Vernon’s Open Door

If you haven’t heard the asparagus con Carne is delicious! Servers are very friendly, kind, and knowledgeable of menu. Total different concept then the speakeasy, so I wouldn’t compare the two just by name. The beer selection is great. Love the Buffalo Chicken sandwich. Great happy hour.

I really enjoyed the food, I was weary about coming here due to the bad reviews on here but I gave it a shot and loved it. great service, awesome environment and best of all the food is top notch. You pay for what get, I felt like every dollar was worth it.

I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that the kitchen closes several hours before the restaurant (at least on on weekends, anyway).
This past Saturday, my husband and I attended an event that ran late, and afterwards we were hungry and looking for something to eat, and didn’t want fast food. It was a little after 10:00pm, and Vernon’s Open Door’s advertised that they were open until midnight, so we thought, great! We pulled up and the parking lot was largely empty, so we thought maybe they weren’t open late after all, but in fact their door said open until midnight. So we walked in, and there was no one attending the hostess stand, yet a sign said «Please wait to be seated». We stood there for several minutes and no one came up to the front, so we poked our heads into the dining room to let someone know we were there. A few people at the bar motioned for us to come in and join them. We were confused because we thought they were other patrons and we didn’t recognize them, but one of them explained they were employees who were off shift, and that the bar was open, but the kitchen was closed. Since we were looking for a late dinner and not just drinks, we ended up leaving (though we probably would have had a drink with dinner if we’d been able to). We ended up at BJ’s, which was fairly crowded for late night Saturday, but they were still serving food.
I know that sometimes bars that serve food often close their kitchen earlier and remain open afterwards to serve drinks. However, Vernon’s Open Door does not come across as a bar that serves food, but rather, a restaurant that serves drinks. It would have been nice to specify somewhere (online, sign on the door) that their kitchen closes earlier than the restaurant closes. If they don’t want to serve food past a certain time, that’s fine, but people are going to expect a full service restaurant to be in full service for the duration of their posted hours, unless otherwise specified. Also, as long as an establishment is open, patrons should be greeted and attended to by staff members who are on shift whenever possible. No one who was currently working seemed to acknowledge us when we came in, only the off shift employees who were relaxing at the bar. This is not anywhere near the same level of service we have received on previous visits during «normal» dining hours. I couldn’t quite figure out why they were staying open so late, actually. To recap: it’s 10:00pm on a Saturday night, the place is dead, kitchen is closed, they don’t have enough staff working to man the hostess station despite wanting patrons to «wait to be seated», yet they are going to be open two more hours to serve beer and cocktails to practically no one.
I really want this place to survive, but they’re going to have to step up their game if they want to compete with other late night eateries in the area that actually serve food late, or else limit their hours to «normal» hours. In the meantime, we’ll continue to enjoy dining here, but will definitely cross it off of our late night options list.

Great food.
Great service.
Décor and environment is very lacking.
Prices are overpriced for lunch but food is good quality.
I think this place is a bit of an identity crisis bit hope they find their direction.
Must say, best chopped salad ever!

Oh my gosh! How can someone make this place such a disaster? The tv’s at bar can not be viewed due to the height and the
placement. Neck still hurts. Poor service, over priced, horrible décor, etc… What a shame! Best patio around and these people have missed the mark on that completely. Menu so sad!!! What were they thinking??? I really want this place to make it, but sure it won’t.

Sorry guys, can’t recommend this place. The «gourmet «grilled cheese was soggy, with no taste. My granddaughter ordered fish n chips, the fish looked burnt, I tasted it and it had no flavor, however it did not taste burnt.
The one star is for the waitress, she was great and very sweet. She offered to get something else for me but by then we were ready to go.
Can’t recommend this place when there are so many other restaurants to go to. Good food is what brings people back.

I met some friends for dinner last Friday night. I ordered the steak salad. I was very disappointed. You know when you eat a steak and it is so tough with gristle that you cannot possibly chew it enough to swallow it? Then you have to very discretely spit out the wads of unchewed meat into a napkin while trying to have a nice conversation with your friends. This was the steak I experienced on the salad. I was so hungry and I had to spit out most of the meat. It was no bueno! I think when you go to upscale restaurant, they should have good quality in meat.
The service was ok. They were attentive but our waitress seemed upset the whole time. My friend loves to crack jokes and could not get a response from the waitress. Not even a courtesy smile.
I don’t think I will be going back anytime soon. Maybe I should have ordered something else.

