El Torito Restaurant & Taqueria

This place has great food. And so fresh. There pastor is some of the best that i’ve eaten. It’s the only pastor I want now. The tacos are good. The burritos are huge and good. You gotta give this place a try. And after you do you’ll be back

Tacos, tortas, burritos, tostadas sm place
I eat there today taco de tripas & gorditas papas w/​chorizo like 6 dllrs
i will try the chilaquiles next time

The pollo tacos are amazing, the steak tacos are amazing. While this place doesn’t look like much from the outside their tacos, salsas, sauces are phenomenal. They marinate their meat in magic!

Quick, cheap, and delicious. I ate in and for $ 6.04 I got chips and salsa, an al pastor taco, a chorizo taco, and a medium horchata. In and out in less than 15 minutes. Will definitely be my go-​to for a quick lunch in the neighborhood!

I’m a huge fan of El Torito’s! It’s a divey, hole in the wall… and that’s how you know it’s good. It’s a well-​kept secret. They’re affordable, authentic mexican menu is delicious. I’ve been making a point to try things outside of my normal «three steak tacos with cilantro and onion» order, and I haven’t been disappointed yet.
If you eat inside you get free chips and salsa. The salsa always tastes freshly made, the chips could be better honestly. But they’re free and the salsa makes up for it.
The service is always friendly, there is never more than the waitress and the cook there, so if they’re busy just remember to be patient.
They also take my card with no issues which is nice since I never have cash.
Stop in next time you’re near the Montrose Brown Line!

No frills taco joint that is family owned and operated. This restaurant was recommended to me by one of my Latino students as the best places in the neighborhood to get tacos al pastor. It’s not the best al pastor I’ve had in the city, but it did satisfy my taco craving and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. The food was fresh, the staff was friendly, and the guac was delicious! The guac was made to order & a generous portion for just $ 5.

I love this place. I have been coming here for 30 years. Still low budget for the neighborhood. I love to suport my original neighborhood dinners. Tacos, torta, buritos, caldos and delicious salsas. I wish them another 50 years of success. Stop in and support a staple of our Ravenswood neighborhood. See you later.

I love this place. The restaurant itself is small, pretty basic. I generally do takeout so for me that is not an issue. It always seems clean though, and the service is pleasant and fast. What causes me to give the five stars is the fantastic food. I love Mexican food, and this is the best I have found in Chicago. Also, it is amazingly cheap, which kind of makes me feel bad as it is so good and they do not skimp on fresh vegetables or serving sizes.

Wanted to love this place because my husband and I are always looking for good Mexican food around the neighborhood. If all we had had was chips and salsa it would have been great. The three stars are for quick service, tasty salsa and good chorizo.
Unfortunately, I ordered the huevos rancheros and they fell flat (. Their salsa (green and red) fell short, but if you mix them together it is better (another reviewer mentioned the same). I still had to ask for some hot sauce to get some spice in my morning. If the eggs had the salsa that comes with the chips all over it would have been a big improvement. Coffe was watery – but I didn’t have big expectations and will deliver caffeine so it will do.
My husband had the chorizo – and it Is tasty. Not the greasy red chorizo but meaty, yummy and grease free.

Great find. Have worked nearby for a year and a half and am annoyed at myself that I just branched out from the standard lunch options to try this place.
Total hole in the wall, but your meal will be prepared super fast with fresh ingredients. The picadillo burrito was delicious. Looking forward to trying all the tortas.
I’ll be back next week!

Food is as good if not better than other Mexican joints nearby but it’s also cheaper. Their tortas are a delicious bang for your buck.

The steak tacos are pretty good and pretty run of the mill for taqueria (and $ 2/​each), but it’s the salsa that won me over and I frequently go in just to get the chips/​salsa to go for a snack at home.
Also, it’s definitely a no-​frills kind of place… it’s kinda like eating in someone’s dining room.

