most of the tapas here were good. i had some chocolate chicken dish that i was not fond of though. the staff was super friendly but the service was a bit slow and inconsistent. they were great when they were there... just they weren't always there. - tapas bravas was excellent, i understand its tough to go wrong. - garlic mushrooms pair well with the unlimited bread. another one of those dishes where i literally clean the plate. - squid dish was decent, it had a chewy texture as it should and the flavor was not over-powering. - lobster paella was pretty good though i feel the lobster is consistently over-cooked. i try to pretend that it is just there to flavor the spanish rice, which makes sense to me since the rest of the dish is so tasty. - chocolate chicken dish was grainy and had conflicting flavors for me, i just couldn't do it. read more

Went again yesterday and YES the food is still amazing. This time instead of the ropa vieja We had the CARNE ASADA YUM!!! The service was kind of blah, especially when there were heardly any tables there. Oh well, you can't have it all sometimes. read more

Finally a good Spanish tapas spot in SF! The grilled calamari was great and not too oily, the pimientos rojos were a little undercooked but still worth it, the grilled mushrooms had just the right amount of garlic and the albarino was lovely. My one complaint would be about the chicken adobo...does it always have to be with dark meat? C'mon... But all in all, a great place, good prices for what you get and I'll be back soon! read more

Paella (seafood or lobster). Order it and you'll be a happy person.

House wine is 4.50, steal for a SF restaurant. The food was yummy, good selection of Spanish tapas. Had to wait 30 mins even though we made a reservation. Place was packed. read more

Judging them based on their Tapas, not their Paellas, which I should probably should try if I ever go back, but I had Anthony's cookies and Bi-Rite ice cream just before. Based on the Tapas alone, it was all a little tasteless. Sangria was ok. Not a bad place to eat, but you don't have to go out of your way to eat here. read more

This place is pretty good. They can get crowded but take reservations. The mussels are great as are the potatoes with the spicy sauce. I LOVE their sangria more than Cha cha cha's. I've been meaning to try the paella but always end up getting a bunch of small plates. It is a cute place with some live Spanish music sometimes which is awesome! read more

Paella is very tasty but it is not cheap !! Fried potato with spicy sauce is good .

Eserpento was just what I was looking for upon returning from Spain. With a longing for tapas, I headed here and ordered boquerones, jamon, tortilla, and paella. All of the dishes were tasty however, I found the paella a little too salty for my taste. The sangria was potent and refreshing. The crowd was lively and the live music was on-point. I will definitely be back. read more

One of surprisingly few restaurants that are open in the neighborhood for lunch, so the place wins points for that. (Nearby there's Boogaloos and a sketchy looking Chinese restaurant) They also have a steady flow of customers (some of them clearly regulars). There's a lunch special which is a pretty good deal- options include grilled salmon, beef, chicken adobo, etc. I ordered the rabbit stew, with sides (included) of rice and stewed zucchini. It was tasty and nicely cooked, although it was chopped up too much as I spent most of my meal spitting out small bones. Service was good. read more

yum. Small dishes, lots to share and lots of options - I wanted to try everything. The menu is intense - you can read it for days but they categorize everything so you can try to make some decisions. Everything we tried was really tasty and the service was fast, and they were hospitable. Overall, good place to go out with friends or on a date -fun and casual, cheap and delicious. It's a go for me. (Only reason I knocked them one star is because the bread was stale and some dishes can be oily). read more

Loved this place when I lived in the bay. I still call artichokes "artichofas" bc they were so good here.

Everything about this place was great. The prices are super good and so are the portions. Sangria was sweet, the way I like it, and only $4 a glass; a definite steal. Plus, there was an excellent mariachi band that played for about 10 minutes. Wonderful! I've been to a lot of tapas places (including in Barcelona). This is one of the best I've been to. read more

Third time here, and still loving everything we've had so far. This time, we tried the rabbit and quail paella, calamari, clams and roasted eggplant. Two thumbs up! Calamari batter was not too thick and melts in your mouth with the calamari, and the clams were fresh. The paella was delectable, as usual, and a portion for 2 can definitely feed more than that. read more

Decent sauteed calamari tapas and sangre de toro.

