Torero's Cocina Mexicana & Cantina - Renton — Restaurant in Renton

Review of Our Dining Experience

We began our meal with a strawberry margarita, which should ideally have a balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors. I requested extra strawberry flavoring to see if it would counterbalance the liquor, and while the drink was pleasant, it did achieve the perfect balance.

For our appetizers, we ordered calamari. The presentation was delightful, featuring fried onions and jalapeños. However, there were more fried onions and jalapeños than calamari, which was disappointing considering my previous experiences with calamari portions at other restaurants.

My husband ordered the tortilla soup, which was flavorful and had a generous amount of tortilla strips. I chose nachos with carne asada, guacamole, and sour cream. Unfortunately, the nachos arrived cold, and the cheese lacked elasticity, indicating it had not been freshly melted.

To summarize my experience, I would definitely order more margaritas from the bar, as they were refreshing after a long day at work. The beans and cheese could have used a bit more salt, and while the salsa was good, the chips had a bitter taste, which might suggest that the frying oil needs to be changed.

The tortilla soup was a highlight of the meal; it was flavorful and served at just the right temperature—ideal for a chilly evening. The calamari, though tasty with the jalapeños and onions, could benefit from better portioning.

The only issue with the nachos was that they seemed to have been prepared too quickly, resulting in cold cheese and tortillas. The presentation was appealing, and I believe they would have tasted good with the guacamole and sour cream.

I hope to return to this restaurant soon to further evaluate my experience. Our server, Janet, was exceptional and exemplified excellent customer service. She attempted to address the calamari portion issue but was informed that it was considered correctly portioned by the kitchen. She took accountability for the situation and sincerely apologized for not being able to resolve it. Janet also offered to remake the nachos, but by that point, my husband was almost finished with his meal, so I declined.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review; I hope it provides...

TLDR: look at the tortilla maker machine! Asada is good here.

Caution: your plate will be hot!

Parking is street-side only unless you are shopping around and don't mind walking.

The decor is pretty neat; down to the red and green chips! Check out that windowless interior door! Fancy schmancy! While you are waiting for your meal, check out that tortilla maker machine! Appreciate their tall ceilings--this place is spacious!

Menu is laminated and has a few picture references. Otherwise the descriptions should be more than enough.

Service: wait to be seated, order at the table, chips and salsa and water will be provided at the beginning, request a box and box own leftovers, check brought to you.

Complimentary chips and salsa: these chips are super crunchy! Which is satisfying because the salsa doesn't sog them out. There will be no floppy chips here!

Ground Beef Quesadilla: regular size is six slices, small size is 3 slices. Slightly too oily (underside was soaked in orange oil) for me but the flavor is good and the cheese is nice and stretchy. The ice berg lettuce and diced tomato wasn't too impressive. Guacamole is average.

Burrito Asada: the steak bits are super satisfying. There is that gratifying meaty chew to each bite.

Overall, average food based on my first experience. Asada is going to be a reliable option for you. Maybe next time I'll try something else and give this place...

Ordered over $89 worth of food through DoorDash, food arrived and the meat on my taco salad was so salty the meal was not edible. I called to inform them of this and was told by the first person that I with that I needed to speak to a manager, someone comes on the line pretending to be the manager, and I explain the situation for a 2nd time, then the 2nd person says you need to speak to the manager, I am thinking why not give me the manager in the first place instead of pretending to be the manager. When the 2nd person finally has an exchange with the manager I was finally told that I needed to call DoorDash to receive a refund. This was fine, but their customer service is very lacking and they bordered on indifference and was very rude. They acted as if I bothered them by calling to inform them of the issue with their food and that is was not edible because of the excessive salt. My son raved about this place, but my fist experience will be my last one this this place. I do not mind paying for what I receive, but if there is a problem I would have expected a response other than the one that I received. There was never an apology for the issue and the person pretty much hung the phone up in my face after telling me that I needed to call DoorDash with indifference. If I could give zero...