El Trocadero Mesquite Steakhouse

If you are looking for a place to eat with a cozy atmosphere, outstanding food and great service, then El Trocadero in Newhall, is the place to go. Our server made great entrée recommendations and provided impeccable service during our entire time there. We had appetizers and drinks, along with our meal and the price for our party of 4 was very reasonable. El Troc was recommended to me by a friend and I will now definitely pass a «thumbs up» recommendation on to others.

Great food! Great service! Raul and his family make you feel like a part of their family. Love this place for many reasons but the most being their avocado salad. It is a MUST try! The margaritas have no shortage of alcohol in them and the food is absolutely amazing. Happy customer and will definitely be back!

I can’t believe they charged me for that dinner. Well if you like old and soggy at a premium price go for it, but I’m out. Will never eat here again.

We sat down and it took 7 minutes to acknowledge us. Only 3 of the 30 tables are occupied so it’s not that it is busy. Prices are very high. Double of what La Cocina charges and ½ the food. Just stopped in because the train was stopped on the tracks for a long time. Will not be back.

By chance we stopped in for the first time. Overall the appearance would make you feel this will be a great experience, but think again!
Food was ok at best, prices well beyond serving sizes. Most disappointing was the slow service, which unfortunately wasn’t true if you seem to know the owner who sat a the bar and talked with the staff who participated in the practice of ignoring their guest.
Once was the last time.

My wife and I went to El Trocadeo specifically because we found that they took the 25 score card… which was 15% off total bill and we brought our family as well. When we went to use the card, they said «sorry, we don’t accept anymore because we got into a disagreement with 25 score card». I totally understand not accepting the card once it’s taken off the website, but a quality restaurant would honor the customer as this was the only reason we chose to go there tonight. So needless to say, we won’t be back. It’s the principle of the matter.

The place looked nice. The prices did not match the food. Big bucks little food. The taste was everyday. But the waitress was very nice.

Excellent food and excellent service! I had the Pozole which I usually only like the red, but they had green and it was delicious!

Walked in to this place the night of the Xmas tree lighting. Obviously knowing it was going to be busy. The hostess tells me the wait is an hour and a half. She tells me there are 6 parties ahead of us. She clearly she didn’t want anyone to wait because they had lots of empty tables waiting to be cleaned and multiple parties getting ready to leave. Less than 20 minutes later poof we had a table. They acted like they had never been that busy before and after eating I could see why! I was Incredibly disappointed with the extremely over priced margaritas and food! The only thing I could recommend is the kids carne asada plate. Everything else was marginal at best and hands down the worst margarita I’ve ever had. I would never waste my time in this place again.

Go here all the time. They are like family, warm and welcoming, great variety. The avocado salad is divine!

Just started working in the area and like Mexican food so I thought I’d give this place a try. I won’t be going back the first thing I noticed was a very unpleasant smell. The second thing was there were no customers in the place at 12:00 and none came in by the time I left at 1:00. Third was the waitress eating lunch at the counter. The food was very bland and the chicken flautas seemed a little off. There appeared to be no seasoning in the chicken, beans or rice. I gave it 2 stars for getting the food hot and in 10 min.

Went with a nice group of Santa Clarita natives to Old Town Newhall. For me, this is the only section in all of Santa Clarita that has «character» and a grounded welcoming feel unlike most of SCV which looks plastic, inorganic, & artificial with rows of cookie cutter home developments & modern soulless malls serving mostly chain restaurant dreck that masquerades as food.
El Trocadero Steak House is in the midst of the rejuvenated part of town that may date back to at least the 1920’s. There is a small patio in front for al fresco dining while inside there is a extensive bar area full of bottles of Tequila. The dining area has modular tables that can be joined or separated to accommodate varying size groups.
Some of us had arrived early rallying around the bar. I ordered the Mexican Margarita which the bar-​t told me that the difference is primarily using freshly squeezed lime juice. The lime juice component was generous so that there was a strong slightly fermented lime flavor that was a great thirst quencher on the rocks. It had a touch of medicinal bitterness & a scent of creosote that gave it a smokiness. Nice apéritif after a long traffic congested, warm ride up the I-​5 & 14.
The Totopos/​fried corn tortilla chips didn’t seem restaurant fried. Perhaps they came out of a plastic bag. There was no fried today taste of fresh oil and corn fragrance. The texture seemed machine manufactured. Their Salsa, however, was excellent. Garlicky, tomato acidic, onions, chiles, & the waiter added later that the smokiness of the salsa was not from smoked chipotle chile peppers but from the tomatoes being smoked in Mesquite. That technique was rather impressive.
The menu stressed their expertise in smoking with Mesquite wood which has assertive, oily, bitter medicinal flavours so I ordered the Quail charbroiled in Mesquite. When I asked how many that I would get, the waiter raised his hand with four fingers. In haute cuisine French & alta cucina Italian restaurants, I have had at most 2 quails although these were deboned while my four were cooked a nice light golden brown with all bones intact. There is no way I’m going to eat only with fork & knife for in-​the-​bone quail since I’m no finely skilled neurosurgeon so I ate this quail with my bare hands w/​gusto.
The quail seems to be brined & herbed flawlessly beforehand so that the meat was soft, moist, meaty, tender w/​a saltiness that emphasized the mild wildness of the quail. The Mesquite smoke was judiciously infused so that none of the harsh Mesquite taste was present. Instead, the smoking added a nice BBQ touch that upped the meatiness of the quail to perfection. I can not emphasize how much I enjoyed these four quails.
However, the rest of the meal was for the most part pedestrian. The bland frijoles de pinto lacked a fond de cuisine/​broth that would add depth to the flavor of the beans. Even a touch of Manteca would have helped although it may not be recommended by the American Heart Association. Steamed vegetables were a touch over cooked since I like it a bit al dente which is a matter of taste. The rice was cooked on the dry side which was fine, but again it lacked being cooked in a meatier broth that could have given the rice a greater richness. BTW, I paired a Negra Modelo dark beer with the quail for a palate cleanser that could stand up to the smoking.
Although I have had only one meal at ETSH, I get the impression that ordering their Mesquite smoked dishes is the way to go since I found the regular Mexican sides were rather lackluster. It is so rare encountering an expert Mesquite specialist in the Los Angeles area, short of going to Texas or New Mexico, that I would rate ONLY the excellent charbroiled Mesquite Quail a 4+ Unilocal star rating.
Would I come back to ETSH for the quail again… Hell yes! Now I have the hankering to try out their Mesquite smoked rib eye steak since this cut is meaty, fatty, with a good chaw. Now if they only had a great Grenache/​Syrah blend from the Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California del Norte to pair with the rib eye. Overall rating for now = 3+ Unilocal stars.

