Amazing food, excellent service, home-y atmosphere. The food was great. The 2 salsas (rojo y verde) were both delicious and flavorful. Everyone in my party enjoyed what they had. Large portions, shareable but also good for one person with some leftovers. I got the carne asada burrito, and others in my party got the taco dinner (lengua, al pastor, and carne asada), steak milenesa, and horchata. All outstanding. (Side note -- in my opinion, the quesadilla isn't really the thing to get here.) The service was great. I'm allergic to onions, which is a very difficult allergy to eat out with, but the server was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and what everything contained. I was able to eat many things no problem, and everything was still flavorful. Will definitely bring my family here again. read more

My Machacado with eggs was very good, my wife ordered the breakfast burrito and it also was awesome. The café de olla is superb. The house sauce is OMG! We had great service and hospitality. The restaurant is very clean. Home cooking, great service. You gotta try it. read more

Add this to your must go to if you are in Pilsen. There are multiple types of seating and easy to get in and out Of the restaurant. The service was friendly and had us feeling like we were in their one eating. The food was all fresh and packed full of flavor. Lots to choose from, it is hard to decide what to get. read more

I got the Esperanza special and it was delicious, with so much flavor and spice. I'd never had anything like it! My partner got the flautas, and they were also very tasty. I was very impressed by how big their portions were. Our waiter was very friendly and made jokes with the dad at the table, which was very sweet. Definitely a nice spot to stop for lunch! read more

Loveeeee this spot. Amazing, delicious, great quality. Prices did recently go up but I would rather support a place that feels like they care about the quality of their food and feels homey than a space that feels cold, bland and expensive. Love their tortillas and their jackfruit pozole. It's hard to find good vegan pozole. Their agua de Jamaica is also fire. read more

Such an amazing experience. The kindest staff and the BEST food. Such an authentic experience and the BYOB is such a perk. Thank you to Rosa for making us feel at home! read more

Having lunch with my friend here She ordered a burrito and I ordered chile relleno. It was good with homemade tortillas Service kind slow read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - $16 - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

We had brunch & enjoyed a variety of menu items. I especially like the chilaquiles with mole sauce. Perfect balance of sauce. Everyone enjoyed all their selections & it was reasonable considering how much food was served. read more

The food was amazing. Ingredients were fresh and cooked perfectly. Some friends were not sure what to order and the server nicely provided recommendations. This place serves really good Mexican food with a family vibe, I highly recommend. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Cecina Esperanza - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Highly recommend the mole chicken enchiladas! The mole was rich and spiced well, and the portion was large enough for me to split into two meals. I usually find the cheese to be overbearing in enchiladas, but the cheese was just the right amount here. Since it's Texmex style, the dish is normally served with rice and refried beans. I personally dislike refried beans, and they were nice enough to sub the beans for more rice. I do wish they had the option to sub for black or pinto beans. My meal was $20 post tax and tip, which seems a bit on the pricier side but is reasonable considering the large portion. The interior is very homey and that atmosphere was reflected in the warm service. A great spot for Mexican food if you're in the area! read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Mole chicken enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

4/5 Tex-Mex Food with Vegan Menu I came with a group of friends and we tried a plethora of items. My favorite was the vegan Al pastor taco. The pastor was very flavor, I wish I ordered more! The vegan flauta was also very good. I was less impressed with the vegan enchiladas but still good overall. The margaritas were a highlight :) read more

See all

Very good food! Generous portions and a variety of traditional Mexican dishes and newer versions. Roomy and comfortable space with a bar too. Service is friendly. read more

Incredible lunch! This was the best mole I've ever had! I got the cheese enchiladas with mole sauce. It's a large plate with rice and beans and three enchiladas. Also had an asada taco and it was excellent! Chips and guacamole with the red and green sauces were delicious. The chips are a little thicker and have a good crunch. Red sauce is spicier than the green sauce. Guac tasted fresh and it's a large serving. Service was impeccable. They told us that everything is made to order and even the juices are made on the spot. read more

La Esperanza restaurant is a great spot in Pilsen with vegan options. It's so helpful they have a vegan menu so you know you don't have to substitute anything. I got a vegan sope. It comes with vegan meat, lettuce, tomato, vegan cheese, beans and avocado. It was so delicious and the portion is pretty big. I got stuffed with one. I also tried a potato and soyrizo taco. The flavor was amazing. I definitely will come back and try more items off their menu. I recommend this place everything was delicious and tasty. read more

See all

Tried it while visiting Chicago. Your basic clean, cute small space. You can tell they know their community and were really kind and fast. Food was decent. I has the mole chicken enchiladas. It was tasty . The side beans & rice were okay. The Quesadilla De Huitlacoche was okay too, but not great. But we were hungry. I'd try it again to explore menu if I visit again. read more

