La Puerta Negra

A Friday night at 6. Busy but not «paying all the bills busy.» Food is excellent, chefs are very talented. The hostess and bartender… Another story. Waiter, Scott, was great.
Hostess texted non stop and told us just a plain no when we asked for a table. Could not look up from her phone long enough to think enough to say, no but why don’t you have a drink in the bar and we will see what we can do. Then at the bar, whinny entitled bartender did not stop complaining for two hours about how busy she was and how everything on earth was pissing her off. Even though there was only one person at the bar she could not even look up to placate our plea for a second drink in two hours. Seriously, terrible service.
I usually tip 20−25% for even just average to a little above average service. I left 10%. I have never done that before. If they were my employees they would be getting their last checks. If this restaurant fails it is solely due to poor hiring of the front of the house.
Quality Customer Service is the only thing your clients remember. Two out of three in the party won’t return because of the terrible service. The food could literally be the best in Montpelier. All three of our appetizers were great. The waiter did his job, asked us if we needed anything and went back to his stations in the physical restaurant.

This place is great! The food is really delicious (especially the ceviche and the enchiladas) and they have an extensive drink. Nice atmosphere, it’s the one place in town that feels like a «cool bar.» Sit down lunch is pretty quick if you’re coming over from work.

Such a hidden gem. The food is so good and I will definitely be back!

My girlfriend and I were in VT over the weekend and went to La Puerta Negra on Valentine’s Day and it was a great experience. We enjoyed the food and the drinks but what made it great was the bartender Chris.
When we got there the dining area was full so we went to sit at the bar-​great decision. The bartender started chatting with us and he could not have been more friendly. He did a great job of explaining the types of beer and liquor they had as well as going into great detail (and honesty) about the food. He was great about asking us some of the things we liked so he could compare them to what they have on their menu. After talking for awhile we found out that he was from a town over near Boston where we are from.
The food was definitely good but honestly nothing special. I got the chicken tacos and my girlfriend got a dish with a taco, empanada, and yuka fries. Don’t get me wrong I would definitely eat there again.
As I mentioned, what made this experience so great was hanging out with the bartender and hearing about some of the local spots. He could not have been more friendly and welcoming. I absolutely recommend La Puerta Negra if you like Mexican food and if you can sit at the bar and ask for Chris.

Their salsa is great! Chips are outstanding and of course. Great beer menu doesn’t hurt.

Delicious and even has a vegan menu! With additional vegetable-​intensive, non-​fried vegan options, La Puerta Negra could be five stars.
Everything is tastier than average: Guacamole, black bean soup, tacos. Yay, yuca fries! Even if they spell it «yucca,» its cassava, not cactus, so yucca. Please, though, how about steamed with garlic dipping oil instead of fried?
Yum, we’ll keep going back.

This is a hidden place in downtown Montpelier. You’d never know it was there if not for the sandwich board outside. It’s super cozy upstairs and there’s an outside patio that looks like it’d be great in warmer weather. The food is kind of meh, but the sangria is solid.

