This is Mexican food for people who think Taco Bell not only invented the cuisine but also is a Michelin star resto. That would all be well and good if the service was remotely good or if they were there to provide any type of service for their customers - they are not. The service is horrible, and any time you call them out on an issue with the bill suddenly they pretend they don't understand. even the manager when I was there pretended to not understand me, in order to overcharge us. If this is your only option def grab some food there instead of going hungry, but overall this is not the place you wanna go. read more

Food was great and so was the service. We have eaten at El Toro 3 times and never disappointed.

This is right by my apartment and honestly, it hits the spot! I got the grilled chicken tacos and they were very generous with the meat. Food came out fast & the waitress checked up on us several times which I appreciated :) cant wait to go back !! read more

El Toro At The Fields - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This place was recommended by the staff at the Hampton Inn property across the street. I love Mexican food so having a restaurant in walking distance was a plus. I used Door Dash to place a to go order because they gave me $10 off, and I was happy to accept it. Ordering online was easy and I headed over about 10 minutes after ordering to make sure I picked up hot food. The restaurant was quick and I got a text saying my food was ready for pick up as I got to the door. The staff that greeted me and gave my food were very friendly. When I got back to my room I was pleasantly surprised to have a large bag of chips along with salsa, not part of my order so I guess they threw them in on takeout orders. I'd ordered the Chori Pollo with a side of extra cheese sauce and everything was in order including plastic utensils. Lots of food and three warm tortillas with a separate container of beans and rice. Everything about the experience was great except the chicken. The beans and rice were good, as was the tortillas. Unfortunately the chorizo they used was so salty it overpowered everything else. The chicken was good, but the amount of salt in the sauce was overwhelming so I couldn't eat much of it. I made some bean and rice tacos with the tortillas and cheese sauce and ate chips but overall disappointed with the quality of the main dish. Just passing through so won't be back but if I'm ever in the area again I'll likely not stop here for another try. read more

El Toro At The Fields - two cars parked in front of a building - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

See all

I had the shrimp ceviche and it was very good. The shrimp were plentiful and not at all over cooked. Next time I'm in the area I will definitely go there again. read more

The service was great and the lady chartered to us. Chip and salsa was delicious and I had the quesabirria tacos which were absolutely tasty. Great spot to have food. The margs are made strong and the spot is nice and clean which was perfect since I was there with a friend. Keep it up!! read more

El Toro At The Fields - Quesabirrias - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

See all

This is absolutely the best Mexican food I've had in years. I'm from Texas and this was outstanding! Guacamole was incredible, margaritas spot on.... read more

Stopped in as I'm staying at the hotel across the street. Place was moderately busy for a Tuesday evening. The place is clean and more modern, outdoor patio has potential but the air outside today is too warm to sit outside. So I can in and at the bar, there was no clear bartender, seemed like several waiters/waitresses were getting/making their own drinks. As a result it took a while before anyone asked me if I needed anything. Service overall was a little slow despite seeming like enough staff. However, I must admit both the Pina Colada and Ultimate margarita had plenty of booze! Chips and Salsa were good overall, chips warm and fresh and the salsa was fairly think with a nice spice to it. I ordered the Pollo Supremo as it sounded solid, Chicken with Jalapeños and onions in a mushroom cream sauce (ordered mine no onion). Honestly, this dish was delicious. The chicken was seasoned very well, the jalapeños were grilled to perfection, and the cheese covering it all balanced it nicely. I see several other "not great" reviews, but the food and drinks were awesome tonight. Service could have been better but the booze ratio in the drinks helped push this to a 5/5! read more

See all

El Toro is a quintessential "just ok" Mexican restaurant. The food is decent, and the selection is fair, but you're not particularly getting an amazing deal or having some fantastic food. You'll find all the standard Mexican restaurant staples here, as well as a few more authentic favorites. As mentioned earlier the food is fine, but nothing to write home about. The staff is friendly and happy to help you with the menu, accommodate times you need to make decisions, etc, and one big benefit of the location seems to be that you can more easily reserve for larger parties. Finally, I'll say it's a big deal to find a good Mexican restaurant in the midwest -- with El Toro, you've satisfied part of that trick... but the other part and more important part... It's worth exploring other areas to see if you can find more compelling food and a more interesting experience. read more

