La Puerta Verde is the latest restaurant to open at the newly-renovated historic Hecht Warehouse.
The 3,800-square-foot colorful space retains Hecht’s raw structure via huge concrete pillars, and hints of Mexican culture include bright talavera tiles everywhere and authentic patterned fabrics acting as booth covers.
La Puerta is the third piece of a corner “trifecta” of Mindful Restaurants; the others include Ari’s Diner and DOCK FC, a soccer sports bar that shares a kitchen with La Puerta.
The name translates to “green door,” or a color that represents hope in Mexican culture (clearly there’s also a green entrance). Going for a casual beach bar vibe, the bar and nearby booths are made from repurposed cargo containers from Baltimore. Ari Gejdenson, founder of Mindful Restaurant Group, calls it “upcycling”—or using building materials with a previous life as something else.
Mexican coastal influences are evident in the cuisine, with calamari tossed with pickled vegetable relish and Pescado a la Talla (grilled whole fish in banana leaves and guajillo marinade). Other menu items include tortilla soup and Carne Arrachera.
And $12 cocktails include lots of tequila and mezcal, like LPV Magarita, Mezgroni, and Michelada with Tecate, tomato juice, and lime.
The 65-seat dining room holds an additional 25 in the bar, and the restaurant will have dinner service nightly (except for Monday) starting at 5 p.m.
Mindful’s other local restaurants include Italian spots Ghibellina and Acqua Al 2. Gejdenson’s decision to go Mexican stemmed from years of working alongside Mexicans in the industry who now call D.C. home.
Status: Certified open at 5 p.m.; 2001 Fenwick St. NE; website.
