Sadly, like so many other restaurants, Espiau's is no longer affordable. Their legendary Espiau's salad is $11 - for lettuce and cheese. $2 for a teaspoon of sour cream. Service is slow. Had to ask for my daughters drink 3 times. Arrived watered down. Super disappointed in our last visit. read more

My wife and I are longtime fans of Espiaus. My wife will absolutely get the Mexican Salad and I love any of their sandwiches. The ambience is very much a local thing but you will see many college kids eating here. I highly recommend Espiaus. read more

Go for the salad, stay for the food. I have been a customer of Espiau's for over twenty years. I discovered this amazing restaurant by accident, and haven't looked back. My former spouse brought me here to share his love of Mexican food with me, and insisted that having a salad here would be life changing. I eagerly agreed to try it. That many years ago, the restaurant was in a different location, but ironically this newer location looks very similar to the old one. We ordered food- salad, drinks, and entrees. I recall the chips being tasty, and was looking forward to the salad that I had heard so much about. The salad arrived, and I was visually disappointed. It was lettuce, cheese, and salad dressing. Frankly, I felt like I had been talked into eating at yet another Mexican restaurant. Then it happened. I tried it. I also tried to not show emotion, and quickly had more. Three simple ingredients that would forever change my thoughts about what food visually looked like, and that it's the taste. The salad didn't look ugly, just plain. The burst of flavors was an epicurean delight. I loved the salad so much, that I can't recall what my meal was. Fast forward, I've long since moved away from the area, and when I'm in town, I make a point of stopping by for their salad. Moment of confession, those many years ago, I asked if they'd sell their dressing, and was eagerly permitted to buy some. It had been a long time since I had been back in the area, and found myself in town for work. So I did what any foodie would do, I went to buy some dressing. This time I was traveling... by plane. In the past, tossing it my cooler was just a given. This is where the excellent customer service comes into play. I explained my plight about getting on a plane with " liquid" the staff and awesome manager kicked into high gear to make sure that I didn't leave empty handed. I went in to buy a quart, and walked out with a gallon of goodness. They have those heavy duty plastic containers. After filling it up, they set into play the miracle wrap. All I know is that the perfectly wrapped container fit nicely in my check in luggage, and with some added padding, made the almost 500 mile flight home completely secure. Thank you Espiau's for great food, your awesome staff, and allowing this girl to share her food memories with her family. read more

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A friend and I ordered food from here via doordash. The food was fine, no complaints, but pretty much just average. Both of us ordered something with carne asada, which was an additional upcharge, but the meat was just missing something. If I order from here again, I would definitely go with one of the other options instead of paying extra for that. They did provide chips and fresh salsa, both of which were tasty and complimented our meals well. The funniest part of the meal was the cheese salad. It's literally iceberg lettuce and a TON of cheese. It was actually pretty tasty and made me feel not so guilty about eating a pound of cheese. All in all, I wouldn't mind ordering from here again, but would give one of the other meats a try. read more

Shout out to JENN, she is an awesome waitress and really catered to us, thank you. The restaurant is big with 3 different dining seating choices the patio, the bar top room and traditional inside dining. We had a Carneasada fries, ABC, burger, big fatty burger and the blue cheese burger. We finished all of our food, very very good. We will be back. read more

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The food was okay. The service was terrible. Food was brought out and just dumped on the table. My son in law ordered a drink from the bar. The waitress finally brought a drink to the table but it was not what was ordered. She just shrugged her shoulders when we asked about it and then just took it away and brought the correct drink back around 15 minutes later. The entire restaurant could use a good cleaning. There was a dead fly on the window by the table. We asked the busboy for a napkin to clean it off, which he brought back promptly, but acted like it was normal to have dead flies on the window. I doubt it if we will ever return. read more

Food as bland as you can get. Ordered Asian sesame chicken wings. They were bland and under cooked. Partner ordered asada fries. They were bland and flavorless. She didn't even want to take them home. I ordered the beef dip. Again; Bland and flavorless. See the pattern? Service was bad. I ordered an ice tea; it took 30min to get. Then it took another 20min to get our bill. I honestly was just going to leave without paying. They wasted my time and calories. Without a doubt, worst food and service in Claremont I have experienced in the three years I have lived here. read more

Brought the family for early Mother's Day lunch. Sign says they open at 10am, website says they open at 10am Yelp say they open at 10am and was JUST updated 7 weeks ago but they don't open at 10am. Don't answer their phone but luckily one of the buss boys was outside and when I told him I had my 80 year old grandmother and children standing in the sun waiting to get In, he tells me that they changed the hours and he sees people every Saturday disappointed and waiting. read more

Espiau's - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

Stopped by Espiaus the other day. We don't get there as often as when we lived in the area. Had a great double Espiau salad ( shared with hubby) . Hubby had taco. Had chips n salsa and we asked about them not having the queso dip like back in the day. ( been having Espaius since 1968). She said they could make it for us. It was yummy and we enjoyed every bite with our chips. Good food, great service every time. Hope to see you soon Espaius. read more

Been going here for 40 years can't say enough great things. Have a Tostada!!!! Best Mexican Food around.

