Great happy hour! I gotta say the prices for food can be a little steep but your paying the view. Everyone is friendly and you get your food quick. It's a great place for friends and family! Also Margs are on point as well as the chips and salsa. The salsa can make your booty tingle a little the next day but all in all I enjoyed my experience! Keep doing what you do El Torito I appreciate you guys! read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

So we have been here before, for dinner, and it was pretty good. Decent service and the food was good. We went yesterday for some breakfast and it was honestly one of the worst things. Our server took a long time to get to us and we asked if they were busy, cause then we'd understand why they took so long to ask for our drinks, food, etc., but she told us that today was really slow and that it didn't get busy until around 12/1. So the service wasn't too good. Then when we got the food we had undercooked, pale pancakes, with only one golden one on top, there was literally 4 slices of strawberries on the pancakes, and it was supposedly "churro pancakes" but they didn't taste cinnamon-sugar like at all. My mother ordered chilaquiles which were actually good but the eggs were over cooked and tasted like plastic. My brother got a breakfast combo and they didn't give him his bacon that her ordered, just one pancake and some eggs. And lastly, my father got a carne asada plate and the meat was pretty low quality, it was mostly fat and didn't taste good. We were expecting it to be much better since everyone goes around saying their brunch is good but we left disappointed. Hopefully whoever visits next gets a better experience read more

Came for brunch, didn't realize it was a buffet but my husband loved the selection and I had a delicious omelette. Rose was amazing! Lovely time with and beautiful view! read more

I'm local and thought "what the hell I hear they have a good taco Tuesday special"....mistake! We were confused from the moment we walked in. The greater asked "you want happy hour, taco Tuesday, or menus?" I replied we want taco Tuesday but would like a booth. We were then seated in a booth with a beautiful ocean view(one of the stars). After 10 mins or more(we should of left) the waitress finally came to get the drink order she insisted on taking are food order as well. I'm culturally sensitive but the language barrier was awful! I was trying to order the taco Tuesday buffet for my daughter and I and the waitress kept asking what meat we wanted on our tacos even after I showed her the taco Tuesday buffet flyer on our table. The food came out and was the 3 taco meal not the buffet. The tacos were pretty good(2nd star). But we ate them with a view of everyone else enjoying the buffet that we attempted to order. Summary; good tacos, a staff that doesn't give a shit, tourist trap, order in Spanish if you can even though the foods gringofied. read more

I have been a fan of El Torito for almost 20 yrs from the Bay Area to MONTEREY Bay. We have enjoyed several good meals there and will share our most recent experience yesterday. Great service starting with Nick ( Mgr ) who greeted us and showed up at our table and other guests on a really busy ( Memorial Day ) afternoon to make sure we were taken care of to our main waiter, Paul who made sure we had our drinks and tortilla with salsa ( my favorite ) quickly while we figured out what we wanted to eat ( we couldn't make up our mind ). In the end, I picked a delicious chicken taco salad ( that was way too big to finish ) while hubby got the shrimp/steak fajitas that he polished off with a classic Cadillac Margarita. Thank you Nick and Paul for making this a memorable Memorial Day for us!! read more

very unorganized. super rude and unfriendly hostess . And very long wait times . the buffet has been significantly downsized and the options are slim. The foods just ok . on top of that parking is $30 overall do not recommend would not come again. read more

Well, thought we would try it out, hoping the reviews of bad service and dirty restaurant were being taken seriously and it would have improved. Not at all. This restaurant is dirty. The windows had food wiped all over them. Our table had sticky rings on it. I know with the pandemic places have been short staffed(very understanding of this) but we had reservations at 5:30 and ordered at 5:45- food took 48 minutes to Arrive and this is microwaved quality food, Not prepared fresh so there's that. Our waiter never asked us how we were doing, how the food was, and if we wanted another margarita which we did but never got a chance to order. Bathrooms were disgusting to put it nicely. We waited to get back to our hotel rather than use them. Unless your desperate, really desperate, skip this place. So much potential, but no pride in their fantastic location! read more