Mexican Margarita is to die for. Less sweet and sour and more fresh lime. It only went south when my boyfriend (who wasn’t driving) ordered his 3^rd and got the eyeroll from the bartender. Seriously.
Anyways, the chips were stale and the food mediocre. Won’t be back.

I visited this place as it was the most convenient location to get some food and a drink as there was a car show on Main Street. Unfortunately I would never return here again.
It cost $ 30 for 3 drinks. 2 of these drinks were blended strawberry margaritas which had no taste and hardly any alcohol in them. There was a waste of money.
The food is expensive and the portions are extremely small. $ 4 for a taco? $ 11 for shrimp cocktail and there was only 4 pieces of shrimp in it.
This place was extremely disappointing.

We tried it and wont go back. The food was so average, and the chairs were really unfcomfortable. The margaritas were tiny.

So we were in the neighborhood for an art walk and stumbled upon this wonderful Mexican restaurant. The carnitas are awesome and so are the drinks. I had a Bloody Mary made by two different people and both were outstanding! Come down and enjoy some great grub and drinks!

Where to start. Some people tell me this is a popular place. Haven’t the faintest idea why.
I had a chili rellano a la carte, and the albondigas soup.
Rellano: soggy, yellowy brown batter, about ¼″ thick including the batter and cheese. Covered in the plainest sauce ever. tomatoes and water. ¹⁄₅
Albondigas soup: Slightly flavorful, which is surprising since it merely consisted of two very bland meatballs in a bowl of clear broth. No additional items in there. No seasoning beyond the beef broth flavor. Any 10 year old could make this crap. ¹⁄₅
I wanted this first visit to be good, but came away very disappointed.
Service was average. ³⁄₅.
Complimentary chips and salsa ²⁄₅
Therefore it gets two stars average, but I’m being generous.

We came here after a failed attempt at mother’s day brunch/​lunch at Newhall Refinery, which had over priced wannabe gourmet burgers and pretentious food in a bar setting and a rude server. Needless to say, after having this experience at Newhall Refinery, the bar was set pretty low to impress us. lol
The service was great over at El Trocadero Mesquite Steakhouse, constant water and drink refills. The décor was a cozy mix of mid nineties southwestern wood tables and bar area, very inviting and lends itself to lounging at the table after the meal is finished to converse and enjoy the dining experience.
I loved that the cuisine was not the typical overly fried and greasy, cheese laden style that is typified by many «authentic» Mexican restaurants.
I ordered the Pork Verde burrito and it was clean, simple and very delicious. You could taste the meat and seasoning with yummy verde sauce. I hate when they load the burrito with cheese, sour cream and guac to the point that it overwhelms the dish and takes away from what you had originally wanted to taste.
The server was very flexible with substituting sides and I enjoyed a fresh mixed green salad in lieu of beans and rice. My sister and mom enjoyed their meals and had a similar positive experience.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant ~ great fresh food, reasonable pricing and lovely atmosphere!

Great location. Cool look. Should be a gold mine. BUT If your not going to change your oil in the fryer, then don’t make your own chips. Food was bland. Drinks expensive. Service was muh and we were the only people here (no exaggeration). This place should be rocking and it’s empty. Sad that La Cocina is the best Mexican in this town. Owner, please visit Schooners. Why are they packed at 2 pm on a Friday? Good service decent drinks. Visit La Cocina any day after 4pm. Why are they packed? Decent food, good drinks and Great service. 16 years in business doesn’t mean much if you haven’t kept pace or grown. Hire a professional restaurant manager and reset. Take this with love. This is our third visit. We would like to be regulars.

My idiot friend Brett dragged me here and boy was he wrong yet again. One of the worst Mexican restaurants I’ve ever been to. Service was fine and the décor was worthy of Instagram but the food was fecal Japan. Very over priced and food tasted like came from a can. Won’t be returning.