We came here for lunch on a Monday . The staff was amazing and food was delicious. This el torrito is much better than the one in San Leandro . Rose was our server . She was friendly and helpful with the menu . She is very sweet and accommodating. She even recommended some nice spots to check out in Monterey ! Thankyou Rose ! Will definitely be coming back to see you ! read more

The worst! I have eaten at this restaurant every time I have come to Monterey for 25 years. Whoever manages it now should be replaced. My family got seated and waited for 15 minutes, no one said anything. We asked a server if we had a server, he told us to wait. 10 more minutes, we spoke to the hostess who took our order and told us she would bring chips and salsa. Never came. The appetizers we ordered...never came. I took my daughter to the restroom...it was dirty and since it is upstairs you can see all of the years of uncleaned cobwebs over the restaurant. After 55 minutes the food came, and it was wrong. We paid for the soda's and left. There were maybe 7 families in the whole restaurant and just as many servers who spent most of their time chit chatting in the empty section. It was probably the worst restaurant experience I have had read more

One of the worst restaurant experiences in my life. Was told by host that there will be a 1 hour wait for a table @ 2:30pm on a Monday afternoon Was then told we can be served at a hightop at the bar. We waited 10 minutes at the hightop table and was never even approached by staff or servers. We then went to the bar (bartender was nice, only positive note on here). Was then told that it would take 45 minutes for any food to come out of the kitchen. We ordered a $13 bowl of guacamole which was tiny, about half an avocado. Ridiculous! Public Service Announcement: Avoid this place like it was the plague read more

I mean who doesn't enjoy Mexican food right ? This location by far is much better than the Milpitas location near me. Going there during memorial day weekend or any major holiday weekend isn't ideal but honestly it was worth the long 2 hour wait. Its located along cannery row ... has ocean views galore. The best thing about this place is that the food in general no matter what you purchase always hits the spot and the staff provides a service with a smile ... even during a crazy holiday weekend.... 4 stars only due to the misleading wait time and we didn't get silverware or refills without having to remind the waiter Recommendations: 1. Any fajita plate 2. Taco plate with Carne or chicken 3. Chimichanga 4. Taco salad 5. Chips and salsa 6. Order there corn cakes... these little balls of sweet joy is the best part of the meals lol read more

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In one word, DRY!!! This was my favorite go to in Monterey with a great view and good food pre covid, but not now. We had the mahi-mahi taco trio and chicken trio. Aside from the fact that the host told us we'd have a 30 minute wait, took our number and never called when plenty of tables were ready, we decided to try this place any way, thinking the food would be worth it. Mistake!!! The nachos were noticeably stale and had puddles of oil. They weren't even warm yet oily and stale??? Once the food was delivered we had to ask several times for silverware and napkins and wound up getting it from the wait station ourselves. When the food was delivered, our tacos were dry, from the what tasted very much like old dried out taco shells to dry freezer burn fish. The side of rice was bland and the side of beans were so watery with the consistency of soup! Yuck!!! What's so sad is I've been a faithful fan for over 10 years, but will never be back. I'm very disappointed! read more

El Torito - Dry, stale mahi mahi taco trio. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Usually we come to Monterey four or five times a year. When we go out to eat we usually eat at least one night at El Torito restaurant as it usually has good drinks and food and we can sit looking out on the Bay. The last couple of meals at the restaurant the service has been off but the food and drinks have made up for it. Today we decided to have lunch at about one pm. The parking lot was empty and the restaurant it's self was sparsely packed. There were no patrons in the bar area, so you can imagine my surprise when the hostess said it would be an hour wait. Also, I might add that the hostess was very curt and offered no explanation as to why the restaurant was not seating customers. I might also add there were no other customers waiting for tables when we went in. I guess we will find a new place to hang out at. read more

Time waster. Took forever to get our food and then they forgot some of it. Food was mediocre at best. Only good thing is the view.

