Seriously fantastic food and drinks!!!
My husband, brother in law, and myself were haning out in Tacoma and went in to try the food. I had heard great things about their HH and even better things about their nachos!! Holy cow let me tell you they are like a mountain of cheesy goodness!! Â
Our waiter was Andrea and she was very helpful. Â Also helpful was her cute and pregnant manager who helped me pick the perfect margarita (helpful tip....they are all good!) After going through the list with Robin, the manager, she suggested either the Tamarind or the Cucumber-Jalapeno. Â I decided to try them both. Â The Tamarind first - WOW it was delicious sweet and very summary tasting. Â There was a cinnamon sugar rim that paired extremely well with the drink. Very impressive. Â I didn't stop there and also ordered the Cucumber-Jalapeno. That drink is to die for!! Seriously I would walk a thousand miles to have it again. Â It was spicy and refreshing at the same time. The salt rim was smokey from the chipotle seasoning they mix in with it and it complemented the freshness of the drink well. Â
On to the food. Â They have a very impressive menu; it was hard to decide if I wanted something more Tex or more Mex. My brother in law ordered the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and he really seemed to like it. Â I decided on the BBQ sandwiches and they were amazing. Â I really liked their sauce and the coleslaw. Â I am a pretty good eater and there was so much food that I had to get a doggy bag. Â (That may also have something to do with the fact I had three of their amazing margaritas) My husband went for the Matador Burrito and that thing was huge!! We had a fabulous time there the staff was amazing and attentive and extremely helpful. Â I love going to a place where they get to know me a little and recommend things that they think I would like off the bat. Â Nobody left with any complaints. That is what gives them 5 gold stars
Thanks to Andrea and Robin for a GREAT experience. We will be back
Excellent food, the ingredients used are very fresh, and the Jalapeños poppers are an amazing starter!! One of the few places where they aren't deep fried... Good for you Matador! If it hasn't been for the swarm of flies throughout the restaurant on a warm summer day it would have been a perfect 5 stars from me.
Review Source:Great looking decor/style! The doors were open to the few outdoor seating, but there were an unbelievable amount of flies inside!! Thankfully they did not bother us at the table though.
Fast service. Drinks arrived quickly. SOME OF THE BEST JALAPEÑO POPPERS!!! Finally - not deep fried! They were stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon, lovely cilantro/ranch style dipping sauce. Even the presentation salad they were on was lovely!
I had the red sangria, very tasty! My BF had the shredded chicken enchiladas which were great. I had the blacked fish taco plate. I must say it wasn't the best I've had (I've had a hankering for fish tacos all week) the tacos were covered in the black bean run off, not that I didn't expect this to be a messy eat but it made the tacos slippery! And there was a green salsa that, while tasty, completely covered up the flavor of the fish and sauce. This made me sad, the green verde sauce was also on the chicken enchiladas, my BF said it was also good but over powering. Covering up all the yummy-nes! Next time I'll ask for it on the side, but I'll be back for the jalapeño app!
Great place - pretty good food, not super greasy or heavy or anything like that. I would definitely recommend their happy hour. Other reviews were right on - good place to have a good conversation without having to shout or feel like everyone can hear what you're talking about. Dress is pretty casual but you can dress up if you want.
Random note: Their drapes are for show - you can't move them for shade if the sun is in your eyes, so if the sun is still out - watch where it hits your table. :)
The location and ambiance are great, albeit the uncomfortable seating. Frankly, I was not impressed with the pairings of flavors with the meat. While my boyfriend's steak was acceptable, my seafood/chorizo over rice pilaf was runny, flavorless and it seemed to have been sitting for a while. I honestly believe you pay more to be in dimly lit restaurant on Sixth Ave., than to eat good food. And as a foodie, that breaks my heart.
Review Source:Ive been quite a few times...if you can make it for happy hour I would highly suggest it as it can be a little pricey for what you actually get...so go during happy hour and its worth it. I enjoy the atmosphere more than the actual food. The chips and salsa are very good however. Ive never had a problem with service it Is generally decent even when its packed...The drinks aren't very strong or that tasty so I would skip em and get drinks elsewhere...
