La Esperanza Restaurant & Bakery

Tried La Esperanza Guatemalan and Salvadoran cuisine. Tried the Pepian beef stew, garnachas (mini tostadas topped with ground beef) and empanadas filled with meat and spices. Really good flavors, hearty portions, and friendly service. The tortilla appetizers came out hot and delicious with the black bean dip..

First time here. Drove from Anaheim due to word of mouth that food was very good. They did not disappoint. We tried Guatemalan and the Salvidorian dishes and all was great. We also did not head back home without stopping first to buy different pastries from their bakery. We'll definitely make a trip back here again soon.

This place was amazing, my first time trying El Salvadorian food. The service is great and the food was amazing. I went with a group of coworkers. My only regret was not taking photos of the food. I highly recommend La Esperanza.

What a find! I first heard about their take-out tamales and bakery, which are both fabulous, but there is so much more to La Esperanza. On my first visit a few weeks ago I had the pupusa plate: One Revuelta (beans, chicharron and cheese) and one Chorizo and cheese and they were both delicious. Plate comes with rice and beans and includes Curtido (spicy slaw) and red hot sauce. A lot of food for a very reasonable price. I also had the Elote tamale with crema. One of the best corn tamales I've ever had. Last night I tired the Loroco and cheese pupusa and I have to say it was the best one so far. Also tried a Chuchito (Guatemalan tamale): full of pork and the warm tomato salsa was yummy. Service is impeccable and I even got a free appetizer both times (tortilla with the smoothest and most delicious black beans). I will coming here much more often, can't wait to try some other specialties on the menu.

I was really disappointed that the rosca did not have the baby Jesus inside. My child was so upset that he started crying, and we almost ate the entire rosca searching for it. If the baby isn’t included, there should at least be a clear warning, or the baby should be placed on the side of the box/tin so families can add it themselves. That said, the rosca itself was still delicious, which is why I’m giving it 3 stars instead of fewer. The taste was great, but the missing baby really took away from the tradition and the experience.

How have I missed this place all this time? Super delicious and wonderful service! I got to come here with my co workers and already seeing when I can go in with my family! The Pupusas were the BEST that I’ve ever had! The juice was so refreshing and delicious too! Will definitely be back soon!

I was craving authentic Guatemalan food and thought to try this place again. This time of course due to Covid19 we ate outside, but the server was very nice and attentive. He gave us some recommendations too which were very tasty. I had the atol de elote, which I recommend. The tamal was good, but it needed that flavor that I was expecting to get from a Guatemalan tamal. I enjoyed the black beans with handmade corn tortilla. The chicken pepian was delicious.

This place was Cousy and comfy. I ordered combo fajita and pupusas ( with a MUST TRY) comment on the menu. I also ordered to drinks as I will share a photo. My scores: Horichita ( brown drink) : too sweet to drink 2/5 Tamarindo: ( orang drink) : smooth taste 4/5 Fajita: taste good and smelled good 5/5 Pupusas : I didn’t like it! Too oily which felt unhealthy! Maybe others liked it but I didn’t In general nice place and friendly people, maybe I have to try other foods and snacks next time

There aren't many Pupusa's places in the South Bay that I would be like WOW... then there's La Esperanza. The service when you eat there is great and they serve you well and they are very attentive for sure. We tend to just order by phone and pick up and their service is just as great and they always give you the food warm and add all the sides that they come along with it the curtido/sauce for the pupusas. They are a great size and definitely fill you up. Their Plate of plantains with black beans and sour cream is so delicious we usually get that. Their pupusas Revueltas, De queso and frigol(beans) are so full of flavor and well made and they don't cheat you out on filling to where it's just pure masa. Very well made! Then there's the bakery that's attached to the Restaurant and that place is addicting. You grab a platter and tongs and add to your platter then they charge you. They always have fresh Pan dulce and well priced. They have great options that are in ready to go baggies and we love those for coffee and tea at home. They have fresh food as well that's more on the go and it's pretty good as well. They have champurado and fresh juices and more. Def give them a visit trust me you'll find something.

