I’ve lived in Bend for a long time and seen some amazing restaurants come and go, some of which whose absence I still miss on the daily. One of those places I still miss is the Taco Stand in Old Bend off Hill Street. In college, that was one of the few places I could afford to eat out and their insanely cheap burritos kept me from only living off bags of stale popcorn I would take home from the movie theater I worked at in my early 20s.
After the Taco Stand, when the space became Esta Bien, it was easy to fall in love with them, as well. From their delicious Pupusas to the fantastic margaritas, Esta Bien managed to still feel like a neighborhood treat for locals and Old Bendites to enjoy. After years of being one of the Westside’s hidden gems, Esta Bien has sold to Roberto Cardenas and Rocio Villalobos, who have rebranded the space as Simón. But don’t worry, most of the things you adored as Esta Bien are still very much present.
Sharing an open door and patio with the already beloved Fat Tony’s Pizzeria, Simón still has the brightly warm and casual vibes that have been alive in that space for a long time. In fact, if you look hard enough, you can still see the outline of the logo for The Taco Stand on the glass of the front door. It might just be my history with the space, but Simón still very much has those same comforting, familial vibes.
Simón feels like a throwback to a Bend that I miss, smack-dab in the center of one of my favorite neighborhoods on the Westside. For those of you missing the dearly departed Esta Bien, have no fear, Simón has your back and cares about capturing that feeling, too.
With a very similar menu still serving Salvadoran staples like pupusas (the spinach and jalapeño one blended the spice and savory earthiness perfectly), Simón still has much respect for what came before. “The heart of the menu remains rooted in authentic generational family recipes,” says Cardenas. “My goal is to provide the warm, home-style food like back home at my Grandmother’s dinner table.” While my painfully Caucasian self has never had an abuelita, everything I tried tasted like handmade, fresh and authentic family recipes.
The Enchiladas de Carne were a real show stopper. On the surface, they’re deceptively simple, filled with sautéed steak, tomato, onion and cilantro, but their enchilada sauce is unlike anything I’ve had in town before. With a gorgeously colored Guajillo and Rosemary roasted tomato sauce, this is an enchilada sauce that removes the smoky earthiness of a typical sauce and instead has a subtle citrusy and mint profile from the rosemary. It’s a delicious dish that leads by example with a menu concerned with not only being aesthetically beautiful but also flavor-forward.
The Mole plate has me already dreaming of going back to their tender strips of chicken and a Mole sauce that avoids the burnt chocolate smoke of lesser sauces and instead has a much lighter, sweeter profile. It’s a delicate Mole that made it quite hard to not lick the plate in front of a room full of strangers.
Yes, we have a lot of Mexican and South American restaurants in Central Oregon, but Simón with the authentic dishes and classic location, feels like a throwback to a place that hardly exists here anymore. “We are like no other,” says Cardenas. “With fresh fruit margaritas prepared with premium tequila, the rich regional diversity of the cuisine, from slow roasted Birria from Jalisco to Enchiladas Michoacanas, seafood from Mazatlan and open-faced vegetarian Chile Rellenos…it all makes our food distinctive.”
Don’t even get me started on the margaritas which, for $11-$12 and served in a margarita glass, plus a bonus pint glass of the sweet treat, it’s one of the best deals on margaritas I’ve seen in Bend. Somewhere else in town, those ‘Ritas would run $17-$18. I recommend the Pina Picosa with Reposada tequila, fresh pineapple and Serrano peppers. The tang of the pineapple with the sweet heat of the Serranos made this an unforgettable margarita and one I’ll be revisiting sooner than later.
Simón feels like a throwback to a Bend that I miss, smack-dab in the center of one of my favorite neighborhoods on the Westside. For those of you missing the dearly departed Esta Bien, have no fear, Simón has your back and cares about capturing that feeling, too.
Simón
221 NW Hill St., Bend
Sun. & Tue.-Thu. 11am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-10pm
simonlatincuisineandmargaritas.com/
This article appears in the Source August 28, 2025.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
