El Torito - Monterey

Review summary

1. S

   Serena

   Baltimore

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   We went with our kids for our anniversary. Hoping for a great experience. Our waiter did not bring us chips and salsa but brought them to everyone else. We waited an hour for our food and then they brought 4 of the 5 dishes we ordered. When I asked them about the 5th dish since they didn’t realize it was missing they said in it is coming. When they brought her dish it was some grilled chicken and veggies thrown on a plate. She was definitely disappointed. We asked for waters and never received them. I was given a gift card to use and the waiter didn’t apply it because it was dropped in the restaurant. Thankfully I found it on the ground. My meal was $29 and was not worth the price. We are locals and have never eaten here before. I was disappointed with the service and food. We will sadly not be coming back or recommending this to anyone.
   

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2. C

   Chandra

   Central Coast

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Long wait despite reservation so we opted to sit at a high top in the bar. Only one bartender on NYE with no bar back so never got our drinks. Server was awful. She never checked on us or asked for things we needed. Food came out reasonably fast and was pretty good. They had no music or festivities. There is no reason to pay more for the ocean view at night because it’s dark and you can’t see the water so maybe try this place for lunch instead of dinner. It was also cold in there so lucky I had a coat to use as a blanket. The employees don’t seem happy or trained at all.
   

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3. j

   julie

   San Francisco

   47 reviews

   2.0

   47 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   To start off our server came over and got our drink order. Server failed to explain to my husband the size of his drink and my husband was kind of surprised at the large size. So some explanation of the drink might have helped. We all ordered and my son in law asked for refried beans they brought pinto which looked like pinto beans soup. My daughter requested the 3 combo dinner with two tacos and a tamale. They brought two tacos and flautas which was not what she wanted as she was sharing with her daughter and all she wanted was the tamale. I also asked for a side plate and a Caesar salad. I ordered fajitas and a side Caesar salad as well. After bringing all of our meals, we had to find out where the salads were. My husband had to get up and track someone down to get our salads. They never brought my daughters extra corn cake, but charged us for it. No one ever came back and checked on us after we got our meals. It was the worst service we’ve ever had and we’ve been going there for over 25 years. No drink refills, no checking on our food. No checking on our needs. Very disappointed. And to top it off for seven people they charged us the 20% gratuity That they didn’t earn or deserve. A tip a gratuity means thanking someone for their service. The service was terrible. My son is in food service and I get how servers live on their tips, but they should also earn them. top it off. The whole restaurant was so humid. There was steam all over the inside of the windows. There was no air circulation, and it felt horribly hot in there. The floors were all slippery, which was a huge liability. Overall, I don’t think I will ever go back there again.
   

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4. I

   Ignacio

   Central Coast

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had an amazing time, great hostess & really good food! Thank you!
   

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5. S

   Sharolyn

   San Francisco

   6 reviews

   1.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Terrible service and quality of food was nasty tamale didn't have chicken in them
   

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6. L

   Luis

   Central Coast

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Restaurant is very humid!!! Floors are super slippery, not safe. Food was ok but not the best.service was almost ok. Server maybe had many tables and took time to help with some special requests.she visited out table TWICE and when we got the check, surprise!!!! There is already a 20% added tip to my check which was $40.00 dollars just for 2 server visits.
   

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7. M

   Michael

   Central Coast

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   we eat her a couple of times a year Birthday. Anniversary and other occasion food is great staff are great . Views of the Ocean are beautiful
   

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8. N

   Naresh

   VIP

   San Francisco

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Amazing location, great food. Unfitting service was less than desired. Seems like servers so busy and lose track of what each table ordered. Our delicious guacamole appetizer came after we were done with our entrees. Nice dessert!
   

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9. Q

   Quentin

   Salt Lake City

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on 26 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   While the food was good for Mexican food the service was great. We had 8 people so we knew it would take some time. The guacamole was the only big disappointment it had very little flavor and came out with very little guacamole for the price.
   

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10. J

    John

    Central Coast

    5 reviews

    4.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on 26 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 1

    We had to ask for new chips as our first batch some were soft.the music was way to loud and not even Xmas music on Xmas day.the food is always consistent here(very good).
    

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