El Toro Cantina / Busby's

05/26/2008 Posted by tattertots

Met up with a big group of people on Saturday night for the bar/club scene. First off there's a $10 cover (boo! this is not a VIP kind of club and second, the drinks were pathetic. They were watered down and overpriced. I'm a lightweight drinker but it took my third drink to even taste any alcohol. The crowd for the most part was pretty cool (mostly an Asian scene) except for a handful of idiots here and there, sprinkled with "dude-get-a-room" couples. They had two pool tables, a basketball shooting game and a few arcade games in one area. There was an outdoor room in the middle so smokers didn't have to walk down to the street level for a ciggie. And there was a pretty decent sized space for dancing. Bathroom was absolutely grotesque, it's like they only cleaned it once a week and they couldn’t afford paper-towels or toilet paper. Valet parking attendants (wankers!) were completely unorganized; I’m pretty patient but we waited almost an hour for our car. A horrible and horrendous night club.

Pros: Spacious, decent crowd

Cons: Overpriced/water-downed drinks, disorganized, dirty, awful valet

02/07/2008 Posted by indy22

I work in the neighborhood and stopped by El Toro for drinks after work last week. They might possibly have the best margaritas in town, and when they're half-priced for happy hour, they're even better! The gourmet taco menu was really good - we ordered a few different kinds (filet mignon & coconut shrimp tacos were awesome) and nachos, sat at a cool lounge-y table and had a really great time. Staff were great - we were a big group but they took it in stride and even bought us a round of drinks. This will definitely be my new Friday happy hour spot with the girls, especially since we can go right up to Busby's to dance after!

Pros: margaritas, tacos, atmosphere

Cons: not sure about parking.. we walked

11/18/2007 Posted by goldenpalace

I can't believe this place. It was awesome a few months ago but has now turned into a crudhole. The quality guys who came here to socialize and order drinks get treated like poorly. I'm sorry, but we are the ones who spend 90% of the money in these places.... The bartenders are rude and egotistical. You're here to serve us - so do your job! It shouldn't be mission impossible to order a round of drinks. The overall croud has gone waaaay down. Half the guys walk around with their shoulders out trying to start fights. This is a club, RELAX! No one wants to start a fight. All the girls who I brought did not have a good time. They said the guys were creepy and weird. Evne the girls who I met there said the same thing - to were extremely creeped out by the guys! On top of that, the girls aren't even hot....Keep in mind I am the most non-judgemental person ever...but if ugly chicks are getting creeped out by weird guys....imagine what the hot girls are thinking!! Save yourself a headache and head to another bar in Hollywod. Busby's had SO much potential but the management obviously has no clue how to run a business. Next time show your employees how to treat customers properly. We are at your venue to spend OUR money and you act like you're doing us a FAVOR? No thanks, I'd rather go somewhere that appreciates my business.

Pros: cool venue

Cons: bouncers, bartenders, people, cover, attitude

11/18/2007 Posted by onehumor

What makes this place bad? Well we can start with the crowd: thuggish looking unattractive people, standoffish girls that are 5s, strange and creepy crowd. Bartenders are rude -- treat the people that are ordering drinks from you with respect. Security -- you're working at busby's on a saturday night, need I say more? get over your ego. Cover charge? LOL what a joke... for this place? This place used to be cool about 6 months ago but it's gone waaaaay down hill. If you're into the thuggish crowd, ugly people, bad music, horrible bartenders, etc... this place is for you! Seriously, pick somewhere else... anywhere else -- way to many good places in Hollywood to waste your night away here!

Pros: decent venue but put badly to use

Cons: crowd, bartenders, scene, wasting away your weekend night

11/04/2007 Posted by chrisrubio81

Been here for happy hour. Pretty good drink and food prices. Trendy crowd comes in. Been on a Thursday night. Lounge with a DJ. Hip younger crowd. Most people are good looking. They used to have video games on the wall that was cool. Took a date here on Friday. Girl bartender sucked on drinks and service. Very good looking chics. Very cool place because you can choose to go to the club or lounge near the bar. They need to have some stuff to watch on TV.s Being a local. I totally recommend this place. $10 cover for weekend nights. No lines!! Cool bouncers.

