La Esperanza — Restaurant in Lindenwold

I have visiting La Esperanza for many years, so I didn't hesitate when I chose to celebrate Cinco De Mayo there. I called the restaurant at 4:24 pm upon landing at the PHL airport from my 10 hour flight. I spoke to a guy who advised I couldn't make a reservation bc of the holiday, but the kitchen would be open until 10:00 pm. He also stated that the bar and outside area would be open until 12:00/1:00 am. I specifically asked the guy if we arrived and were seated before 10:00 pm, would we still get dinner service. The guy laughed and said the 10:00 pm kitchen closure wasn't a "hard close." He also went on to say "if you are sitting at 10, we wouldn't deny you food or service." Perfect, I figured all was good in the world and I would get to celebrate Cinco De Mayo as usual.

My husband and I headed to the restaurant after our movie ended. We arrived at 9:45 pm. The parking lot had plenty of cars, but the outside tent was empty. We walked inside to find a group of patrons screaming at the bar. There was a security guy standing near a podium with his back to the door as he texted on his phone. I walked over to the counter to find three women standing behind the counter. I asked if we could be seated and one of the women who appeared to be a waitress said the kitchen was closed. I advised that I had spoken to a guy earlier who told me if I was seated by 10, I would still be served food items. The waitress repeated that the kitchen was closed, so I asked to speak with the manager. She told me he was in the kitchen. I asked if she could tell him that I wanted to speak with him. As I stood waiting for the manager, I had the pleasure of watching another security guy at the counter literally shoving food into his mouth. Niiice!

The manager came out to talk to me. I told him I had spoken to a guy earlier and I asked if he was that guy!? Of course, he said I didn't talk to him. I advised that I was told if I was seated by 10, I would receive service. I further explained that we had driven 20 mins in inclement weather, just to celebrate there. The manager apologized. I asked if we could receive some sort of accommodation bc we were lied to?? The manager stated that it was a crazy day and the restaurant had to close early bc of security reasons. I found that to be a very poor excuse since there were intoxicated people at the bar, still ordering drinks while screaming at 9:45 pm. I told the manager that I was upset bc I have been a patron for sometime and I didn't expect to be lied to. He offered salsa and guacamole, then stated that's all he could do. I told him I would leave and definitely write about my experience tonight.

Here's a word to the wise, if you call this place get a name bc if you get screwed like I did, at least you will know who is...

I'm about to break it down REAL. I'm a Cali transplant, thrilled to find La Esperanza after many disappointing Mexican meals in NJ. This place has 5 star potential, but its a solid 4. Food? Authentic, generous, mostly tasty and on point. Ive tried: fajitas, empenadas, quesadillas, giant fat steak burrito, nachoritas, taquitos, skinny margaritas, watermelon margaritas and guacamole. Fajitas, beef empanadas, chicken quesadilla and nachoritas get honorable mention for mexi-ecstasy. Taquitos were bland/dry. The giant fat steak burrito was ok, the steak in it was killer but too much rice and they didnt melt the cheese over top nor coat with enough red sauce to be on par. The table chips suck. Kind of stale and the salsa lacks chunk. Im saddened by the watermelon margarita. It was made with pucker. NOT fresh fruit. If they had fresh fruit ritas, I would pay a grip and camp out at the bar. The skinny margarita isn't awful, lots of lime and would be fixed with a splash of OJ to balance the lime. Hint hint to the bartenders. ;) As for the roach reviews... Guess what? Even the finest restaurants get roaches. I hate to break the news to you diners but it's a part of restaurant life. I managed a 5 star fine dining restaurant in CA and we got them from time to time no matter how perfect and clean we were. You aren't going to die and the health dept wouldn't allow them to operate if the situation wasn't addressed. It's not appealing to see one, but if you write them off for a roach siting, may as well not dine out anywhere because I am pretty certain most restaurants get insects. Sigh. The outside deck is small but quiet and good on a summer night. Bar is not very big so don't bother on weekend. Staff so far was friendly. The young male bartender is awesome. Great service from him. He said his mom made the dessert special so im guessing its a fam biz, even more reason to love. Festive decor and music, decently comfy seating. OK for large groups but not ideal....

The service at this restaurant was absolutely terrible. My friend and I wanted to have a nice meal before heading to a show. We arrived at 6 pm. We sat at the bar so we could get done quickly. We ordered a drink from a drink menu that was laying on the bar. I had to ask the bartender for a food men. He never asked us if we were ready to order. I had to get his attention. He was too busy talking with 2 girls the bar and doing shots with them. At 6:40pm I asked if our food was ready. This was a good 35 minutes af we ordered.. We only ordered 2 quesadillas. He said it was 2nd to come out . After another 10 minutes our food was not out. I saw several orders come out of the kitchen in this timeframe. I asked the bartender what happened to our order. He became VERY rude. I told him I saw several other orders come out since he told me we were 2nd on the list to get our food. I told him that could not have been true. He asked "Are you calling me a liar". I asked his name and I requested to speak with the manager. He said that he was the manager.His name is Oscar. He was clearly not the manage. He said you can have your food to go. I can put a rush on that. By this time, it was 7 PM. Our show was at 8 PM in Philadelphia. I can't rate the food because we never got it. I paid for our drinks and told him I'm gonna fight this on my credit card. He was sweating the entire time we were there. He used his teeth to open a packet of something that was added to a drink. A waitress returned a drink to the bar and said the customer said that you did not put any tequila in his margarita.. This could all be related to the fact that he was doing shots while working. He was very unprofessional. I don't know if that's his personality or it was the alcohol in him talking....