10/10. love coming here for lunch, great food, very friendly staff, and the salsa has the perfect amount of spiciness. If you haven't been here you definitely need to give it a try.
Ralph Morris
Owners are extremely rude and do not care about their customers. They can have one table in there and will ignore you while they stand there eating food. Great way to treat paying customers or maybe it was because we were white. The only other table in there was full of people speaking Spanish and they were getting great service. We sat for about 10 minutes and finally realized that they didn’t want our business. The older lady is one of the owners and she was the one that left us sitting there. The food isn’t that great anyway and the portions are super small. Thankfully though this town has no shortage of these kinds of restaurants, so we went to Los Aces down the road on Edison. Great food and great service, so we were glad that La Esperanza did not want our business. No worries though. They’ll never get our business again. :)
Daniel Keiling
Always loved this place! The food is amazing and the staff is friendly and welcoming!
Molly A
I got a carry out order for 3 steak tacos on Taco Tuesday. The cashier was very nice and told me it would be 10-15 minutes. I could tell she was working hard to get orders out. It ended up being 20 mins. I wish they would’ve just told me that at the get go bc I had to go to the Post Office and would’ve done that first. The women’s bathroom was occupied the entire time I was there somehow which was also a bummer. (Only 1 stall).
The steak tacos looked promising but the meat was dry and not flavorful. If you dump enough salsa verde on it though they weren’t half bad. The rice was also dry and they didn’t give me silverware so I scooped it into my mouth with chips.
I got free chips and salsa with my order which I greatly appreciated as it was the best part of the meal. The salsa was awesome and spicy. I couldn’t stop eating it! The chips were also very good. I would’ve given this a 2 star review if it wasn’t for the fire chips and salsa so good job on that:)
I also thought the prices didn’t fit the quality (not during the specials but the rest of the time)
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chips
Katie Albrecht
Best Chimichanga I have ever had in my life. And I'm an old fat girl! Service was excellent too!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julian Angelo
My partner really enjoyed the food, but I was a little disappointed. I only liked the chips and salsa and horchata. I got a trout dish and it had a lot going on, but not in the way of taste, sadly. The refried beans were super salty and I'm not really a fan of Mexican rice. My partner ate my meal for me. We finished with a dessert and the whipped cream and ice cream were really off to me.
Aside from the obviously fake one-star reviews from employees of other Mexican restaurants, I will say that after going there for more than 20 years, they became and remain one of my favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere. I was born in New Mexico and lived in Chicago and have eaten A LOT of Mexican food and theirs is easily up there with many of the best. Sometimes the service lags but the food is always on point and very flavorful. Just went on Cinco de Mayo with 12 other people. They accommodated us and we got great food very fast considering how busy they were. Chips were chips but their salsa is amazing! Also, if you want macaroni and cheese, why would you go to a Mexican restaurant and then be surprised it wasn't great? I will say they could update / remodel inside but it isn't bad. I would encourage you to look at the overwhelming amount of 4 and 5 star ratings. And if you consider Hacienda to be authentic Mexican food, your taste buds are seriously compromised! (I do like Hacienda but it's not authentic Mexican food). People that had a bad experience are much more likely to leave a review but you can plainly see that isn't the case with La Esperanza. We were also very sorry to hear about the passing of Gerardo Fernandez the great man in the white hat!
I have to many good things to say about this place. The food is excellent, I've had half of their menu. Service is outstanding. The building is unassuming, slightly dull bit the food makes up for it 100 fold. My choice for best Mexican food in St. Joseph County. You'll also find that the portions are large; chips and salsa that far exceeds average, and the coveted Torta (10/10). You may be able to find them elsewhere, but I haven't been able to find one better than this.
10/10. love coming here for lunch, great food, very friendly staff, and the salsa has the perfect amount of spiciness. If you haven't been here you definitely need to give it a try.
