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    La Esperanza

    4.5 (103 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican
    Open 9:00 am - 10:00 pm

    La Esperanza Photos

    Business Info

    LA ESPERANZA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - La Esperanza

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    Two pastor, one carnitas, one barbacoa
    Amber S.

    Fast and friendly service in an unassuming atmosphere. I found the dining area clean and updated. A perfect spot for a quick meal and grabbing some groceries. The tacos were very good! My favorite was the pastor. While I enjoyed the carnitas and barbocoa, my personal preference is a little more shredded meat and crispier carnitas. Both of the red and green salsas were excellent. Do yourself a favor and stop in!

    Not a great photo, but I thought of it after I started. Ceviche tostada, a couple of tacos.
    Kelly F.

    I'm giving this five stars meaning compared to other similar places, it's really great. By similar places, I mean a small restaurant tucked in the backside of a Mexican grocery store. So it's not fancy, it doesn't have a full bar, and so on. But what it does have is a really tasty, from my experience. I loved their ceviche, and I love it when you can get a serving that's meant and priced for one person rather than a larger table. I had a few of their tacos, the Carnitas was just a stuffed with big giant pieces of pork that were very tender. I had my baby granddaughter with me and she absolutely loved that pork. She had some beans which were really good for her. Everybody was very friendly and nice, although I find that usually when you are carrying a 10 month old, that's the case! They do have beer, which for me really rounded out some great food. Oh the grocery store itself is very well stocked with Mexican and other Latin American cuisine foods.

    Pastor tacos, carnitas sopes, enchiladas rancheras, and pollo nachos
    Jamie R.

    Fast service and top notch food! Everything we have tried is wonderful and crazy fast how quickly it comes out after ordering. Horchata was very good too! I would recommend the pastor tacos and the carnitas sopes! Does not disappoint.

    caldo res ( beeeeef steeeeew)
    Bao N.

    First time I was here, I ordered the chicken burrito, and the caldo res (beef stew). The chicken burrito might have been the best I've ever had. It's not really a burrito, more like fajita chicken and then tucked the ingredients in ready for bedtime. Meaning you can not, will not, and should not pick this up by hand. Portion is very good, and add on being delicious. It was so good, that I returned the week after. Unfortunately, the meat was not seasoned the second time, so consistency may be an issue. Free chips were terrible. stale The caldo res was... very very bland. It tasted like they boiled some beef in water and then served it to you. Beef stew? more like beef water and the cow was on a diet. Beef stew? Nah more like drinking hot water and imagining the flavor of beef. Beef stew? Nah more like the pacquiao and mayweather beef (not real). Thats to say, burrito good, chips bad, caldo res very bad.

    Enchiladas rancheros
    George L.

    Fantastic food the hurrachas are great all the taco options are the best in Knoxville

    Street tacos and burrito
    T T.

    Some of the best Mexican I've found in TN so far! Good flavor and HUGE portions! Can't wait to try more off the menu. Street tacos were a 7/10 and steak burrito was a solid 9 and could feed 2 people easily.

    Enchiladas
    Canny F.

    Came here for lunch with my soft tissue rotation peeps. I had high hopes for this joint since my experience with Mexican grocery/restaurant joints have been great. I ordered 3 tacos: marinated pork, shrimp and fish. All the tacos were dry and bland. I was extremely disappointed. I do not recommend ordering any of their tacos but their main entrees are a must get. I sampled some from my peers and it was good. Portions are huge for the price. Chips were served cold but the salsa was good since it was chunky and had a mild spice. We bought a pinata for a little over $35 and a bunch of random candy in the store. I never felt so gross from eating candy before. Maybe it's because I haven't had candy since I was a kid?

    Carnitas plate

    So far our favorite Mexican restaurant in Knoxville. Their salsa is unlike any I've had it is very good and the perfect amount of heat. The pastor taco was my favorite, then carne asada, the carnitas, then barbacoa. This is the most authentic I've had in a long time. Definitely recommend and will be going back. The staff is very nice and service is very quick.

    Carnitas torta
    Carlene O.

    Great service, friendly staff, and as always delicious food! Tried the carnitas torta this time and was not disappointed.

    Al Pastor Torta
    Bruce K.

    This is legit. I found a Mexican spot for all my needs. I'm sure there are others but this place... damn it was legit. Can we first start off and talk about where this place is located? It's located at the back of a grocery story. Yeah. A grocery store. It reminds me of like a kitchen from a gas station...but so much better. Why? Because the butcher is a few steps away. This place was so hidden, I didn't read any reviews and all I heard was that you just have to go and check this place out and when I got there I was confused and was questioning if I was at the right place. Definitely a hidden gem as no one was there (then again we went right before they closed). Let's get to the food: I ordered a couple of tacos, the Al Pastor Taco, and let's say they were pretty tasty. They serve Al Pastor!! I haven't seen that since my last visit to San Francisco! So finding a place that serves it... is awesome. Next thing, since I was surprised that they had Al Pastor, I continued on this line of thought and got the Al Pastor Torta. And shit, it was awesome. It's just this huge sandwich with a ton of meat. I think me thinking back on this Torta, I'm probably going to schedule a trip over there soon. The only negative thing about the food that we ordered was the burrito which was a little salty (on top of that they served it under queso which isn't quite authentic, according to the GF) but, in all honesty it could be personal taste. No worries about if you think this place is cash only. It isn't. You can pay by card at the front and that's actually how you pay. So, when you get that ticket just go up to the counter. We were a little lost for a while and didn't know what we were supposed to do, but we figured it out. Dinner was filling and our experience was pretty top notch. I'm sure we won't get the burrito again, but maybe try something else that's on the menu. I think I'll definitely have Al Pastor again and judge it a little harder, but by far I feel like this is probably the best Mexican restaurant thus far in Knoxville for me.

    Chicken burrito

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    Great food for a great price. There is a grocery store inside as well. Portions are substantial.

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    1 year ago

    Authentic Mexican food! Large portions. The sauces are all delicious. The servers are very nice and attentive too.

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    7 months ago

    Weekend barbacoa taco special was bangin, hole in the wall grocery store kitchen but a very clean spot, and very nice people

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    1 year ago

    So good and fresh. Delicious food. I loved the torta and he said his meal was delicious. Definitely recommend for great food

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    4 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    It was pretty good Mexican. I can't say anything special about it compared to other places, but I would certainly go back.

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    10 years ago

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