The Matador Review

Jason here. Recently, Kayleigh’s parents came up for a visit. We wanted to find a nice gluten free restaurant that would be local to the Eastside. After a little searching, we found the The Matador’s Redmond location.

To start, the Matador is gluten free friendly. I was nearly certain of this before even stepping inside. How do you ask? Because any restaurant that has a gluten free menu available, or labels allergy information on the main menu starts off with high marks. Bonus points for having this menu readily available online. Additionally, we even had a gluten intolerant waitress who was friendly and answered any questions we had about the menu.

One important note to get out of the way is, be careful when ordering off of their gluten free menu. Many items call out that you need to make a substitution, while others are marked that they are cooked in the same deep fryer which cooks items which contain gluten.

I was not up for taking any risks on the deep fried wings, so I opted to go for the Enchiladas Picante on corn tortillas, with shredded chicken. These came with a side of annatto rice and black beans. True to their description, the enchiladas were very spicy. I tend to like really spicy foods, and these were just perfect. There is a fine line between extra spicy food, and just creating a dish as hot as possible, which sacrifices flavor along the way. The enchiladas were bursting with flavor. The Monterey jack cheese, lettuce, habanero chiles, and red bell peppers all blend together nicely to create a blend of flavors. The rice itself was also good, and made and helped take away some of the heat from the enchiladas. The black beans were okay, but I have never been a fan of just plain beans, although these did have what I would describe as a slightly refried texture to them. As a last comment for my meal, if you know you like foods more on the mild side of spicey, then I would recommend ordering another entrée.

Luckily, there are many gluten free options to choose from, including multiple types of enchiladas, steaks, sandwiches (no bun), salads, and even a handful of appetizers. This makes the Matador a good place to go with a larger group, since there will almost certainly be an item for everyone.

Kayleigh here. I decided it was a ‘go big or go home’ sort of day, and ordered the cucumber-jalapeno margarita to go with my Enchiladas Picante. Their margaritas were refreshing, the shrimp in my enchiladas were perfectly cooked, and despite what Jason says, the black beans were the better side. I just love black beans.

As a quick note, I really enjoyed the Matador’s ambiance. There are a couple large stained glass windows which you should check out, along with a massive wall of tequila. Which by the way, if you like margaritas or other tequila drinks that Matador is for you as it is their specialty. If you are ever feeling adventurous, order a flight!