Aye! Toro Tacos & Tequila — Restaurant in Wilmington

I'd been wanting to try some birria tacos for awhile but the selections in Wilmington are few and far in between. Aye Toro Tacos and Tequila opened not too long ago and had been on my radar for some time so I stopped in for lunch the other day to try out their hyped, quesabirria taco trio.

FOOD: Quesabirria Taco Trio with consomme, avocado "whip" and a side of Spanish rice. The tacos were completely legit with Aye Toro using housemade white corn tortillas (super thin) infused with golden, blissful cheese, then packed with fresh barbacoa, cilantro, onion and more melted cheese inside. These things may have very well given me cardiac arrest at any time but it was worth it. I took bites with and without dipping them in the consomme. The consomme was well balanced and when I asked how it was made, I was informed that the drippings from the freshly-cooked meat were used as the base with more added onion, cilantro and spices, making it a perfect Mexican au jus to dip these tacos in. Excellent flavors, perfect portion size for lunch and a nice presentation made these quesabirria tacos the star. These met my expectations. The side of rice I ordered, looked great but fell short. There was so much salt in this batch of rice that I took 2 bites and set it aside. At first, I thought maybe it was the consomme I was tasting the overabundance of salt in, but quickly realized it was the rice. In my opinion, it was not edible. SCORE: 3.9 STARS!!

SERVICE: When I walked in to be seated, I waiting very little time to be seated. Since I was the only one dining in, I asked if I could just sit at the bar and enjoy my meal. They accommodated and guided me to the corner section of the bar where I was greeted promptly. After placing my order, my food arrived about 12 mins afterward. Service was friendly, prompt and done with smiles. I also had the pleasure of meeting Pedro, GM of this location, and chatted with him about the place and the food for about 10 mins. When Pedro asked me how everything was, I asked for him to come in a little closer to give my feedback without alerting all other dining patrons to our conversation. I outlined everything listed above, and pointed out that the rice was way too salty. After re-stating the question back to me "So the rice is a little salty" and me replying "yes", he stated he would end up going in the back to try a bite himself and thanked me for the honest feedback. I made the suggestion that I had a little time left and to feel free to go in the back and try a bite for himself, while I was still seated. He did just that, came back and was nodding his head in an up-and-down manner. He acknowledged that he thought it was over-salted, too, and would get that fixed. With all this being said, my server and Pedro both noticed I barely touched my rice; I was not offered any substitution for the rice nor was I offered the option of having that $4 charge removed from my bill. I didn't ask, but as a dining, paying customer...I shouldn't have to ask if the staff is on their game, being intuitive and caring enough. Aside from me paying $4 for a side that was inedible and not being offered anything to help remedy that, the service was good. SCORE: 3.3 STARS!!

OVERALL SCORE: Fantastic quesabirria tacos with consomme! Friendly, sociable service with a smile. Clean atmosphere, decor reminiscent of a fancy Mexican cantina and adequate space. My only suggestion to the leadership team and staff of Aye Toro? If you're noticing that your customers are not eating something delivered to them and they tell you it's not edible.....don't make them pay for that, especially if you tasted it yourselves and agree with the customer!! It was a menu charge of $4, that cost you maybe 50 cents to make. Service must be on a pinnacle level in today's dog-eat-dog world of restaurants and cuisine and if this is happening often, I promise you...customers will go somewhere else. And bc of this decision, I tipped only 10% since the other 10% went toward the terrible rice dish. SCORE:...

Management team was very rude. The staff were being mistreated They made the wait staff pay for a miss order because of confusion. The manager on duty has a very bad attitude and he deserves to be fired. Managers should approach with kindness and consideration. He has lack of public relations. I say to people eating their don't because he and the others need to learn how to be a decent person. He thinks he is above anyone type attitude. I will not return to this establishment. I have gone a few times before and witnessed that same manager mos treating his wait staff. I do not know his name but he was on duty today around noon at the independence mall location on January 7,2023. We will not go back. I didn't even get out the parking lot of the mall before I threw up my food so now I am wondering if I have food poison. I puked up everything I had just eaten from there. The food really wasnt that good. I'll be going to Baja grill from now on. Where there is better service and better food. They also are dog friendly unlike Aye!Toro. They are not dog friendly. Matter fact u catch attitudes from there. Also made to buy those little dipping bowls because the dog drank water out of it. So can't y'all wash it. Never in my life. A dog's mouth is cleaner than a humans mouth. I have been in many establishments where they let my dog eat off normal plates drink out of soup bowls they serve soup in but not there u will be made to pay 10.00 for a bowl that cost them ,50 . I say to people don't patronize an establishment like that. As far as the manager on this day goes he needs...

So we were in the mood for Mexican food while at the beach and came across this place. We were in the town for the start of the week so went on a Monday night around 8:50 pm-9:00 pm. Upon entering we were immediately impressed by the mural and decor of the restaurant. Everything was bold, vibrant. The light fixtures and even riffle door handles, and long horns above door. It's in the details. We were greeted within 10-15 seconds and asked " Booth or Bar" we selected booth. The restaurant did not have any patrons at the time but didn't stop us. We were asked our drink order, and both chips " very good/not salty like most places " and salsa were both brought out. We were deciding on our order and the waiter was super helpful in explaining menu items. We also tried the Queso with the chips and it was a win for sure! Our food came out within 10 minutes of placing the order and everything was fresh and hot! We loved the marinated chicken in both Toro Burrito and ACP! All and all the experience was a 4/5 star! Would definitely go back. If you in the Wilmington, NC area and you're looking for dope Mexican Spot! Aye,Toro...