La Esperanza

Excellent family owned restaurant in exciting new location in downtown South Bend outside of Four Winds Field at the Ivy at Berlin Place. They provide great service, tasty food selections, and fair prices. Our family had been going to their previous location for nearly 25 years and never disappointed.

The online menu said 3 tacos in the dinner but it's only 2 tacos in the dinner and their was very little meat. Very pricey for what they give you. Chips and queso were 7.50 and got maybe 10 chips in that bag. The taco dinner was 13.50. Compared to other places around, it was way more expensive and the quality was less than average.

First time trying their food. Good food but I ordered 3 tacos and got 2.

Updated: Went in for lunch, pointed to what I would like on the menu and the waitress brought me something completely different then charged me the dinner price plus for a drink I didn't have. The food was bland and the atmosphere of the original location is gone. Not worth it, especially with the increase in prices.

The first 3 places we called didnt even make what we wanted, and then we called this restaurant, and they were able to accommodate our interests. Our order was a pick up, they said it would be ready in ten minutes, and when I arrived 6 or 7 minutes later, it was ready to go. The gentleman at the counter was extremely polite and friendly. The food had an authentic flavor, and portions were great. Overall this was a great experience for my entire family. Great job guys!

Only decent thing was the chips n salsa order a burrito campechano end up with a Wet burrito no bueno for me, refried beans no good Restaurant style rice was hard Counter girl tried charge me twice and Locked my card Only stars cause it's located at the sbcubs stadium No esperansa what's so ever on my experience

I really liked this place! The salsa was so good (a bit spicy, which I love), and the tortilla chips were homemade. The restaurant itself is really cute and our waitress was great. We will be back!

What a great find! The service we received was fantastic and the food was excellent, authentic, and full of flavor. No place we've been to has better Margaritas. Restaurant was clean and the prices were very reasonable. We will certainly return.

it was amazing I love the people the owners everything about it is amazing, also the ownership of the people is super amazing and I got seated right away

I have been coming to La Esperanza since it opened in the nineties. What draws me back? The ambiance, the warmth and caring of staff, good cold Mexican beer and crispy corn chips, absolutely delicious regional dishes, reasonable pricing, the community of folks who love coming here all contribute to making La Esperanza my go to place for time with family and friends as well as out of town guests.

This restaurant is amazing!! The best Mexican food in the world! We had an amazing visit. Hope we can come back soon!!

The best Mexican food in South Bend. I frequently travel here for work and this is one of my favorite restaurants for lunch or dinner. They also serve all day breakfast here. The chips and salsa are unique and delicious. Chips are seasoned and tasty on their own, when dipped into the fresh, flavorful salsa they are truly excellent. Salsa is spicy! The guacamole is always freshly made and tasty. Today I ordered cheese enchiladas, one of my favorites. They were served with flavorful rice and refried beans. The beans had a good texture, and a good spice level. Service is always super friendly and excellent. The dining room was clean and bright. I visited the restroom and it was spotlessly clean and fresh. The menu features many specialties as well as traditional favorites. The lunch menu is extensive. Portions are large, even the lunch specials.

When La Esperanze on Ironwood it our families favorite place to go. This weekend we got carry out from their new location, and sadly it was not the same La Esperanze than we knew. The seafood burrito, which had increased in price, only had one piece of shimp and the rest was a white fish. At their restaurant on Ironwood, you always got scallop, shrimp as well as some fish.

I decided to order food to go for carry out and am choosing to believe this must be an off day. The sauce for my tamales was a bit scorched to the point that I could smell it outside of the package. One of the tamales I could've even eat because it was that bad. I went to start chewing and spit out the burnt tamale. If it had not been it would have been a near perfect tamale. My tostada was average with an insane amount of cheese. I don't think I've ever seen this much cheese on a Mexican dish in my life, that was suppose to be authentic. Perhaps in the future I'll give them a chance with dine in, but as a first time customer this was unacceptable.

Ok let me start off with. Amazing food 10/10, server was nice, the salsa was the perfect spice. The chips were a perfect crisp, the decorations at the restaurant were amazing. The food brought me back to my childhood, thank you La Esperanza for the amazing food.

this was my favorite Mexican restaurant once. don't know what happened but its awful now! The refried beans are terrible! grew up in So. California so it was so nice to find LaEsperanza years ago but I won't be going back....

