La Esquina Taqueria — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

We came to go to Pismo to ride the dunes and just happened to have our hotel in SLO so we left our little hotel and walked passed a lot of restaurants and came across this gem! Not only was it super cute but we were greeted right away and wasn’t extremely busy although most tables were full. Everyone we came in contact with was there to refill waters and smile and be friendly! That is the most important part of a restaurant to me, I have worked in service and so has my partner so we were happy to be there right away! I’m pregnant so I couldn’t partake in the margaritas but I’m sure they would be awesome! My partner also doesn’t so the waiter offered us non alcoholic options and they were delicious! Felt like I was drinking a salty refresher with fruit and unique flavors and we all loved it we ordered another round! My partner had pineapple my daughter had strawberry and I had mango; I preferred strawberry and got that in the second round! We were offered the specials ( all sounded delicious and usually I partake in ceviche which I couldn’t but it was snapper and sounded amazing! Eventually we chose the Thai seafood enchiladas and the Chile verde which is a go to favorite of mine! Very fast service always checking on you, and our waiter just so happened to have been raised in Santa Cruz where we were visiting from! Max! You are a a great waiter and you made us feel pleasantly welcome and were very attentive and kind and took your time to engage with us and didn’t make us feel rushed or an inconvenience at all. We appreciate your wonderful service! GO SEE MAX! Actually the whole staff was amazing and kind and smiling I just really appreciate that right now in this world. So pop in for a try and if you love chips they are delicious and fried there and the salsas are amazing! (We make our own salsas at home and are very picky lol) but they were legit delicious especially the green salsa and habanero! Can’t wait to come back someday and have a real margarita haha thanks so much La Esquina for a wonderful experience! 🤙🏼Ash Serg and Lily from...

I’m finding it difficult to tell you what I loved most about this New Mexican restaurant in downtown Slo (off Nipomo in the Creamery next to Ciopinot) but let me give you the awesome rundown:

• warm atmosphere, trendy current look but still comfortable—it’s hard to get it all right and La Esquina and whomever designed it-wow, really beautiful setting.

• that bar! Loads of gorgeous tequilas and mezcal as well as house made jugs with yummy combos like jalapeño, strawberry, chipotle, ginger, and pineapple-YUM! (And there were more I cannot even recall) I wish we had a designed driver, so we could have sampled more!

• cone of freshly made corn tortillas -this was served with a tomatillo salsa at the bar for us to test and it’s the only thing I’d change up a bit because it was mild and I love spicy. I’m definitely a salsaholic and while even this salsa was very good, I might ask for the red or see if Esquina has a secret super hot option too. Now let me say that the owner came by several times which we loved, and I also overheard him chatting with his staff about more things they were rolling out and trying. It’s already pretty damn fantastic so I love that he isn’t even done yet!

• The menu - crab enchiladas, relleños, fajitas, and please, don’t forget to try their oysters paulino—Asiago cheese, spinach, and some type of tequila, chipotle chili dab on each-sheer perfection. I am already dreaming of our return.

The owner was super engaging and is so passionate about his new restaurant. Leonard (is also the owner of Ciopinot) which we love for seafood, now his wonderful Dungeness crab that we know is hugely popular there is equally lovely in his mexican dishes! We also loved sitting up at the bar so we could watch the chefs cooking and they were also super friendly as all of the staff was. We cannot wait to return with friends so we can try...

The only reason I went to this restaurant was because I was given a gift card and wanted to use it. I took two friends with me and it was a terrible night.

First off, the food is horrifically BLAND. I got the surf’n’turf fajitas and I only ate a few bites before realizing I’d have to take this dish home and make it better later. My friends both complained that the food was not seasoned and they had to ask for salt. None of us finished our plates and we were very disappointed in the lack of creative taste or general taste at all. Will never come here again or get take out. Anywhere else is better, especially for the extremely high prices they’re asking for bland, mediocre food.

The server made us feel like we were a burden to her and she was incredibly rude to us throughout the entire evening. She was condescending when she asked us for our order and seemed put out that we wanted more chips and salsa and that we did not order any alcoholic drinks. And she was confused when I put the gift card and my credit card and I had to explain to her to use the gift card first and then put the rest on my credit card. She was annoyed we asked for so many to-go boxes and hovered while I was signing the receipt.

La Esquina, please find servers that actually will be kind and welcoming to your paying customers and please season your bland and boring food. You’ve lost my business forever and I will be telling all my friends to stay away from your poorly...