El Torito is a place my friends and I like to frequent for quick service, good food and margaritas. But for whatever reason, that turned out to be the opposite for our most recent visit at El Torito. We were all sat down at our table, handed menus, and told our waiter would be with us shortly for drinks and food. The actual time for the waiter to get to us to take down our drinks was relatively quick. However, after he had served our drinks and gave us a moment to look over the menu. We quickly found ourselves wondering what had happened to our waiter. He had not returned after 15 minutes. We pulled another waiter aside and asked what had happened since we were now waiting on our waiter. He took a moment to think and stated he was going to look for our waiter and return with an answer. Moments later he returned and stated our waiter was in the back speaking to the manager. At this time we had asked if he may take our order and he unapologetically stated he could not as we would have to wait for our waiter to return. This by far was the most upsetting thing. Our waiter eventually returned moments after. It was quite a shock he didn't address his absence and went on so casually and carelessly with the nights service. He took down our order and after a brief wait served them to us. Unfortunately by that time, he had already left a bitter taste in my mouth. read more

Wow, has El Torrito been tanking over the years. Over priced and poor quality. Tonight is particularly no excuse. Ordered for take out... no rush, so they could have taken their time to get it right. Not a single one of our dishes were correct. The chicken was not cooked through. The quesadilla for one child was so over cooked it was not chewable. The taco for the other child had raw chopped up jalapeno in it... for a CHILD meal. The combo plate had the wrong dishes and the al a carte street tacos were missing altogether. Trying to be courteous and not linger for pick up, my father in law did not do a detailed checknof our bag before leaving... big mistake. Not only did we end up just cooking for everyone at home, anyway, but we discovered there was no reciept in the bag to attempt to correct things. This is my final straw. This is the last in a series of disappointing visits to multiple El Torritos. They charge way too much to be this unpredictable and crappy. Especially when there are so many much better, much more affordable family owned options in SoCal. read more

Our experience was not the greatest. The Jalepeno Cucumber margarita did not taste very well, it tasted like a normal margarita mix. The Rosé Margarita was ok and the Pina Colada was the only one that tastes good. We never got chips for our Salsa and at that point I was not in the mood to keep bothering the waitress since they seemed very busy. read more

Their Taco Tuesday is a little expensive at $2.99 per tiny street taco, I mean it was tiny! Delicious, but still very tiny. 4 stars because the service was good, the chips were fresh, the salsa was on point and the tacos were delicious, even though they were tiny as hell!! read more

Today I had such a good lunch at El Torito. A few coworkers wanted to sit and dine for lunch and the patio they have is perfect . They sat our party fairly quick and the server we had was very attentive . Our servers name was Mariella and she shared all her favorite dishes with us and made some really delightful recommendations. She treated everyone in our party (4) with great hospitality. We asked for her schedule and we all look forward to coming back for lunch again. read more

I took my mother here for a day after Mother's Day celebration 5/15/2017 -since I worked nights on mothers day. We opted to sit on the bar area but we saw our servicer - Cynthia-maybe 3 times the entire visit! My mother and I had finished eating and waited to see if either of us saw our server to flag her down for a box and check. It took us 15 minutes to find her! When we got a box she failed to leave the check and it took another 10 minutes for that too. It was "happy hour" the day after Mother's Day on a Monday there was maybe three tables (included us) with parties no more the 3 each. I like the food at El Torito but it may be a long while until I step foot in the restaurant again. read more

Had a fantastic breakfast Saturday morning thanks to Victor Perez! Great discount and bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys. The carne asada and eggs were delicious. read more

Came here today for my niece's birthday and ahead of time older sis reserved a table for my large family. When we arrived they told her that since we were missing the bday girl and her bf (party was not complete) they could not seat us and instead GAVE OUR RESERVED TABLE AWAY. So we waited and waited and just stood by the door while they stared at us giving us snotty looks. The young man was okay not as rude as the two females who were pretty much acting like they did not care that we were standing around with 7 week old baby by the door. After 2 hrs my sis asked to speak to the mgmt who was confrontational at first and then offered us a robotic explanation. She didn't seem to care and looked bothered. No wonder these girls also didn't care they have a immature manager. We finally sat down and thank goodness our waitress (Destiny) was great and attentive. My family and I will not be coming back to this place. P.s, Jessica should be the manager. She made up for the bad service from the rest of the staff. read more

El Torito - The two gals that gave our table away and were rude. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

This is the first time coming here with the family we live five minutes away and have came to riverside plaza many times and never new about El torito . Everyone was nice but our server did an outstanding job he was on top of making sure we felt welcomed and always made sure to come by the table to make sure everything was good . We came with our 2 year olds and they had such a great time as well. We give him a 10/10 for the great service he gave ohs and we will definitely will come back . Thank you Victor read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Riverside location. Lorenzo was our waiter. Lorenzo was attentive and made sure we had everything we asked for. Great food, great experience. read more

Really great will definitely come back for that Sunday brunch ! Loved the food and service !Thanks to my server Destiny Awesome Job !

