Esperpento
Categories: Spanish/Basque, Tapas Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission3295 22nd St
(between Bartlett St & Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 282-8867
124 reviews
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
"One of my marina-based friends has been wanting to try Alegrias for awhile but has insisted on waiting for me. I recently visited Alegrias…" read more »
239 Reviews for Esperpento
My friends raved about this place, which is a bit surprising since they usually have a good taste in food. The food itself is pretty mediocre, at best. The potatoes bravas where uncooked, not crispy at all, in fact very oily. The sauce was overly vinegary. And unfortunately that was the standout tapas of the meal. But on the plus side the server (forgive I forget her name) was extremely nice and accommodating as was the host who called me when our table was ready which allowed us to jump across the street for a drink. Also the prices were quite reasonable. We were a group of 7 and with a bottle of wines and several beers the total was about $140 including tip. Not bad. I would recommend this as a spot when you aren't too concerned with food but want a little something and a drink. It's hella loud on weekend so avoid if you are looking for that quiet little date spot.
Esperento receives 3.5 stars. Sangria was good, though I've had better in the city. The food came out relatively quickly and almost all at the same time, which is a plus. The spicy potatoes were tasty, albeit a little on the greasy side. The sauteed mushrooms were only okay, too garlicky and not many other dynamic flavors. The same could be said about the artichoke hearts....bland and chard with not much flavor going on. The salmon also was too garlicky, and was accompanied by a mound of garlic on the plate. The only two dishes I have little to no complaints about were the adobo chicken and the quail. The adobo chicken was only a tad spicy, but he sauce was super flavorful and doubled as a great dipping sauce for the free bread. The quail was well prepared, greasy and a lot of bones, but that's to be expected.
Our server was energetic and was fairly attentive in the beginning of our meal. It was later hard to track her down to ask for our bill and later to retrieve it to process our payment.
Overall, the restaurant was your typical mission tapas joint. Not the cleanest, but it's decorated well considering. Great that they have a few tables outside, especially since it was a nice, warm evening. Prices were reasonable as our tab for six plates and two carafes of sangria was just under $100.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Was a little worried going in due to the couple of negative reviews, but ended up planning a small birthday get-together here anyway b/c of relative ease in obtaining a reservation and a combination of price/ambiance/word of mouth recs. And it worked out wonderfully. The wait staff was very nice, though a little clueless about checking in on us and making sure there were enough table settings (eight people had to share three knives amongst us), water, bringing us the bill, etc. It's also a really small space - there's an upstairs area that isn't very well lit but a little less noisy than downstairs (but still fairly noisy).
But the sangria and the food were fabulous - paella of course, but also the spinach, artichokes, chorizo, quail, patatas bravas and patatas aioli, etc., mmm...would totally come back.
3.5 stars
We accidentally passed this place on Saturday while on our way walking towards Mission. It looks like an interesting place and the food looks good as we passed by. Since we have been wanting to try Spanish food... we decided to go in and try. The food is good... we had Spanish tortilla, Manchego cheese, Seafood paella, and potato brava. The seafood paella is too bland for my taste.. I had to put salt and pepper into it. I've tested the authentic Spanish paella on my visit to Spain and it is supposed to be much tastier! The Sangria is good, I think it was lot better than the one I've tried at Cha Cha Cha. The prices are pretty decent. The waiters are nice and polite, although we weren't served until like half an hour later.. maybe because we had two more seats empty as we were waiting for our party of 4 to arrive. But overall, it was good and I think I will come to visit again for the tapas and sangria... besides it's a pretty fun place although it's a little loud and I had to scream to get across the table. I would also suggest come early around 7 pm because when we got out at 9 pm, there was quite bit a wait!
Went here for a birthday celebration, and had a pretty delightful experience.
They were welcoming and graciously accommodated our party of 18 or so -- albeit I think we went on a weeknight, and they thankfully weren't that busy. It was loud in there, surely our fault *oops*, but it's not a "romantic" dinner kinda place anyway. Unless you enjoy yelling at your date? Then hey, do your thing.
The sangria is pretty killer: not too sweet, and wonderfully strong. Order the garlic alioli potatoes!! Seriously.
