Probably the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten. No, not probably.. It is!!! Â I am still gagging while choking down cereal just to keep my stomach from seizing. If I was completely wasted black out drunk I would choose Taco Bell and then stumble over to El Toro and puke it up all of over their sidewalk. It is that terrible. I've been using yelp for years and have never given any restaurant a review until today. You have been warned.
Review Source:I was torn on giving this a three star rating, because honestly, the food doesn't necessarily set it apart from a lot of other places... but there's just something about El Toro that keeps me coming back.
This is my and my best friend's go to place, and no matter how fast the food comes out (which is pretty fast) and how fast the margaritas disappear (also far, far too quickly) we never manage to leave in less than an hour and half. Every server we've had here has been fantastic and enthusiastic, and the atmosphere is perfect for just hanging out and catching up. It's loud enough that you don't feel awkward if you start loudly talking tipsy excited style, but quiet enough that you don't have to strain your vocal chords to be heard.
And as a final note... the margaritas never fail to disappoint. They've caused many an impromptu field trip down the plaza to wander the aisles of Kroger until their effects have worn off.
Pescatarian Rating: 4 Â A handful of vegetarian combos and almost a whole page of seafood ones.
El Toro is slipping. Â
The restaurant still seems clean, the atmosphere is still festive, and the servers are still enthusiastic, friendly, and competent.
But you can read my original review from a couple of years ago and see that I wasn't exactly thrilled about El Toro's food to begin with. Â It has gotten worse. Â This last time, my plate of a food was just a sodden mass of mushy dullness. Â A tamal that had the texture of spongecake and less flavor. Â A chile relleno so runny that it was almost liquified. Â Chips served at room temperature. Â Sauces that were viscous and one-dimensional. Â Salsa that, annoyingly, was more sweet than hot. Â And so on. Â
I don't know of any Mexican combo-plate/Tex-Mex restaurants around Cincinnati that are really great, but El Jinete and El Trio have raised the level of competition a bit on this side of town. Â El Toro isn't really cutting it at this point.
Hat-tip to the staff on the floor for trying to make the best of it.
Mexican food is my fave and I and my Husband Love to eat here at El Toro in hyde park plaza. I enjoy going there for lunch sometimes because there is not too many people around that time. The food is amazing and my fave to get is the taco salad. Drinks are also good, I enjoy their margaritas are the bomb.
Review Source:El Toro is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. It offers an authentic and fun atmosphere, with a well decorated and themed interior. They offer a great selection of different Mexican entrees at great prices. My favorite dish is the UC Special, a spicy chicken queso enchilada-like dish that's less than $10. El Toro offers the standard chips and salsa with your meal free-of-charge and has a fun assortment of cocktails with an array of daily drink specials. El Toro is best known for their Margarona, a giant margarita topped off with two Coronitas inside. El Toro would definitely be my first recommendation for a low-cost Mexican restrautant.
Review Source:For me El Toro is kind of like a peanut butter sandwich. Â It's not incredibly exciting, it's not really fancy, and it is by no means gourmet. Â That being said, I enjoy going there, and tend to go there more often than I go to fancier places. Â I always can find something that I enjoy and it is always good to my wallet. Â The margeritas are reasonable, especially if you bring coupons or come during their happy hour.
Review Source:So I've been here a few times and I'll say that it's about middle of the road in terms of Mexican food. It's definitely not authentic by any stretch of the imagination but the portions are decent so you will get full. In terms of size the actual restaurant is quite big with a main dining area and a bar area in the back. That being said, be ready for a wait if you come during dinner time. I'm not sure if it's a function of the servers being terribly inefficient or just a lack of ppl for the amount of customers.
In terms of food, as I said they have a great selection of combo plates so you'll definitely be able to find something that sounds interesting or you want to get. Again, nothing to get excited about but definitely not the worst either. They provide limitless chips and salsa so at least they have that going for themselves. I'll say the best part about this place is the alcohol selection. They have cheap 32 oz beers and Margaritas.
The worst thing is the service though. Aside from the blatant ignoring at times, the last time we went they just completely forgot an order so we waited an extra 15-20 min for that to come out.
At the end of the day though, you'll go there for the beer and eat the food as an aside.
El Toro is a fine example of mediocre Mexican food that some consider above average because they either haven't tried really good Tex-Mex or Mexican food. Â
I have been to Toro four times and now hold the opinion that you should order the specialties and not the combination platters. Â The specialties are what give Toro two stars. Â Avoid the combo platters.