Stephanie was rude, moody & obviously bothered by us asking her to fix our order after she got it wrong the 1st time. & I only got her name because I asked another waiter who brought back my plate, for her name tag was flipped over. But that's not enough, I feel like cause we sent it back she had something else wrong with our plate. The beans came back so salty, asking for a plate of salt would of been more appetizing. Her nasty attitude caused her a no tip all around. Totally calling her out on not being my party's waiter next time I show my guest a good time. read more

El Torito - SALTY BEANS. I had all my guest try how bad they were before I left them untouched. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Great food, even when it is buffet style. Even greater service from our waitress Rose; she was really kind and quick to tend to us. Even had a sense of humor! Loved it here. read more

Saul and staff are outstanding hosts. Saul has created a phenomenal drink called 3x3. Can't explain it you just have to go have one and meet Saul! We live about 130 miles from here and he made us feel at home. Check it out! Thank you Saul and staff! read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

absolute worst service and food i've ever experienced. we waited an hour and a half for two meals just for them to be brought out completely wrong and in to go containers instead of a plate. we sat down as a table for two and watched a table of 8 sit down after us and eat way before us. do not waste your time coming to this place. not authentic at all highly highly disappointed. if I could give this place a negative review i would read more

I noticed that some reviews are kinda negative. I had 14 people including me at a great table for Mother's Day. The hostess and manager (I think) made sure that we got a table. I had a last minute miscommunication from my sisters about not calling the restaurant to reserve a table. Lucky, my husband and I had come at very early time. The hospitality was calming and their environment was very visual. The server, Mary was wonderful for working so hard to make sure we enjoy our food and drinks Including bottomless mimosas. The buffet was so good! Cold? Nope! Keep it hot and warm too. I am a vegan. I love the options. My husband is a vegetarian but he ate everything except meats. He said he loved enchiladas and omelette because he said it tasted very authentic Mexican. He ate like 4-5 times. The flan was his Guilty pleasure. I forgot to take pictures of my full food. I loved eating rice and potatoes fajitas. The fruit was so yummy!! I have picture of me and my husband. Please see his food in picture. Also, I have a picture of the wonderful server. The server deserved our generous tips from me and my whole family. My mom kept praising that the people at her favorite restaurant did wonderful with us. Reason? My husband and I are Deaf. Mary used notes to communicate with us often. My parents and sisters who are also the mothers enjoyed the buffet too! The review is 5 stars!! I wish it could be 10 stars but that's fine! read more

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40 minute wait was actually 90, we got our chips and salsa pretty quickly but everything else took forever. 4+ hours from start to finish. I know it's a large restaurant and they were busy but they should have stopped seating people if they can't keep up. The food was good, service was ok, we would have had a lovely view of the water but by the time we were seated it was dark. Probably wouldn't come here again based solely on the amount of time it took. read more

Tonight at El Torito's not only did we have the best bartender, they had Karaoke and the employees rocked it!!!! read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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My first one star. I tried I really did to give it two, but not worth it. Came in on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 pm. The place was not busy, yet there was a 25 minute wait for the restaurant side, so we went to the bar side- open seating. There were 6 tables with people at them, us being the 7th with 2 waiters, a bar tender, a bus lady and a food server. We ordered 2 waters, a tea, guac, queso, and a chicken enchilada meal. Order was taken at 2:17. Guac came out at 2:34, drinks at 2:37. The rest at 3:15!!! Our waitress was unprofessional talking about all the spring breakers are just keeping them way to busy. Well, mam, I'm one of those people who is bringing you business. To make matters worse she got into a verbal argument with the table behind us. The guac and chips were the ONLY good thing to come out of this experience. The queso was cold, and the chicken enchiladas were ice cold in the middle. Too many restaurants around to waste your time here... if you want Mexican go to peppers! read more