The portions really are huge here, so if you're ordering an entree I suggest sharing (or gain brownie points with your roommates and bring them leftovers).
I look forward to going back again :)
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
I would definitely come back here. The setting is really cute and the food was yummy. The waitress was very friendly and helpful in picking out dishes to order. I went with a friend and we got 4 dishes which was plenty!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
It was suppose to be a 20minute wait but we were seated in 10mins. The food was delicious and the price was decent for the portion. Had the grilled quail, deep fried snapper, clams in marinara soup, and garlic mushrooms. I would recommend all four. Sangria tasted good and strong. Not too sweet and the pitcher only have little bits of fruit and plenty of red wine. =) I like the large selection of tapas and would like to go back and try all the different ones. One down side is it's small so it was really loud in there.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Ah, reminds of home! Jamon Serrano, grilled calamari, garlic shrimp, red table wine, sangria, etc etc. Great place to take your first date there. I do that all time and most my first date love them so we continue dating. Some don't like them and that first date is actually the last. You don't want be with a woman (men if you're a woman or gay man or, oo dear, I'm confused) that don't eat well, do you?
You want great Sangria? Come to Esperpento! I was first introduced to this great Tapas/Sangria restaurant on the company tab at my old employer. Of course, we ordered everything we could so we can taste all the different flavors of the variety of tapas they offered. The Sangria was sooooo good and the bits of fruits gave you a nice special burst of alcohol to keep that smile on your face. A lot of people like Cha Cha Chas, but personally, I like Esperpento. Don't get me wrong, Cha Cha Chas is very good too and I'll write a review for that restaurant, but the food and sangria top Cha Cha Chas Bar none!
Economical prices... most dishes averaged at $6 to $8
Service was fair.
Poured a little tooo muchhhh sangriaaaa....
Everything we ordered was delicious - their seafood selection was great!
Rabbit was served... I had rabbit for the first time...
Place was packed and loud. Don't expect to understand what your friends are saying.
Especially when the mariachi band comes in.
Nice, interesting interior.
Thank goodness we had reservations.
Overall, just okay...
Esperpento is horrible. I found glass in my food the last time I was there, and when I brought it to the attention of the waitress, she proceeded to raise her voice at me and accuse me are trying to start problems. All I wanted was a new dish... I asked for the check (which we paid in full, no tip) and we all left, we didn't finish any of the food or ask for any of it to be boxed.
Absolute worst experience I have ever had.
If I could give negative numeros... I would.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Fun little tapas place. We made a reservation for 8PM and it still took about 20 minutes to get seated. The tapas were good particularly the seafood plates (I recommend the Cazuela De Pescado Con Almejas - snapper and clams cooked in spanish sauce). My other favorite was the classic Spanish Tortilla De Patata. I think we ended up ordering 5 or 6 plates for the two of us which was wayyy to much but I was glad we got the try a little of everything. This place is great for groups. The atmosphere was festive but kind of loud. The dinner ended well with a Creme Brulee and a cappuchino.
I have very fond memories of Esperpento. This was my first experience with tapas way back in 1999/2000. I like the ambiance and the coziness of the restaurant, although the place can get quite crowded and loud during peak dining times. The food is very good. I LOVE the sauce that accompanies the complimentary bread and served on top of the best patatas bravas I've had ever. I'd skip the fried calamari though, since I don't think the garlic aioli that is served with it is a good compliment. I love their garlic prawns, albondigas and pretty much everything I've tried. Best part of all, it's reasonably priced, unlike many of the other tapas places you find in the city.
It's not a top-shelf tapas dining experience. But it is a very fun place to go and hang with friends and have decently-priced food. I have made it a tradition to go there on my birthday, and will continue to do so. :) It can get a bit loud sometimes, but not overbearingly so... at least not until the mariachis come in. LOL
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This is one of the better tapas restaurants in the city. I've eaten at Picaro, Charanga, and Ramblas all of which have better ambiance and posher surroundings but flavors not quite as down home and just plain tasty as Esperpento's.
The fried and grilled calamari are to die for and so were the deep fried anchovies. Pretty much anything in their fish and shellfish menu you can't go wrong. Also their blood sausage and ewe's milk cheese were bold in flavor and delicious.