On my recent visit, I had a combo platter and the guacamole dip. Â The combo platters are the equivalent of Taco Bell served on a plate. Â The beef tamales and burritos are filled with finely ground meat that must have been mechanically separated. Â The filling has no texture and was the same junk for both items. Â The guacamole dip is not freshly made guacamole. Â I suspected this when ordering. Â I saw no evidence of a real avocado in the dip. Â You can buy better guacamole dip at the grocery store in the refrigerated section.
The fajitas are decent. Â I hear the tilapia is as well.
The prices and atmosphere are typical for a Mexican restaurant.
Just as the rating system goes... Woohoo! As good as it gets! Â I have been frequenting El Toro for the past 8 months or so, and I have never been disappointed with the service, cleanliness, or food (I usually go once a week or so). Â The staff is extremely nice and very attentive! Â The quality of food served beats all of the other Mexican restaurants I have gone to in the Cincinnati area. Â The prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality.
Review Source:This place is right in the middle when it comes to Mexican food. Â I mean it was good. Â no problem with the food at. Â The drinks were fine as well but the problem i had was the service. Â The wait staff acted like they didn't have set tables and it was a free for all. Â once we sat down we had three different waiters ask about drinks. Â The food did get out really fast though. Â However when we were done our waiter took for ever to come by to check on us or get the bill. Â I had to ask several times for it before we got it. Â that was the only thing making it a three star from a 4 or 5 star place.
Review Source:I must say I was quite impressed by this little Mexican restaurant! El Toro's exterior is rather deceptive. Despite being located in a strip mall in Hyde Park it actually offers pretty tasty and authentic Mexican cuisine at an affordable price.
My dinning experience started with the typical chips and salsa. They were pretty tasty and the chips were still warm which is my favorite. The menu doesn't hold any real surprises. It's the typical Mexican fare.
Oddly enough  what I was exceeding pleased/surprised by were their beans and rice! I got one of the combo meals that came with an enchilada, a burrito, beans and rice. I typically find most restaurants beans and rice to be dry from sitting under a heat lamp for too long. Then there's the flavor...or lack there of. The rice typically has no flavor whatsoever and the beans can only hope to be helped by a generous heap of cheese. Not the case at El Toro! Both the beans and rice had their own unique flavors and you could tell they both had been made fresh.
Now, I do have to say that my "burrito" and "enchilada" were exactly the same thing, the only difference being the burrito was slightly larger than the enchilada. They were both tasty, just the same. I missed the enchilada sauce that typically comes with them and the burrito was so full of shredded chicken I found it to be a bit dry.
The service was great and we got our meal in a timely manner. Our waiter was funny and kept referring to my water as tequila. "Ma'am would you like another tequila?" I guess I should have prefaced that with the fact that I was only one not drinking at the table.
All and all a pleasant experience. I would honestly go back and just get beans and rice. It's not my favorite Mexican restaurant in the tri-state, but it's pretty high up there. If you are in the area and craving a fresh and cheap meal El Toro is definitely a good choice.
Only makes 2 stars because the place is clean, pleasant and the service was polite and efficient.
This is some of the worse "Mexican" food I've had anywhere. The cheese queso was too watery to stick to a chip, and flavorless. I think the filling in the tacos and burritos was TVP; if it was meat, I'm frightened to think what kind it was. I was supposed to have a chalupa on my combo plate; what I got was flavorless refried beans srved open faced on a crispy taco shell, topped with lettuce, a few shreds of cheese, and that horrifying guacamole that has a fishy aftertaste. I'd avoid this restaurant at all costs.
I met Winter M. here for a lunch meeting yesterday. We'd both heard great things about its authenticity and amazing margaritas. So, we ladies had to try it out.
Since we're both watching our waistlines we were being pretty selective on our choices. But, its Mexican, Go big or go home. So... we went big and then went home to take a nap.
Winter had one of the lunch combos with a taco and a burrito with rice and beans. I opted for an A la Carte item of 2 tacos. One chicken and one beef to mix it up. That was more than enough food for me.
The food wasn't disappointing. It was actually pretty good. Considering all I had was tacos, I don't think I can speak to its authenticity, but the chicken and the beef were both well seasoned and Winter won the clean plate award. So, obviously, her's was pretty good too.
The service was wonderful. Never had to ask for anything. They were on top of it. Parking was easy and the booths were so comfortable.
