El Torito

We came here our first night in town for happy hour. We sat at the bar and they gave us chips and salsa. The salsa was a bit spicy , which I don't mind. I got the margarita flight which was more sweet than anything but cute. I also got the mini tacos which came with 4. It was beef and chorizo tacos and they were really good. There happy hour specials were good for the price and I left full and happy. Would recommend for happy hour

El Torito is one of my favorites, unfortunately this visit was not great. The wait was too long they were short staffed it was not rush hour. The chips were rancid, it took 3 times to get them right, but by then I had finished my guacamole... the fajitas were just onions no bell peppers and I don't eat/like onions! So far this was the worst experience I had :( I felt bad for the waitress she was trying her best. We spent about $65 incl. Tip. And water for drinks. $14 for the guacamole...

Extremely Disappointed – Worst Holiday Dining Experience I rarely leave negative reviews, but our experience at El Torito in La Mesa for Easter brunch was incredibly frustrating and disappointing. I personally called ahead to make reservations for a large party (over 10 people) specifically to avoid any issues with the online system. Despite this, when we arrived, they had no record of our reservation. Instead of taking accountability or trying to resolve the situation professionally, the staff at check-in acted as if I had never made a reservation at all. They challenged me on it and made it seem like they were doing us a favor by “trying” to seat our party—something that should have already been guaranteed. After over 40 minutes of waiting outside, we were finally seated—but not even together. They split our family into two separate tables, completely defeating the purpose of bringing everyone together for a holiday meal. We were seated with the clear expectation that we’d be enjoying the Easter brunch buffet—only to be told we had five minutes before it ended. There were no plates available, and as we tried to see what we could get, we watched staff clearing the buffet and throwing untouched food into garbage bags right in front of guests. Rather than allowing us to eat what we came for, they rushed to shut everything down as if we were an inconvenience. Eventually, the manager came out and tried to blame Corporate for the mix-up, saying they had set up the reservation. But I had called this exact location directly—it was the local team who took the reservation. Then, a second manager came out and went as far as to accuse us of being rude, instead of taking responsibility for their own mishandling of the situation. This has truly been the worst dining experience I’ve had, especially on a day meant for family celebration. With Mother’s Day around the corner, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere if you’re planning something special. This location showed a complete lack of organization, professionalism, and respect for its guests. We will not be returning.

Overall I'd give today's meal choices all together a strong 8.5 out of 10 only because the Birria shells weren't crispy/crunchy and the Carne Asada Fries tasted like old chopped up Carne Asada a little dry and not to my liking. The Chicken Flautas Were Bomb!! The Steak & Chorizo Tacos Also Were Bomb!! Birria Tacos Were Solid But Just Make The Shells Crunchy/Crispy. The Margarita Flights Were All Good Except The Original One Lol. Other Options Were Mango With Tajin Around The Rim & Blackberry With Black Salt Around The Rim. Both Were BOMBAY!!! All Choices Were From The Happy Hour Menu!!! Props To Mr Pedro The Server..

This was an absolute horrible experience. We were seated for 50 minutes before we got our food. My wife’s food was soggy and lukewarm. The excuses given were, “sorry we are super busy”. There were more empty tables than full in the restaurant. We had a reservation for 8:15p we were seated at 8:00p it took awhile to even be acknowledged and get our drink order placed. Then by 8:50 we still had no food. By 9p we received our mediocre food. The air was blowing full speed right on top of us, the radio was way too loud, the tvs quit working, this place was just a mess. After all of that, they didn’t offer us any discount, no coupons, no nothing. Oh it took 12 minutes after asking for the check to have it brought over. We will never return. No wonder this chain closed all those stores.

Groups of 8 or more have an automatic added gratuity of 20%. Bill cannot be broken up. We had a large group but the service provided was definitely not worth the "required" tip. The plates were hotter than the food, that had next to no flavor. Would not recommend

We come to El Torito in La Mesa every Tuesday with a group of 5 of us, and the highlight of our visits is always our waiter, Gilberto. Week after week he provides outstanding service, always attentive and personable, and he makes our entire table feel welcome. He has a way of turning dinner into a fun experience, and he never misses a detail no matter how busy it gets. Gilberto is truly one of the main reasons we keep coming back; he sets the standard for amazing customer service!

