The view when you walk in is impressive, and the menu offers a nice variety. They also have a buffet option available before 2 PM. Service was just okay, and some of the dishes could have been cleaner. Thankfully, I had great company, which helped make up for the low points. I ordered the taco salad--it was delicious! I also tried the banana dessert, which was good, though it would've been even better if it had been warmed a bit more. Overall, it was a cool and enjoyable experience. read more

Came for the Sunday all you can eat brunch buffet. I didn't know what to expect as this was my first time. It was nothing short of options from mexican to American breakfast favorites and includes desserts. Omelets, crepes made to order. The whole presentation was clean and well put together. You are also a served a fresh hot stack of pancakes upon getting seated. It also comes with bottomless mimosas. Service was great. I would say it is worth the $40 per person. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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I haven't been to an El torrito in years so i decided to go for some late night Mexican food. Service was horrible!..waited 45 minutes for my order which was only the three birria taco combo ( hardly any meat and one scoop of rice) . I also ordered the watermelon Margarita which had no taste of watermelon and hardly any alcohol. Furthermore, they ran out of chips! Total price $45.00 ....don't waste your time or money here they're way better places in Monterey than El torrito. read more

The quesadillas were ok, but I really wish they had more seasoning! I had to ask for more sauce to give it more flavor. Even though I paid a bit more for a different meat option, I expected it to be more flavorful but it ended up being lacking. The servers were very nice and I appreciated the complimentary chips and salsa, which I enjoyed more than the actual meal. The ocean view was nice but the parking itself was confusing. It was blocked off on one side, so my friend and I just ended up parking somewhere else. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

The food was plentiful and the service was exceptionally good. We got a ttable right in front of the spectacular view. Very enjoyable!!!

the sizzling chicken enchiladas are amazing! Daniel, our waiter, was a gentleman and made our experience first class!

Good service, food comes in time. Had breakfast limited but good choices. The view is absolutely awesome right on the ocean. Food quality is good had a good experience the place is busy but not crowded. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Service went well and food was good. We took our 2 young children and they liked the chips and lemonade and looking out the window to the ocean view. It's convenient if your looking for a place to eat near the aquarium. The parking is validated for only 2 hrs and afterwards we were told 10 each hour so we parked free on the street. read more

There was no soap available, and it was unclear how long it had been that way. This raises concerns about overall hygiene, especially considering staff may be using the same facilities. While we did notify staff and waited for it to be addressed, it's not something that should be overlooked in a restaurant setting. read more

Such a wonderful experience!!! So attentive and kind! The margaritas were delicious and the personnel were so fun! I love the sweet corn so much! read more

Debbie is 5 stars! Tonight as a party of 2 as we waited for a table Deborah A. passed us several times greating and smiling at us as she husseled and worked her tables, we were then lucky enough to be seated in her section. We were there for dinner but she turned it in to a "Night Out." She shared some history of the restaurant with us which we loved and helpped with realistic recommendation on our selections. Since today is Sat of the 4th of July weekend it was busy but once we were seated everything moved quickly. Debbie and team did a great job and we greatly appreciate it. We try hard to give fair reviews with good and poor service, but this time Debbie was exceptional and her service has not gone unnoticed. We will come back again looking for her. read more

I have never spoken to a manager after a meal before, but I needed to this time. The 2 stars are for the bus boys who helped us out so much when our waitress disappeared for 15 minutes at a time. Didn't get water for 45 minutes. Had to wave down a busboy and got water quickly. The waitress showed up 15 min later and left 4 more glasses, so now there's 10 glasses for 4 people. 2 meals were wrong. Ordered mahi mahi tacos and shrimp showed up. Ordered no rice and extra beans, but all rice was served. It tasted like the house margaritas had less alcohol than the Costco jugs. The salsa dishes are about 1/2 deep, so we had to wave over busboys several times for refills while we waited an hour for the food. The food was very tasty when it was finally served. And finally, we had to head back in to have our parking ticket validated a 2nd time, since the machine tried to get us to pay an additional $10. read more

Server was attentive at first but we waited at least 30 minutes between visits to our table the longer we were there.

In all fairness it was 10PM and we had just closed down another restaurant. I had creeped on the menu here and only wanted an item for dessert. We went in and it took a while to get seated even though they were pretty empty. Should have been a red flag but I really wanted that dessert. I got a raspberry lemon drop and my partner got a giant margarita with gran marnier. We got the queso dip to enjoy as we had drinks to enjoy before the dessert. Our waiter was a no show most of the time. We had to ask multiple times for water and napkins and even the dessert. There was a young woman who helped us but our waiter walked past us several times and was oblivious. He was not very personable and finally when we got the dessert that we came for it did not have everything it was supposed to come with and the scoop of ice cream looked like something that may have been for an individual bite on a spoon. We had a good time because we were together but man was the service horrible. I can't imagine charging that much and not even waiting on your table. I had always walked past this place and wondered what it was like and now I know. read more

