A Tapas restaurant in Hull has announced it is closing. El Toro in Princes Avenue broke the sad news to customers with a social media post.
We previously paid a visit in 2019 and described the food as “gorgeous tapas at reasonable prices”. Our reporter also thought the sheer variety of exciting dishes was a “game-changer” for the Avenues.
It became one of the more popular restaurants in Hull, garnering over 700 Google reviews with an average of four-and-a-half stars rating. On its website, El Toro says its mission is to create food “just the way it’s done in Spain”.
Spanish favourites on the menu included paella, spicy meatballs, chorizo, calamari, and churros. Its drinks offering included Spanish beers, wines, Sangria, and a full cocktail menu.
The closure was announced in a post on the El Toro Facebook page on Monday. It is not yet clear if it closed with immediate effect or at a future date.
(Image: Peter Harbour)
It said: “It is with deep sadness that we share the difficult decision to close El Toro for good. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our loyal customers for your unwavering support throughout the years.
“You will all be greatly missed. Thank you for being a part of our journey.”
Many customers reacted to the news with sadness and thanked the owners for their fantastic meals over the years. Some said they were “gutted”, it was their “favourite tapas in the city”, and another said they “want to cry”.
One customer wrote: “Thanks for your wonderful food and service I wish you all the best in whatever your next journey take you.” A second said they had not been recently but had always experienced “lovely food and outstanding service”.
Someone else said: “Gutted to hear this love this place was only here a couple of weeks ago food was excellent as always.” Another penned: “Very sad to read this. As a family we have celebrated many a special occasion with yourselves.”
One customer said it followed a trend for the area. “Another well established loss to the Avenues,” they wrote. “Good luck with your future plans.”
So far this year, Hull has lost The Hispanist in Paragon Arcade and Thai House in Princes Avenue. A little further afield, The Monkey Tree Cafe in Beverley has also unfortunately closed.
But there have also been a few new restaurant openings in Hull and East Yorkshire. In Beverley, we had a superb meal at the Olive Lounge and on Newland Avenue experienced one of our best curries outside of India at Curryish.