We were craving mexican food and didn't wanna try all the hot spots or our normal go to mexican food places/trucks. So we were driving down e14th and decided to stop here. We ordered al pastor taco, chile verde plate, ground beed quesadilla & chilaquiles verde. I don't know where to begin.. EVERYTHING WAS A MISS. Including customer service. Pastor had way too much pineapple, so super sweet. The salsa didn't balance the flavor. The chile verde sauce was nasty & SALTY, they used cut up carne asada? I wanted pork.. the quesadilla wasn't cooked thoroughly and as for the chilaquiles.. it had no eggs, just tortillas, cheese & the salty green sauce! I wouldn't be back. read more

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Outdoor dining area. Awesome food. Fast service. Must come! Come practice your Spanish, order inside and eat outside. Masks ON if going inside. read more

El Torero Taqueria - Tacos al Pastor "con todo". - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Catastrophically bad experience. I ordered (at about 9 am) $90 worth of Tacos to be delivered at 4:00pm that day. At 3:40 I checked in on the order and Door Dash said "Dasher is at restaurant awaiting your order." and I thought all was well. At 3:50 I got a message that said "This email is to inform you that your order from El Torero (Alameda) was canceled because we are unable to process the order with the restaurant." a) why did you take the order. b) why was the 'dasher' waiting at the location (or were they?) I don't know if the fault is with El Torero or Door Dash, but I shouldn't have to care as the Customer. Just a plan ol 1 star review for not caring about the customer experience. read more

Not bad little joint in SEM CITY. I wanna say their tacos are their best item. It is a taqueria after all, so that is what im gonna rate them by. Burritos are just OK in my opinion. I want to try their enchiladas next. Go with the tacos tho. You will not be disappointed read more

El Torero Taqueria - 2 tacos asada and 2 pastor. Very good. - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

I have been a customer of this place for over a year. I went in today to order some food I was starving. Had waited for Rosie the owner to take my order. Another customer came after me and she knew I had been waiting for 20 minutes just to place my order, I told her I was next and the customer thought I was talking to her. And the owner just ignored me and took the other person's order. The lady even knows my name smh. It has been plenty of times she has been rude to me and I continued to patronize her business. She looks down on ppl that isn't of her ethnicity. I have been dealing with her for a long and she is still the same rude person and she skimps me on my food slot but if you are of White race or straight Latin she treats them w the upmost respect. I had to give my review because it wasn't fair how she did me today and I'm fed up..... read more

El Terero Taqueria has been here a long time. looks rundown. tried their taco truck recently on san pablo ave. (surpringly good) decor: just a few tables inside and out. very loud mexican music in the background/foreground, everywhere. eats: asada, lengua, pastor taco (1.5) -pastor and asada slightly fried, chewy, lengua tender -all on homemade flour tortillas, salsa not noticed -lime wedges and a few slices of garnish provided -the taco truck had better quality meats. frijoles refritos: -parking lot hard to enter from international, side street better -friendly service. read more

I've eaten at El torrero many times they have the BEST burritos, and everything else I've tried has also been delicious. It's a small family owned restaurant the cook is very friendly she makes every visit even more enjoyable. Occasionally she makes pineapple water or strawberry water which is a perfect pair with their bomb burritos. I live all the way in Danville and am willing to make a drive out to Oakland for some of their food, that says something... The only down side is that now when I go to other Mexican restaurants the food just doesn't compare! read more

I always come in and order the fried fish and pay around $14. I was in a rush and didn't get a receipt after I paid with my debit card this time and they charged my card $25.75 FOR A FISH PLATTER. Bad business. read more

