El Toro Restaurant — Restaurant in Winchendon

took my wife out for a rare night out without the kids. We were excited to get out for a change and wanted to try the newly open business in town! We drove out and went in and were told we CAN NOT be sat because it was reservation only. this was NOT advertised online when google searching the address. The building was nearly empty at the time so we were shocked to be turned away. We ended up calling in a reservation and sitting in the car for 45 minutes till our reservation was ready. We were greeted by an Old skinny woman, very rude look on her face almost as if we were bothering her. She sat us and didn't bring menus, this was foreshadowing the disaster that followed. Service was absolutely painful. I think our servers name was Brianna. She seemed very unexperienced and almost as if she was rushing us to hurry for the next reservation. Very nice, but just seemed like she was either brand new to serving or just not very good at it. We watched as she ran around confused, unorganized, and very forgetful. No personal engagement. We heard how good the F.O soup was so we decided to start the meal off with that while we waiting for our entrees. The soup was very bland, and had a weird taste. almost as if they were using a different cheese than you would normally use. For dinner we got the shrimp crab risotto and the Steak strip with mash and asparagus. The steak was very tough, heavily burnt on the outside, and seasoned poorly. The crab shrimp risotto was probably one of the worst dishes i had ever ordered. Thick doughy crabcake(couldn't find any crab meat) with rubbery over cooked shrimp. overall bland and very poorly executed. Between the poor quality food and poor service, we decided to call it a night and grab dessert elsewhere on the way home. Really hope they can figure out what they are doing. Would love to have a great eatery in town, but this place doesn't...

Disappointing Dining Experience at El Toro

El Toro does not live up to its expectations, and sadly, the negative reviews on Google are accurate. Even if the prices were halved, the experience would still fall short.

From the start, there were numerous issues. The atmosphere felt far below the standard for the menu prices. The dining room was uncomfortably hot, and there were visible signs of poor upkeep, like unfinished electric plugs and wall switch covers. It felt more like a work in progress than a refined dining space.

The food itself was a letdown. We experienced a particularly concerning issue when the kids' chicken tenders came out raw—not once, but twice. The waitress was sincerely apologetic and assured us that the kitchen had used a temp gun on the second attempt, but when we cut into the tenders, they were still undercooked. Eventually, we opted for mac and cheese, which was fine but nothing memorable.

Another member of our party ordered the prime rib special, which was average at best. One-third of the meat was a solid chunk of fat, and the dish came with eight undercooked green beans and a small portion of mashed potatoes—barely a few tablespoons.

The wait time, however, was the worst part of the experience. It took half an hour just to place our order, and then over an hour to receive our food. When we arrived, the restaurant was busy, but by the time our food finally came, only two other tables remained.

On a positive note, the drinks were good, and the staff was attentive when they made it to our table, but it was clear that the kitchen was struggling. Sending out raw chicken twice is unacceptable, especially at these prices. Unfortunately, our entire party agreed that the meal was far...

From the outside, this place didn’t seem like much, but it completely exceeded our expectations. A true hidden gem.

We’re not from the area. We were just passing through after visiting a potential school for my boyfriend’s son. But what a fantastic restaurant to stumble upon! Initially, we wanted something better than fast food, but by the end of our meal, we were completely blown away.

From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed warmly. The atmosphere at the bar caught our attention as some people were laughing and having a great time with the bartender. We opted for the dining area, where we were seated in a cozy little corner. The whole place has a charming, winter cabin feel, which I absolutely loved.

Our server was a young lady, who was sweet and knowledgeable. She recommended the wings, and my boyfriend, who’s notoriously picky about his wings, decided to give them a try. He was in love. They had a dry rub with a honey glaze. Absolutely delicious. Wish we had taken a picture, but we had no idea they’d be that good.

For our entrees, my boyfriend had the prime rib, which he enjoyed. The presentation was simple but nice. I went with the filet, following our server’s suggestion. I tried it with both chimichurri and bearnaise. They were both fantastic, but the bearnaise won me over.

We hadn’t planned on eating so much, but our server wouldn’t let us leave without trying a limoncello cake. At that point, we just thought, why not? It was worth it!

There was live music toward the end of our meal. Another pleasant surprise. Maybe starting live music a bit earlier should be a future consideration.

We’re not sure how often we’ll be in the area, but if we are, we’ll...