La Esmeralda Mexican Restaurant - Authentic Mexican Flavors & Homemade Chips in Polo, IL

Super sweet Esmeralda greets, cooks and serves up your meal at this little off the beaten path Mexican restaurant. Totally affordable prices and rich authentic flavor. Bottled beverages and water, alcohol free. Chips and salsa are homemade. All settled in a historic Polo business. Stop in and say hello (Hola) to Esmeralda. Support your local business.

I'm only going low on "atmosphere" specifically because the age of the building is such that the entrance stairs are quite hazardous for a disabled person like myself. I don't know how often I'll be in town, but I'll certainly come back. I just hope the owner or landlord can put in a ramp or other safe entrance.

We were driving down rt 52 about lunchtime, so I googled mexican food near me and La Esmeralda's popped up so we tapped directions and was directed right to it, however we were kind of unsure if it was the right place or even if it was open but we parked on the street and went in. The building is not very handicap accessible but there is a rail to hold onto while navigating the 2 steps at the entrance. The building is a beautiful old building which we appreciated. It is a very small place but welcoming, and the smell as you walked in was magnificent. We were welcomed in and directed to the service window. There were menus there to choose from. The choices are pretty standard, but the smells in there made it difficult to narrow it down to one dish. We ordered a chicken quesadilla, a steak chimichanga with rice and beans, we picked our beverages from a cooler near the ordering window and went to sit at one of the few tables to choose from. They brought out a basket of very tasty homemade chips and pico, I asked for hot sauce and was brought 2 bottles red was hot, and green was mild both were delicious. Shortly after, our food was delivered. It looked as wonderful as it tasted. Everything we ordered was very fresh and flavorful. The serving sizes were perfect. The one thing you should know is they are a cash only establishment. We will definitely be back to try something else, the people at the table near us recommended the steak tacos.

We got beef tacos & hubby got a steak burrito. I could only eat two tacos. They’re so filling! (The ladies next to us got fajitas & they came out steaming. Was really cool!) I’ve never had the burritos & finally tried one. Amazing! Everything is amazing. We love their homemade chips & salsa, as well. Hubby loves their bottled beverages.

The prices were absolutely incredible! The food was amazing! I told the friend I was there with, it might be the best food I've ever had in my life. Real nice guy served us, food came out in a decent amount of time.

Friendly, clean and quick service. Food is soooo delicious we almost always over eat when we go!

we’ve had this twice now, and both times were delicious. super friendly when picking up our food. definitely became one of our top 3 favorites for mexican.