The food was delicious and our server Brooklyn was amazing! We were seated in a timely manner and the vibes were great!

Had a great Sunday Brunch with my Tia Dora, at El Torito in Riverside Plaza located in Riverside, CA. The food was fresh, flavorful, and exactly what you want from a relaxed weekend brunch. (I recommend the Chicken pozole) The atmosphere was lively the mariachi was que se lo lo tome Memories was bumping, but still comfortable enough to enjoy a great conversation and take your time to eat. A special shout-out to our server, Cynthia, who made the experience even better. She was attentive, friendly, and made sure our drinks and plates were always taken care of. Great service always makes a difference. If you're looking for a good brunch spot in Riverside Plaza, this is definitely worth a visit. Thanks again to Cynthia for the excellent your service! Cheers! read more

I visited El Torito in Riverside on Thursday, March 12 around 5:10 pm and sat in the happy hour/bar area for a quick solo visit after work. I actually worked for El Torito years ago at another location (my first job and I was a server ), so I've always had a soft spot for the brand and thought it would be a nice nostalgic stop. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. After being seated, I waited about 10-15 minutes with no acknowledgment from my server. An expo runner brought chips and salsa, but my server didn't come by until later to bring water and take my drink order (a strawberry margarita on the rocks with a sugared rim). Another long stretch passed and I still hadn't received my drink. Since I was seated in view of the bar, I could see drinks being made and delivered to other guests while mine never came. After about 30 minutes, I asked if I could place my food order, but the server told me to "give her a second" and never returned. Around 6:05-6:10 pm she finally came back with a blended strawberry margarita that had clearly been sitting on the bar and was watered down. I explained that I had ordered mine on the rocks and let her know I'd have to skip food because I had already been there nearly an hour and needed to leave for another appointment. When I calmly mentioned that the service hadn't been great due to the long wait, the server reacted defensively, looked over to the neighboring table during the interaction, and stated she had the right to decline service before walking away with the drink. She then immediately began discussing the situation with the table next to me while I was still there getting up to leave, which felt very unprofessional. As someone who previously worked for El Torito and now works in HR, I understand how busy restaurant service can be. What was most disappointing wasn't just the wait, it was the inability to receive basic customer feedback professionally. My company regularly orders catering for events and I had actually considered recommending El Torito based on my past experience working there. After this visit, I would hesitate to do so. I'm sharing this feedback in hopes that management is aware of how situations like this are being handled and can reinforce stronger service standards with their team. read more

Our server Cynthia is Rock star caliber. She bar tends too. So she does it all and it shows. Ask for the hot brown chili to mix with the mild. Everything was outstanding ! read more

El Torito - Dous taco lunch special - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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Tonight food was awful, ordered cheese enchilada w/a cheese relleno both were barely warm, cheese was thick in enchilada & barely in the relleno & wasn't melted. Had them reheated but still cold, nothing was hot, not the beans the rice or the plate, best thing was the chips & salsa... read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

I have been going to El Toritos restaurants for over 40 years and I have noticed the changes in the food quality, taste and portion sizes. When I first started, the food was consistently good, flavorful and the portion sizes were worth the price. I would always get the chicken tortilla soup, sweet corn cake, pepita salad with the grape vinigrette dressing, chips & salsa. Nowadays, the food does not taste like it did originally and has gone through many changes over the years, less quality ingredients being used, portion sizes shrinked (especially the to-go containers), but prices increased. The soup at times lacks flavor, ingredients missing, consistency is sometimes watery, other times it's a little thicker and more tomato based. Sweet corn sometimes comes out overcooked, dry, burnt pieces of corn, other times it was cooked with too much water and turned out mushy, easily falling apart, and did not have much flavor at all. Was told the salad dressing is being made with olive oil, but don't know for sure if that is really true or not. Sometimes the dressing was not made correctly having too much oil and not enough of the other ingredients to give it the right flavor. Even the salsa has not been consistent. Sometimes it can be way too spicy, too many peppers where you can barely eat it, if at all. Sometimes the veggies weren't cut up small and blended like they should be and it made the salsa turn out all chunky. The opposite has also happened, where it was over blended and came out like a puree creating a foamy type salsa, which was not good. Different Chefs preparing the food at the same restaurant and it comes out tasting different, between different restaurant locations the taste of food is not consistent. Being a paying customer I expect the food to taste good each and every time I order and I get my money's worth and that has not been the case in my experience. read more

