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    El Torito

    3.5 (1.6k reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    EL TORITO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    NACHOS SUPREMOS - SHREDDED CHICKEN
    David L.

    We went on a Friday night and had a reservation for Friday night. It wasn't overly busy and we were seated right away. We had a table with a nice view of the water. The restaurant is nicely decorated and comfortable. The service was good and food came out a little slow but that is to be expected on a busy Friday night. We ordered the following: House margarita - 5.5/10 - taste was fine but it was a little on the weak side Virgin strawberry dacquiri - 6.5/10 - nice but came in a plastic water glass, which made it kind of sad Nachos with shredded chicken - 8.5/10 - very good with fresh ingredients Mazatlan shrimp enchiladas - 6/10 - these were a little disappointing, but the rice was absolutely delicious 3 item combo - 8/10 - chili relleno (9/10), crispy chicken taco (6.5/10), tamale (8/10). The chili relleno was amazing, cheesy, and one of the best I've had. The tamale was delicious (some tamales are dry and the masa is flavorless) Banana cheesecake chimichanga - 8/10 - this was delicious The prices are reasonable and they are on in-kind. I would highly recommend.

    Brunch menu
    Mary M.

    Mother's Day brunch was fabulous, it was my son and I. From the food energy and wait staff it was very good all the way around considering how busy it was! Noise level was busy for the occasion and the mariachi made the experience!. it was a great Mother's Day oh making reservations is definitely a plus otherwise the wait time is 1-3 hours

    12/2/25 FYI. Complimentary chips and salsa.
    Lee D.

    Quality/Quantity - Came here for Happy Hour again! Today we got the following: Asada Fries $8 - Small portions and not as good as our last visit, but my daughter still enjoyed it. Mini Tacos (4) $6 - My daughter really liked this. Good value and decent flavors. Do not expect much meat. But generous filings of beans, lol. Filled to the max. Beef Birria Taco (3) $8 - Our favorite of all the HH options. Mahi Mahi Tacos (3) $10 - My wife enjoyed it, but I thought it was just okay. A good value and of decent amounts of fish. The best part was that the fish was NOT deep fried. Wings - $10; 9 pieces. New, and got the mango habanero sauce. Actually, this dish tied for my favorite of HH options. I will get this again. And of course, a Lagunitas IPA $4 to wash it all down. It was the Lagunitas or the flight of Margaritas. But I am driving home tomorrow and did not want to mix my alcohols. Atmosphere - Good size. See previous pictures. Almost all the customers were here for HH, very few regular dining customers. Open 7 days a week from 9am or 11am to 10pm or 11pm. Many promotions - Taco Tuesdays, Sundays' All You Can Eat Brunch/Lunch. Plenty of parking. Service - The waitress was friendly and helped us right away. But she must be new, as it went downhill from there. She never came back?!?! Then only brought two of our 3 waters...? And more importantly, she forgot my beer! The manager stopped by as she noticed we looked lost, and then took our order. The food came out at a decent pace, but then no table settings. When she brought the settings, she only brought two?!?! On the bill, she only put two guests. I think we had a HUGE communication issue. Price - $53, including the surcharge + a generous tip. We felt so bad for her, as it might have been her first day and she was overwhelmed. Management is partly to blame, as I noticed she had tables on the two opposite sides of the restaurant?!?! Owner Comment - Congrats to your parent company's success, Xperience Restaurant Group, for 65 years with all your brands and with 68 restaurants. Other brands are: El Torito Grill, Chevys, Sol, Cal Mex, Las Brisas, Solita, Sinigual, Acapulco, Who Song & Larry's, Rio Mambo, The Rim, etc.

    The macho combo
    C M.

    Love this place and have been coming here for years. The views are great and the food and drinks are even better! Efrain is the best!

    Cynthia W.

    We love going here for happy hour! We were going once a week, but we have been getting busy now. They have taco tuesdays where it is only $3 for a taco and they give out rice and beans too. It is such a good deal! The drinks and happy hour menu is great. Worth the price. The flautas are so warm and yummy. I love getting the blackberry margarita! The bartenders are always so friendly. We love the guy that works late afternoon. Forgot his name, but he is awesome! I also really love the chips and salsa they give us. The salsa just is so fresh and tasty! The bar is a nice chill place. They have a few TVs we like to watch some games here or just relax and talk about our days.

    Bottomless Mimosas and Pancakes my 2 favorites
    Qiana B.

    The food is good, great service, and the pancakes and bottomless mimosas will always keep me coming back!

    Inside
    Mel S.

    (Forgot to take pictures of the main dishes!) Service and Staff: - The staff is always nice and quick to respond to requests Food and Drinks: - Chorizo Queso Fundido: bit on the salty side, but yummy with the garlic and chorizo - Margarita: your standard Tex-mex margarita Miscellaneous: - We came at 6pm and happy hour was still going on in the bar area - There were maybe 5 birthdays when we came, so between that and the mariachi band playing, it was quite loud (just a heads up in case you're looking for somewhere quiet to dine)

    Menu
    Jeremy S.

