Some quick informational items... No reservation option is available. At 5pm on a Saturday there was a 45 to 60m wait time. There is a limited Tap selection, but it works. There are signature cocktails for you to try. The food has a lovely flavor, tastes fresh, and the staff was kind. We were not checked on often, but it was adequate for our party of four.Would I go back? Yep. Maybe try a less populated time.
We LOVE matador, and visit pretty often:) our favorites are the grande nachos, habanero enchiladas and the black bean dip, and we’ve liked everything we’ve tried over the years. Tamarind margarita is delicious, as are all of the others (they’re are plenty to choose from!), and for those who don’t love tequila, other cocktails are just as tasty. We are definitely not the only people who love this place, so be mindful of typical busy hours where waits can be lengthier (weekend nights for example) because Matador is no exception! But the hours are great (especially in the current times when many surrounding restaurants are closing early), so it’s often an after work hangout. I can’t remember what time this takes effect, but at some point it’s 21+ only. Fantastic seating options: outside, inside booths and tables, or inside bar (and part of the bar surrounds a lovely fire pit!)
Very helpful and friendly wait staff. Never went long without being checked in with. Food came out quickly and very tasty. Good portion sizes. There is a full bar offering lots of drink options to choose from. There is a nice group table around an open fire place that is very nice. They have patio seating for better weather days. Draw backs to location is no parking lot so pay to park is only choice
Jessica is the goat. Her cocktails are amazing and her smile is more infectious than covid, even through the mask. And she will present you with a mean burrito. Jessica, margs, and burritos make for the best matador experience.
Feel like things have gone downhill a bit. I remember the food being much more gourmet. Amazing server Bailey though such a sweetheart with a great attitude!
Four of us were seated near the bar at 12pm on September 15th. It was lunch time, but not crowded. We ordered one appetizer of nachos, 3 taco salads and some street tacos. After 30 minutes of waiting, our appetizer nor our entrees had arrived. I told Brittany our waitress that we would pay for the two glasses of wine that two people in our party had ordered, but we had to go because one of us was on our lunch hour. She went and checked on our food and came back to tell us that the kitchen had missed the appetizer order and our food was on the way. Food came, waited another ten minutes for extra sour cream and a fork. Brittany our waitress had an attitude from the start. She was setting up the bar also and I felt we were a real inconvenience. Very strange energy and we were overly nice because she was not. She brought out chips and salsa after we were already eating our entrees and that was be cause we asked for it. I even tipped her 20% on a $100 bill because she made me feel like we put her out. Its unfortunate, our first time there was such a great experience.
We love the Matador! Normally my group of friend visit the West Seattle location but after a long day at the State Fair we decided we needed some tacos & tequila so we decided to check out this location. We felt welcomed instantly! Our server Ryann was amazing and couldnt have asked for a better way to end the night! Definitely recommend this spot for anyone looking for some dank Mexican food and good vibes with friends.
Great atmosphere, nice large bar and many high tops in bar area. Great salsa and crispy chips. I had Birrio Tacos with braised beef and a delicious sauce to dip them in. They were great I’d go back again just for them and would love to try the guacamole 👍🏼
You cant go wrong with anything on this menu. Authentic Mexican cuisine and it hits the spots 👌🏿
I was very disappointed with the service and the food was not very good. Our server for starters never took the menus from our table after we all ordered never took the plates from the appraiser round never took the empty glass did not take our plates after dinner never asked if we wanted coffee or dessert a big 0 in my opinion
Always Great food at reasonable prices! They have an awesome happy hour menu(food only) Beautiful atmosphere!! One of my favorite places to visit!! The service is always good as well, our Bartender Moises was amazing last night!! I will be back again sooner than later!
Good fajitas and atmosphere, if you havent been I recommend checking it out!
Amazing food and margaritas. Super friendly staff and a nice location downtown. Really enjoyed the brussel sprouts and the fish tacos are legit. Comfy, cozy and inviting with good tequila.
