Valentine nightmare, head waiter was argumentative. Entitled nepotism, food average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
W.W. ODZ
A place that claims to be very Mexican and to be honest, they discriminate against Mexicans too much. You can't go in and stand because they take you outside to wait for your orders, terrible service and the manager is rude.
Salvadorian
Nice fun place by West Portal. I sat and was brought hips and a really good salsa roja, the salsa was medium hot and had a great flavor. There was not an empty space to fill on this colorful space. I ordered the Chile Verde plate, a mouthwatering plate that came with small chunks of pork, slow cook in green chiles, garlic, cumin and tomatillo, it was a accompanied by a crisp chopped iceberg lettuce salad next to delectable order of refried beans and fluffy Spanish Rice, (Arroz Rojo) that paired perfectly with the green sauce. The flavors of this homemade meal reminded me of the original Mexican recipes that I used to eat at Los Angeles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Eddie Valadez
I was invited to El Toreador (The Bullfighter) for dinner and here is my review. The food was definitely authentic Mexican food with great sauces. Our dishes included Mole sauce, Verde sauce, and Chipotle sauce. The Mexican rice was perfectly made with tomato sauce. I particularly enjoyed the salty flavor in the rice. We ordered refried pinto beans vs black beans and we also enjoyed the creamy texture with the topping of melted cheese. I am not sure if the tortillas are freshly made but they were fine since the sauces smothered the tortillas. I would return to El Toreador in the future.Parking: West Portal parking is a challenge
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Enchilada
Luis Garcia
I went to have blood drawn in the area and, wanting to celebrate, I asked the phlebotomist for food recommendations. He suggested pizza, a sandwich spot, and a Mexican place called "El Toreador." Despite the warning that it's not the best, I chose the Mexican spot. I ordered a burrito, enticed by the menu's promise of a salad in bold letters. However, when I got home, the bag was filled mostly with chips, the burrito was thin, and there was no salad. Upon calling the restaurant, they explained they don't provide salad for to-go orders, which wasn't mentioned on the menu. Frustrated, I’ve issued a chargeback for this disappointing experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Linda Humphries
What can I say about a restaurant that I've been going to for decades.Parking: Depends on time of day. Pay during the day, free at night. Parking always takes patience when on West Portal AveKid-friendliness: Kids will love the bright decor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Carne Asada Burrito, Carnitas Burrito, Flan Sinaloa, Fish Tacos
Hugh Do
Our go to place. Javier always take care of us. Making sure our chips and salsa always full. The place is a little small but busy.The table salsa is one of the favorites. The red sauce. It is a little spacey for my kids, so they gave them the green sauce.I had beef burritos, my family had Mexican bowl, enchiladas, beef tacos, fish tacos, empanadas chicken.Ronaldo was our server this time. He was very good and making sure food allergies.The portion was pretty good. Reason I did not finish my burritos was because had too much chips.Every time we come here, always get good service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Taco, Enchilada
Trevor Martin
Good food, good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lai you I Ng
Family oriented and great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paul D
This used to be our go-to Mexican in the hood. While it was never particularly authentic, it was affordable and of consistent quality, and the house made salsa is to die for. Well, the affordable part is over. Dishes that used to be $14 are now $20. That’s bad enough, but last time we went there, we were “greeted” with a brusque “anywhere you want”, no more. Then we sat outside for five minutes and nothing happened. We got up and left and may not be back. Very, very disappointing.
Delicious salsa roja with the tortilla chips.I ordered a carne asada burrito and the asada was perfectly seasoned, charred, with a slight lime flavor. The only concern was the rice and beans ratio to carne asada was too high, likely an effort to keep costs low due to the high beef cost. The price for the burrito was also insanely high priced ($18.99).Bizarre ordering process as they do not wait tables. There is a window outside, but it was closed so we walked in. The checker kept his back to us while inside when ordering. Friendly customer service for what it is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
vanessa rivera-ryan
Very Good ? I adored their Rice and Beans (which is important to me!) Ordered the 3 item plate crispy shredded beef taco, chicken enchilada, and a ground seasoned beef tostada. The chicken enchilada was a delight as was the crispy beef taco ? the tostada was what it was supposed to be but nothing extraordinary. Would go again:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
norris tran
Normally I don't think of going to taravel for Mexican food but I decided to come on a lark because I wanted to try this place that's been around for as long as I can remember. The food is filling and they give you a great value for your money which makes this a great choice if your looking for a festive atmosphere for a fun date night or just an affordable dinner in this area. I will probably come here again when I'm in the mood for a burrito and I don't want to drive all the way to the mission.
Sarav Chidambaram
My first time rhere and enjoyed it. The toasted cumi flavored salsa amd chips was fantastic.. we will be back ..
The Toreador is not bull! Sorry. I couldn't resist the joke.The Toreador has been around for what feels like ages, because it feels like I've been going there, for ages.The food is ALWAYS reliable, well cooked and plentiful. I can NEVER leave this place without feeling totally full. Price wise, the Toreador is exceptionally reasonable.
