El Toro

We have been to the El Toro on Broadway but it is not there anymore. My man and his family have frequented this location but it was my first time. Very Mexican atmosphere. Service was good and their chips are nice and light. Most of the table ordered Pollo/​Camarones Alla Crema, which they loved. I had the Enchiladas with mole sauce, I chose pork which I probably would not order again… maybe with chicken would be better? The pork was a little dry, I was expecting carnitas but it was not… Anyway, all in all this is a very popular restaurant in the area and very delicious!

I moved away a few years ago. I came for a visit and wanted to eat at my favorite Mexican joint. I was so disappointed to see they changed their chips and watered down their salsa. They had very delicious thin chips, they now have very hard thick chips that don’t complement their watered down salsa that used to be extremely good. So sad and disappointing.

a little pricier than I’m used to, but sooo gooood. So much flavor! The tamale was eh, but the chicken enchilada made up for it. I really liked their margaritas too

Enjoyed a great meal with DOYLE at El Toros in Parkland. Thanks honey for thinking of doing this.

Ahhhh El Toro… a Lakewood institution… love this place and have been going there for years… for only the second time, have gone into the bar for happy hour. Let me say, the recent remodel on the restaurant is fabulous — updated without losing the character. The bar hasn’t been remodeled and I hope they never do — it’s got a great old school dive feel. Help yourself to bean dip, chips and salsa…$ 1. menu items… a great deal. Received great service from a blond bartender — wish I would have caught her name…
That being said, we were in there early afternoon on a Sunday and aside from one other couple and a few guys at the bar, were the only people in there… the other bartender came out and put some music on the juke box and proceeded to crank it SO LOUD we were unable to carry on a conversation — apparently it was her own personal dance party because it wasn’t a song any of us recognized. We just started laughing, because, REALLY? Our bartender came over and attempted to take our order, but, it was so loud she couldn’t hear us, we asked her to turn it down, which she gladly obliged by saying something to the other bartender and it appeared she had a remote and turned it down a little… but, just a little… accompanied with an eye roll… even though it was still at a ridiculous volume, we made the best of it and tried to carry on a conversation… for a few… because once again she cranked it back up — end of conversation… when our bartender brought our food out, she again asked her to turn it down, which she did, with another eye roll… a few minutes later, she shut it off completely. There! Take that you old fuddy-​duddies! Except we’re not fuddy-​duddies, I actually work in a bar… and for that reason, I’m not going describe this other bartender, because, I don’t want to jeopardize her job, but, hope that possibly with some guidance, she polices herself up and recognizes that without customers, you’ve got NOTHING to do and no way to make a living…

Was delicious I’ve o my been there once and don’t order to much but my burrito was good, they have an awesome happy hour I would like to go to some time! I will be back, best Mexican food I’ve had so far here in WA, nothing compared to the Mexican food back home in California! But the best I’ve had here! It was pretty dang decent!

Favorite Mexican restaurant around. I pretty much die and go to heaven every time I eat the enchiladas. Never disappointed and always well taken care of by a great staff. Always so nice and quiet as well!

The only reason it gets 2 stars is because I like the horchata here!
Came here for a quick late lunch with my daughter. The chips were stale tasting and not warm, the salsa was not very good either. My meal of taco and chalupa was hardly appetizing. Like eating Taco Bell! Beans and rice were bland and mediocre. Will only come back for horchata but no food!
Also the hostess, not our waitress, kept walking around doing laps down the aisle. It was weird and I felt watched constantly as I was eating.

Absolutely delicious family Mexican restaurant. I especially love the tacos — marinated lime chicken are my favorite, but all the varieties are quite tasty. We’ve started making a tradition of stopping here for a meal on the way home from camping at Rainier.

Ordered the machaca, arroz con pollo, and the el toro viejo. The machaca was excellent and on par with authentic dishes I have had in the past. Our server, Chelo was super attentive and very friendly! We loved her! El Toro is a good go to…

Love El Toro, I always go for the Tocino Prawns. The rest of the food had always been delicious as well.
Went to El Toro last night for the Seahawks game and the waitresses were all over the place making sure everyone was happy. My two companions ordered Super Nachos and I ordered a Combination (1 enchilada/​1 taco). The plates came out quickly, very hot, and in large quantities.
Tons of tv’s in the bar for sports games.

