El Torito Grill

Our service was excellent. No wait time. Food was great. It came out quick. We’ll definitely be coming back again.

Lunch party of 5, we were seated upon entry. Sat indoors bc of the heat and it was equally busy outside.
Our server was Edwin very pleasant and professional, it took forever to get our food (so why 4 stars?) but everyone there today seemed dissatisfied with their service. The issue wasn’t the servers, that’s why we didn’t take it out on Edwin like we saw other people. They appeared to be understaffed so we were all as patient as could be. It was very inconvenient that I was on lunch break from work which typically lasts an hour (sometimes a little longer) but this lunch was 2 hr 30min. Because of the delayed service.
Now for the food, order the BBQ chicken Tostada you will NOT be sorry. I picked at the other plates and the sweet corn cake side is good, pass on the beans. My dish was my favorite and my coworkers were envious once they had a taste. So you can’t go wrong with the BBQ chicken tostada ½$ 9, full $ 12.5. Beyond satisfying meal the full can be shared.
After Edwin expressed his concerns towards our level of satisfaction he let us know he was sincerely sorry, and we really appreciated his professionalism with his hands full. The manager came out at the end of our meal and expressed that he was sorry for the delay in getting our food and all and overall the service is great delicious food.
But Beware if they’re understaffed!!! They should hire people or reevaluate how many parties per server.
Parking lot is structure large, from level one you can walk across the galleria. Validate your parking before you leave!

Came in at 7:00 on a Saturday before a movie. They were pretty busy so I’ll give them a bit of a break. But everyone was super stressed. They need to have a meeting about how to keep cool when it’s busy. I could sense the anxiety levels rising from every employee in there.
There was some confusion with which server had our table. One server took our drinks and another took our food and finished with us.
There was some kind of happy hour happening — odd that at 7 on a Saturday they had it, but they didn’t volunteer this info and it wasn’t listed anywhere on the menu but I overheard another server explain this so I asked about it. Good thing I did, the house margarita was nearly half off.
Chips were great. Very tasty. But they do not have habanero salsa or any hot sauce other than Tapatio in a bottle. If you’re gonna be a Mexican restaurant have some kind of super hot homemade salsa please. But it’s the valley. And this is a chain so I get it. Just not the place for me.
We got guacamole and their shtick is the server rolls over a cart and makes the guac at the table. The server mentioned they used to have a guacamole guy but now they don’t and the servers have to do it. Which slows everyone up and seems to frustrate the servers. They use jalapeño paste. Not fresh. Not spicy.
Guac had too much lime. Missing some other key flavors. Kill the cart and just have a chef who specializes in it make it.
Prices are quite high for the value.
I ordered chicken wings which I probably shouldn’t have because I was at a Mexican restaurant but I was in the mood.
Annnnd half way through eating them, we noticed foil baked in!
Manager came over (who was also the host?!) and took the wings off the bill. Offered to make another for us but they weren’t very good so we politely refused. Would have been nice to offer something else. But he didn’t and I didn’t want it to seem like I was just trying to get a free meal. It was pretty gross to find foil in my dish though.
Our server was «nice» but was very fake and seemed super stressed but hid it beneath her inauthentic demeanor.
They need a new manager. Someone who can place everyone at ease and who stresses the importance of keeping a relaxed environment even when it’s busy. As the host, he waved off a server who came and asked him a question with an «I don’t have time for you right now» look and wave of disgust. Great managing dude. Where’s the host?
A dining experience at a place as pricey as this is more than just about shuffling out food and drinks.

Sitting in this restaurant as I type. Totally blown away by the poor service and complete lack of hospitality beginning at the check in desk. They tried to sit is at a filthy table, we had to beg for silverware and the waiter hasn’t even hinted at eye contact once. I give up on this place. Never coming here again! Damn

First time here and what a big disappointment!
First 2 chicks at the front were either new or high! Yes high not kidding!
Second she had us sat on a dirty table which we had to ask to clean!
Third no chips no salsa they brought it until we were almost done eating (food was ok)
Fourth they gave me a wrong check! And it wasn’t even packed for them to made so many mistakes! First and last time!!!