People, people, people!? Im here to let you know that The Matador is by far my favorite go-to bar on a weekday or weekend! They have all different types if tequela coctails and exotic margaritas. If your really feeling it, you can treat yourself to a high end coctail that you can easily browse for on there top shelf menu. My favorite thing about The Matador is their Happy Hour...one if the greatest menus a bar can offer in tacoma. The food is very affordable and you can easily keep your check around $20 having 1 to 2 drinks with your food! so it is too easy to stop in after work and get food and a couple drinks!
Every time I come here, there are 2-5 employees outside, smoking dab pens and getting stoned. Last time I went, I walked past them (smelled it was not nicotine for sure), and went inside and waited 6 minutes for them to get inside and come get me. Outrageous. There is always some of them getting high instead of working. Messed up my nachos AND drink (probably too damn high). Not coming back anymore.
The enchiladas were tasteless. Not worth the money. The scene asada had a weird taste as well and the mezcal drink tasted like gasoline. Will not come back to this restaurant.
Highly advise to stop during happy hour. My friends and I always get the Nachos Grande whenever we come here - the portion size is huge! One of the spots I recommend my friends and family in downtown Tacoma.
First time at this location, and had the best dining experience ever!! Ryann was a total charm, great customer service, 10/10, and the food and drinks were so delicious! Definitely will have to make more trips down this way!!! Please give this lovely lady a raise!!!!
Brooke - Terrible service. We were bothering her to order anything. We were there for 2 hours just waiting for order our food. She would walk away when talking to her too. Drinks are pure sugar. Food was good. Came out fast and hot. She didn’t bring to us. Other team members did. She didn’t care about our birthday dinner. Parking is limited.
They have a great atmosphere and really good food. This particular time I was grabbing some to-go food and they let me know they have build your own nachos which was perfect for bringing home so they didnt get soggy. They send you home with the ingredients in individual containers, a pan to cook them in, and directions.
I would have put 5 stars for the vibe and the service. I only give 3 stars because, although the food was good, it was much spicier than the average guest can handle. There was no warning on the menu that the food was so spicy.We were a party of 10 and a few had a really hard time with how spicy the food was. They had to ask for shots of sour cream to get some relief.
Awesome food, can be a little pricey but if you go during happy hour you can save a ton of money. Huge, and I mean HUGE section of tequilas. Does get quite busy at peak meal times, but thats to be expected. Friendly staff, definitely recommend checking it out.
Went during happy hour. It was busy, but I received prompt friendly service. The food and cocktails were delicious. Will definitely visit again.
This food was not good at all!! Nothing close to authentic Mexican food. The Brussels sprouts were gross and way too oily, supposedly the Brussels sprouts are deep fried. The quesabirria wasn’t good not enough cheese and the dipping soup tasted like chili. Would not recommend or eat here again.
Tacos Al Pastor here were phenomenal! And they have a huge drink selection, I think the drink menu is bigger than the food menu... 😆 If your into architecture, they have a ton of hand cut (torch/plasma) metal work that is one of a kind! Very enjoyable place!
They’re so nice in there and it’s packed!! I been to Mexico way too many times and this tastes so American. What can I expect tho? Great place for socials and drinks with appetizers.
Delicious! The street tacos were perfectly done. The atmosphere was wonderful and the server was excellent. The cocktails were well done and creative. Chips and salsa were excellent. Some might think those are hard to mess up, but I’ve been to plenty of restaurants that find away lol. We went for a quick bite and we were not disappointed. Support the Matador! Enjoy great food and service here.
The taste of the food was excellent however the customer service my husband and I received will be the reason we never return. This is unfortunate because the atmosphere and food is awesome but I refuse to pay to be treated so poorly. The woman said 3 words to us the entire time. She checked on every table around us but did not check on us at all. We had to ask to have our glasses refilled every time. We attempted to be polite and thanked her when she brought things to the table and she wouldn’t even acknowledge that we spoke to her. I have never in my life been so appalled at customer service. I wish I knew her name but she wouldn’t tell us. My advice to the management is to train your employees in better attitudes and customer service. You have an excellent restaurant but your employees ruin it.
