Esmeralda's Lounge — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I met up with a friend at Esmeralda's to check out the DJ. Sure it's a cute little spot. And if you catch a night with a live DJ it's a dope little vibe. BUT the drinks are terrible, insanely WEAK, and OVERPRICED!!! I ordered a margarita and got a lime flavored cup of ice with very little beverage let alone alcohol. Seriously! And- it didn't taste great either. I initially thought that the bartender's hand was a little lite because it was happy-hour- and maybe he was just being skimpy. But a bit later hit the bar again- this time for a whiskey and coke- and when I tell you I tasted NO whiskey- believe me! This was no surprise because I watched the bartender make the drink with a standard jigger to "measure" the whiskey and not even filling it. Look- I'm not saying that I need a bartender to be heavy handed- but C'MON! And then they have the nerve to charge $13.00 for it- "it" being a cup of coke. The only saving grace in that moment was knowing that I will not be returning to Esmeralda's- at least not for cocktails. Because drinks at Esmeralda's are like the La Croix of the cocktail world, expect the faint essence of alcohol but not much more. I wish that I had read the other reviews about the wack overpriced drinks first- I would have stuck to just having a bottle of...

Josie took amazing care of my friends and I this weekend. Unfortunately the bar was EMPTY maybe it had to do with the fact that it’s a Spanish bar and all they played for music was what someone might of made on a child’s little tikes mix table? They had three different djs and none of them played anything Spanish or even relatively popular. I literally loved the bartenders and the bar backs. I really feel like this place has potiental. They just need to realize they’re in Humboldt and play some damn Marc Anthony or ivy queen. It was my birthday and I asked them to play salsa or something that’s not techno and was told they don’t have any Spanish music. Service 5/5 music and atmosphere 2/10… I literally sat outside because of how terrible the music and djs as a whole were. I’d definitely come back and hopefully the music is something I don’t have to cringe at. Response To the owner/ I’m sorry my review didn’t settle with you well, truly. I wanted to like this place really bad being I live in the park. Again… Everything is great just please do something those djs… 🚮the DJs were rude on top...

I found this place through Tiktok. It is a very cute bar. The decorations are beautiful. The outdoor space is really nice. The bartenders are friendly and handsome. It was not busy when I got there around 8:30 pm on a Saturday. It did get busy around 9pm. Unfortunately, the drinks were awful. The bartender recommended a mojito so I ordered it. It tasted like lime juice, with no alcohol. I was waiting for my friend and when she got there, I had her try my drink. We were hoping it was just the mojito. She ordered a Mango Tree, her drink tasted like lime juice and rum. No mango flavor. The drinks were $14 each. We ended up leaving after my friend finished her drink and drove 5 minutes east to go to wicker park where drinks are $2 cheaper and MUCH stronger. I hope they work on perfecting their drinks. I would come back for...