Valentine nightmare, head waiter was argumentative. Entitled nepotism, food average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
A place that claims to be very Mexican and to be honest, they discriminate against Mexicans too much. You can't go in and stand because they take you outside to wait for your orders, terrible service and the manager is rude.
Nice fun place by West Portal. I sat and was brought hips and a really good salsa roja, the salsa was medium hot and had a great flavor. There was not an empty space to fill on this colorful space. I ordered the Chile Verde plate, a mouthwatering plate that came with small chunks of pork, slow cook in green chiles, garlic, cumin and tomatillo, it was a accompanied by a crisp chopped iceberg lettuce salad next to delectable order of refried beans and fluffy Spanish Rice, (Arroz Rojo) that paired perfectly with the green sauce. The flavors of this homemade meal reminded me of the original Mexican recipes that I used to eat at Los Angeles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
I was invited to El Toreador (The Bullfighter) for dinner and here is my review. The food was definitely authentic Mexican food with great sauces. Our dishes included Mole sauce, Verde sauce, and Chipotle sauce. The Mexican rice was perfectly made with tomato sauce. I particularly enjoyed the salty flavor in the rice. We ordered refried pinto beans vs black beans and we also enjoyed the creamy texture with the topping of melted cheese. I am not sure if the tortillas are freshly made but they were fine since the sauces smothered the tortillas. I would return to El Toreador in the future.Parking: West Portal parking is a challenge
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Enchilada
I went to have blood drawn in the area and, wanting to celebrate, I asked the phlebotomist for food recommendations. He suggested pizza, a sandwich spot, and a Mexican place called "El Toreador." Despite the warning that it's not the best, I chose the Mexican spot. I ordered a burrito, enticed by the menu's promise of a salad in bold letters. However, when I got home, the bag was filled mostly with chips, the burrito was thin, and there was no salad. Upon calling the restaurant, they explained they don't provide salad for to-go orders, which wasn't mentioned on the menu. Frustrated, I’ve issued a chargeback for this disappointing experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
What can I say about a restaurant that I've been going to for decades.Parking: Depends on time of day. Pay during the day, free at night. Parking always takes patience when on West Portal AveKid-friendliness: Kids will love the bright decor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Carne Asada Burrito, Carnitas Burrito, Flan Sinaloa, Fish Tacos
Our go to place. Javier always take care of us. Making sure our chips and salsa always full. The place is a little small but busy.The table salsa is one of the favorites. The red sauce. It is a little spacey for my kids, so they gave them the green sauce.I had beef burritos, my family had Mexican bowl, enchiladas, beef tacos, fish tacos, empanadas chicken.Ronaldo was our server this time. He was very good and making sure food allergies.The portion was pretty good. Reason I did not finish my burritos was because had too much chips.Every time we come here, always get good service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Taco, Enchilada
Good food, good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Family oriented and great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This used to be our go-to Mexican in the hood. While it was never particularly authentic, it was affordable and of consistent quality, and the house made salsa is to die for. Well, the affordable part is over. Dishes that used to be $14 are now $20. That’s bad enough, but last time we went there, we were “greeted” with a brusque “anywhere you want”, no more. Then we sat outside for five minutes and nothing happened. We got up and left and may not be back. Very, very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious salsa roja with the tortilla chips.I ordered a carne asada burrito and the asada was perfectly seasoned, charred, with a slight lime flavor. The only concern was the rice and beans ratio to carne asada was too high, likely an effort to keep costs low due to the high beef cost. The price for the burrito was also insanely high priced ($18.99).Bizarre ordering process as they do not wait tables. There is a window outside, but it was closed so we walked in. The checker kept his back to us while inside when ordering. Friendly customer service for what it is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Very Good ? I adored their Rice and Beans (which is important to me!) Ordered the 3 item plate crispy shredded beef taco, chicken enchilada, and a ground seasoned beef tostada. The chicken enchilada was a delight as was the crispy beef taco ? the tostada was what it was supposed to be but nothing extraordinary. Would go again:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Normally I don't think of going to taravel for Mexican food but I decided to come on a lark because I wanted to try this place that's been around for as long as I can remember. The food is filling and they give you a great value for your money which makes this a great choice if your looking for a festive atmosphere for a fun date night or just an affordable dinner in this area. I will probably come here again when I'm in the mood for a burrito and I don't want to drive all the way to the mission.
My first time rhere and enjoyed it. The toasted cumi flavored salsa amd chips was fantastic.. we will be back ..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Nachos Picantes, Enchilada, Spinach Enchiladas
The Toreador is not bull! Sorry. I couldn't resist the joke.The Toreador has been around for what feels like ages, because it feels like I've been going there, for ages.The food is ALWAYS reliable, well cooked and plentiful. I can NEVER leave this place without feeling totally full. Price wise, the Toreador is exceptionally reasonable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5