I stopped here after a very long Friday. It was late & near closing time (8:30pm). Still, they welcomed us in & provided solid service. My friend wanted a cup of coffee so they made a pot of coffee for her. We ordered a large burrito, a 2 taco plate, a daiquiri, & coffee. The free chips tasted like a lightly-salted standard bag of grocery store tortilla chips. The portions of food were ample but not memorable. To me, it tasted like an average American Mexican food meal-nothing particularly jumped out about the flavors. It wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either. Slightly disappointing was the strawberry daiquiri which had all the sugar syrup settle at the bottom & which was noticeably weak on the alcohol portion-it was more syrup than strawberry or daiquiri. In the past, I've had better tastier meals here so it's possible that it was just because it was close to closing time. Still I would not make it a priority to return here. read more

I highly recommend eating at La Esperanza. Some times I get cravings for their Chile Verde and call my husband who has a shop in Orosi to have him bring some home. It is a short drive from Visalia but definitely worth it. My favorite thing to order are their Espy Chips (Chili Verde Nachos). It is a pretty big portion so I usually share this with someone and get a chile rellano or a taco. I really like their tacos because they are not your average taco truck type of taco. They come with lettuce and parmesean cheese which adds a really awesome taste! The customer service is fabulous too. It is locally owned and when I asked what region of Mexico their food was from he laughed and said that their food is "homestyle". Everything they cook is their family recipes combined. Nothing is "heated up" or bought from the store. Everything is literally home made. That is always great to hear since so many restaurants have frozen items. read more

La Esperanza - Mexican Near Me - Cutler, California

Nestled in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, this little brick house has some of the BEST chile verde around...and that says a lot in a land full of good chile verdes. I was introduced to this place last year by my best bud Marco, who has been frequenting this place for over 20 years! He said I would not be disappointed with anything on the menu; but said what really shines here is the chile verde. Boy was he right. The pork chunks are not overly fatty, but just enough to keep the meat moist and carry the delicious pork flavor through the spice of the salsa. Anything with the chile verde sauce gets my applause...whether that be the quesadilla, burrito, taco, or my fav the Espy chips. The Espy chips are awesome! Thicker than normal chips smothered in cheese and topped with hot chile verde sauce. You will not regret trying this dish. Menudo on the weekends is pretty good also. There is no shortage of tripe in this bowl, more than I'm used to being served, but the extra chewiness is welcome. Service is friendly and prompt. Prices are good. Food is A+. You will enjoy this place, and I am becoming a regular here even though it is a 25 minute drive from my house. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner...Espy chips will deliver. Steve Out. read more

La Esperanza - Espy Chips and Menudo...Is there a better combination? - Mexican Near Me - Cutler, California

My husband is a Cali to Oregon transplant specifically from this area. La Esperanza is always a must stop for us. The espy chips are the most amazing things ever! We always add asada and get some of the Chile verde sauce to go to take the delicious home. Covid does not seem to have slowed business too much, the parking lot was full and there was quite a line for pick up. The food was wonderful as always. read more

So I decided to get some espy chips after reading the reviews. I also got the quesedilla de chile verde which was overkill but I didn't know what else to get. Both was very good. I liked the chips more. I should have just gotten a taco with the espy chips. Anyway, the flavors was delicious. But I kind of wanted something more like a red spicy salsa to add on top of it or some fresh salsa. Half an order of espy chips was like $7.25 and the quesadilla was $4. read more

La Esperanza - Half an order of espy chips for $7.25 and the quesedilla de chile verde for $4. I liked the chips way better. - Mexican Near Me - Cutler, California

Finally made it here after hearing great things from people and it did not disappoint. Got the espe chips as everyone recommended and they were so flavorful and delicious. Service was great and the staff makes you feel warm and welcomed. Will definitely be back! read more

La Esperanza - Espe Chips.. so good! - Mexican Near Me - Cutler, California

Espi chips, espi chips, espi chips. They are the best. They can be very hot one day and mild the next. But they are truly the best!!!!

