Great food and drinks I love the warm salsa. Never really a wait either. The bartenders are so nice and make great drinks

[[HIGHLIGHT]]We loved this cute little spot![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We aren't from the area but we were looking for some yummy Mexican food to celebrate a birthday and this establishment did not disappoint!! The service was AMAZING, and the food was so good!! Our waiter helped us make great decisions!! The top shelf margarita was SO GOOD!! Highly recommend!! Everything we ordered was delicious!! Multiple fajitas, Pollo Loco, mahi, mahi tacos, Carne Asada, all great!! Chips and salsa were also so delicious! A bit of a kick to the salsa was perfect!! Can't wait to make it back this way and back in for some delicious El Toro!! read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Chicken fajitas! Yum!! - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

First visit .... [[HIGHLIGHT]]for some reason it was very cold in there. Made our food cool off really fast.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Great chips & salsa. I had the shrimp quesadilla which was excellent. He had a shredded beef taco, shredded beef enchilada & shredded beef burrito...all excellent as well. Service was good, just not exactly friendly... read more

The food really wasn't great. The service was amazing and the staff are great but the food was pretty awful. Go to another Mexican restaurant read more

Our server was amazing!! The food was absolutely amazing!!!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The place made you feel like you were in a Real Mexican restaurant[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

I paid for a meal that this restaurant refused to give me. Honestly, I've been going to this place for a couple years and while their hardshell tacos are pretty good, the restaurant itself is pretty gross. There's inches on dust on the ceiling and overall it looks kinda nasty inside... which of course leads me to wonder if it looks this gross in the customer part of the restaurant what doer the kitchen look like? The real straw that broke the camels back was when I ordered Uber eats today. The driver got there and then called me to say that I needed to pay for my order so I had him put the person from El Toro on the phone who started arguing with me about the fact that they don't use Uber Eats to which of course I replied obviously they do use Uber eats because I paid for a meal that the driver was dispatched to go pick up... We went around for about five minutes until I ultimately realized that these people were going to take my money and not deliver any food. It's worth noting I've attached a screenshot of my Uber Eats order to which all I have to say to El Toro is a middle finger. Great way to burn a local loyal customer , but all in all it won't be much of a loss. There's much cleaner Mexican restaurants in the area. This one just happened to be the closest. read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

Ordered a vegetarian quesadilla with chicken. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Service was outstanding... [[HIGHLIGHT]]was nice to watch a bowling tournament on TV -- until they switched it over to the Super Bowl -- ugh![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambiance was very nice; Latinx music playing with TV on mute.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Another table ordered drinks: very impressive size! I will be back, if at all possible! read more

Fun experience and great servers and wait staff. Food was yummy and drinks were strong. Definitely will be back

Cant pick up the phone to save their life,left wife on hold for 5 minutes then hung-up after FINALLY getting someone on the phone for the 3rd time calling.Theres to many good mexican places to eat rather than waste your time on this BS. read more

This is a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall like many other restaurants in the Gulf Shores area. They have done a pretty decent job of making the interior space far more interesting than many other restaurants in the area. You get the usual chips and salsa to start out your meal and then my dining companion got some beef tamales that were actually just plain masa tamales with beef sprinkled on top of them which wasn't a big hit. On the other hand I had fajitas and while I've had better fajitas I've also had way worse fajitas so these were pretty good overall. The service was decent for the most part but it could have been a bit better with getting drink refills done in a more timely manner. Overall this is a decent Mexican joint and if I was in the mood for Mexican this spot is better than quite a few other local Mexican joints in the area. read more

Very poor service and poorly cooked food. Service was awful. Our waitress spent more time chatting at the hostess stand than checking on her tables. We had to get up and grab our own silverware and check, and had to pull her from her conversation just to get the correct order. Draft beer literally never works The food was just as bad. The steak burrito was sad -- soggy, steamed meat folded in an uncooked tortilla. Very low effort Overall 1/5 and done coming here. Plenty of other good options read more

Small seating area. Full bar and a large selection of margarita choices. Some with actual real fruit not just mixes. Huge menu. Very traditional Mexican/American selections. We had the shrimp ceviche. It was actually warm and cooked, not traditional ceviche. Needed a bit more spice. Enchilada verdi was loaded with flavor and the chicken was shredded nicely. 4 enchiladas but does not come with anything else. Texan fajitas were cooked to perfection. Guacamole is house made. Salsa is also house made along with their chips. read more

We enjoyed our meals and the chicken plate I got had really good flavor. My husband got the steak,chicken and shrimp fajitas he said they were good but the portion wasn't what he expected. They had sol beer too which he enjoyed. Service was ok but nothing to write home about. read more

Food was very good and the prices were not bad at all. I am out of state and I would pay much more in my home state compared to what we paid here. The staff was very friendly and accommodated our needs with two toddlers. I like that they give you an individual salsa cup per person. It's the small details that count. I ordered the carne asada and the meat was very juicy and tender. The ambiance was family friendly. I recommend you try it out! read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

