Recommendation for El Torito Grill--With Reservations

You should probably know that although they will gladly take your reservation when you call, and although the sign at the desk loudly proclaims “reservations taken,” they do not really take reservations at the new El Torito Grill, 9595 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (213) 550-1599. What they do is put you at the head of the waiting list when you arrive. And although the restaurant has been open barely a week, is the size of a small airport and is densely filled with tables, that list is bound to be sizable by the time you get there. Already the place is packed.

When you finally get a table you will discover that it is in a room so loud that you won’t be able to hear the baby at the next table crying. Once the waiter has brought exotic drinks like Pink Cadillac Margaritas and mixed guacamole at your table, you may not care. So you’ll go on to various combinations of tacos, taquitos, enchiladas and the like (all very reasonably priced), or a rather ornate series of Southwestern specials. “It’s a Hasidic quesadilla,” a man at one table was saying as we passed, contemplating a concoction filled with smoked salmon, jicama, apples and toasted pinenuts with cilantro and green chile pesto.

As for dessert--are you ready for banana-filled chocolate enchiladas?