Esperanza Cocina de la Playa — Restaurant in Manhattan Beach

It’s not my first time in that restaurant but to be honest my yesterday visit was pretty disappointed. First of all, we made a reservation in person for the rooftop and the employees from the main entrance told us that the earlier time is 6:30 pm, while other employees told us that they start their work at 6:00 pm. So it looks like they won't let us go there earlier. So when we came to the rooftop we saw so many people who came there at 6 pm. Okay, fine. Then the hostess gave us the table on the corner of the different table where it was a party already. I mean I know that it's always the option but here it looks like they gave us a small piece of the couch and a small table for three people where just one plate can be put. And more option was the sofa. It’s a great alternative especially if you want just to chill/relax and drink, but we were so starving so it was not comfortable to eat there. So this girl Kaya just walked away. We saw free space near the bar and asked a waiter to sit there. So we moved… and nobody came to us except the guy with complimentary bites. Since she was gone we were waiting for 15 minutes to get the menu. Unbelievable! And then another server asked us about how happy we are with everything. And we told him that nobody came to us. Unfortunately, I don’t know his name, but he was really sweet and apologized for any confusion, gave us the menu, and took orders for the drinks. Margaritas and salmon are always delicious! So I really appreciate that food and drinks are still amazing. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about service. After a while, we ordered some main dishes and we were trying to forget about all these disappointing moments. Another guy brought food to us but without any utensils. It looks like no waiter or waitress were there. We waited for a little bit and asked the bartender about utensils. I am pretty sure that it’s not his responsibility but he found it for us somewhere and brought it from the empty table nearby. So I opened the napkin with a fork and knife and it was dirty. Can you imagine my feelings? I didn’t want anything at that moment. So I saw this girl Kaya (I believe it’s her name) because she was the one who was there from employees and politely asked her to change my utensils. She said “sure” and walked away. How much time do you think it usually takes to change it? I believe 5 minutes is the maximum. She never came back. She never asked anyone to bring it. 5, 7, and 10 minutes passed and my main meal was not hot of course. But still, it was tasty. The next time when I saw this girl and stopped her to say “thank you for the utensils” (but she never bring them to me and it passed 25 min), she was like “of course”… so she didn’t even realize that she forgot about. I had no words at that moment. Honestly. I have never written such reviews and always try to see good things but yesterday everything was NOT GOOD!!! I can close my eyes to such poor service when you pay much less, but when you spent pretty much money to have dinner you always want a little bit better service and...

I've visited Esperanza on multiple occasions, occasionally for drinks with my husband. However, this time I made a reservation to celebrate my friend's birthday, as it was her first visit. The food was acceptable, but our overall experience, primarily due to the hostess, was tainted by discrimination.

I want to address the hostess who seated us and how she made us feel throughout the evening. Initially, she tried to seat us right by the entrance, which we found less than ideal given the constant flow of incoming guests. I politely requested a table slightly farther from the high-traffic entrance, especially considering there were at least six available tables. However, she insisted they were reserved for larger groups, even though it was a Tuesday night, and it's worth noting that those seats remained vacant even after we finished our dinner.

We also inquired about splitting the table, given the abundance of open seating. Her response clearly showed her displeasure with our request, and she had to consult with the managers. Thankfully, the manager recognized the validity of our request, but when the hostess returned, her demeanor was far from welcoming, and she seemed unhappy with the outcome.

Furthermore, ordering food at this establishment was a challenge. The table size was as small as a bedside table, and when dishes arrived one by one, it felt inconvenient and cramped. We politely requested an extra table to accommodate our order, but the hostess's response left us feeling unwelcome.

As a local and a paying customer, I didn't consider our request unreasonable, but we were left with a sense of profiling and discrimination. Our experience was far from pleasant, and I have no intention of returning to or recommending Esperanza to friends or neighbors in the area. It's disheartening that in this neighborhood, if you don't fit a certain profile, you may not receive the respect you deserve.

I strongly urge the owner or manager of Esperanza to provide training to their hostess on how to treat guests with respect, regardless of their background. Our requests were well within reason, and she should prioritize her work over personal distractions with her cellphone. The current treatment of patrons like us is discouraging and detrimental to the...

Went to dinner with a friend here Sunday night. Had heard lots of good things about the restaurant and was excited to try it. Beautiful restaurant and the food is excellent. Service was atrocious. Waited over half an hour for my non alcoholic drink and asked for it 3 times from our server. He never brought it. The server who brought our food ended up bringing it to me after I asked and it took her about 2 minutes. My order was wrong. They had a good non alcoholic beer on the menu. I ordered one . 10 minutes later our server brought not what I ordered but a St Pauli Girl non-alcoholic beer. I told him that's not what I ordered and and looked at the menu and confirmed that it was supposed to be Athletic Brewing Company's non alcoholic golden amber. He gave me a look took the beer and left. Came back a few minutes later and said that he had checked with the bartender and they didn't have the one that I wanted which is on the menu. Very disappointing that the restaurant felt it was OK to offer one thing and then provide a sub par substitute. He also brought it to the table in the bottle with the cap off and did not bother to ask if I wanted a glass for the beer poured into a chilled glass. There was no apology it was just, " Oh we don't have that one." Our server did his best to avoid our table and whenever I asked a question he pretty much brushed me off. I know it's tough to get good help but when you're paying those prices good help should be the norm not the exception. Also they need to rethink the hostess uniforms in this day and age it's not appropriate to require the hostesses to where midriff bearing tops when the servers and the men in the restaurant are fully covered. My friend was treating me to dinner. Had I been paying he would have gotten no tip. Very disappointing experience will...