Review Source:Great happy hour and definitely a great place to bring a date for 1 on 1 talks. The noise level isn't especially too loud but not so quiet where it feels like everyone can hear what you are talking about!.
Great and professional looking staff and service was on par with the look. Im a fan!
The best margaritas you are going to find. These guys know what they are doing and they do it well. The food is ok, a little chain restaurant-ish but decent. The nachos are gigantic and for $5 during HH they can't be beat. Tacos and fajitas are both solid choices, the carne asada is tender and flavorful. I'm also a fan of the braised grape salad is a great green start to the heavy food that is served. Head down and ask for Pedro, he makes the best margaritas!
Review Source:A very seductive and classy place in downtown Tacoma! Steve got off the train from Portland and headed downtown for a bite of supper.
We were not terribly hungry so we did it simple.
He had a squash quesadilla.
I had the three taco a la carte plate.
Steve's quesadilla tasted unique and fantastic. Definitely a menu item of further ordering when we go back.
My tacos tasted great! Normally I do not like taco seasoning on my meat but whatever seasoning they had in with these tacos gave it a great rustic taste which makes me hungry for more!
The atmosphere is great! It has a dark look with metallic art and animal skulls on the wall with red curtains near the window. Almost a gothic look!
The service was attentive and accommodating!
Looking forward to going back!
Probably my second favorite Happy Hour menu in Tacoma. Really inexpensive, good quality and always tasty. The fajitas on the regular lunch/dinner menu are the best I've had anywhere, I order chicken with corn tortillas for a yummy gluten free meal. The servers, hosts and bartenders are really nice and I almost always see the manager talking with guests. I know it's a tequila bar, and I love me some tequila, but the red wine selection is very decent and I almost always end up trying a few different glasses. Nice outdoor seating area has me wishing we had more sunny days to sit outside and enjoy Pacific Ave with a glass of wine or margarita. Highly recommend this place for lunch, dinner or late night drinks and they serve food until 1am. Try the Tamarind Margarita!!!
Review Source:Love this place!
This place has great food, amazing salsa and really good drinks.
Only reason I did not give this place 5 stars was because the customer service from the servers isn't that great.
Usually on the weekend the line to get in is out the door, usually standing room only and the wait to be seated is always over 30 minutes.
Love this place. Not a whole lot else to say except the bar tenders are AWESOME, its always busy on the weekends, and its a great place to grab a drink during the week days. I love the Matador in tacoma. I actually live in Ballard and there is a Matador in DT ballard- however I enjoy coming here much more!
Review Source:First, it's really nice in and outside, but " here comes the negative." Â Customer service is lacking here. A party of eight of us came here Saturday night at 430 for dinner and than to go to the Tacoma comedy club at 715pm. Like I said we showed up at 430 because they do not take reservations. The hostess said it would be about a half hour wait which is not bad, so we went and waited at the bar. Which had no room so us guys stood while the girls were able to sit.
 We waited an hour for our table and no one came up to say sorry are table will ready soon. I than got tiered of watching people go and people being seated that just came in. I went and talked to the hostess about this and all she could say was that its not her fault and that she was waiting for one of the bigger tables to leave.
 An hour and forty five minutes later I went looking for than manager. Unfortunately not the other way around. I told him that we had been waiting for a very very long time and he said well they try hard to give accurate wait times but it dose not always work out. Which I can understand but an hour and forty five min wait is crazy. I told him we are hungry and we have a show to go to. Now he did apologize but it was one of those, "I have to say this sorry"  rather than truly being sorry which left me Irritated.
   In all this review is not about the food because we were unable to get any. But about their customer service and the lack of compassion that eight people waited around for an hour and forty five minutes only to leave hungry and upset.  Obviously the eight of us will not be going back and we will be telling our friends not to bother trying.
   Oh and Matador by what I saw I know your business won't be hurting with out us so what's the incentive of changing. Well it's the people like us that show up in big groups because we are loyal to our friends and that shows we are loyal to the business that we go to.