Love there chicken and cheese pupusas super yummy here for a great price! You can get the plate and it comes with rice and beans you can add on top! The service is always fast and friendly, very reliable and great staff. Nice restaurant, lots of seating for family inside

Pros: The beans, cheese/ chicken pupusas and toppings were great! Cons: Horchata $8 no refills Bakery next door had plenty of flies in the bakery case workers didn't care about it.

Nothing says I'm home in the South Bay like La Esperanza! I've been coming here for more than a decade, I now live in Alabama and this is literally my 1st stop the minute my parents pick me up from the airport! The pupusas and Enselada drink are my favorites but you can't go wrong! The meats are cooked to perfection and seasoned just right and we never leave without indulging at the bakery! I love this place it's basically a staple in my family! The service is awesome and the food is never ever less that a 10.

I stopped by this afternoon to go to another store in this shopping center and saw that they had tamales advertised on the outside window. Tamales take up residence deep in my heart, so I figured I'd grab some to take home. So far I tried the pork and they were delicious. The meat is thick. I thought they might be more carnitas style, but they weren't. They also stuff them full of meat. They're not huge, but for the size, you definitely get your moneys worth and no, it's not mostly masa. They're well priced and they have both Mexican and Guatemalan style. This place is also a full fledged bakery! They have all kinds of cakes, flan, breads, and also the sweet breads. Staff was nice and helpful. I'll definitely be back to try more!

I go here all the time & have been coming for years , never disappoints. I love the food the workers . It's a great ambiance . My dad started brining me & now I bring my siblings definitely 10/10

My husband ordered our family's tamales from here for our family tradition for Christmas Eve (tamales and hot chocolate). The cheese tamales are deceiving when I first looked at it. But then I ate it and was pleasantly surprised. I am grateful for them filling our order given that we ordered it yesterday for today. We didn't use the dining area since it was rake out. My husband was happy with the chicken and pork tamales. My only regret was not ordering more cheese tamales.

La Esperanza has been my go to for Mexican baked goods. They also have a restaurant that serves up the best Pupusa's. Delicious

This place makes me feel like I'm in Guatemala! We always bring our friends and family here for some authentic food!

My mother decided that she was hungry and made me go on a run to get her food. She handed me a $50 and told me that she wanted a carne asada plate and I could get what I wanted as well. I called and ordered my moms' food and a dish called pepian de pollo. I didn't check the prices before I went in so I was surprised when the bill came out to near exactly $50. That being said, I also didn't know my one meal was going to last 3. The chicken stew was rich and delicious. It wasn't spicy but had deep smoky flavor. It came with rice, some thick tortillas (like the consistency of a pupusa), and something wrapped up on the side in the shape of chicken leg. When I opened the package, it was a tiny herb filled tamal. Shoved that right inside my soup and ate it up. If you have a nut allergy, I think I saw a couple of dishes that had it but they can be easily avoided. I didn't have any reactions to anything I ate. Enjoy!

The service is good the waiters are friendly and attentive. Food is great very flavorful!

I've been looking for a good pupusa place since my go to closed. I ordered the pupusa plate with beans and loroco... delicious. It took me a moment to get used to their salsa as it is more of a puree than the usual more liquid salsa but it was very good. I will come back soon to try some of their other veggie options.

I ordered bean and cheese pupusas, and all we got was a bunch of smashed beans. For the price, I was expecting better . I will drive to Wilimington for El Metapanco,cheaper and not cheap with the cheese.

Authentic Central American food. They only have refried black beans as an option. Decadent food and helpful service. Should definitely try it out.

Bakery - Cafe de Olla - Delicious Pan dulce - All of it - Delicious. Fresh, open early. Highly recommend!!!

I've been here multiple times already and most of their pre boxed cookies are really good. This time around I got the Galletas de Mantequilla and they were absolutely lacking flavor except from the leavening agent. They felt too airy and not crunchy at all. Not worth the $6.

Best latinx food in the southbay hands down. It's fusion so you have many great options. the tortilla appetizer with beans they give free before meals is soft and very tasty. Wait staff are friendly and attentive. very fair price

First time customers. Waitress was very nice and gave good info on what to order. Complimentary fresh tortillas and bean paste was delicious! We ordered guacamole appetizer, pupusas and carne asada burrito. Pupusa's were the star of this meal! So fresh, flavorful and huge! Came with a cabbage slaw and tomato sauce. We definitely be back for those pupusa's!

