La Poteria Local — Restaurant in Montgomery Village

Since fall 2021, we’ve visited La Poteria Local many times. It is consistently good, with a laid back vibe, fun decor, and great staff.

It can be tricky to find your first time there. It’s in a strip mall, so there’s plenty of parking. There’s two ways to find it. First, look at the walkway between the buildings to the left of the Big Lots. Walk into the walkway and it’ll be almost all the way back, on the left. You’ll see the charming outdoor patio and fairy lights just beyond the front door. The second way, is when you see the Latin grocery store behind the SunTrust. Look just to the left of the Latin grocery store and walk up the stairs. Once up, turn right. La Poteria will be on your right almost immediately. You’ll want to walk around the outdoor tables and fairy lights to reach the front door.

Here’s what we’ve tried:

The puff pastry beef, chicken and spinach empanadas. All are delicious and the spinach are my favorite. Every dipping sauce is awesome, though I’m still not sure which goes with which.

Gluten free corn beef and chicken empanadas. Both are good, though I wish for more filling just about every time. The dipping sauces are awesome and you need more for these since the masa is drier.

The guava and cheese waffle. It kills me how good this is: salty and sweet, plus a homemade waffle. So, so good.

The waffle with berries, caramel, and whipped cream. It’s also filled with cheese and has the salty/sweet thing going on. Delicious.

Pandebollo, and pandebollo and bandillo. The pandebollo is bread roll stuffed with cheese. The pandebollo and bandillo is the same bread with cheese and added guava, so salty and sweet. Plus the bread is crispy on the outside. Lovely.

Perro caliente. It’s a literal translation: hot dog. And it has guava, cheese and onions on top. It’s excellent and we love having them for lunch.

Farmer’s coffee. My fiancé loves it and since trying it, gets it every time. He doesn’t add a thing. It’s slightly sweet and has spices like cinnamon in it. Completely yummy.

Chai latte. Mine always has whatever nondairy milk in it and I’ve gotten it dirty (with a shot of espresso) and without. It’s always delicious, however I order it.

Cold brew with almond milk. I prefer mine without ice. The cold brew is excellent.

Frappe with caramel. He liked it, saying it was just like what he’d had from Starbucks.

Thrilled we are close enough to walk there and try everything on the menu. The staff are great at answering questions and service is quick.

The decor continues to evolve with holidays and time. It’s a lovely space, charming, high-quality homespun feel, with a young Pier One/Urban Outfitters decor. Lively vibe and fun. The staff are always kind and friendly. And it can get a little busy on a Saturday or Sunday morning, but we’ve never waited too long. For our latest breakfast, of four empanadas, a Farmer’s coffee, a chai tea latte with almond milk, and two Mexican cokes (for later), it was $26 with tax. Reasonable pricing for a great product.

My mission: To try everything else...

4.2.25 Update! Today I tried the empanada’s. Chicken, Beef and Ham w/Pineapple. The best empanada’s I have ever had. I really can’t pick a favorite. The chicken was recommended by co-worker but I loved all them. Wow! I also tried a cold brew coffee. It was strong at first but the ice did its job and made it perfect. 👌 I will be back to try more things for sure. 😚

Initial Review: Welp, this is my new breakfast spot. 😂 I love everything about it. The aesthetics and even the cover band music. 10/10 atmosphere and to top it off the food & coffee is amazing. Service is fantastic. Polite and professional. ☺️

This morning I walked in. The young lady behind the counter greeted me right away. I asked her if I was the first for the day? She said yep and would you like a menu. I told her no thank you. A co-worker and I had been eyeing this place and I knew exactly what I wanted.

I ordered the Pan De Waffle Con Berries & Chocolate Espresso. She told me they have water and silverware next to the register and that I could grab a seat anywhere.

5 or 6 mins later she brought out my coffee and it looked phenomenal! Then a few minutes later the waffle came out. She also explained that the coffee is like Abuelita with coffee. Abuelita is a Mexican chocolate. She explained that the waffle is like a cheese waffle.

Omg everything was so delicious.😋 The coffee and the waffle not too sweet just spot on!

I told the lady that I loved everything and it was 10/10 and I want to come back and try other things. The Bunuelo, Palitos De Queso and Empanadas look amazing!

I can’t wait to come back and...

I was there today as my wife is Colombian. We live close by and wanted to try it. The location is a little hidden. I think if it were closer to the front of the shopping center it would attract more customers. They have a small sign in the alleyway but most won't see it unless you went online searching for Colombian food. I live in the area and never knew it was there until I searched for Colombian food online.

The place is very cute. Very artsy and eclectic. Very clean. Customer service was great.

We had the following items:

1. Beef &Chicken empanadas (air fried): very good. Fresh and just made. Nice and warm. We loved them. Delicious.They are a little expensive as I see them for $1.75 at other places and just as good but regardless they were delicious.

2. Hojadredre Empanada beef (pastry type of bread) baked: also freshly made. Just cooked. Nice and warm. It was "ok". Not enought meat .more breading than meat. For $4.50 I would not buy it again.

3. Perro Caliente: hot dog with pineapple sauce and potato chips in small pieces and some sauce. $6.00. I did not like it. Bread fell apart. A little dry. For the price I would not buy again.

4. Pandebono: breading with cheese inside. This was AMAZING . I LOVED IT! I would definitely order again and buy many more. Very pleased. $2.50. Delicious!

5. Caramel Frappe: for $5.00 I got more ice than anything. So for that price would definitely not order again.

I Will definitely come back with family but will Only buy what I enjoyed. I hope it does well. There were not many customers so who knows. Definitely...