This used to be one of our favorite places to eat in Monterey. NO MORE! The food looked nothing like the pictured items on the menu. The carne asada was little pieces of chipped beef, dry and cold. The portion was so skimpy it wouldn't have satisfied a small dog. The enchilada was dry and looked like a little red cigar on the plate. Only one of the two orders was brought to us, but no silverware was provided. After waiting over 10 minutes for help and the rest of our order, we left. read more

Amazing ocean views, ask for a window seat. I suggest sitting at the bar, Pancho the main bartender is the best in Monterey! Restaurant offers their own parking and will validate your ticket. read more

People are giving this place a lot of bad reviews and complaining about service, this place is huge and caters to families, if you have to wait that should be ok, seems like people are just impatient and don't understand that they aren't the only customers in there, not everything is about you. Food was good but not incredible, it's americanized mexican but thats not uncommon, we actually had great service and we came on a saturday night and it was pretty busy, don't trust the bad reviews and give this place a try, they deserve it. read more

Yum! Yum! YUM!! Ordered two orders of the guacamole--table side and that good!! The view--awesome! My salmon dish w veggies was so freaking good! One of the best Mexican dishes I've had recently--fresh!! The service was fast. Definitely would return! read more

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I came here for their Sunday brunch and it did not disappoint. Their taco station was probably the best part of it along with their mimosas. The server we got was bringing the drinks quick to serve and to take our dirty plates away. Ambiance is nice. Only reason why this place didn't get 5 stars was because the restroom was dirty and they told us it was a 10 minute wait but ended up waiting about 25 minutes to be seated. Although I don't know if I would come during their non brunch days because of the reviews about it on here... read more

El Torito - View from within the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Beautiful views at El Torito and great service -- Rose was fantastic and made sure we had a wonderful celebration! The shrimp fajitas and margaritas were delicious. read more

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I would give this place 10 stars if I could! The margaritas are out of this world & every dish ordered was cooked to perfection & delicious! Chris served us & gave us an exceptional experience! Not to mention the incredible ocean view. I can't wait to come back here! read more

We always come to El Torito for good Mexican food. But the experience here in Monterey was one of the worst !! We waited for 15 mins to be seated and lady in the reception was really nice. But once we were seated- we were told that restaurant ran out of Nachos and Salsa !! This is Mexican restaurant after all and we are 2 hrs. So they would not serve Nachos and Salsa. We were party of 10 and all vegetarian so order entrees with Nachos (Supreme Nachos) w retired beans and all the veggies and cheese. So all those options were off the table. We asked our server to bring us Salsa 4 times but she did not bring it. Then we asked another server and he brought it. We asked her for the Manager and she said manager is not available - she is in the meeting :( at 9pm during prime time !! Finally after begging for manager - Ms Sera or Sara comes to the table. We requested her to make something vegetarian. Gave her some ideas. And she agreed. But now we are waiting for 47 minutes. No food is showing up. Restaurant is 90% empty so it is not like they are busy. Here is the most bizarre part of the story !! New guests walked in and sitting at the bar !! Chips/Nachos/Salsa got severed to them - ONE hour after we were told there is no Nachos/Chips in the restaurant!! I asked the manager - what is going on here !! She replied "they just found small quantity for them" this was most insulting experience of any place we have ever been to. I recommend everyone to boycott this place for disregard for service and for discrimination or lying. read more

Great meal, great service, great view. We had a delicious dinner and the pinto whole beans reminded me of my childhood and how my mom prepared them. Adriana our server made us feel at home and treated us like family. She was efficient and checked on us during our meal. We also met Mike the manager and he too was very nice. Look forward to returning to Monterey and El Torito. Thanks, Conrado and Cindy read more

A chain Hispanic restaurant that offers validated parking in their lot, El Torito has a large menu with lots of options. Unfortunately, the restaurant is dirty and the food quality is subpar. Staff is friendly, but with so many other options I'd recommend something else. read more

