diff --git a/packages/esbuild/test/css/bundle_test.js b/packages/esbuild/test/css/bundle_test.js
index ea677eeea5..31f3f41466 100644
--- a/packages/esbuild/test/css/bundle_test.js
+++ b/packages/esbuild/test/css/bundle_test.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const { readFileSync } = require("fs");
+const { stat, readFileSync } = require("fs");
 const path = require("path");
 
 const helper = require(process.env.BAZEL_NODE_RUNFILES_HELPER);
@@ -8,9 +8,19 @@ const cssExpected = helper.resolve(path.join(locationBase, "with_css.css"));
 
 describe("esbuild css", () => {
   it("no css by default", () => {
-    expect(() =>
-      helper.resolve(path.join(locationBase, "default.css"))
-    ).toThrow();
+    let default_css_path = null;
+    try {
+      default_css_path = helper.resolve(path.join(locationBase, "default.css"));
+    } catch {
+      // the runfiles helper will throw an exception on a missing file on Mac/Linux
+      expect(default_css_path).toBeNull();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // attempting to stat the file on Windows should fail
+    stat(default_css_path, (err) => {
+      expect(err).toBeTruthy();
+    });
   });
 
   it("css if requested", () => {