I'll definitely be back for margaritas next time. Ole!
This is a pretty decent little Mexican place in Hyde Park. I have other places I prefer, but this was pretty central to me and friends (everyone lives in Clifton, I didn't) and always a good stop for lunch or dinner.
The margaritas are okay - a bit watery and always not frozen enough for me when I got the frozen ones. I usually choose on the rocks - and there is never ever enough salt for me.
The food is okay - everything is pretty normal and nothing ever stands out to me. The queso hardens too quickly, the rice is just average, and the shrimp tacos were full of spices but not shrimp. My favorite is the fajita quesadilla - it's pretty darn good.
I have tried to get the sopapillas but they are usually out. I finally got them once and they were just okay - a little bit hard for my liking.
Overall they are getting 3 stars for being convenient and having good service.
If you take a look at my check-ins, you'll see I'm an El Rancho Grande fan. But sometimes there just isn't one around when I'm craving Mexican. So when I'm in the area I stop by El Toro.
The place is huge, as others have mentioned. This makes it look completely empty at lunch time. But I don't mind a quiet lunch, so no big deal. The service is prompt and the lunch menu had some nice surprises in addition to the usual fare. The tamales are big and well stuffed, but I'm not a fan of the beef sauce they put over top, and the meat inside is not very flavorful. The tacos and enchiladas are good choices, and the chips and salsa aren't bad, too.
The food portions are large and the prices are cheap. That means I'm a happy camper.
I really like this place for a quick Mexican dinner. The salsa is runny but has a good flavor, the chips taste homemade, and the food is good. The margaritas are GIGANTIC, even at the smallest size. The prices have been increasing since they opened, which is what holds me back from the 5th star.
The service is quick, and like most Mexican places, you get your food in about 10 minutes. The restaurant is huge, so even if you go during prime dining hours, you shouldn't have to wait for a table. Not the best Mexican food I've ever had, but definitely hits the spot when you're craving queso or fajitas.
My wife and I have  been trying to find a local Mexican restaurant close to our house in Cincinnati to replace Benny's, our neighborhood staple in Denver. El Toro Mexican Restaurant is only a mile from our new house, in fact we would have walked there if the weather wasn't bad. They are located in the large strip mall named Hyde Park Plaza, next to Ace Hardware and just around the corner from Kroger. The storefront doesn't appear very large, but the restaurant is very deep and has seating for plenty. We arrived just before 7:30 on a Wednesday to find the restaurant mostly empty.
We settled into our booth seating and noticed that all the booth tops are shaped like bull horns. El toro translates to the bull, so some care has been made in designing the restaurant. Shortly after sitting down an employee dropped off some chips and salsa and some water. The chips didn't seem very fresh but they were warm. The salsa was pretty good overall, though most of the time I prefer a salsa with more chunks in it. This was very thin, but the spice was there and the flavor was good.
Shortly after receiving the complimentary chips and salsa, our server came by to take our drink order. My wife asked if there were any specials, and fortunately one of the smaller sized margaritas was on sale. We both ordered one on the rocks with salt. When they arrived I was shocked at how large it was. According to the menu there are two sizes larger than the ones that we ordered. The taste was decent. It wasn't heavy on either sweet or sour, just middle of the road on flavor.
For dinner I went with the combination plate #1, which includes a taco, two enchiladas, and either rice or beans (I chose beans). Overall the food was not good. The taco was completely bland, and though the enchiladas were a little better due to the red sauce on top, they still were bland. The red sauce was simply not full of enough flavor, and their chicken all seemed very dry. The beans might have been my favorite part of my plate, since they actually tasted like I was expecting. For $7.99 the amount of food was good, but the taste needed a lot of work.
My wife created her own combination plate with chile poblano, burrito, and tostaguac. She almost ordered the chile relleno but when she realized it was filled with beef she switched to the poblano, which is the same thing except with cheese filling. The poblano was better than anything else on my plate, but still not very good. It too had the same red sauce on it, which really needs work. The burrito was equally as plain and boring as my enchiladas. While the tostaguac (basically guacamole on a tostada) was probably the highlight of the meal.
I always thought that it would be hard to find Mexican food that was less flavorful than Don Pablos, but I think El Toro has done it. I really doubt that we will make the effort to return anytime in the near future. Our quest for good Mexican food near our home continues.