Owners are extremely rude and do not care about their customers. They can have one table in there and will ignore you while they stand there eating food. Great way to treat paying customers or maybe it was because we were white. The only other table in there was full of people speaking Spanish and they were getting great service. We sat for about 10 minutes and finally realized that they didn’t want our business. The older lady is one of the owners and she was the one that left us sitting there. The food isn’t that great anyway and the portions are super small. Thankfully though this town has no shortage of these kinds of restaurants, so we went to Los Aces down the road on Edison. Great food and great service, so we were glad that La Esperanza did not want our business. No worries though. They’ll never get our business again. :)
Always loved this place! The food is amazing and the staff is friendly and welcoming!
I got a carry out order for 3 steak tacos on Taco Tuesday. The cashier was very nice and told me it would be 10-15 minutes. I could tell she was working hard to get orders out. It ended up being 20 mins. I wish they would’ve just told me that at the get go bc I had to go to the Post Office and would’ve done that first. The women’s bathroom was occupied the entire time I was there somehow which was also a bummer. (Only 1 stall).
The steak tacos looked promising but the meat was dry and not flavorful. If you dump enough salsa verde on it though they weren’t half bad. The rice was also dry and they didn’t give me silverware so I scooped it into my mouth with chips.
I got free chips and salsa with my order which I greatly appreciated as it was the best part of the meal. The salsa was awesome and spicy. I couldn’t stop eating it! The chips were also very good. I would’ve given this a 2 star review if it wasn’t for the fire chips and salsa so good job on that:)
I also thought the prices didn’t fit the quality (not during the specials but the rest of the time)
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chips
Best Chimichanga I have ever had in my life. And I'm an old fat girl! Service was excellent too!
Food: 5
Service: 5
My partner really enjoyed the food, but I was a little disappointed. I only liked the chips and salsa and horchata. I got a trout dish and it had a lot going on, but not in the way of taste, sadly. The refried beans were super salty and I'm not really a fan of Mexican rice. My partner ate my meal for me. We finished with a dessert and the whipped cream and ice cream were really off to me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips
Very good food! Never disappointed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fajitas, Chip & Salsa, Mexican Style Burrito, Salsa and Chips, Carnitas, Guacamole
Food was great for takeout but cleanliness of place could be better.
This has been my favorite Mexican restaurant in the South Bend area as well as the most affordable :)
Kid-friendliness: Kids menu and Jarritos to chose frim
Fantastic and good flavor
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cena de Tacos
Restaurantji Recommends
Aside from the obviously fake one-star reviews from employees of other Mexican restaurants, I will say that after going there for more than 20 years, they became and remain one of my favorite Mexican restaurants anywhere. I was born in New Mexico and lived in Chicago and have eaten A LOT of Mexican food and theirs is easily up there with many of the best. Sometimes the service lags but the food is always on point and very flavorful. Just went on Cinco de Mayo with 12 other people. They accommodated us and we got great food very fast considering how busy they were. Chips were chips but their salsa is amazing! Also, if you want macaroni and cheese, why would you go to a Mexican restaurant and then be surprised it wasn't great? I will say they could update / remodel inside but it isn't bad. I would encourage you to look at the overwhelming amount of 4 and 5 star ratings. And if you consider Hacienda to be authentic Mexican food, your taste buds are seriously compromised! (I do like Hacienda but it's not authentic Mexican food). People that had a bad experience are much more likely to leave a review but you can plainly see that isn't the case with La Esperanza. We were also very sorry to hear about the passing of Gerardo Fernandez the great man in the white hat!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tamal & Enchilada, Chimichanga, Chile Relleno, Chips, Salsa and Chips, Enchiladas, Salsa, Carnitas, Guacamole
amazing service & great food
Great food! So good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chimichanga, Chip & Salsa
I have to many good things to say about this place. The food is excellent, I've had half of their menu. Service is outstanding. The building is unassuming, slightly dull bit the food makes up for it 100 fold. My choice for best Mexican food in St. Joseph County. You'll also find that the portions are large; chips and salsa that far exceeds average, and the coveted Torta (10/10). You may be able to find them elsewhere, but I haven't been able to find one better than this.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole, Chips, Torta, Salsa, Taco, Carnitas
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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