10/26/2007 Posted by jtdb123

I went to Busby's on Saturday night and had a blast!! The drinks were actually drinks!!! I mean I have been to many a clubs and I am sorry unless you have bottle service and you are pouring your own drinks they 8 times out of 10 are on the weaker side, but not here. My drinks were very good.. no complaints from a progressive drinker like me... Also of course you have your unwanteds everywhere you go but overall the crowd is cool, laidback not too pompous... the ladies are very cute. As far as the music it's great.. the DJ plays a large variety music from Hip Hop, Top 40 etc... there is a stage there where the girls get there and start dancing, it's awesome...security pulled some guy down from one of the boxes but then again aside from his friends who really wants to see a guy on top of a go go box... so in my opinion good call haha. I will definitely come back and make this one of my #1 picks for going out...

Pros: Good food, Music, all around great place

Cons: Parking S**KS , but at least they have valet

08/25/2007 Posted by cfh22

it would be 4 stars, but the dance area gave me so much hope, and was so crushing, that it brought the whole venue down. Fine to hang out and drink though. AVOID for dancing. All in all, for anyone who wasn't 1000 sheets to the wind, the dance scene was laughable (a club consensus - the music was HORRIBLY mixed to dance to) and the bar tender asked me how to mix my drink. Come on!

Pros: Lots of Space

Cons: MUSIC

07/22/2007 Posted by troberts9

I love this place. If you can't have a good time at Busby's then stay home. Always a good crowd on the weekends and absolulely the most stacked sports bar i have ever seen. There must be at least 30 huge plasma's..I can't wait untill football season!!! Good food, stiff drinks, and hot chicks will keep me coming back here for a long time.

07/01/2007 Posted by brandopolo

Oh, how quickly the mighty fall. Enter Busby's Jr. Like everybody else in the neighborhood, I was thrilled we finally had a decent dance bar to call our own. For a while, it lived up to the hype. Staring at Christmas 2006, me and my friends went here like clockwork, getting to know the original bouncers and bartenders. We watched it change from an empty place, to the central hotspot, and finally to the hellhole it is now. I blame the owner, who chased away his regulars with poor treatment. I'm sorry, but you don't let people who spend hundreds of dollars of dinner and bar tabs night after night in your club continue to wait in line and pay cover. I recently visited this place after about a month away to check and see if its decline was temporary, but I found it to be completely sketch. 45 minute wait in line. Totally overcrowded with riff-raff. Fat girls, yuck. People in big, baggy jeans and oversized white tees? Um, dress code anyone? Yes, we want to "lean like a cholo" when we go out dancing. No, we don't want actual life-sized cholos frightening all the cute girls off the dance floor. Is this a LA bar or a prison rodeo? I suggest any goodlooking lady bring mace. It's almost enough to make me miss the ditzy sorority girls and loud frat boys who used to call this place home (almost). One thing hasn't changed: the DJ is still questionable, although thankfully he has stopped attempting to scratch. Wow, that was embarrassing. So those of us wedged between midtown and Beverly Hills still have no viable alternative to the plastic and uncool Hollywood scene. For the foreseeable future, me and my buddies will be partying on the Westside and in the South Bay where they don't cotton to wannabe gangstas. Busby's Jr. gets an extra star for still being better than Busby's Sr., which I still hear has the worst nightlife on this side of the Milky Way. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, obviously. You tried though!

Pros: Centrally located, spacious, good sports bar element, nice bartenders, fun dancing

Cons: Sketchy clientele, poor service, poor management, overpriced cover, long waits

05/11/2007 Posted by holdenmckock

A new job finds me driving past Miracle Mile damn near every day, but that's cool because it means i get to eat lunch at El Toro damn near every day too. There's something like 50 tacos on their menu. It's insane. I'm working my way through all of the varieties. So far I've tried 12 different tacos from the menu. All have been awesome. I've been a longtime customer of the Santa Monica Busby's coz I live on the Westside, and I can tell you that the Busby's guys have themselves a winner in the El Toro Cantina. I'm hoping my route doesn't change too much because Ive been doing lunch at El Toro almost every day on my way through, and hitting happy hour upstairs at the new Busby's on my way home to watch the NHL Playoffs (Go Sabres!) and I like my new routine. I don't know the owners of Busby's but whoever you are, nice job! Your new place is the sh!t.

Pros: taco tapas is my new lunchtime addiction