I went in here for dinner while in south bend--enough parking outside, which is good after dealing with that snow on Thursday. Didn't have to wait long for a seat, staff was friendly and nice, the chips were nice and warm when our server brought them out. The food was okay small portion but overall it was good, the flan was very lumpy, just got it with caramel however but flavor was good just couldn't get pass the lumps. When we first got there it wasn't busy but when we were preparing to leave seemed to be getting busier. I would probably give them another try next time I'm in town

The best most authentic food on this side of town! Best rice, pico, and carne asada! If you want great service and great Mexican food then this is the place. Flautas are great too. Their food is always fresh! For those of you that don't like Hacienda because you know real Mexican food then go to La Esperanza!

I can't get enough of this place. Delicious food, fantastic service, shrimp cocktail was delicious tonight with the margaritas.

Hubby and I go here once a month. I don't think the food is that great and portions are small for how much items are, but my husband likes the burritos. We went in today and the restaurant was dead, but for some reason, we sat and sat and 15 minutes goes by and the two servers that were there decided they didn't want to wait on us, so we left! The restaurant was completely dead and we tip super well, so I don't get why we were ignored. I messaged the restaurant on Facebook and they couldn't care less, so if this is the way paying customers get treated, eventually it will start affecting their business. What has happened to customer service? It baffles me that these places just don't care whether customers come back or not! Oh well, not my business, so I don't care, but if it were my restaurant, I'd treat my guests better than these idiots!

Went to La Esperanza tonight after not having been there since before COVID. I ordered the Cameroness a la Diabla. My husband ordered the Milanesa. My food came quickly and the promised spicy shrimp didn't disappoint. It was probably a level 6 or 7 on a 10 scale. It was quite tasty and was served with traditional refried beans and red rice. I really enjoyed it and ate the remaining free tortilla chips with the sauce. My husband totally enjoyed his Milanesa. The server was very attentive even though it was a busy Friday night. Everything seemed clean and cozy. I would definitely return again. My only disappointment was that there wasn't any espresso to finish off the meal.

Very tastefully, authentic food and reasonable prices to feed a family. First time trying this and I will be trying this again. Unable to post food due to my stomach lol.

This place has gone downhill ever since the new owners took over. You can't get any extra Salsa unless they have the owner come out and tell you they charge eight dollars for extra salsa. This place used to be the best Mexican restaurant in town and now, I can't see it being open much longer as the food has gone down in quality and they have never in the past five months got an Carry out order correct.

Great chips and salsa, I got two tacos with shrimp and carnitas. They offer mexican ir American styles toppings and corn or flour tortillas. Both tacos were very good and a reasonable price.

The atmosphere is warm and quiet. The food and service are great! Their seafood burrito was delish! Sometimes, they don't have all the drinks offered on the menu, but it adds to the authenticity. Will definitely girly go again!

We had an amazing meal when we picked up food at La Esperanza. Friendly staff, one of the best (actually the best) Mexican meal I had in South Bend. The enchiladas are TOP NOTCH!

Loved the combo platter with Chile relleno and carne Assada. Plus the chicken chili was amazing. Margarita was good too. Will come here again. Tried both South Bend and Elkhart locations. Both good.

We went for lunch. The chips were hot and fresh. The tacos yucateco (fish) were tasty. Unfortunately the grilled chicken was very dry. It seemed as if they'd just overcooked it for a bit. Overall not bad but could be so much better. Chris

The food is very good, but the meals came out one at a time so some of our party was finished eating before others even got their food. Also, most of the orders were not done correctly. It's too bad. We normally love this place.

Don't bother coming for dinner. They should close the door. There is just one waitress and one cook. The food took forever and was lacking meat. We ordered fajitas for two. We waited for over 45 minutes and received a meal that was so disappointing. They didn't bring any tortillas and there was very little meat. If this is the best than can be done, shut the doors This is a home game weekend and very few wait staff. We will not be back,

La Esperanza is a local, family-owned restaurant that has been around quite awhile (they also have a location in Elkhart). I've been numerous times in the past, but for some reason we don't seem to go out for Mexican that often (maybe because I'm pretty good with cooking it at home!). My husband and I recently decided to stop in for lunch. We were greeted and seated immediately and served chips and salsa. The chips were fresh and the salsa was homemade with a great balance of flavors. I would have liked it a bit spicier, but it was perfect for my husband. I opted for the chicken fajita salad with marinated chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, served in a tortilla bowl (would have preferred baked over fried) and topped with guacamole and sour cream). Flavors were good, but I would have preferred some fresh jalapeno instead of the typical pickled kind from a jar. My husband ordered the original burrito with grilled steak served Mexican style (rice, cilantro and onion). It was topped with a homemade sauce similar to an enchilada sauce. Steak was tender and nicely flavored. Our server was attentive and the owner stopped by to check on us as well. Overall, good service and pretty authentic Mexican food at a great price (our lunch for two was $17).

