Great Taco Tuesday and happy hour! Jilberto is awesome and the service was great. Highly recommend El Torito

Came here with my boyfriend's family and it was an amazing time. Gilberto was our waiter and he was amazing. Made sure we were not missing anything. Mimosas are my fave and he made sure we had enough of it. We had my boyfriend's nephew and he also made sure he was doing good. This torrito should have more employees like Gilberto read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants ever and that's coming from a "foody" from Portland. Every time I visit San Diego I come here and usually get Gilberto as a waiter. Gilberto is awesome. He is always in a great mood, recommends the best drinks with a fun and great attitude. The food is great too. If I lived here I would be here every Sunday. Good work! Gilberto should be the owner of this restaurant. read more

Well once again we were not disappointed! We had such great service and enjoyed our dinner so much , we tried the buffet today, and we were so happy we did! Glenda was our server and she was amazing, so happy and made you happy just by her attitude, Kelly the manager , was friendly and happy and was really interested in if we had everything we needed and had a pleasant visit! The food WOW the spread was amazing fresh and if anyone went home hungry it wasnt because there wasn't enough to pick from! Highly recommend if you are hungry and want something tasty great for the price and just want a pleasant atmosphere! Again management has really turned this place around and so glad because whatever tbere doing keep it up , will tell everyone we know! read more

Gilberto is very friendly and provided great service. We enjoyed our dining experience.

We had not been to El Torito for quite a while and decided to come to this one on Baltimore Ave. for Sunday Brunch with my Family. The food was delicious and warm. Everyone was great but, Let me tell you by far this has been the best experience with our host Gilberto he was very attentive and on everything we needed we got it no waiting at all, his attitude was exceptional and UNIQUE! Believe me we will be back and we will ask for Gilberto each time we come back as our host, we greatly recommend El Torito. read more

I ordered the steak Fajitas meal at $20. So disappointed because the meat was flavorless and so unchewable that I had to place it in a napkin. Gilberto was my waiter and he was so kind to take it away and have the meal redone. When it came back, I told him that it was good as I was taking my first bite, but as I continued to chew, it just could not be chewed all the way through. I thought maybe it was just me and I felt bad, but the meat was just so tough. My daughter asked Pedro to get Gilberto back to our table as Gilberto was filling another order, but I didn't want to bother him. He however, took it upon himself to get his manager so my meal could be redone or for me to not be charged. All three men were very accommodating, but I felt bad, so I said I would pay for the meal. They brought us out this beautiful cheesecake and all three men only wanted me to be happy. They were wonderful to my granddaughter and treated her like a queen and were very pleasant with wonderful conversations. I've been here before and it was fabulous, so I don't know what's happened since then. I do think I will go back to try it again as that is my favorite meal, but will hope that the meat will be more tender so I can chew through it. I just have had so many of my favorite restaurants disappear that I want them to change whatever is going on and stay, but I can't pay $20 for a meal that I can't eat. read more

I normally only come on taco Tuesday which is fantastic. I went to El Torito on cinco de drinko and I was so disappointed. First the cantina was playing crappy hip hop music (hello? It's a Mexican joint on a popular Mexican drinking day!! Would it kill you to get Mariachis?!?!) second the service was the worst ever. They were way understaffed. Our server took forever. She was rude because she was overwhelmed. I will never come here for anything other than taco Tuesday. The food was good and the only reason for two stars. read more

Generic "Americanized" mexican food. But reliable. Can't get enough of their sweet corn bread. Since I'm a native San Diegan, I can admit that I am a bit spoiled by the cuisine, but every once in a while, I REALLY want their "street tacos". read more

We almost didn't go after reading some of these reviews. However we decided to give it a try, went on June 23, 2015 were seated in less than 5 minutes. Luis our server was excellent. The wife had enchiladas and I had Mahi Mahi fish tacos, both were really good. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the place looks like it could use a paint job and the wooden tables resurfaced read more

I rated this place 4stars because of the great servicei recieved. The waitress name was Mariann? I think she was super nice and attentive. We ordered the Fiesta plater? It was very good! Its listed under their appetizers! Nothing special about their chicken fajitas it gives you a very small portion of guac. Overall experience was well and i wouldnt mind going back if the service continues to be this efficient! read more

El Torito - Fiesta Platter - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

Celebrated a friends birthday there tonight and the food was delicious but the best part of dinner was our waiter Gilberto he was very attentive and very fun! read more

Do yourself a favor -- and a flavor. :-) Lovely place to gather with friends! Find GILBERTO as your server and you'll be treated royally. (He's fun -- and offers fine service with a flair.) Delicious enchiladas & the best flan in town. read more

Gilberto is a great asset to the restaurant. Friendly and funny server. Great with our young son. The food is good and Cadillac Margaritas are the best . read more

