El Toro Mexican Restaurant & Cantina — Restaurant in Tacoma

Oh Lort help me. Where do I begin? Clean, friendly hostess staff, middle-of-the-road price point, good food as far as Mexican American food goes.

We have visited this particular location thrice now without hiccup, until our last visit for a graduation party, thus the 4 stars. I am partly to blame as well. It began innocently enough, with me ordering for my family of 6 (they are spoiled) and placing my order last. Oddly, the 1st 6 orders (4 were the same as mine) were not questioned. Until I placed my order. And no, we were not drinking or being obnoxious. I asked for the three item special; two enchiladas, one cheese and one beef, both on flour tortilla. Our waiter stopped me right there. "So you don't want enchiladas?" I repeated my order before being told that what I really wanted was a burrito. I politely said no, I would like two enchiladas and one chiles rellenos. I was informed that in Mexico, they are not served this way and I would receive a burrito instead. I told the waiter that I had always ordered the same menu item and would simply like the corn tortilla swapped with flour, nothing more. He agreed to disagree and ordered burritos for me. He then asked if I wanted the American Rellenos or the Mexican Rellenos. By this time, I could not contain an odd mixture of irritation and a wave of uncontrollable laughter at the waiter's drilling me of my knowledge of Mexican-American food. I finally had to tell him that I love enchiladas, know what they are, make them at home, was too busy with graduation to do it on this occasion, and can I please just have enchiladas on flour with a mexican version of the chiles rellenos, if there was really a difference here. I recieved a lecture then on how they were made (Tejano/First Nations Family here) and why burritos were burritos...and I just tuned him out at that point and nodded. On the day that I take off to not slave over my stove to make Aroz con Poyo, tamales, pozole,enchiladas, street tacos, or whatever fanciful mexican dinner my husband and kids want cheffed up, I get to pay for the honor of eating pre-prepared food and argued with how it has always been served to us in this fine establishment. I shouldn't have stooped to argue, but I did, and feel like an idiot. I will visit again, but next time, I may ask for a different waiter to save my husband from being embarrassed by his silly wife and a waiter who like to argue burritos. I forgot to add, my rascal of a son inquired, to my chagrin, what the difference was between beef and chicken. This was quickly explained before the waiter came back to me and began all over the story of why my enchilada was not an enchilada but a burrito. I literally nearly passed out from laughter in my seat at that moment. Adam Sandler seriously needs this guy in his films. Quite agitating but so hilarious. Let the...

If you’re looking for a place that combines the magic of tacos with the joy of affordable margaritas, look no further than El Toro Mexican Restaurant in Tacoma! Happy hour here feels like an all-you-can-eat buffet of happiness, where the chips are endless, and the salsa is practically a dance party in your mouth.

First off, let’s talk about the drinks. The margaritas are so good, I contemplated asking the bartender if they could just IV-drip it straight into my veins. They’re strong enough to make you reconsider your life choices, like whether or not you really needed to wear pants today. And the prices? Let’s just say my wallet was doing the salsa right along with me!

Now onto the food. The tacos are like little flavor bombs that explode in your mouth—if you’ve ever wanted to experience a fiesta in your taste buds, this is it! Each bite is so packed with flavor that I’m pretty sure I heard them whispering sweet nothings to each other. And the nachos? They’re the perfect sharing size... unless you’re like me and decide to keep them all to yourself while pretending to be a generous friend.

The atmosphere is vibrant, with enough color to make a rainbow look dull. You can almost hear the mariachi band in your head, serenading your taste buds while you devour your food. Plus, the staff is so friendly, they’ll make you feel like you’re part of the family—just one that’s a little too obsessed with guacamole.

In conclusion, El Toro’s happy hour is the best excuse I’ve found to eat my weight in chips and drink margaritas like they’re going out of style. If you’re in Tacoma and craving a good time with fantastic food, grab your friends and head on over. Just remember: sharing is caring, but when it comes to the last taco, all...

Thursday night is not the night to go. I have been going to this restaurant at this location for 30+ years and I've never once had a problem.

That streak was flawless until my dinner on Thursday when everything came crashing down!

My husband and I went in for dinner - not something we normally do on Thursdays - and we were met with an all new( at least to us) all female wait staff,bartender and a different cook then what we've normally had. We were seated by a hostess as usual, and received our chips and salsa , also as usual.

Our young female waitress- very unusual- very disinterestedly asked us for our order twice before writing it down she promptly left and returned 10 minutes later with our "drinks".

My "Raspberry Margherita" was yellow- white with not a hint of red It was also tasteless.

My husband's " Mango Margherita " was also similarly pale and tasteless. After we finally were able to flag her down our waitress insisted our drinks were correct, but when we pointed out that Raspberries are red she took both drinks back to the bar. The replacement drinks were also pale and underwhelming but had some resemblance of normal.

The food also was a pale, hollow, shell of its normal self, lacking both flavor, and texture and attention to detail- the exact opposite of every other time I've been.

We half heartedly nibbled on our food before paying - after she loudly announced our bill total at the table using a credit card machine at the table - another odd first time event - and walked out.

On the way out the door we asked the hostess what happened to all of the normal faces we are used to seeing, and she replied that they had the night off.

Great Restaurant except for Thursdays. Thursdays are at...