My wife and I love this place. We drive out of the way to eat here, and it never disappoints. Fantastic food and even better service. Gilbert is one of our favorite waiters, he always takes excellent care of us.

Gilbert you're the best ! Will be back for sure and hope you're our waiter again first time here and the ambiance is very nice and food is amazing

The food here is really good. We made reservations for 6 for the Sunday brunch buffet. My favorite thing here is the Al Pastor tacos and the menudo. The flan and arroz con leche are my go to desserts. Our server Gilberto was awesome! He sent a stack of Pancakes for our 5 year old that was not available as part of the buffet. He enjoyed it very much. Gilberto also made sure that our mimosas were always filled. The layout of the buffet is perfect. I got a made to order chorizo omeltte next to the desserts. The menudo and pozole are good. Anything you can think of that is Mexican food they have. When you're done having your fill of deliciousness, you can grab coffee or hot chocolate to go. I'll be eating here again.

I was pleasantly surprised with the food, service and most of all prices for their happy hour. Met friends here on a Tuesday night and there was no wait for a table and quickly attended to. The restaurant was occupied but neither full nor empty. The happy hour is from 3-9 every day people! Unheard of! I enjoyed the food and cocktails. Also recently came with a large party reservation for Sunday brunch buffet. It was about $35 per person with mimosas. The buffet had breakfast, lunch and dessert items. Appreciate they do online reservations too. I hadn't been to this chain for years but will happily return soon.

It's a chain restaurant and they don't exactly have an original menu, but it's okay. It's like a Denny's, I don't really choose to go here, I just end up here because someone else picks it. They have a breakfast menu inserted in there, but it's only available on Saturday. I guess I'm confused as to why they don't put that on their menu, but okay. I came with low expectations and that probably accounts for the generous third star, but it's not they offended me by being mediocre.. The service was good, better than the food, which feels like something you can get in the freezer section of your grocery store. They're in an easily accessible location with plenty of parking and the restrooms were clean. It was a little hard to hold a conversation over the loud music, but the place was pretty empty so maybe it was nicer for the employees, I don't know..

Lizette was a great waiter. She was kind quick and friendly. All the staff is absolutely good. Food is better eveytime the chefs know exactly how to cook the food. Thanks you . Thank you Lizette Ozzy came and refilled some drinks , he is usually our server and Gil. Gil is a amazing waiter.

Every once in a while you get surprised. Today was that day. Who woulda thought that El Torito of all places would have a killer brunch. I did not. Most of my friends laughed when I told them where we are going. At $40 a head it was so worth it. The food was plentiful and tasty. From the omelette station to the tri tip and everything in between was amazing. The perfectly cooked eggs for the huevos rancheros were stunning. I've had worse eggs at supposed better places. A total feast for the eyes and tummy. Service was a bit harried but always with a smile. A very nice time.

Gilberto is an amazing server. He is very attentive, personable, and keeps the kids happy. The food and drinks were great and we always have an amazing time when we go.

I'm not sure how this place has 4 stars. We went the other night, and thankfully, we weren't too hungry and decided to share a few plates. Unfortunately, anything with steak tasted terrible. We tried the fajita salad with steak and another steak and shrimp dish, but both tasted like organ meat--so bad. When the waitress cleared the dishes, the steak was untouched, but she didn't even ask why. We also ordered the tableside guacamole, which had way too much lime. The fried ice cream dessert was good, though.

Massive breakfast buffet and bottomless mimosas. We don't eat or drink as much as it costs but awesome spread especially for a big eater and drinker! Great staff, very kind and helpful.

I always have a good time here! They recently updated their happy hour to be every day from 3pm to 9pm. Their prices are unbeatable and I love ordering my favorite mango margarita from here!

Our visit wasn't off to a good start. We came and waited for a while before being greeted or addressed. We came in for lunch made reservations online. Reservations weren't reflected luckily it wasn't busy so we were seated right away. Our server Bailey turned it around she was so attentive food came extremely quick she constantly checked on us. I asked for my toddlers meal to be put in first and it arrived so quickly. The food was delicious I got the three skillet fajitas amazing. My husband ordered the chimichanga and he loved it. All in all we def be returning and can't recommend enough. So good.