While visiting my son in Monterey I went with my sister, my niece and her friend for a quick lunch. Our bartender Raul was very attentive. According to my nieces friend "he made the best Paloma I've ever had." Now mind you he's only 22 so not a ton of Paloma's have passed his lips but still...we ordered the bacon wrapped shrimp, queso with carnitas and the flautas. All I can say is YUM! We got to watch a seagull eat a sea urchin right out our window. We watched otters frolic in the ocean. It turned into not a quick lunch but a lovely afternoon with my family. Dee, our waitress was the bomb. She was the only one on shift but she was always checking on us. Great food great service, I know it's a chain but I definitely recommend. Didn't take pics...sorry but trust if you want some good quick yummy food and good strong drinks check them out. Plus they validate parking for cannery row!! read more

Easter Brunch at El Torito...Yum! Bottomless Mimosas and Churro Pancakes are the bomb! Server Maria C was terrific! read more

El Torito - Easter Buffet Posole/Menudo bar - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Bartender Nicholas would not acknowledge us for 10 minutes while standing at the bar (only 6 other customers seated) when Nicholas finally decided to make eye contact as I said "good afternoon" and asked for a glass of water alongside my drink order, he said he was swamped for the water. This is just bad customer service. read more

If I could give zero stars, I would. Had reservations and got seated right away. After ordering it took an hour to get our food. When it arrived it was cold, all 7 dishes ordered. When the dishes came out after an hour, cold, that's when they told my grandmother that there was no shell for her taco shell and asked her if she wanted anything else! That, on top of all the little things, very hot and stuffy, Kids Mac and cheese is kraft out of a box, asked for applesauce, got fruit, asked for plain lemonade, got strawberry, made this the worst experience ever. The food was horrible and we ended up tossing it all and went somewhere else to eat. Unfortunately, they still charged us $100. DO NOT RECOMMEND! Btw, it was my grandmothers 80th birthday. read more

Great Service nice Sunday Brunch... we had a awesome Server Maria C. Great Views of the ocean!!! read more

We waited for 1 hour and 20 minutes for our food. Mind we arrived at 11:10 on a Monday and the restaurant was not packed. Getting our food only after flagging down the waiter to ask how much longer. He gave no apologies, never checked in on us. Just said let me check. Kids food was served at room temp. I asked the host for 4 to go boxes and she snarled that our waiter would be with us! The guy that never checked on us or gave us a heads up that they were backed up? We were really just forgotten about. 10 minutes later the hostess comes back with 2 boxes. Then we wait for our waiter and ask for two more boxes and he says give me a minute! The only reason I give two stars is that the fajitas were edible. My mom burned her wrist on the flaming hot dish that the meat was served on but somehow the meat wasn't hot? Don't waste your time and money at this place. Plenty of other places to dine. read more

The food is delicious and service is speedy and spectacular. We were here for Sunday brunch and it was awesome! Tons of options and great choices for our picky kids! Thank you to, Luz who took car of us! read more

El Torito - Churro pancakes - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

I went for a long walk today in Monterey and I saw this restaurant on my way. I made my decision I wanted to eat there, I would wait as long as needed to get a seat next to the window overlooking the ocean. I approached the hostess, asked for a window seat and she had me seated almost immediately. I sat there for about 10 minutes before someone talked to me, I was given chips and salsa and told my waitress would be with me shortly. I asked her for a water with lemon and told her to tell the waitress to take her time, I was in no rush. About 5 minutes later my waitress stopped by to introduce herself and tell me she'd be right back. I told her no worries, I'm in no rush. She was only gone for a few minutes, came back and took my order. The chips were a bit more salty than I like and the salsa wasn't spicy at all which I personally prefer. I like the salsa to at least have a little kick to it, this had absolutely no kick. I ordered the chicken enchiladas and sour cream with rice and beans. The enchiladas were tasty, very tasty, but a little smaller portion size than I had hoped for. I destroyed the entire plate including the beans, but didn't touch the rice. I don't really eat rice anymore. I was happy with the taste of the food, I just wish there was a little more to it. I also ordered a Margarita, which was amazing. I personally thought it was overpriced, but considering the view I was enjoying, I was already expecting the prices to be elevated. I'll absolutely go back, most likely sometime in the next week or two during my one month trip here in Monterey. Everyone was very friendly and everything tasted great, especially the margarita. :) read more

