El Toreo
| Address: | 6617 Thirlane Rd NW, Roanoke, VA 24019, USA |
| Phone: | +1 540-265-9116 |
| Site: | eltoreoroanoke.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–8PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
A
A Private User
This was one of the worse experiences of my life! The manager Migael Zaragoza was a Bully! I am newer to the area and trying to figure out the directions here, so I rely on my GPS, I put in the El Toreo on 3790 Peters Creek Road, which was on the coupon I got sent in the mail and the GPS took me to this"restaurant" instead which is actually on Peters Creek, just has the address on Thirlane which we didnt realize. We brought in the coupon for buy one entree and get one free up to $7.99 and showed it to our waiter and left it on our table. We ordered our meal which was 2 taco salads and waited and waited and waited and finally after almost an hour we finally got them, we still dont understand why it took so long when the "restaurant" was almost empty with most of their staff sitting in the next booth talking. After eating our salads we went to pay and right away the "Manager" Migael Zaragoza aka the Bully said he wouldnt accept our coupon because they were not a "no smoking" restaurant and when I said that it wasnt right, that I showed the coupon and he should honor it he said he wouldnt and was extremely intimidating and actually picked up the phone theatening to call the police on my 2 young daughters and myself and caused my daughters to cry, I paid him the money and wrote down his name! I had went there before and used a similar coupon before and never was told any difference. I will never go to this restaurant or any of the others in this chain again. I will go to Abuelos or Alejandros, but never here again. I have never been treated so horribly before!!! So Beware of the Bully, Migael Zaragoza. If anyone knows the owner of this establishment, they should be notified and this Migael Zaragoza should be fired!!!!!!!!
KE
Kenny Barrett
Ok so the reviews show pretty good but I find it different. First off the service just down right sucks. Zero personality here. I sat at the bar and ordered some beers and food. Bar tender and all the staff that walked by just had no desire to be there. Manager came to bar and asked if everything was ok but clearly was not excited to ask me this question. Im a huge Mexican fan so heres the skinny Chips/Salsa- 3.5 Star ( Its a real plus when I walk into a mexican place and they give me a carafe of salsa which this place did.) Service- 2 Star Entree- 3 star, I ordered a platter with taquitos, rice, chips smothered in ground beef/cheese, and a tamale. The taquitos were over cooked and dry. I think they were just reheated and plated. Food came out pretty quick for a Saturday night. Drinks- I dont always drink dos equis but when I do its at a mexican joint that doesnt have authentic mexican beer on draft. Good prices though $4.00 22oz beers on saturdays 4-8pm. Dont get me started on the pre made margaritas I watched poured several times. I wouldnt drink a pre made margarita. Decor- 4 star Average mexican joint Bathroom cleanliness- N/A didnt venture that way Restaurant cleanliness from the view at the bar ( Usually a chance to see how much stuff they missed cleaning)- 4 star Not to bad Overall far stretch from a 4.1 Star location as previously voted.
A
A Private User
As a Mexican American I did not enjoy this food at all. The typical colorful Mexican decor and ambiance will immediately draw you to this restaurant, however, you will quickly realize that the food is a little overpriced and low quality. The food lacked a lot seasonings and spices standard to most traditional Mexican food...making the food some what bland. In addition to this, I was charged extra for asking for more tortillas and salsa than I was initially given. Not a big deal but, that is something that should be explained to you upfront not once the bill is given. Most Mexican restaurants do not charge you for chips, salsa, tortillas and if they do, they should tell you upfront...kind of like getting no free refills on soft drinks. Being one of a few Mexican restaurants in Roanoke it is understandable that a lot of people will be attracted to this restaurant. I will not go back because not only was the food not so great but, niether was the service. When I asked the restaurant manager Miguel about the additional charges he got very defensive (used foul language) and proceeded to explain how Mexican restaurants in America normally work...as if I werent a Mexican from Cali. Miguel is a puto and so is the restaurant.
SA
Sarah May
The food was very dry. Over heated it had bubbles likes it was over microwaved. I ordered a Chilli Relinos and Im not joking you it was like a piece of the pepper not stuffed. After getting the correct Chilli Relinos it was covered with some kind of enchilada sauce and very small. It was stuffed with little cheese and some kind of boiled meat with no tasete. The service was wonderful more then accommodating an nice. The problem was the food was awful. I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. When French fries was the best tasting thing out of the variety of food we ordered. This was beyond tru authentic Mexican meal. I just returned from Mexico in December. This by far was the worst authentic Mexican food I have ever eaten.The food was ready before I could finish a cigarette. However to me it looked all pre cooked,and overly microwaved. But the staff had no problem with accommodation to our ordee. I guess maybe there idea of a Chilli Relinos is different then ours. But they did try to correct this, quickly with bringing out 2 peppers stuffed with some kind of very bland untasteful boiled beef. With a serious Lake of taste. Out Rice was so dry, it reminded me of rice from a package.
KA
Kaylee Stembokas
We stopped here on our way home from Northern VA to NC. It was right after the lunch rush had let out and we had a horrible experience. We stood up front waiting for our table for 3-5 minutes before we were greeted. We got to our table and they brought out chips, salsa, and some other unidentifiable dip that tasted like watered down ranch with sugar in it (gross). After they brought our menus and chips they didnt come back for our drink/lunch order for at least 10 minutes. Finally we get our drinks and every single glass was filthy. Mine in particular had a fresh lipstick stain on the side. Then we order guac and quest and he brings a bowl of guac and a bowl of sour cream. To top it all off- when they brought our food I asked for a roll of silverware which took them about 7 minutes to bring back. Food was gross. Restaurant was gross.
NA
Nate N
We just moved into town and were drawn in by the lights of the Thirlane location. Firstly we didnt care much for the food (2/5) mostly because of the overcooked low quality meat [recall cafeteria sloppy joes]. The spicing/seasoning [mostly the lack thereof] was also not inspiring. I would agree that the food had been significantly americanized. The ambience and service were both quite nice. Our daughter loved the lighted palm tree and the interior was bright, clean and cheery. $34 for 2 adults and a child. Ive read that this chain is a fave so perhaps we were just in on an off night. I may try again at another location, but likely not soon.