Lorenzo, was great, fast and very efficient. With great hospitality. He was constantly refilling our drinks asking if we needing anything. Haven't had a waiter like that in a while. Very happy customer read more

Victor Perez, our Server, was wonderful, friendly and AWESOME!! He was very attentive and made our dining experience very enjoyable.

Excellent, excellent service ! Myriam was our server, she was nothing more than amazing. Anticipated our needs before we even asked, always checking on us, and very sweet. The Sunday brunch was amazing as well, had many options and very yummy. Definitely will be back read more

Orale! My family came here as a group of 18 for a birthday party during Sunday brunch. Chantal was our server and she did an amazing job accommodating our large group. Good Sunday brunch with endless mimosas, except I think my honey kept drinking mine or there was a hole in my glass. They also make omelettes which you just list what you want in it. We were pleasantly surprised with Mariachis and they were good. $15 for a table side song request, just so you know. I think my honey ate all the menudo tho cuz I heard the cook yell, "Ayee Chihuahua!" when they told him how many bowls she ate. There was also happy hour going on; $5 Cadillac Margaritas and Micheladas. We eased ourselves to the bar and our bartender, Miriam, was friendly and quick. She was busy and still treated us like we were the only ones at the bar. The place gets busy on Sunday so go early or be prepared. Thank you Chantal for making our experience good for our family. We'll be back. Pray on mi gente! read more

Terrible service and cold food. The staff prioritize white patrons and fulfilling their orders, which I never had my order completely filled. I had to wait a total of about 20 minutes to even receive my bill and pay it. Will never return read more

I went to this location for a celebrate with my bridal party over brunch. It was super clean, the food and service were great! Victor P was our waiter and he kept the bottomless mimosas coming! He was very pleasant and definitely made the experience better. I will be coming back. read more

I absolutely love this place! We come every Tuesday! Tonight Victor Perez served us and he was so amazing and prompt. Always had drinks at our table and constantly checked on to make sure we were enjoying the food. You all need to come here. P.S DJ on Tuesday is LIT! Had everyone up and dancing. Also thank you Sandra for being such a sweetheart and making our time here special read more

Gina and Mariela was amazingggggggg i most definitely would recommend going here , check out the brunch

Gina the manager is by far the best ever! Great customer service here at this location!!! :)

Wow whats an amazing experience. The food was great and I loved the mimosas but who made the experience the best was Janette. She was on top of everything. Thank you Janette I live in Ontario but will now travel to Riverside just because of you. read more

Buyer beware! This location will charge you a "surcharge" because they have to pay the new minimum wage to their servers! However, they don't tell you! It's on a tiny card at the hostess desk and then in fine print on their menu! But you'd never know if you don't SEE it on your receipt. But that's not the best part. I refused to pay for it. It's the cost of doing business...it's not MY responsibility to pay their servers. So the manager tried to shame me into paying it trying to use the "poor servers" that need the money excuse. I didn't budge and they took it off my bill. But on the way out, our server followed us outside and told us they put that surcharge on the tips they collect, but don't give them the surcharge! They keep it! But the "poor servers" get taxed on money they don't get! WTH? Isn't that illegal? And the sever also told us that the managers tell them to NOT tell customers about it & if anyone notices & complains, they have to call the manager & not talk to the customers about it. I don't know about y'all, but we are never eating here again! And that's a shame. We eat her at least 4 times a month with family & co workers. #BYEFELICIA #UNETHICAL read more

El Torito - Hidden charges on our bill. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Victor P. Is the absolute BEST! He and the staff made my experience so enjoyable and the food was excellent!