This place makes a mean Chile Verde. I'll eat their Chile Verde on anything here, it's that good! Even if you don't typically like Chile Verde, try it here. They might change your mind. read more

I have been to Esperanza's for so many years. So far back everybody's hair was dark, no gray!! Even mine!! But their food has NEVER failed to excite my taste buds, ESPECIALLY the Espie Chips. Espie's are in so good my family (which are all grown) go from Visalia to Cutler, just for their food. There's a variety of great food but espies are outstanding. read more

By far the best Chile verde in the area, not to mention the owners and employee make you feel like family.

My wife and I ate Dinner here tonight. My Dinner consisted of a Cheese Enchilada, Bean Tostada, and a Beef Taco. The food was fairly good but compared to other Mexican Restaurants, lacked "taste quality" with their Beef Taco. I am aware of how some Beef is prepared for serving and this is what was done: the Beef was drained of grease, and then washed to remove more grease. However, what happens is the Beef has less quality taste and looks almost white. It is a Manager and Cook matter to be resolved. Most people don't care and just eat away! But food taste does matter and this needs to be fixed for customer satisfaction and increased business traffic. Other items on my plate were pretty good and the service was excellent! read more

So good! Please grab yourself some chips with chile verde & cheese, I've been loving this plate for yearss

Amazing food! But the portions are a little to small, pricing is fair. I got the espy chips and it did not fill me up but like I said very good food! read more

Absolutely great and friendly staff. Hands down some of the best Mexican food around especially if you like Chile verde. Fast and convenient all the time. read more

We're from out of town and were looking for a local restaurant. Found this on a Yelp search, and they didn't disappoint. We got an assortment of items from the menu, and everything was delicious. The espe chips with carne assada were especially good! Just the right balance of spicy. If we ever come by this way again, I'd definitely look them up again. read more

Was working out in the country in between dinuba and orosi didn't think any place delivered and found this place! Delivery was fast and convenient. I was so pleased. Thank you! read more

Seriously, best chile pork verde....EVER! I shouldn't have to write anything more than this. They will not allow me to post a short review, so I want to ramble on like this so that my review will be long enough that Yelp will allow me to post it. But seriously, best Chile pork verde ever. read more

I drove out of my way, from hwy 99, to get the Esperanza chips. Years ago, they were very flavorful and super hot. So hot the sweat beads would form on my forehead. It was addicting. I was super disappointed this time. It wasn't even warm in heat and lacked flavor. I live north of Sacramento, but won't be back. It appears the old recipe is no longer used. Now, it is just like all the other Mexican restaurants. No uniqueness. read more

Very good chips the best spot outside to dine in the padio the girl was so nice and patient with us it was so great to be out

Is not the Esperanza of my past. The quality has slid,sadly. The servers all look miserable and it no longer has the warm family feel it once had. read more

A great place to relax watch games in The Bar or just enjoy there diner. the staff is awesome and food is amazing if there was more stars to give I would. Enjoy your visit. read more

A great place in Cutler. Clean, fast, friendly people and great service. I ordered the Monday/Thursday special, short ribs prepared chile Colorado style - they were great. I also had a ground beef taco just to try something else and that too was really good. Lots of people so it's obviously a local favorite. I'll be back if I'm ever back in the area! read more

Love love the food!!! And the service is amazing!!! Great ambiance!!! Definitely will be going back :)

WOW. OMG. I don't even really like Chile verde because it's usually blah or too fatty. Not here. Ordered Chile Verde quesadilla, burrito, espe chips, tostada salad with Chile Verde of course. ALL INSANELY DELICIOUS!! They are super friendly and even though it was take out only due to covid restrictions, the vibe was so nice. Plenty of parking so you can just eat it in the parking lot. My husband just yelled out loud, "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WAS SO GOOD!" Seriously tangy, light, and yummy! Top it off with a horchata that tasted like they actually made it as well. They said they made everything with some love-you can taste it! Can't wait to stop by this gem. read more

Two words: Chili Verde. Superb food. Good service. Dining room can get busy and noisy, but you're here to eat, not talk, right? This is a Must Visit whenever I'm in Cutler, or anywhere close. read more

Great food! It's a must if you like chili Verde. The rice and beans also amazing!! It's worth the drive. Espi Chips will blow your mind.