I'm starting off with the service....ugh. The sign says "everyday burrito" $4.99. There are 2 burritos on the menu, so what's the Everday Burrito Special? "It's a burrito." Oh really? I thought it was a enchilada....I really wanted to say that. Second, there are two specials on the board. One is pollo w/ vegetables and the other is seafood w/vegetables. Ok. Can you tell me about that, please? "The vegetables are zucchini, onion, tomato and pepper." Needless to say, I didn't get any specials because I have no idea other than chicken or seafood (no idea of what kind) what (preparation-wise) I would've gotten. My chicken burrito, Mexican style, was good. I ordered a margarita, it came at the end of my meal. My husbands steak and shrimp with vegetables to stuff in corn or flour tortillas was ok.

The salsa was great! My fajitas came out they were chewy and cold. My tortillas were crumbly. I would not recommend to anyone.

1. They weren't open when I got there so I sat in the car. I saw the open light go on so I get out of the car and go to walk in. The manager is outside and said they are closed. I said your Open light was just turned on. He said well, we're closed. So I walk back to the car and go to get in and he yells at me and says you can go in now. Really??? My legs at this point are killing me and I'm irritated. 7:26 AM 2. So I go in and he pull a third chair up to a table. I ask if we can sit in the room with the tv. He says there is plenty of room here. I'm like, whatever. 7:28 AM 3. Some people come in and he asks them how many? They said 3. He asks them if they want to sit in the room with the tv. I was furious but didn't say anything. 7:30 AM 4. They were seating a specific ethnic group where the tv is and everyone else in the outside room. The food was not as good as it used to be and the chips and salsa looked and tasted like they got them from Kroger (the generic brands). I will not be going back there. That's why the parking lot is always empty.

This is my long time favorite Mexican restaurant in South Bend. The food is authentic, and always delightful. The portions are generous and made to order if you ask. Don't miss the special board on the way in, as it often has items not on the regular menu. The prices are very reasonable, and the staff is fun. The service is also authentic and traditional, and can be slow at times. Don't let that fool you, it's worth the wait. I am not a foodie, but I like food, and the food at La Esperanza is good.

La Esperanza has the most authentic Mexican food offered in South Bend. I have eaten at many locally owned Mexican restaurants (Chicago de Taqueria, Flamingos, Puerto Vallarta), and La Esperanza is my favorite. The food is excellent, and prepared perfectly. The service is a hit or miss. Even when there are only two servers, they do a sufficient job. Overall, La Esperanza is a fine restaurant to visit, if you are in the mood for some authentic, tasty, Mexican food.

We love it here! Good authentic Mexican food, affordably priced, and quick to come. The carne asada is my favorite.

Very hit salsa with the chips! Almost too hot, truthfully. Poppers were average. The food was not served hot and seemed overcooked. Dry. Disappointing. There are better options in South Bend.

My wife and I have driven by this place for years and this afternoon we finally stopped in. My wife ordered chicken with mole and I had pork with mole. Both dishes were excellent. Maybe one of the best mole sauces I have ever tasted. I get the impression the cooks love what they are doing and it comes out in the flavors.

The food is very good, the prices are very reasonable. They weren't that busy and our drinks weren't refilled as often as we had hoped and my date had a lot left out that we paid for. The staff was courteous and friendly. It feels very authentic and homey. This should be a 3 star review butttt, the queso blanco dip was the best I've had in 10 years. Must buy, very affordable with complementary homemade corn tortilla chips. Homemade salsa wasn't bad either.

Not impressed. It had been a few years since I had eaten here so my parents and I went on a Sunday around 4pm. The owner served us, she dropped half of our food off and said "I'll be right back", then walked directly over to a booth that appeared to be her friends/family members and talked with them for a few minutes before she mozied on into the kitchen to get the rest of our food. My dad began eating his food with his hands because he had no silverware. She then came to clear our plates while eating an apple that was in her hand. That was it for me. I got shrimp fajitas and there was a great portion of shrimp and the grilled peppers were great. Beans and rice were bland and it came with microscopic dollop of sour cream and guacamole. Not many vegetarian options on the menu at all. The food I can get over but the service I cannot. Won't be back.