My husband and I came for relax lunch, the parking is free. We sat by the window and the view was amazing. We worked very hard and we requiere excellence when we are dining out. From our waiter Beto , bus person and Richard one of the managers they worked as a team. Very happy with our mealslll and drinks. You know not every Monday we could take a day off. But today we were please to be here if you like a peaceful setting come to El Torito Cannery Road Monterrey CA Jacqueline Fritz Listen Live Acento Sabroso RadioBilingue.org First Latino Bilingue Radio in the USA read more

The view is amazing but unfortunately that is all! We came here last night for my sister's birthday. The food took over an hour to hit the table and was salty with no flavor. They were offering a valentines day special for two for $55. This included soup or salad, entre, and dessert. The salad was okay the soup was too salty to eat. The entre I got was fajitas and it just has no flavor. The shrimp was rubbery and steak had lots of gristle. I asked for a mud pie as listed on the menu for dessert. The waiter told us they were out. 15 minutes after he left I saw two of them go by our table to another table (maybe they got the last two and ordered before me but seemed strange). We had to beg for the check at 2 hours into this experience. We will not be back. I really wish Cannery Row would do something better with this great piece of real estate. read more

I've come to the el torito brunch a couple of times now. Each time before has been an okay experience but this time has been extraordinary. Our server pancho has been nothing but excellent and provided us with top of the line service. He made sure our bottomless mimosas never reached their bottom. The next time you go there, make sure you get pancho as your server. He is great. Now as far as the food goes, it is great as well! Not only do they offer a traditional breakfast menu, they offer a Mexican style breakfast as well with chilaquiles, ceviche, and chile Verde. Just like any eating experience, the server can make or break the experience. With that in mind, please request pancho's section for his great service! read more

El Torito - Bottomless mimosas. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Rose was amazing, she was on top of everything and never once did we need anything while having her around.

I really didn't know what to expect when the parents suggested Taco Tuesday seeing as I have lived in Southern California for so long, but I was pleasantly surprised. We sat at the Tequila Bar and enjoyed some chips and salsa, cheap beers & $1.50 tacos. You have to go over to the taco bar to get these tacos, but from there, it's build your own. I enjoyed the steak & chicken tacos with salsa, onions, mexican style cheese and a squeeze of lime. They were both fantastic and if I was more hungry, I would have enjoyed more. You can't go wrong with the price, the ability to watch sports, have a good time with friends and family and not break the bank. I would recommend Taco Tuesday at El Torito to anyone in the area. Good time with some good food. It gets busy so make sure you get there early to grab a seat! Lastly, the service was great, the bartender was very attentive to our needs and provided us with a lot of suggestions when asked! Looking forward to next time! read more

My friend and I went to El Torito on Wednesday for lunch. We waited outside for 25 minutes to get our table inside. We were at the table 1 hour and 15 minutes. The waiter rush back and forth so it was hard to get his attention. We were seated table to table about 4 feet apart. People at each table. The waiter came with the bill when my friend was still drinking coffee told us we had to go. I have never in my life been told to leave a restaurant before. I will never go back to this one again. read more

Service was ok. COVID precautions didn't seem to be fully in effect as the menus are user over and there was food on it from someone else before. We had 2 full drinks while waiting for our appetizer. Was here before some years ago and was good, this time is definitely fell well short just for a couple drinks with a appetizer. read more

We had an excellent lunch today. Our server Cres, was attentive and did a great job attending to us. The salsa was spicy and the chips warm. read more

Here for lunch. The menus were falling apart. The place needs a thorough cleaning! And updating. My husband's fajitas were delicious. My tortilla soup had lots of squash and potatoes. Not too flavorful. I had the sour cream enchiladas. They told me it was shredded breast meat, that was not true. The enchiladas with the sour cream, were bland and tasteless. Our Cadillac margaritas however we're tasty. read more

Horribly understaffed, food was cold, crumbs for chips, plastic spoon was given for Luke warm soup. Enchiladas were overcooked, rice was undercooked and they were out of salsa. Just close this location if this is the quality and service you have to offer. read more

we've had the best breakfast this morning severed my the loveliest Lady Rose! Most Def visiting again from Kentucky!