I hate leaving one star reviews and it's really difficult for me to do so , I like to give everyone a fair chance. We ordered a veggie sand which and they gave us a turkey sand which. Which didn't help because my girlfriend does not eat meat. No flavor in the veggie soup, potato flautas super salty could eat them. But the service , the service was atrocious we didn't know who our server was until they dropped the bill at the end . I had to get my own water refills , napkins and took the food to some staff in the kitchen to tell them about the issues because we could not get anyone's attention the most helpful personthis evening was a girl cleaning tables on their patio. I'd love to give them another chance but it's is very unlikely read more

The two of us were able to get in their patio without waiting. Tables socially distanced and outdoor fans running. Margarita and Corona hit the spot. The rest kind of sucked. My wife order a single taco and I ordered two tacos. We were served three tacos on one plate literally hidden under a pile of cheese and lettuce. We had to ask for a separate plate and dig through the mountain of cheese and lettuce to get to the tacos! If I would have measured this madness, I suspect a pile about 8 inches tall. I should have taken a pic before but here is the after. Get us outta here! read more

Espiau's - Extra lettuce and cheese after we finished - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

This time I had dinner with two dinner mates, arrived around 5:00 and was half way full seated right away with choice of dining, bar or patio then table or booth. We had inside dining tables and hostess took the drink orders. Their menu don't have non alcoholic beverage selection or prices so had to ask, soda is $2.85. I had lemonade and server took our entree order which this time tried the fat burger no tomato or cheese cooked medium and fries. Food came 30 minutes later, the burger had four large crispy onion rings (rather salty) shredded lettuce and BBQ sauce with thinly cut fries. It was good but wouldn't order it again. Server was attentive with a refill, silverware and napkins (didn't get any until after we received the food). Chips and salsa was good as well. Hope to come for those combos when I have extra money. read more

The service is awesome, the chips and salsa are delicious but damn, inflation is real in downtown Claremont. $30 for two enchiladas rice, beans and salad is just brutal. Would still go back though. read more

We have been coming here for years...I even remember visiting their old location with my grandmother a million years ago. Lol Their salad and tostadas are delicious. The huge pile of cheese and unique house dressing are worth the visit alone. Their chips are really good, although a little salty for my taste. Their cheese enchiladas are also really good. They're filled with a lot of cheese and a really good red sauce. I'm sure I will continue to enjoy Espiau's for years to come! read more

Went to Espiau's tonight for a birthday celebration. It was pretty slow so we were seated almost immediately. Our server was very nice and attentive. The chips and salsa were good even though in my opinion, the chips were way over salted. Potato skin appetizer was good and my wife enjoyed the chicken tortilla soup. My son enjoyed the "good burger" and his girlfriend said the flautas were good. There was 5 of us and the entrees staggered out to us over a 5 or six minute period. Now for the elephant in the room. The famous Espiau's salad that I read about on the internet. It was absolutely terrible. $18.99 for basically iceberg and shredded cheese. Extra $5 for ground beef and the cost for avocado was listed as "seasonal" on the menu. As a former sous chef I can say with the upmost certainty, "that ain't no $28 dollar salad." The only reason I didn't ask for refund was to not embarrass my son on his birthday. I highly doubt any employee would eat that abomination on their lunch break. Do better. read more

Awful,run down atmosphere. Worst ,so called"Mexican Salad." A bowl of Taco Bell grade shredded lettuce and a mountain of low quality jack cheese. Vile. Twelve dollars for this travesty. Chips made with flour tortillas.Sad read more

Not only is it hard to find a day where they're open, but we finally arrived to try and have dinner and the place was virtually empty, and some silly little waitress, told us we had to wait 15 minutes because she didn't want to overwhelm the waiter staff. I repeat the place was not busy. We are done! We will never go back, despite I do love their salad with all that cheese on it. read more

