El Torito Mexican Restaurant & Bar

We came with hopes of having what I remembered from years gone by as a passable Sunday brunch, boy was I sorely mistaken. What is even crazier is the number of people waiting in excess of a half an hour to partake in a really lousy dining experience.   It is evident that they are simply overwhelmed or poorly managed or both, from the hostess to servers, prep stations, et. all.  By 1:30 after the main crush this place is DIRTY,  our area was littered with tables and stands that sat uncleaned and unattended to for our entire meal. The bathroom was an equal disaster.
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The selection and the quality of the food is no bueno :(  Gone are the larger ticket items replace by a low grade taco bar with fillings  that made me ask if I was eating Iguana meat. The tortillas are hand made and fresh but that's about it.  
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-torito-mexican-restaurant-and-bar-northridge?select=OQMwbxK2QzwkF5JDYw212g#j3t3MBdjFVFpy5ivkDTQDw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
The area surrounding all of the stations were littered with food, messy and unappetizing.  I wonder if this is what Army chow looks like ?
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-torito-mexican-restaurant-and-bar-northridge?select=OQMwbxK2QzwkF5JDYw212g#OPxNyg3n3aO7RVEJgrSJsA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>

Dunno the more I think about it the harder it is to believe we actually stayed and ate one round of food, that was all we could muster.  Then add the nearly 15 minutes it took to get and settle the check.

What is clear after seeing these other reviews and how they mostly mirrored our experience. It seems  that El Toriito doesn't give a crap about customer satisfaction and won't be addressing these concerns anytime soon.  I would have preferred two fish tacos from Del Taco for just over 3 bucks and likely been happier with the service and ambiance there.

Took mom for her Bday yesterday. If you join their email club then they send you a cert for $10.99 off on any combo meal. Great deal! Our waiter was very attentive considering he was the only one in the dining area and waiting six tables, we went for a late lunch around 2. My only complaint is that he forgot it was my mom's Bday, so no Happy Birthday song...lol. It worked out fine because she hates when they sing Happy Birthday, the fried ice cream would have been nice to get though. I love the chips & salsa here and the  endless soup & Mexican Cesar salad, which for $6.99 on the lunch menu is great!

Sat at the bar.
Bartender was very rushy.

Chips and salsa good, but where are our napkins?

Water please!  Its 100+ out, hello.  And turn up AC

Food (bbq wings--so so, Adobo chicken rolls--mush, Nachos--OMG, MUSH).

Piles of finished dishes....CAN you clear them, so we can enjoy the rest of our stay, our drinks, the game?  

There were more employees than customers it appeared.

Know the difference btwn margarita mix (bulk crap), and sweet and sour Mr. bartender.

Service seemed really out of place/siync...not fluid.