El Toro Cafe

The food tonight was awesome. My daughter who is A very picky eater enjoyed all of her taquitos. I had the chimichanga which was also really good. The husband ordered the large order of nachos, they don’t cheat you on on the nachos that is for sure. Definitely enough leftovers for two days. The environment is
Not that great, but the customer service made up for it. We would return again!

It’s kind of on the rough side of town and the inside is a complete dump but they have good food. The chairs are falling apart and all the lights are orange and dim. Prices aren’t bad

Friday night, May 20^th, we arrived hungry anticipating a pitcher of draft beer and fajitas. Although we can afford other, classier places, El Toro is #1, the place where we went after we got married 25 years ago (with our 3 kids when it was Dicicco’s), #2 close to our second home in town, and #3 good food for a struggling restaurant.
SADLY, 5÷20÷2016 will be our last visit.
NO DRAFT BEER ON A FRIDAY NIGHT!!! Sounds like extremely POOR planning.
After a few minutes, while waiting in our seats of this nearly half empty place, the old, ugly, loud and RUDE waitress appeared at our table. She shouts when she talks, she shouts at people. Honestly, I don’t know how that old battle axe keeps her job! I’ve read and been told by a number of people who used to go to El Toro, that SHE is one of the main reasons why they have stopped eating there. Battle Axe, the ‘waitress,’ told us no draft beer. So, hubby settled for a COORS’ LIGHT and we got our chips, cold, greasy chips. On a Friday. When the BATTLE AXE brought the beer, it was in a bottle shaped can. No warning, as we had just asked for draft, at least we could get it in glass bottles!!! After eating a couple of chips, our hands were greasy. Hubby grabbed his beer for a drink. Someone had unscrewed the lid and as soon as he tried to lift it to open it, the beer spilled all over him. Even though the place was less than half full with a full wait staff, NOT A SINGLE EMPLOYEE CAME WITH A TOWEL! The only people who even noticed was the couple in the next table who at least offered their napkins for the spill.
The more I think about it, I am sure it was intentional that the ‘waitress’ didn’t warn us about the beer top. She’s rude and after all the times we’ve been in the restaurant over the years, I know she recognized our faces as regulars. I have always tried to avoid sitting in her section.
NO MORE! El Toro, you need to step up your game!
#1 Fire that loud, rude, obnoxious BATTLE AXE
#2 Plan ahead and have enough draft beer to make it through the weekend
#3 Get rid of the roaches
#4 Replace the seats in the booths, don’t just duct tape the rips.
#5 Fire that loud, rude, obnoxious, beer spilling BATTLE AXE!
Hubby and I both have jobs in very public places… nothing like word of mouth to make or break a business!

I loved this place, their loaded nachos are the best around. Yes, LOVED. I went in with my son and a friend bragging and boasting. We were seated and my son opened his menu and there was a large coach roach crawling in the menu. We immediately left and let the waiter now as to why. He of course apologized. I called them when I got home and I was told they are aware of the cocktail roach infestation and they have it sprayed TWICE A WEEK, PROFESSIONALLY. If twice a week don’t get those horrid critters then I can imagine just how bad it is. Here I thought once a month was bad. Also, if they are coming out in daylight, I don’t even want to know how many are crawling around at night. NEVER AGAIN.

I used to come here to for the last couple years and i love the food but today I called in early in the morning to ask if they have any food not cooked with lard or any animal products, because my wife can’t eat any of these. They told us everything gets cooked in vegetables oil and even recommended a dish for my wife.
WELL after we waited 15 min to get seated and additional 15 till we even got a menu, they told us that they do cook everything in lard and my wife already started eating the nacho chips.
The waitress told my wife she could call the manager in such a rude tone that my wife just said she should cancel her order.
We are super disappointed for such a bad service after all those years. Specially after I called in the morning to make sure my wife could eat here too.

The best fajita salad I have ever had! Chicken was delicious and moist. The homemade avocado dressing was the bomb!

I ordered the Chile Verde dish. I must say that the food was good and tasty. The reason I only give it three stars is because of the environment. They say that «hole in the wall» restaurants are the best, and many times that is true if the food is exceptionally good, but the food here was average, and the environment kind of ruined the experience for me. This restaurant feels crowded, and the booths are short and right next to each other, so I felt like my conversation with my friend could be heard by the people next to us. And the place did not look very clean. Additionally, the waitress was not sure how to process the Fresno
deal I used on this occasion; It took a while to get the check straightened out. And I think the food was a tad overpriced.
Interestingly, this restaurant is one of my friend’s favorite Mexican restaurants in Fresno, so I hate to say anything negative about it, but even he had to leave very abruptly because he started feeling anxious with all the commotion around us.
I’m not saying I would never go back, but it won’t hurt my feelings if I never do.

