Casa Del Toro - Cocina & Tequila — Restaurant in Hayward

I really wanted to love Casa Del Toro. When the food was good, it was WONDERFUL, but when it wasn't, it was pretty disappointing. On the higher end scale, we bought drinks, an appetizer, two mains, and a dessert to share.

The highlights: the purple potato mash and cashew slaw that accompanied the salmon were incredible. The mixed grill was delicious and smoky. The guava creme brulee was a revelation, tangy and caramely at the same time. The lowlights: for the prices, the portions were comically small, especially given how expensive they were. Our waiter even asked us how hungry we were and recommended dishes that had more substance- and we were still surprised. The bone marrow appetizer was similarly meager, and we were given a bone with practically no marrow inside! The mushrooms that came with it saved the dish, but they almost seemed like an afterthought to make the plate seem less empty. Service was incredibly slow. After being seated, it took about 30 minutes for our server to appear. Getting drinks was fast, but it took another 30 minutes for our appetizer, and once we'd ordered our entrees, we waited for another 45 minutes and watched as other tables who'd arrived after us got their food before we did. Our server was really kind and apologetic, though. I love a slow dining experience but 2 and a half hours for dinner was a little much.

Overall Casa Del Toro has a lot of opportunity for improvement. I definitely wouldn't rule out visiting again, but it won't be a go-to. Worth checking out...

This is a really unique and must visit Latin American/Mexican food establishment in the Bay Area. I was extremely impressed with the drinks, the presentation of the food, the overall appearance of the restaurant and the cleanliness, and the food. This is a must visit restaurant if you’re near Hayward and you’re looking for a brunch spot or an excellent dinner.

The cocktails here are out of this world. It’s clear that the bar is world-class and that the drinks have careful planning and great ingredients. I highly recommend the Paloma or any of the other offerings here. They also have a limited offering appears on draft or bottles if that’s your thing.

If you come here during breakfast or lunch, a brunch menu with a lot of plates, focusing around some kind of breakfast. They do have hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, but really you must try the brunch that they have here. The chilaquiles that I had with some of the best I’ve ever tried. They have eggs Benedict with short ribs, which is just amazing. I haven’t come here for dinner yet, but I can only imagine that the dinner here is just to die for.

There’s plenty of parking in the neighborhood, but it doesn’t have a dedicated parking lot that I saw. We ended up parking a block away and walking about two minutes. The service here is equally convenient and super friendly. They also have lots of outdoor seating and indoor seating and it’s got a good enough spacing. Also, wow, the bathrooms were super clean. Super impressed with everything.

Highly...

Sadly, we've had more bad service experiences than good here...not acceptable given the expense. We went early, they don't have a HH menu and they took off the menu the one appetizer that I've truly enjoyed, but we ordered appetizers, drinks and two entrees. I must clarify that the service has been exceptionally terrible in the bar area table seating. The times I've sat in the restaurant booths, the service has been better.

When my party sat in the bar area, we were served our beverages and the order was taken fairly quickly; however, they mixed up an appetizer and brought out the wrong one. We ordered the entrees with the appetizers and asked them to bring the entrees out after the appys. That was the only time service came to us without us flagging down anyone with a uniform on. From that point on we were completely forgotten. The entrees took awhile and we literally had to ask staff if they would take away the empties several times. We flagged them down to remove the empties so we had room, we flagged them down to refill water (even though we left the empty bottle at the end of the table for clear viewing), we had to flag them down to process our payment after two other tables in the same area had received their check, paid and left.

The food was just OK, definitely not worth the $$$ price tag.

I've heard the brunch is a nice surprise, but I don't think I'll recommend this place unless it's just for cocktails and one has...