Address: | 4080 W Broadway Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55422, USA |
Phone: | +1 763-537-6822 |
Site: | toromn.com |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 10AM–11PM 10AM–10:30PM 10AM–10:30PM |
KA
Kathryn Rhinehart
El Toro Mexican Restaurant - I use the terms "Mexican" and "Restaurant" very loosely here. We arrived at the geriatric time of 4:30 pm and were seated immediately. Unfortunately (but to my husbands delight) we were seated directly beneath a heater spewing out 420 degree heat at a volcanic level. I immediately started to sweat. We had received a BOGO coupon in the mail, and since we were 0 for 1 finding a good Mexican Restaurant in Minnesota, we decided to try it. After removing most of my clothing, I ordered a Raspberry Margarita and Phil ordered a Pepsi. The drinks came right away (score one for El Toro), however, the bartender seemed to have forgotten the tequila in my beverage, and I had to try Phils Pepsi because he thought they had added the tequila to his (turns out it had too much fountain and not enough fizz). I asked our waitress to remedy this situation, she was pleasant and took the drink away, but not before getting our request for a tad more salsa. When Taylor (our waitress) returned (sans salsa and margarita), I ordered the Shrimp Fajitas, and Phil ordered the Beef Chimis. The food came very fast, it was delivered by a gentleman who dropped it and ran. We sat there looking at the delicious looking food for FIVE full minutes before we were able to get someones attention that there was no flatware on our table. We received our flatware and began to eat (10 minutes since the drink request) - looking around the restaurant, no Taylor...anywhere...we ate our dinner, Phil said his Chimis were delish, mine, however, lacked a very important ingredient - FLAVOR. As we dined, I sipped from his flat Pepsi, and still no Taylor the waitress. We finished our meal, and the person who delivered it, took our plates away. Still no Taylor. After another 5 minutes, Taylor appeared and asked us how everything was going...she then realized that she had forgotten my Margarita and the salsa...I told her not to bother. She then brought us the salsa we requested at the beginning of the meal. She asked if we wanted dessert, we asked for the check. When she brought the check, she said, "I went ahead and took off the margarita" (did she expect me to thank her???). Anyway, with our BOGO coupon, the meal came to about $16 - not too bad considering the food sucked (for me anyway), and the service sucked even worse. Being the nice guy Phil is, he still tipped her 10% (thats 10% more than I would have left)... Anyway, our quest for a quality Mexican restaurant continues.
CR
Crystal T
First off, I must say that I am a regular visitor of the El Toro, El Loro, and El Azteca restaurants. I most frequently have dined at El Toro, but El Azteca is by far superior in both portion size and taste. But this is beside the point . . . . I dined here yesterday evening (Friday). It was very busy, but there seemed to be enough servers. We were virtually ignored most of the time, and having run out of beverages about 5 minutes into the meal I was nearly dying. Our request for more chips was also ignored until I snagged a busser about 10 minutes before we left. To say the least, I did not leave a tip, which is very rare. What really irritates me greatly is that we ordered a parillada (a huge meat platter for two). We got about half of what we should have for $28. We got 1/2 of a very small and thin chicken breast, a few thin strips of beef, our usual amount of shrimp, a pathetic maybe 2 oz portion of pork carnita, and maybe 1/4 cup of chorizo. This was enough for 1 person. We usually have enough food to take home, but we had nothing left. Everything tasted bland, bland, bland. And the tomatoes/lettuce other vegetables tasted old. Another couple behind us ordered what the waiter said was "the same thing in a different dish" when we asked. It looked huge, like twice the size compared to ours. I was very mad. Its ridiculous that one would order a meal for two, only get enough meat for one, and then be expected to pay $28. But there was no point in trying to get anyones attention since we were being ignored anyway. When the girl up front asked us how things were when paying, didnt even bother explaining why I said "OK". The last time I was at El Toro, which was about a month ago, we got a "fried" ice cream that was rock-hard and told the cashier and she said something to the effect of, "Oh well, at least you got it free with the coupon, right?" Seriously? The customer service is crap here now and the food has really gone downhill. I will not be dining here again. EVER.
MI
Michael Davis
Being in the customer service industry myself, the first thing ANY customer should hear when there is a problem is....SORRY. Not its all there or youre wrong. Had the little girl who answered the phone tried to be helpful I wouldve let it go. When the manager got on the phone he immediately went on the defensive and exclaimed that he had packed all of our $50 to go order himself and it was all there. After a less than polite argument from him about how they dont make such mistakes, he offered to "take down our name for the next visit" NOPE, too late! In todays market, you get one chance for my money and if you try to rectify a problem or at the very least say youre sorry, I might give you another chance but after going out of the way by 5 miles to try this joint and having to drive back and pick up the rest of our order without so much as a thank you for your business, we wont go back. Id recommend El Loro in Crystal, they at least seem to appreciate our visits and the ability to operate a business in America!
A
A Private User
My wife and I found this place and had eaten there a number of times because it was close to home. I will admit that since they moved to the new the restaurant is much "nicer" but the service seemed to drop off. The service quality varied, we would get really good service one visit and then horrible on others. We like the more authentic Mexican food, and for the most part it was good. The big problem we have and why we will never go back is on our last visit there we both came down with all the painful, uncomfortable, disgusting symptoms of food poisoning. The only food that we both had eaten that day the was from the same source was from here. As for my ratings I had to say "Dislike" on the food and value, if youd spent a night like we did, well Im sure youd be doing the same; The Service, I will say the service got worse once they moved and we had some bad visits;
AN
Andi Gordon
This is always my go to place when Im craving some good Mexican food and a Pacifico. Its fairly priced (though the prices have gone up recently) and very good. As an added bonus, its not far from my house. Walking distance even! I always end up sticking with the Chipotle Burrito every time. Its big enough that I always have left overs for lunch the next day! They give you free chips and salsa when you arrive, which is nice when you have hungry kids to keep them distracted. On the topic of kids, this is a great place to go if you have them. Its usually loud enough in there and very casual, so you dont feel out of place or rude if you bring them. The staff is VERY friendly as well. I recommend El Toro!