Restaurant Review: Esquina Latina

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday so far. I saw the new James Bond movie, “Spectre”, so keep an eye out for a movie review in a few days! In the meantime, I have a restaurant review for you all today.

Last weekend I went with a group of friends to Esquina Latina, a Cuban/Latin fusion restaurant, which opened in August.

As soon as you walk into the restaurant you’re greeted by very loud music and a space that is a bit art-deco with some warm touches to it. The walls had a blue light shining on them. I went the night before Halloween, so the staff were all wearing lace masquerade masks. Despite the restaurant being full and busy, the staff was very friendly and attentive.

The guacamole was very tasty and creamy. Instead of regular tortilla chips, there was an assortment of chips such as sweet potato and taro offering a different take on the popular appetizer.

There is a lot to choose from on the menu and after a few minutes of perusing the menu, I decided on the Dulce Balcerito.

Some of my friends got purely meat dishes which had massive servings, but this Dulce Balcerito was the perfect serving size for me! It was sweet plantains fried with havanera style ground beef, monterey jack cheese, and chipotle creme. The presentation was beautiful and like I said it was the perfect serving size for me.

The savory beef filling was the perfect balance to the sweetness from the plantain that surrounded the meat. It was filled with different flavors that complimented each other wonderfully. My meal was delicious and beautifully presented.

The menu does offer a wide range of items from vegetarian dishes to full-on meat dishes. As mentioned before, some of the entrees are huge. 2 of my friends got a pork chop dish that was stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in either ham or bacon (I don’t remember which). I remember joking after they told me what they ordered and saying, “so you ordered pork, stuffed with pork, wrapped in pork?” There’s also an array of drinks you can order as well – from wine to specialty margaritas such as mango jalapeno.

The food and service was great. The music may have been loud when I first entered and it was hard to hear my friends, but once you’re there for a little bit you start to get used to it and the music doesn’t seem so loud anymore. I would definitely go back.My only dilemma would be whether I should try something new or get the Dulce Balcerito again!