We was here a few weeks ago for lunch…
We ordered a burrito and a steak salad…
The salad was pretty good.,
My burrito was also good…
They have a great strawberry lemonade!
Price was great.
The waitress was friendly but we had a hard time to get her to order the food… She didn’t come around…
All in all a nice place for lunch…

Wow! These guys did an amazing job on the monster burrito I ordered. Pic below.
I ordered the supremo burrito with chicken. Comes with beans, rice, lettuce sour cream all wrapped into a beast of a burrito.
They have 5 locations all around Tacoma. Not in Tacoma but near Tacoma.
I would come back and I would definitely recommend anyone to enjoy a meal here.

El Toro is a nice local franchise restaurant.
They are just down the street from our house. We love ordering takeout and eating it at home. I wished they delivered, lol! Anyway, I like the Shrimp or Crab Chimichanga. I also like that they have two kinds of salsa, red and green. Plus they give you a lot of rice and beans plus coleslaw. Give them a try!

This place is subpar of you’ve had real authentic Mexican food! They drown everything in cheddar as if that makes it better. Not. They do not use queso, the salsas are extremely runny. Bland to taste. I’ve only eaten there once.

Had dinner with the family. We asked for a table — well we got seated next to the bar in a semi private room. Kinds looked like for the bar’s overflow. There was no one else in our sectio. We had 3 ladies, the choi lady & drink guy attending to us. Talk about service! Very attentive, our food server was friendly & helpful when it came to choosing our orders. We shared an appetizer & dinner platter. Portions are huge, so don’t order too much. Otherwise you will be taking a bunch home.

This specific location is wonderful.
I used to come here a few years ago quite frequently with some friends to grab a quick bite in between classes at PLU. The lunch specials are a great deal! At 8 – 10 dollars an entrée the food, and its quality cannot be beaten.
The two types of salsa that come with each set of chips are AMAZING! I have yet to try a better salsa verde elsewhere!
I suggest the carne asada and mushroom quesadilla or the supreme burrito with chicken.
Although I’m not able to visit this location as much as I’d like when I visit Washington, it still continues to be one of my favorite hole in the wall, authentic, and cozy Mexican restaurants.
Minus one star for location, but 4 stars for food and genuine service!
Here’s to good eats Unilocalers

I don’t know how this restaurant ever earned 4 stars. I didn’t want to give it any stars but I had no flipping choice. This is the second location both my husband and myself have been to and yet again, the visit and the service were absolutely horrible! The waitress that waited on us did not greet us but just stood at the table and stared at us until we told her we were ready to order. Then another person that brought the chips and salsa tossed them on the table like we were putting her out.
When the food finally came it was nothing special. They clearly chose quantity over quality. It tasted like they were on an EBT and WIC budget. The sauce was crap and tasted like it was fresh out of a can. The meat tasted like it was frozen and pumped full of preservatives. I would not recommend this place to anyone who is seeking descent Mexican food. AZTECA is where it’s at and always has been!

Perusing the reviews here I see that others either love this place or hate it. I’ve eaten here and was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been having a real hard time finding any mexican food in the northwest that any self-​respecting mexican would lay claim to. on a whim I went in and didn’t find the food to be as the negative reviews describe it to be. the major complaints seem to be that the food wasn’t hot enough and the service wasn’t good. IMO, if the food isn’t hot enough and you got poor service then it’s because the waiter/​/​waitress didn’t bring it out to you fast enough and let it sit after it was cooked. A poor server can ruin the entire meal from prep to service.
I found the food to be good. I liked the fact that they serve both red and green salsas with the chips and the salsa didn’t taste of vinegar. Vinegary salsa tells me they just poured this out of the corporate bottle.
I will and have gone back but at the Canyon Road location and found it to be quite acceptable. People all have their hot buttons as to what makes or breaks a place (mine is vinegar in the salsa). For some it’s all about quantity, for some it’s about service, and for some it’s about the quality of the dish. I go for the quality of the dish and the quality of the dish I was served was good. Yours may differ.

I’ve been going to El Toros in Parkland for more than a decade. Recently though the quality of the food has been slipping. Tonight was by far the worst. Ordered the usual beef fajitas. Not only was there half as much on the plate as usual the plate wasn’t sizzling or even warm. The food was edible hot. You could actually hold the handle of the iron platter and not flinch. Please El Toro get your groove back or we will have to find somewhere else to celebrate pay day.
The service was and still is excellent.