When we arrived the placed smelled funny. Kind of like when you mop the floor with dirty water and it stinks afterward. Our waitress seated us and talked about the taco special then she started complaining about how expenses the tacos were (2.50 each).Which I completely agreed with her. Granted if the quality and size justified it I would of been ok with the cost but these tacos where tiny and had more lettuce and cheese than meat. I orderd a chimichanga the ground beef was bland. The waitress took my cup to give me a refill. She comes back 10 min later realizing she never gave me my cup back. This was my first and only time I will come here. Bummer its right across the steet from my home.

Still the best Mexican food in the valley. Second time eating here only because it’s so far from home. The nachos are insane, enough food for three people. You get to pick two kinds of meat, beans, shredded cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. You will not leave this place hungry.

This is by far my favorite Mexican food joint. It’s not traditional, but it’s dang tasty. The enchilada and taco plate is my absolute favorite. Their chips are made fresh, and the hot salsa (not the one they bring out) is delicious. The service is always friendly and fast, they make you feel like you’re at home.

El Toro tacos are wonderful. Whatever they season them with, wonderful. Wish I knew what it was. But I’m talking ground beef only. Give me the 3 taco combo every time!
And that waitress there? I don’t know her name but man, she’s the nicest, friendliest lady. I hope El Toro stays there forever!

Bought a $ 25 groupon for $ 50 worth of food. Great food and service but we waited almost an hour for our meals. Portions were good for the combination plates but if you eat like a truck driver and have two stomachs order a full nacho! My 13 year old was not expecting a nacho pile twice the size of her head. I never take pics of my food but I just had to this time!

Ive been coming here since I was 5 years old (29 years ago). This is the same place that was on the corner of Cedar and Shields. Not much has changed from what I remember
The staff are friendly. The booths are really comfortable. The food is made relelatively quick and still tastes great. The wait on refils is minimal. Im happy to eat here. I have NO reason to NOT come back.

Fresno County Health Department says it all

While having lunch today, I found a roach crawling on my blouse!!! OMG… that’s pretty bad, I won’t be going back there! When I mentioned it to the cashier she apologized and said because its been so dry in the valley they have been having a problem with roaches gather by the ice machine… I happened to be sitting against the wall near the kitchen apparently the ice machine was close by… ruin my lunch to say the least…

Saddest tasting chips ever. Zero freshness.
They put cottage cheese in their guac!!! Had to send it back. It was dreadful.
Do they not believe in AC?! I had to keep my menu just to fan myself!
Not going back. Ever.

I think this place deserves an updated review. Like I previously mentioned I’ve been coming here since I was a kid so it’s a staple, but something has been bugging me every time I go now:
Cockroaches.
The last three times I have visited El Toro I have seen cockroaches crawling on the walls. I just went today and there was a baby one behind my grandfather. I think this is disgusting and if I’m seeing it every time I go they are very aware of it and not doing anything.
Even the restroom was a mess with no toilet paper and seat covers. Graffiti all over the place.
You guys need some serious sanitation fixes to get my business again especially with the amount of choices for great Mexican food in Fresno. Such a shame.

I was super disappointed. The food lacked flavor (chicken enchilada). Based on the reviews — and Unilocal seldom lets me down — I was excited to stop in here.
I had a craving for Mexican and this was close to the airport and — again — with all the great reviews, I thought I would give it a shot.
First thing I noticed was the graffiti on the awning. Not a big deal… I’ve been known to love places that have such character.
Turns out, not this place.
The staff were friendly and attentive but that’s all I can say to the positive. Regarding the food, I would have honestly rather gone to Taco Bell.

Inside is pretty cool, I got the nachos and it can feed up to 3 – 6 starving people. I could not finish these huge nachos. Guacamole and sour cream poured over them, 3 different kinds of meats. The chips and salsa they serve were also very good. service wasn’t all that, it seemed like I had to be a regular to get attention.

Solid 4-​star rating in my books. Keep in mind that I came here at around 11:30am for lunch; I was the second customer of the day (I think).
The menu is simple and to the point; there are only three short pages. Most dishes hover around $ 9-​$ 10, with lunch specials priced at a little over $ 7. El Toro Café is generous with their portions; perfect for a heavy lunch or early heavy dinner. Food was out in just a little over 10 minutes, but of course, that was because my table ordered before the other customer did. Complimentary chips and salsa are served to every table.
Chili Colorado verdict: A
The pork was tender and the sauce that it was soaking in was savory. There was plenty of pork so you’re sure to be full when you leave. The fact that the dish was hot made it even better. It’s served with rice (quite dry), refried beans, and your choice of flour or corn tortillas.
Carne Asada Taco: C–
The tacos were a bit of a disappointment. One carne asada taco costs $ 5.00, which I don’t mind if only it’s full of flavor. Sadly, I did not enjoy it as much as other reviewers did. Simply put, I thought the taco was dry, average in taste, and rather overpriced.
Service verdict: A+
The waitress for my table was welcoming and friendly! She checked on my table a number of times and was pleasant to talk to.
Overall, I like this place. The lights were a little too dim, but I enjoyed the food from here so far. From what another Unilocaler told me, there are two other branches under different names; I believe one of them is Casa Corona on the corner of Herndon and Cedar. The other branch is El Toro Tambien on Bullard if I recall correctly.