Cant speak to the food our appetizer was good. Maybe a bit overstated on the heat. Not too hot. But the heat hid the flavors. The tequila was good but no margaritas. Really the restaurant was a bit of a letdown but I hesitate to say so because the service was truly 5 star. First class service from the young man serving us. He knew when to be there and when to let us talk. Professional.
Delicious food and great staff. Ive been coming here for years now. Been to the Tacoma and Seattle locations. Havent had any issues to this day.
Always a great place to go! Great food, vibe, service and a wide selection of alcohol to choose from.I had their watermelon martini or something like that recently and that was made perfect! Not too strong not too sweet but I definitely got a good buzz off it ☺️.PARKING - Slightly annoying to park around there though a lot of one- ways, or reverse-in parking only and angle parking off the main streets. I wont knock them for that since thats out of their control.
The 3 tacos I ordered I thought was already overpriced~then I found out that it literally came with just three tacos no sides at all… Very much of a disappointment since all the good that I’ve heard of the place. The margaritas were good but also overpriced and was probably 85% ice cubes I drank it in 3 gulps. The total came to just about $150 and my friend had the same order as me and the other friend just had a single entree so I don’t see what all the fuss is.
Great service. I only drank but the enchiladas in red sauce smelled amazing. And their chips and salsa is delicious.
Wouldnt go back. They said that they were short staffed and that is why our food took almost an hour to come out on a Monday. The server stopped to check in on us once. Never asked if we wanted a refill on drinks or how the food was. Food was obviously sitting out for a while before we got it, I would check out all of the other great restaurants in Tacoma.
Loved the vibe of this place. Cocktails were great and service. The black bean dip was amazing and so was the street corn.
Amazing service at our lunch. Fabulous food and served fast! Fun atmosphere
Very delicious food and drinks and the ambience was amazing. The service there was phenomenal as well.
OMG! Some of the best Spanish/Mexican foods I have ever had. Have to apologize first. It was so fantastic we gobbled b4 I even remembered to take pics. But, let me describe the yummy.... It started with their chips and salsa. The chips were warm and crispy. The salsa was fantastic. Chunky a bit spicy but not too hot. We had the chicken fajitas and steak enchiladas with salsa verde. Flavor explosion in our mouths. The meat was exceptionally tender and the sauces were amazing. Again spicy but not too spicy. The most surprising side dish was their black beans!!! OMG!!!! The very best Ive ever had!!! And I dont like beans much. They made a believer out of me. They were exceptionally flavorful/savory and not greasy at all! Like none! Their drinks were spot on too! We didnt have dessert as we were too darn full but, those looked fantastic as well! The ambiance is wonderful as was the service. Well be back!👍😁🥰😘😋
The food and ambiance is worth the little extra you pay compared to in town Mexican restaurants. Down town has some of the best restaurants, and this is one of them. Mildly spendy
Visited 3 times and exactly the same. Service great, atmosphere great..unfortunately the food and drinks are pretty disappointing.
They have great servers, a nice selection of mezcal, excellent entrees I recommend the shrimp tacos.
We walked out. We sat at the bar while waiting for a seat outside. No bartender for over five minutes. After spending $85 on shots at the bar, we got the table we were waiting for only to be ignored by our server. We waited almost 20 minutes before leaving. If they had been busy that would be one thing, but the hostess literally said it shouldnt be a problem, were slow when we walked in. Didnt realize she was talking about the service and not the number of customers.This was really disappointing because weve been here before and enjoyed it. It was *much* busier then but we still at least got to see our waitress within ten minutes of getting seated.
Fun atmosphere, decent happy hour, but super slow service. Took like 45 minutes for happy hour tacos to be served.
