Esmeralda's Cafe

The food was amazing. I ordered a BLT with cheese that came with fries and a drink for 13.17 with tax. It was loaded with bacon and so crispy. However, customer service was horrible. I placed a to go order in the restaurant and waited 35 minutes for my order to come out. I watched 4 people, 2 men and 2 women come in and place a order ( not pick up a to go order) and received their orders before me. I went back up to the counter twice to inquire about my order. The woman behind the register never went to the back to check on the progress, but instead shrugged her shoulders. I noticed this was the same thing happened to 2 people that were there before me. Ironically, we were all black and those who came in afterwards that placed orders and received their orders were all Hispanic. Not sure if race was a factor but that was truly too ironic. This food is too good to have such poor customer service

Overall good value diner with strong portions and nice service but average food. Came here with the colleague and we had a good breakfast with OK diner coffee, and a very nice waitress. The portions were good and the omelette was solid, but I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out. Great option if you’re in the area, but not somewhere to go out of your way to eat at! That said it would be great with kids and it’s very spacious inside.

Im a big supporter of Esmeraldas Cafe! We visit the Durham location very often the food , service and atmosphere is 💯 there! Butner IS NOT ! we got excited to find this one on our way home. Unfortunately the only person there that had good service was the young man sitting people. The server had a headache and you could tell with the service that was provided. Very blunt, unwelcoming (maybe because of how she felt) . The food presentation was messy. We ordered “El Hondureno” and the yuca and chicharones were really over cooked and hard. My family had ten minutes with their drinks and when i asked the server told me she doesn’t do that .Once i got it ,No cute presentation on the coffee like how durham does. The cappuccino was very dark even after ordering it sweet. My daughter had ordered the special the had 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and a choice of meat for $5.99 We had paid and realized i wad charged $12.99 for a pancake platter. Once we asked what the difference was the girl MADELINE told me i was probably given a kids meal which made no sense… if it was a kids meal i should not be charged that amount . After explaining it multiple times to her she began coming at me like if i was lying to the point she said “oh no dont try me today” At that point i could have called the police for feeling threatened . What was she going to do fight me outside lol? Then she was saying racist things about salvadorean people . When she found out i was salvadorean she started apologizing. I would have returned to this location if it was just the food and waitress but Madeline’s big mouth was very unprofessional and not worth any penny they pay her. To the sweet owners - please hire different staff.

My first time eating here. The plantains were excellent!! The Cafe Americano was very hot and stayed out thought out my meal. I ordered the omelette without meat and the home fries. I will definitely be back!!

The food was very good and the menu was very diverse. I think the workers struggle with English so that's something to look out for. The workers were very nice though. The steak was really good. The steak burrito also tasted really good and was well-cooked. The bakery looks excellent and the donut had a great flavor and consistency.