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Home > Restaurants > La Esquina

La Esquina

114 Kenmare St., New York, NY 10012
at Lafayette St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
646-613-7100 Send to Phone

Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Hours

Taqueria: Daily, 8am-5am; Brasserie: Daily, 6pm-2am; Cafe: Daily, noon-midnight

Nearby Subway Stops

6 at Spring St.

Prices

Taqueria: $2-$12; Brasserie: $20-$40; Cafe: $20-30

Payment Methods

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Brunch - Weekend
  • Late-Night Dining
  • Lunch

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Required

Delivery Area

Worth St. to 8th St., Allen St. to Greenwich St.

Profile

The neon sign reads corner, a nod to the deli that preceded it, but that’s just a colorful ruse. If La Esquina is as much stage set as restaurant, that’s because it’s owned by Serge Becker, the designer and nightlife entrepreneur behind such hipster loci as Bowery Bar, MK, and Area. The counter-service taqueria on Kenmare dispenses tacos and tortas (made, unfortunately, on baguettes instead of proper Mexican teleras), and a more extensive menu is served at the adjacent café around the corner, a double-height room with recessed shelves full of books and old record albums. A cool tomatillo-avocado soup was refreshing and mildly spiced, and the char-grilled string beans called ejotes do wonders for an oft-overlooked, overboiled vegetable. Authentic as East Harlem? Maybe not, but the chicken tacos are tasty and the prices surprisingly gentle for a neighborhood straddling the Soho-Nolita border.

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3.7 "Not Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
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Write Your Own Review

post below CONTINUED

lwainer from 11375 | Posted on 7/24/08

Overall Reader Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Food: 1
Service: 1
Décor: 1
Value: 1

Who gets to sit there? How could there BE no waiting system?" He answers "there just isn't, we cannot give you a table." I understand he must have been a pathetic inexperienced struggling artist that is probably relishing his little...Read More

The rudest and most pathetic restaurant host ever

lwainer from 11375 | Posted on 7/24/08

Overall Reader Rating: 2 (Not Recommended)
Food: 5
Service: 1
Décor: 4
Value: 4

I HIGHLY regret my decision to go here. I have been to many restaurants around the city and never have I witnessed such poor service and attitude. Upon entering the restaurant with a friend, on a Wednesday night, when there was...Read More

Read All 14 Reviews >>