I love this place. My wife and I drive out of our way to come to this exact restaurant for the tasty food and the consistently outstanding service. Gilbert has been taking care of us for years and is practically family at this point.

Our server Gilberto was excellent! He was super friendly and attentive with the chips and drink refills. Checked up on us to make sure everything was good. We have never been to el torito before but he left a great impression on us.

El Toriito is a great brunch place for a Sunday, in my opinion. It's an all you can eat Mexican restaurant. Adults are $37.50, kids are $17.50. Kids have to be 12 and under. The ambience is casual and filled with Spanish music. Everything and anything you need has to go through your server. Do not ask anything from the host or people by the food tables. They will tell you to ask your waiter. My table had a great waiter. His name Gilbeto. This man hustled from table to table. He checked on us multiple times. He was very energetic and kept a smile on his face. The food was pretty good. I was not a fan of the steak meat for the tacos. The taste was bland. The pollo asado was good, but the Al Pastor was really good. The variety of dessert is great. From jello, to flan. There is a little something for everyone with a sweet tooth. If you also want to get your drink on. You can wet your whistle with bottomless mimosas. Overall it was a nice Sunday brunch.

We had an amazing brunch today in large part due to the service we received from Gilberto. Gilberto as always was wonderful! He is always so courteous and kind. I am always happy when he is my server. Food was great too!

We came here to celebrate my mothers birthday, Gilberto our waiter was GREAT, his humor, amazing customer service and attention to detail made my moms birthday much special. I highly recommend this place for any special occasion or date night.. thank you Gilberto !

I went here for breakfast being that they are Mexican themed. When I walked in I noticed that the Manager was at the front desk and asked me to please wait. He looked very disturbed and restless. He then took us to our seats and turned us over to a server named Jay. I ordered coffee, a mimosa, chilaquiles, and huevos rancheros. The drinks came first and my coffee was lukewarm. I drank it very hesitantly. When I got to the bottom I drank a mouthful of coffee grounds! I was so upset. I understand they were short-staffed, but there is NO excuse for this. Then our food came. I asked Jay if they were short-staffed and he affirmed it. I then showed him all the grounds in the bottom of my coffee cup. He apologized profusely and took it back to the kitchen assuring me that he would fix it all. The food was not good. The potatoes needed salt and there were no s/p shakers on the table. This was becoming a nightmare.. Why did I even come here? Jay did his best to make our visit as pleasant as possible. Big shout out to him! As for everything else? I may NEVER be back..

I love El Torito. We went for Cinco de Mayo to celebrate a birthday. Pictured is kids menu, our kiddo loved it. Service is fast and friendly. I love the family friendly vibe. Drinks are always on point. They have happy hour and specials on Cinco de Mayo. We will return!

Thank you Jasmine your service was amazing You went above & beyond ! The food was great as always!

Great service, super quick! The food was pretty decent, and there's so much to choose from on the menu.

3.5 stars due to the food 5 stars for customer service Overall, not a bad food place, but it's not as tasty. It may be the food I tried, so I may try it again but order something else and see what that's is like. See tacos below that I tried.

This is a too tier El Torrito brunch. The staff is extremely attentive and courteous and the food selection is a cut above other El Torrito Brunch Buffets. Any time in in the San Diego area I'll put this spot on my itinerary. Highly recommend, please keep this gem in business my friends. Special shout out to our waitress Cristal B. she was extremely attentive which is rare in Buffet scenarios. Totally makes the Brunch Buffet a phenomenal experience!

Went for brunch and discovered they expanded the brunch since we've been last which was great. Gilberto was a treasure and kept our mimosas and laughs flowing. Will definitely return. ​

Celebrated our (large) Family Christmas here 12/21/24. Lizette (& staff) were wonderful and patient! Thank you!

Delicious drinks and food,fast service, and a relaxing environment to eat! Nice place for the fam!