This place is the best place in the City for paella that I've been to, but I still think that it falls a bit short. That being said, it can be pretty fun to go to with a big group and order a bunch of different paellas to sample. Just make sure you are not in a hurry, because it takes a while to cook (not their fault, that's just how paella is). read more

Lunch time is probably the best time to go, you get more food for what you already don't pay much for and the service is at it's best around that time. Even though the service can be on the downside on Fridays and Saturday nights, since the place is so crowded, it still doesn't hinder the food. My meal always comes out quick, steaming hot, and so delicious, not to mention crazy affordable for a restaurant in the city. This place will always be one of my favorite restaurants in the city, I will always take family and friends here if they've never been or new in town! Go tapas! read more

This is my happy place! At least top 3. Love their food. Staff is always courteous and takes care of us. Place can get really busy which affects wait time but it's worth it. Moved from bay area few years ago but this is #1 place I go to when I visit. read more

Ok Tapas. This place was nothing special. It wasn't bad, just very average. We got about 5 different dishes and while they were all good, nothing really made us go wow. read more

Really cool - if you go with a large group try to get the special separate room. Loved the spicy potatoes, garlic chicken dish and the chorizos. The Sangria was excellent as well but the flan didn't do much for me read more

I would like to thank the other reviews for leading me here...We had a really good and CHEAP dinner here last night!! Walked in around 7ish with a group of four and waited about ten minutes for a table. Got drinks super quickly, and our tapas came out as they were ready. The steamed mussels were very tasty....My only complaint was that the sangria was a little sweet for my taste, but hey, that's just me. The wine I had after made up for it. Their staff was very attentive and friendly...over all a good experience, though not a place I'd want to go on a date. read more

We arrived here pre-dinner rush and got a table without any problem. Wait staff were attentive but as soon as the place filled up service did suffer pretty bad. Anyway we had the artichokes and they were killer, crispy, garlicky tender. The rabbit stew was just okay, kinda fatty and really not a whole lot of flavor. It was a tough dish to eat due to the bones. The fried calamari was good, tender, but average served with a garlicky mayonaisse. A plate of grilled calamari passed by our table and it looked killer. We also order the fried seabass which came out seasoned, coated and served up with the same mayonaisse. Okay but nothing special. The spicy potatoes were good and they deliver the heat. Washed it all down with the excellent Sangria. May go again. read more

After being featured on "Check Please- Bay Area", this place is always busy. Having frequently traveled to Spain on business and pleasure, places that capture the flavors, value and energy of a local tapas bar are a find. Esperpento has great food and wine selections. Some favorite tapas are the grilled artichoke hearts, the grilled (not fried) calamari, the shrimp in garlic, the ox stew and the mushrooms. Lovingly prepared, matched with decent service and good friends, 2-3 tapas a person shared among four friends is a feast for $25 a person including wine. read more

I am here every Tuesday around 5-530pm before my business class at the City College Mission campus, 4 stars because of the outstanding service, I am almost done tasting the entire menu and while I've yet to taste some thing that I do not like I think that the preparation and food presentation is good. Tonight I had the grilled quail, small portion but overall good in taste. I have become a Tuesday night regular, and let it be said that I personally like the Sangria here better than the Cha Cha Cha's. While the wine selection could be altered I think that it is fitting to compliment most meals. And they have Anchor Steam. read more

I went to Esperpento over the weekend for a friend's birthday celebration. The place is very cozy, and gets pretty busy during the dinner hours. I'd definitely recommend making reservations even if you have a small party...I noticed some people had to wait quite a while for a table. We ordered several small plates (approx. 8) and split them among our group of 9 people. Some of those dishes included: grilled scallops, calamari, etc...it was really delicious calamari--crispy and not overly greasy. We also ordered a pitcher of sangria, which was not a disappointment. And for our last dish, the birthday girl ordered a 6 servings of paella. It was enough to feed a whole village! Our group of nine barely managed to eat half of that pan full of paella that the waitress brought out. read more