One star deducted because the place is very very cramped with tiny tables with barely any leg room and adjacent tables within an elbow's reach. Also the decibels were pretty high in here. You have to shout to have a conversation.
On a side note, the three times I've been here, our table was either mistakenly given away or we had to wait a very long time despite our entire party arriving on time for our reservation. However, the totally cool host brought us a pitcher of their yummy sangria on the house for our troubles. And who doesn't like slurping down free fruity chilled wine outside on a nice night in the mission?
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
The only damper on my Friday evening was the fact that my friends were 1 hour late for dinner.
Everything else was awesome. The host was just fantastic and had a table ready for us when they finally did arrive. We were seated immediately and brought sangria. YUM.
Then we dined on patatas bravas, grilled shrimp, garlic chicken, zucchini, tortilla, grilled artichokes...and more sangria.
My very favorite was the grilled artichoes...i couldn't stop eating them! Also I loved the mariachi tunes while we dined - brought me back to mexico.
Great place for a group -and did I forget to mention that we each only payed $25?
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Five stars for one of the best nights I have had so far this year! We planned a birthday party for our friend and had a party of 15. The gave us the private dining room one door down from the actual restaurant. At first we were all a little put off but it turned out the perfect place to have our party! It was completely private and we could walk around freely. We were also worried we might not get the same service, but were happily wrong! The service was excellent right down to them bringing out the birthday cake aglow with candles. We were never without sangria and the food came at perfect intervals.
I have been to Esperpento several times with large parties and they are always accommodating and really nice. The food and service are wonderful. We ended up eating a drinking a ton and the bill only came to $34 each including the tip. Now that's a deal!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
There isn't much else I can say that hasn't already been said, you SF yelpers really know how to, umm yelp.
But anyways, all our small plates were delicious. Their sangria had a totally different kick than any other I've had--almost a slight bit of fizzyness. Utterly amazing.
On a weekend night there can definitely be a wait to get in.
I dropped them one star due to that the service was a bit inattentive. But they did make up for that with a free dish which was something of a spanish pancake, also quite T.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
I've been to Esperpento a few times and have always had a good time. Last night we celebrated our friend's birthday there. We were a group of fifteen and they seated us in this little room that is not part of main dining area. It was cool because it seemed as if we had our own little private party. The food was wonderful as usual and the sangria was awesome. Sharing small plates with a big group truly is the way to go because the bill was not painful at all. The staff was extremely accommodating and attentive. Really can't say anything bad about this place.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Esperpento is usually packed and can be hard to get a table, but if you are a late night diner - 830pm or later - you won't have trouble, especially on a week night.
It's great for a "neither of us know where to go or what we want and now we've spent 2 hours talking about it and we're only growing hungrier and more irritated" kind of night and before you know it you're out the door and down the street staring into this unassuming little tapas place and.....
.... voila!! As soon as the sangria hits your lips you won't remember those 2 irritating hours and will be so happy that the service is responsive and helpful. On your first time dining, don't be shy, ask you server what's good! It can be the difference between a mediocre meal with plates no ones every ordered and the grand slam you really want... some of my favorites include -
Calamares Fritos - standard. Not too greasy or under/over cooked. I was pleased.
Patatas Bravas - spicy potatoes. I could have eaten this whole dish to myself mmmmmmmmm good. Not too spicy but very flavorful.
Grilled Artichoke - (I forget the Spanish name) - it sounds a little unusual, which it is, but I enjoyed it.
Judias Verdes Rehogadas - Green beans with garlic. LOTS of garlic, just how I like it!
I'd love to try the paella next time, when I'm not gnawing at my own arm in hunger - it takes 30 minutes to make ... fyi!
We walked out of there after having 2 drinks, 5 tapas and tip for $46, not bad at all!! Most of the tapas are $5-ish range.
I can't wait to come back!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Walking into this place on a busy Saturday night was like walking into someone's living room where there is WAY too much furniture and bad lighting. So very crowded.