Just left El Torito. Service was slow to start. Chips weren't brought to the table until requested but who knows, maybe that's their thing? Anyhow as I was saying, service was slow, then the worst thing happened. As I was about halfway through my meal I found a hair in my food. Honestly, I was hoping it was mine because I was still hungry and wanted to keep eating. I just couldn't do it. It was short and thin and I have long hair and it was tucked into my jacket :( so I tell the server and she quickly walks away. She finally returns to tell me that her manager will come back with answers (?) Well the manager finally came and had no answers. I was thinking is she going to tell me who did it? I mean, that would be an answer. Anyway, she takes my plate away but not before asking if I'd like to take it to go...uh let me think about that?? If I didn't want to eat it there why would I eat it at home?? Then we get the bill and thankfully they took off my entree but that was it. Now I can't pretend I've worked in the restaurant industry before but seriously? That's it? I also failed to mention the part where we asked for the wifi password with no response and had to as for drink refills at least twice before getting it. Will not be coming back. read more

Kevin E. from their bar is awesome. He is genuinely nice, polite, attentive, caring and a knowledgeable server. My brother and I were there on January 14th for the thankful Minnesota Vikings game. Kevin informed us of their meal specials even though we were at the end of their brunch, we were able to have their regular menu. Kevin continually checked in on our satisfaction and refilling our needs. El Torito is fortunate to employ him. Much appreciation Kevin for your rock star service. You are an employer's dream. read more

Food was awesome! But Gilberto made the experience so much fun. His charisma and passion show he enjoys his job! We will be here again...otra vez!!!! read more

We come all the from Los Angeles cause my daughter have a basketball game at Grossmount College and we wanted some El Toritos. First off I wanna say our chips was old and cold and had a funny smell not like the chips we are use to having in Los Angeles, Cerritos, Long Beach, Marina should I go on this is one of our favorite restaurant so we know how the food is suppose to smell and look like. So we told our waiter about the chips he brought out a new batch same thing horrible. I ordered the Sizzling chicken enchiladas I know how it supposed to look it was not hot nor sizzling my beans and rice was cold my husband order the Burrito Especial and it was cold and small not like it be in Los Angeles and his beans and rice was also cold our daughter order Combo 3 items hers was cold also but she couldn't wait she was starving and plus she have a game that was in a hour in half when the waiter came I explain to him my food is not suppose to be cold it comes on a hot plate so he did take our food back and warmed it up. The coach and his wife was on there way and the team I told them to go somewhere else. Its not worth it! Let alone we wasted $63.97 for some Fu$%&# up food. Only thing was good and right was me and my husband salad and our soft drinks. You don't have to worry about us returning to this one ever again. UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER read more

The waiter Gilberto gave us the best service. I would recommend coming back just for him

I came here for lunch with my girl friend. I will never again. First, the place was almost empty, so there was no way it could have been busy. When we walked in, the hostess told us we could sit anywhere. I usually do not agree with any restaurants doing this because it messes up the flow up the service you get with the waitress. Secondly, restaurants should have the hostess seat you and then hand you the menu. We went to sit on the patio outside because it was a beautiful day. We sat for almost 10 minutes and not a single waiter/waitress showed up to even ask us what we would like to drink. So we decided to walk inside and find seating that was close to everyone else that would be convenient for the waiter/waitress. When we walked in, the waitress who was in that section turned and looked at us, but didn't bother to acknowledge us. So we stood there for moment and she just walked off. We sat down and waited another five minutes before deciding to leave. We got up and walked towards the door and the same hostess who welcomed us in was so busy texting or playing with her phone that she didn't even notice that we were leaving until we said that no one ever came to help us. Her only response was " oohh..." read more

this place sucks. ive been there on taco tuesdays and it isnt even worth it.i felt like i still paid a grip for my bill cause we had to keep waiting for the waitress to come over if you wanted more tacos!!!! i'll never go back..... read more

This is my go to for taco tuesday since i live very close. the chicken tacos are the best, but the carnitas are yummy too. Not a huge fan of the steak, bit greasy. I've never had ANY service issues whatsoever but i do tend to head there early since it can get very crowded. I've also been to their sunday brunch many times and its always good. they could stand to maybe throw a new dish in there now and again and they could work on replenishing things quicker but they have a giant trough of the corn cake which makes everything ok. Dont waste your time in the omelet line, its takes FOREVER. Depending on the server they are pretty generous with the champagne (but they wont leave a bottle at the table....) for the price ($15.95 or something) its definitely worth it. read more

we hit this location up at 9:30 on a friday night and had THE. BEST. SERVICE! gilberto took care of our party of 12 in the best possible way. we will definitely be back! read more

