El Torero

Not anything special. The tacos were made from beef patties (aka leftover hamburger patties from the previous day?) sliced into strips and placed into a taco shell and then disguised. .. I mean covered with lettuce and cheese. The cheese enchiladas were just okay. Chips were good and salsa kind of weak.

I lived in Tucson for many years and found El Torero’s menu selections to be consistently excellent. The prices are very affordable and the service is outstanding. Why stand in line for over an hour just to get a table in that place on South 4^th Street only to end up with sauces that come straight out of a can and covered up with piles of shredded lettuce. Highly recommended.

This is the cutest place! It’s tucked in back off the street and at first you wouldn’t think much of the place, however, once you open the door and walk in you are sure you’re about to get some bomb Mexican food! Yeah sure you could have picked all those other trendy locations, especially those that people talk about like mi nidito etc. «They ain’t got nuthin» on this place here!
It’s super chill, cute viejitas working the dining room, while the kitchen is churning out hot plates of Mexican goodness! No pressure in this place and it goes at whatever pace you want it to go at. We chose chill! We enjoyed hot salsa that was actually hot! I mean hot with flavor for days! Not just «oh it’s vinegar with a burn!», the chips were nice and crunchy with a slight dash of salt! I ordered the special, which were two enchiladas and two tacos, the tacos were thick and could themselves upright, they were cooked perfectly. Topped with lettuce and cotija, and of course I drenched mine in that awesome hot sauce, they were on point! The enchiladas though they were cheese were also spot on, the enchilada sauce the lettuce the cheddar cheese melted on top made a perfectly tasting, perfectly priced meal!
I’m definitely coming back! Gracias El Torero!

Best Mexican good in Tucson by far! Owner and staff have been cemented there for years. Two and two is the most coveted entrée. Hard to find but worth the drive!

Just went here on a whim while driving through Tucson since the restaurant was only a block away. I’m happy we did!
I had the mole combination (chicken in mole sauce with rice, beans, and a tortilla). Excellent, excellent mole chicken! My only complaint is that the rice/​bean portions were way too small for sooooo much mole chicken.
The wife had the 2 tacos /​2 enchiladas special. It looks amazing, and tastes just as good.
Everyone that waited on us was super nice and sincere.
If I’m back in Tucson, I’ll definitely come back to El Torero!

Love the special 2 taco to enchiladas

Nailbanger Here Again: Disappointed on every Level. I not sure where to begin. After reviewing other reviews, I was expecting Service to be non existent and Excellent Food. Well I was right about the Service it was seat yourself and we will check on you when I get around to it. The place was filthy and there was very little décor. Table and chairs out dated, OK enough of that .They have a very limited menu. They serve soft drinks and Beer, no hard liquor, so no Margaritas. Beers are about $ 4.30. The Food was sparse and flavorless. Chips are .75 cent addition each, if you what more than one bowl, but they do have good salsa. I got the Beef Tacos and Cheeses Enchiladas, with a side of beans $ 11​.My wife got Cheese Enchiladas and a side of beans $ 8.00. The Enchiladas and the bean were the only thing that would pass for Mexican food. The Tacos were a joke. The value for your hard earned buck is just not there, portion size small. I will never be back. The have very limited parking, unless you are out in the Street. The sad thing is they are a block away of the best Mexican dining in Tucson Mi Niditos, you will wait to get in, but its every bit worth it. Why do you think they line up out the door to get in?

Best Mexican food in town. We always order the 2+2 and a side of beans (do NOT forget to order the beans as they are the best I have ever had). The 2 cheese enchiladas are so good. The enchilada sauce is like heaven… not red but a brownish color that does not cause heartburn. And the 2 tacos, well, they are the fried patty sort with a nice amount of crumbled cheese like El Charro does… but better. The same 2 waitresses and the silver haired one treats you like family with honey and hugs. If you drink a lot during your meal I would advise asking for a pitcher because the glasses are very small. With ice tea and water they will usually just bring the pitcher anyway.

Just. Don’t.
After the ASU-​UA game, we were looking for a good little local Mexican food before the sorrowful drive back to Phoenix. Mi Nudito came highly recommended, and from the look of the packed parking lot and the line waiting for seating, probably rightly so. But we thought we could find something quicker. First mistake. Second, mistake, we didn’t follow our gut and walk out of El Torero. Because if we had, I might not have been sicker than a dog beginning about 2 am this morning. Zero customers, zero customer service and zero appetizing food. Lesson learned, the hard and painful way. Zero Stars aren’t an option, but that’s the rating El Torero should have.

