We were at a meeting in SF. Looking for a place to eat on the way home I found this restaurant listed. I never had Peruvian food and went out of my way to check it out. The place recently moved and the new location looks like a fast food taco joint. Nothing fancy about it. The food we ordered was very good. We also ordered two Ice teas. The glass was small and filled with ice. I asked for a refill during our meal. He took my glass and topped it off. I asked him to refill my wife's glass which was still 1/3 full. He added more to her glass. When we got the check he charged me for 4 Ice Teas a total of almost $12.00. He never told me that refills were not included. I asked him about it and he said it is policy. $12.00 for about 8 oz of tea plus ice is ridiculous. He didn't even bother to bring fresh glasses. One the rare occasion I was charged for a refill it was noted and was usually less than the full charge. I do not recommend this place and will we ever return. read more

The service was good. I had the Acapulco burrito and the burrito was terrible. The new location is nice, the food could be much better.

Awesome food and great service. Though the restaurant is a bit small, they can setup the table quite well and can even accommodate small parties. The toilet was amazingly HUGE but clean. The Paella, which was on special, was quite good. Heaped with seafood. Tasty. The burrito was good as well. The fish taco was amazing. The Sangria though was the highlight! Made for a good slow lunch on a lazy Saturday during Labor Day weekend. read more

Loved the food and service! We ordered fried mariscos, ceviche, calamari, burrito and enchiladas. Amazing. We also ordered Sangria.

Ceviche on Saturday or the shrimp & black bean burrito are a solid option. They recently reopened after the remodel & it looks great but I usually sit outside. Peruvian + Mexican on the menu & sometimes Satay by the Bay (Singapore street food truck) in the parking lot read more

IMO one of the best places here in Pacifica, Daly City area... love the new location, always the service is good!

Cute hole in the wall restaurant that is family owned. The waitresses were the sweetest young girls. I was very skeptical at first because they gave me stale chips and canned salad so I only ordered the jalea to share with my hisbaI was surprised when it came and it had an awesome hot sauce and onion on them just like it's supposed to! I am giving it 5 stars because they surpassed my expectations. read more

El Toro Loco - Large Jalea - Mexican Near Me - Pacifica, California

We had the lomo Saltado and bisteck a lo pobre and choros a la chalanca- it was excellent. The choros a la chalanca were the group favorite. We also got the tallarin verde dish but asked for it to be exchanged because the sauce was really watery and just didn't taste very good at all. The chips were also sub par. Everything else we had was excellent though. I would definitely go back for the choros a la chalanca and the lomo saltado read more

I admit I have only been here twice. I do not regularly visit Pacifica for food and certainly would not expect the Mexican food to be very good here. I was wrong. There is a guy that plays the trumpet and a guy that plays the electric keyboard. It's an interesting touch and their jazz is very easy to listen to. The menu selection is great. It's not just your tacos, burritos and enchiladas. El Toro Loco also has great plates and gives chips and salsa before hand so you get a little teaser. I really expected nothing and came away with a lot. I highly recommend this place if you're ever in this part of town. read more

I concur with the reviewer who said "I feel bad giving them a low rating." Why? Two reasons - 1, the people are nice there. 2, locals obviously really dig the place. But I'm confused. I got two burritos, pork (there is 1 burrito choice - 3 meat filling choices). They were, true to reviews, very large. They were also bland and covered in a kind of tomato-soup based sauce. Is this the Peruvian part? Maybe, I dunno. Peruvian specialty: Fried Yucca. Um, fried shoe would be more enticing. You dip it in spicy green sauce, which is tasty but nothing to write home about. Should you wish to try tasting it freshly fried, sans salsa, you will taste - nothing. Fried nothing. Why are people raving about this? Very odd. Summary: Pacifica used to have fewer choices of decent food destination. That's increasingly not the case. While I totally agree that the "very sweet" older auntie/grandma lady was nice, I don't feel a need to Star-Up because she's sweet. Bland!!!! Maybe other dishes are better. If ever somebody brings me here to try the place again, I'll order something that sounds full of garlic - like Camarones as other diners have described. But I found it all very bland and blah. :( Sorry guys. read more