We had reservations and were seated in the loft area which was so HOT! I mean HOT like boiling lava HOT not like boys with foreign accents kind of HOT. I had to strip down to my tank top which I haven't done since I've been in the bay area all week.
The artichokes were thin and tasty, calamari were nice and big and sangria was definitely on the sweeter side. The paella was great to share and I thought was alriite. It was intimate and cozy, but they need to put a few more fans in the loft or open up a window! Jesus, let there be air. I was on the verge of nose bleed and dehydration.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
*Great milanesa
*Great spinach bechamel
*Wonderful sangria
*Fresh bread
-Always crowded, expect long waits for dinner.
-The place is small; ventilation can be poor. So inevitably, your clothes will end up smelling like paella.
*The best part of having your clothes smell like paella?
*You can sniff your blazer the next day and remember fondly how good the meal tasted.
*"Ooops, dropped a bit of bechamel on the lapel. Mmmm. Still tastes as good as when it was served (I never actually did that. But wanted to)"
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (7)
Funny (8)
Cool (7)
The Caveman and I have eaten here half a dozen times; Sunday being the most recent occasion, as we were taking The Niece around town. We found ourselves in The Mission and hungry... at kind of an odd/late-ish lunch hour, this is where we ended up.
I always try to drink the young Spanish vino here because it seems like the right place to ingest alcohol. And then I remember that I'm (a) an Asian chick who (b) cannot metabolize alcohol and (c) weighs a buck and change - far too late and my cheeks are flushed, my head is spinning and I'm always on the cusp of doing something regrettable that might return, captured on film to haunt me. So, this is the closest I ever feel to living my life as Darin I. for a few hours.
Forgive the brusque run down; the menu is rather large and we've sampled a fair number of their staples. Anyhoo:
The patatas alioli - wish they were crispier and the garlicky mayo served on the side... but that doesn't stop me from shoveling them into my mouth. But it's definitely a brush-and-floss as soon as you can situation; best to pack some breath mints.
Manchego - served COLD in a drizzle of olive oil with a resigned marinated pepper in the middle. Disappointing, because this cheese really is delicious - I prefer to eat it with membrillo, which they do not offer, which is a pity.
Albondigas - we like to scoop the saffron-jacked sauce up with pieces of bread; the meatballs themselves, not so much. I think they are heavy and dense for my taste.
Alcochofas (artichokes) a la plancha: these are actually special; thin sliced baby artichokes with garlic and olive oil... we order these every time; they're lovely.
Calamares fritos: this dish is delicately battered and served with a big side of alioli. The Caveman never regrets putting tentacles in his mouth when this plate arrives at the table. (I said tentacles, not testicles, Darin!)
Chorizo Salteado "Cantimpalitos" - ordered it once and hardly touched it; refer to my pic - they looked like smoky links and tasted very much like something my WASPy Mother would try to pass off as an actual appetizer after zapping a package in the microwave. Icky.
Gambas al Ajillo: The shrimp was frozen and/or waaaaay overcooked, drowned in garlic and olive oil. This is a very simple dish that can be such an epiphany with fresh ingredients; a real disappointment.
Ropa Vieja... the ingredients in this stew were overcooked and their flavors muddled; the beef component was tough and made it difficult to enjoy the dish. Ditto for the adobo stew we had a few visits back.
Quail a la plancha - I was really looking forward to this tapa, but the quail was so small and... not plump; I had a difficult time attempting to cut any of the meat off the bird. I felt almost defeated because I hardly got a taste of the actual dish; it was kind of an exercise in futility.
The portions are generous and it's best to go with a group so that you can share. It's emotionally difficult for me to concede that the food is pretty middle of the road because they don't feature seasonal specialties, which is what I'd rather have them do. Smaller menu, with in-season highlights, instead of a vast selection that depends upon frozen and otherwise stabilized ingredients.
I'm skewing high in my rating of this place; I'm a bit sentimental about it. This was the first restaurant that the Caveman and I ate up here together, before we signed the papers for our loft (and just a few weeks before we got hitched)... So... there you go. I have exposed my soft, sentimental, [full] underbelly. Don't hate me; I'm feeling vulnerable today. Seriously.