I really hoped to give this place a better review. I like the other restaurant that the owners of this place run, but this was a disaster from the moment we walked in the door. I had called the day before to ask about reservations. I was told they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more, but they would put my name on a waiting list and that would give me priority over walk-​ins. Fine.
We arrived and I told the hostess that I’d called the day before and was on the waiting list. She asked how many and told me they didn’t take reservations for parties of fewer than 6. I wasn’t on any list at all. Regretfully, as I tried to explain this, she was just plain rude. I would have simply left, but I had a $ 40 credit from GroupOn and I wanted to use it before it expired. So, I agreed to wait the 30 – 40 minutes. But, I was unhappy about how rude she’d been and about the incorrect information I’d received, so I went back and asked to talk to the manager. She was helpful and apologetic, and told me that I’d simply received incorrect information on the phone, and that there would be an e-​mail going to everyone on Monday to deal with the situation. She said she’d see what she could do to get us a table faster.
I went to the bar to get a cocktail for my wife and me. My wife just wanted a gin and tonic, and after being ignored by the bartender for a while (he was busy, but he was also clearly inexperienced or just plain slow), I ordered my wife’s drink and asked to see the cocktail list. I settled on a Paloma, and I was a bit surprised when I saw the bartender looking at the cocktail menu to figure out what ingredients went into the drink. But, he got something right and it was very good. The cocktails are pricey though — $ 21 for two drinks, with tax. Maybe $ 10 is the standard for cocktails these days, but I still find that to be pretty high for the region and quality of ingredients in the drink.
We waited long enough that I had finished my drink, and it had been good, so I got a second Paloma. Again, the bartender looked at the menu to get the ingredients. This time though, the drink had a completely different color (he used less Turbinado) and it wasn’t nearly as good. A bartender has to be able to make a standard house cocktail the same way every time, the same way the kitchen needs to be consistent with its dishes.
Finally, a table was ready. The manager told us it was a small table, and if we didn’t like it, we should just tell the hostess and we could wait a few extra minutes for a bigger table. This was a nice piece of info, and the table was small, but it was OK.
This is where things got even worse. Our waitress was mostly MIA. We got some menus. My wife wanted another cocktail by this point in time, but after the menus were hurriedly dropped off with no interaction, we saw no one for at least 15 minutes. We asked about the jalapenos on a yellowtail ceviche dish that my daughter wanted to try. We were assured they could be left off the dish.
My daughter and I each ordered the ceviche. She and I each also ordered fish tacos, which were made with fried skate. My son got tacos al pastor and my wife ordered carnitas. When the ceviche arrived, the jalapenos where finely diced and on both plates. The plates were given to the «table» with smaller plates for everyone, rather than to the people who’d ordered them. My daughter tasted the ceviche and the peppers weren’t too hot, so she kept the plate. Regretfully, the dish was just plain terrible. It lacked the brightness from citrus, it had way more avocado than fish, and the fish wasn’t fresh at all. It was a plate of dull, muddled flavors — very disappointing.
As we finished our appetizers, we tried to order another cocktail — an agave margarita this time. The manager took the order, and she apparently did tell our waitress. We knew this because 15 minutes later, when we finally got to talk to our waitress, she told us that the drinks had «slipped her mind».
My wife really liked the carnitas. My son said his tacos were good. That is the only reason that there are 2 stars rather than 1. The fish tacos were horrible. The fried skate was not crisp at all on outside, and just plain mush on the inside. Again, it just didn’t seem fresh at all, just like the yellowtail.
The rice and beans were very good.
We finally got our margaritas about the time we were finishing our entrees. We knew we didn’t want to stay for dessert, and I handed the GroupOn coupon to our waitress and let her know we were ready for our check. I got a somewhat negative vibe from the waitress about the coupon as she took it.
If people read my few reviews on here, they’ll see that they are all negative. When I go to really good places, I don’t bother to add the «just one more glowing review». I mostly use Unilocal to warn people about places they should avoid. This is one of those places. Hopefully things will improve, but I don’t plan to return.

Excellent Mexican food! Finally an authentic Mexican restaurant in Montpelier! Wonderful Al Pastor tacos. Calamari is very well seasoned. House margarita very good. Homemade tortilla chips and salsa are very good. Highly recommend!

We enjoyed our dinner here quite a lot– happy to have a place to eat outside, the back deck is great. Hope they use space heaters so we can continue to sit outside!
Pro’s: nice staff, good drink selection, quality food (great guacamole, ceviche, pork)
Con’s: atmosphere on the inside is a little sad (weird décor and carpet, freezing), the corn had way too much cheese, green peppers overwhelmed by honey. I ordered a margarita with Herradura tequila and it was $ 19 dollars. 19!!! They charged $ 12 for the margarita and an extra $ 7 for the tequila. Isn’t tequila part of the margarita? These are insane NYC prices.
All in all we’ll come back, just hope they work out some details.

