El Toreador Mexican Restaurant

Solid and dependable. Consistently good burritos. Cocktails a little on the weak side. Great staff. Parking can be a challenge.

It’s been a year since my previous review. Having experienced much of the Mexican food in the eastside area, I’m upping my review to 4 stars (though it would not fare so well on the California-​adjusted scale)
I’m happy to report the watery green salsa (the one not in the jar) has been modified to a more substantial red salsa with the perfect amount of heat. I’m still nervous to try the mole again, so I keep ordering the trusty fajitas. The service here (especially Eric) continues to impress as some of the most friendly in Redmond.
We are fortunate that Redmond’s downtown has a reasonably authentic Mexican restaurant. While Matador is fine for a drink and some chips/​salsa, it’s Toreador my wife and I frequent when we want to indulge in flavors similar to those we miss from our prior lives in California.
PS — The reviewer who mistook these homemade chips for «pita crisps» has evidently never eaten at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Although I’ve tasted better, it’s a crime to call these pita chips. And the beans were fine. Some people…

Really tried. Our first time here we ordered take out. While we waited the staff were yelling at each other, throwing chips, and basically ignoring the fact that customers were sitting near by waiting for their food. The food in question then was forgettable, but satisfactory. This visit we ate in. The staff was friendly, but not engaged. No one made eye contact, even when directly addressing us. The food was again alright, but nothing to rave about. Overall the lack of pride is I think the biggest detractor. Two stars.

It’s the best!
Been go there 20 plus years. All the food is good. Fast friendly service. Great prices can’t beat it!

My favorite Mexican restaurant! I’ve been coming here for about 25 years. I love their thick cut chips and the Quesadilla Ranchera.

I just moved here from Southern California and have been trying to find an authentic Mexican restaurant that has yummy food like the ones in SoCal. SO DISAPPOINTED. this restaurant has nothing close to authentic Mexican food. The chips are like crunchy pita bread. Overall the food was gross. The service was very poor. No one checked on us. The waiter was snarky. Even rude at one point! I will not be back.

I liked their thick corn tortillas, it adds a new dimension to tacos and nachos. The beans and rice weren’t very good and the chili relleno wasn’t edible

Finding out that the nearby El Matador wasn’t family-​friendly, we were recommended trying El Toreador. We asked if they had cheese-​dip, as we’re big fans, and they said yes! So we sat down in one of the (booth-​only restaurant) booths and ordered drinks. The chips came out… Fried pita crisps… No thank you. Then we asked to order some cheese dip. No cheese dip. What? So the guy we asked was wrong.
Worst part — We ordered a kids’ chicken and cheese quesadilla, and when it came out it was just a cheese quesadilla. We told our waiter who then took it away only to return one minute later with the same cheese quesadilla as before, only with a fresh pile of chicken spooned on top. Seriously?
Best part — Negra Modelo on tap.
Anyway, the service was quick and short, a bit dismissive. The food was below average for the limited near-​decent quality Mexican restaurants in the King County area.
Will NOT be returning or recommending.

A lot of vegetarian options unlike a lot of the other Mexican restaurants in Redmond. Food is pretty good but the service is great

I have very low standards for Mexican food in the Seattle metro area. As in, there are no good Mexican restaurants here. So even a relatively mediocre Mexican restaurant might merit a solid 4-​star rating on this grading curve.
Sadly, El Toreador fails to meet even this lowered bar for quality.
I ordered the Toreador and a Dos Equis, the wife ordered the Chimis and a Margarita. The Toreador consisted of a «spicy sausage» chalupa and a chicken enchilada with rice and black beans. For starters, my wife’s Margarita was nothing more than tequila mixed with sweet and sour sauce, very poorly done. The «spicy sausage» consisted of pulled pork with a little bit of paprika added. The chicken enchilada was so smothered with heavy sour cream I could barely taste anything else. The rice was from a box, the beans were from a can, the green salsa was from a jar. Very amateur. To top things off, I was sick to my stomach for about 24 hours after our visit, and had basically no appetite for anything. But gastro-​intestinal problems aside, I still would not have rated this place more than one star.
I’m amazed by the good reviews of this place. Maybe I just got it on a bad day, but I can’t in good conscience do anything but forewarn others to steer clear.