Seated immediately. Waitress was great. Chips n salsa were good. Ordered shrimp fajitas n hubby did steak fajitas. Lunch portions were large. Had all the fixings: lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, rice n beans. They were busy but service was fast n correct. read more

This was a great.Experience very friendly waitresses.[[HIGHLIGHT]]A perfect place to have a nice dinner.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Food was amazing I really enjoyed it. read more

Really great food and reasonable prices! Especially the lunch specials! Worth the drive to Gulf Shores! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The place is in a strip mall but walk inside and you feel like you are in Mexico![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Fun music and comfortable booths make this our new favorite comfort food place ! The fajitas are the best ! read more

I normally go to Cactus Cantina. I decided I'd try something different. I got excited when I saw a lot of Latin-American folks here. My waitress was polite and answered my questions about a few dishes. It's not bad but I prefer Cactus Cantina over this place. My rice was a tad dry. The beans were ok and my chicken enchiladas weren't too bad. I just feel like there was a little left to be desired. I don't know...can't explain it but I just feel like something's missing here. read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Chicken Enchilada dish. - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

El toro is a good staple Mexican. Perfect for the locals, hit and miss on getting takeout. Website ordering needs improvement and their phone is hardly working. We've wanted to order takeout several times and not been able to get thru. read more

25NOV23 ~ The food was bad, usually tasteless, and definitely NOT authentic mexican food. Even the local mexicans must agree with us. A fishing buddy of mine went there. As we walked up to the restaurant my friend wondered if this was an 'authentic mexican restaurant' here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. As we walked in my friend laughed and said, "Look, not a single mexican eating here," he laughed and said, "Do not expect authentic mexican food." It was not. Everything was bland, really tasteless, except the tortilla chip salsa, which was good. My chili relleno had some type of yellowish liquid leak out when I cut into it. This is not what I expected or wanted. read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Yes, I was there... - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

New Manager? First time the issue happened I let it go and thought okay everyone makes mistakes. Next visit, same thing happened and it was the same person that the table next to me said it was the manager and they commented was rude. I ordered food, enchiladas supreme to be exact. She brought a burrito. I said it's not what I ordered. I ordered enchiladas, and it should be different types of enchiladas which is the enchilada supreme. She said this is the same thing but bigger. I said um no it's not but I was hungry and ate it. Next visit, my kid ordered the enchilada supreme, she brought the wrong thing again. I told her what I ordered for my son and she said that it was not on the menu. I advised her to go get the menu and I would show her and she said no that she would just fix it. Very irritating. I loved this place but issues 2 of the last 3 times I have been. read more

Our server was very nice and attentive, but the food was not great. The chips were oily and had an odd taste to them, like old grease. My chicken enchiladas tasted like the sauce was made with ketchup. The restaurant smelled like PineSol. We were disappointed. read more

Ordered fajitas from here, though flavor seem slightly lacking. Meat was a little dry, refried beans were ok, the rice was also dry and flavorless. I did enjoyed the chip and salsa. It's a decent place, but I guess I can't expect much all the way in Alabama, read more

It was awesome the waitress was so nice food was amazing and people need to come often and it was my birthday and the gave me a flat churro with whip cream and surprised me a pie in the face love this and I was only visiting I will definitely come back read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Rice,beef taco and chicken Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

El Toro has friendly and great service. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's a place you feel like your home.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I love the cheese dip and the tacos are very generous with the meat and lettuce, cheese, tomatoes. They have a very good variety to choose from. read more

I had basically given up on getting quality Mexican food in this area...had been to virtually every place from Perdido Key to Orange Beach to Gulf Shores. Tourist type spots abound and have a fun atmosphere but the food is average at best. Then we found El Toro! This is truly an authentic Mexican Restaurant and one that I can highly recommend. The meal started with chips and salsa and both were fresh and tasty. Our group had a wide variety of food from burritos, Quesadillas, tacos and fajitas...all outstanding and the best I have had since living in OB The place is off the beaten path in a small strip shopping center but it will be well worth your time to find this restaurant! read more

While on a week long vacation with a bunch of family (total of 11) we decided we needed a night off from seafood. Actually, some needed a night off from seafood. I could eat it every day. But Mexican was the choice, so we looked for a highly reviewed Mexican joint somewhere near the Gulf Shores Area. El Toro was the choice. It didn't look like much from the outside, basically a typical strip-mall-Mexican-restaurant-storefront, but that's fine with us because once we stepped inside it was a typical place, very friendly greeting, and they could seat us immediately at a giant table. Perfect! Service was great, food was wonderful. I had the combo Fajitas (chicken/steak/shrimp) and they were perfect. Wife had fajitas, kids had kid tacos and loved them. Everyone else at the table loved their meal as well, with a great variety of entrees. My father-in-law ordered the burrito with the 'spicy' warning (you'll see it if you eat there) and said that while it wasn't as spicy as he had hoped, it was fantastic. All around, a lot of these Mexican restaurants are pretty much the same - this would be one of the few that make 5-star status, usually would feel like a 3.5 or 4.0 star. If you need to get away from the fried shrimp, head here! read more

