El Toreo

Tacos of asada are awesome and big. Asada nachos are also amazing and big enough to share with 1 other person. Good service and good vibes

Small hole in the wall. We had cheese enchiladas and did not care for the sauce. The guacamole needed seasoning. The salsa served with chips was just ok. Rice and beans were good as well as the asada. Nothing I would recommend with all of the other delicious restaurants in Pasadena. It looked like the soups were the most popular thing, should have gone with a soup.

Horrible horrible customer service. My family and I just dined here and the service we got was horrible. Not only did she have an attitude and acted like we where bothering her but she did not treat us equal to our Caucasian counterpart which is surprising because she is Latina herself. She did not offer us drinks where as she offered them drinks as soon as they sat down. Another Latina family that was dining there asked her to use the restroom and she said it was under construction and offered her the kitchen sink to wash her hands but when the Caucasian women asked her to use the restroom she showed her the way. Never again!

The staff are very nice, but overall this restaurant is hit or miss.
We had a pretty big group, and about half of the items were microwaved, including the chile rellenos, and the carne asada tacos.
We also ordered both steak entrees, and they were both cooked well and tasted good. They also came topped with grilled onions and jalapeño peppers, which were quite tasty. In addition, the crispy tacos were also very good.
So, the message is to be careful what you order, but you do have the opportunity to get some tasty food if you choose wisely!

It was okay. Nice to have fresh salsa and chips before my order. Nice staff. The quesadilla (oddly) was dry, and the carne asada was tough. The guacamole needed salt, or even lime/​lemon. Very very small interior, so i felt i was hearing other peoples conversations.

A Mom and Pop, truly authentic Mexican place. Great service and very attentive. Had the huevos rancheros. They were delicious. The red salsa and chips where amazing. Glad to see that there’s still AUTHENTIC MEXICAN food out there. Will definitely return.

I enjoy the hole-​in-​the-​wall places for Mexican food and this was a good one! My measuring stick is to order the hard shell beef tacos and expand on the menu from there. After entering and sitting near the door, our friendly waitress Jesse, quickly delivering chips with two salsas, a tasty-​toasty green one and a tangy roasted red pepper version. I alternated back and forth green-​red, green-​red… these salsas were addicting!
Finally… I ordered the #4, beef tacos with rice and beans and began my delightful dining experience. The tacos were carefully presented on the plate surrounded by rice and beans and a light lettuce/​tomato salad. The first bite revealed a crunchy shell filled with delicious beef and topped with lettuce and cheese… and the tacos disappeared quickly! Next, I moved along to enjoy the moist, fluffy rice and the excellent refried beans (prepared without animal fat). You’d think I was done, right? No, I went back to my earlier green-​red salsa addiction!
After this wonderful taco treat, all I can say is, muy sabroso and I’ll be back!

I had lunch here with my mom and had a pleasant experience! The service was great and the food had a very «home-​made» taste and presentation. Nothing fancy or over-​the-​top, just delicious food on a plate. The only downside was that the restroom is outside in like an alley. Other than that I’d recommend this place.

We’ve been neighbors since 2007 and we’ve loved you since then. The food comes out super fast, and no one can compete with their price or service. Any time someone asks me where to go for good food I tell them «El Toreo». If you skip this spot you are definitely missing out.

Chicken in enchillada was good, but chips were stale, and the place was empty at dinner time on a Saturday night. Wait staff was very attentive and friendly. Food was meh, but not too expensive, which was nice.

Delish!

Chips are home made and fresh. Michelledas are moderate. Shrimp in the cocktail isn’t as fresh as I would have expected.

Marching to their own drummer, they brought us a salsa with cilantro, scallions, chilies and … cucumber juice? Delicious. The posters on the wall are fifty years old — Presidents of the U.S. with JFK in the most recent position? — and I take that to represent a respect for tradition. We had a gigantic tostada and a terrific cheese enchilada. Is El Toreo one of Pasadena’s best-​kept secrets?

I’ve been coming to this little hole in the wall restaurant for about 16 years since when I used to work in the area. I visit it every chance I get when I’m in Pasadena. I’ve always known the food to be tasty and sometimes even excellent. Today’s visit was no exception. I had the number 28 Machaca Con Huevos and I just loved it. The other person in my party had the chicken in mole sauce and I will tell you that is one tasty tasty sauce. The portion is huge and you definitely may not finish it. It is also served with rice, beans, tortillas, and a small salad. It is still definitely worth a return visit in the near future.