Been here multiple times and have always enjoyed it. The service has always been good, the food comes out fast and I really like their chicken mole enchiladas. Now it’s not some 5 star high end type mexican resteraunt, but it’s not trying to be. It’s just a family friendly, casual restaurant that is really good at what they do.

Sooooo this place was sub-​par Mexican for me. The service was great, the ambiance was nice, but the food was only okay. We started with queso something (can’t remember) and it was onions, peppers, and some beef or sausage with melted cheese on top. Aka not any queso I’ve ever had. It was a waste. The salsa was also super spicy and yet maintained a very tomatoey flavor. The main course wasn’t awful — I got chicken chimichangas. I thought the guac and chimis was actually pretty good, hence three stars. I think the south has spoiled me with their excellent Mexican food because I have yet to be wowed up here.

I wanted to like this, but was disappointed.

Honestly the food wasn’t bad. It was nothing spectacular and was made in a hurry but passable. The chips were not good. Basically fried pita chips and I’m not a fan. The service is definitely not friendly but he was efficient. The removal of stars goes to the place itself, though. It looks really dirty inside. Picture crushed up chips and food debris on the carpet, children wailing in high chairs and grumpy servers. Not my idea of a good dinner. I get being a waiter is rough and people can be mean, but good service would go a long way to make up for the sticky tables and food impacted carpeting.

Have good vegetarian options. Chips and salsa are very good.
They have vegetarian refried beans .very rare to see this option in other Mexican restaurants.

The food here was more like a 4.0. Standard Americanized Mexican fare but done well. But what really killed it for me was terrible service. It was 15 minutes before the server came to take the order. Didn’t check in if we needed anything. Worst part was that the place is very cramped and we were 7 of us sitting in a place for 6. When the table next to us opened up. I asked the server if we could join the table and he flatly refused. Saying — oh I might get 4 more more customers. This when it was already 7:30 on Sunday and atleast 4 more tables for 4 people each were open. Totally ridiculous. It was so ugly that I nearly walked out right there and then if it hadn’t been that it was last evening here for my in laws who were visiting us from abroad.
Actually, when I think of it — it was just one server (the tall Caucasian guy) who ruined our evening. Rest of the staff were very helpful. In Fact, one of the other staff members actually came and gave us the extra table overlooking her idiotic colleague.

The staff was very nice and our food came out quickly. It’s not the most delicious Mexican food, but it’s pretty good. My only problem is I have found hair in my food TWICE. Each separate times. Gross!!!
If there was no hair in my food it would get a 4

This place is pretty good! Above average family Mexican place. Great location. Friendly service. Awesome chips and tortillas. I was impressed with the kids menu — the make your own burrito plate was great. I tried the tacos asada which were excellent. Affordable prices. Would definitely go back!

I have been here for lunch twice now and must say it stands out for me as one of the better Mexican restaurants that my lunch crew goes to in the Redmond-​Kirkland area. The first thing you notice is the service. Within 20 seconds you are sat down and have chips and salsa on the table. The salsa that they bring with the chips is great and there is a separate container of warmed salsa that is already on the table that you can pour into a dish that has more of a tomato base.
We both got the steak fajitas today which always seems to be a good gauge of a Mexican Restaurant’s food. It was a large portion and the sauce that it sizzled in almost tasted like there was Worcestershire sauce mixed in with the Mexican seasonings. I thought it was very tasty and unique.
The food is good, the service is excellent, and the only negative I can see is that there is limited parking on the street, however both times we went we did find a spot less than a block away. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a uniquely tasty Mexican lunch.

Being from Vancouver, whenever I take a drive down to the Seattle area I always try to visit a good Authentic Mexican restaurant since there isn’t much to choose from in Vancouver (some may even say there’s none other than a handful of good taquerias). This place doesn’t disappoint.
The staff is friendly and helpful. The décor has that bright Mexican restaurant energetic feel. The food? Excellent. Tasty and authentic. I like the fact that they offer up a large variety of menu items some of which you don’t find too common. That’s always a welcome if you get tired of eating the standard fare of tacos, burritos, tamales and fajitas.
Serving sizes are large so come with a big appetite or save some for lunch the next day especially if you fill up with the warm chips and salsa while you wait for the food to come out ;-)