Yellow Door Taqueria — Restaurant in Boston

I'm not a huge fan of leaving a negative comment, but I'm hoping this results in a positive outcome...Get back to being the Yellow Door that was great!!

Overall: I normally go to the original Yellow Door in Dorchester. They had the best Duck Tacos & Spicey Margaritas around. My girlfriend and I went for date night at the South End location. Massive difference in experience. No bueno!

Service: The hostess was the absolute best. She was friendly and gave us a choice of seating. Unfortunately, the service went downhill from there.

After being at our table for over 10 minutes without even water being brought over, we had to request to speak to our waitress. She eventually came over (still no water), and took the first part of our order. We ordered two spicey margaritas, chips & guac, and tuna civche. We did not see our original waitress until the end of our meal when trying to get the check. After our first round of drinks and food, we had to ask another waitress if she could grab ours. She must have not found her because she ended up coming back out and taking our order herself.

As previously mentioned, we didn't see our original waitress until the end of our meal. We requested the check, she brought it over, then vanished again! The manager was nice enough to run my card so we could leave.

Food & Beverages: Spicey Margaritas - The best part of our experience. They were still delicious.

Chips & Guac - Chips were borderline stale, and the guac had zero flavor to it.

Tuna Ceviche - Enjoyable, tasted fresh, but the borderline stale chips took away from the overall bite.

Birria Tacos - Either the chef had a bad day or they have fallen way off. There was almost no cheese and the beef was so dry it tasted like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours. The tomato broth was so thickened up, it probably should have been classified as a stew.

Biggest Disappointment The Chili Duck Tacos - I have always said Yellow Door had the best duck tacos. These have fallen from glory.

There was a massive blob of the vanilla plantain puree (more hummus texure). On top of the puree blob sat a few small pieces of overcooked duck and the red onion and crema. My girlfriend, who has never tried Yellow Door, ate one bite and looked at me, confused why I had hyped these up. She did not eat the rest of hers.

Takeaway: What once was the perfect date spot or just a solid place to grab a margarita & taco now feels overpriced and disatisfying. You'll get better service and food...

At first you may walk right by Lion's Tail. It's lack of signage and unassuming facade are part of the charm. Once you enter you're greeted by friendly hosts. The restaurant is split into two sections. A long bar area with plenty of room to stand behind it, clearly meant for busy Friday and Saturday nights. The second is a relatively small seating area for dinner service.

The restaurant specializes in cocktails and the size of their drink menu reflects that. There is something for everyone on. Many of the drinks feature some type of fruit or fruit infusion. My table ordered an Apple Toddy and a Lion's Tail (a bourbon drink). We were both pleased with our drinks, but not blown away.

For food we ordered the burger (medium-rare), the rock candy braised pork belly, and the fried chicken thigh sliders. The staff was very accommodating about having the burger cut in half for sharing.

First the burger came out cooked exactly how we asked, which was great. The patty was nice and juicy and the potato bun was excellent. The real star was the horseradish mustard. Really made the burger. The fries that came with the burger were very crispy and well seasoned. Overall an excellent dish and one of the better burgers in the South End.

The pork belly was a bit disappointing. The meat itself, while tender, was a little dry and under seasoned. The habanero barely came through and the waffle lacked crispness. However the pears were very good. I'd probably skip this dish.

The chicken sliders, while not quite as good as the burger, were very good. The fried chicken was crispy yet still moist. The pineapple slaw added a nice flavor and the BBQ sauce was finger-licking good. Another recommend dish.

Overall the Lion's Tail is a nice addition to the South End. It's casual, reasonably priced, has tasty food and an extensive drink menu. A great place to catch up with friends, I'll be paying Lion's Tail...

Favorite Mexican restaurant I've been to so far in Boston! Stopped by on my way to a show at the Wang Theatre, and was lucky to get seating at the bar (they do walk ins for that). I started off with the raspberry lime margarita, they make all their own syrups for drinks, so everything tastes fresh, flavorful and not too sweet! The raspberry lime margarita was a vibrant pink, and was wonderful. I then ordered two tacos for dinner (I wasn't initially super hungry), and was so pleasantly surprised that these were soft taco shells (made from homemade tortillas)! The fish frito was incredible, the fish was fresh and paired so nicely with the tangy and sweet pineapple salsa and the creamy calabaza puree. The flavor of the charred broccoli was fine (not amazing), and tasted a little weird for a taco (not typical flavors you'd expect on one). Was still tasty though because of the quality of the homemade tortilla! I was so excited about everything I ordered until then I decided to order more food, and asked if there was a vegetarian item with lots of cheese like a quesadilla, and if they had any plant-based protein. The bartender shared that they did have a quesadilla (not on the menu) and a homemade plant-based meat alternative from cauliflower and mushroom. I finished it all (it was so cheesy and the plant-based protein was flavorful)! I also was pleasantly surprised to see it came with homemade guac on the side (which I also obviously finished). The quesadilla was not made with a homemade tortilla, but was still yummy, this is a good option if you're looking for something more filling on the menu and are a vegetarian. Overall, had a wonderful time. Will...