I was really craving a Guatemalan tamal, the tamal was very dry , I didn't even eat it . Service is slow never got my order of rellenitos which was hopping it would save today's rating and my opinion Of this place , Only thing I enjoyed today was the atole de elote and my orange juice ,

Pupusas here are pretty good, one of few places that sells Shrimp Pupusas. Came here for work lunch, next time will order ahead to save time. Never tried the mexican food here, not a fan of over fusion or a huge menu. Overall pupusas will def satisfy the craving.

Poor customer service and hair in the curtido. Aparte de ser tan codos con la salsa picosa tuvo que hacer 3 viajes para traer a la mesa. "Mil disculpas" after I said there was a hair. I paid and left, never again.

Very friendly and helpful staff. They were patient with explaining what everything is. Best tamales around. Very authentic flavor and look/atmosphere. The bakery next store is so unique and smells delicious when you walk in

The service was great and the food is delicious. Seated immediately. Their horchata is the best.

I have been here for the longest the food has always been great, but today I went to get two pollo en crema and asked for an L DIET COKE AND A medium HORCHATA and it came out to be $15.31 and I was it what? For two drinks that is a meal. And I ask what are the drinks made of. and the guy who helped me said sarcastically "It's made with love". So with being said I will never come back to this place it has become overpriced and to top it off the soda is flat and you're charging $5.99 for that!!! To the owner of you read you're the reviews and I hope you do have some shame, at least make the soda taste great at least if you're going to overcharge your cuatom

I only took pictures of mine but left go to right is: Beans Spinach Jalapeño Plaintains My family also had the plantain plate, sope, a burrito, yucca fries (BOMB) and a stuffed plantain almost. I'd definitely come here again :)

Mejores pupusas en el South Bay. Mixta y Frijoles con queso son las mejores. Little pricy but worth the extra

Second time here. Food is authentic and delicious and staff is very friendly! On our first visit we tried a variety of pupusas and the Hilachas to go at Danny's recommendation. They were both delicious and would definitely get again. This time we got the chilaquiles and the pastillito de carne and the plantains. Again everything hit the spot and was delicious. The chilaquiles are def some of the best we've tried and appreciated they allowed some veggies in the egg scramble. Def worth coming to!

Super yummy food. Great tamales!!! Good quesadilla, shrimp taco was tasty as well. Staff was super nice! Cost for quality of food was great. The bakery next door is really cool, lots of breads and pastries and cakes to drool over. Will be back for sure to get more yummy food

My friends have been dining here for years and praising the great food. So we all got together and hit them up for lunch. And wow - great service, incredible flavor and comfortable seating. Everyone else ordered pupusas and I ordered the Pollo Con Crema. My meal was incredibly filling and flavorful. Served at the perfect temperature and definitely not too spicy. It was a full meal. The varieties of pupusas my "veteran" dining friends ordered looked delicious. I will definitely try an order next time I dine there. The manager said they can be pretty busy during dinner times and they don't take reservations. But lunchtime dining was wide open for us which was great as we were on a lunch break from work. Their parking lot was pretty full when we were there and I can only imagine trying to park on a crowded evening. There might be additional parking nearby although the restaurant is in a strip location side-by-side with other restaurants. All things considered I regret having not dined here before. I really enjoyed the food and the overall experience and I highly recommend this location.

This place have change!! Food quality and service have diminished. Used to come here all the time and even bragged about this place to my friends. But in my last encounter I was truly very disappointed. I ordered tons of pupusas- 4 chicharon, 4 revualta, 4 jalapeno cheese, 2 regular cheese, and plantains- ALL TO GO/PICK UP. Came home and started eating the pupusas, all were just pure BEANS- both revueltas & chicharon. I called them to bring up my concern. spoke to a young guy told him about it, puts me on hold and tells me that chicharon was suppose to have red peppers in it. So then I explain why Revuelta has peppers in it too. He said all of them taste like that. I was patiently explaining to him that I buy our pupusas there all the time and never complained h til now because the orders were wrong. Even the name on the styrofoam was wrong!! Too bad I didn't get to take pictures. But I don't really care about that part as long as they had my order right- which was NOT!! The young guy on the phone didn't care and told me "if I don't like the food, then don't come back". I was like what!!?? Wow!! So writing this review to let people know that they don't care about the service and food especially if your food was picked up. I lived far for me to show them their mistakes and not willing to drive back. Anyways, I guess they are ok with loosing this customer along with my friends whom I recommended this place to. I'LL BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER PUPUSA place and will definitely be dragging my friends OUT of coming here moving forward.