I think today was our last visit to El Torito. We have been coming here since they opened many years ago and it used to be great all the time and then started being hit and miss. We used the $12.99 birthday coupon today and opted for the buffet. We ordered the Tropical iced tea and got the regular and had to have replaced with the right one. My husband and I had both said the Tropical iced tea. Chips have been stale nearly every trip there the past few months and today we didn't even bother asking for new ones. Went to make a salad in the brunch and the lettuce was gone. Went to get a taco and I stood waiting for someone to make it for maybe five minutes and a stranger came up to me and asked if I had gotten one plate of food yet and I said no and he said neither had he...that the enchiladas had run out and no one was around to make the tacos. He said things had gotten bad "here". I reached over the counter and put my own tortilla on the griddle and the gal who makes them showed up and she finished the taco for me. She hadn't let the taco heat through and it was barely lukewarm. When the bill came the server had forgotten to take the $12.99 off the bill and I had to remind her. We used to come here once every 7 - 10 days but we are now on the look out for a new go to Mexican food restaurant. We used to get the table side guacamole all the time but stopped because it started tasting too salty and it seemed like a big deal if we asked to have it made with less salt. read more

I hadn't been here in a while. Thought I'd give it a try. I'd like to tell you all how the food was but the portions were so small it's hard to tell! I got the "all you can eat taco" deal. This was not the taco Tuesday deal where there's a buffet of sorts and you get unlimited sides. This was off the menu... and you got three tacos to start and two more when you wanted... no sharing... no taking leftovers and bla bla bla... the tacos are very small... there's more chopped onion than meat.... it takes the waiter 10 minuets to notice you're ready fore more and another 10 minuets for them to arrive... so basically as you see the waiter so infrequently that at some point you just don't bother asking for more. Genius business plan! Will not be going back. read more

Great for large groups! Gilberto our waiter was amazing! We had a very large party and he made sure we were all well taken care of. Would definitely recommend! read more

The BEST salad in the world! Love this restaurant. Great service! Friendly staff! Sizzling fajita salad can't be beat!

Met some friends for lunch at El Toritos, have to say I kept wondering why I don't eat here more often! Prices were great and our waitress Elizabeth was timely and friendly! I had the Fajita Steak Salad which was awesome! Needless to say our lunch gathering was about 2.5 hours, we must of really felt at home! read more

Terrible food. With so many authentic Mexican restaurants in the area, do not bother with this knock off.

Gilberto was an awesome waiter - the perfect amount of attentiveness. He made the entire brunch with his impeccable service. Very impressive! read more

Gilberto gave us EXCELLENT service! He welcomed us, is very polite, fast and very caring. When you visit El Torito make sure you ask for him! People like him is what makes a business work. read more

Terrible service, Terrible food and my friends and I will never ever go there again! We have eaten here in the past and this was not just a bad night it was terrible. They were not busy on a Saturday night which should have been a sign lol... The server had no clue what was in the food and could not answer simple questions and was pretty clueless in this area. The food was disgusting and had no flavor. My Shrimp was way way over cooked and had no flavor. Our meals came in 5-10 minute separate delivery's to our table... Sides came first than nothing lol...One friend received her food before we received ours. My food came to me wrong after specifically telling the server I could not eat the type of shrimp I received and it had to be cooked over (Fried in batter over grilled). This kinda made me scared to eat it lol... My remaining friends main dish came separately after she received her sides and we had to remind the server it never came after we ate ours. More than 10 minutes later. We ordered simple taco dishes...The drinks were wrong the dessert ordered didn't come until we reminded the manager once he came to our terrible due to knowing things were all screwed up.. The manager said before we even could say anything he knew things got messed up and said he would make good on our meal and apologized for it. This is why I gave them 1 star. We were still charged for one meal and yes he comped us for the rest which we should have been comped for all of it due to it all being messed up. Never ever ever again! read more

Was there for Taco Tuesday last night and the bartenders were nice. However, the servers that prepared the tacos ruined the experience. The line was long and it took at least 30 mins to reach the front each time to be served. To make matters worse, I seen the sever giving two scoops of meat per taco (that was the only thing to look forward to because of the ridiculous wait) and when I reached the front I barely received a full scoop ( and I was the only one to put money in the tip jar)! I thought it was a fluke so the second time I went through the line the same thing happened! However, this time I called her out on it and she gave some bogus explanation that insulted my intelligence. I reported her to the manager whose name was Kelly and her response was unapologetic and showed lack of concern. My friends and I will never come here again! I guess this is how military veterans get treated at this establishment...unsatisfactory! read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. I will never go to this place again. Me and my family went on 9-15-14 around 1700. We had to wait to be seated because no one was in the front. I had to go and ask where a waitress was. This would not of been an issue if the place actually had customers in there at that time. There were maybe 7 customers in the place at the time. My other issue were the flies. When I go out to a restaurant I do not expect to have to battle with flies while I eat. The flies were landing on the napkins and silverware at the empty tables. I asked a waitress if they could do something about the flies buzzing around us and she pretty much blew me off. Then I ask to speak with the manager...this is where it gets good. HE THEN TELLS US THEY HAVE HAD A FLY INFESTATION FOR THE PAST 3 DAYS AND THE EXTERMINATOR IS COMING OUT THE NEXT DAY! He then proceeded to tell me that he has no control over the flies and asks us if we want to move tables. After he saw the look of pure disgust on my face he comes back telling me he took 20% off the bill and gave me a 20% discount coupon for our next visit. I don't care if he gave me free meals I will never go back to El Torito. The manager was nice but flies are gross and I am not willing to deal with that. read more

