Kathe B.
Yelp
We sought out Estella for a date night dinner recently, but overall were left a little confused and unimpressed by the whole experience.
It started out a sunny day, but the wind picked up and cooled the temp down. WAY down. We headed to what we *thought* was Estella, but found an empty building beside an empty courtyard. To be fair, the outdoor courtyard is GORGEOUS! Probable one of the prettiest oudoor spaces for dining we've come across in the past few years. But...those cold temps meant everything was moved inside, said a sassy pink-haired server.
What she meant was, *moved inside The Jesse*, a edge-of-Midtown uppity bar that was packed and BLARING bad live music. We were lucky to grab a 2-top open, but the place is cramped. We were practically rubbing elbows with the people next to us, and narrowly dodged sitting next to a mom with 2 littles...wha?!?! In a loud bar? M'kay, mom, maybe not the greatest choice for kids' dinner?
I know this is Midtown hipster norm, but you don't get service here. You have to place your order at the bar, *leave your card with the bartender like you've opened a tab!* and take a number. "Open seating" is code for "you are your own server". The move indoors meant the mediocre music volume was 3x as loud as it needed to be, so good luck conversing with the person across from you. You'd think they'd adjust the volume for the acoustics of the room, but you'd be wrong.
The menu is OK but borders on pretentious. Small tacos for $6/ea up to $12/taco! and Vegas prices on drinks, $15/ea. At the end of your meal, you have to go collect your check and pay at the bar. And a tip? You bet they're asking! For what, I'm not sure! No one bothers to check in and see if you want anything else!
This place is definitely not our vibe, and at almost $90 for chips & salsa, some tiny tacos & 2 drinks, we'd likely go just about anywhere else next time for tacos. Midtown has just become an overpriced cash-grab IMO. Vegas prices with SF environment! For that price, it would be nice to actually get some level of service and not have to avoid stepping over homeless to get into the place and wondering if your car gets broken into. Oh, and the "hotel" above The Jesse has rates of just the fabulously low price $189/ni for 2ppl midweek for TINY old rooms!!! This place is MADNESS!!!