*big sigh*
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (3)
Cool (5)
I couldn't shovel these tapas into my mouth fast enough. We got the chorizo (not to miss), patatas bravas (spicy!), grilled shrimp (very flavorful), green beans, and the spanish pancake (a dense potato treat!).
Hopefully we'll the get the paella next time. My daintily framed boyfriend (he wrote the review below this one) tends to eat about 30 to 40% less than me at all times, so I'll probably be able to pack most of it in anyway.
Sorry- TMI. The SANGRIA is so citrusy-sweet and unique--in a great way. A tiny bit fizzy and very (trust me) "effective" if you're looking to get buzzed. It caught up to me and I could barely walk down the stairs from the mezzanine level.
Minus one star for it being so frackin' loud you have to shout to have a conversation.
having heard of this place for so long, i was happy a buddy recommended it for dinner. we went out for a bromantic dinner together. i must say, i was pretty happy with this choice.
FIRST, SECURED PARKING ACROSS THE STREET.
i avoided the mission when i was younger because of the surenos and nortenos shooting each other all day and night.....
but things died out a bit and calmed down since then.
even with this rash of "recent" violence in sf, things are nowhere as bad as they were in the late 80s and early 90s.
nowadays, i avoid the mission partly for skinny pants wearing, bike riding hipsters telling me my music selection suck but mainly because of the god damn crackheads breaking into your car.
theres secured parking across the street? awesome.
i wish i knew the paella took 30 minutes to make, i wouldve called ahead, but looking at other reviews here, well, i need to try for myself. next time.
we tried a varitey of dishes, none of them really standing out nor any of them being bad. it was all tasty and pretty much what i expected. with so many items on their menu that sounded good, i wish i came with ten more people.
i wished they had a bigger varitey of wines, but meh, its cool.
3.5 rounded up
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (12)
Funny (3)
Cool (9)
I was eating here and was sitting on the first floor under the balcony of the second floor.
A water pitcher fell off of the balcony onto our table.
Crazy! I was all wet and felt like they should make us feel less sad because we were all wet but we barely got an apology.
The food isn't as good as Picaro and it's expensive.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (3)
I went to Esperpento over the weekend for a friend's birthday celebration. The place is very cozy, and gets pretty busy during the dinner hours. I'd definitely recommend making reservations even if you have a small party...I noticed some people had to wait quite a while for a table. We ordered several small plates (approx. 8) and split them among our group of 9 people. Some of those dishes included: grilled scallops, calamari, etc...it was really delicious calamari--crispy and not overly greasy. We also ordered a pitcher of sangria, which was not a disappointment. And for our last dish, the birthday girl ordered a 6 servings of paella. It was enough to feed a whole village! Our group of nine barely managed to eat half of that pan full of paella that the waitress brought out.
First of all, it's not Ramblas, so it should get a start just for that. But let's move on.
Started with a pitcher of sangria, which was pretty good. I've had a lot of shitty sangria in SF, but I was able to drink more than 1 glass of this one. My only complaint is that the fruit was diced instead of sliced, so it all landed in 1 person's glass.
I forgot. We didn't start with sangria, we started with Tuff Guy. Our waiter could not be bothered to say 2 words to us. It was hard enough to get his attention to order anything. Lucky for him, Esperpento suspects they offer bad service, so they automatically add 15% to your check, regardless of party size. YES! This is not cool.
Tuff Guy finally swung back around to our table after I almost through my neck out trying to get his attention. At that point, we ordered:
- tortilla - excellent and so light!
- asparagus - they don't know to trim off the ends? or do they think we're impressed with extra long asparagus that hasn't been trimmed?
- potatoes aioli - very good
- veg paella - excellent and the 1st time I had seen a veg paella
- artichokes - yummy!
- manchego cheese - hard to mess up cheese
- mushrooms - pretty good, but it's my gold standard tapas dish and I've had better
I had a good time when i went here, but my review seems to be a little harsh. I guess it was the company...