Picked up a pollo burrito today for lunch that came with rice, cheese and sour cream. I asked if they had guacamole they could toss in and was charged the usual 50 cents. I was a little surprised that I paid a little over $6 and the burrito was really skinny. I want to say the diameter was about two and a half inches. On top of that, my guacamole was just slices of avocado. Don't get me wrong, I would have paid 50 cents extra for slices of avocado too, but i was expecting guacamole. Why didn't they just say so? A plus for them is that they take credit/debit and not just cash. Aside from that, my lunch was made fairly quickly. I waited a little less than five minutes. There's inside and outside seating and they have a private lot for you to park. The burrito itself was so-so. Of course I've had better and it might have been a little better if they had salsa on the side to go with the burrito. The chicken to everything-else ratio was pretty good and the avocados definitely added that little extra to the taste. read more

El Torero Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

Wasn't bad ...but wasn't amazing either. We ordered to go ... which ended up being a good idea because just standing there waiting for our food for 10 minutes was freezing. They have a cute little patio area outside which might be nice for a warmer / drier day. We got yelled at by a veteran who walked in asking for money ... the management was nice and asked him to step outside but promised to take care of him. My nachos were good ... the carne asade was tasty, but I found it odd that they used the generic nacho cheese (the kind that sits in a pump and that they serve on the nachos in ballparks) rather than melting real shredded cheese. Fred got a carnitas burrito which he said was meh. Given the many many Mexican restaurants in the area, we'll probably try something else before returning here. read more

After a long and jolly night bringing in 2018 and a full day of helping my friend from college move all of his possessions out of his ex's house, it was time for some god damned tacos. Fortunately for us, El Torero waited just around the corner of Seminary and International. This joint is a veritable little gem (and I do mean LITTLE) of delicious Mexican fare. From the outside, admittedly, El Torero looks a tad beat up. There are a handful of outdoor tables, two of which are four-tops with attached plastic swivel chairs, most of which still have their backs. The patio overlooks a sizeable parking lot complete with a giant brick facade side of a building across the street. But we didn't come here for the vistas. The interior is occupied by more tiny tables and a jukebox, and dominated by an impressive tile-topped counter, where you place your order. From the front of the counter, you can glimpse into the kitchen where a handful of ladies work their magic in facilities that can only be described as old school. One of the ladies will come out of the kitchen to take your order. Up against the wall behind her stand a couple of fridges, packed with Coca Cola, Sprite, Budweiser, Modelo, and a few other staples. You place your order from a laminated menu which contains straight-forward Mexican classics, plus a burger and fries option for $6.50. All of the food options are, in my opinion, reasonably priced. Tacos are $1.75 each, and the burrito runs for about $9. Beers, whether Bud Light or Negro Modelo, will cost you $4.25. After you've placed your order and received your beverage, you can have a seat wherever you'd like. We chose to sit outside and enjoy the closing of a long, taxing day. The experience was elevated greatly by the arrival of complimentary chips and pico de gallo, which was an excellent blend of body, spice and freshness. Our food came out in about fifteen minutes. I took full advantage of El Torero's exciting meat options and ordered 4 tacos: asada, carnitas, lengua and cabeza, respectively. They were traditionally made on corn tortillas, with just a touch of onion and cilantro - and they were awesome! I was left satisfied by these four victuals (plus all the chips I ate), but I probably could have handled two more. The lengua was superb! There is a reason that, in spite of all the culinary options that exist in this fine region of ours, we always come crawling back to our tried-and-true friends, the taco and burrito. They promise and deliver satiety, flavor, warmth, and comfort. They are a reminder that no matter how crazy and painful the world may be, there are also reliably delicious staples that have the power to re-charge us and lift our spirits. El Torero successfully fulfills this sacred promise. We may have been still hung-over from New Year's reverie and ragged and forlorn from a full day of lugging boxes containing the leftovers of the last 8 years of my friend's love-life ... but there we sat underneath the setting sun, laughing and sharing stories, while enjoying the magic served up by the women of El Torero as 'Despacito' roared from the jukebox inside. We came for tacos, and we left with hope. As far as I am concerned, they are one and the same. read more

