El Torero Mexican Grill

"We used to live in MO and would frequent El Torero. We have not visited in over a year as we moved to KY. The last time we visited, the food was amazing and we LOVED the buffet they had. When we drove by, I was super excited about having lunch there. We stopped in around 1 pm on a Friday, the old El Torero would have been packed at this time of day. We walked in and unfortunately there was no buffet, we decided to go ahead and order since it was good before they had a buffet. The chips and salsa came out and the salsa tasted like tomatoes and jalapeño. It was so spicy even my spicy lovers had a hard time eating it. I expect good salsa to have some cilantro, lime and onion flavor in it, but this was horrible. We ordered some cheese dip to soften the salsa so it was edible. The cheese dip didn't have much flavor either, but it did tame down the salsa. We order a burrito, steak fajitas and chicken cheese and rice. The chicken cheese and rice was super bland, my daughters fajitas were the same and her refried beans were so hard you had to cut into them with a fork. They tasted horrible, i tried them because she hadn't touched them and I spit them out. They were crusty and the cheese on top of them looked like it was days old and not even melted. When we received our ticket, we checked to make sure our cheese dip was free because the restaurant advertised the dip was free with a $20 purchase during the "happy hour". It was not free and we had to ask for it to be taken off the bill. I was very disappointed to spend $30+ at this restaurant and I will not come back. I was informed by my brother who used to work there that management had left and opened a Mexican restaurant in Benton, MO called La Lunada. We will be going there from now on when we visit. Should have known the place was going down hill when they were offering free cheese dip and happy hour 6 days of the week. Do not go here, you will be sadly disappointed!"

"The three of us were seated at a table, not a booth. They brought out our water in cold frosty mugs, which was really terrific! The chips and salsa followed, and the salsa was just okay, not very spicy…the chips are thicker than I am used to, as well. The food was good, but the queso was very watery. I think we prefer the food at La Luna or Don Carlos more. As for the service, it was good when we came in, and the food was brought to us quickly, but the waiter never came back to check on us...he just brought us the check before we finished. The place was pretty empty, too, so no excuse for not stopping by our table during our lunch. And, as far as the atmosphere, the seat cushions were dirty and a fly kept bothering us. It was annoying."

"I ordered on door dash and payed for cheese dip to get a sample cup. When I called to complain all I got was an I sorry. Never any ways to fix my experience. I will never go there again."

"We stopped here on our way home to Memphis from Saint Louis. The server was super friendly and fun, and the enchiladas mango was my Dream Mexican Meal. It was huge, creamy, and delicious. Had enough leftover for lunch today, AND it’s just as yummy. Highly recommend swinging by here."

"My husband and I were planning to go to another Mexican restaurant on the same road, but judging on outsides, we came here, where the outside walls were stone and there was a bull statue. The service was great (polite and friendly), and the chips and salsa were promising of a good meal to come. Although the chips seemed a little stale, it didn’t affect the taste (and maybe they are just a thicker chip) and the salsa was really good. Good consistency and the right amount of heat on the back end. Unfortunately, the flavor hit its high point with the salsa. I ordered the El Torero burrito, since it’s usually a good move to go with a dish named after the restaurant. It was an el pastor (pork) burrito with third covered in green sauce, third in cheese sauce and third in red sauce. Neither sauce had much flavor or heat. The pork did have a good flavor, but it got lost in all the tomatoes, onions and peppers it was cooked with. Although I like that mix of veggies in my burrito, some bites had much more of that than the pork. My husband got the Jalisco special, which had steak, chicken and shrimp with big chunks of tomatoes, onions and green peppers. Although he said everything was cooked well, it didn’t have much flavor. Another case of Mexican food being made less delicious for midwestern palates. A shame. I have a feeling these cooks can probably cook much better food for their families."