None of us felt like cooking and Dr. P was starving. She was at that point where she'd been hungry for long enough that everything and nothing sounded good. We listed: Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Chinese, Thai. All were yes no's but Dr. P mentioned running by El Toro Loco so we decided to check it out. It was a good sized restaurant with live music. It was random and quaint but also cozy. The service was friendly and most of the people in there appeared to be regulars. We had the ceviche, a seafood soup (not the chupa), chicken sauteed in a tomato wine sauce and chicken in aji sauce, along with a couple of Cusquenas. Everything was tasty and the portions were huge. The soup was especially comforting on another chilly Pacifica evening. There's lots to try on the menu so I'm sure I'll be back. read more

Horrible service! OMG!!!! I have never felt so disrespected buying a burrito to go. Yes, I had a coupon from the pennysaver. I figured it would be a good opportunity to try a new burrito place close to home. I used the buy one get one free burrito and bought 2 small cookies and it ended up being $13. Being a new customer- and wanting to know what to expect in the future I asked the bald man how much everything was. Ok $7.95 and 8.95 for the burritos and I did the math in my head...and so I asked how much were the cookies? He said "1.50" annoyed. I naturally said oh those are expensive. Looking at the size and how much a Ms. Fields cookies cost (Thats more delicious) it's a bit on the pricy side. So..I minimized his attitude and his tone of voice thinking he was just stressed...to realize he was just a mean guy. A lady approached him and ask him if their was cilantro in her dish in a soft voice. The bald guy rudy responded "WHAT?!" the lady repeated herself again. This made me think really!?! Is that how to respond to a paying customer? THEN!!!! The bald guy had the nerve to say to the lady who made the food in Spanish.... "Can you believe this girl is tripping over $13" laughing. OK- bald dude- I understand Spanish- and I pretty tan and latina looking. Since I paid already I grabbed the food and wished him a good day in Spanish. This is his eureka moment that I understood every word he said with the proof of his tomato colored cheeks on his pale skin. It shouldn't matter if I spend $5 on 5 one dollar items- I am a new customer trying to figure out prices and learning the menu. TO TOP THIS OFF!!! I ask for no guacamole in the wet burrito and guacamole in the regular burrito. HE PUT GUACAMOLE IN THE WET ONE AND NO GUACAMOLE IN THE REGULAR ONE. THANKS NOW I CAN'T EAT DINNER! I am allergic to avocado! Never coming here again. This place may be popular with people who don't understand Spanish. It was like getting my nails done with Asian ladies talking bad about me- but this time I understood. Not for me =) I like to be treated with respect. read more

Pros: Free chips & salsa. Large portions. Plenty of free parking. Cons: Slow and inattentive service. Rude management. Food is so-so. I've been here twice now and I can confidently say both times were a disappointment and this establishment is severely overrated. The first time we ordered carry-out because the place was in utter chaos. The food was meh to ok (we had chicken and beef strips with rice). This review is primarily for our first and last dine-in experience on a Sunday afternoon. The service is horrendous which is strange for such a small restaurant - we were sat and watched at least two other tables that sat after us order and receive most of their food before the waitress realized we were still there. The waitress definitely forgot us even though we were directly in the middle of the room (which only seats 35 people). She also took our order in a rush and had to come back to reconfirm what our order was. She didn't take our menus so I had to hold them the entire meal. We weren't a fan of the Peruvian dishes that we had tried the first time, so we decided to go with the Mexican menu and ordered nachos, a super burrito and shrimp tacos. The food was ok. Not the freshest or flavorful, a solid "ok" and definitely overpriced for what it is. Our nachos came in a messy, mushy mound that was all glued together and difficult to eat. The food runner silently placed our dishes in front of us without asking who had what and left, so we had to switch them ourselves (the plates are large). We waited around for a check that never came and ended up going to the register. The owner seemed visibly disgruntled that we were using a Groupon and scolded us for not letting them know earlier (though the waitress didn't even give us a chance before she ran off). After we paid, the owner "reminded us" to TIP THE WAITRESS. Here's a tip: staff up on weekends when you know you'll be busy, improve your servers, don't give attitude to Grouponers because it was your choice to support Groupon, DON'T remind people to tip -especially when your service is less than acceptable, and improve the quality of your food. read more

Used our groupon.. place was decent.. parking is by the side street.. food was delish especially their paella yum!!! Service was fast and excellent! Kind of pricey but everything else now is pricey.. read more

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I've only been here once and got one of their ceviches on the way to hang out at the beach. I can say it ain't bad but - I've had better. I do love their friendly atmosphere and equally nice staff. Pacifica is this sleepy town with equally sleepy folks, in dire need of good restaurants. This one is a pleasant and cute surprise. Too bad there's not more like this spot in that quaint little beach-bum town. read more

