WHAT HAPPENED? Went to this location a few months ago and had a great meal. So good that I decided to buy $200 in gift certificates. They closed to "remodel" and are now back open. The only thing the remodel did was make the food worse, service poor and chips inedible. We were delivered cold, oily chips and I asked our waitress to bring some fresh ones (we sat down at 8:30pm). She informed me that none of the chips are fresh. WHAT????. My girlfriend's tortilla bowl was also stale and oily. My burrito was cold on the inside and her meal was just so so. Good luck finding someone to refill your water, take another drink order or check on your food. I spoke to the Manager on duty who stated that they make all their chips in the morning and then serve them all day and night long. CHIPS SIT AROUND FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS OR MORE! Even Taco Bell makes fresh chips throughout the day. So, $80 later I am unhappy and wish I did not have to ever go back but I still have about $170 in gift cards. We decided we will just go there and drink a the bar because the chips, food and service all SUCK. WHAT HAPPENED?
Charles M.
Being from San Diego we did not expect that the Mexican food would be that good in Portland, but were we ever pleasantly surprised! Food was very tasty and I always rate Mexican restaurants by their chips and salsa. The chips were warm, crisp with just the perfect amount of salt. The salsa was obviously made at the restaurant and was very flavorful with just the right amount of bite! Service was prompted and attentive. Ambiance was welcoming and it wasn't to noisy. I will definitely be returning to the Matador the next time we are in Portland.
Sarai M.
Service was ok. The ambiance is was super cool. The food on the other hand was not good. We all got super sick. Let the waitress know and she said she was just gonna "keep track" of anymore reports
A Brady
Cool vibe and great Mexican food. Lots of top shelf tequila options if that's your jam. Great happy hour food also. The complimentary chips and salsa alone is worth the tripVegetarian options: Very limited vegetarian options
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Street Tacos, Enchiladas Divorciadas, Chips and Salsa Complementary
Sandy Miller
Wonderful restaurant with good food and service. The place was packed, but the service was very good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Street Tacos, Braised Carnitas
Molly Burnside
The restaurant has a cool vibe, but the food is overpriced and underwhelming.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Ana Garcia
The food here was legit!! Mexican guys are doing all the cooking. We went on a Friday for late lunch but it did take a little longer than usual. They only had 1 person taking orders and bringing your plates. Poor server but she still managed to get our order right. Crunchy tacos were really good and lots of flavor on the salsa. The portion of the nachos grande is good for 2-3 people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nachos Grande
Oliver Hardt
My favorite Wexican (white-Mexican) restaurant in Portland!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura B
I dined in at this location on Sunday 4/14 around 4pm. It was a busy day, service was extremely slow so my friend & I decided to only do drinks. Our waitress brought our check, we paid our tab and left. An employee named Blue who was not our waitress came running behind us yelling “hey you guys forgot to pay!!! You forgot to pay” out loud infront of the entire restaurant, I felt humiliated as everyone at the restaurant turned and stared at us, I told the employee Blue that we had paid our tab, I asked her to bring our waitress over so she can confirm to her that we had paid our tab , I was very upset and humiliated so I asked her to bring her manager and the waitress, she walked away, her manager Gabriel came over, I explained to him the situation, I told him his employee just humiliated me infront of the entire restaurant accusing me of walking away without paying my tab , the manager Gabriel seemed carless, he didn’t apologize for how we were treated. He looked annoyed. He came off as being very rude. All he could say is we’re really busy. Like he didn’t have time to deal with me and disscus what had just happened. That made me even more upset. I told him I feel like you’re not taking this incident serious what are you going do about it, he said what do you want me to do about it, I said I need your managers name, with a new attitude he said you can grab a card right there. I told him I would be calling the General manager and telling him about the incident that occurred. I asked him for an apology from his employee Blue, the manager Gabriel said I don’t think she wants to come over and apologize, I told him I would like an apology & my money back . So he went to grab the employee ,The employee Blue came over and said she was sorry and I was refunded. But this still dosnet fix the humiliation I faced in-front of the entire restaurant. I am a regular here, I visit this location 2-3 times a week for dinner, after todays incident I will not be coming back. Employees here need to be trained on how to deal with situations like this in the future. Because the way this was handled was not ok!
