It was a time of transition in 2016 for Fayetteville's El Matador Mexican Bar and Grill. The local dining favorite has upgraded to a new building in a new location, but the authentic food and friendly service has remained the same.
Originally opened on Steamboat Drive four years ago, the restaurant reopened last June in its larger, newly constructed location at 3412 Black Forest Dr., in front of the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Wedington Drive.
With a full bar in the new location, customers can now come in for a great meal or a specialty drink -- including the new watermelon margarita -- to relax with friends. The patio will also soon be in use for open-air and musical enjoyment.
"Customers seem to like the new building and how it looks, and we have seen an increase in customers and sales since we opened here," co-owner Meliton Montes said. "I think the atmosphere is better over here, with a great patio outside. We have a nice, large bar for people to come in and sit down, and we still have the best food and the best service around."
Matador carries on the tradition of the Montes family and their group of local eateries. La Huerta, located on North College Ave., in Fayetteville, became the family's first establishment in 1994. Now, Meliton, his brother, Edgar, and partner Juan Barba, have created a spread of Mexican restaurants that also includes Mexico Viejo and Mojito's Mexican Grill in Fayetteville, and a La Huerta in Fort Smith.
"This is actually the first restaurant we have opened in a new building," Meliton said. "We are very proud of what we have and we want to keep serving great food with great service and have our customers keep coming back."
The new building is 6,000 square feet, a significantly large increase from the 3,500-square-foot location over on Steamboat.
Matador still serves familiar Mexican cuisine and the focus in the kitchen is to use fresh ingredients and prepare made-from-scratch dishes.
"In all of the restaurants we have, everything is made fresh," said Gonzalo Leon, who is the general manager for both Matador and Mexico Viejo.
Using similar recipes along with a seasoned, stable staff, the restaurant produces consistent food and service. It also creates an environment for quick, reliable visits.
Lunch specials are served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. The standard lunch menu ranges from $3.99-$7.25 and includes a choice of seasoned ground beef, shredded chicken or pork and cheese.
The specialties include lunch-sized portions of options including huevos rancheros, fajitas and the Burrito El Matador.
Lunch combos give patrons a medley of pairings, such as tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and enchiladas. Most plates are served with rice and beans and priced around $5-6.
In addition to common Mexican dishes, the menu also offers numerous house specialties.
There is a large selection of chicken, beef, pork, vegetarian and seafood dishes. Offerings include grilled tilapia tacos, shrimp ceviche, t-bone steak with ranchero sauce, chile verde, spinach enchiladas, and pollo loco.
House specialties include the Wedington Special with two, sliced flank steaks served with rice, cucumber salad and a chile relleno, which is a fresh poblano pepper that is stuffed with cheese, fried and topped with mole sauce.
The Dennis Especial is a large flour tortilla stuffed with beef or chicken, onions, rice, beans, cilantro, white queso and tomatillo salsa.
Chilaquiles Mexicanos are corn tortillas filled with chicken and ranchero sauce, then topped with queso.
The Cazuelada is a family meal that includes grilled shrimp, carne asada, chicken and chorizo served with sides of pinto beans, rice, guacamole salad and tortillas.
Taquitos Mexicanos are four corn tortillas wrapped around chicken or beef, deep fried to a golden brown.
Pollo Borrego is a grilled chicken breast topped with mushrooms and a spicy cream sauce.
All of the tortillas and chips are also produced in house at the family's Springdale factory, Los Altos Tortilleria.
Matador has a full bar and serves the notorious, 44-ounce Monster Margaritas. Flavors include watermelon, lime, strawberry, peach and pina colada. Pitchers and 16-ounce portions are also available.
The bar offers liquor, bottled and draft beer, daiquiris, mojitos and wine. There are also daily drink specials.
Catering is also available for a range of occasions, including sweet sixteen or quinceanera birthdays, weddings and holiday meals. Typical set-up includes a long table draped with tablecloths, a stack of dinner plates and ceramic catering pots with sterno fuel to keep the food warm. The catering can be arranged to be dropped off or be full-service with waitstaff.
More information is available by calling (479) 856-6950 or by visiting facebook.com/ElMatadorFayetteville.
NAN Dining Guide Cover on 03/17/2017