Went in for Sunday brunch with my child, after we were eating we heard our server tell someone the brunch was $36. When did it go up to $36?! I wish there was a no alcohol price, our kiddo is over the kids price but obviously not drinking. We like their buffet but it was $15 when we started going, had gone up to $20 something but $36?! And we were stuck at a tiny table in the corner of the bar directly behind the bar stools and counter where servers were throwing the silverware into a bin. Definitely would like to be in the dining area eating with my child and not seated in the bar with all the drunk adults watching and yelling at the football game.

Rebecca was amazing, super fast, and attentive! Food was really good! I definitely would come back.

I used to live down the street from here and it was my favorite spot. On Sundays during their brunch, they make sure to be very attentive and this truly helps to get your money worth and leave here feeling good. It honestly became like a second home, I loved the people and the food and I was always comfortable!

I had a great experience! El Torito is just off the 8 and has lots of parking. Classic Mexican style decor with many booth seating, which is my fav. The service was excellent and server was very attentive. I previously signed up for their rewards program and got a free entree of my choice. Such a great deal! A $27 meal as a gift. Wow! I ordered the steak fajitas and received complimentary chips and salsa. Chips and salsa came out quickly and so crispy and fresh. I loved the steak fajitas with the charro beans, rice, guacamole, sweet corn bread, and corn tortillas. Everything was fresh and delicious. Definitely going back again for Taco Tuesday.

Happy hour. The review could have ended there but it deserves a little more context than that as it's a great little happy hour! Their cantina offers some good specials from 3pm - 7pm... EVERYDAY. Yep, even the weekends allow you to take advantage of some great specials so those of you who get off work too late to ever hit a happy hour now have Saturday and Sunday to catch your buzz while digging into some tacos. I took this directly from their website to give you the full picture of the item offered from $4.00 to $10.00. Enjoy, you lushes! $4 Street Corn, Queso Dip, Papas Calientes, Draft Beer Pint, Well Drinks, House Wine $6 Potato Chorizo Taquitos (4), Mini Tacos Steak & Chorizo (4), Sopes Grilled Chicken (3), Signature Margaritas (+ $1 Fruit Favors), Real del Valle Tequila Shot, Call Drinks $8 Beef Birria Tacos (3), BBQ Carnitas Sliders (3), Chicken Flautas (4), Watermelon Candy Shot, Mojitos, Jalapeño Cucumber Margarita $10 Shrimp Tacos Gobernador (3), Salmon Tacos (3), Mexican Pizza, Margarita Flight (Signature, Mango & Blackberry), Classic Paloma, Spicy Piña Margarita

So the taco Tuesday at El Toritos is enough in and of itself to have me frequent this establishment! But Hilberto...THE BEST OF THE BEST! His charismatic disposition was such a pleasant icing on the cake. I highly recommend 10 out of 10 trying this TacoTuesday's dinner option !!!

Came to El Torito because I have strong nostalgia vibes from eating here in college. I went for lunch on a weekday and it took a long time for someone to come to the front and notice the handful of people waiting to be seated. Restaurant wasn't too crowded. Food came quickly once I ordered and it was OK, nothing special. Portions seemed unusually small for a sit down Mexican place and for the price. Place also seemed understaffed. Wouldn't go back.

This place has gone downhill so bad. The last 2 times we came here we sat in the dining area and then the bar. Each time, the corn appetizer tasted sour and the carne asada fries came out cold. They could be busting these out because they are popular but they were gross. Forgot the bartenders name but she was super friendly and offered great service but it just didn't feel clean or comfortable sitting at the bar. Too bad because we thought this place was coming back up in quality but it reminds me of a restaurant you'd see on Kitchen Nightmares.

First time coming here. We took my sister for her birthday and we had a wonderful experience. Our server Gilberto was awesome and made our experience here one to remember. Gilberto was attentive and friendly. We will definitely be back. Food was also great and champagne brunch was awesome! Thank you Gilberto for a wonderful experience!!!

Our waitress Rebecca was amazing and awesome! She was professional and very caring! Loved her personality! Thank you El Torito for hiring such a great employee!!! MoniQue London

Always great service but I wish they had large tortilla soup bowls. Their bowls are delicious but too small!!

Our server was very welcoming and friendly. The birria tacos were more on the mushy side - would definitely pass. The albondigas soup and bacon wrapped shrimp was tasty!