Service: 1
Liv C.
As far as chain Mexican restaurants go, Matador is definitely solid! The fish tacos are great, and the happy hour food menu has some of the best HH deals in town. I do wish they offered drink discounts during happy hour, and during my last visit my margarita was rather watery and weak, but overall Matador is a solid place to gather with friends and family. The ambience is also great, especially on nice days when they open the huge windows out onto NW 23rd!
First visit and here's what I enjoyed:1. Complimentary chips and salsa.2. Atmosphere.3. Quality of the food.4. Friendly service.What I DID NOT enjoy was the amount of ice in my house margarita (see attached pic). It has been a long time since I saw this deceptive tactic being used by a restaurant. Paying $11.50 for a watered-down margarita is not ok. I would rather pay more for an alcoholic beverage served with balance and fairness than fall victim to a tired and obvious cost-saving tactic.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Samantha Caine
If you like good Mexican food, that's the place to go. Great food, beer, and other drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alonso Bishop
When you walk into the atmosphere, the energy is welcoming and comfortable. The staff definitely match this energy to provide a great experience with a wonderful meal. If you want to spend your time and money in a place that gives you quality service with great food and drinks.....Matador.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tony Powell
The salsa that comes with the free chips is my personal favorite of any salsa, & I love south american food as much as any white man could. everything that comes after is also bound to be delicious.They play the most awesome music ever, albeit a bit loud. Everytime I ask my girlfriend if we can get matador for dinner she sneakily replies “can we ask them to turn the music down”?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Enchiladas Divorciadas
Rebecca SMITH
My son and I went there today for lunch and was a little surprised by the portions we received. We go there every couple of months when I come to visit. He had a Burrito and it was 1/2 the size it usually is, I had a chicken quesadilla that was flatter than a pancake, not sure where the chicken and cheese were at. It was good, but I expected better. Becky
WHAT HAPPENED? Went to this location a few months ago and had a great meal. So good that I decided to buy $200 in gift certificates. They closed to "remodel" and are now back open. The only thing the remodel did was make the food worse, service poor and chips inedible. We were delivered cold, oily chips and I asked our waitress to bring some fresh ones (we sat down at 8:30pm). She informed me that none of the chips are fresh. WHAT????. My girlfriend's tortilla bowl was also stale and oily. My burrito was cold on the inside and her meal was just so so. Good luck finding someone to refill your water, take another drink order or check on your food. I spoke to the Manager on duty who stated that they make all their chips in the morning and then serve them all day and night long. CHIPS SIT AROUND FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS OR MORE! Even Taco Bell makes fresh chips throughout the day. So, $80 later I am unhappy and wish I did not have to ever go back but I still have about $170 in gift cards. We decided we will just go there and drink a the bar because the chips, food and service all SUCK. WHAT HAPPENED?
Being from San Diego we did not expect that the Mexican food would be that good in Portland, but were we ever pleasantly surprised! Food was very tasty and I always rate Mexican restaurants by their chips and salsa. The chips were warm, crisp with just the perfect amount of salt. The salsa was obviously made at the restaurant and was very flavorful with just the right amount of bite! Service was prompted and attentive. Ambiance was welcoming and it wasn't to noisy. I will definitely be returning to the Matador the next time we are in Portland.