I'm giving this a 1 star because you can't give zero stars. We waited at least 10 minutes for a table even though the restaurant was almost empty. We finally were seated and waited about 30 minutes. No one came to help us. Eventually we went to the bar to order drinks and brought them back to our table. A few minutes later they delivered chips and salsa, but they never came back. After an hour, we left and drove down the street to Marietas (they were incredible!) read more

First review on Yelp, figured I needed to say something on some poor customer service last night at this restaurant. I'm a big fan of El Torito but yesterday was the worst service I have ever received. When we arrived the host told us the computer system to sit us was down. But she said that she would sit us down in 10 min. It was for a party of 7 ( including my pregnant wife) the hosts kept cleaning the restaurant like taking trash out but seating other people that got there after us. 20 minutes later I approached a waiter and asked him if he could help us as its been 20 minutes. He said he would but instead he was gathering with the host and another waiter in a corner laughing doing small talk. Needless to say we left as we took that as a sign that they were more interested in closing the restaurant than attending us. As a manager myself I know this is not what a franchise or a company promotes for customer service. I hope they get their act straight and avoid this from happening to other customers. read more

Small menu, big prices! Everything here is more than twice what you will pay for good mexican food anywhere else in town, and with about 1/4 of the choices! read more

After eating at the Chula Vista location the day before for the " All You can eat buffet" I went on line filled out the survey and decided to try the La Mesa location since they never had the buffet before. I had a 5.00 off coupon for taking they survey. 1st thing I did was ask the hostess if the coupon was good here, she said she had to check with the Manager, I went to the restroom and came back, waited 5 Min's for Eva to come back then she said " The Managers in a meeting I will send her out to your table when she is done, OK fine I still don't know if I'm going to save 5.00. I asked for a table and as I am seated I ask Eva " is the buffet over there?" she responds we only have small tables in the bar area. Well that's no what I asked and your 60% empty so if I wanted a 4 person table by the buffet I guess I wouldn't have gotten it. I asked a 2nd time if that was where it was pointing and she walked off. I went over found the food and cam back to my table was half way done with my 2 enchilada's and re fried beans when about 15 minutes when finally Roberto the waiter/bartender arrived, I asked him about the coupon he said he had to ask took it from me and stapled it to the bill so still I have no clue if I'm saving 5.00 and they have my coupon. He takes my drink order, iced tea and comes back with my tea 5 minutes later, I am now on my 2nd trip to the buffet and just now getting my chips and salsa. The iced tea is awful, instant can not believe a restaurant chain wold serve instant iced tea to their customers, they do at El Torito. I go to get the Tijuana Tacos ask for 3 2 chicken on carne asada corn tortillas I get one of each and flour tortillas I left unhappy oh I did get the 5.00 off, food was good service awful sent a message to El Torito Corporate with another survey on my experience got no response what soever I will make the extra drive to Chula Vista hence and stay away from El Torito La Mesa read more

Very poor experience at the La Mesa El Torito. It started as soon as we walked in the door. It was about 7:30 Pm on a Wednesday evening. No one was at the desk to seat us. We waited about 5 minutes before a waiter finally came by and seated us We ordered regular margaritas with no ice and they came in a small martini glass that was about 2/3 full. It didn't seem much more than a 3 oz pour. Our server said it was the same amount you get in a glass with rocks. The charge was $6.99 each. We ordered our food, Carnitas for me and two Enchiladas for my wife. It took a while for the food to come out, even though the restaurant was not busy at all. Our waiter would disappear for long stretches at a time and then breeze by the table and then gone again. The enchiladas were good, but my Carnitas was prepared with the same preparation as the sizzling fajitas and just as oily. The chips and the rice were good however. We again had to wait for a long time for our server to come by the table with the bill. Fortunately I had my credit card ready so we didn't have to wait for him to come around again. Very disappointing dining experience. read more

I have been coming to this location for years and years and have had a few minor problems here and there but its nothing terrible. Theresa is my absolute favorite server. She is so sweet and attentive, I always ask for her! read more