See all

More than three years ago, I made a not-so-great Facebook post concerning an El Toro location. I used to visit this location 3-4 times each week for lunch. I ordered steak fajitas nachos. I just want some freakin CHEESE on my nachos! They're NACHOS for Christ's sake!!! Then, four months later, the manager at the time sat down at my table and confronted me about my FB post! I have not been back to an El Toro location in 3.5 years until today! Do you think ANYTHING has changed?!?! NOPE!!! And YES, I did ask the server where my normal amount of cheese was for the nachos. I pretty much got a shoulder shrug & he said it all goes on over the meat. Granted there IS a LITTLE bit of cheese. But this definitely is not "nachos" portion size of cheese. Here's some pics. You can be the judge. Guess I can try again in another 3.5 years. Pros: Easy sitting, nice outdoor patio area, not horribly crowded. read more

See all

Service leaves a lot to be desired. It's very slow and the wait staff is unfriendly. The ambiance on the patio is nice, but the patio is usually closed, seemingly for no reason, probably because the waiters don't want to go outside. I give it 2 stars instead of one because the food is good. read more

Was down in Champaign for an event and I was in there twice and was very happy with both experiences. Wait staff was great very friendly and accommodating. That's rare to find these days, most places I go bars restaurants the bartenders and servers only serve people they like first. It becomes like a click. But, not this place very nice and friendly. Next time I'm in Champaign will definitely go there . read more

Food and service were excellent. I had chicken fajitas and margarita on the rocks. Everything was super fresh, even the sour cream tasted fresh made. read more

My wife and I had the fajitas. Portions were large and sizzling hot; the food was good. Margaritas were good also. I recommend this place.

Food was delicious server was very friendly Margarita was very good also I was traveling back to Chicago and seen the sign on the expressway and stop. Good location right off expressway easy right back on read more

Service was great and very fast. We had fajitas for two, it was tasty and there was so much we couldn't finish it all.

This is a chain of Mexican restaurants in the Champaign area (possibly Central IL but unsure) and the particular location is open in the southwest corner of Champaign on South Fields Dr. There's a nice patio and all the staff are in masks. We came here on a Friday right around dinner time. The place was busy, but didn't seem to be too out of the ordinary for an El Toro restaurant (we've been to a few of them). We were seated at a high-top table promptly and were given a large basket of chips and salsa. Ten minutes pass and the server finally comes to take our order. She was kind and patient. We order our food and thus begins our wait. Other tables were seated around us, and they placed their orders as well. After about 20 minutes, we noticed that nothing but chips and drinks were coming out of the restaurant..... lots of chips..... no food. We were playing a few games with our two kids, so they didn't mind. But we did fill up on chips and were worried that we wouldn't have enough room for food. 40 minutes pass and the waitress comes over to apologize that the kitchen is backed up..... but a few tables that were seated after us had at least gotten appetizers.... she assured us that she was checking for our order. 60 minutes pass and the tables around us are all served. I'm full of chips and water. Then our food comes out.....the server apologizes for the embarrassing time. The kids' plates are tepid. My husband's chile rellenos is cold on one side and hot on the other.... (the salad is warm, the chile rellenos is cold). My enchiladas are not hot and the cheese on top was melted at some point, but clearly it was sitting out for a while. We didn't want to wait another hour to send it back. So we politely ate, paid and left. She did comp us our guacamole and was very apologetic. 5 stars for the server. Negative 4 for the food and time. This is permanently off my list. Go to Poke Shack around the corner.... excellent food. Go to Jimmy John's across the street..... faster service. read more

Their salsa is authentic, except for reduced spiciness due to Illinoisians' tender palates. A few more jalepeños and it would be perfect. Also, they have Dos Equis Amber beer on tap. I can't comment on the rest of their menu since that's all I had. The staff was friendly. I enjoyed my visit. Try it. You might like it. read more

I live close to this place and have been visiting for years. I keep hoping the food will be better every time. But it's really not good and prices too high for poor quality. Go to Fernando's instead! read more

