El Matador
Mexican · Desert Hot Springs
About El Matador
En El Matador, llevamos desde 1994 sirviendo los sabores auténticos de México en Desert Hot Springs. Nuestra cantina local te ofrece platos mexicanos familiares, perfectos para disfrutar con una refrescante margarita. Con una larga tradición y la calidez de nuestra gente, te invitamos a sentirte com...
En El Matador, llevamos desde 1994 sirviendo los sabores auténticos de México en Desert Hot Springs. Nuestra cantina local te ofrece platos mexicanos familiares, perfectos para disfrutar con una refrescante margarita. Con una larga tradición y la calidez de nuestra gente, te invitamos a sentirte como en casa mientras saboreas la verdadera esencia de México.
What Customers Say About El Matador
El Matador is a revamped Mexican restaurant popular with locals for its authentic food, generous portions, and friendly service. Customers rave about the flavorful dishes and clean, inviting atmosphere, though some find the prices high or the service inconsistent.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: The restaurant has been recently remodeled with a nice clean look inside.
Features
What to see nearby
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Explore the area around El Matador
El Matador is located in Desert Hot Springs, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Parks & Gardens
- Arroyo Park (A 822m) — park in Riverside County, California, United States of America
- Mission Springs Park (A 828m) — park in Riverside County, California, United States of America
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Frequently asked questions about El Matador
El Matador Desert Hot Springs Reviews
Tried it for the first time and was impressed. Bright, colorful, clean interior, good service and good food. We will be back.
This is where the locals go! We always enjoy great food and great service. The atmosphere is quiet, clean, and inviting but casual and not fancy. Enjoy!
This place is by far, the BEST Mexican food in DHS! I was skeptical from the outside, but it proved me wrong! The inside was clean and well played out. Not cramped like other places. The food was the biggest surprise. I had a traditional combination meal, Chili Relleno, chicken flats, rice and beans ALL was Excellant! The BEST Chili Relleno I have ever had, and I have had them all over Mexico! Don't pass up this place!
Awesome old school Mexican restaurant in Desert Hot Springs California that has been revamped with a nice clean look. Externally it still has that old school original look but when you go inside it's nice and fresh. The food is delicious the drinks are amazing and the service is great they also have a window on the side of the building that you can order out to go. It's a little pricey but the food is great (large in portions) and the drinks are super size. I recommend you try out this restaurant when you're on the 10 freeway passing through the Palm Springs area in in Southern California in the little town of Desert Hot Springs California.
We have been here years ago. It has been recently remodeled and very nice inside. I had the special which was birria. It was delicious. Consomme broth was tasty. Beans were really good! Chips and salsa were in point too. Wife had a combination with a taco and chile relleno. Very tasty. Service was friendly. Reasonably priced.
1st time here, amazing food! I was unsure about the place at first, but inside the restaurant is not what you would expect. See pictures Totally recommend this place Service is excellent, everyone is so nice and seems they fuss over you, making sure everything is perfect. We will be back forsure!!
First time at this restaurant. My boyfriend and I wanted to try a new Mexican Restaurant. We drove 25 minutes and were happily surprised. Very authentic food. Great flavor as well. Even tho there was only one server she did a great job. She had 7 tables at one time. But managed to keep on top of them all. Will definitely going back!
We are staying in Desert Hot Springs and looking for a mexican restaurant we found El Matador. The outside of the place is a little funky but the inside is very nice. I get a kick out of the cow outside since the name is El Matador. I had the chicken enchiladas and my wife had the birria carnitas. Both dishes were excellent and the service was top notch.
Nice with good food and friendly service. Our wait for our favorite was lengthy considering there weren't many other tables being waited. The steak fajitas were good.
I had lengua tacos from here, and they were good. The toppings and the guacamole salsa they gave us with it was tasty too. I really enjoy their cup of champurrado. I think the prices are fair for the food. My only complaint was that I wish they offered a bigger size of champurrado! So delicious. Their torta looked so yummy, I almost stole a bite from my boyfriend. The employees were polite, great service. I would return here.
Used to be my favorite restaurant in DHS as a kid! Unfortunately they did the millennial grey makeover and put in lights so bright it feels like you’re in a doctor’s office - If they made it a little cozier like it used to be I would eat here all the time! Please just like some cool lamps and fun paint colors or something, you can’t take a date to an interrogation chamber! 3 stars because the food is so good, and everyone there is really nice!
It’s was ok but just ok. Salsa and chips were very good. The Skirt steak lacked flavor and somewhat overdoing. But still a decent plate and generous servings. The queso Birria tacos were a surprise. Whenever I have had them at other restaurants they had been fried and had a crusty shell . These corn shells were soggy, not crispy as expected , however the flavor was very good with excellent dipping consume. Beans and rice , not bad. Service was ok. The one guy at the bar maybe had a little to much wanted all the servers listening to his stories. They seemed trapped while we waited awhile for our bill. Over all not bad but not great.
For a dinner that was $180 for a family of 5, the portions could've been better. I ordered chicken fajitas and it was literally vegetable fajitas! There was scraggly little pieces of chicken about 8 pieces. For that plate to be $20, I expected more.
Such a huge disappointment and feel like I got scammed. Ordered two Carne Asada tacos and a medium side of rice with a large Horchata. The cashier showed me what a medium size container looked like, and I agreed to order the medium side of rice. I should’ve looked in the bag before leaving, but the same girl that took my order, also bagged up my order and she gave me a tiny little container of rice less than half the size of what I ordered but charge me for the medium side of rice. With tip I paid $23 for this meal. The tacos were actually small street tacos which I was really disappointed. Hardly any meat just mostly onions. The large Horchata was filled up to the rim of ice so there was hardly any Horchata in it. The food tasted bland. Definitely will not be coming here again or would not recommend.
The food is amazing but this is just another restaurant that has good food & selective customer service. The meat was not fresh it was warm. Sour cream & guac should some of what melt on fresh hot meat especially cheese. That’s what the cashier did not understand. But the food is top tier.
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About El Matador
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13450 Palm Dr, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
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13450 Palm Dr, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
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park in Riverside County, California, United States of America
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