My husband and I decided to come here for happy hour during COVID and we were both pretty disappointed. The outdoor seating is definitely nice with a little view of the bay. The service was pretty good. Where it all went down hill was with the food. To start, they had the worst chips and salsa I've ever had. Seriously, how do you messed up chips and salsa?! Next, my husband and I each ordered margaritas, one strawberry on the rocks and a blended melon marg. I honestly don't think there was any tequila in our drinks. We also got the queso dip which was alright. We didn't even bother finishing either of the items that we ordered. Should have taken the yelp reviews more seriously and skipped this place. Oh well. read more

I shared a romantic dinner today and it was so perfect. It was busy, but we were seated in 10 minutes. We had an amazing table by the window, we watched an otter play around the whole time while we were there (awesome). Our waitress was very helpful with questions we had and she even help suggest some items. Even one of the managers (Michael I think) made sure our dinner was perfect. A must visit... Romantic, Great Food, Intimate Atmosphere, Outstanding View and an Attentive Staff! read more

Went there on a Saturday for a late lunch. Waited 5 minutes to be seated, 10 minutes for someone to take our order, and 40 minutes for our order to arrive. We probably would have waited longer if I didn't complain to the manager. I would have given this place just 1 star but their food was not bad so as much as I hate to give it, i have to give them an extra star. Maybe they had staffing issues that fateful day but i'm still hesitant to give them another chance. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

My husband and I arrived at an off time, around 2-3pm on a Saturday in August. We usually like to dine out in the late afternoon in order to avoid dinner crowds. We saw many empty tables in the restaurant, yet we waited about 15-20 minutes for a table. I don't know why we had to wait. We were seated at a table right next to the windows, wow what an awesome view!!! We could see the beach in Monterey as well as the hills. It's hard to be unhappy when you have such an amazing view. If you are looking for decent prices and a spectacular view, this is the place. I don't think the prices are too bad considering the view is so amazing. I am used to paying $25-30 for an entree at a place with this kind of ambiance back on Cape Cod, MA. My husband had a good sized entree and a salad, I had a margarita and two enchiladas, our bill with tax was $33. We loved the complimentary fresh chips and dip that we received before our meal. I previously visited this establishment in September 2012 and went back again in August 2014. read more

Any restaurant sitting right on Monterey Bay has a gorgeous view. This place has one of the best views in the whole area. The views are nothing short of awesome and if you luck out with a seat overlooking that bay, you'll be thrilled. We were. The menu stumped us a bit. Some of the items on typical Mexican restaurants were missing or very different than what we had come to expect. Food and drinks were fairly expensive for Mexican but hey, what a view! We were still okay with it. Service was good. I can't complain because we didn't have the same experience other reviewers seemed to have with timing. We were in fast, served quickly and out the door in a timely manner. Okay, so that's the good points. Usually you go out to eat also to enjoy the food and not just the view or the service. Right? We didn't like the food AT ALL. There was only one option of salsa and didn't care for it. We both had the enchilada combos but our order ended up coming out double wrong. The enchiladas were probably the worse enchiladas we have ever had. Neither of us cared for the tacos either. However, on one more good note - the beans were good. Obviously we won't be going back but I rated it a 2-star because of the view and the service wasn't so bad even though the food leaves a lot to be desired. read more

Great Mexican with an awesome view. We sat at a 2 top at the bar (slightly in corner ) and felt we had the beat seats in the house. Fish tacos and enchiladas are made with corn tortillas which we weren't too fond of but I him it's common in California?! Also no queso?! Would surely go back though. Also loved that the manger came over and introduced herself and asked how we liked it ... she even took a picture of us. read more