Not sure what all the fuss is about here. Some women from my church told me that this place has the best salad ever that they are famous for. Of course I had to try that salad and all it was was iceberg lettuce with a mound of cheese and some cheap vinaigrette dressing. Not close to a $10 salad, not in my world. I had two tiny shrimp tacos for $10 that were meh at best. This place may have been an icon at one point but not anymore, at least not in my opinion. One bright spot is despite the reviews I read the service was actually very good and friendly. read more

The service was normal rate of time For our drinks they were good and tasty and for the food to come out it was normal fast time when our food came out to our table it was delicious and yummy, then we waited for our stomachs to digest and someone recommended the peanut butter ice cream with fudge omg it was so good and filling afterwards thank you Espiau's your guys waiters and servers are doing great and are so kind and nice and appreciative of their service . read more

Came here to eat on Friday for my good friends birthday. First time I've eaten here and it will be my last. I got their burrito and had some leftover since it was a pretty good size burrito. I warmed it up today for leftovers only to find on the inside a piece of metal with some blue corroded stuff on the inside of it. I'm disgusted and sick to my stomach that was in there. Some of the blue corroded stuff crumbled out of it and I don't know how much I even ate of it. Wouldn't recommend anyone eat here after what I found. read more

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TERRIBLE! I've been here before for lunch and didn't care for it but thought I'd give it another try. Hubby wanted to watch the game & have some breakfast. I ordered the Tasty toast (absolutely nothing tasty about it) and hubby ordered bacon omelette. Very basic & nothing to it. My coffee & the water was good. That's about it. read more

I'm only giving this place a 2 right now because the service is not that good. Making me feel uncomfortable. I have never ben here and felt this way. I have been coming here for years and the service note sucks. It so needs to be fixed. The waitress needs to be more inviting Hans smile I believe her name is Jen. She needs to have better manners. She didn't introduce her self before she took our order. My wife had to ask her name. I am so sad it has come down to this. I don't like giving bad reviews at all but if it calls for it then it has to be done. . read more

Espiau's - Front door - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

Long story short.. Espiau's is one of the best all around family eateries in the IE...some of the best Margaritas I've ever had.. amazing burgers, a full Mexican menu AND a sandwich and salad selection. in I've been coming to Espiau's ever since I moved out to the IE and they've found a way to make the experience more amazing every time. read more

Went for Taco Tuesday. Took about an hour for three tacos and they tasted like leather. Totally cold! Poor waitress asked if I wanted new ones. Why? I didn't have another hour to sit around to wait. Ridiculous read more

Ehhhhh again I went to meet up with friends to watch the games and have lunch. I almost didn't order but figured maybe if I tried something different my opinion might change but if anything the rating just decreased. The service was okay but the food is what's disappointing to me. They definitely should considering changing the menu options. Maybe a lot of other people like the menu but I beg to differ. The only thing that was good that I got to was the corn appetizer with the tortilla chips and salsa. Otherwise, I rather go back but having ate prior. read more

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Christy was a great server, I love coming their shrimp tacos & margaritas! They have a nice patio and I felt safe with procarurinaru measure of covid guidelines read more

Espiau's - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

Salad was good and Mexican food was decent. Been here before and still consistent but the atmosphere is sort of depressing. read more

Espiau's - Always order this salad - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

Food was very good but getting a bit pricey. I always order the Esposito salad, which is plenty and I got the small. Service was friendly and attentive. read more

I went there the other day. The place at the end of the street in downtown Claremont in the village. Friendly service and welcoming. The food is decent . I had a deep fried fish burrito. It seemed to have more cabbage than anything. My friend had enchilada , he said it wasn't memorable. We tried their blood orange margarita. I was hoping it be a little stronger. It had a nice taste. The chips and salad were better without the seasoning in my opinion. read more

Espiau's - Blood orange margarita - Mexican Near Me - Claremont, California

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Love the food but there's some workers who are too focused on being flirtatious who aren't focused on orders so they can rush to be on break with them. When we were asked by the worker Esmeralda if we'd like only 2 musubis total we said yes and she charged us for 4 and we didn't realize it until after, which I don't get how that happened even after she asked us? I had even asked for 2 scoops of Mac & 1 of rice and got no rice at all. So overall our order was taken incorrectly as she was approaching her lunch and seemed to be rushing to do so to be with another male worker also on his lunch. I understand personal life's as well but to only hear between the lines from your customer to hurry for your needs in the work place is not fair when we are paying customers. read more

Probably the worst service and the food was nothing I would purposely chose to have again. There was no option for salad dressing, which is just crazy to me. And the waitress was always no where to be found, we constantly had to ask other people for basic things. Please don't waste your money here, there is a lot of great Mexicans places, and this is not one of them. read more