Service was ok. The ambiance is was super cool. The food on the other hand was not good. We all got super sick. Let the waitress know and she said she was just gonna "keep track" of anymore reports
Cool vibe and great Mexican food. Lots of top shelf tequila options if that's your jam. Great happy hour food also. The complimentary chips and salsa alone is worth the tripVegetarian options: Very limited vegetarian options
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Street Tacos, Enchiladas Divorciadas, Chips and Salsa Complementary
Wonderful restaurant with good food and service. The place was packed, but the service was very good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Street Tacos, Braised Carnitas
The restaurant has a cool vibe, but the food is overpriced and underwhelming.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
The food here was legit!! Mexican guys are doing all the cooking. We went on a Friday for late lunch but it did take a little longer than usual. They only had 1 person taking orders and bringing your plates. Poor server but she still managed to get our order right. Crunchy tacos were really good and lots of flavor on the salsa. The portion of the nachos grande is good for 2-3 people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nachos Grande
My favorite Wexican (white-Mexican) restaurant in Portland!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I dined in at this location on Sunday 4/14 around 4pm. It was a busy day, service was extremely slow so my friend & I decided to only do drinks. Our waitress brought our check, we paid our tab and left. An employee named Blue who was not our waitress came running behind us yelling “hey you guys forgot to pay!!! You forgot to pay” out loud infront of the entire restaurant, I felt humiliated as everyone at the restaurant turned and stared at us, I told the employee Blue that we had paid our tab, I asked her to bring our waitress over so she can confirm to her that we had paid our tab , I was very upset and humiliated so I asked her to bring her manager and the waitress, she walked away, her manager Gabriel came over, I explained to him the situation, I told him his employee just humiliated me infront of the entire restaurant accusing me of walking away without paying my tab , the manager Gabriel seemed carless, he didn’t apologize for how we were treated. He looked annoyed. He came off as being very rude. All he could say is we’re really busy. Like he didn’t have time to deal with me and disscus what had just happened. That made me even more upset. I told him I feel like you’re not taking this incident serious what are you going do about it, he said what do you want me to do about it, I said I need your managers name, with a new attitude he said you can grab a card right there. I told him I would be calling the General manager and telling him about the incident that occurred. I asked him for an apology from his employee Blue, the manager Gabriel said I don’t think she wants to come over and apologize, I told him I would like an apology & my money back . So he went to grab the employee ,The employee Blue came over and said she was sorry and I was refunded. But this still dosnet fix the humiliation I faced in-front of the entire restaurant. I am a regular here, I visit this location 2-3 times a week for dinner, after todays incident I will not be coming back. Employees here need to be trained on how to deal with situations like this in the future. Because the way this was handled was not ok!
Service: 1
As far as chain Mexican restaurants go, Matador is definitely solid! The fish tacos are great, and the happy hour food menu has some of the best HH deals in town. I do wish they offered drink discounts during happy hour, and during my last visit my margarita was rather watery and weak, but overall Matador is a solid place to gather with friends and family. The ambience is also great, especially on nice days when they open the huge windows out onto NW 23rd!
Restaurantji Recommends
First visit and here's what I enjoyed:1. Complimentary chips and salsa.2. Atmosphere.3. Quality of the food.4. Friendly service.What I DID NOT enjoy was the amount of ice in my house margarita (see attached pic). It has been a long time since I saw this deceptive tactic being used by a restaurant. Paying $11.50 for a watered-down margarita is not ok. I would rather pay more for an alcoholic beverage served with balance and fairness than fall victim to a tired and obvious cost-saving tactic.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
If you like good Mexican food, that's the place to go. Great food, beer, and other drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
When you walk into the atmosphere, the energy is welcoming and comfortable. The staff definitely match this energy to provide a great experience with a wonderful meal. If you want to spend your time and money in a place that gives you quality service with great food and drinks.....Matador.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The salsa that comes with the free chips is my personal favorite of any salsa, & I love south american food as much as any white man could. everything that comes after is also bound to be delicious.They play the most awesome music ever, albeit a bit loud. Everytime I ask my girlfriend if we can get matador for dinner she sneakily replies “can we ask them to turn the music down”?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Enchiladas Divorciadas
My son and I went there today for lunch and was a little surprised by the portions we received. We go there every couple of months when I come to visit. He had a Burrito and it was 1/2 the size it usually is, I had a chicken quesadilla that was flatter than a pancake, not sure where the chicken and cheese were at. It was good, but I expected better. Becky
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5