I got 2 carne asada tacos and 2 al pastor tacos and they were the bomb. My friend got the chimichanga which was also very good. I don't live in Oakland but I would tell anyone visiting or in the area to try this place. It is definitely authentic and tasted great. The two women working there were very friendly as well. Good food and good atmosphere. Five stars. read more

El Torero Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

This place is my Friday night JAM. My husband and I have a thing - it's called Burrito Friday. It happens EVERY GOD DAMN FRIDAY. We haven't accepted social invitations on Friday nights for the past five years because of #burritofriday. Here's how it goes... We pre-order two burritos from El Torero, drink a six pack, and watch a scary movie. And that's FUCKING IT. A perfect evening. SuperHubs calls our order in; the El Torero ladies know him just from his "hello". All he has to do is ask for "his usual". We overheard them call him "El Blanco" in the background once. *I* call him El Blanco now. Once, someone broke the glass in El Torero's entry door. I was stressed about it for weeks; worried it would turn people off from patronizing them and their business would suffer and... BURRITO FRIDAY WAS AT STAKE. I told El Blanco that if the El Torero ladies didn't replace that door quickly, we might have to do it for them. They DID replace it, but I now have a bunch of glass quotes ready for them just in case we ever need one. *we*ever need one. So if you're looking for a good burrito in the Bay Area, or a taco, or a pupusa, or a place to drink a beer in a divey parking lot with Mexican music blasting and "locals" and stuff like that, come here. But you better give them respect. Respect El Torero. Respect #burritofriday. And if you're getting married on a Friday night or something and SuperHubs and I RSVP no - don't take it personally. Or just have El Torero do your catering and we will see you there. read more

Cute little place. The girl in the front remembered all of our order. We ordered to go and food was done in 10 mins. The breakfast burrito I ordered was amazing! So delicious. Definitely will be coming back! Thank you for great service. read more

Came here on a Thursday around 1:20 and it was semi crowded most likely because they work slow here I ordered a lengua chimicghanga tasted great Al pastor burrito was good Carnitas burrito was good They charge 75 cents to use your credit card so that sucked Holy shit took 24 minutes to get my order read more

Vegetarian burrito here was at the bottom of the taste scale we have experienced so far: All ingredients tasted at least day-old, the lettuce was yellow and dry, rice-beans-cheese were mushed together beyond recognition, and the salsa was way too spicy (we had asked for something mild, like pico de gallo). In addition, they had no black beans, just pinto or refried, and my son ended up with stomach cramps all evening. Minor irritants were that it took comparatively long for the burrito to be done (especially since no other guests were waiting to be served at the time); the outdoor table at which we waited was sticky with food leftovers (the server had cleaned other customers' table earlier - why not this one?); the burrito then arrived so piping hot that we had to take it home instead of eating it on the spot; and it was way overpriced, at $14 for a blech basic burrito and a small agua fresca. Speaking of which, that "agua fresca" came in a styrofoam cup (not a green business practice) and had very little strawberry in it, just some artificial-tasting flavor in lots of water. Hm. Not at all what we would have expected from a place with otherwise good reviews, in a Latinx neighborhood. Quite disappointing! read more

Went there on a weekday afternoon. Ordered a steak burrito with everything & extra cilantro, and tripa tacos. The burrito was dry, barely had any sour cream, the steak was overcooked, and they didn't put any extra cilantro. The tacos were flavorful and good though. Customer service was a bit lacking; the waitress doesn't smile or converse. Location is good right off Seminary and there's a little parking space. Would I return? Yes. It's close to my house and I enjoyed the tacos. But next time they need to make my order correctly! read more

The lady working there was taking my order and flirting with another customer I asked for 4 tacos 15 min later she gives me one taco and said that's what I ordered LOL read more