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I'm here with my family on vacation, and being from Texas I was a little hesitant to come here--expectations were low because I love TexMex & Mexican food. I ordered the Chile Relleno and a tamale on the side with a house margarita. The 10 of us all had a variation of food from fajitas to nachos and tacos...we were all pleasantly surprised. We were greeted with smiles and our waiter was attentive and fast. I recommend if your looking for Mexican food here in Gulf Shores, give this place a try. The servings are hearty, the service is friendly and the drinks are reasonably priced as well as the food. Also, loved the music. read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

Amazing food, amazing service. We accidentally came in about ten minutes to closing and they still served us and were extremely respectful and kind. Definitely give it a try, just try to make it before closing unlike us. read more

This place was alright. The music was too loud though, and the drinks were mundane. I got a steak quesadilla. I'm from Birmingham, where they have Jarritos and they didn't even have any. They didn't know what it was. I was disappointed. I had eaten an entire bag of sour skittles earlier that day, so my meal wasn't the best. Overall, I didn't have the worst experience but it could've been better. 3/5. read more

I've eaten my fair share of Mexican food in my travels, and it's my favorite cuisine to indulge in. El Toro is also one of my favorite places, to go for just that; authentic mexican food. Fresh and tasty every-time I've gone. I usually have the beef flautas which come with lettuce, guacamole (so good and fresh) sour cream and tomatoes. The salsa has the right amount of kick coming from fresh ingredients versus added spice, served with hot chips. The service is always pleasant and respectful. I'd add this to my list of places to order Mexican from! read more

Excellent food excellent service. Is our favorite restaurant. I highly recommend El Toro restaurant for home cooking straight from Mexico! Delicious read more

We wanted to try somewhere new so it's Mexican Saturday night with #1 son & my honey. Buenos!! It's always a treat to have a family night out!! We almost missed it because it was dark and the only lot up on their signage was a big "O" but we still spotted it. The in inside is a good representation of a typical Mexican restaurant, better than some strip mall places that I've tried in the past. We were greeted at the door and were seated right away and the young lady took our drink order as we sat down. Chips and salsa arrived within a couple minutes. The chip were fresh and the salsa was very nicely spiced with the proper amount of chunkiness, so good. I asked for some queso, which arrived quickly along with more salsa and more chips. The queso was also nicely seasoned and was tasty. Onto our meals, they have a full bar and a very extensive menu including ribeye steak & filets so my sweetheart's shrimp quesadillas was quit good and filled with a very delish Gulf shrimp and came with rice, beans and pico. Matt got a combo plate with taco, burrito and enchilada that he thoroughly enjoyed as well. The big issue with my meal, the Arrachero Estilo El Toro, a marinated fajita steak grilled with whole green onions and a grilled whole spiced jalapeno and with pico, sour cream and guacamole, was that when it arrived it was nearly half grilled fat. I don't mean fat mixed among the steak but just all fat ! Of course I asked them to please take it back and try again, it was amazing that a cook would let something like that come out of the kitchen, period. BTW You can choose from a side salad, charro beans or tortillas as a side with my steak dish. So it took quite a while for the server to return with the second attempt, my honey was finished with her meal, but the new steak was very much improved. The steak was cooked well, the seasoning was quite good and I ended up putting some slices of steak along with the very tasty grilled onions and other ingredients into my nice flour tortillas and it tasted quite good. Bottom line: This is one of the better Mexican restaurants that I've tried in the area, and while I could stretch this one to a 4 star, I am stuck on a 3 because the steak fiasco is still to fresh in my mind. I will visit here again soon to revisit the rating. Pretty good food though. read more

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Good Mexican food. Service was good also. Beer was cold. Place doesn't look flashy, but it's worth the stop.

This was the best great service and nice waiters the inside was clean service was great food was delicious and came out quick 10/10 I would come here again!!! read more

The food was seasoned to perfection. The quac was delicious as well! I recommend this place.

Great service and solid Mexican food. Prices were fair for the portions. I recommend the queso. We will be back next vacation. The atmosphere is standard Mexican restaurant. Don't dress up and wear loose pants. read more

Upon entering, we were unsure whether we would stay; the scent of Pine Sol was so strong. This is the reason we took off one star. We were seated in an area where the scent was not so strong and once we had our traditional margs in our hands, we decided to give the food a try. Glad we did. The salsa was fresh, chips crisp, mahi tacos fabulous, shrimp burrito delicious. Wait staff attentive, place filled up after we got here early on a Wednesday. Margarita special day! Lucky us. read more

Definitely recommend. Our server Jasper provided exceptional service. Food was excellent. read more

El Toro Mexican Restaurant - Fajitas De Camaron - Mexican Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

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The daylight LED lights are hard on your eyes. Service was good. Food, alright. Maybe better than other nearby Mexican restaurants, but nothing special. read more