Best Mexican food in town. Very underrated and not sure why… servers are so sweet. I miss Texas a lot when I can’t find good Mexican food but this place is the bomb

Great family owned restaurant amidst the hustle and bustle metro area saturated with chains. The place is filled with awesome old pictures, posters, Mexican regalia, and complimented by a nutty looking old juke. Nothing fancy schmantzy, but that’s it’s charm.
Polite service by a lovely woman who has nicknames for her regulars and treats newbies like fam. Chips are served with a red and green salsa. Both were crazy hot, so we ordered guacamole to smooth it out. Excellent and served with shredded cheese! I’m no vegetarian, but always order a caldo de pollo, sin pollo, when I get a hankering for Mexican soup with lots of broth. Waitress gladly accommodated. Bad ass! Soup was drool worthy and served with rice, veggies, tortillas, onions, red chili peppers, and oregano. Wouldn’t have changed a thing. Also ordered two beef hard Shell tacos a la carte. Crispy, crunchy, not overdone: A+. machaca con huevos platter was also nothing to sneeze at. Good selection of Mexican and American beer, drinks, and juices.
Only downside was the restroom location: Go through the kitchen, ask for the key, walk out the back door, proceed to the second door on the right. But hey, it was clean and got the job done. Do support this little slice of authenticity when you’re in the area and have a Mexican itch that needs a good scratchin’. Orale!

Authentic Mexican cuisine. Every piece of food I tried here has been astonishing. Stellar, I would say. Cheap beer, great home-​made style Mexican food, and a nice cozy environment. Right off Colorado, this will be my go to if nothing on the strip strikes me as interesting. I know that sounds bad, but this will be my side-​piece ;D. My go-​to when the primary fails.

Food 4 stars, service 5 stars.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
When you go to a «hole in the wall» Mexican restaurant and see about 9 older Mexican people eating there, you know it’s going to be a good place. This place is pretty compact, but the booths are reasonably comfortable.
Pros:
+ The «El Toreo» combo burrito with meat, rice, beans, salsa, and a side of sour cream and guacamole, with cheese and red or green sauce baked on top, was very good. I ordered mine with shredded beef, which is not on the menu for a burrito filling but they’ll substitute it in for no charge. The portion was very good, for $ 8. It came on a piping hot plate and the cheese on top was nicely browned and crispy.
+ The guacamole was pretty good, and they do not mix in sour cream like some places do.
+ They seem to have good attention to detail. My date doesn’t eat any lactose products, and they remembered to leave all the lactose products off (cheese, sour cream, salad dressing). Most places forget at least one thing.
+ Fresh salsas (free with the chips when you sit down) were very good and memorable. The chipotle salsa was very spicy and smoky. The fresh green salsa was bright, fresh and full of fresh cilantro flavor.
+ Service was top notch. The older lady server was very attentive, and refilled our drinks immediately, also refilling chips without being asked.
Cons:
— The grilled steak had a good flavor, but a sort of pale color. I wish they would have seared/​grilled it a little more effectively.
Overall I was impressed with this place. Highly recommended for a try.

Saw the waitress recycle chips and salsa from a guest who had just left. She gave them to the next take out customer.
Very dangerous health practice. Who knows what else they do to save money.
I will never go back.

When it comes to authentic Mexican food this place has just the right amount of Ah-​ha-​ha-​ha-​hay in it for you! I’ve been here a few times and they have never disappointed. I’ve had their burrito lunch special, the menudo and my friends have also tried the enchilada plate and carne asada burritos. Everyone I know that has come here says the same thing, «I didn’t even know it was there…». It is easy to miss this little gem, but it’s just south of the Cheesecake Factory on Fair Oaks and Colorado in old town Pasadena — What! Yeah, who would have thought that you’d find killer Mexican food in old town huh?
Well, if you get a hankering for some good ol Mexican food and you’re close by, drop in and skip the expensive foo-​foo food at the cheesecake (make you overweight) factory and give you and your wallet a break. You’ll thank me for it later, I guarantee it!
Now I ain’t sayin the lady who is the waitress and cashier is the most friendly of people, but she knows her stuff and isn’t rude. She’s just busy and likes to get right to the point. It’s small and when I’ve gone in it hasn’t been too busy, but it’s not a place for you to be lally-​gagging around either. Eat and get out. Oh and enjoy the Spanish décor and music while you’re there cuz I don’t think that juke box has Beiber in it! Hahaha.
Oh and one more thing, they have beer too if you need it or like it with your meal.