    Last time we came to El Torito they were across the bay. It's basically a mirror image of the last location, however needing some serious upgrades on the deco, including the carpet, very run down. However, all the food is classic El Torito. The flaming fajitas seemed to be very popular, and the salsa is amazing.

    Jocelyn G.

    Came here for Happy Hour with a Women's group that I'm part of. We decided to choose this place because our is close to the Arena where we were going to see "The Boy Is Mine" tour. This place is right in the water with THE most beautiful view I've ever seen. We even got to see the sun set from our table. The establishment inside is nicely decorated as well. We were immediately seated for our group of 4..initially. However, we became a group of 8 by the end of the night. Our waitress immediately came to us and she was nice. I believed we were going to have a great experience here. We ordered from the Happy Hour menu. Our food was delicious (Chicken Flautas, Beef Burria tacos and Mahi Mahi tacos) and we all got margarita flights. Those were pretty good. There were no complaints.... However.. there were. Our waitress did not speak much English, as we came to learn AND it was her 1st week. We did not receive silverware not water. Both were asked for repeatedly. I had to go up and get out silverware because or food arrived and we had nothing to eat with our wipe out hands on.. almost 5 mins in. She also did not accommodated well the new ppl as they arrived. Some had to wait extremely long just to order (Even had to go to the bar to request someone to take the order). A person that got there not too long with us, ordered their food and drink same time as us and she still received her food late and get drank food nor come until many reminders to the waitress. The waitress did sell help to translate.. but they never even bothered to ask come check on us knowing that she was having a difficult time. When it was time to pay the bill.. she told us that someone took care of all of our drinks. We were thrilled because we had trash service, su we thought it was the manager. We were pleased. However, they then brought the bill to one of our members to pay the entire bill. It seems that when that member told the waitress in the beginning that she was going to convert another member's marg flight ONLY... she took it to mean she was paying for everyone (Although she repeated it to her several times and use hand gestures prior to the waitress walking away at that time). The waitress literally almost charged her card for everyone's drinks. That then took time to be worked out..we were a bit pissed honestly. Oh.. also additional food was ordered that never came out and how i asked for my food to be prepared was not may. I had to send it back and take the additional food off because after sitting with my food for over 1hr and not receiving the additional..I was already full. I partially reccomend this spot.. but if you do not speak Spanish..request for a full English speaking waitress. Also.. the manager came to us at some point and removed some flight holders. However? I believe he should have done a better job of monitoring here, giving her a back up because it was a larger party and none of us spoke Spanish. I feel that be dropped the back for us and her as well.

    Vivian L.

    Went here for happy hour...it's from 3-9pm! When you enter in, the left side is the restaurant and the right side is the bar/happy hour area. I got the house margarita and the corn and the corn was sooo good! The margarita was okay, nothing too strong. The chips and salsa are on the house and they refill them often. Service was okay. Huge free parking lot outside. The restrooms are upstairs and there's also one in the main entrance. I would come back here for happy hour and to see the view during the day!

    Three 3 ITEM COMBO (PICK ANY 3!)
    Mimy P.

    I went here for my friends' birthday party. We had seating near the windows where there was a beautiful view of the marina. Stunning during sunset. I ordered a three item combo of an enchilada, crispy taco and chile relleno. The food was delicious. The service was very quick and efficient. We were given three complimentary plates of flan and the wait staff sang happy birthday to my friends!

    FAJITAS DUO
    Sam R.

    We stopped by El Torito for a late weekend lunch and it was an alright experience. We arrived a little before 3pm, and were able to get seated pretty quickly. We were given a corner booth with a nice view of the water, and luckily the restaurant wasn't very crowded. The restaurant itself looks quite worn down, and had an old-school, homey vibe, but based on my visit, it may be useful to refresh or upgrade the restaurant furniture and fixtures. While we were given chips/salsa soon after sitting down, it took a while to order our food and we waited a little while to receive our ice waters. The chips and salsa were pretty good, and the salsa was slightly spicy with a bit of a kick. We opted to share a fajita plate with shrimp and steak along with a grilled chicken taco salad. Both items were fairly average, I enjoyed the shrimp fajita, but the strip steak tasted a bit off, and I did not enjoy the flavor. However, I did like the cilantro dressing in the taco salad, along with the grilled chicken pieces although they did overdo it with the amount of dressing. While the portions were large and shareable, I thought the pricing was a little steep. The grilled chicken taco salad was slightly over $17 and the combo fajita plate was about $24. Customer service could likely be improved, as it felt inattentive and we had to flag down servers for different requests, like asking for extra salsa. Overall, the food and dining experience was very average and did not leave the best impression. I'd possibly consider returning to try other items on the menu, but honestly, I think there may be better restaurants that serve tacos/fajitas/burritos in the area.

    Mangonada
    Fe R.