Food was good, but not great and it took a bit long because they were crazy busy. Staff was courteous. Will definitely try again.
Bailey had excellent service. She was the most energetic and helpful server I have ever encountered as far as going out to eat. She definitely made my experience at this restaurant a 10 out of 10 I am I will definitely come back to the this restaurant because of the experience I had due to Bailey.
Hostess was rude as can be. Didnt even try to seat us at the bar when I could see over her shoulder there were seats available.
The Matador restaurant is excellent for a family of 4 or 5, or more, the staff were great, very helpful and polite, the atmosphere was very nice inside. The food was outstanding, we also enjoyed several appetizers as well and, nice and fresh vegetables and, delicious fruits, 😋, I Highly recommend trying The Matador restaurants, youll love it. Enjoy your evening and authentic cuisine. 🤙😎🤙👽🤙👣🤙👈.
Great happy hour on food! Must try the monster plate of nachos!
Found a new place to eat. Great West Coast Mexican food. I got the habenaro shrimp. My wife got and order of nachos, which was massive, and amazingly good. Our server, Brook did an excellent job, and checked on us regularly. Good job all around. Stop in when youre downtown.
Intimate, sexy vibes with great craft cocktails. Food is usually on point. Great late night bar menu but the Matador is so popular, you can spend hours waiting for a table. Great for dates, not so much for large groups
Wow!!!! What can a say amazing staff, Camry our server, just stated at the Matador. But it shows she has been in this industry for a very long time. Hands down the best service I have had. Warm, friendly, and extremely professional with alot of energy and fun to her. And when we needed anything she was there. The host were friendly and the busser was a young lady and was working hard to clear tables and to help the servers. The food was amazing we had the steak fajita and so did my wife. Wow!!! cooked perfect and alot of food. Our appetizer was nachos, with steak. Truly the best.... Cheese in every bite, they do not skimp on the steak and it was amazing big enough for three to 4. So with an amazing atmosphere and upbeat staff. Gentleman great place to take your first date, anniversary or for a great casual night out. This place will not disappoint.
Delicious - great drinks - fun staff - awesome crowd.
Bailey was great :) she took amazing care of my family and I ♥️
Came with a large group and had some trouble getting seated. Once we got a table separate from the other half of the group we had a nice meal. The Server was pleasant and efficient. Kind of glad we got a separate table because the service was on par. Food was good too!
Fantastic food. So good! Had enchiladas divorciadas - the delicious enchilada sauce. Even the salsa that came with the free chips was so delicious!
Omg. The happy hour fish tacos( not sure if they are different from regular menu) Jesus!!!!
Excellent margaritas and food. We came here for some drinks and lunch, and it was a great experience. Their mango chilli margarita was a killer and was best one ever. Also tried blood orange one and top shelf margarita too. Chip and salsa were delicious and their taco sampler was too good. Had a great time sitting next to the fire and their service was excellent. Will come back again.
The service was really bad. We waited almost 30 minutes before anyone stopped at our table while tables around us were served. The queso was chunky and the guac was just a blended sweet avocado. The Redmond location is much better.
Excellent service and the best food Ive had in a long time!
Always a pleasure to enjoy the atmosphere here. Seating took about 30 mins but once we were called it was great. The service was excellent, our server was very attentive without being over bearing. We arrived at happy hour so it was full with social distance measures in place. Cant wait to go back.
Delicious lunch/dinner last Saturday late afternoon. We order several new things and the three of us were completely satisfied and stuffed with tasty food. We tried their new Beyond Meat Burrito. It was enormous enough for several and really good. We happen to love Beyond Meat so h Th is was a winner. My son had the spicy mushroom quesadilla and he loved it. The guacamole excellent as usual! Can say enough about this spot. It’s a winner.
Busy place at lunch, or something. Food is excellent. Service is good. Patience getting it is required.