I will say I am giving this place two starts for the food and the food ONLY.  The service here is horrible, they walk around like you are totally putting them out to have to help you....listen people, if you dont like customer service then I would suggest you not work customer service!  I love the food here, the people not so much and the price is a little like wtf.  We went for lunch, lunch I tell you and it was 75$!  I mean, 75$ for 2 entrées, 1 appetizer (that consisted of only 4 shrimp) and two drinks.... And sadly, I was forced to only tip 6$ due to the horrible service all around.  Based on our experience with the staff and the price, we will not be going back, which is sad, they have good food.
Review Source:Ok, so this is where EVERYONE in Tacoma goes to on the weekends, and I mean EVERYONE.
This place was packed, and I mean like sardine packed... Obviously a good sign, that this place has got the right stuff, and that they did.
Huge shout out to the amazing bar tenders, not only can they make killer drinks, they are on top of everything. The second that I finished a drink, or water they were right there to top me off, and offer refills, and not in a vulturous, pushy way either.
They were beyond great.
I saw these mile high nacho's someone was eating, and I just had to have some, they were THE BEST chips, and food combination that I'd ever had. YUM, YUM.
The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, I was able to relax, and laugh, and enjoy myself, eat fantastic food, and drinks. I'm sure those qualities are why it was so crowded. They know what they are doing, they know what people want, and how to make them happy. Â
The Madador has just the right amount of class, for an absolutely comfortable, fun, enjoyable, perfect dining experience.
I'm not easily impressed, and my friends I'm very impressed. Fantastic, thank you!
I love the food here, and the service has been MOSTLY good (which is why I knocked off one star.) Â This place rocks, so if you're not used to loud establishments: look elsewhere. The guac is awesome... the fajitas are AMAZING. I always take a tub of salsa home with me as well. If you want Mexican, please go here! Like tequila? Get Chamucas- you will never drink Patron again!
Review Source:My neighbors and I had an impromptu girls' night. Â I was a little worried about going here because of some of the challenges with parking downtown. Â We found a spot in less than five minutes. Â Off to a good start.
We had to wait to 40 minutes before we were seated. Â We waited at the bar, while the other ladies had some drinks. Â I decided to wait until dinner, since I was the DD. Â Have to pace yourself with such responsibility. Â
Our food came in a reasonable amount of time. I ordered the butternut squash quesadillas for an appetizer, and offered them to the table. Â Someone else ordered nachos, and also shared. Â My app was so flipping delicious, the nachos looked more impressive than they tasted. Â In the end, I regretted sharing, as I only got one quesadilla, and I wanted to slap everyone at the table for taking advantage of my generosity. Â Just when I was about to do it, my entree came. Â Good timing, because there was about to be a smacking massacre.
I ordered the braised pork. The pork was beautifully cooked. Â I could tell that someone had taken the time to carefully season and slow cook this pork. Â It was succulent and tender. Â Everything else on my plate was a distraction. Â The dish came with tortillas, but I found that they didn't allow the pork to stand out as it should. Â So, I ended up eating it without the tortillas, with the black beans as a side dish. Â
I also ordered a blackberry margarita while we dined. Â It was good and scrong. Â Yes, I said, scrong, not strong. Â Scrong is when a drink puts some chest hairs on you. Â I'm glad that we talked and ate for a long time, otherwise, I would not have been a very good DD. Â The effects did not wear off until over an hour later. Â It took a long time for our check to come, but I didn't mind because we were enjoying ourselves. Â Otherwise, it would have been a pain. Â One app, one entree, and one drink later, my bill was $30. Â I was quite pleased. Â
The food has clean flavors, and the drinks are tasty and scrong. Â This is one of those places that you should probably come when you are not in a rush, and don't mind waiting a bit. Â I'll be back.