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You would think the service here would be great because of the location they're in. WRONG the ladies all working in here have a very nasty attitude. Right away we walked in and waited to be attended the worker up front with big huge lashes stared at us with a dead face, didn't even bother attending us until we asked to be seated. And again after receiving the message that our table was ready, we walked up to her again and no response from her what so ever. Again we had to initiate the conversation with her and her response was did you need something in a nasty attitude. The only ones friendly here were surprisingly the boys working here. They definitely need to work on their customer service. I would've have rather much gone to in n out or some other place that is WAYYYY more friendly than this place. Waste of a drive. The food was pretty good, slightly greasy but nothing crazy. read more

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The place is good. The drinks are great (Cadillac margarita). The service is wonderful. Our server Marcus was excellent - went above and beyond, and great attitude. read more

Horrible wait. Food took way too long. Manager not helpful. Sticky bathroom floors.Tacos great.

Beautiful view, for an amazing brunch! Givin how big this restaurant is I was suspicious about how the service would be, but Rose was very attentive, and helpful, her cheery personality was also a blast! Definitely will be back soon read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

We came there on Saturday somewhere around 7 pm (end of October) and was told our waiting time would be 1.5 hrs, so we asked if we can eat in the bar instead and they say it's fine no time to wait so we proceed. Bartender took our order and we start waiting...and waiting...I guess the menu for the bar was limited but it was ok with us, we are older folks and do not eat a lot of food later then 6pm, in 30 min it became obvious that our order is not gonna come in an hour...we saw few servers, a lot of empty tables... but still long waiting time.. Finally bartender stopped passing by waiter and ask if our food ready bc they are waiting too long already. So in few min he brought our food and it was cold. It was close to 8 and I wasn't feeling like I wanna food anymore, I ordered sliders, so they are not so great when cold. My bf ordered medium rare burger and it was very done and barely warm. French fries cold too. So my guess is the kitchen got our order, cook the food and the end of story, it was sitting there for no-one to pick it up. Terrible service. Bartender on the other hands was hard working, saw him making tons of drinks for waitresses to pick up and some of them was sitting on the counter for some time( I wouldn't like drink with melted ice already).. Fortunately my Cadillac margarita and my bf Black diamond margarita was the only best experience there. read more

El Torito - Cadillac margarita - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Food was excellent! And rose was a very attentive and friendly waitress!! Will definitely come back! :)

Went to El Torito on 3/19.. WORST experience. I have been here before and the service and quality of food has gone down tremendously. The server we were given was so rude and I understand we were a big party, but 10/20 of the people that attended the dinner were CLIENTS with DISABILITIES so I assumed they would be patient with us!!! Considering we split into two different tables to make it easier for them!!! To begin with, when we ordered and were trying to figure out what our clients wanted to order the server was getting increasingly angry and raising her voice at our clients. It was disgusting, truly. We were STILL trying to be understanding but there is NO reason to be raising your voice that way and with such attitude. Our clients, despite the horrible server experience, were trying to enjoy themselves but felt uncomfortable. After ordering and putting our order in another server came up to our table and explained that they would not be able to do separate checks for all clients, but they could do three for each table. We agreed on doing three checks per table because they mentioned if we do separate checks our food would be brought out on different times. The funny thing is even when agreeing to three checks per table they STILL brought our food at separate times. So we felt a little lied to and that they were simply being too lazy to not help us out and split the checks. After we ate already and finished up and were getting ready to pay, the main manager came up to our table and told us we were no longer allowed to do three checks per table, but only THREE checks for all 20 people. It was ridiculous. This establishment made US calculate everything OURSELVES with no help or concern. The way we were treated today was frustrating and belittling. I CANNOT fathom getting treated like this, especially people with MENTAL DISABILITIES!!! Please do NOT come to this establishment. They will take the "easy" way out of situations that have simple solutions & will disrespect tf out of you! Also, to top it off food was cold when it arrived. But what did we expect after this horrible experience. Save your money, having a nice view and shitty staff is not worth it for this non-authentic "Mexican" food. read more