Let me begin by saying: EVERYTHING IS GOOD. I have never been disappointed with the food here. I've found the service to be attentive. On one occasion, our waitress somehow suckered us into ordering an appetizer. She took our orders and then asked what we would like as an appetizer. She was an older lady, reminded me of an auntie, terribly sweet... before we knew it, she had recommended the papas rellenos. How could we resist. We were not disappointed. There are 2 salsas. A red and green. If you like it HOT, then green means GO! Oooowee... you're gonna want to wash that down with a nice wine. As for entrees, my faves would have to be the paella and the camarones a la diabla. It is ALL ABOUT THE SAUCE. You're going to want to order a side of rice just to finish off that savory goodness. Festive decor. Live jazzy/latin music in the evenings. It's a nice scene to be in when things get misty in Pacifica. I'm so happy my friends introduced me to this restaurant. read more

My hubby and I were exploring Pacifica and decided to stop into El Toro Loco for a bite. It wasn't crowded so we were seated right away. We both ended up getting burritos which were HUGE, no way I could finish that all in one sitting. The salsa was fresh and tasty, my hubby and I went through several bowls of the stuff. El Toro Loco is nothing fancy but we enjoyed our meals and the service was fast and friendly. read more

El Toro Loco - Chicken empanadas - Mexican Near Me - Pacifica, California

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This place is mostly Peruvian cuisine mixed with Mexican fast food and even have the Chicha Morada, a purple corn fruit juice concoction to prove the Peruvian-ness. We came here again for lunch on a FIFA day, US vs UK. This time we had too much food. Just the two of us, we ordered four Carne (beef) tacos, ceviche (fish), chicken tomale, yuca frita, and regular nachos. Carne Tacos - ok, not impressed, but lots of meat for you carnivores. Ceviche - soooooooooooooooo YUMMY Chicken Tomale - tasted a little like recooked frozen tomales, so ugh. Yuca Frita con Salsa Picante - Starchy-creamy-spicy-fried goodness. It would top my chart if it was also crispy. Oh yeah. Nachos Regulares - Thick crispy bites, good. Mostly satisfied with my Ceviche, I don't even care what the place look like, just give me my ceviche fix and my Chicha Morada. read more

Came here on a groupon with my mom on a Saturday afternoon and did not have to wait. Parking is easy to find but just make sure you don't park in the 30 minute time zone. Peruvian food happens to be one of my favorite cuisines so I was excited to try out this place. I ordered the camarones a la diablo and let me tell you that was delicious! I'm picky about my shrimp and probably would not have ordered this if it weren't for other Yelp reviews about this dish. The dish had so much flavor and I was blown away by every bite. My mom ordered the lomo saltado but seafood version (sorry forgot the dish name) which was also good. The chips and salsa they serve is delicious and I probably could've eaten about 5 servings of it. Since the first time I've been here I've come back several times and have never been disappointed. Even though I've gotten the same dish each time I'm still not tired of it. I had a passion fruit drink once that was delicious and refreshing. All of their desserts are also delicious and homemade. The tres leches cake is one of my favorites - not too sweet while still having flavor. Definitely come give this place a try!! read more

El Toro Loco - Mexican Near Me - Pacifica, California

Shady- be careful if you use a credit card..and poor service. The cebiche appetizer came out after the meals and the wait was quite long. The food was good, but the waiter added an additional $7 tip after I had already tipped 20%. He probably didn't think I would check the balance of the gift card online. I have the original receipt showing my original 20% tip amount. F. read more

yummy peruvian food! the staff is really passionate about their restaurant and it's apparent in the way they describe the menu items to you. the amount of detail they can give about each dish totally sold me! I had the lomo saltado and it was pretty delish- I think next time I'll take it to-go and eat it on the Beach in Pacifica! :) read more

Learned about this place from a Groupon and was excited to try it out. Headed over on a Sunday night and was surprised to find there were a number of people there....probably because the Groupon deal was about to expire :P We found parking right in front with no issues. We were seated right away and our waitress was attentive for the entire meal. Quick to bring us drinks and salsa and chips (which were very tasty) There was a keyboard player who played tunes that served as good background music. - Ceviche Pescado not too limey and came fresh - Lomo Saltado. I'm a big fan of this dish so whenever it's served I like to order it so I can compare. For me, it was very flavorful however the meat wasn't as tender as I'm used to. - The mojado burrito was pretty good. I would definitely return for this. Overall, I would return again. Thank you El Toro Loco for not discriminating against Grouponers. Good food and good service is what will keep "Grouponers" like myself coming again and again. read more

