El Matatan The Finest Fusion Of Latin Cuisine — Restaurant in Orange

We made a reservation for Mexican Mother’s Day. The restaurant had loud music playing and the set up of the restaurant is like a long hallway which made everyone’s conversations amplify. It was too loud in there and we were not offered outdoor seating, although the music is loud out there as well. We had to basically yell across the table because we could hardly hear each other, which only added to the noise. Our host/waiter took a long time to provide us with our menus, and even longer to take our order for drinks, appetizers, and dinner. We were there for over two hours, with about an hour of just waiting for our food and check to be brought. Once we got the menus, it felt like our table was overrun by papers because the menus were just printed paper and split up between food, cocktails, and wine so we all got three papers each. We ordered: the guacamole, aguas chiles, and elote bowl as appetizers. The guacamole came with two small tostadas and two additional tostadas cost $4, it was clearly not enough chips for a table of 5 to share the guacamole plate. The aguas chiles was tasty but it only came with about five shrimps, and for $18, I expected more protein. There were more cucumbers in the bowl than shrimp. The elote bowl was good but the corn could have been more charred and it could have been served with chips on the side. For dinner we ordered: rib eye steak, pollo a la braza, tacos de suadero, the chile relleno tacos, and a chicken and mushroom empanada. The empanadas were severely under seasoned and the dough felt and tasted like undercooked masa. The tortillas for the tacos were handmade but did not have enough of a char on them. The “chile relleno” tacos were honestly a joke, with just two small, cheese stuffed yellow peppers on a tortilla with sprigs of cilantro on top. That’s it, no traditional egg batter on the outside, no seasoning in the chile at least. Needless to say, they were tasteless and not enough food for dinner. The steak was very good but it did not come with the chimichurri sauce that was pictured. We also got a churro for dessert and it was very good but took along time to come out (and it was $12) which was a little much for the size. Given how loud it was, the expensive prices for the small amount of food, and the slow service, I would...

Finally got to visit this place after having it on my radar for a while and I'm glad I did because I was not disappointed. The drinks here are amazing! I really wanted to order everything on the menu! Our server/ bartender was a star of the show and made sure that he helped us find not only a drink that we would like, but constantly check up on us to make sure that our food was to our liking. Not to mention, the restaurant itself is really beautiful and its display of exotic tequilas and low light making it perfect for a date night. I got the ribeye tacos, which were absolutely amazing and a few drinks but the one that stood out the most was the Mezcal hibiscus drink that was literally on fire! The enchiladas were solid, but nothing amazing that stood out but I wasn't mad about ordering them. Also, highly recommend the churros here. They are cooked in a funnel cake style that makes them crunchy and delicious. I can definitely see myself coming back here again because of the amazing drinks and attentive staff. Come here if you want to have some of the most delicious Mezcal and tequila cocktails...

The food was UNBELIEVABLE! The prices were totally reasonable and the drinks were less expensive than most chain restaurants AND everything is made fresh including the drink syrups.

The service was an exceptional team effort and we were in awe of the ribeye tacos. We also had the ceviche and it was insanely good and fresh. In addition we had the octopus salad (so spicy!) and a churro desert that made us rethink what churros should be.

When a restaurant treats you that well and serves food that amazing, you want to tell everyone. The front entrance is directly across from Smart and Final on Katella neat Tustin.

One note to set expectations: the food is all fresh so the wait is longer than you might expect but I promise you, it is worth the wait.

They have service ranges from bar seats to 2 seaters to a banquet table that looks like it might seat 15 people.

I have no reason to promote this place other than the exceptional service and food we experienced. I suggest you try it out and see...