Visited El Torero Taqueria 8/28/06 at 6pm. It was a Saturday. Food: 4 stars Decor: 3 stars Very trendy, lots of L.A. eye candy. not too bright, no deafening music. Service: N/A Cost: 5 stars. This is a little hole in the wall that me and the BF tried. It is open 24 hours and had decent rice and beans, but not as good as 4 caminos. Ordered: Rice & Beans $5- they melted cheese over the beans which was Salsa- chunky and rather good. chips- round and from a 30 lb. bulk bag. nice. they were tasty but not great. Pros: tasty rice and beans 24 hrs a day. Cons: tiny shack. Overall: will not return, there are better places to eat read more

My sister and I had pupusas from here and they were very good. I still want to come back and try the nachos and other items. I heard the nachos here have real nacho cheese and just the melted white cheese. Yumm! read more

I first heard about this place from a family friend. She talked about how good their Pupusas are and i think she also mentioned some of their other food is also good. My review is based on their Pupusas because well that's all I have tried so far from this place. This place is very small with out door seating on a nice summer day. My sister and I both ordered Pupusas I got revueltas which is Cheese, Chicharron and Frijoles. My sister got just cheese and chicharron. We ordered them by phone and I picked them up in 15 min which is not bad at all. When I got there the lady was just done making them so they were nice n hot. When I got to work to devour them lol I piled mine up with the curtido and some salsa....OMG they were delish. For a Mexican restaurant making Salvadorian Pupusas they are pretty good. I will definitely be going back for more. Maybe also next time try other dishes. read more

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I've been going here for almost 15 years and it is amazing! Great service and really great food. I'm a bit of a burrito snob and the steak burritos here are tasty. The steak is deliciously seasoned and the ingredient don't over power each other. Best of all is that the you don't have to break the bank to come here! Anytime you should find yourself in this part of town, you should definitely go here! read more

This place is cool. The food is fresh and made to order, so if you're impatient- call ahead or take your grumpiness elsewhere because you're GUARANTEED a good home cooked wait. No need to get huffy and complain of slow service- this aint fast food or a taco truck. This is in fact a legit RESTAURANT, albeit a rather small one, but a restaurant no doubt. Much more than a simple taqueria. It has been around many years and IS a neighborhood treasure. The owners and employees are staples in the community. The Food? It's good. Im mexican and pretty dont differentiate much with food I eat regularly, it's either good or it's not. This place, to me, is the next best thing to home. Hopefully that says alot. Nothing to write home about, but the food is good. And they serve beer. Yay. read more

Great food at reasonable prices. I've had the nachos, burritos and tacos. All are delicious and not greasy. Everything is made to order with nothing prepared in advance. It's worth the wait. It's divey with music in the air. Enjoy. read more

The best part of this place is the low prices and the outdoor seating. Burritos are pretty decent, free chips and salsa when you ask.

Great atmosphere. Loved the Mexican music. Loved the food. Authentic, fresh and really tasty. Very clean and great friendly service. We will go back! read more

We were looking for a taqueria that was close and not closed for the night yet. We ordered steak fries and shrimp nachos. The steak fries were so good! Some might say the steak was over-cooked but I thought it was perfect! The shrimp nachos were good too, but they threw everything to one side, and there wasn't enough shrimp. Maybe it's because they were closing and ready to go, so I'm not mad at them. Lol I plan to visit again. read more

Everything was on point, chips and salsa, the mixed fajitas with tortillas echo a mano, very good, highly recommend it for cheap delicious mexican food!! read more

Perfect customer service! Perfect pricing! Perfect genuine Mexican food! Seriously love LOVE this place! read more

El Torero Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Not bad...though Ive only had pupusas. Its right across street from where I stay so not bad for Access

My burrito was almost all rice and and the al pastor pork was overcooked. It wasn't bad, but there are many other taquerias in the area. On the good side, they're very friendly, and they take credit cards. read more

I'm here like once a week for maybe 6 months or more. The staff and chef are friendly. Food is always spot on.

This small taqueria definitely competes with others. I love that the have pupusas on the weekends. They also make a great burger special if you don't feel like tacos or burritos. read more

Excellent food, people are so friendly we love this place! Prices are excellent and the cheese steak fries are delicious. We come every weekend. read more