El Toro has great food, great salsa and great management. I'm a huge mexican food fan and this place didn't disappoint. The food always comes out hot and exactly how I ordered it. My new must have is the 'RonaRita which has an inverted Corona in their classic frozen margarita! Great drink combination to complement the great food!
Review Source:Located in the Hyde Park Plaza, this little Mexican hideaway will satisfy your craving for good Mexican food! Â Their prices are moderate and the atmosphere is lively. Â There is also a cantina in the back if you're just looking for a bar-style scene. Â Parking is not an issue as it is located I a strip mall.
Review Source:Pretty cool place for grabbing some mexican food and drinks.
Pros:
1) Great atmosphere
2) Good drink specials, They have 32 oz beers and giant Margaritas
3) The servers are really friendly and professional
Cons:
1) Due to this place being busy pretty much every time I have been there the service has been kind of slow
El Toro is a fine mexican place. We came because of a Groupon Coupon. The prices are low, food is good, drinks are strong, and portions are large. The place is large and high ceilings and it was crowded. We were seated quickly. The sound level was very high because of the large room and many tables. I mean it was super loud fueled by strong drinks and a young majority young crowd.
I'll be back.
This place is hidden in Hyde Park Plaza, and is actually a huge restaurant despite its deceptive smaller store front. When I finally walked in to eat here after buying a Groupon I was pleasantly surprised at my experience. The owners and staff are sweet and friendly. The beers are huge and cheap for happy hour, as well as the margaritas. The tacos are okay, I actually recommend getting the dinner dishes here, they are very authentic, cheap, and huge servings. The guacamole is exceptional too, make sure to order it if you love avocados!
Review Source:El Toro is a great place for lunch or dinner.
The vegetable fajitas are my favorite. I always order them with no cheese or sour cream, and it always come out just the way I asked for it. Â (Anyone who makes "special requests" can understand how often this doesn't happen at many restaurants).
Take care not to fill up on the chips and salsa! Â It's so good, you might not be able to eat your meal when it comes to the table.
The service is fast and the staff is friendly.
The margarita are good, and they have happy hour discounts.
If you stop in and order take out, it takes them less than 10 minutes to bring it out.
Dinner was fabulous, but the service lacked any sort of urgency. Mind you, I was there for a birthday party - so there was about 12 to 15 of us at a table and it was already jam packed night. However, the waiter just seemed nonchalant about everything.
I recommend if you want to try it, go before 5:30pm and make a reservation!
Love this place! My boyfriend and I go here roughly once every other week.  The food is delicious and very affordable, drink are great and reasonable too. My boyfriend is really picky about his guacamole but loves El Torro's.  This place is also a good vegetarian option with a  few set vegetarian dishes and an accommodating kitchen/wait staff that is willing to modify dishes.  The majority of the waiters/front staff are fantastic; friendly, personable and attentive.  A select few waiters are a bit more quiet but still get the job done. Â
Overall, highly recommend!
El Toro is one of those deceptive restaurants where it looks like a tiny Mexican place in the middle of a strip mall, but actually opens up to be a giant room. You walk through those doors and have a, "Woah!" moment.
Of course, that's basically the only surprise of the night. If you're looking for cheap, quick Mexican food, that's exactly what you're going to get here. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but don't go in looking to be blown away.
In fact, just go in looking to get drunk.
Honestly, the food? Nothing to celebrate. You basically have your orders of corn shell with meat and beans and cheese (ex. Tacos, burritos, quesadilla, enchilada - seriously, all the same thing). It's prepared very quickly and comes out to you at equal speed. It's not awful but not specifically delicious either. It's about the same quality that I could make at home.
However, their alcoholic drinks more than make up for it - as they are fantastic and cheap. I got a monstrous strawberry daiquiri for $6 and my friends ordered a pitcher of margarita that was equally excellent. I would come back here just to sit back and drink.
Plus, they had free chips and salsa - and I heart free chips and salsa.
Because the room is so large, they also didn't mind us sitting around for an hour after our meal had been finished and taken away, being loudly annoying. The alcohol probably did not help us not be loudly annoying. But it's ok, because everyone else in the room was being loudly annoying too. It's that kind of place.
Since this is billed as a Mexican restaurant, and not a bar, I can't rate it too highly. However, I'm also not going to rate it too low either. This is the perfect example of a place to go that's not great but not awful. A nice cheap spot to hang out with some friends and basically do nothing.
