Matador Cantina

This place is a solid four. Nothing too special or memorable. Service was great. Parking was easy. They seated us immediately. Bottomless mimosas are a great deal and I really liked my eggs benedict. They have good options for vegan people since my vegan friends were happy. I would definitely come back to hang out for brunch.

A friend of mine had been trying to get me to try Matador Cantina in Fullerton for a while so I finally gave it a go and took my boyfriend for his birthday dinner last night (a Friday). Walking up from the horribly small/​packed parking lot we saw they had a patio and there was no way we were sitting inside with such beautiful weather (but seriously find a structure or just über if you’re close!).
Since we had never been here before we were pretty open to suggestions and our server had great ones! She walked us through the whole menu and we eventually picked some tasty stuff. David Beckham-​YUM, drunken shrimp-​duh, blood orange marg-​dangerous, chorizo ravioli-​yaasss!!! So good!
Nikki was so sweet and attentive. It seemed like she had all outside tables herself too and it was full! The only other employee we saw all night was the ONE guy that brought out our food … props to her for workin so hard!
Overall– don’t try to park in the lot behind and if you want good food, good drinks, and a great time sit with Nikki! We’re coming back to try their brunch just because that’s when she told us she’s usually working.

Many people told me about this place, so probably my expectations were high.
The food was alright… not too much flavor on it. And the service was kinda poor.

We had about 45 mins to kill before our movie and went to grab a drink. Mary served us and she was so nice! Always positive and such a smile! We told her that we had a movie to make and she sped through our visit smoothly and sweetly. We will definitely be coming back! Our margaritas and carne asada fries were delicious!!!

Taco Tuesday has great deals and live music. The service is fast and the food is delicious. They were able to accommodate our large part of 10 with no problem. Julia is a wonderful server! We will be back soon!

Julia was a great waitress. Great personality and experience. Would definitely recommend.

Julia killed it! We had a ten top table on a taco Tuesday and it was seamless. Good food and great atmosphere, live music, lots of room, air conditioned. Servers filling waters often, they weren’t rushed and she got the tacos delivered to the right people even tho it was all on one order. Thanks Julia!

Mary the mimosa fairy is one of the best servers I have ever had. Period. Champaign flowed, the chip rack was always full, and there was great conversation. I have eaten here many times and every time my food has been fantastic. By far the best mimosas in the area. Their hand squeezed orange juice makes any champaign taste like elixer from the Gods. Definitely recommend this place for anyone who loves brunch. #brunchlife

Screw this place! Horrible horrible fuc**** security guards! Last night my boyfriend was trying to stop a fight and the securities got him down, handcuffed him and started to kick him in the face repeatedly. 5 of the security guards from this place repeatedly kicked and spit in his face… Talk about excessive force! They were very unprofessional and didn’t need to take it that far. Protocol is they should kick out people not beat the sh*t out of people. Place smelled cheesy. Drinks are ok. Music was good. It was very hot in there! Double the heat since the night temperature was 80 degrees at around 1 am I would give a 0 star rating to this place just because they don’t keep it professional and promote violence rather than keeping their customers safe. I thought securities at bars were suppose to be the mediators not the instigators…? I would never come back here because there is constantly drama. Even certain police officers said that they get calls her all the time than most bars. Ridiculous! Someone needs to step in and check their staff… I’ve heard so many bad things about the security there but never believed it until someone I love is a victim of their brutal assaults… Instead go to the continental room in Down Town Fullerton that’s a pretty cool spot

Food was great. Service, not so great. They just need to have more people on the floor. Our waitress never came by unless I called her. She was nice but service was not so great.
Highly recommend for good food. If you don’t mind waiting, then cool place.

Ok, first & foremost. Im giving this place 4 stars ONLY bc I wish they left mimosa canisters for us when ordering bottomless mimosas. (only thing I can come up w/​is they don’t bc of moochers) but that sucks for the non-​moocher peeps.
Im also giving the rest of my stars to MARY THE MIMOSA FAIRY. She changed my entire outlook on this place. I want to come back bc of her! This place is LUCKY to have such an efficient, patient, dorky mimosa fairy, such as herself. Just sayer’
However, Niki, w/​one k (she said to my party of 8 on Vday). made me never want to come back to Matador. What happened was; My boyfriend & I got sat at a two top outside on the bench & we made friends w/​the two top to our right && the four top to our left. So it did become a lil rowdy but c’mon, we’re celebrating love, mang. Dude, she practically rolled her eyes every time we asked for refills, since they were too often ignored. She had a horrible attitude for someone that works in the customer service field on the day of love! I couldn’t stand how she thought that was either the best she could do or at the very least, the service she should give out to a happy/​patient party of 8. We’re fun & nice but acting like you HATE your job wasn’t welcomed. Go home.
Anyway, Mary. I will wait for a table in your station, next time! You’re awesome! Love ya girl ;)

Went last Thursday around 4pm. They have a nice relaxed atmosphere, comfy booths to sit at. Even though all of the seats were filled our waiter arrived promptly with menus and chips & salsa. He was knowledgeable of the menu and let us know of the specials as well. Drinks came out quickly but also giving us enough time to decide on what food to order. I ordered the tacos that were on happy hour and my friend had some kind of burrito with a crispy shell inside. My tacos were on point! My friend also ordered a side of green chili sauce. That made everything even tastier. Our waiter kept his distance but was was there if we needed anything. Overall great service great food! Can’t ask for more. Awesome times are to be had here.
Thank you

I’ve been here a couple of times and usually always leave happy.
So why four stars bc on my last vist a «new» bartender that was helping my bf and I was over charging us. When I asked my bf the told he replied $ 24 for a lagunitas ipa and a mixed drink. Which in previous visits I had never paid that much for two. Considering the fact that we didn’t get large drinks. Okay second around round to be honest I forgot what we order but it was $ 19. My bf gave the bartender two $ 20 hoping to get some change back. But no our bartender just put the cash in the register and forgot about our change. I confronted him about it and told him that 1^st of all he was over charging us on our first round and 2^nd that we had gave him two $ 20 for the $ 19 transaction and that he didn’t give us our change. He apologized and said he didn’t realize the went back to the register and gave us our change. He then said he was new and was training. To be honest I feel like he was just stealing from ppl and the bar. So be careful I mean unless you’re rich and can afford to get ripped off make sure you get charged right.
Other than that this place has good music and a good vibe. 10 – 15 min wait but not bad for a good time that awaits inside.