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
While I was living in Madrid, solitude was hard to come by. Everyone went out in large groups, and day or night the streets were never empty. It was in the lively corner cafs of Lavapies that I honed the ability to be alone despite being constantly surrounded -- gleaning respite within the chaos. Sometimes I like to relive those gloriously jumbled evenings of unfamiliar faces, clattering platters, and a graciously retiring waitstaff. At Esperpento I can camp out in the corner with a dog-eared book, sipping a second fino, nibbling my boquerones, patatas, and olives (Spanish comfort food) as the Missionista jet-set ebbs and flows around me.
I really, really like the food here! Yes, waiting can take FOREVER, and I'm not just talking about getting a table, even once you get seated, you're still waiting a good 10-15 minutes for the waitress. But, you get great authentic tapas at an unbeatable price. My friend and I got a veggie paella, Spanish Omlette, and a glass of Sangria each, for a total of $40, that includes the tip. Not bad for someone who's on a financial diet!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
This is a cute Tapas place tucked away in a corner. The place always seems to be packed night or day. Good sangria... I like it that they put fruit in your sangria. Try the grilled trout, it just melts in your mouth, spinach is ok, but the soup is very good - either the everpresent Gaspacho or the soup of the day. Very pleasant way to spend an evening, listening to the music
This place is good for sharing some small dishes and a pitcher of Sangria. The plates aren't huge, so you may have to order more than you think!
With that said, sometimes the service you get at a place makes it all the better. I overlooked the fact that I didn't love, love, love the food because our waitress was so helpful and really sweet. She made suggestions when we told her it was our first time at Esperpento and helped us pick some popular dishes.
My favorite dish that we ordered was the patata and egg, which came with a garlic and butter sauce. Talk about fatty, but oh so good! The Sangria was refreshing, but the fruit wasn't edible at the end because the rinds were still on. Interesting...
Being adventurous, we also tried the olives stuffed with anchovies. Umn..... not my favorite. The meatball stew was just so-so as well.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Not really impressed. My menu still had bits of food or whatever on it from a previous customer, and the food was just ok. True, I scarfed down the potatoes aioli (because, well, yum), but the bread didn't seem super fresh, I wished the garlic chicken didn't have skin and the rabbit stew was very tough. I gave up eating it after a couple small bites.
Service wise, our waitress was nice but brought our first three dishes and seemed to initially forget about the other two. I figured she was just spacing them out, but ten minutes or so after bring the first round she came back to check if we were still waiting on anything; we reminded her of the potatoes and the stew. So the potatoes came out right away but the stew didn't make its way out to our table until every other plate was finished.
But hey, it wasn't a total loss. The sangria was great!
I think tapas is overrated really. For what you're paying for, I think you should get much more.
I ordered one tapas and it was a spicy sausage you can get for half the price (minimum) in any other Mexican restaurant close-by. I mean, almost $70 for two people? For that price, I expect MUCH more of the following:
* Customer service. Only at the end of our meal did someone come by to refill our water. I also thought there was too much attitude in the service...
* Greater quantity. For that kind of money, I would leave 'stuffed'. Not even close.
* More 'experience'. If not more quantity food, than I expect much more of an experience than what I got. I expect pampering darn it!
It's a nice date place, but there are a dozen other place close-by I would choose over this... I'd go again if someone insisted on tapas.. And they paid.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Me and some of my girlfriends came here to celebrate a birthday. When we go there around 7 it wasn't busy at all. But soon after that it got packed. The food is very good..I just wish they had more meat options. It isn't just tapa's either they also meals. I totally recommend the calamari and the potatoe's with garlic mayo :) YUMMO!!!
Food was 3 stars + 1 extra star for convenience and service.
We were wandering around the mission at 7:30 pm last night without a reservation, anticipating a group of six. Yes I know, a bad idea. I didn't think we had a chance for a nice sit-down place when we walked past Esperpento. They welcomed us in and sat us right away. Turns out we showed up at the right time because around 30 min later, the restaurant was packed.
The food was good, though not especially outstanding. We ordered the seafood paella, which was tasty. The squid and clams were especially good - the shrimp less so. The other tapas we ordered (grill quail, chicken croquettes, tortilla de patatas, white bean salad, sauteed green beans) were nice. All was washed down with sangria - if you like sweet sangria, here's the place. I agree with another poster who recommended that they slice they're fruit instead of dicing it b/c the first glass got all the tasty bits.
