Dining and drinking review: The Matador

Review and photos by Ted Broussard

The Matador Restaurant and Tequila Bar is located at 721 Pacific Avenue

Tex-Mex in Tacoma
If you don’t mind having to wait up to an hour for a table and can handle the dull roar of a lively crowd, you can find several options in downtown Tacoma. But if you want all that and pretty delicious Tex-Mex food and drink, The Matador on Pacific Avenue rises to the top of the list.

With four restaurants in Washington, two in Oregon and one in Idaho, The Matador group boasts fresh Mexican dishes from classic to contemporary, with a nod to Texas by way of Northwest ingredients. The Tacoma location is in a beautiful, old red brick building that retains its architectural detail and character and delivers a fun, happening kind of place that packs in the crowds. The ceilings are high and so is the noise level but it’s an attractive, inviting space to have a good time with friends. As mentioned earlier, the long wait times to be seated are enough to get me going somewhere else, but our new secret strategy is to be seated in the outdoor section right on the Pacific Avenue sidewalk. Surprisingly, we’ve had occasional luck being seated there without a wait, and the ability to hear each other speak and people watch at the same time is a bonus.

With over 100 varieties of tequila, and a full bar and beer selection, The Matador delivers on good drinks. Our current favorite cocktail is the Bartender’s Margarita, a delicious concoction of Reposado tequila, triple sec, lime, lemon, agave, cranberry and Grand Marnier. There are many specialty cocktails to choose from and a voluminous menu to describe them.

Our food has been consistently very good on every visit. Most recently we enjoyed the Braised Carnitas plate served with perfectly seasoned and tender Pork Shoulder, flour or corn tortillas, black beans, rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. The requisite chips and salsa that came with the food order were good but nothing remarkable. We had very good service initially but there was a delay in paying our bill due to how busy they were. I’m willing to cut them some slack on that one because it has not been our usual experience there. On other visits we’ve loved the enchiladas, fajitas and a fun and different dish called Hacienda Pie. Think of it as a Mexican potpie with stewed pork, tomatillos, Dos Equis Amber and pico de gallo simmering under a jalapeno cornbread crust with a dollop of cilantro-lime sour cream. Delicious! We haven’t had a bad meal there yet. You’ll find many good choices at lunch, dinner and happy hour.

The Matador is a great place for a more contemporary take on Mexican food with a Texas twist. It’s loud, it’s noisy and it’s delicious. It’s perfectly suited for groups of friends to catch up and have a good time over tasty margaritas and food or to grab a table at the sidewalk seating and watch people who don’t feel like waiting an hour walk away to try their luck somewhere else.