A party of 4 of us went here Saturday July 25. We were seated about 7:30 pm, well before their posted closing time. After ordering some drinks and starting to munch on chips & salsa we were told that the kitchen was closed and all we could get was rice and beans. Really??!!! I have eaten here numerous times and the food is good but this was possibly my last visit. I cannot believe that this happened. Try La Mordida Taqueria instead. Better food, great service and good prices. read more

LOVE this place. an old friend brought me here in 1999 when i was still living in the city and i racked my brains for years trying to remember what it was called and where it was located. two words: fried yucca. DO IT. read more

The chicken burrito is so damn good I haven't tried anything else because I crave this burrito day & night! I skip the avocado & sour cream as to not over come the delicious flavor of the meat! Ps, if you check out the penny saver they have a coupon to buy two burritos & get the third one free! read more

A local Mexican and Peruvian restaurant. A good value, with fast service. A lot of locals dine here. The Ceviche and Lomo Saltado were delicious, and we were given generous portions. Try the Peruvian beer, Cusquena. Ambiance needs updating, but overall a good value. read more

LOVE this place. We go here all the time. My husband is Peruvian, and he loves this place too. The food has never disappointed, the menu has a huge selection, and the staff is really sweet and attentive. The only area for growth would be to spruce the place up, its a little tired. LOVE the lomo saltado, cevice tostada, cheese enchiladas! Also, if they have it, get the alfajores for dessert. Little carmel cookies, SOOO GOOD! read more

YUMMY and cheap. Can't go wrong with that. Well of course most of it is yummy and cheap then I go and order the steak, the most expensive thing on the menu, but it was worth it still! I had the steak, eggs and rice, which was perfectly seasoned and the perfect way to start my day after a morning of playing in the ocean (in my wetsuit of course). Service was nice, but we waited over 40 minutes for our food. That was probably due to the fact that the place was pact, and we were a party of 7 and there were two other parties of 6 plus other than ours. Didn't matter though because we snacked on chips and salsa, and drinks and got so engaged in our conversation that we didn't even notice till the food got there how long it had taken. read more

Peruvian food with a mix of Mexican flavor. I liked how there was a band that played on the weekend. It's easy to find parking and it's a local spot owned by three or two brothers. read more

I got a fish burrito here and was BLOWN away. Tender fish and really fresh ingredients. The atmosphere is very cozy and Half Moon Bayish. It was hard to find anything spicy, though. You get complementary chips/salsa and it's very mild and mostly vinegary. I was really pleased though. I was impressed. Really good food, I'd encourage you to drop any worries you have about it looking small from the outside and just eat there one night. read more

Im peruvian, and the level of excitement of having the arroz con mariscos, the jalea and the lucuma ice cream was above anything i felt in the last couple of years (and i usually have peruvian food) food is absolutely amazing, portions are generous (as Peruvian food MUST be, that is how it is in Peru) service was extremely friendly not a fancy place, but extremely delicious love it read more

So my fiance wanted to have some fish tacos and I recall having seen a groupon online for this place in pacifica. Granted my initials thoughts are- since when has Pacifica ever had a decent latin food place. I grew up in pacifica and later on moved to south san francisco. Anyways we bought a 25 dollar coupon for 50. Before buying the groupon we read all the fine print, we thought we were going to use it for take out. Upon printing the groupon it says that the coupon can only be used for dine in. Here's where I appreciate the customer service, we call El toro loco and the girl on the phone after we explain the situation allows us to get take out, very nice and helpful. For this reason I'm giving this place a 2 star. Now, this review is based on the fact we only ordered mexican food and not peruvian food. We looked at the online menu and tried to spend our 50 dollars since it had to be used in one sitting. We ordered burritoes, regular tacos, and fish tacos. We asked how much it would cost and the girl said 50.34 or at least that is what my fiance heard. Upon arriving for the food she tells us the total is 65.34, apparently she'd said something about it being 15.34 beyond the groupon and my fiance heard 50 instead of 15. Total miscommunication. We'd order way more food than we needed to use up the coupon and we definitely had no desire to spend even more(another 15) to eat here! It ended up costing us 40 for everything we bought. The girl could have been much more clear to us considering we'd told her we were looking to spend the 50 dollar coupon. Why was it more? Because the menu prices online are not the same as the ones posted in the store. What does the girl say when we ask why the prices are different? Those are prices from 2006. The place hasn't even been in business that long. Why is an outdated menu online? He replies they have no control over what's posted. Bullcrap. Quality of the food: Super, super mediocre. All the food was cold or luke warm which for sure makes a burrito taste like nothing. There was no flavor. All the insides of the burrito tasted like they had been cooked earlier(which is obvious), but had not been warmed up in any way to make the burrito taste fresh. The fish was fish flakes, it pretty much was fish food, not human food. Rubios would have been a better choice for the tacos sadly. Considering I've probably had burritos at over 30 different taquerias, these burritoes are actually the worst I've ever had. read more