Sadly we no longer live in Tucson but when we do get back this is our number one go to place for the best Mexican food in town. Start with a cheese crisp, move on to a Carne Seca Chimichanga, and or green corn tamales when they are in season. Thirty four years of loving this place. Miss Ramon!

Okay, tried this place for dinner. It’s cash only, a whole in the wall type of restaurant. Seat yourself, (sorry no hostes), the pricing is average (like any other mexican place) Food it great! If you like Mexican food don’t forget this place.

So delicious! My favorite place for tacos and enchiladas! We have been eating here for many years and it is always delicious. The cheese crisp is bomb!!! The salsa is good and if you are lucky you might get to taste the chunky!

Is the restaurant still in the back of the bar?
This was by far the best hole in the wall in South Tucson in the 70’s
Carne Seca chimi’s were so good, and the salsa was so hot.
Keep the beer, chips and salsa coming por favor

Hole in the wall. Best restaurant in town. You’ll never see new faces in there so they always remember you and take care of you. Sit under the marlin get a pacifico and the carne seca chimi enchilada style.

Like going to someone’s home for dinner. Love the chile relleno. People swear by La Bandara.
They accommodated 18 of us at the last minute on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Thank you, El Torero.

Rumors of the demise of this restaurant are greatly exaggerated! We ate there last night and found that the «2 and 2» is much alive and well! Still as good as ever. The place is still a hole in the wall, but has probably the best enchiladas in town, and some of the best tacos as well. Add Dos-​X beer on tap and you’ve got a recipe for a great dinner! Don’t expect anything fancy, but do expect good, inexpensive, genuine Mexican food! (Friendly and quick service too!)

I have been to many a great hole in the wall type places and have to say that even with that said (and no high expectations for amazing service) the service was crap. I asked for a wine and the guy with the cleaning rag brought me my wine with his had where my lips go to drink! Gross… thankfully the (cheap) alcohol and my immune system should take care of that. Oh and plus no margarita on the menu? Bummer.
Oh and speaking of the service, there were four credit cards and they could not get it straight which card was paying for what meal. Oh and even before that two of the meals came once the rest of us were done eating our meal. No apology or excuse. And we all ordered at the same time… weird.
That ALL being said the food was good. If I ever go back I would want to try the cheese crisp. It looked good! I had the chicken chimichanga. It could have used some cheese. Their beans were good. I honestly don’t know what was wrong, but their tamales were nasty. Tacos and enchiladas were decent. Prices were good.
Oh and it’s in South Tucson…

Strange place. Obviously has history and potential. But much is wrong here. Of the owners, one spent considerable time smoking outside and moping at the counter. The other watched old re-​runs on a television at the counter with his back to the dining room. Was there ever a more clear example of two people in denial?
The dining room was near empty at 6 P.M. on a weeknight. The floor was filthy. There was a funeral home mood hanging over the place. The elderly waitresses, although charming and kind in a grandmotherly way, seem resigned to the slow, painful death of this business.
The food… 2 +2, two tacos, two enchiladas was pretty good, even if there was way too much lettuce in a pile under everything. The price was right too.
What’s going on here? With the right management this place should be packed. Instead it seems the clock is slowly, quietly, and undeniably ticking.

This is my go to Mexican place on the south side. The ambiance is funky, as in it makes me feel at home funky. It is one big room with a lot of tables, dating it would be like going to Tijuana 1960’s. I don’t know why but I love this place, it is always the same, and I infatuated with the waitresses, which is the big draw. The median age is 70 as near as I can guess, I am always greeted with welcome back honey or the Like’s there of every time I go. I always get the same thing the 2+2, 2 tacos and 2 cheese enchiladas, and a side of beans. Most always I cannot resist the cheese crisp, this is not a want but a need. They serve the food on this cart, and the dishes are piping hot, and delicious. I have been going here for 15 years or more and will go until I am dead or they go out of business. I guess you could say I am a die hard fan.

Eaten/​drank here several times. I like the small out of the way location and funky little building. The food is good and sometimes very good, and the cheese crisp is humongous and hot and served on a platter. But this isn’t a great place. The service can be iffy, sometimes waiting for your server and not getting much in the way of refills or occasional surly attitude. It’s one of the few places I haven’t left a tip once (and last time, haven’t returned since).
They have beer and such so it’s nice if you want stronger drink than ice tea. The salsa and chips aren’t as good. It’s really just very average overall and plenty of better places.