The Ravenswood area enjoys an embarrassment of riches when it comes to taquerias, and I have recently discovered that El Torito is one of the two or three all-​around best.
Quality tortillas are generously filled. The pollo is very good and the al pastor outstanding. The asada is just okay but pairs up wonderfully with the salsa verde. All tacos are only two bucks apiece. Sweet.
The guacamole is as fresh as it gets (watch the cook pull the vegetables out of the cooler and mix it) and tastes great; it’s got solid tomato and onion content but could use a little more jalapeño zing. And you may happen to get warm, fresh chips with it.
Excelente.

This is the best place to get tacos if you frequent the montrose brown. Steak cilantro onion. Picadillo lettuce tomato cheese.

I eat lunch here at least once a week, so I can say that the food is uniformly excellent! The tacos are just the right size, the ingredients are FRESH, and they are tasty, tasty, tasty! The staff are attentive, the service is fast, and your food will be delivered HOT! My coworkers who order food for takeout from here are always pleased (NOTE: Takeout portions are exactly the same as eat-​in portions). You can ask for jalapeños on the side … You’ll get a couple of freshly-​grilled jalapeños that are really, really delicious (and HOT!). This place is a family operation … Short on decoration but long on quality, delicious and AUTHENTIC Mexican food. I recommend the nachos as a main dish. You’ll find them on the appetizer list. The morning cook also prepares a magnificent breakfast burrito that will keep you stuffed until dinner time! Very inexpensive and definitely worth your visit!

Great food, I don’t know why it’s not always packed when I come (2:30pm) they got some great vegetarian options. I always get vegetarian nachos or the burrito dinner, which is great for the price.

This place has great food! The only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is for the ambiance. This is a No Frills kinda taco joint. Repeat: NO FRILLS. That being said, the chorizo burrito, salsas, and tacos are delicious. It has a home town diner feel as the food is prepared behind a counter. The menu is pretty impressive considering there are only 5 – 6 tables in the place. Also, it seems pretty authentic, offering tripe and tongue (I’m not that adventurous). As another reviewer noted, the food is not greasy. My husband and I had lunch there today and the bill was $ 13! I would have paid 2X that amount for the food! My burrito was huge!
So, if you are looking for some great Mexican food for takeout or a quick sit down, check it out.

I was originally headed on a Sunday morning to Fast Burrito, who offer a breakfast burrito, which I was craving, but I found they do not open until 10:00 a.m. That is approaching more brunch time, and I needed that burrito badly at 9:00 a.m. El Torito to the rescue. This is one of your standard neighborhood taquerias, bordering on «Dive,» but just a basic place with decent Mexican options. The breakfast burrito with chorizo, bacon or ham is $ 3.99. To go, with a couple of thimbles of salsa, one green, one red (Christmas IS coming,) about $ 4.40 with tax. Not that I wouldn’t eat in. I just like to pick up that main thing, and go home to my own café con leche and fresh squeezed O.J. If you want your bacon crispy, you’d better request it, because mine was «rare.» But the burrito and salsa were both delicious and toothsome. And I was happy to have a filling Sunday breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese and carbs with no trouble, no cooking and no dishes! Such a great little urban option we have in these places. Forgot to mention the very nice staff. Muy rico!

They had me at Chorizo.
Stopped by during a lunch break recently under suggestion of my boss. Your standard cafeteria style dining room, counter space with a front row view of the grill. Really just the cook and the cashier working there. Ordered the Chorizo Burrito and a horchata. Chips and salsa leave something to be desired, but the burrito was spot on. As a northern burb dweller I usually end up going to Highwood for mexican, so having this near my workplace is a really great alternative for me. Also can we talk about how affordable this place is? $ 5.50 for a big burrito, comes with the chips and salsa, and the Horchata rounded it out to just over $ 7 for everything. Delicious, affordable, authentic, need I say more? Will definitely be returning.

Giving El Torito an upgrade! I’ve been back since my first visit and the quality of the food has improved. Had the guac and chips and carne asada torta again. Both much improved, the chips were fresh this time!
I also had some horchata which was very tasty. While I took my food to go, the service was great!