El Torito - La Mesa

El Torito - La Mesa reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. J

   Jason

   San Diego6 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Wow, what a mess. We had a reservation for 7:15pm and showed up a few minutes early, only to be told to wait (no problem), but the host situation was chaos. There was one guy trying to manage a packed lobby, and he was clearly overwhelmed—rude, mumbling, and not seating anyone efficiently. After a while, we finally got seated… at a random table tucked away by the kitchen door, far from everyone else. Not ideal, but we were just glad to sit down. Then… nothing. We sat there for 20 minutes with menus, ready to order drinks, apps, and entrees—no one even acknowledged us. I flagged down a server going in and out of the kitchen, told him we didn’t have a server, and he mumbled something before disappearing. No one ever came back. At that point, we got up and left. On the way out, a few people waiting to be seated asked if anyone ever came to our table. When we said no, they were shocked—and some of them actually walked out too! To top it all off, El Torito marked us as no-shows on OpenTable. Seriously? Total disaster from start to finish. Definitely won’t be back.
   

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2. h

   hoa

   San Diego5 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Was there with reservations for Cinco de Mayo. Absolute understaffed and completely incompetent. The host seated us at table 30 minutes late. Even though we arrived half hour early for our reservation. No settings, plates, napkins etc… Table was filthy, I asked for towel to wipe it down, 10 minutes passed no towel insight. I went to bathroom to grab paper towels to wipe down table. Went up front to get menus. Went to bar to bring drinks back to table. Our server was a nice young lady, she did try but it seemed like she is newer. Finally got our chips and salsa, water 20 minutes later. Food came without tortilla Not going back is an understatement
   

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3. a

   alex VIP

   Los Angeles1 review

   1.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   I have been to several locations for the Sunday buffet and the majority of the time, it is a very positive experience. I am sad to say that is not the case at this location. The set up for the buffet here is extremely tight and in no way conducive to an enjoyable meal. From a lack of plates and silverware, empty serving bowls of food for a long period of time, lack of sanitation on top of it, and the long lines due to lack of space leads to a very disappointing experience. I do not blame the employees as I saw them hustling, in some cases. This whole set up strikes me as a money grab by the management of this establishment, damn the customer experience. It’s a madhouse and I recommend going to another location further north as there are no other locations near San Diego that I can see, unfortunately.
   

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4. A

   Antonio

   San Diego2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on April 21, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   It was pleasant, service was excellent, just had one question I was charged a surcharge and I couldn’t understand why maybe you can explain it to me please thank you xo.
   

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5. K

   Kathryn

   Las Vegas1 review

   4.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I checked in and they didn’t arrive us. We waited past our time and told them again. It was too loud and people were pushy. The food was lukewarm warm. Not our usual experience.
   

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6. a

   alfonso

   Los Angeles4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Had a reservation at 12:15 pm and we didn’t get seated till 1 pm but the wait was worth it
   

   El Torito - La MesaResponded on April 22, 2025

   Hi Alfonso, thank you so much for your 5 star review! We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and we look forward to serving you again soon!
   

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7. M

   Marlo

   San Diego11 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Today was Easter and even with a Reservation we still waited more than 90 minutes for a table. Everything else was great. Food, service, and ambiance. If anything in the buffet was empty the servers came out with a fresh batch right away. Nice!
   

   El Torito - La MesaResponded on April 21, 2025

   Hola Marlo!, Thank you for the 4-star review! We appreciate your feedback and are always striving to improve. If there's anything specific, you'd like to share to help us earn that 5th star next time, please feel free to reach out. We value your business and look forward to serving you again soon!
   

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8. LD

   LouisD

   San Diego2 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   Probably the best deal in town for Sunday brunch that includes champagne.
   

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9. C

   Claudia VIP

   San Diego8 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 2

   I’m basing my feedback solely on customer service and not on the food, as the food was absolutely amazing! I had a reservation for a party of 10 that I booked months in advance. Unfortunately, the host staff was extremely unprofessional. We waited nearly 30 minutes to be seated, and during that time, the manager in charge of seating showed no sense of urgency, courtesy, or customer service. To make matters worse, guests with later reservations were seated before us, which was incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, our server Jay turned the experience around with his outstanding service. He was attentive, friendly, and truly made a difference in what started as a disappointing visit. This restaurant seriously needs to reevaluate and improve its reservation and seating process—it’s in need of a major overhaul.
   

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10. W

    William VIP

    San Diego17 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 6, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    The brunch experience was great with my favorite dishes. The dessert was missing Flan. I had to ask the waiter where is the flan. He came with the last two servings from the kitchen
    

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