The Matador is fantastic. Their food is delicious and reasonably priced. They also have reasonably priced drinks, a good beer selection, and a bunch of delicious mixed drinks. Come for the happy hour - significantly reduced prices and quesedillas that are only made for that time. The nachos are also fantastic - they have a unique smokiness that I've never tasted anywhere else. Perhaps the best aspect of the restaurant is the decor and ambiance. It is one of the hippest places in Tacoma.
Review Source:I've only been here once, but that was enough. Â Albeit, it was a Saturday night, so of course it was crowded. Â But the music was loud, the hostess was rude. Â If my friend didn't want to go there so badly, I would have gone somewhere else. Â The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because the food was pretty good. Â
There are other places in Tacoma that are more deserving of my business. Â Haven't been back since (and it was awhile ago).
As much as we love the food and atmosphere here... The service SUCKS!!! My finance and I eat here a lot durning lunch because we enjoy the food, but I've never seen so many SLOW waitresses in my life! They take forever to greet you at you table... Usually takes them about 15-20 minutes after you have been seated! Not acceptable! They don't know how to multitask at all... When they see that they have customers seated in their area, they should greet them within 5 minutes and give them the menus, water and chips at the same time. Instead, they bring you the menu and walk away... Then 5 minutes later, they bring you water and walk away... Then 5 minutes later, they will bring chips and salsa and finally take a drink order if you have any and walk away... Then 10 minutes later, they come and take your order.... Just doesn't make sense! This happens all the time.
And the crazy part is that the lunch crowd is not that busy! It's ridiculous! I was just there with my girlfriends for lunch on Friday and 25 minutes went by and the waitress still had not taken our order. I went to another employee to ask them to tell our waitress to come take our order and he told her twice and she still didn't come over. I Â finally had to wave over the manager to ask him if he could take our order.
If this was a one time exception, it wouldn't concern me. Â But this is the norm here.
LOVE LOVE the happy hour. The food is great and the portions are HUGE so a must share! I currently live out of state but always make sure I include a trip to Matador whenever I visit Tacoma. I always get the steak nachos and the calamari (all to share, of course!). The calamari sauce is the best calamari sauce I've had. Also, the sangria is delish! Way better than the margs.
mmmm....steak nachos........sangria.....mmmmm.......
Walked in on a Saturday night. Â Told it was a 20 min wait. Â Okay, no problem. Â We'll sit outside and wait until an inside table was open. Â Hostess said we'd have to close out tabs outside and reopen inside when we were reseated, but whatever. Â It was a preferable option to standing in the crowded doorway. Â
We're shown to a table outside and given menus. Â Which concluded them acknowledging our existence. Â We sat for literally 20 minutes without anyone saying a word to us. Â Out of the 4 outside tables, there was only one other table with people sitting. Â We were seated immediately outside the door. Â We watched the waitress come outside 3 times to the single other table. Â She never once said a word to us, we weren't even able to catch her attention. Â
After 20 minutes, someone came to bring us water and then left without a word. Â We were done. Â We got up and left. Â As we're leaving, the waitress stands by the door waiting for us to file out and says "have a good night." it was the final straw for my girlfriend. Â She told the waitress how upset we were about the lack of service and the waitress told her that we weren't her table. Â Really? Â You have 2 people for 4 tables? Â Really?
Either way, none of us well be back. Â Disappointing because I keep hearing people say good things. Â Of four of us in my party, three of us had never been to the Matador. Â My girlfriend who complained had been there once and was giving it a final chance. Â
High hopes for a new girls night spot, but it's doubtful any of us will be back.
Flies, flies, flies. The place was loaded with 'em. To me ... that's gross.
The ceviche was flavorless and bland, as ceviches go. I think these were farm-raised freshwater shrimp ... ho hum, no flavor. The bbq ancho wings were also lacking the heat, I expected. Chicken soft tacos were just okay ... nothing to write home about.
The one thing this place has going for it ... and the reason I've always visited there before ... is the best selection of tequila anywhere around the area.
Great Happy Hour! Love the menu, a great variety to chose from and all the food is $5. The Texas Nachos are a MUST. We had ours with pork. Also tried the prawns and chicken wings. They were both so flavorful.
