enjoyed our meal, and the opportunity to finally have a date night OUT. We may make this a regular thing. If you are hesitant to dine in like I was, don't be. There are tons of outdoor seating options available. They have really maximized their spaces: the outdoor patio to the side of the bar, the open space running along the front walkway, plus two huge tents available in the parking lot. Lots of options for properly distancing. The staff all wear gloves, masks, and face shields. Thank you for always hitting the spot El To! read more

See all

We came with a party of 20 and Ernesto has been nothing but polite and attentive! We appreciate you, Ernesto!

Delicious food, great service and such a great vibe. Friendly staff keeps me coming back. Beto was very helpful and attentive.

Great Happy Hour great service from bartender Sopes were very delicious and delivered promptly. Would recommend this restaurant and come back again for sure. read more

El Torito - Great service from Enrique - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Food, service, music DJ it was a great night with my mom , we will be back soon. I love the HH prices .margaritas flight read more

Beto provides impeccable service, complemented by delicious cuisine. Their breakfast options are particularly noteworthy, offering a delightful start to the day. read more

El Torito - Breakfast Chilaquiles - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

I've been to several El Torito's, and decided to try this location. Food quality has definately gone down. I have several reasons for my 1 star rating... Husband and I ordered the Grande Fiesta Platter for our appetizer. I noticed an odd, fowl smell as soon as the server brought the dish to the table. It was the sauce on the buffalo wings. They tasted as awful as they smelled. I've had buffalo sauce many times in my life and no other sauce smelled or tasted like this. Absolutely disgusting. Couldn't eat most of the nachos on the plate as the horrid buffalo sauce was all over the bottom of the plate. The flautas tasted frozen and gross. I took one bite and that was enough. I only wound up eating the little quesadilla pieces. We ordered the Mexican Pizza for the main dish. It was supposed to have chorizo. It did, but had to search to find the few tiny pieces that it had, and it tasted burnt. We had sat in the bar area. To our surprise there were many screaming babies. I assumed being in the bar area, that would give us some adult time to enjoy our meal...but no. Felt like I was dining at Chuckee Cheese! But here's the worst part. A party came in with their pet dog and were seated in the bar area INSIDE. THIS WAS NOT A SERVICE ANIMAL. Per Los Angeles county public health department, people with animals should be seated OUTSIDE on a patio. There was a patio right behind the bar area but not one employee or manager asked them to be seated outside. We witnessed employees petting the dog, then going about their business touching silverware etc. after they touched the animal and without washing their hands! This is a health violation! There were enough issues in this negative experience that have made us decide not to return. Very, very disappointing. read more

See all

Good service with Beto! Me eats so much the food! Go and get stuffed with all the yummy meats and ceviche and delicious. read more

El Torito - Sunday brunch - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

First visit here and it was a great experience. We were late for our reservations but they were able to accommodate me and my group so I was thankful. The workers were amazing and sufficient. The food was sooooo good! And even our server Bobby was amazing. Made sure everything was okay and made sure to remove everything from our table when our plates were done being used as well as made sure to check in on us for our other rounds of bottomless mimosas. He was super friendly and we hope we get him again cause he provided us with food service. Will definitely come back for another round of brunch and bottomless mimosas. read more

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

Brunch was delicious ! Angel provided great service! Omelette and taco bar was awesome. I will come back again.

Amazing food, no waiting time. We were seated right away. Served enough chips & salsa. Service was quick. Will surely return to try new item. read more

See all

So many options to pick from Our service attendant Carlos was very polite and offered great customer service. We'll definitely be back !!!! Gracias Carlos !!!! read more

El Torito - Complementary Churro Pancakes - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

We have came to el Torito for the first time this year to celebrate a birthday back in April. It has become one of our favorite restaurants to come and not only enjoy great food but also Amazing customer service. Olga was amazing attended us with great service and was very lovely. Def recommend coming to El Torito in Pasadena ! Ask for Olga! :) read more

El Torito - Happy hour , jalapeño cucumber margarita is a must try! - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

I feel bad writing this review, but I have to let y'all know. My experience there was meh but the food was so icky I am in full-blown regret mode. I found myself looking around at the other people and wondering why they were there. Do they not know what good food tastes like? The black and white couple, well what do they know? But the big Mexican family: are they getting the "good food" that I'm not worthy of because I look like a white girl? The service: the server was nice enough, but with a mostly empty bar at 1:30 on a Monday it should have been way better. She only checked on me once and I had to walk to the front after waiting for more water and to ask for my check. The food: * Beans: fine * Pico de gallo/table salsa: not good, it was sweet and leaning towards pasta sauce tasting * Hard beef taco: abysmal! I confirmed that the hard taco had shredded beef before I ordered it. What it really was was tiny chunks of fatty, rubbery meat that tasted like it was seasoned with Chinese five spice. It may have slightly resembled Birria, but it certainly did not taste like it and is not what I would call shredded beef in any way shape or form. * The enchilada: barely edible. I know they are premade so I get that they have to be heated up, but the cheese on top was still cold, while the plate they put it on was scalding hot. Next time they should put it under the heater and not just on a thermonuclear plate. Honestly I should have known better but I thought I'd be safe to get a quick lunch. I'll not be going back. Bummer. read more

Beto was an amazing server, will definitely recommend this place! The brunch here is amazing

El Torito was a restaurant I visited many years back. I was a regular then because of the freshly made tortillas and my favorite dish grilled chicken tostada. I came upon this restaurant again because I was hungry after the doctor's appointment, and El Torito was just a block away. Chips and salsa are complementary, they tasted fresh. I ordered the grilled chicken salad, aka grilled chicken tostada. Waiter Mr. Mario was kind and attentive, brought drinks and food very quickly. The ambiance of the restaurant was appropriate and inviting. Loved it. Of course, the food was delicious and plentiful. This is definitely a restaurant that I would come back to. read more