El Torito - Grape vinaigrette dressing with way too much so called "olive oil" and not enough of the other ingredients. Taste like straight up oil. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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We had a private party yesterday for a memorial lunch with about 14 people. The service & the food was amazing. My review is about the manager. The minimum was 20 people @ $32 per person. We had 14 and some people were taking the extra stuff home. The manager said you know it's in your contract that you can't take anything home. I said but we only had 14 people & prepaid for 20. He said it is in the contract. Plus, we paid over $400 on top of that for the bar fee. My question is, are you throwing the food away or can the remaining guests take home the (6 other people that did not come) food home and not waste it. This was our second event there and the manager before was so awesome. Just an FYI - But I will not use it for a private party again. read more

Girl, no! They not only ran out of multiple of the happy hour items, but then also took an hour to get our order to the table. I don't know what I was expecting but the food was anything but Mexican cuisine. I ordered enchiladas and I have... thoughts. These enchiladas were flour tortillas with pico de gallo inside, why? Customer service also left a lot to be desired. Took a while for a host to get us a table, even though no one was waiting. The server also checked in on us once during our one hour wait for food. read more

The food was awful -- the rice was stale and dry, and the entire meal was so overly spicy it was basically inedible. Nothing tasted fresh or balanced. To make things worse, the service was terrible -- inattentive and dismissive, like they didn't care at all. Definitely not worth the price or the visit. I left hungry and disappointed. read more

El Torito - Stale rice way too spicy taco - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Came here recently for dinner on a Friday night, it was early, but still very crowded. I had the chicken & sour cream enchiladas. The service was very slow and it took forever to pay and leave. It reminded me of why I don't come to this location anymore. read more

Don't go on a Saturday for bunch. Food was cold, service terrible and out of food most dishes.

Great device and great food once again I love the service and quality here! Christina thank you for making my day even smoother much appreciated!! read more

Came in w my husband for our 18th anniversary on a Sunday during brunch time, we had a great time, great food, good vibes. I didn't know they offered complimentary champagne until our server mentioned it after offering us different drinks from the drinks menu. Victor Perez was the name of our server and he was very attentive to say the least. We ordered a few songs from the live mariachi. We had a great time overall. Will definitely be coming back. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Stopped in today for a quick Margarita with my husband, sat at the bar and Jannet was our bartender. Great Margaritas and service! She suggested the wings and we tried the three flavors. They were great! Ghost pepper BBQ was our favorite! Will be coming more often as we just moved to the area. Thanks Jannet for the great experience! read more

Went for their fantastic Sunday brunch. Everything was delicious and fresh. Our server Maria H. Was dynamite! We were serenaded by mariachis and the decor is always nice. Would highly recommend you check this out! Bottomless mimosas are delicious! https://youtu.be/U9eVwFBryaU?feature=shared read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Love the Sunday Brunch! It gets so busy yet the waiters/waitresses still manage to keep a smile with great service. The environment is a great place to hang out with family and/or friends. The manager was super sweet and very welcoming! read more

Good service and good food. Ordered the steak fajitas with flour tortillas. It was pleasantly delicious. I would come back and also recommend the fajitas. Kudos to the amazing staff for being so nice and attentive. Great service overall. read more

Favorite new happy hour spot. Can't believe they have happy hour every day till 9 PM. Today our server was Fernanda who took very good care of us. Food was great except for the street corn which was a little strange. Thank you Fernanda for taking great care of us read more

Amazing time at ETG, service was great, ambiance was perfect for a moms nite out! Came in at 6:00 on a Saturday and it was busy but not crowded enough to hurt service. Our server Brooklyn was very attentive and friendly. The happy hour until 9:00 pm is what brought us in. And we'll be back again for more on our next moms nite out. read more

El Torito - Delicious sampler platter! Whats left of it - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Went in for brunch today to celebrate my aunts my birthday and it was such a vibe! Our waitress Christian was super sweet and friendly very accommodating. She made sure we had refills on our drinks and kept our table clean. She recommended the michelada's and they were sooo good. Definitely will come back for brunch my whole family had so much fun read more

I had the most amazing time at El Torito today, the bartender, Brooklyn was amazing. She was friendly, professional and attentive, all the things I love in a server/bartender, I'll be back soon, and I hope Brooklyn is here! read more

We had a large group and it was very inconvenient to break it into 3 bills because they can't do more than three credit card transactions. The place was not even full with customers. Not to mention we were not asked about refills on drinks, water, or alcohol. Food was average taste drink was weak. Not returning anytime soon. read more

Sunday brunch was really good and the best of all was our server Victor Perez. I would definitely come back again and have us serve us.

We come here all the time. Love the service and ambience. Brooklyn you are amazing!! Keep rocking it! Great service!