If you're looking for vegan food in Pilsen, look no further than La Esperanza Restaurant! They have a fully laid out plant-based menu that you can request when you stop in that removes any questions or concerns about what you're ordering being vegan or not. My partner and I both got something we'd never had. The stuffed dish in my photos is a zucchini flower gordita. It was loaded with beans, zucchini blossoms (of course), lettuce, tomato, avocado, and vegan cheese. My huarache was also loaded with the same toppings except instead of zucchini flowers, mine featured corn fungus (huitlacoche)! Huitlacoche has been on my list of foods to try and the way La Esperanza prepared it was fantastic. It has a very mushroom earthy nuttiness to it that complemented everything else on the plate. After having plenty of free chips and salsa before our meals arrive, we both had leftovers to take home. 10/10 will be back for more vegan Mexican food at La Esperanza. read more

See all

Visiting Chicago with my family and drove through Pilsen to check out the art and experience the vibe. We went in and had amazing tacos. I eat vegan but my family does not. We were all satisfied. Try the hibiscus birria tacos. So flavorful. Chips and salsa when you sit down. Proper! Also, the folks that work there couldn't have been nicer or more welcoming. Go there now. read more

Was excited to come here because of the whole separate vegan menu but walked out underwhelmed. Main reason: food was bland. I wanted more flavor, more salsa, more spice. I got the vegan meat flautas (like taquitos) based on the waitress' recommendation. They were fine? But I wanted sauce of some kind. The guac, refried beans, and rice were really bland. The complementary salsa also was just huge chunks of tomatoes and not really edible as salsa. my friends agreed that their dishes were bland too. Cute vibes and friendly service but kinda slow. read more

See all

This place was good! Street parking can be hard to find in the area but eventually we found some. Parking on Sunday is free right now, so that was good. I ordered some breakfast it was pretty good. Decently priced. And the service was good. Place looks small from the outside but it's pretty long and has quite a bit of seating. We got there in between breakfast and lunch so was emptying out. Salsa were real good and tasty too read more

Don't ask for some lemon for your burrito they will cost $1 and please specify the drink twice to the waitress as she was upset she had to remake the drink I ordered in the first place cause they didnt understand the drink I ordered off their own menu, also you guys can be a little nicer, it looked like you didn't want to take care of us, to top it off my friend was still eating and you took her plate off while you see her she was still eating. Food was good too bad service wasn't. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Don't ask for a lemon for your burrito or for your food, they will cost $1. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

MUST GO! We were tired of eating Italian food and missed home, so we decided to go get Mexican food. The enchiladas were TO DIE FOR! I had 2 cheese and 1 steak. Totally regret not getting 2 steak enchiladas because the meat was delicious and tender. Our server was super nice and always checked on us! read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This has been a favorite spot in Pilsen for many years. I'm surprised I'Ve never posted a review. The homemade tortilla are the best! My favorite tacos are de cecina. And the salsa is spicy and delicious. First time having the quesadillas flor de calabaza (zucchini flower), they were AMAZING!!!!! The Chile relleno w ranchero sauce was delicious! If you are interested in a lemonade w a twist...try Limonada con topo chico. You won't be disappointed. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a welcoming low key family oriented establishment. I've been to many restaurants but many don't have children menus. If you have kids you will not regret it. There's no excessively loud music playing in the background or mariachis playing a million times for all the birthdays. There's a time for every experience of course. For kid friendly it's def the place. Good food and good service. read more

sorry but this place hit the spot . Authentic Mexican breakfast at its finest !!!! read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Fire - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was sorely disappointed by the takeout options at this restaurant. My partner and I ordered regular quesadillas and the vegan birria tacos for pickup and both were underwhelming. The food could have used more filling, the corn tortillas were dry, and both dishes could've used more seasoning.The tacos were gritty and the texture was off putting. It was also expensive for what we received. Despite our negative feelings about the takeout from La Esperanza, the dine in experience was very pleasant! The hostess was friendly and well informed and the food was tasty. If you're looking for good vegan food in pilsen, I recommend this for dine in. Otherwise- go somewhere else!! read more