I was visiting friends in Fullerton and we decided to walk down the street and grab something vegan friendly. Taco happy hour was mentioned so we couldn’t resist. We walked into the restaurant with a 2 hour wait. We ended up finding seating at the bar, and just ordering food there.
The bartender was nice and accommodating. We ordered a bunch of tacos and shared. We had the two vegan options (portobella & soy chorizo), fish and shrimp tacos. Everything was good! The food came out quick and we were in and out with no problem.
The taco happy hour is a great deal, definitely worth it!

Double blue label neat $ 50. *******************
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Went for cinco de mayo, terrible idea to begin with because DTF is pretty much the bottom of the barrel in terms of night life. Before the clock stuck 10pm a girl was already getting kicked out for belligerence; but I digress. We had a party of ten (had a reservation for 9:30, but our table wasn’t ready til 10 or so), very busy night obviously so the server was swamped, but at 10pm they were already out of super fries. Ok, we order two nachos, some tacos and a couple rounds of drinks.
One order of nachos arrives after 30 – 40 minutes, the server (who was nice and probably doing her best) along with tacos. Kept inquiring about the second order of nachos, every time it was «on the way» but never came. The cherry on top was when about 75% through the nachos we found a HUGE SCREW in it (see pic), at that point I was just laughing at the experience.
All in all they comp’d the nachos (along with the second order that never arrived), but overall they just couldn’t handle that volume of customers. We were going to order more food but we didn’t want to wait until last call for it to arrive so we passed. I was going to give 2 stars, but then I thought about the screw and said eff that.

My car was getting some work done nearby so my husband and I walked over to Matador Cantina for brunch. The restaurant has ample seating, and a very long, gorgeous and dimly-​lit bar. We were seated promptly at a booth and our server was Isaac. Isaac was such a sweet and sincere guy, and communicated to the chef and/​or manager that I’d asked for vegan friendly options. Isaac quickly returned and said they would make a custom veggie enchilada dish, sans cheese. It was really delicious and I really appreciate when restaurant staff understands and can accommodate my dietary needs without making me feel like I’m imposing.
Hubby had the eggs Benedict with chorizo, and potatoes with pepper jack cheese. He ate it all although he isn’t usually one to clean his plate. He said the chorizo complimented the eggs Benedict perfectly and it wasn’t too spicy.
The mimosas were good. Also, they have a fantastic selection of signature drinks, some of which are infused with jalapeño or habanero flavors, which I love! Buen provecho!

Matador is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Orange County. Hands down. Bar none. This is the place to go for solid and unique spins on Mexican classics. My wife and I love it so much we even held our rehearsal dinner here.
But enough gushing about our love for this little, dimly lit, Mexican gastropub tucked away in Fullerton. Let’s talk food. We’ve been here dozens of times and tried many items, but we keep coming back to the same two: the chile relleno and the wet burrito.
Let’s start with the chile relleno. I’m pretty sure this is the dish they’re best known for. And for good reason. It’s amazing. A perfectly cooked poblano chile that has been crisply fried with this excellent crust and stuffed to the absolute brim with cheese and chicken or short rib. Every bite is a treat. And it comes with a pyramid of rice and a hearty portion of beans. This is Mexican food done right.
Now, the wet burrito. Perfection on a plate any way you order it – and I’ve tried nearly every permutation. Filled with chicken. Check. Carne asada. Yep. Carnitas. You bet. And the sauces? I’ve sampled the trifecta of red, green, and mole. The only variant I’ve skipped is the black beans. Unless I’m at Chipotle, I prefer refried beans in my burrito. So, you’re probably wondering which one is the best. Well, there’s two. Chicken with either red or mole sauce, and carne asada with red sauce.
Will we be back? You’d better believe it.

I came here with my gf for taco tuesday. It was my first time coming for taco tuesday so I didnt really know what to expect. Usually I come here on weekends past 10 or 11 and its always packed, but on tuesdays around 9 it wasn’t bad at all.
we got seated about 15 minutes after waiting. I didnt even know they had outside seating till we got sat there.
The server was very attentive. My glass of water wasn’t even half empty and shed notice it and refill it right away, which is always a plus for me because I drink a lot of water.
I got the soyrizo tacos same as my gf and they were great. We will be stopping by for those some time soon!

Went here for brunch. Didn’t have a reservation, but it didn’t matter because we got there early and the place was pretty empty.
Their complimentary chips and salsa left a lot to be desired.
We ordered a breakfast burrito, chicken quesadilla, and an omelette. The omelette was by far the best option with the burrito being the worst. There was nothing that I could pinpoint as being wrong with it other than the fact that it felt like it was lacking flavor – it was extremely blah.
By far, the best thing we ordered were the bloody marys which were fantastic, and I normally don’t even like bloody marys. I don’t know if these are enough to bring me back, but I may eventually be willing to give them another chance.