Toro Latin Kitchen — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

We had my 60th birthday dinner at Toro on Monday the 14th. Unfortunately I would say it’s not worth going here, there are many better places in Cabo. For sure the space if very beautiful. And the staff is extremely well trained and attentive. Thomas our waiter told us the owner has 150 restaurants world wide and just signed a deal to open with every new Four Seasons. You’d think that would make for a great meal… We had 3 appetizers. The beet salad was decent, the spicy tuna was excellent and the grilled avocado was basically a peeled avocado for $40. And the breads and spread were quite good. For dinner my girlfriend had the chicken which was burned, my father had the crab and shrimp enchiladas which he said had very little of anything except filler and some crab shells. My mom had empenadas which she didn’t really care for. I had a NY strip steak which was the saltiest piece of meat I’ve ever had. It must have been soaked in brine or something. I had to send it back, it was inedible. Everyone had finished their meals by the time my unsalted steak came. It was still salty but not as bad as the first. Kind of a drag to be the only one eating on my birthday as everyone had already finished by the time my dinner arrived.

Then for dessert we ordered the la bomba. It’s ice cream and brownies and fruit and sounded great. Thomas put paper down on the table and then brought the dessert which is encased in chocolate shell to the table where he threw it down so that it breaks up into pieces. I was wearing a new $400 linen shirt I had just got, I figured it was a nice restaurant and my 60th. The strawberries went flying everywhere. On my lap and two hit my shirt. I pointed the mess out to Thomas and got no response. The dessert was really good, but seriously, why not ask the guests to move back or give them larger napkins. And after you soil someone’s shirt and pants, at least offer to pay for the dry cleaning.

I called their phone number the following day in an effort to discuss this 7 different times but no one ever answered. The next day I called and was told a manager would call me back, which still hasn’t happened. So I’m posting an unflattering review.

Ambience = A Appetizers = B- Entrees = C- Dessert = A The best I can say is this place is maybe a C+ or B- but for the price it should be much better.

But having it splashed all over me dampens the experience as does having to send back an over salted NY steak. You’d think a professional restauranteur would train his staff to handle...

El Toro in Cabo San Lucas is perfection. The food. The service. The ambiance. The fusion of Mexican, Japanese, and Peruvian may seem incongruous, but the reality and execution is a stunning success. The kitchen produces familiar comfort foods in creative and inventive presentations that are uniformly restrained and spectacular. Please, please, please do not ignore the Iberico jamon appetizer. The thin slices were a salty, rich, marbled, and savory marvel. Order it. You can thank me later. The empanadas had a crispy yet flaky exterior encasing perfectly cooked sirloin with just a pinch of cheese. The avocado crema was the ideal complimentary flavor. The chicken thighs entree was cooked on the grill and came on a bed of mashed root vegetables that left me shaking my head in astonishment and total satisfaction. The churros dessert may seem an obvious and tired choice, until you try them and wonder how the kitchen is able to make such a simple dessert a sublime joy. I can not say enough about the quality of service we were privileged to receive. Our server, Thomas, was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. The bartenders, Paco and Chapo, were absolutely top notch. We sampled several cocktails, including the best Espresso Martini I’ve ever had. In short, one of the finest dining experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy. Needless to say, we are returning for an encore this weekend before we leave Cabo. Run, don’t walk, to this...

Hate to slam such a great restaurant with this review and as you can see, I'm still giving them a three.....BUT... BEWARE.

Last Wednesday our party of four dined at this El Toro in Los Cabo San Lucas just front of the Esperanza propert. On Thursday we were all sick with severe back end "you know what". It's now 5 days later and two of us started antibiotics and one missing work today. Onset of and severity of symptoms varied.

Whether parasitic or bacterial is not certain, but its certainly not food allergies. All of us are seasoned raw fish "consumers". I've not heard from the management but they have been made aware of our health issues but haven't updated them of the duration.

Linking a restaurant to food related illness can be challenging, but... we had nothing else to eat that evening. We walked back to our villa at the Esperanza for a couple glasses of wine, a 2018 Malbec, one that we've had many times.Taste was great.

Understandably, every restaurant can have an off night but this one hit us hard. When you're paying $3000/day for a great vacation in one of the finest resorts in all of Mexico, and half the days are compromised...it sucks. No matter the reason, supplier, on site prep and refrigeration or an unsanitary staff member, ultimately it's the responsibility of the owner.

BTW, our waiter Christian...