Got the take out nachos make it yourself. It was fun preparing the nachos. They were delicious out of oven. Incredible street tacos
Love the happy hour and the food! The jalapeño poppers are always a must man I can order 2 sides of them if I was really hungry for sure. I also like one of the quesadillas but I know it was only seasonal. Don’t sele on that menu because there is always née things that the chef makes up. ( I’m assuming) always a good time goin to the matador. It’s a Tacoma favorite for sure!
Wonderful gettaway in downtown Tacoma. Bailey was our server and had all the best suggestions! The drinks were exactly what we wanted and the food delicious! Great menu with happy hour specials and an amazing margarita selection!
Good food, brought a Mexican friend that liked it, so its authentic enough. A bit more expensive than similar restaurants in the area.
Came in tonite for a belated Mothers Day dinner with my Mom and husband. Service was outstanding (even after i spilled my coffee and my server was there to clean it up in seconds 🤣) Food was delicious and the kitchen did their best to accomodate my moms sensitivity to spicy foods. We had a fantastic evening and appreciate the staff for all they did. Definitely will be back!
Great happy hour! Theres usually a short wait for a table, but it goes pretty fast and well worth the wait.
Great food.and service. Happy hour items decently priced. Restaurant itself was clean and classy.
Busy but worth it! Great meals and appetizers that have healthy proportions. The staff is knowledgeable and attentive. This is one of the best quality establishments in the Tacoma area. My number one mexi-spot, actually. Right down town with many alternatives and places to walk after a great meal! 5-star.
I did not dine-in, but if I ever do I will update my review. I got GrubHub delivery from here and was disappointed when my order took almost an hour longer to be delivered than was scheduled (food was still hot so it wasn’t an issue with the driver). I am giving 5 stars because the food was out of this world, AMAZING. I have never had a better burrito, ever. The black bean dip and salsa were divine. The food was well worth the annoyance of the delivery experience.
Great food and a great service. Very loud music so dont go if youre trying to hear every word your party is saying
Matador is always a wonderful experience with a fantastic wait staff and amazing food and drink. My personal favorites are anything with the marinated steak and their elixir cocktail, but the bartender cocktail is a close second.
Love there happy hour selections.
Based on my experience, did an order pick up for a few items. My entree was not good at all. The meat was undercooked big time. The tortillas that came with the food were completely soggy. Plus, the price I paid was far more expensive than other spots that give you bigger portions, higher quality, etc. Overall, a complete waste of money and time. I should have taken pictures of how the food was...Would not recommend or return.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time here! Our cocktails were not strong but unique and delicious all the same and our food was very good!
Fantastic. Excellent food and drinks. Great service. Will go again!
One of my favs .....love all the spicy dishes and yummy drinks
The Matador Mexican Restaurant, Pacific Avenue, Tacoma WAThe Matador (Tacoma) is part of a local bar chain, which as their billing states, serves classic & contemporary Mexican dishes, plus cocktails, in a stylish space. Which on all counts they succeed. Located on the northern end of Pacific Avenue in Tacoma where one also finds many original and preserved architectural gems, this area comprises the Theatre District, Antiques Row and other establishments such as the beautifullyrestored McMenamins Elks Temple. The Matador also stands out here, well appointed within its restored early 1900’s era structure. The space is deceivingly large inside with ample indoor seating and a generous size bar area to accommodate a fair amount of patrons. . Whats really nice though is a very pleasant outdoor seating area out front that on a warm afternoon or evening is perfect for drinks or happy hour bites in a quieter, less distractive atmosphere. We stopped in mid afternoon for a late lunch (seated outdoors) where once seated we were presented with chips and salsa and then proceeded to appetisers. We started with a Chicken Matador Quesadilla, made from a large flour tortilla filled with Monterey Jack cheese, fresh pico de gallo, and served with cilantro-lime sour cream and fresh guacamole. This appetiser is actually generous insize which will definitely increase the odds of a to-go box for any entree dish which may follow. Hence, we followed with the Enchiladas Divorciadas, two corn tortillas filled with gooey Monterey jack cheese & slow braised chicken thighs, smothered in two sauces: mild sweet & tangy salsa verde & medium smoky salsa roja. Served with pico de Gallo, guacamole, cilantro-lime sour cream, achiote-chile rice and Mexican black beans. Somewhat a hot mess on a plate, but definitely delicious and filling with reference again to that to-go box. In addition we had the Al Pastor Tacos, consisting of three corn tortillas filled with Pork marinated in chiles, spices, onion, and pineapple, and grilled toorder, served with guajillo and garlic red taco sauce, a sweet grilled pineapple, and Pico de gallo. This dish can be ordered a la carte, but we opted for the full meal deal which included chile-achiote rice, Mexican black beans and you guessed it, a to-go box.The Matador also has quite the extensive and interesting drinks/bar menu whereTequila is a speciality of the house and easily adds to ones overall enjoyableexperience. Staff are friendly, attentive and efficient and pricing is appropriate for quality and quantity of product offerings. Only downside for some may be that parking duringthe day is ample, but evening and weekend parking may be a challenge due to so many popular venues and nightlife events within a small area.
