Cafe de La Esquina

The Williamsburg outpost of La Esquina never quite caught on with the neighbors in the same way that its predecessor Relish did. And although Cafe de La Esquina gets a good amount of people in the garden on the weekends, it seems unlikely that the restaurant can support itself just on the revenue from the backyard bar alone. This is a big restaurant with a lot of seats to fill for both lunch and dinner. Here's what Cafe de La Esquina looked like at 8:30 p.m. on a temperate Thursday night in August:

There was one party of three in a corner of the main dining room, but the spacious back room was completely dark and empty. After waiting at the bar for four minutes, a server came by and explained that the dining room bar was not in service, and that if we wanted drinks we'd have to go to the backyard. The garden, however, was fairly busy:

When you order bean dip at La Esquina, someone in the kitchen unscrews a jar and puts it on a plate with a handful of chips. $7.

A few more troubling signs: La Esquina just lost its big name chef, the restaurant is closed on Mondays, and the OpenTable account is dead. Cafe de La Esquina has been in business for two years now. Time will tell if the restaurant makes it to its third anniversary.
· All Coverage of Cafe De La Esquina [~ENY~]