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La Esquinita

4.3 (102 reviews)
ModerateMexican
Closed • 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

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LA ESQUINITA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Dogs allowed
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - La Esquinita

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Across the street from the restaurant where I parked so you can view the outdoor seating and the street parking.
Lisa C.

La Esquinita in Oakland has delicious shredded beef tacos. The owners of this taqueria also own Xolo near City Hall in downtown Oakland and their food is just as delicious as Xolo. Their tacos are so good that's all I order. Can't seem to venture off and explore other delicious options because their beef tacos have me in choke hold. Their salsas are amazing with tons of flavor. This restaurant is not that big but does have seating inside and outside the restaurant. The staff is sweet and accommodating and can help you pick the perfect tacos. Perfect for pick up and takeout. They are located in the Rockridge area of Oakland and have limited parking but definitely worth a visit.

Tracy T.

This is a cute little spot if you're looking for a relatively reasonable place to get some tacos. Seating is super limited so just be prepared to wait or snag a table if you can. Staff is really courteous and nice and customer service is amazing. I love that this place has a little kids menu and the burritos are pretty substantial for kids. I ended up getting guacamole and three different types of taco (the fried fish, the grilled fish and a chicken taco). I love that it was on the blue corn tortilla and it looks really fresh. I just found the taco flavors were OK. I was expecting to be a little more bursting with flavor but it wasn't bad. The guacamole was on point. We also got some Agua Fresca (strawberry) and that was just absolutely amazing. It's a great spot to go if you're in Rockridge area or you're going to the library and want somewhere to eat real quick. I would still prefer the tacos to have a bit more flavor or maybe salt? But it's still a cute spot and I'll probably check it out again cause the customer service was pretty awesome. Also be prepared to look for parking because parking is challenging sometimes.

Busy with togo orders but always at the front ready to serve your needs! Great staff
Vanessa C.

Dope spot. Not gonna lie, they're not the cheapest tacos but those blue tortillas are so good. It's worth it. Trust me. I got 2 shrimp tacos and two carne asada tacos and they were all spot on. The shrimp was lightly beaded and honestly regretted just not going all in on 4 tacos de camarones Everyone on staff is really helpful, friendly and attentive. Chips and salsa while you wait :) They have indoor and outdoor seating although it's minimal, mostly 4 tops outside. I wouldn't say it's the best place for a large group. They had a constant flow of to go orders so it's clear the neighborhood loves them. 5/5 always a good spot to swing by for lunch

Carne Asada Burrito
Mariam J.

I moved up the street from this place several months ago and have been wanting to try it but didn't get a chance to until last night and holy moly have I been missing out! I love burritos and would say I eat one at least once a week and this place did not disappoint. I got a pollo asado wet burrito and a regular carne asada. I am not typically a fan of wet burritos but this one was delicious and definitely worth a try. The carne asado burrito was my favorite and will easily be in my weekly burrito rotation! They didn't skimp out on the meat and everything was so well flavored and the burrito has a delicious crust on the outside. I'm sad it took so long for me to try but I am also so happy that this place is just a short walk away. The store itself is a bit small on the inside but they have lots of outdoor seating as well. So excited to try all the other yummy things on their menu!

Guacamole
Daniela J.

Ordered takeout and I liked my tacos but my husbands burrito had a penny inside it which made us a little concerned about the preparation. So I have to dock a star for that. From what I ordered though I liked the chorizo taco best of the pollo and crispy beef tacos. The flavors were good of the food we had just feel conflicted about the penny

Mushroom wet burrito
Suraj P.

This is one of my favorite veggie burritos in Oakland! I feel like a lot of places that are highly rated generally don't have a good veggie option, that is not the case here. The staff is super friendly and it's cute little restaurant with outdoor seating.

Sopes (cheese omitted)
Michele L.