I come here every now and then especially when they have outdoor events (beware, the ladies restroom is hell on their busy nights/event nights, I mean I saw a girl use a trashcan because she couldnt wait). But I finally got to try their food though and I must say, the tacos were super fulfilling and those stuffed bacon wrapped jalapeños were to die for! I live within walking distance and I might just have to come back for those regularly haha. I forgot my servers name but she was very sweet and attentive to our needs. Natasha also works here as a server and she is stellar at her job too! Drinks can be a hit or a miss though. The hot toddy tasted lukewarm and blah and the house margarita had too much lime juice so that was the first time I didnt finish a drink haha. I forgot what my friend had, maybe it was the Mexican Mule, but it tasted amazing!
Disappointing experience today. I phoned in a to go order at 11:30 and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. I let them know I would be there by 12:15, which they noted. I also indicated there was a dairy allergy for our order as well. Once I got to the restaurant, there were only a few tables filled and was told my food would be ready in a couple of minutes. After 20 minutes, I asked for an update and was again told it would be a couple of minutes. I received my order at 12:40. After leaving, I called to speak to the manager after seeing that they had put cheese on our tacos. That was my mistake for not checking. Definitely something to keep in mind though for people with allergies, as they don’t appear to take it as seriously as I would have hoped.Overall, the food was cold by the time we were able to enjoy it for Mother’s Day (but it was pretty good, the Carne Asada sandwich especially). With so many choices it was a bummer of an experience with the inattentive customer service.
Great food and service.. ill definitely go back
Wonderful service everytime! Always treated like family. This is a comfortable place to eat/drink. Everything is cleaned & sanitized. What else could you ask for? Oh yeah! A margarita!
I’ll start with five stars and work from there. Good chips and salsa. The salsa was definitely different than your run-of-the mill. Thick with a unique, fresh flavor. Chips were thick and some had a bit of a chewy texture. Nice.Bar was closed, had to wear a mask(enforced),burrito didn’t come with rice and/or refried beans on the side(which I love), wait staff was awkward. Not rude or arrogant in the least. Just made us feel a bit awkward. Maybe new 🤷🏼♂️-.25⭐️ eachAll in all the atmosphere is nice and food tastes pretty good. Not authentic Mexican. It’s like a CaliMex style of food. Different, but pretty good. I’d go again, maybe if covid ever ends in Tacoma. Sorry for thinking I paid for chips n salsa in previous review. Upon further review, I did not. My mistake. Thanks for the nice meal!
Exceptional service, food and drinks. Every time we go here we consistently have a great experience.
Stopped in Saturday about 4:30pm. It was busy. Waited about 15 minutes for a table. Ordered chicken fajitas and al Pastor Tacos. Everything was delicious and service was friendly and prompt.
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