The Margaritas are strong! I had two and I was done for the night. But they were delicious and have premium tequila. The atmosphere at Happy Hour time is hip and the place is packed, but we were sat in 15 minutes and had excellent service. Can't wait to go back!
Happy hour is what we were after and being new to Tacoma, we decided to check out the popular ones reviewed by fellow yelpers and Matador came out as one of the tops.
Easy to find on Pacific Ave, readily found street parking. Â We moved here from Texas and loved the chic Texan feel of the place. We were promptly seated and we had our choice of where to sit and picked the booth.
Happy hour menu was pretty simple but awesome with a price of $5/dish. Bar menu was interesting too but MINUS a star for not even having drink specials...it's HAPPY HOUR..and no DRINK SPECIALS? ok.....
We got the Tex-Mex spring rools and the chicken quesadilla and both were pretty good...not true tex-mex excelente but good enough...mojitos were fantastic but sucks they weren't priced for happy hour so that makes up for the great deal on the food we just ate.
Total bill was therefore a bit pricier and higher than what I'd expect for a usual happy hour bill for two.
I'd come again...but obviously there's plenty more happy hour options around Tacoma and looking forward to experiencing more.
I am reviewing their happy hour menu.
We only go here for happy hour. We love their Texas nachos with chicken. Definitely my favorite nachos! Mmm... For $5 plus extra for chicken, you easily have a meal between two people.
I also like their romaine salad on the HH menu. Super yummy, and generous.
The drinks are very expensive, and aren't cheaper during happy hour. But, they're great drinks.
The service has also always been great.
I haven't given out 5 stars in awhile! This place gets 5 because of service, food and cool atmosphere. The trifecta in Tacoma to boot. Who would've thunk?! I'm not that into asian fusion or tex mex places because I like food in its most authentic form but this place really surprised me.
Came in on a late flight just in time for happy hour. $5 a plate. We ordered the egg rolls and habanero shrimp. They were small plates the perfect portion size. We also had steak nachos and the steak sandwich. YUM! The steak on both dishes was perfectly medium rare. My steak was chopped and placed between 2 brioche buns. The bread was soft and buttery and was perfect for sopping up all the different sauces on our table! Habanero sauce, the 2 that came w the egg rolls and the chipotle mayo. The shrimp was perfectly cooked. The habanero sauce wasn't as hot as I expected. I'm all about the heat! Lastly, the chips and salsa is very reminiscent of Chevy's chips and salsa. Be careful they are very addicting!
The thing that made this experience excellent was the service. We sat in one of the tables in the back and it was pretty crowded on this Thursday night but we were not forgotten. My drink was re-filled at least 3x and the wait staff came by frequently (not enough to be annoying) to ask how everything was. Our waitress was very friendly and I could tell that she liked her job and that made all the difference.
I may have found my favorite restaurant in Tacoma so far!
We came here on a Friday night. Â The place was way too packed. Â We went to the bar and my bf ordered us a drink. Â Talk about overpriced!! Wow... I've been to some high end bars/lounges and the drinks were cheaper than what they charged here. Â Ridiculous. Â Anyway, about 30 mins later, we were seated. Â My bf ordered some enchilada dish and I ordered their chicken fajitas. Â The food was good. Â I mean, it's your typical Americanized Mexican food... meat, veggies, rice, beans, cheese, tortillas. Â Can't really go wrong, right?
Word of advice... don't plan on getting a buzz here. Â It'll cost you a leg... unless you are a super light weight. Â Otherwise, I'd grab a drink or two elsewhere beforehand.
I can eat here everyday...but then I'd have trouble hiding my inner fat girl. I love this place because the servers are very attentive and friendly almost to the point of irritating the dog piss out of you. Love the nachos, but wait for happy hour. It's a much better deal for the same item. Not a big fan of beans and rice for obvious reasons, so I don't know if it was the cheese on top of the beans that had me scarfing them down like a mad woman or just me being greedy. Anyway, The food is great and I haven't tried anything on the menu I haven't enjoyed yet.
Make sure you get extra salsa!
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