The service was ok. I got the street taco trio with carnitas. The rice and beans were good but the meat itself had no flavor the Cole slaw at the bottom of the taco is what made it taste good. It was an okay restaurant but I don't think it's a MUST go to place. read more

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It's white washed Mexican food, nothing special. You're basically just paying for the view. Service is alright. If you want real authentic Mexican food, do NOT come here for that. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Where do I start. Customer service is not that great! Food? That was not Mexican food whatsoever! Food is bland and not authentic. And the price is insanely high! Not worth it! Overpriced mediocre food! read more

Food: Our first time to this location. My husband had the shrimp chicken and steak fajitas. It had good flavor but a smaller portion than we had expected. I had the shrimp enchiladas which once again was smaller in portion than what we've had in other restaurants but had okay flavor. Complimentary chips and salsa once we were seated. We also had the strawberry mocktail as well as the cucumber mocktail which was refreshing but not recommended as it tasted like just flavored water for about $5. Service: Friendly and in a timely manner. We were expecting our fajitas to come out sizzling but the waiter that brought our food pulled out a lighter to create the sizzling effect....like what? Lol Ambiance: Nice and themed Spanish colonial architecture. Kind of had a old run down feel to it. Nice ocean view seating. Parking lot could use some cleaning up and the bull in front of the restaurant had a broken horn sadly with a sign that says please don't climb on the bull. Service: read more

pros: -loved my tableside chicken fajitas salad and the crunchy flautas appetizer -stunning views of the bay -service was excellent -lots of parking in the restaurant's lot read more

El Torito - FAJITA SALAD - GRILLED CHICKEN - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

We absolutely loved the brunch, the service, the atmosphere. We enjoyed all of the food. It was really delicious I want to give it a 5 star. But despite eating the fantastic Sunday buffet, we got diarrhea for two days. The pain in our bellies started within a few hours of leaving. It ruined our whole trip to Monterey. We tried calling the restaurant and left two messages with the manager that we were sick, and they never returned our call. That was disappointing to us. We really like it but probably won't risk coming back. I think it's very poor customer service to not return my 2 messages about getting sick. And not even bothering to respond back on yelp. Appears the manager only responds when you leave good feedback. No one apparently cares that we were ill for two days and trip was ruined by being in the bathroom the whole time. read more

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Food : this place has pretty good food and comes out at a good time Service: the service is good all the servers I've had are really great and full of energy , the host are very welcoming and the bussers do a great job and the bartender carlos is a very attentive Ambience : the place is a Mexican style restaurant with a little bit of vintage feeling and the ocean view is amazing read more

This place was by the hotel I was staying at on vacation so I decided to try it. The salsa has a great flavor and the food was really good. Definitely try that bacon wrapped shrimp when you go. Our server, Eddy, was very friendly and on top of things. It has a beautiful scenery of the ocean and it's decorated very colorfully. read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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We had lunch today at El Torito. The staff was friendly and offered free chips and salsa when were were seated. We ordered the chicken quesadilla, the rolled taco special, and the carnitas street tacos. All three were very good quality and ample portions. Good prices for such a location. Our server, Isabel, was particularly friendly, had recommendations, and served our food flawlessly. The views were stunning. 10 million dollar views. If you don't come for the food, come for the view. I will come back for both:-) thanks, El Torito! read more

El Torito - The view from our table. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

THE HAIRY FLY OF IT ALL. They were willing to accommodate our semi large party however when the very first item arrived (chips& salsa) a long black hair stringed from the salsa to chip in a disgustingly delicate manner. Before the food or drinks arrived we were attacked by beach flies. Appetizer arrived after a 45min wait our cheese dip had already solidified. Although we were first table in the section (it was empty when we got seated) we were served last even after another large party. Now let's talk about the pile of weird crust/crumbs in a booth that looked like it had been forgotten about (see photo). Once entrees finally came I felt immense sadness that we came here for a special event and we were ignored and it was dirty. We still paid and tipped but it's a dump and I will never allow my family to come back here again. read more

El Torito - Dirty trash /crumbs. Lack of cleanliness. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Adriana was a wonderful server she was very polite and attentive I hope I get her again when we come back . She is the best in the West

Danitza was our waitress and she was delightful ! Food was Great and atmosphere was lovely!

Went to El Torito Friday night at 5:30 was seated immediately for a table of 7. Had the best waitress, Adrianna. Ordered 3 bowls of guacamole and quesadillas for appetizers, iced tea and a margarita. Got the quesadilla 45 minutes later. Ordered dinner which took another 45 minutes. Not sure if kitchen was short staffed but it was clear our waitress was running the whole time trying her best to keep the food moving. The enchiladas were cold, the flautas were soft. The restaurant was loud and busy as you'd expect on a Friday night. The tables and floors are sticky. The bathrooms were not only sticky but dirty. Because we're locals we try this restaurant frequently but last night Will probably be our last visit for awhile. This restaurant needs help with staffing and a good deep cleaning. For 7 people (4 adults, 3 children) our bill was $216. Parking is validated. Thank you Adrianna read more