I took a friend here for his birthday. i was able to make reservations for eight 3 or 4 hours ahead of time (for some reason someone said you couldn't make reservations...but I guess I proved them wrong).
They kept the sangria coming (and we drank -alot- of sangria) and our food came out pretty quickly.
Some of the nights favorites were the green beans, spicy potatoes and that potato omlet. The Paella is good (though I've only had the vegetable one) and people said that the sardines were great as well.
I've been here on a weeknight and there was no wait at all. Guess it just depends on when you stop by.
Good place, the service can be a little strange.
So my parents and I found this place while walking around Noe Valley at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, and it turned out to be pretty good for a first time tapas experience. We started out with the jamon (forget the rest of the name, but it had thin strips of ham, sweet onion and roasted red tomatoes over French bread) and the quail over rosemary potatoes; the jamon was very refreshing with the combination of the ham and sweet onion, and the quail was tasty along with the excellent potatoes (albeit a bit salty).
We then had the paella with calamari, shrimp, mussels, pork and chicken. Read the fine print on the menu, it does take 30 minutes, although it felt like less time elapsed than that. The paella definitely wasn't bad, the chicken and pork were fairly tender; there maybe could have been a little more flavor from the shrimps and such, but having the variety of shrimp, etc. was a nice touch. You can order the paella for 2 ($26) for three people and be more than fine, because the pan it comes in is fairly large. I finished my portion of the meal off with a cafe con leche.
It was somewhat noisy inside though, largely due to music that was just a tad loud and also because of some large groups that were in there at the same time.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Their tapas aren't very memorable and their flan wasn't that great and I've tried flan in very many places. They do get a 1/2 star for being inexpensive though. 1 star for fast service on a busy Friday night! And 2 stars for their sweet and lovely sangria. It's a lot better than, dare I say, Cha Cha Cha's. Okay, so maybe then another 1/2 star for looking like an authentic Spanish eatery. I was expecting to see some kind of bull fighting break out in front of the restaurant at any second.
So you wanna know if you should go here?
Yes, YES! A million times yes!
I went here last week for my birthday, and felt totally blessed things worked out the way they did. Last Saturday I was totally frustrated and still kicking myself in the ass for not planning my dinner more than 4 hours before dinner was scheduled. I called Esperpento earlier to see if they had anything open, to which they replied it would be infinitely impossible to acquiesce my request. Well, they actually said it was "too late for reservations" but I had to throw some big word usage on ya ass! Ya know you need it.
Yet right before leaving for a delectable dining experience at Friday's (yes, I was that desperate), a voice in my head told me to call Esperpento one last time. Don't worry, it wasn't the scurry *kill your Mother* type voice - more like an intuitive, calling from God, conscience type. So I called to see if they had any tables open for a party of ten. The owner's son, who's totally cool, said he would hold the table for us until we got there. He didn't even ask us how long we'd be, he just said he'd hold it. SCORE! About an hour later we all arrived, the table still held for us even though there were others waiting to be seated.
Right away we ordered the seafood paella (takes 30 minutes), sangria, and the fried calamari (the best ever!). Yup, we knew our stuff. Of all the patatas, the patatas bravas were the BEST. The grilled/fried calamari dishes were both perfectly seasoned, the Champinones Al Ajillo were delicious, and the HUGE grilled veggie salad was the perfect way to add more veggies to the two GIGANTIC meat platters (carnes de pajarillas?). Just like NKOTB, we had all the Right Stuff - Three-Points!
Another SCORE, you ask? Being seated upstairs. This was perfect for us, since there wasn't as much room downstairs for my man to stumble around half-drunk, handing out extra birthday cake to lucky patrons. It felt like I had the best of everything that night - food, companionship, laughter, and love.
The only complaint? I went here two months ago for Valentine's and noticed they jacked all tapas prices up by a dollar/two.
e.g. Patatas bravas/alioli $4.50 then, $5.75 now
Calamares fritos $6 then, 7.75 now
Still, I would definitely return to Esperpento any time! If only to hear the owner apologize to my Filipino boyfriend for Spain's colonization of the Philippines one last time.
| Page: 1 |