Really great & colorful casual Mexican place on West Portal Avenue. Family owned, delicious food, attentive service. Not to miss if you're in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco
Carlos Hernandez
Great service. Food was
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Miriam Beer
Valentine nightmare, head waiter was argumentative. Entitled nepotism, food average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Jamaica G.
If you are vegan skip this place. The beans and rice both have meat. The salad has cheese on top. Literally the only dish they have is a vegan burrito and they use frozen vegetable mix (even tho they have fresh veggies that they put in the fajitas). It was the worst burrito I have ever eaten. The rice was white without any flavor. The black beans didn't have any spice to them. The vegetables tasted like they had freezer burn and were still slightly cold in the middle. Nothing else was in it. Nothing. Also the wait staff are rude about asking questions. They charge extra for menu changes, charge extra for splitting dishes, and they charge $14 for guacamole. No thank you.
Spencer L.
The worst mexican food I've had in my life so far. The tortilla chips were stale and if the red salsa was entered into a culinary contest, it would've lost to a day old jar of Tostitos from Safeway. The $18 fish tacos were super bland, coated in a soggy breading, and served on tortillas that were so stale, I probably wouldn't have noticed if they were swapped out for microwaved cardboard. Service was fine. The decor was charming. Food needs work.
W.W. ODZ
A place that claims to be very Mexican and to be honest, they discriminate against Mexicans too much. You can't go in and stand because they take you outside to wait for your orders, terrible service and the manager is rude.
Salvadorian
Nice fun place by West Portal. I sat and was brought hips and a really good salsa roja, the salsa was medium hot and had a great flavor. There was not an empty space to fill on this colorful space. I ordered the Chile Verde plate, a mouthwatering plate that came with small chunks of pork, slow cook in green chiles, garlic, cumin and tomatillo, it was a accompanied by a crisp chopped iceberg lettuce salad next to delectable order of refried beans and fluffy Spanish Rice, (Arroz Rojo) that paired perfectly with the green sauce. The flavors of this homemade meal reminded me of the original Mexican recipes that I used to eat at Los Angeles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Eddie Valadez
I was invited to El Toreador (The Bullfighter) for dinner and here is my review. The food was definitely authentic Mexican food with great sauces. Our dishes included Mole sauce, Verde sauce, and Chipotle sauce. The Mexican rice was perfectly made with tomato sauce. I particularly enjoyed the salty flavor in the rice. We ordered refried pinto beans vs black beans and we also enjoyed the creamy texture with the topping of melted cheese. I am not sure if the tortillas are freshly made but they were fine since the sauces smothered the tortillas. I would return to El Toreador in the future.Parking: West Portal parking is a challenge
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Enchilada
Laura C.
Absolutely delicious Mexican food. Quite possibly the best in the city. Highly recommend. Super cool space too.
Luis Garcia
I went to have blood drawn in the area and, wanting to celebrate, I asked the phlebotomist for food recommendations. He suggested pizza, a sandwich spot, and a Mexican place called "El Toreador." Despite the warning that it's not the best, I chose the Mexican spot. I ordered a burrito, enticed by the menu's promise of a salad in bold letters. However, when I got home, the bag was filled mostly with chips, the burrito was thin, and there was no salad. Upon calling the restaurant, they explained they don't provide salad for to-go orders, which wasn't mentioned on the menu. Frustrated, I’ve issued a chargeback for this disappointing experience.
What can I say about a restaurant that I've been going to for decades.Parking: Depends on time of day. Pay during the day, free at night. Parking always takes patience when on West Portal AveKid-friendliness: Kids will love the bright decor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Carne Asada Burrito, Carnitas Burrito, Flan Sinaloa, Fish Tacos
Hugh Do
Our go to place. Javier always take care of us. Making sure our chips and salsa always full. The place is a little small but busy.The table salsa is one of the favorites. The red sauce. It is a little spacey for my kids, so they gave them the green sauce.I had beef burritos, my family had Mexican bowl, enchiladas, beef tacos, fish tacos, empanadas chicken.Ronaldo was our server this time. He was very good and making sure food allergies.The portion was pretty good. Reason I did not finish my burritos was because had too much chips.Every time we come here, always get good service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Taco, Enchilada
Ambrose T.
This place used to be pretty good. Sad to see that things have changed. I don't mind about the price adjustments, but service was slow and there are many opportunities for improvement. We are not coming back for sure.
Jerome Romie Rome S.