First time eating here in years. There's definitely a major decline in the food.....didn't taste fresh (nor authentic). It remind me of a TV dinner...bland. And not to mention food did not come out hot, it was sloghtly warm as if it had been sitting for a while,being warmed by a heat lamp.. Musr mention we waited about 30 minutes before order was taken. It appeared there were only 2 waitresses on duty, right before the lunch hours. There was no acknowledgment to the delayed wait...... Aside from the salad, that was delicious! Things were below standard and I will not return. read more

We went to eat here this past Saturday and arrived at 7:36pm. When we went to the hostess to put our names in, she rudely said "we don't take any names after 7:30pm". We asked why and she said "because we don't". I understand that with COVID restaurants may not be fully staffed to stay open late or to cover all sections , but come on hostess, explain that. Or be nice enough to explain why without the attitude of "because we don't". I am happy to change my review once we actually eat there if we give it the chance. But this review is based off the customer service of your hostess. read more

We've come to this place for years, the food and service was just OK . The salad was tasty as usual, but kinda of pricey for basically lettuce, cheese and a very good dressing. A friend and I ordered the chille relleno with rice and beans. Not a complete chille , maybe a 1/4 of one, surrounded by cheese and the traditional egg batter. Not worth the price we paid for the meals. We had ask the waitress twice for different items, yet the place wasn't busy (4:30pm) Bathrooms definitely needed serious attention also. All in all not the greatest experience. We will definitely think twice before coming back ......... read more

I'd been craving the salad from Espiaus for a while and finally talked my husband into making the drive out here. I was so disappointed in the food everything tasted as if it came from a can and the price was so high for what you got! My husband tells everyone how horrible this place was so disappointing read more

So I used to go to this place all the time. This is my first time back in a number of years. The Blue burger is still great (my husband demanded 3 stars instead of 2) but they've really leaned into the Mexican food, which is absolutely not their strong suit. I had a beef enchilada, which was fine I guess, but had some kind of weird off flavor I didn't enjoy. The staff is very pleasant, but our food took a long time and the prices are out of control. If you're going to be charging me OVER $13 for a single beer, and then have the audacity to charge me for sour cream (which should really be included on the enchilada), and then add to it the fact that they haven't had live music in "a long time", nostalgia aside, I won't be back. read more

I have been going to Espiau's for years and recommended them to many people. But their prices are just RIDICULOUS now!! Yesterday it costs me $37 for 2 enchiladas, rice, beans, salad. The salad used to be free with a combo and now it's $14 to add the rice, beans, salad. And the chicken enchiladas were so dry and not seasoned at all. The first time I ever had their enchiladas before COVID they were so tasty and seasoned. Now they are just nasty!! I won't be eating there anymore or recommending them either. I believe these restaurants are just cheating folks with these high prices. They are charging us like we are still in COVID lockdowns when businesses were struggling because of the pandemic. They are not struggling so why the high prices and nasty food. The only thing that is slightly ok are the chips and salsa and sometimes the chips make you gag because of the amount of seasoning salt that is on them. Come on Espiau's, you gotta do BETTER!! read more

This was our first time going to this restaurant and we were a party of 8 at 11:30 am. We were the first people in the place. We were promptly seated and given chips, salsa and water. That is where the service ended. More people came in, got seated and waited on, but not us. We asked the waitress and she replied very curtly "we were not her table" but there she was taking care of the table in front of us and to the right of us. This made no sense at all. We wound up leaving and going across the street to a wonderful diner and they were so nice and super accommodating. read more

The servers were friendly. We were a group of eight on a busy Sunday lunchtime. Our food was too expensive for what we ordered. And the price on the menu for adding to my large Espiau's salad little pieces of cold grilled chicken were less than the price on the bill, and neither that tasteless chicken nor the cold iceberg lettuce with barely a shred or two of purple cabbage and a few tiny slivers of carrots was worth the expensive price for what it was. I didn't like the vinaigrette dressing - oily and not fresh tasting and bland. My husband liked the taste of his tiny steak tacos, Our friend's Cobb salad was huge and so was the cheeseburger ordered by another friend. Others ordered fajitas to split - they arrived sizzling but much later than the rest of the food. We had to wait awhile for the bills, My husband and I wouldn't eat there again; I had read many negative reviews but we went this time because our friend wanted to go there. There's much better Mexican food elsewhere. The staff was very friendly so maybe certain dishes could be reworked. We just can't afford to pay over $50 including tip for food that isn't worth it. read more