Ordered the Mexican Cesar salad which contained rotten old romaine lettuce. Also ordered the corn cake which was old and dry, flavorless. Service was painfully slow and we had to ask for every item including silverware, napkins and water. Also ordered the guacamole which they make on the side fresh. I don't know what changed but it was bland and they didn't not use their usual spices nor jalapeño. Came all the way from San Francisco for this to celebrate a birthday, very disappointed. Update: Manager addressed the issue and he was excellent. He genuinely cared about the quality of food and service and made it right. read more

Came in today for the Sunday Brunch & was blown away. The food was presentation was gorgeous and everything looked scrumptious. Everything i had was well seasoned and we all thought this was a great experience. We were a large group and were seated in a timely manner and even though it was packed the server was attentive. read more

Good food and yummy specialty margaritas. Started with a specialty margarita, which was totally delicious and worth the price. My husband and I shared an order of shrimp fajitas, and we really enjoyed them. Love their chips and salsa and their generosity in keeping them coming. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

This was my second time at this restaurant and it was great service from a waiter named Marcus. He took our order quickly and our food was great. The food came out fast and I got the street tacos which tasted super good! He checked on us and asked if we wanted anything else. read more

Giving it two stars because the restaurant is clean but the bathroom was horrid. the food is what you expect. Having said that, waited over 30 minutes for our waiter to even stop by the table again. We never got refills of soda/lemonade. we were a party of four, And my daughter ordered a salad. It was the last to come to the table, by 20 minutes. The excuse was "the cooks were making pico in back". I would've had more respect for him if he had just said they forgot. The waiter did say he'd only been there 17 days... But the service was pretty terrible. Can't be bothered coming back. So the waiter took our hour, another guy brought it to us, and we had to wait even to get the check. read more

Glad indoor dining is back open!!! Got to see the ocean view while enjoying good food. Grisel (please forgive me if I spelled it wrong) was amazing. Very attentive with out being pushy. Made sure to tip her well. Please remember that adjustments are being made to keep us safe, so 'Karens' if you can't handle it please stay home. I had the beer battered fish. Omg! Delish. I can't pick between the mahi mahi and the shrimp. I was there on Friday so it's all you can eat beer battered fish tacos. I ate very well. Thank you for such a positive experience. Will be back. read more

El Torito - Beer battered fish tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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This place was recommended by our hotel and with in walking distance. It's on the water with great views. We called ahead to make rsvp and window seat. We got there the line was long. We checked in 10 min early. The kid said it will be awhile and checked us in. Waited 2o mins so 10 past and people were getting seated before with no rsvp. Talked to manager and we were skipped. No seat or window seat available. Asked to sit in bar. Waiters brought water then gone for 10 15 mins. Others got drink order before us . We ordered food and drinks same time. Food was average for chain restaurant. Salsa was watery like they opened a can of stewed tomatoes. No heat or seasoning , not even cilantro in it. Ask about churros because I try them everywhere. Waiter said all the food Is premade frozen from Sisco food services and not good like the rest of the menu. Appreciate the honesty aand did not try. Do not even recommend this place for drinks. Way better Mexican food other places. read more

El Torito - Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Somewhat of a let down, built in tip on the bill, food was w/e. Place is rundown, it sucks because the joint has so much potential.