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Cres is an amazing server! Very attentive and always makes sure we have what we need. We've had him as our server twice now and he never fails to impress! read more

Cres took care of us for Sunday brunch, he was awesome! Our bottomless mimosas were always full, Cres was friendly, funny and offered tips for sightseeing in the area. We had a great experience and highly recommend El Torito brunch. Thanks, Cres! read more

Delicious food! I tried the veggie fajitas, which comes with a chile relleno. It was delicious! Very important, with no seeds at all! Corn cake yummy . Beautiful ocean view ! I recommend it. My husband got the combo fajitas, with chicken, beef and an enchilada. Just a few non alcoholic drinks, but very good! I tried the strawberry cilantro mocktail read more

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The service is terrible, waited over 45 minutes for nachos and enchiladas, Jamaica Water is just food red coloring water, and sugar. They served Hair in one of our dishes, hair was on the dish with nachos, in between the meat-that was absolutely disgusting, on top of it all, they gave our first plate to someone else on another table. Over all NO, Just save Yourself from fake food, spending your money in a place that make You believe You are eating Mexican food, Cause guaranteed is not Mexican food and trash food indee read more

We finally got inside, and they tried to seat our group of 5 adults and 3 year old and a 1 year old at 2 tables that were not even next to each other. Finally they found us 1 table to all sit together, now well over an hour after our reservation time. We were able to order drinks once then our server never came back. When we went to pay, there was a $14 charge for the child's buffet on the bill despite the child being under 4. I pointed out that the child is supposed to be free. 15 minutes later the bill comes back still with the charge, but with a $6 discount. Why am I still paying $8 for a small child who is supposed to be free? From other reviews it's clear this was not just a fluke. They need to get it together at this place. read more

Great service from Adriana always making sure we had what we needed. The food was filling and delicious.

We love this place! The food is really good. The view is spectacular and the service is great. We travel to Monterey often and during our stays, we visit El Torito several times and have been for many years. Highly recommend this wonderful festive restaurant read more

Seafood Taco Trio is good . Preferred shrimp over Mahi. 4/5 stars The Guacamole was too good 5/5 read more

El Torito - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Service was excellent thank you Jessica R awesome work it's a beautiful place in Monterey with this beautiful restaurant it made it perfect

Love this restaurant. Can't beat the views of the ocean. We tend to go at lunch time.

Overall the food was pretty good, except my chicken enchiladas had to be sent back since they were definitely undercooked. The replacement meal came out quickly and the waiter was nice about it. The reasons I am leaving a 2-star review: -We had a 2PM reservation and still had to wait 45 minutes to be seated after being told multiple times by the hostess that it would only be a few minutes. She didn't seem to have a way to provide accurate wait times as she was constantly being asked by waiting parties "how much longer?" -Once we were seated by a more experienced host, service was ok, but had to wait about 30 minutes to get a water refill. -Probably hard to control, but despite the nice views of the ocean, there were quite a few flies floating around the dining room. - Parking was validated for 2 hours, but we were charged $10 for hour #3 even though the very slow seating and service pushed us past 2 hours. read more

El Torito - Sizzling Chicken Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Food is great and servers too. The views are amazing, and the atmosphere welcoming (family and kids friendly). The only negative thing was the attitude of the girl who seated us on Sat, 19 Oct at lunch time. Will definitely return! read more

El Torito - Birria Taco - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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This El Torito location provides a great dining experience aesthetically. It is in a tourist location and is right on the water with tables that have an ocean view. Other Yelpers are correct that their service is pretty bad in terms of getting seated. However, once they finally get you seated, at least in the bar area, the servers are very friendly and pretty attentive. We just went for happy hour two times on our last visit in the area. We tried and like the mini tacos, taquitos, and salmon tacos. The Mexican pizza, basically nachos on a big chip, was really awful and we definitely recommend avoiding it at all costs. We couldn't finish it due to quality, which rarely happens for us. We tried their happy hour signature margarita, which was $6 on our visit, and without fruit flavor, both blended and on the rocks both salt. The flavor is just ok, it seems watered down, but there's definitely some alcohol in there. We also tried their pina colada and like it. They put in one shot of rum, which like the margarita you can't really taste, but eventually you can feel it. We also tried their fried ice cream dessert and Mexican chicken salad. We enjoyed both of these. Everything is a little pricey now, but especially the salad. However, we enjoyed it. If they forget to offer you complimentary chips and salsa, then be sure to ask for it. There is a brown and a red salsa. Tastes vary, so ask for both salsas if they only give you one so you can see which you like better. We didn't refill, but the chips and salsa used to be refillable. They have a private lot with a gate/arm, but you can get a validation when you eat. Make sure to keep the ticket and don't let them take it even if the exit gate is up as it may close while you are inside. You can probably walk around the cannery row once you get validated as long as you don't take too long. Even though the seating and table clearing was slow, we had a mice experience here watching the sun set over the water during happy hour on two different nights. We recommend being patient to get seated and possible get your order taken and give them a try. read more

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