Best mexican restaurant in SouthBend. Clean and great service. Food is tasty and delicious!

My husband was craving what he calls "nasty, greasy Mexican" a while back, so we decided to give this place a try. I still hold fond memories of a Mexican restaurant near my alma mater, where the chips were warm and fresh, margaritas were plentiful and cheap, and service was lightning fast. Well, La Esperanza wasn't quite the same, but it was decent nevertheless. I ordered the chicken fajita, which is pretty much foolproof. Nothing exceptional, but it did hit the spot. My husband ordered the chile relleno, which was deep-fried and greatly to his liking. According to him there are several ways to do chile relleno and he likes the batter-fried style, which is what they do here at La Esperanza. Chips and salsa were a disappointment. The salsa had the texture of watery ketchup and was quite bland. There wasn't even a hint of a fresh onion or sprig of cilantro. Unfortunately we are growing resigned to the blandness that passes for "spicy" here in Indiana. Unlike my former undergrad hangout, the chips were definitely from a bag. That might have been forgivable if the salsa had had a little more kick and flavor. But alas, they caved to the wimpy palates of Hoosiers. The dessert might have been the highlight of the meal. They have a better selection of Mexican desserts than most places - I was surprised to see something other than the usual flan and sopapilla. I ordered tres leches cake, which was absolutely to die for. My husband got the churros with ice cream and was also very pleased. All in all, not bad and we'll probably be back if my husband craves Mexican again.

Great spot for lunch. Fantastic selection of authentic dishes. A great set of lunch time specials as well. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for the server to get to you but once they do time from order to food on table is FAST! Salsa is pretty tasty as well. Has a little kick, and is a bit heavy on the cilantro. Some folks don't like that, I do.

Pretty average mexican food, serviceis always friendly. I recommend the carnitas. They offer some decent drink specials.

Some of the best authentic Mexican food in South Bend! Everyone but everyone always wants to go to Hacienda but let's face it, it is not for their food but the free chips and salsa and flavored margaritas. If you want fabulous, authentic, cheap Mexican food, you must visit this place. We have tried at least 5 or 6 different dishes on their menu and have not been disappointed with any of them. I love the rice and refried beans that come with many of the dinners and you always get a decent sized portion. Their menu is HUGE so I can't believe that most people can't find something they would like - and many they haven't had a chance to try yet. I love the service, so friendly and it does a heart good to see the families of the wait and kitchen staff congregating in the back, enjoying the food themselves and having a good time. My husband is a big fan of their chips and salsa - not my favorite, I find it way too watery. However, I know they have a couple of different salsa offerings, other than the one they immediately bring to the table so if you would like to try a different kind, just ask them. Great price, great food - don't miss it!

Growing up in Southern California, there is a tremendous variety of options regarding Mexican food, including regional dishes. I am one of those people who buy tamales, champurrado, carne asada and other delicious culinary treasures from street vendors all over L.A. County. I know my Mexican food, and can appreciate a restaurant for what it is, and its acknowledgment of that. It's not Tex-Mex style food; the cuisine prepared there is from a region that is not in the same vein as Tex-Mex, nor has even remotely similar roots. I don't really like Tex-Mex, so I'm not bothered by that. No offense to Tex-Mex fans, by any means! ^_^ Growing up in L.A., La Esperanza was a nice place to come when I wanted, or needed, some real comfort food, which, for me, is Mexican, for sure. A girl who soon became a dear friend of mine first took me here, after hearing how homesick I was (it was the second month of my first year, and the first time away from home without any family members for that long) The chips and salsa were reminiscent of my favorite Mexican restaurant from my childhood, which burned down in the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 and never recovered. I really enjoyed the enchiladas I had that night, and the rice and beans were great (I'm discerning when it comes to rice and bean preparation and execution, and the taste nor the texture ever disappointed me) I became close with the owners, and were kindly amused when I used my broken elementary-school Spanish with them. If you are a California transplant, need some sturdy, comforting Mexican food and hospitality, La Esperanza is the place for you!