One of the best Mexican restaurants ever. Stellar margarita. Food fresh and plentiful. Waiter outstanding the most extensive Mexican menu ever ever seen‼ read more

Screws up my order every single time! This is the newest location for this chain, and it is the worst. I gave them a few tries at this location, and it has been a let down every single time. The El Toro Bravo on Springfield Avenue and the Toro Loco on Cunningham are far batter locations. I will NOT be returning to this one. The waitress kept repeating the same questions, like she didn't understand English very well. She finally got it right and confirmed it. Came out of the kitchen all wrong. They screwed up my father's order too. Food when it comes out of the kitchen isn't very hot either. I do not understand how this place stays so busy all the time. It's always horrendous and there's better locations. Just stay away from this one. read more

This is a nice stop while traveling along Interstate 57. The service was good, the restaurant was clean and the food was decent. When passing through we needed a stop that was pet-friendly and we found that here. They have a nice big patio area with some sun shades for cover, corn hole games and even a water bowl for dogs. They have a nice selection of food items on their menu so I'm sure you can find something you like here. I'm sure we will stop here again. read more

El Toro is not far from the interstate and we stopped by for lunch. My wife had a lunch special with chili relleno and taco. It was good but very salty. I ordered El Toro salad, which was chicken on lettuce, raw green peppers and tomatoes (they didn't bother to trim out the tough parts of the tomato stems). The unsweetened iced tea tasted off, metallic. Maybe the tap water. read more

I absolutely love El toro at the fields!! The food and the staff are by far the BEST IN THE AREA!! CHILE LIME SHRIMP IS THE BEST!!!

Non-existent service. No drink refills. No extra chips. Had to go to the front of the restaurant to ask for our bill. Bland food. There are many better options in town for Mexican fare. read more

This was the first place we ate when moving to Champaign. We were impressed with the service and the great tasting food. I may or may not be addicted to their steak tacos... drinks are great too. This place seems to be gaining some popularity and Im excited to see what its going to be like in the summer with the outdoor bar. Oh, dont forget to get some of the queso too. read more

We just ordered food from the restaurant and the person at the desk was extremely disrespectful and had the worst attitude, I don't usually go out of my way to write reviews but here we are. Also, when someone buys three entrees at any Mexican restaurant they have always given free salsa, yes she told us we could not have any unless we paid. No one else does that. I will never spend another dollar here. Also they didn't put the cheese on my chicken Sargento, literally the only reason anyone one order that meal read more

El Toro At The Fields - Chicken sargento with the cheese forgotten - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

See all

We ordered burritos and they were great! I specifically ordered the Boss Burrito and it was delicious. They are very generous with tortilla chips. Totally recommend read more

Got the order wrong TWICE! Even went back and waited additional 20 minutes and still wrong. Taco salad had no lettuce just onions peppers and very salty chicken. Won't be back for a while read more

Such a great experience! The food, the ambience, and the service! Fantastic, friendly service! You can enjoy the tables inside, or you can dine al fresco--. the best part. You can sit outside while the kids run around and play in the huge patio with any of the outside games available to them. I've been to El Toro at the Fields three times now, and I can't wait to return. read more

The waitress lack of customer service left a bad taste in our mouth. Should have left when she first came to our table despite my attitude of "kill with kindness" Food was decent but the hospitality was terrible. We all have bad days but.... dang. read more

We ordered takeout when staying next door at the Hampton Inn. Online ordering was easy, and updates for pickup time were easy to track. Our order was completed very quickly and within a minute or so of the estimated time (it was a minute early). All of the food was good - I would definitely return. read more

We have been going to this El Toro location for dinners because it is very close to our home and they have nice outdoor seating in the summer/fall. We recently went there for a lunch and were very happy with the warm/prompt service and the quality of the food served. I had a Tilapia Mexican, which was nicely prepared and tasty. This is becoming our favorite lunch spot. read more

I have eaten at this restaurant several times and the food is OK. However on a handful of occasions I have ordered takeout from them. Not once did they get my order right. My advice would be to check your order before you leave the restaurant. I won't order takeout from them again. read more