Good restaurant but still working out some of the kinks.
They easily have the best outdoor patio in Montpelier, great seating on a nice day. Huge fan. Beautiful décor. That being said, I have eaten here several times in the last month or so I’m already bored of the menu. The menu is not particularly lengthy or exciting as a vegetarian — there is one set of vegetarian tacos that are good not great (and not particularly mexican, might I add — it was more like eating dry felafel) along with a few side dishes like rice and beans or plantains that you can get.
My boyfriend and I like the atmosphere and the drinks are delicious, but their menu needs a step up, especially considering another mexican restaurant right down the street with much more variety. Another thing is portion sizing — the guac and the salsa are phenomenal at LPN but so incredibly small. I think my issue is more that the salsa and chips should be like the equivalent of putting bread on the table — you dont charge people for that especially when its like this measly little portion size.
We also happened to go there when they were out of a bunch of things and their taps were broken, but our server was really great and I think she handled it graciously, which says a lot about a place. Again I think they’re just working through some things… this place has a lot of potential and is off to a great start. I want to love it, I just cant give it 5 stars.

I wasn’t expecting to find a Mexican restaurant this good in Vermont, having lived in Philadelphia previously, where there is an abundance of good restaurants. However, this restaurant immediately impressed us with its cool and laid-​back vibe with an awesome outdoor eating area. There was also excellent and friendly service. I think the prices were very reasonable given the quality of the food. We ordered a few different items from the menu to share including Al Pastor tacos, grilled peppers with agave nectar, grilled corn with Mexican cheese and spices, and of course some guacamole. The drink menu was also very good with a wide selection and decent prices. The only thing I would have liked to see, especially in the summer, would have been some frozen margaritas as well. We will definitely be returning to this restaurant many times in the future!

So happy to see the old Black Door reinvented! I love the décor and the patio on a nice day — perfect. We were seated immediately and were promptly served. Our waitress was wonderful.
Chips and salsa were delicious, my Mojito, not so much. Way too much lime/​lemon juice and not sweet enough. I will stick with the margarita next time.
My fish tacos were delicious, as were my black beans and rice. My friend has the beef tongue tacos and was equally as impressed.
I will be back tomorrow with out of town guests!!!

my first time here and i was very impressed. great service, nice house margarita, killer ceviche. The calamari was excellent with a twist (interesting sauce) yucca fries, street corn, and a nice choice of background music with excellent sound. The back verandah is amazing. Prices were reasonable given the quality of the food. great to have a new food venue in the capitol city.

Came out here to test it out, for the parents. Food was great, service is working out the kinks, definitely worth trying!

Had such a great time dining at La Puerta Negra! I will definitely be making the trip back to Montpelier just to eat here again. The fuego margaritas, the fish tacos, the music, atmosphere, all so amazing! If the weather is nice get a table outside, such a great spot! Excited for more things to come from the Puerta Negra Crew!

Live in Burlington and will make the trip out to the capital for the food and drink often. Chef Jean-​Luc Matecat is incredible and the menu has food for everyone, and the portions are huge so bring your appetite. Everyone needs to check this spot out.

The reincarnation of the Black Door is an excellent venue with a great indoor vibe and one of a kind outdoor seating on an elevated deck in Montpelier.
They feature excellent cocktails and craft beers on tap.
The DOWNSIDE. Service was terrible. It could be called disfunctional at best. The maitre d took about 30 minutes to find us seating for our small group outside at 5PM because a larger group was coming later in the evening. Similarly, the bar became backed up and our food took about an hour to come out. The food was awesome; the fish and chicken tacos were delicious.
In summary, this place has great potential, but obviously still has HUGE, but basic logistics to work out in its early stages. All of this could have been prevented with some decent management and a soft opening. It is a shame as this place may have the curse of the black door.
I am looking forward to my next visit and hope these things have worked themselves out so I can update my review!

The Black Door is back. Finally, food from south of the border worth eating in central Vermont.
Visited the first day open to the public. Its a great location, food was excellent, drinks were interesting, and the staff superb. Can’t wait to add music to the mix.