I came on a Tuesday after the gym and it was my first taco Tuesday. In the beginning I was kinda cut off guard as the ladies for tacos outside didn’t speak English that were serving us. I felt like I should of known how taco Tuesday works living in LA my whole life lol. Our waiter was very nice and the food was good– we got the sample platter, guacamole and tacos. Drinks were good and strong. :)

I am writing this while I’m here still in the middle of brunch. wow. horrible. there was a point where all four of us threw our hands up and said «omg forget it. they’re doing nothing right»
the menu has like 5 brunch items. not sure how new this brunch is but it seems as if this is their first day preparing brunch.
asked for waters and coffee. a manager brought us waters. much later our waiter delivered a second set of waters and coffee. he brought only creamer and asked if we needed sugar. we replied yes please. 10 minutes later I had to raise my voice and ask the manager since no one had passed our table. AND WE WERE THE ONLY ONES IN THE JOINT!
we the ordered our food. it took 20 minutes to cook 4 egg dishes. and 4 out of 4 were wrong!!! I mean, that’s bad right? my husband asked for no cheese on his huevos rancheros. it was smothered in cheese and his breakfast potatoes (don’t get me started on those) they were cold. my brother and law and I had the avocado and bacon omelette with green chilaquiles. no avocado in both omelette. smh
our friend ordered the spinach and mushroom omelette and it came with NO mushroom!
They also need training on chilaquiles. we got little square chips that were super dry.
if they don’t have customers it’s because Cheesecake Factory is doing something right with their menu. lesson learned here!

0 stars if possible!!! BAD VIBES THE MOMENT I WALKED IN THE RESTAURANT. I’ve never had a worse experience at a restaurant. First of all, the wait at cheesecake was longer than El Torito Grill. So we waited to be seated and many people came in before us and were seated right away. If you look around every waiter was wandering around looking like they didn’t even know what was going on!!! We asked for a booth because there were about 8 open booths and the waiter wanted to seat us all the way in the back at a table. It seemed like a big deal to ask for a booth that was clearly available. So we wait for them to clean, sit down, and it takes like 15 minutes to bring us chips after asking for them twice! Then we finally order and the food came out cold and the cheese was frozen. My friends tortilla from her taco was literally soggy from grease and couldn’t pick it up without it falling apart. My other friends side of beans was mostly water with random corn in them? What the heck?! My salad that had grilled veggies was almost all raw veggies with 0 flavor. Our waiter was nice but the hostess was very rude. Basically, I won’t be coming here again. I usually can handle a lot of stuff and I’m super patient but the place wasn’t even crowded/​the restaurant is understaffed. Get it together peeps! This is the restaurant industry– service is #1. OH AND ALSO I asked for no cheese on my salad and of COURSE they brought it with cheese. Cherry on top. And when we left, nobody said goodbye when we past the host and manager table. PEACE out. Never again!

Couldn’t say anything better about this place. If you come, try to get Ryan as your server. He genuinely has fun and makes the experience that much better. Let’s be honest… you can get margaritas in a lot of places in the valley. They just elevate it here.

So, I know I am a few weeks behind, but hey, I’ve got things to do!
We went on Cinco de mayo (I know, that’s my first mistake), but we knew it would be a wait and decided to go anyway.
When we got their the wait was about 45 minutes, totally understandable. What was not understandable were how many employees were standing around and there were open tables! I was confused, but hey, maybe I missed something, maybe they were under– staffed?
Anyway, on to the drinks! We waited about 10 minutes before being greeted by our server but we had chips and salsa already. Yay! We ordered Cadillac margaritas… and we were just thrilled to see the shot they brought on the side was a half shot. They were also fairly watered down. The second round we ordered (because hello, it’s Cinco de Mayo) was much better and came with a real shot! Unfortunately, both were served in solo cups (I mistakenly thought I was at a restaurant, not a house party).
On to the food! My food came out cold, and no, I don’t mean not hot. I mean I had cheese enchiladas that were like a brick of cheese! When I cut them the cheese wasn’t even the slightest bit melted, i wish i had taken a picture. I’ve never in my life seen cheese enchiladas that cut like a block of cheese. Silver lining– I didn’t have to worry about the cheese oozing out?
I’ve worked in restaurants, I’ve worked in bars. I will never send food back unless it isn’t what I ordered. I know it was a busy night, but it was simply unacceptable. I would have overlooked my first margarita but then my food came and it was just terrible. Very sad seeing as there are so few vegetarian options on their menu.

Love their Gran Fajitas and sampler plates. Greasy — yes, salty — yes, but the taste is amazing. Waiters are attentive and the bussers fast too.

If I’m not wrong our waiter’s name was Edwin and he was super sweet and helpful. Couldn’t decide what I wanted and he helped me out according to a pic I had seen on Unilocal.Plus he went over everything that comes in that order which I liked about him. Overall enjoyed my time there. Really good food and tasty. Id recommend to who ever likes Mexican food. Plus the place was spotless which is a big deal, loved it!