It's a shame that restaurants in Cincinnati too often deviate from what makes that particular food great in the first place. Â Overly sweet pizza sauce (read LaRosa's), watery thin sweetened chili (read Skyline) and overly hyped, run of the mill burgers (read Zip's). Â When it comes to Mexican food, it's about sabor (flavor) and a little heat. Â Sadly, this place has neither. Â It's as if they toned down the flavors to satisfy people who think ketchup is spicy.
I ordered carne asada tacos and was completely let down. Â Seriously, cook a decent steak, season it a bit, slice and serve on a quality tortilla. Â Not too hard in my book. Â But these guys served me tepid, fatty, bland meat. The rice was okay if you like Rice-a-Roni style, but I prefer the real deal. Â My wife ordered enchiladas with a bland sauce on it (I won't dare dignify it by calling it enchilada sauce). Â The refried beans were flavorless and the meat was hardly seasoned. Â When we asked our waiter for some salsa with a little more kick, he said they didn't have any at the time. Â
It seemed that the entire place was full of Hype Park folks that should know better Mexican food. Â Mostly I observed what appeared to be high school students with fake IDs drinking cheap beer. Â That sort of sums up El Toro ... lots of potential, great location, but bland and soulless food better suited for a senior citizens home than Hyde Park.
Based on 1 dinner there, I would say this place is fairly average as Mexican food goes. There was quite a wait on a Saturday night, I guess because this is the only other Mexican option in the Hyde Park area other than Don Pablo's.
The chips were good--hot and crisp, but the salsa was just average (kind of thin and not a lot of fresh or spicy flavors). The guacamole was good though--fresh and chunky, but kind of a small serving for a table to share. I ordered chicken enchiladas, which were good, but again, nothing special. Rice was also average, but the real disappointment was the refried beans--they were unnaturally pale and flavorless.
Service was pretty quick, especially considering the packed house. Prices were reasonable. Bottom line? A good alternative to Don Pablo's if you're in the area, but don't make a special trip (and see if you can substitute something else for the refried beans!).
Cringe-inducing decor, flat lifeless food, and the worst tortilla chips I have ever tasted in my life (think Catholic church crackers but with less zing). Â Not even the 99 cent Modelo made me feel better about spending my hard earned money here.
I went with two other people and our individual rankings all ranged between 1 to 2 stars. Â The meat was fatty, the fish was too salty, and my vegetarian entree was just gross...A flavorless set of 1 burrito, 1 quesadilla, and 1 enchilada. Â The queso was the best part of the meal, and even that was tepid with skim on top.
I don't know how the other reviewer (who also has California roots) could have possibly given this restaurant 4 stars. Â He must have lived inland.
My wife and I just went here for lunch today, since we both have been craving mexican food and couldn't stomach the idea of going to Don Pablo's (bleh).
I had the Lunch #9 - Tamale, burrito, & beans.
She had the Lunch #1 - Chile Relleno, taco, & guac salad.
She really enjoyed her lunch, and said the chile relleno was great. It was the first non-vegetarian meal she ordered in a mexican restaurant and she was happily surprised. Â (She would give her meal 4 stars)
I was disappointed with my burrito. There was something about it that tasted off to me. The tamale was good, and I felt the beans could have had a bit more flavor (I would give my meal 2.5 stars) I also had their Jumbo margarita, which had a decent punch for something dispensed out of a glorified slurpee machine.
We finished the lunch off with a fried ice cream, which was good. Overall, the food was good and we will be adding them to our rotation.
If there was one thing to really complain about, it was that the cleaning fluid they used on the tables were rather pungent. Nothing says "yum" like having your nostrils assaulted with the aroma of windex.
There seems to be a run on new mexican restaurants at the moment...and Cincinnati should be pretty happy about that. Â El Toro is solid - probably my top pick currently in this city. Â Does not compare great to California places - but a welcome addition to Hyde Park.
Great service, amazing value and pretty tasty food. Â Also was super excited to see so many tables full on a Tuesday night. Â Me gusto el toro!!!!!
When we saw that a new Mexican restaurant was coming to our neighborhood (it's located in the same plaza as the Hyde Park Kroger) we were super excited.
Is El Toro as awesome as the little taqueria in our old Chicago neighborhood? Not quite. However, the food was good, and the service was really friendly. Â Their prices are also very reasonable - they have a ton of lunch options that are $5.25. Â
Overall, I'd recommend it. I know we'll be back soon.
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