I have to agree with many other reviewers: this place is just ok. I wandered in here for the first time last week when a friend was in town who couldn't decide what he wanted to eat. I've walked by this place many times on a weekend night, when it seems to be bursting at the seams with tipsy tapas-eaters, so I always wondered how the food was. I have to say, it is shocking how fast the food comes out; our order was barely out of our mouths when they started bringing things to us. I can't say I remember thinking "this is amazing!" at all during our meal, but the grilled asparagus was good, as were a couple of other dishes. I was disappointed with the fried calamari. The restaurant is pretty noisy, so save this place for a quick meal or for when you think the boisterous mood will match yours. read more

esperpento...hope to come here again soon! i went here last weekend with a party of 9 and we sat in our own little section. the patatas bravas was great as it had a spicy gravy sauce on it. everything else was OK, nothing special. the sangria was very sweet and not very strong, overall, this place is packed but fun with a group as long as you get seated. It is not the best tapas i've had (compared to my the food i had on my trip to spain), but decent. read more

My girlfriend and I ordered a bunch of stuff when we sat down. We only got about half of it. I even pointed everything out when ordering. I think the waiter didn't understand enough English. Anyway, what we got wasn't all that great. Ended up costing more than I would have liked. read more

honestly, i'll have to go here again to give an accurate review as it's completely left my mind. i remember the food being good... but apparently not memorable. read more

After deciding to on Paella, we searched our neighborhood for a good place and came along Esperpento. The menu is very reasonably priced. We got 2 appetizers, a bottle of sangria and of course a big plate of paella and it all came out to about $55 which is pretty good, the service was good too and the place was packed. The paella however did not blow us away as it was not very savory. We got the mixed plate of meats and seafood and althought the seafood was pretty good, the meats (pork, chicken) left something to be desired, a bit bland and undercooked. read more

I did my research (on Yelp ofcourse!), so I was sufficiently prepared for the inconsistent menu items - patatas bravas good, cured spanish ham on french bread bad, grilled clams in olive oil and garlic VERY good! Clams were simple, yet oh so delish! So good my friend and I asked for two baskets of bread to sop up the oil long after we finished our clams. We sat outside because we didn't want to wait for indoor seating. And again, I was prepared for the homeless people asking for change. That, and the fact that our potatoes came out kinda cold were the only downsides. I recommend a carafe of sangria for two people. You want it to compliment your entire meal. A glass disappears way too quickly. Salud! read more

This was our second visit. This time we didn't have the paella, just six tapas. Yum, everything was good, except for the jamon serrano, which is just a ham sandwich. I recommend tapas with sangria. Forget the paella--it's dry and cannot compare to the real thing from Spain. read more

A 4.5 actually. I've been to this restaurant many times now, and last night's food was good, as usual. Some of the dishes we had were grilled calamari, grill mussels, steamed clams, grill artichokes, sauteed mushrooms, etc. etc. All were good, but the spinach was a little too creamy and lacked favor. The eggplants were a bit too oily. The fresh bread was great to mop up all the sauces! All the tapas run around $6, so it's a nice price and allows you to try many different dishes. The paella, on the other hand, is kind of pricey -- around $28, and it was surprisingly only OK. I've had better paellas at other Spanish restaurants. For $28, I would recommend ordering different tapas. Their sangria is good, and the service was efficient. The price is wonderful! This continues to be one of my regulars in the Mission area. read more

authentic spanish tapas done the right way. i've got a posse of spaniards who agree and frequent often for a taste of their childhoods. the paella is spot on, and the sangria potent. chill atmosphere in a great location. if great tapas is what you want, esperpento will no doubt keep you coming back for more. read more

Small plates but tasty. Bring people to share cheese potatoes yuummm

After my four friends ate their classy, moderately sized share of the seafood paella, I ate the rest of it by myself in one sitting. 'Nuff said. read more

I like Spanish tapas, and the food's pretty good here (though not outstanding) -- but the service is inattentive and it always feels understaffed, even when it's not. :/ read more

Sangria anyone? I'm not much of a wine person, and sangria has never tasted good to me. However, Esperpento's sangria is delicious. The food is good, the environment is a cute quaint, and the sangria is a must order. A good place to take a date. There is outdoor seating, which is lovely on a nice summer night. read more

Simply spectacular. Phenomenal menu, great prices, great service. Best artichoke dish I've ever had. Fantastic shrimp, deserts, calamari, rabbit. It's worth the wait. Great place. read more

Had a nice dinner here with friends. The food was good, it was crowded though. The service was good. Nothing really made it stand out from any other tapas place in the city. There are some better and some for sure that are not nearly as good. Kind of feel wishy washy about my visit here. read more