Amazing authentic food. Clean environment. Service was amazing right when we sat down. I came because I heard there was vegan options. I ordered a pozole and vegan quesadilla. Pozole came with a numerous amount of garnish options. Delicious. Salsa was freshly homemade and I was hooked. Washed everything down with a natural limonada. . My Omni husband loved his steak burrito. Portions were a GREAT size. And everything was very reasonable. Can't wait to come back. THANK YOU FOR HAVING VEGAN OPTIONS. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Vegan pozole (AUTHENTIC) and vegan chorizo quesadilla. With limonada. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here Saturday night because I heard great things about this place, so I decided to give it a try. It was empty when we came in around 6:30 and I think it's because of the hot weather. I usually see people in here when I drive by. I ordered 2 fish tacos, 1 steak, 1 tostadas de camaron, and 1 horcharta. I had to order 2 fish tacos because there's a minimum of 2 orders, so I gave one to my sister. The fish taco was very good and I liked that it wasn't the deep fried battered one. I don't have a preference as long as it's good, but it's just nice to see restaurants do it differently. The steak taco was a bit dry to me. I've had other steak tacos where they were more juicy and chewy as well as more flavorful. This one was definitely more on the plain side. The tostadas de camaron was phenomenal. It was really hot yesterday, so this taco definitely stood out. It was super refreshing and they were not skimpy at all with the filling. I thought this was the best, then fish came second, and steak was last. I highly recommend people trying this when they come here on a hot day. The horchata was amazing! It wasn't super sweet as well as nice and cold on a hot summer day. I will definitely order this when I come back. The staff was super nice and friendly. She didn't rush us when it came to ordering and didn't check up on us every 10mins which was awesome! I was able to just enjoy dinner with a couple friends catching up on life. I would recommend this place if you're in the area and wanted to get ice cream afterwards at La Michoacana because that's what I did! read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Fish and steak tacos - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

As a chilaquiles lover, this place has an amazing plate of chilaquiles. The serving was worth the prize. My eggs were perfectly cooked too.

After hearing rumors that this place had vegan options I decided to try it out. Theres no physical vegan menu yet. The server said they're working on it, so they tell you what the vegan options are. I got 2 vegan chorizo quesadillas for $14, yikes! came with chips/salsa. No beans/rice. It seemed like they used chao and maybe homemade chorizo TVP. I wanted to try their vegan pozole but it costed $15, so that was a hard pass. There's also a 51 cent card fee. Also call in your order ahead of time if its to go. I ordered to go at the restaurant ended waiting 20 mins for 2 quesadillas. Staff was nice, atmosphere was lively. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - "Vegan chorizo quesadilla" - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was the best breakfast I've since I moved from Texas. It was perfect. Service, quantity, value, taste. No notes. Go eat here.

So good! I had the vegan birria + pastor tacos which tasted so authentic I had to have my partner who isn't plant based assure me it wasn't meat. So affordable and everyone working was really kind + quick. Will go back :-) read more

Authentic Mexican Food. I like to call this place "Pilsen's Gem". Ive tried about 50% of the menu. Love the weekend specials (Menudo, pozole, carne en su jugo) Mole enchiladas Sopes Mexican breakfast options You name it and they make it correctly! Please dont come here for tacos... atotonilco or pacos is the place for that. I am a regular here and feel at home. Seevice is always A-1 and friendly read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Carne en su jugo - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great place with award-winning mole! Generous servings with a neighborhood feel and warm reliable service.

A very hidden and underrated gem! I always walk by this place on my way to 18th St. and decided to give it a try last weekend. The food is delicious although a little bit pricier than other places in the area. It's probably that price because it's BYOB but the food is so delicious that I don't even mind. I got the mole chicken enchiladas and my boyfriend got the al Pastor burrito. The mole was probably some of the best I've had since I first tried it in Mexico. We also got the steak nachos which were delicious and very big portion. I would urge everyone to come try this restaurant's amazing cuisine! read more

See all

Great food, so grateful for the vegan options and great customer service. Hand made corn and flour tortillas! Yummy! This place never disappoints./Muy rica comida, muy agradecida por las opciones veganas y el excelente servicio al cliente. Tortillas de maíz y harina hechas a mano! Delicioso! Este lugar nunca decepciona. read more

Restaurant has a pretty good space area to eat comfortably. Staff is very welcoming and friendly. I ordered the green chilaquiles with eggs and skirt steak which was pretty good. Food was out at a very reasonable time, nice and warm. read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very good genuine Mexican food. Love anywhere that gives free chips and salsa and coffee refills! read more

La Esperanza Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Lo más especial de toda la comida es que e estado comiendo por alrededor de 3-4 años y hay un platillo que me encanta Ami nota no está en el menú y que me hace recordar el pueblo o rancho donde uno come en el El Monte con lo que hay nopales, jitomate y tú bistek que es el que me preparan exclusivamente para mi y es un muy bonito recuerdo ese platillo lo llamo nostalgia no está en el menú simplemente quien a comido en el campo se lo recomiendo read more

I've only ate breakfast here but the food is really good. The tortillas are hand made and the staff is very friendly.

The food was beautifully presented and all prepared on site from scratch. The service was friendly and quite hospitable. The ambience was comfortable and pleasant. This was an excellent dining experience. read more