Myrian....again one of your best servers. My birthday is always great when we come in . Always great and with s big smile on her face

Although I've frequented this location for brunch several times, this is the first time I've felt compelled to leave a review. I was thoroughly impressed with Victor Perez's service I asked for his name so I could write a review. As a manager in the hospitality industry I realize how vital it is to create memorable client experiences. Not only did Victor exceed my expectations, but those of my household as well. I encouraged them to write a review since we wanted to share our appreciation for Victor. read more

Great girls night location! Delicious margaritas! We'll be back for our next girls night out! Thank you!

The employees that work, for you are incredibly lazy, and lack the ability to actually care for the environment that they work in must be a riverside thing LOL because I have been to several El Torito's throughout Southern California and this is by far the worst I've ever seen. They should take a trip to the Pasadena El Torito, and see how real El Torito is actually run efficiently with employees who actually care about their environment and their surroundings and filthy stuff laying on the floor that they would have no problem picking up. And the chips were ice cold! And I ordered fajitas and never even got a plate to put my fajitas on as if I was supposed to eat it off the hot burning grill. Got my tortillas served me rolled in tinfoil why weren't the tortillas in a tortilla warmer to keep them warm while I enjoyed my meal. This isn't a fast food place. This is El Torito. Everything is supposed to be top notch. That is the El Torito style please I urge your employees to take a trip to Los Angeles county, El Torito's, or Orange County, El Torito's and they will see how far they are behind the El Torito standards at this Riverside location. Absolutely sad! read more

Can I have some zucchini with my grease please? Avoid happy hour menu at all cost!! So sad this chain has gone down in quality. read more

El Torito - Effin gross bro! At least let the grease drip off. I could have spent $4 somewhere else! - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

We just left El Torito, we had a great dinner ( taco Tuesday)! We had great service, I want to give a shout to our server Lorenzo Sanchez, he was quick, very attentive and deserves a five star rating himself! We will definitely be back!! read more

The service here tonight was GREAT! Myriam our bartender was awesome and introduced us to one of personal creations. It was an awesome drink called Mexican lollipop!! A must try.... Alma, waitresses was very versital. Jaime, bus boy was awesome. Hugo, Manager was also very gracious and an awesome host . Need to come back for some more good times and great service read more

Thank you Melissa for the excellent service during happy hour last night! As usual the house margaritas are consistent and delicious and the gorditias were a good choice. read more

Victor P was the shit amazing service amazing food amazing !! Definitely will be coming back just because of Victor P's service !!!! PERIOD

Let me give you a back story we went in for dinner for my fiancé's birthday we were a big party. Let's just say we left with no desire to come back. The only reason we came back was because our server Michelle. She had just joined the team of El Torito since Acapulco in Moreno Valley had closed. We went in on March 2nd. We sat in the bar area for Happy Hour. Michelle was our server once again. We asked her if she remembered us and she did I was very happy she was taking care of us for the evening. Not only was the vibe different but the presence of management was seen through out the night. Thank you Gabriel for checking in on us as well as Michelle through out our dinner. So glad that my experience was so much better than the first time. Many thanks to Michelle and Gabriel. read more

I took my grandma here for lunch and Victor perez was our server. The food was amazing, and so was he! He made us laugh so much! 10/10 such a great server! read more

NOPE! Food was cold and very bland. The complimentary chips that they brought to my table was crumbs. The service, lackluster. The cocktails were ok. Didn't realize how sub-standard a lot of items on the menu were. I'll come back for cocktails and crumbs, but I won't eat the bland hospital cafeteria food that they serve. read more

This was a take out order. Worst food ever. We threw away $120.00. We literally threw the food away. I inquired about steak tostados then discovered they only have large taco shells folded over which they call a tostada. I switched to 4 steak fajita salads and was given the taco tostados. The mistake was fixed and the hostess argued with me. I also ordered 4 cheese enchiladas. The enchiladas were shredded uncooked cheese wrapped in a tortilla with some horrible sauce. I am Black and Hispanic and know how to make excellent Mexican food at home and that is what I will do next time. Sad very sad. read more

Victor P was the best server ever! He made our taco Tuesday great!! We will definitely be back

The food was delicious and VICTOR P. was a great server. He was friendly, funny, and accommodating. It was a great start for my bachelorette weekend. Thanks Victor! read more

Such a great vibe to be in especially with great server service! Victor Perez thank you so much for your kindness! Big points!!!!

We had a great experience at El Torito. There service was so hospitable and the food seems to get better each time we come. If you can ask for Bertha as your server you will not be disappointed. I know it's a chain but Bertha made it seem like an independent restaurant. So cool. read more