I used to come here with my friends a lot. I like to order their tacos and quesadilla! There is a perfect amount of cheese and their tacos are full of flavor! The only thing I would say is that their food is kind of pricy I think they raised their prices a bit. Note: They have a few parking spaces available. They also have their own bakery next door. I never tried it but they have a lot of items to choose from! The staff is also super nice!

Amazing food and customer service. We will definitely be going back for more yummy food.

If you are looking for an authentic Salvadorean restaurant, this is definitely the spot! You won't regret it!

We absolutely love love La Esperanza. If you can, definitely dine in. We always have great service with delicious food! We do have to grab take out once in awhile. Still very good!!! Highly recommend all Esperanza!

The best pupusas around ! Whenever I want something to make me feel warm inside, I just order some pupusas here along with a hot chocolate or a cafe de olla. The service is always wonderful, since the staff is so friendly & the quality of the food is consistent. A very homelike vibe inside the restaurant and inside the bakery as well , which is always a great place to stop in the morning for pan Dulce or for a treat after dinner :) this place is perfect in every way.

Everything about this place was amazing from the ambience, the service and the foods presentation ! It didn't just look good but tasted fresh and authentic 10/10 for first timer.

extremadamente decepcionada. Pagué casi 7 dólares por esta bebida y la fruta estaba molida. Esa no es una Ensalada.

I came back for more Tres Leches cakes - they are enormous & so delicious ! Then picked up shrimp & bean pupusas next door. They look like pancakes - savory , yum ! Free plantains when you check in. They were so generous to give me 2 servings of the plantains ( thank goodness because I couldn't get enough of them ! You will be welcomed by the friendliest & and helpful staff Is it worth the drive ? Absolutely!

Everything they sell at this restaurant is very tasty and authentic. Love the pupusas revueltas the best. I picked up 4 for dinner and 1 is pretty filling. They are a good size, have plenty of filling and are freshly made. They come with salsa de tomate and curtido. I would prefer a bit more curtido since i love it! There is also a bakery next door with yummy breads.

Highly recommend this place. The ambiance is friendly with great service. The food is delicious. Loved the Cafe de Olla, also the pan dulce. I had the chapin breakfast and loved it. Was my first time here with family and great friends. Would definitely return.

Just WOW! Best papusas around! Everything about the food is fantastic. Build your own papusas is the way to go. Never eaten in, always had it to go. No issues with our food not being ready when we've gone to pick up. Highly recommend

Never been in this restaurant in person , I've always ordered through Uber Eats, but they have the best homemade tasting food. It's like comfort food everything I've ordered from. There has been fresh and delicious.

I love this restaurant! By far my favorite in the South Bay .the service is first class and food always delicious. And I could drink their " cafe de la oya " all day .

For the price I wanted better. The food was good but I expected more. Also it's the little things, for example I ordered breakfast and my plátanos were dry and hard, I ended up eating only the casamiento, crema, and tortillas. I may give them another chance who knows?

Great place to eat. Food was so flavorful and staff was super accommodating and attentive. Great music and vibe. Have to try the garnachas

Food has gone down in quality, but that could be tolerated. The service is absolutely the worst!! There's a server (Brandy is her name) who laughs at the customers, making it really obvious, creating an atmosphere where you just want to leave. Won't be coming back and share this experience with all our Guatemalan community.

Very good! We tried many things and everything was delicious. We also enjoyed many of the items from their bakery. The service was excellent and very friendly staff.

This is my girlfriend and my favorite place for pupusas! Our go to is the Plato de pupusas de pollo and a side of platanos each! Their cortido and salsa are also the best! You can't go wrong eating here, great food and great service!

I ordered steak fajitas and there were just a few pieces of steak and a ton of lettuce. Why tf is there lettuce on the plate? It was also very expensive. There was also this incredibly tasteless red sauce with the yucca. I was really disappointed. Won't be returning.