Esperanza's has been one of our favorite spots in Tulare County. We live in Visalia and make the trip to Cutler as often as our schedules allow. Great staff, great food and service. Always have a great experience when dining here. read more

Best Mexican food in the central Valley!! Espi chips are a must! Enchiladas are the bomb!! But my favorite is the Chile Verde quesadilla!! A d if u like a morning breakfest try the breakfast burrito which has Chile verde, egg, and beans!! read more

Went to the location off of many peoples recommendations. Didn't get what everyone said to get but was very pleased. Have been there several times and great service and food. read more

Not great. I really wanted to love this place, but the food was a disappointment. Stale chips and taco shells, greasy inedible chile relleno. They're known for their chile verde, and while the sauce was excellent most of the chunks of pork were over cooked. The atmosphere is dreary. Service was good, but not enough to get me to come back. read more

I thought it would be much better but I was somewhat disappointed. It was just ordinary food.

4.5 stars I've been going to this place for over 30 years. The Chili Verde at Espys is the one I measure all others by. For me, this is total comfort food that it would almost not be fair to compare mexican restaurants to. Like some of the others have written, the Quesodilla de Chili Verde is the marquee dish here. It's a quesodilla filled with a white cheese and the Chili Verde pork and it's sauce, then topped with more sauce. The beans are old fashioned cardiac arrest style (made with manteca), and rice is a nice staple/cutter to balance out the other flavors. I really like thier Chicken Enchiladas as well. The sauce is very tasty, and somehow has a creamy essence to it. The breakfast burrito is very good (or Joe burrito to old timers). It's a Chili Verde burrito with beans and some scrambled eggs. It's not just for breakfast! Legend has it that a local mechanic named Joe used to request his burritos prepared this way, and others started ordering it often enough that it got on the menu. The Espy chips is probably the ultimate snack to have by you as your watching a game. It's a simple dish, with rortilla chips smothered with the lovely Chili Verde and topped with melted cheese. Relative of the family behind La Esperanzas has branched out to at least two other locations. Both of these restaurants serve food that's very similar to La Esperanza's. The closest is Martha's in Orosi. It's on a side street by the McDonalds, off of Hwy 63. A lot of locals actually prefer Martha's to La Esperanza's. The other is Juanito's in Reedley. It's caddy corner to the College on the SE corner of Reed and Manning Aves. Look behind the corner gas station and Carl's Jr. Out of the three, I still think Espy's is the best, but try them all and see for yourself. read more

Worst Mexican food I've every had in my whole life. Obviously people whole like this restaurant have no other choices for mexican food, because this is the middle of no where. No flavor, lots of grease! No agua frescas, no salsa choices... etc. read more

This is a basic establishment with really wonderful MEXICAN food. As most reviewers have mentioned the Chile Verde is first class especially when it's part of the chile verde quesadilla or my favorite, the Espy Chips! Come in and have a cold one and they'll take really good care of you. read more

Loved this restaurant for many years and it seems like it only gets better, I highly recommend the chilequiles for breakfast and the espi fries are always super good. If you want live entertainment every first Wednesday of the month they have mariachis read more

Best thing we did was leave ...waited for almost 25 minutes , no chips & no water No waiter Forgot all about us. So we walked out. So we are now eating at Martha's Mexican Food , way better choice and awesome service --5-star for Martha's !!! read more

This is by far, one of my favorite places to eat in the entire world. The Espe chips, the chilaquiles, the huevos con bistec ranchera, the ground beef tacos, cheese enchiladas and chile rellenos are a few of my favorite things. You will not be disappointed. My family has been going here for 25+ years and the service is always spectacular. I cannot rave enough about Esperanza's! read more

There's something to say about a restaurant when you have people from Fresno (an hour away) drive into town on Sundays just for their food. This has always been a family favorite of mine and they've been buying food from the Quevedo Family for years! Their service is friendly and Enrique always has a smile on his face! I recommend anything with the Chile Verde and if you haven't already, you need to get the Espe Chips. My usual is either that or the Two Chile Verde Quesadilla meal with rice and beans. Enjoy! read more

My family and I have been coming here for years!!! The Espi chips are hands down THE best!!!

Alright...so i heard great things about this place before i went...something about an irresistable pallette satisfying cheesy quesidilla smothered in chile verde sauce topped with cheese...unfortunately..it was not my thing...i mean dont get me wrong..the flavors were all there...but the quesidilla chile verde combo i found to be a bit awkard. The chile verde nachos were a little better and everything else was decent. read more