We were frolicking along Sherman Oaks Galleria, our favorite spot BWW (Buffalo Wild Wings) was crazy busy as always and we were quite hungry.
So we settled for EL TORITO.
The place was nice.
The service was really exceptional.
Our waitress was really upbeat, pleasant, and swift.
The food however, was mediocre.
We ordered:
THE GRILL SAMPLER, STEAK FAJITA, & SHRIMP DIABLA.
None of these dishes made any impression.
Honestly, it is rather just a run of the mill food.
The price is quite outlandish you’re actually paying for the ambiance, rather than the quality of the food.
Oh and parking sucks.
Even with a validation, we still had to pay.
Any parking lot that requires you to pay despite bringing your business to the establishment, sucks. IMO.

Stopped in for happy hour after an Arclight matinée last Saturday afternoon, and after a cheap ok Margarita decided to stay for dinner. Please don’t make the same mistake.
Don’t be fooled by the nice room, the upscale menu or equally upscale pricing. This is the same shitty El Torito quality you’ve come to expect from their working-​class sibling, made even more disappointing due to a high-​end Mexican menu with enticing terms like «mesquite char — broiled» and «anchiote». The bad food is only trumped by the lousy service. Drinks went un-​refilled, food arrived barely warm — along with items we never ordered. «Mesquite char-​broiled» chicken tasted as if «char-​broiled» last week, with not a hint of «mesquite» flavor. Sauces were bland and stale.
Such a shame as I have fond (er) memories of a pretty good experience at the Brea location of ETG in the past, and the Galleria is sorely lacking in good places to eat after a movie… but this place is just another overpriced mall restaurant with food court quality food.
One star for good (for a mall) happy hour drink prices and one star for the pleasant patio. We may stop in for HH on the patio next time, but only before heading off to dine elsewhere.

Dual perspective review, wrote each of ours without influence or discussing it beforehand:
Him:
Food was wonderful, service was amazing and prompt, ordered two drinks and entrés and it all arrived within ten minutes. Our server, Savannah was wonderful and very engaging without being disruptive of my experience. ⁵⁄₅ stars (the steak soft taco was my favorite)
Her:
Had such a great experience at El torito grill! Food was amazing. Had the shrimp enchiladas and the house special and it was incredible. Our server Savannah was so fun and awesome and made our dining experience that much more special. Drinks are BIG and yummy. Can’t wait to come back on our next date night

Terrible flavorless overpriced crap
Started with GREASY flimsy chips and ended with a high price tag
We’ve been to Other el toritos. And been pleased.
This food was embarrassingly flavorless, cold and just bad.
Wait stiff fairly clueless too.
If u like real Mexican food. Go somewhere else.

While visting Cali my boyfriend and I decided to go to the Sherman Oaks Galleria. We Stopped in the El Torito Grill. Very nice décor inside.
Our Server Charissa was very friendly and helpful. She recommended the shrimp enchilida. The BEST CHOICE!!! AMAZING! Very happy we decided to come check this place out. Definitely coming back, and asking for her again.

Now I see why this place has only 3 stars, the food is really good but the service…
1-​we ordered drinks and I asked for a glass of water we were never asked if we wanted ice or not.
2– then we ordered food and for 4 people ordering separate dishes we only got 4 tortillas total, common how am I gonna eat fajita if I don’t have any tortillas? So, we had to wait for around 5minutes until the waiter showed up and we asked him for some more But the food was almost cold by the time we got the tortillas.
Good food, bad service which to me equals to bad business!
I liked this place and I hope they read the reviews to improve their business.

I’ve been here twice now and I’m surprised to see this place getting 1-​star reviews.
Was introduced to this place by family and so far, the service has been great!
The food had good flavor combinations and the portions of items we ordered was big enough that I couldn’t even finish half of my meal. I ordered the shrimp enchiladas which came with rice and some shaved corn on the side. I also ordered a watermelon margarita which wasn’t very strong but I was able to taste the tequila in it.
We also ordered the sampler which had samples of their taquitos, quesedilla, nachos, and BBQ pork ribs. All flavourful.
Their flan dessert was on the sweeter side and had a caramel flavor. That was delicious!
Since the weather was nice, we sat on the outside patio. I did not encounter any of the negative things other Unilocalers have and I hope I never do. I will definitely be coming back to try other items on their menu.

Happy Hour with a large group of friends. Sat on the outdoor patio. Very nice waitress and employees. I loved the White Sangria, sweet and delicious — just perfect. I got a steak flatbread also very good.
The Happy Hour there is one of the best. The food and drink selections are great, and a full portion.
But they will not split the check up. Our group of 16 could not get individual checks. So as the hostess, that makes the end of the meal very difficult for me, as I have to ask my friends to figure out their portion.
Its a great place for happy hour, just know that everyone will all be on one check.