See all

It breaks my heart to post this review because El Torito was a place I ventured to when I wanted a quick-almost-kind-of-but-not-really Mexican food. I have been to this location a few times and went for convenience. The restaurant setup is a bit awkward - you have the dining/bar area that is lively and the rest of the seating areas are literally dead. You almost feel like you've been placed in timeout if you are seated at a table in this section. However, this is beside the point. I have my go-to dish that I always order and will never ever again, eat it. Having been in food service for a very long time, I understand mistakes happen but it is the manner in how it is resolved that determines my dining experience regardless of what happens. Let's get straight to the point - as I was chewing my food, I felt an object in my mouth that obviously was NOT edible. People, it was a piece of plastic. Immediately, my appetite was gone. I flagged down the waiter and showed him the foreign object. Upon seeing it, he simply replied, "It is paper. Sorry." I told him that it wasn't paper and he literally walked off annoyed. That's it. A simple dialogue would have sufficed but nothing. Since I really don't like wasting food, I tried eating it but utterly failed. For the next 20 minutes, we tried to ask for our check and a to-go box. Again, attitude. NEVER GOING BACK. read more

El Torito - The plastic piece of wrap was in the white enchilada :( - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

Just went to eat at El Torito after our hike and the food was delicious! Our server Beto was amazing! He was very personable and attentive to us. Will for sure be coming back here! read more

Sunday brunch, all you can eat. Featuring "Churro Pancakes" 9-2:00. Welcoming hosts, omelette maker-good customer service. Wait staff seems to be a bit busy during this time, so you really have to catch the wave them down. Still the best, Mexican food!!! Great ambience. read more

El Torito - Sunday brunch - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Carlos was wonderful! Excellent service and the food was amazing! I love that I saw the manager checking the temperature of the dishes at the buffet! And even took one out cause it wasn't warm enough. The desert station was a bonus! Lots and lots of options! read more

So Beto is my guy! My mom had thee best experience when he serves us. He's super attentive and on it. Makes the brunch experience worth it! read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Our server Beto was very helpful and attentive during our family Sunday brunch. All the food was fresh and warm!!! Had a wonderful experience. read more

Beto was a great server and extremely helpful. My favorite part was the Chile Verde and their small waffles.

I've truly enjoyed my breakfast all you can eat buffet with bottomless mimosa that my brother enjoyed. Everyone was satisfied. Service was all around great very accommodating and our server Beto was cheerful and attentive. We had a great time and will be back with more friends and family. read more

See all

Restaurant is short staffed. Not an authentic Mexican restaurant. Food is microwaved, dry with no flavor. Restaurant ran out of a lot of menu items. Definitely don't recommend this restaurant to anyone. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Our server was Beto and he was wonderful! We went for New Years Eve Brunch with a big group. We were seated quickly and the food was impressive. I was wary of going during Buffet Brunch but was pleasantly surprised by the good quality of food, cleanliness, and variety of options. Beto was attentive and checked in on us frequently. We'll definitely be back for brunch! read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

Came here for my birthday and wanted to do a simple, close to home brunch, with my closest friends. Beto was our server and he was absolutely amazing! He made sure that we were always good and that our drinks were always topped off. It was my first time for brunch and it was definitely a good spot with good food! Would definitely recommend! read more

Amazing food and the service was beyond my expectations our server was Beto, I highly recommend asking for his seating station, very courteous and friendly read more

My cousin invited us to enjoy some margaritas on a Wednesday night. There were seven of us and we waited and waited for a table. There were plenty of tables that were empty but we still had to wait. There's something about the interior that needs a better atmosphere. After sitting down we ordered a variety of margaritas which turned out to be pretty good but weren't strong enough to get a buzz. Our waiter was very friendly and had a super nice attitude. read more

El Torito - Wednesday shenanigans 2022 - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

My server was Caridad! She was attentive and super quick when it came to ordering our drinks. We came for Sunday brunch and it was amazing. The staff was accommodating. The hostesses were great! The cooks in the taco place were very nice. I loved the pastor and Carnitas tacos! I enjoyed the food that was outside the brunch. Everyone was lovely from the front and the back of the house! Very thankful for this day the ambiance was amazing and I can't wait to come back again. Come out and support workers. They work very hard when it's busy so let's support our workers during this time and enjoy the food with the people you love read more

The Sunday brunch here is bomb. I come here all the time with my family. I personally get the waffles with ice cream caramel drizzle. My family loves to get menudo bowls deck out with all the toppings. There is coffee and chocolate milk and yogurt. I love el Torito Pasadena. Beto was my server he always made his trips to always keep my table and the tables around me super clean read more

Food was good. Service was exceptional. The hostess and Carlos were super friendly and made our experience a great time! Kudos to the staff who noticeably value their customers! read more

Today we came here for brunch. Never been to a brunch. We got helped by a fantastic person. He was so nice and attentive. His name was Beto. He explained how the process was and what they had. Food was great and the ambience was fun. read more

Happy hour 3-7. Good deals on drinks & food. Nice servers and plenty of TVs. They also have unlimited brunch on Sunday however I haven't tried it yet. read more

El Torito - Happy hour 3-7 - Mexican Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

Solid 4 stars. The salsa was a bit marinara flavored for me. Texas has spoiled me. The bacon wrapped shrimp is actually bacon wrapped jalapenos that are stuffed with shrimp. The glaze on them was good. Sign up for their rewards, it's free. You get tableside guacamole for free when you sign up. It's s lot of guac. read more

See all