I love this place the food is amazing and the owners are great and workers are very nice can't wait for there new restaurant opens up

Seafood was overlooked...the most rubbery calamari and shellfish ever! In addition to being overlooked, the Sopa Siete Mares was not the least bit tasty. Quite the disappointment! The Cebiche Mixto had a strange chemical smell to it...we were scared to eat it. The fresh taste of seafood was totally absent in the Cebiche Mix. The service was horrendous (worse than the overlooked rubber-like seafood). Expect the crappiest service as soon as you show your Groupon to the staff. read more

This place is pretty generic when it comes to vegetarian options and flavors. Kind of disappointed since the mojado sauce reminded me of chef boyardee. There is a lot of fish on the menu. We saw other people eating their meat and fish and they all looked happy. The veggie burrito had broccoli and carrots, beans...etc. Nothing origional, not memorable. Definitely had better. The chips and salsa are delicious though. read more

This is one of my favorite spots to go to on the weekends..... I've been going here for about almost 2 years. The food is great!!!! Love it, I usually get a bistek a lo pobre or a ceviche with a large jalea... absolutely fabulous. Recently during my last outing, I noticed that not only was my check wrong it was supposed to be 68 dollars and they put 88 on it... on top of that they had added a 15% tip and it was just me and my girlfriend!!! Unbelievable unacceptable!!!! After I ask the waiter to correct my check he has the nerve to remind me how important tipping is... the nerve of him short little chubby Hispanic looking man with a beard I can't believe it. Food is great, wait time is acceptable I've never had a problem here until now. I'm worried about going back l. Food is soo good but I'm worried I might bump into him and he will hold a grudge or maybe mess with my food... Cheers read more

For those of you who have read any of my previous reviews, you know that I am constantly looking for a good place to eat in Pacifica..well I have stopped looking. El Toro Loco has won me over with consistency, friendly service, great sangria, and the best ceviche I have had since eating it on a beach in Puerto Vallarta. Everytime I want to eat out, this is the place I choose..Who would have thought that a little whole in the wall place could have such a great vibe with music almost any night I go in...Some say it may be too loud, I think it is just perfect. I have a friend who has lived in Pacifica for over 10 years and had no idea that El Toro Loco existed...now I have to fight her off for the last of the ceviche. read more

It is getting too spicy for me. The green sauce for the fried Yucca was one of my favorites but now I can't eat it, it is too hot :( Tita recommended I ask for guacamole sauce so I did and I liked it but still miss the green sauce. I can't order the Aji de gallina either because it burns my tongue. I still love this place for all the other things that are not spicy like the tamales, lomo saltado, salchipapas, pan con chicharron, etc. read more

Great service and great food! I've visited this place twice in the last couple of weeks thanks to being introduced by a Groupon offer, I'll definitely be back. The first time I dined here, I ordered one of the Peruvian dishes, the Lomo Saltido.... soooo goood! The steak was tender and the marinade/sauce was absolutely delicious. I also for the first time tried some of the ceviche tostada and loved it. Mind you I am not a big seafood fan... but this taste/texture was great! They also were VERY generous with the avocado they put on top. Probably half an avocado. Came back and ordered a steak quesadilla... MAN for $1 more than the price of the plain cheese they PILE on the steak. This place is great and if you're driving through Pacifica, might as well stop for some great food. read more

Food is really good here. They changed locations to a bigger place which is nice. I really recommend coming here for some Peruvian food