We decided to try La Esquinita on a whim. My partner has seen in while passing by before and thought it was cute so he suggested it as lunch today. I was feeling for some tacos so this was perfect. There's not much seating indoors from what I remembered, but plenty of seating outdoors. It can get kind of hot though, so just an heads-up, a cap would be useful, or it would have been nice if they provided umbrellas or something for shade. Food has to be ordered at the counter first, then you're given a table number, and food will be served when they're hot and ready! For myself, I ordered a Carne Asada Taco and one of their Sopes (omitted cheese) that was on their special menu. The rest of my party ordered a Veggie Poblano Taco, two Lengua Taco, a Chorizo Taco, another Sope, and their Horchata. Food came pretty quickly. I like that they have different toppings for all the tacos. I believe my Carne Asada came with just onions, cilantro, and their house made salsa, but I saw diced yams on the Poblano I believe. It's also nice how you get different tortillas for different taco fillings. Mines look similar to maybe a blue corn tortilla, but I'm not entirely sure what made the tortilla brown instead of the usual yellowish color. My taco was pretty darn good though! The meat isn't too fatty, good amount of filling, and flavor was there! I enjoyed it. I sampled a Lengua and that was deliciously tender as well. As for my Sopes, I kind of wish they asked if I wanted to omit sour cream since I asked to omit cheese, but it's okay. The Sopes came loaded with toppings. It's similar size to a taco, but it's almost like a little circular pie crust. It came topped with some of the garnet yams, plenty of meat, beans, cilantro, and sprinkles of other ingredients. I thought it was pretty good. Flavorful and delicious, but I feel the masa base was a little too crunchy/hard. It was a bit difficult to cut through. It's definitely fun, and messy to eat, so do expect to get your hands a little dirty. Aside from that, my partner also loved their house made salsa and their Horchata. All in all, a good Mexican place. Expect the price point to be higher than your normal street taco. All of our tacos was about $5-$6 each, but I suppose in exchange, you get a little more variety and their twist on Mexican food. There isn't much service since it's kind of self serve for water, utensils, etc, but based off of our limited interaction with them, they were friendly people.

Al L.

After our nearby hike, our group came here for lunch after a group member suggested this newer Mexican restaurant. Arriving around 1:45 and after finding parking in the neighborhood a block away, we arrived at the restaurant at 1:45. I recall this was the former location of the Filippo's restaurant. Inside there is two 4 seat counter seating. Outside, there are about 8 tables of two that can be combined if necessary. Menu consists of tacos, burritos, specials and seasonal items. After ordering at the counter, we got our water and utensils at the station and went outside to combine two tables. The server brought our orders served on round metal pans. I got two tacos: Pescado, with battered and fried fish and salsa veracruzano consisting of tomatoes, capers, olives, parsley and lime on a soft blue corn shell. The fish was moist and the salsa was tasty and complemented the fish well. Crispy beef, which has shredded beef marinated in guajillo puree, lettuce, shredded cheddar with a cucumber and tomato salsa in a crispy shell. This was good but did not wow me as much as the pescado taco. With friendly service, the food here is fresh and tasty. Would like to try other tacos and a burrito in the future.

Crispy Beef Taco
Steve D.

5400 College Ave Oakland, CA 94618 La Esquinita is a small neighborhood restaurant located in Oakland's Rockridge area. I have enjoyed the food here twice now, and have found it to be fresh and delicious. I expected to like the food since I read that the owner of La Esquinita is also the owner of Xolo in downtown Oakland. So far, I have tried the Crispy Taco, Fried Camarones Taco, Carne Asada Taco, Carne Asada Burrito, and Breakfast Burrito. The only complaint I have is the carne asada meat is a bit chewy and fatty.

Plaintains
C L.

Such a perfect Al pastor taco, very well seasoned and brimming with meat! Also love the plantains cut like fries and drizzled with crema fresca. And their horchata is unique, a little sweeter than I'm used to, but very delicious. A lovely spot to stop in any day. And outdoor seating for the dog days

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7 months ago

Great burritos and tacos. Small corner shop with limited seating but very helpful staff.

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9 months ago

Food was incredible, service was efficient and we got our food fast for pickup, and the vibes were good! Cute pink restaurant on College Ave

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2 years ago

5 stars for their breakfast burritos and Horchata! It's been a while since I've had authentic horchata and Mexican style burritos.

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Ask the Community - La Esquinita

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La Esquinita - mexican - Updated May 2026

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