Lora is truly exceptional. From the very first interaction, it's clear that she brings a rare combination of skill, thoughtfulness, and reliability to everything she does. Her attention to detail stands out, and she approaches each task with genuine care and intention--not just to get it done, but to get it done right. Beyond her abilities, Lora's positive attitude makes a real difference. She elevates the experience for everyone around her, creating an environment that's both productive and enjoyable. If you're looking for someone you can trust to deliver quality and exceed expectations, Lora is an outstanding choice. read more

On June 29th my husband and I celebrated his birthday, 6/2, my birthday 6/28, 46th anniversary 6/23 and Father's Day at El Torito, Riverside Plaza. We were treated with so much love and respect that it brought such joy. We were greeted by our favorite server, Kassandra and were waited on by Fernanda for 2.5 hours as we sampled most of the buffet and enjoyed bottomless mimosas. We were not rushed, instead we were encouraged to take our time and enjoy our meal. As always, the food was outstanding and the service and ambiance was more than we could ask for. We were also serenaded by Mariachi Alegria Michoacana who were amazing. El Torito is our go-to for any celebration as we are always treated like family. If you are looking for a place to celebrate, El Torito is the place to go. If you are lucky, Kassandra or Fernanda will be your server. Buen Provecho read more

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Food......C+, but that's what you get with chain restaurants. Service.......C+, some servers are great, some not so good. Bartenders......C-, surely not the best! Ambiance....... Well, it gets pretty hot inside when they have ac on and big patio doors wide open. Ugh read more

El Torito - Dodgers - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Brooklyn and the entire El Torito staff are a delight. The environment is always festive and inviting.

Let me just say the brunch is absolutely amazing. I've gone to the one in Ontario, but I feel as if this one has more options and I love our server. He was absolutely amazing even though we stayed a little bit past lunch me and my girlfriend we were just catching up. They didn't question us. They offered us another part of the menu and all the way. The service was absolute amazing. Our waiter was sixto j he was so sweet and never left our cup empty. He was an awesome server and I wish I could've gave him more for his service. Definitely will be coming back for more. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Tonight it started out with a good amount of people inside and on the patio. By the end of dinner the volume had picked up. To be expected. Great table side guacamole. The service was good. Plenty of chips and salsa to go around. Note though that the salsa was a bit picante night. read more

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Food was a solid 4/5. It was packed and our waitress managed to get to our table & kept checking in consistently. The ambience was lively, went in on cinco de mayo and it was a pleasant surprise. Happy hour for the win. read more

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I met my sisters for lunch on Saturday March 28th 2026. We decided on the buffet. The food was cold, dry and absolutely terrible. So we tried an omelette, there was no one to help us. One of my sisters decided to make her own. Finally a young man came out, he was not pleasant and acted like he was doing us a favor. Needless to say we had a bad experience and didn't enjoy our lunch at all. I'm sorry now I didn't speak to a manager! read more

Happy hour does not need a DJ blasting music along with the radio music they already have playing. This isn't Miami, it's Riverside CA at 5pm. I can't even hear and the person I came with is yelling. On top of that it took 20 min to get an order put in. Not happy with the service and left feeling overstimulated and irritated. read more

Met up with my friends who I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Our server Victor P was amazing... Extremely friendly and courteous. I hope that when we go back we get him again! read more

Love the food, all you can eat brunch is always a must. Laura was a great server, she was very friendly.

I made reservation the night before for brunch on Sunday for 5 people. I received an email the flowering day saying my reservation canceled and call the restaurant. I called and right away Jocelyn fixed my reservation and made sure we dined inside due to being windy. I was amazed by the new food selection they had and enjoyed the original menu. The corn cake is my favorite and loaded up on one plate for that. Thanks again Jocelyn for your great service and attentive detail to our party. I would recommend El Torito in this location anytime. read more

We came to the bar and got excellent service from Brooklyn ! Love coming here. Great drinks and food for great prices !

It's a nice place in Riverside. It's a little loud but that's because people are enjoying the Sunday brunch and the bottomless mimosas. The service was a bit slow for my taste, but that's OK, they were busy. They put us on it small booth, and the lighting was absolutely terrible at one point because it was so gloomy outside, we had to turn on our flashlight just to see the menu. I think that's hilarious, maybe it's just a sign of my age. I would definitely go back. It seems whenever I order off the menu and not during the buffet, the food is much better than the quality is even better than that. read more

El Torito - ENCHILADA RANCHERAS - CHICKEN - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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Sunday brunch is always my go too place everything is always authentic, the waffles are ai delicious. Service is good they try to sit you asap , ambience is more for family but if you go on a date the bar area works great !! read more

The brunch here is absolutely amazing, it's a good value for what it is. Our waiter, Victor P. was amazing. He was super attentive and had amazing recommendations for drinks. He was kind and made sure we were taken care of; I would highly recommend coming here for brunch. read more