Awesome Mexican food interesting atmosphere very very professional and courteous waiters
Really great & colorful casual Mexican place on West Portal Avenue. Family owned, delicious food, attentive service. Not to miss if you're in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco
Great service. Food was
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Valentine nightmare, head waiter was argumentative. Entitled nepotism, food average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
If you are vegan skip this place. The beans and rice both have meat. The salad has cheese on top. Literally the only dish they have is a vegan burrito and they use frozen vegetable mix (even tho they have fresh veggies that they put in the fajitas). It was the worst burrito I have ever eaten. The rice was white without any flavor. The black beans didn't have any spice to them. The vegetables tasted like they had freezer burn and were still slightly cold in the middle. Nothing else was in it. Nothing. Also the wait staff are rude about asking questions. They charge extra for menu changes, charge extra for splitting dishes, and they charge $14 for guacamole. No thank you.
The worst mexican food I've had in my life so far. The tortilla chips were stale and if the red salsa was entered into a culinary contest, it would've lost to a day old jar of Tostitos from Safeway. The $18 fish tacos were super bland, coated in a soggy breading, and served on tortillas that were so stale, I probably wouldn't have noticed if they were swapped out for microwaved cardboard. Service was fine. The decor was charming. Food needs work.
A place that claims to be very Mexican and to be honest, they discriminate against Mexicans too much. You can't go in and stand because they take you outside to wait for your orders, terrible service and the manager is rude.
Nice fun place by West Portal. I sat and was brought hips and a really good salsa roja, the salsa was medium hot and had a great flavor. There was not an empty space to fill on this colorful space. I ordered the Chile Verde plate, a mouthwatering plate that came with small chunks of pork, slow cook in green chiles, garlic, cumin and tomatillo, it was a accompanied by a crisp chopped iceberg lettuce salad next to delectable order of refried beans and fluffy Spanish Rice, (Arroz Rojo) that paired perfectly with the green sauce. The flavors of this homemade meal reminded me of the original Mexican recipes that I used to eat at Los Angeles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
I was invited to El Toreador (The Bullfighter) for dinner and here is my review. The food was definitely authentic Mexican food with great sauces. Our dishes included Mole sauce, Verde sauce, and Chipotle sauce. The Mexican rice was perfectly made with tomato sauce. I particularly enjoyed the salty flavor in the rice. We ordered refried pinto beans vs black beans and we also enjoyed the creamy texture with the topping of melted cheese. I am not sure if the tortillas are freshly made but they were fine since the sauces smothered the tortillas. I would return to El Toreador in the future.Parking: West Portal parking is a challenge
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Enchilada
Absolutely delicious Mexican food. Quite possibly the best in the city. Highly recommend. Super cool space too.
I went to have blood drawn in the area and, wanting to celebrate, I asked the phlebotomist for food recommendations. He suggested pizza, a sandwich spot, and a Mexican place called "El Toreador." Despite the warning that it's not the best, I chose the Mexican spot. I ordered a burrito, enticed by the menu's promise of a salad in bold letters. However, when I got home, the bag was filled mostly with chips, the burrito was thin, and there was no salad. Upon calling the restaurant, they explained they don't provide salad for to-go orders, which wasn't mentioned on the menu. Frustrated, I’ve issued a chargeback for this disappointing experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
What can I say about a restaurant that I've been going to for decades.Parking: Depends on time of day. Pay during the day, free at night. Parking always takes patience when on West Portal AveKid-friendliness: Kids will love the bright decor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Carne Asada Burrito, Carnitas Burrito, Flan Sinaloa, Fish Tacos
Our go to place. Javier always take care of us. Making sure our chips and salsa always full. The place is a little small but busy.The table salsa is one of the favorites. The red sauce. It is a little spacey for my kids, so they gave them the green sauce.I had beef burritos, my family had Mexican bowl, enchiladas, beef tacos, fish tacos, empanadas chicken.Ronaldo was our server this time. He was very good and making sure food allergies.The portion was pretty good. Reason I did not finish my burritos was because had too much chips.Every time we come here, always get good service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa, 2 Enchilada Special with Rice and Beans, Taco, Enchilada
This place used to be pretty good. Sad to see that things have changed. I don't mind about the price adjustments, but service was slow and there are many opportunities for improvement. We are not coming back for sure.
Awesome Mexican food interesting atmosphere very very professional and courteous waiters
Good food, good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5