I had the happy hour menu and my husband had the pick three combo. We enjoyed both. Our waiter was very good. We sat in the bar area which is large and has several booths.

This is a wonderful place! Excellent food and top notch service. We have been twice and will return every time we go to SD!!

We went to the weekday buffet lunch. We enjoyed it. I love their salad and putting chili Colorado on it. Yum!

Best service for my moms birthday Juan Manager was very inviting and our server Gilberto was amazing best server we have complimented I recommend him always for Sunday brunch

The HH is well worth it here. You get plenty of choices, from $4 beers and well drinks to $10 margarita flights, to $4- $10 apps. Everything I tried from the HH menu has been great, except the birria tacos. Those lack flavor, but everything else has been good. HH is only in the bar area, but if you prefer to sit somewhere else in the restaurant there's plenty of seating with a lot of cute decor to look at. Service has been okay, not great but not horrible. It won't stop me from going though, since I'm always in the mood for a seasonably priced margarita on the rocks with salt on the rim, yum!!!

Always come for taco Tuesdays. great tacos but this last visit was different in an amazing way. Our waiter Gilberto was sooo amazing. He made the experience even more fun and treated us like family. Gilberto just made us love this El Toritos even more! can't wait to come back and see him again.

Excellent service. Great food. The associates are excellent in their work. Kept my mimosas coming; family ambiance. Well-managed.

Start your Saturday at El Torito's at the bar with Miguel-- always a good time and great camaraderie with fantastic food, bottomless mimosas and Bloody Mary's. We always look forward to Saturday's at El Torito! Miguel and Juan (GM) always take care of us.

What a way to end a great day. Happy hour (prices) (3pm-7pm everyday) made it. Our server Crystal help make it fun with her recommendations and three dollar margaritas! Sal the MOD came by to check on everyone and wanted everyone to feel this was a special meal. (A true ambassador for El Torino). Together they make a great team.

Came here on cinco de mayo at lunch time. The host stand was empty. We stood around. More people came. Still no host. More people came. Still no host. Started getting weird. My sister went into the bar and they said, oh sorry we only have three people working. On a weekday. At lunchtime. On Cinco de Mayo. In a Mexican restaurant. Was a good 15 min before someone finally came over. As expected, table service was very slow. Salsa was a bit flavorless but otherwise the food was good. Kids meal pizza was terrible and rubber looking. Even my fat little goblin baby wouldn't eat it. Spicy margarita trio was not spicy. But actually was pretty good, just not spicy. I came here once a few years ago and was a pleasantly surprised. This time, not so much. However, I can only assume that the staffing issue was due to some kind of mix up or hardship in staffing because no one could truly be dumb enough to only put three people on the schedule for a day like that, but what do I know. I'd give it another try. Maybe not on cinco de mayo, though

We made reservations to come here on cinco de Mayo. There was a long wait but thankfully we had reservations so we only waited a couple minutes. Our server Gilberto was awesome, the water serving the salsa and chips was super nice and friendly too. It was busy so our server was running back and forth as expected. Overall service was awesome. Food: we had the grande platter and I have never seen a sadder plate of nachos, it was basically just sour cream and guac on top of chips. EVERYTHING had pico de gallo on that platter, so make sure to ask for none of you don't like it. My kid ordered the shell beef tacos off the kids menu and didn't eat them, they were bland but she loved the broccoli. I shared a meal with my partner and had the make your own combo. Hard shell taco was a little bland and soggy, the chicken enchilada was dry and the flautas were okay. They have a sweet chili sauce that is delicious but doesn't really tie with the meal. I ordered their Jamaica drink (we ordered agua de horchata but they didn't have any what?!!!) and it wasn't sweetened or flavorful. Tasted watered down. We had the deep fried ice cream and that was delicious! Also, the ambiance was super loud so yelling my order across the table to the server was not cool. I understand it's a festive day but turn it down a notch. If it weren't for how amazing the wait staff and expo were, I'd probably give it a 1.5 star. I really had high expectations for this place when reading the most recent reviews and came in with an open mind but just wasn't impressed. Maybe I didn't order the correct stuff.

The service was stellar, he was very entertaining and accommodating! I had a chili relleno that was delicious! The prices are decent.