An excellent, clean, and quaint place. They serve awesome huevos rancheros! (They seem to open at 11am though.) Having lived in San Diego, I agree that this IS generally authentic. The cooks seem to care, and to use fresh ingredients.

Esperanza is a solid choice for a good place to eat in South Bend. It's not a fancy Mexican restaurant, and it's not a delectable taqueria. It's just a really humble sit-down restaurant that serves some pretty good food. A lot of people I knew from Notre Dame didn't like this place, and I think that had to do with the fact that many of these people were from Texas and expected Texas-style Mexican food. Being from Southern California, I found the food pretty familiar, although it wasn't exactly like anything in L.A. The service can be ridiculously slow depending on how crowded the place is and how many people are working, but the prices are great, and the food is solidly good.

Not great but then again I wouldn't refuse to go back. Nothing is luring me back for dinner, but it somewhat satisfied a craving that myself and friends had for Mexican while in South Bend for work. I didn't try it, but the Margarita was undrinkable by a co-worker (who isn't afraid of cocktails). He quickly switched to beer. The owner seemed very nice and was very attentive / friendly compared to our "assigned" waiter. I'm not rushing to go back but haven't found anywhere in South Bend to meet our Mexican cravings (yet)... I will tell you that while the chips were greasy, the salsa was delicious. :)

2 1/2 Stars The place has decent chips and salsa and the food wasn't offensive. If I am weighting my vote for South Bend Mexican food then this is a 3 1/2 or 4 star place because it is certainly better than most in the Bend, but not anything like you'll find in the Southwest.

You know the old saying. If you meet a nice Mexican restaurant, marry it, move to Florida with it and enjoy a fairly nice upper middle class life together. It's time you should meet the Mexican restaurant of your dreams

For our area, this is a pretty good Mexican restaurant. Some menu items are better than others I've come to find out. I will probably never order the chile relleno there again. It was like it was two days old and microwaved like leftovers, completely deflated and soggy with no taste. It was the special one night so I thought I would try it. I do love their quesadillas, but it's not like that dish could really be screwed up. Their fajitas were pretty darn good. I like the way the meat is marinated and the veggies are firm but tender. I think my favorite part about this place is their salsa and their margaritas. Their salsa just has this really nice spicy flavor. It's a lot spicier than most Mexican places I've been to. Their margarita are very fairly price and you get a big glass. You might want to share it because it packs a punch. I usually get it on the rocks. I don't know if it's made fresh or with a mix, but I think I can taste real lime juice. I really like the waitstaff too. They are nice and attentive. Sometimes they get swamped and service is not as quick but that's okay. I like the owner a lot, he always stops by his patron's tables and ask them how everything is. I'll go back from time to time.

I wanted to like this place. Heck, I wanted to love this place because I could walk here from my house. It wasn't love at bite but I thought maybe it would get better. We started with the nachos, they were loaded but there were so many cold things that it instantly made the cheese cold. The chips didn't seem home made either. We got the nachos with beef and it was a weird texture, a little like wet paper. I ordered the chimichanga, with beef. Hue regrets. After the wet paper beef on the nachos, I was dreading it before it came out. This time everything was really hot and fresh but that didn't make up for the taste. I didn't finish my meal because it just wasn't sitting right. Later that night, everything came back up. It was horrible. My husband got a burrito with chicken that he was at least able to finish. It looked pretty ok, the tortilla didn't look like it had been warmed before they filled it and to me that's an important part of making a burrito. He felt fine until the next morning and it came back with a vengeance. Our waiter was nice. He's was young and swamped. I believe the owner seated us and I didn't like him. He was a little pushy and loud. The restaurant was really decorated but almost over the top. Things didn't really match and it wasn't cohesive. I honestly couldn't even tell you if they sold booze, that might have made it a little more enjoyable. After this experience we will not be walking from our house to grab dinner and we will not be encouraging anyone we know to eat here.

Back when I was growing up in South Bend the only Mexican restaurants were Hacienda and Taco Bell. In a recent trip to visit family I discovered this wonderful mom and pop restaurant. The food was authentic, super fresh and tasty! The service was friendly and the owner even came around to greet us. I will be back for sure!

Love the food and the servers. You can even get beautiful handmade dresses in this great Mexican restaurant.

Amazing food, amazing and friendly staff and wow what an awesome selection of food variety. The chips and salsa are the best in town. Truly authentic Mexican restaurant. I really Can't wait to go back!!