When our friends were visiting we all ate lunch at La Esperanza Mexican Restaurant in Middlesboro.  We all like to try new restaurants, but Tom and I hadn’t been here long enough to give any recommendations.  One day Megan chose to eat at Dutch Treat because she (like Tom) loves grilled cheese sandwiches.  But that was the only other time we ate out during the week they were here.

Eric chose La Esperanza.  He spent some time on Trip Advisor and found out it was one of the highest rated restaurants in the area (#5 out of the top 25).  We decided to go for lunch thinking that it would be less busy than supper.

La Esperanza Mexican Restaurant is located in a storefront on the main drag in Middlesboro.  All the stores and most of the restaurants are located along US 25E.  It didn’t look like much from the outside, but inside was colorful and the waitresses were attentive and friendly.

After studying the extensive menu, we all ordered our food.  They had a variety of fajitas, which is my favorite Mexican dish.  It wasn’t long before the food came out.  I can’t identify all the different dishes because they don’t have a menu online.  The fajita I ordered was excellent.  It came out sizzling on the plate with chicken, peppers, and onions.  I really like being able to see the separate ingredients and mixing them myself in the tortilla.

The servings at La Esperanza were huge!  It was hard to fit all the plates on the table.  I’m not sure what Eric ordered but he go four plates full of food!  Megan got the least food, ordering a simple cheese quesadilla.  I put most of mine in a to-go container and had enough for two more meals.

The only ding I have for La Esperanza was the music.  There was one set of Mexican music playing in the restaurant.  A Mexican radio station was playing in the kitchen and they were both equally loud.  Two songs playing and clashing while we were eating was a problem for me.  They either need to turn one off or listen to the same music in both parts of the restaurant.

We enjoyed our meal at La Esperanza very much.  It was fun to eat in a big group together and we all had plenty.  The price was a bargain for the quantity and the food was very good.