Watch out herbivores. Awesome food and totally reasonable for the portions. I have a buffalo enchilada addiction that is almost unhealthy. The atmosphere is great if you are in the front portion, but the back area kind of feels like the kids' table. The service is always friendly, sometimes too friendly? I have not had a good margarita here, so I'd stick to the strawberry lemonade and tequila shots. I have never been disappointed by the food here, maybe because the buffalo enchiladas are just that good!…

Someone Assassinated My Taste Buds!. History paints a picture of the "Kennedy Camelot" years as such. John F. Kennedy was a beacon of hope and as his flame was snuffed out his younger brother, Robert, carried the torch only to be taken too quickly. The rest of the legacy has been stricken with folly and scandal. This lesson could probably be applied to Esparza's as well. Where once Mama Esparza pounded out her tasty Tex-Mex dishes for friend's and family now her heritage has been reduced to having Ted Kennedy in the kitchen. There is a note on the menu that warns the casual diner to alert the wait staff should you have issues with spicy food. Maybe a nemesis called to warn them ahead of my visit. Aside from the jalape?o peppers and my liberal dousing of Tapatio on the Tex-Mex Nachos, the plate was devoid of spice whatsoever. The ground beef and beans had the consistency of cat food with none of the flavor. My girlfriend's crunchy chicken tacos, while packed with so much "seasoned" chicken and cheese that you could barely add peppers, left a black hole where her taste buds used to reside. Esparza's also suffers from the standard Portland stereotype of of dressing the part, but falling short in living the life. If someone spent as much time on entrees as they did on the decor our visit may have ended up different. The wait staff, while kind, seemed to be hampered by "the rules." With two open tables & 20 bar stools in front of me, I was questioned if my guest would be showing up soon. This also happened to a party of 6 who already had 3 people waiting. And don't even think of substituting ANYTHING on the menu without meeting resistance and ultimately denial. All in all your palate would be best served by hitting Javier's or another taqueria that isn't pretending to be "cool," where you (the customer) can have a choice that is not held up to an invisible standard, and where flavor is not a just a words on the menu. Maybe one day this WAY overpriced eatery will endorse a better candidate.…

Mexican Food Should be Fun! This Isn't.. On our first time at Esparza's, we sat down and were instantly excited by the free-flowing chips and salsa and the blended margaritas. This is it, we thought! Mexican food in Portland like you get it in Austin! Then we saw beneath the funky exterior and realized they just don't get it. I ordered a bean and cheese burrito and asked if it came with lettuce. The answer was that it did not, but I could have lettuce for an extra dollar. That's kind of stingy, but I went with it. When the food arrived, there was lettuce on the plate, and an extra bowl of lettuce. Turns out, my meal did come with lettuce so we had to have them remove the extra dollar charge. Not the kind of petty details you want to have to discuss with your server on a fun evening out! I liked the burrito; my boyfriend thought his migas were just average. We gave it another try this weekend - again, haggling with the waitstaff about what we were allowed to order and what we weren't. No, I'm sorry, that only comes with the red sauce. No, I'm sorry, the two burrito plate only comes with two of the same kind of burrito, you can't mix and match. It's just not fun! It doesn't seem customer-based, it doesn't seem light and funky and fun. And all the extra charges add up.

The service and all the rules make Esparza's seem like they're just pretending to be food-loving cowboys. I echo the other posting I just read here - we'll go somewhere where they appreciate our business and where we feel welcome! You can't just toss up a few taxidermied animals and some pictures of John Wayne and be done with it. Spirit counts more than decor.…

Esparza's Rocks!. Esparza's is the best Mexican in Portland- And I know my Mexican. The staff is friendly- we go in so often they know us by name. I see co-workers there all the time, family members, friends, etc. Everyone loves Esparza's. They have a unique menu but also many choices for people who aren't so daring either (like me). The chips and salsa are very excellent- just don't gorge on them or you'll be stuffed for your dinner- I have a hard time making this balance! My fiance has tried something new almost everytime we've gone and he is hardly disappointed. He didn't even really like Mexican food until he met me and I made him start going to Esparza's with me- And now I can't keep him away- He'd eat there three times per week if we could! Try it out- you won't be sorry! Try the BBQ Shredded Pork Tacos or Quesidillas! Awesome!…

no wait, excellent service. Went to Esparza's with four coworkers tonight for dinner because my boss suggested it. None us have ever been there before and we were all happy with our meals. The service was great felt like we were being served by everyone that was working there and food was awesome. We really liked the wild boar nachos as our starter.…

great service, great food. Went to see a movie at the laurelhurst with a friend and decided to try and grab a bite at esparza's before the show started. Heard how busy this place could be and was suprised to get a table without a wait. My friend and I split the wild boar nachos which were outstanding, and I also tried a chile rellano equally as good. The service was friendly and quick, left us plenty of time sit and enjoy another beer not feeling pressed to make our movie.…

Really terrible frustrating experience - but I got a free beer out of it. I went to Esparza's with my boyfriend tonight after hearing good things about it from long-time Portlanders. We were seated at the same time as a group of four that was waiting outside with us. The group of four were seated, had their order taken, received their food and started eating before anybody ever came to take our order. We finally got drink orders and my boyfriend's margarita tasted like melted plastic :( A good 15 minutes later we were debating just getting up and leaving when somebody finally came over to ask if we'd ordered yet. I said we'd give it a shot and asked if the beans/rice were vegetarian before I ordered... the waiter was super defensive and told me NOTHING on the menu was vegetarian at all, which I wish we would have known beforehand, so I told him we were just going to go and I'd be happy to pay for my Corona but the margarita tasted bad and I wasn't going to pay and he rather than fixing it himself he "My manager's over there, you can go talk to him if you want to" - Instead I decided to just walk out. The manager followed and I told him what happened, and he said not to worry about it - So, I got a free Corona and a margarita we couldn't drink - but seriously, what was their problem? What ever happened to taking care of the customers? I'm totally shocked.…

Used to be so much better. We used to go here frequently, but after last night, I'm not so sure. The cowgirl tamales were sub-par (not much flavor), and I had one as a leftover at work today. I was totally disgusted when I found what appears to be a pubic hair (thick, black, and course) in my tamale. Yuck!

Their food used to be so much better! I think it is overpriced and the service is somewhat attitudinal!…