    The food has always been excellent here and we go back every time. The drinks are well prepared as is the food. One of our favorites is the table side guacamole and it's always fun to watch them make it to your spiciness preference. The location is also a very good location by the water which adds to the charm of the place. Our server Efrain is very personable and very attentive to us. The drinks was taking a little longer because they were busy but he made sure to come by our table to let us know it's on the way and checks in on us if we needed anything else. We had a pleasant experience.

    Summer Special Menu

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    8 months ago

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    2 months ago

    Very good service, food was good. Efrain was a very great server, very friendly, welcoming

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    11 months ago

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    7 months ago

    Waited for 10 minutes for a host and nobody came. Even asked someone for help and nobody came. So we left.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    6 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 months ago

    Restaurant gave my table away after acting incompetent about finding my reservation for my guests who arrived within the 30 minute window.

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    2 months ago

    Amazing service and thank you to Efrain for everything ! Was really attentive and really good customer service !

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    6 months ago

    It's all good the service, Food, Ambiance as a matter of fact going today live your Brunches

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    1 year ago

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    5 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 months ago

    Nice atmosphere and great morning buffet, overall the staff was very attentive. Along with decent pricing!

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    1 year ago

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    Page 3 of 41

    El Torito Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - El Torito

    When is happy hour?

    3pm

    How much is Sunday brunch?

    $31 for adults; $11 for kids

    How much for Sunday brunch?

    Approx $40/pp, children $13.50 and there is a 3% surcharge (per a sign on counter at check-in) for labor cost

    Do they have a vegan option?

    They have vegetarian options, but nothing is vegan. Even the grilled vegetables are grilled on the same grill as the meat. And the refried beans are made with animal lard.

    Are bottomless mimosas part of the Sunday brunch price?

    No, there is an additional price, can't think of the exact price though.

    Is this a good place for Taco Tuesday?

    Yes!

    Anyone know how long the wait is for Easter Brunch without a reservation? What time is the best to go?

    View All 16 Questions

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    Cunha's Cocktails - This is what brought us here! Glad we came so much fun! 4.1/2026

    Cunha's Cocktails

    3.9(92 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $

    Saw a flyer in IG cigar and wispy event. Oysters and gumbo! RJ's catering…read more Daughter said sure let's go after work. We went and wasn't disappointed. Everyone was so nice! Oysters were tasty. We will be back!

    I've been coming here on and off for years with my two friends whenever they want to celebrate…read moresomething. Personally, this bar wouldn't make my top 50 list, but for some crazy reason they're loyal to it, so I show up for them. Recently, I've popped in a bit more and wow, the "changes." They finally made an Instagram, which got me excited for a second--maybe they were stepping it up. Nope. Just like everything else here, it's inconsistent. They post food specials, I come in ready to spend money, and... no food. Overheard it was a management issue. Shocking. Then there's the alcohol selection--or lack thereof. I'm not even a big drinker, and I have a better bar setup at home. Half the time they're out of basics, or waiting on the owner to maybe, someday, bring more. Call yourself a bar? More like BYOB and hope for the best. I'll give credit where it's due: I've met some cool people here, and they're the only thing keeping this place alive. But even they seem tired of the chaos. I heard this is the oldest bar in San Leandro, and honestly, I'm amazed it's still standing. Must be sheer luck or nostalgia, because it's definitely not management. Two stars because I don't hate the regulars--but let's be real, if this place wants to survive, it needs way more than an Instagram and a prayer.

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    Inside women's restroom

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    El Portal Restaurant - Quesabirria Tacos with Consomé

    El Portal Restaurant

    3.7(519 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    You want delicious Mexican food? You want a wide variety of dishes to choose from? You want All You…read moreCan Eat? That's what El Portal has to offer in San Leandro. While during the week they serve Ala carte entrees, on Saturday and Sunday from 9-5pm is the Mexican Buffet. What do the have: Meats: Carne Asada, Carnitas, Birria, links, chicken wings, nuggets, etc Seafood: multiple shrimp dishes like shrimp cocktail, shrimp with mussels and calamari, shrimp with vegetables. Soups: Pozole and Menudo Other items like salad, fruits, eggs & chorizo, rice & beans, concha, rice pudding and really too many more items to mention. Staff are incredible and keep the food flowing. There's both indoor and outdoor seating. Nice music playing in the background. Along with the incredible food, it's definitely worth eating here again and again.

    It pains me to leave anything but 5 stars as this place is a staple in our food list of eating out…read more It's always amazing! However this is not commenting on the quality and f food but the service and really the lack there of. Tonight the place was busy but what day isn't here. It was like pulling teeth to get water, tortillas, salsa, and refills. Even when it was time to go we waited for someone to bring us a check and a box nothing so I put on a timer. 12 minutes till I I saw another patron get up to pay at register so I did to. Our server finally acknowledged our existence and when I asked him for a box and the check he brought a box then proceeded to do anything else but bring us our check. Over all I would love to say how disappointing this was but the food was soo good it's stopping me from just giving one star. I will be back and I pray that it's not as miserable as today was.

    Photos
    El Portal Restaurant - Restaurant

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    El Portal Restaurant - Plastic in Quesadilla

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    Bar

    El Torito - mexican - Updated May 2026

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