August 3, 2021 - I was thinking this would be an okay place with a great view. In reality, it was a nasty place with a great view. I know restaurants are struggling right now so I hate to post a bad review, but I also wish someone would have warned me so I could have gone elsewhere. Our food was gross and my always starving 19 year old son wouldn't even eat his. Our waitress was more interested in picking her scabs then doing much of anything else. It took over 45 minutes to get a beer, over an hour to get chips and salsa and over 1.5 hours to get our meal. Save your money. read more

El Torito - My 19 year old son wouldn't even touch his. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

We ate here last night, and while the views and drinks were great, the food we ordered left much to be desired. The Carne Asada had almost no edible pieces. It was like just they just served the hard chewy grissel that you'd normally cut off of a piece of meat. The cheese enchilada that came with it was very good. We also ordered pork carnitas, and got a huge thick slab of fat with almost no edible pork attached. So disappointed! read more

el. torrito graces por toda la. comida. que. gusta. las casdillacs. margritas curbside. the tikki. tacos. cantina style cerbeszas tacos burritos salads con granda nachos potaoes. skins. to go dine in seating in cantina. ocean views. limited but all can see. beatiful legacy flameing fiihtas. tostados mini tacos cantina open to 21 and up. find us on canery row. saluid read more

Decided to try getting breakfast from El Torito today. Usually our family goes for dinner but decided to give it a shot and was not disappointed at all. Gaby, our server, who was a total sweetheart recommended I had to try the breakfast fries. Delicious by the way. Her service alone will keep me coming back. read more

Came here after a long day of walking around Pebble Beach on a Saturday afternoon. Had to wait like 10-15 minutes for a table because the seemed to be understaffed or just liked to keep patrons waiting for tables. This is a pretty big restaurant which might surprise you, they seemed to even have a second level above. After being seated I noticed that we had a view of the ocean from our seat, even though the sun had already gone down it was interesting. I always tend to remember the restaurants that border the ocean. Anyhow, our server was very friendly and I chose some kind of seafood taco platter and one of my other friends didn't know what to order and just asked our server to bring over "whatever dish you recommend." Hmm, I kinda wish I had the audacity to do that, but I don't. Anyhow our food was served relatively fast and came out tasting so fresh and tasty. You never get seafood ingredients tasting this good back in San Jose... damn it was good but I can't justify giving them 5 stars. Maybe if I was eating while watching the sun go down over the ocean with a crimson sky... Either way, I'd really enjoy coming back here someday. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Went there for breakfast after waiting an hour to be seated since it was 5 minutes past 12 pm, they syop serving breakfast so we waisted our time... read more

Cannery Row restaurants are, well, you know -- touristy. And tend to be chains. El Torito is a chain too. But it's got fantastic views of the bay. Also, one of the few pluses about being a chain (in my opinion), is they list nutritional facts on their website. And you know how you can consume well over a day's worth of food in a meal at a typical Mexican restaurant -- so that makes it a little easier to avoid the gluttony and Mexicoma that usually follows. I love-love-love the fajita salad (I could rave about this). The Mexican caesar is more of a side salad so I get an a la carte item like a taco or tamale to go with it if I'm making a meal of it. Their chips are hot, crisp, and salty -- nom, nom, I'm hungry just thinking about them. Service tends to be slow (especially for a Mexican restaurant). And the place is a little on the loud side (read: families). But just enjoy your drink, fill up on chips and salsa, and relax to that view. If you're a local, you can sign up for the email club. They have taco Tuesdays and various drink specials to lure you in. As for drinks, the super-charged cadillac margarita is the way to go. Really reasonably priced for a premium drink on Cannery Row too (~$8). read more

El Torito - View from table - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Happy hour prices are awesome but the service is terrible. Queso tasted like cheese whiz.