I had lunch with some friends today at Vernon’s and I was very disappointed with the quality and HIGH PRICES of the food!
The steak salad, the meat had a lot of fat from what I could see. I ordered the chicken lime served with couscous. A VERY SMALL CHICKEN LEG served with an even smaller serving of couscous. On top of all the chicken had the skin and tasted very mediocre, I could have done a much better job at home. With taxes the dish comes to about 15+ dollars. No wonder the place was very empty! I won’t go back nor will I recommend this restaurant to anyone.

As you may have noticed, the owners of Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse are killin’ it in Albuquerque! Aside from the booming Wise Pies, Vernon’s has opened two new restaurants on the Northwest side of Albuquerque. I have already reviewed Prime, the restaurant at the intersection of Unser and Westside. If you couldn’t tell, my family and I love that place!
It has a been a VERY long time since I have eaten at a new restaurant. Today, my husband and I decided to try something new for our cheat day. The restaurant we ventured out to find is called, Vernon’s Open Door. It is located off of Alameda and Ellison in a building that was once Quarter’s BBQ, then Stumbling Steer Gastro Pub. We really liked Stumbling Steer and was very sad to see it go… the food was great and so was their beer! However, the interiors were so vacuous that even though there were quite a few people there, it always felt empty. Empty, but warm. The interior design of the space was done very well with warm woods, warm lighting, and dark fabrics, which really helped a lot. Plus they had a great patio!
Once I read the Albuquerque Business First article that Vernon’s had bought the building, I was really excited to see what they were going to do with it. They were smart! They cut the building up and created several store fronts for different businesses to occupy and they moved the entrance to the restaurant to the Southeast side. The restaurant is the perfect size! It now has an intimate feeling, but still big enough to fit a good amount of guests. The overall design is great… sticking with their theme from the other two restaurants. Our waiter, Chris, was perfect. H is very well trained on the menu, extremely polite and attentive. I give him an A+! The manager, Rocky, came over and talked to us and was awesome! I really enjoyed the atmosphere!
Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty… the food! That is why we went after all…
My husband and I both ordered sandwiches. I ordered the Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Now, I am not a grilled cheese person per say, but the description on the menu made me want to have it!
«Bourdin, Gouda, and Muenster, sauteed mushrooms, artichoke and spinach on thick buttery Texas toast encrusted with Parmesan.»
COME ON!!! It was absolutely delicious! So full of flavor, not over cheesy, and the vegetables where a perfect touch for the texture and flavor of the whole sandwich! Of course I had to have the sandwich with sweet potato fries. Amazing as well! Below is what was left when I realized that I hadn’t photographed it yet!
My husband had the Catfish Po’Boy. Our waiter gave him the option of having the fish fried or blackened, he chose blackened. The Po’Boy came out looking delicious! My husband generously let me have a bite of his sandwich. The description on the menu is: «A hearty sandwich with your choice of blackened or fried catfish with lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion, green chile remoulade, served with french fries.» That green chile remoulade was the sugar on top! Great sandwich!
All in all, this restaurant is great! I am a big fan and I highly recommend having lunch at Vernon’s Open Door. I can’t wait to go back for dinner and drinks! Thank you again Vernon’s for another lovely meal… you haven’t missed yet!
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I have been here several times and have no complaints. Beer selection is great and the burger is bomb. Best thing is they have Villa Myriam’s Nitro Cold Brew on tap.

I was a regular at the Stumbling Steer before the beautiful space was awkwardly chopped up into what is now Vernon’s Open Door. Sadly, the character of the Steer has been wiped clean by odd design choices and the need to play loud, dated music that is completely incongruous to the modern restaurant that is being attempted (Kool & the Gang?). I overheard customers at the table next to mine complaining about the music, so it wasn’t just me.
This was the second chance I gave Vernon’s Open Door. The first time, the waiter recommended the salmon bruschetta, noting that it was a «popular dish with the ladies.» I didn’t know how to respond, but I think he was surprised I ordered this (being a man). Well, it was not a very popular dish at my table (which did have a lady present!), since the salmon was overdone and dry, and the bruschetta were cold, desiccated, styrofoamy croutons. The steak we also ordered (steak salad) was similarly overcooked but to the point that it was too difficult to chew. We chalked this up to it being a new restaurant that needed to work out the kinks.
My recent visit was, unfortunately, no better. The tomato bisque was over-​salted to the point of being inedible. We used this as salad dressing on our flavor-​lacking salads. The shrimp tacos were limp and swimming in vegetable oil. And one of our savory side dishes was over-​seasoned with… SUGAR! I regularly read local press about how Vernon’s (on 4^th) is one of the best fine dining restaurants in town, which makes it all the more confusing how a casual restaurant could be run so poorly. I will not be giving Open Door a third try.
Two stars are for the beer selection. One star for food.

I’ve been here 2 times, both on Friday nights. Here are the good of this restaurant:
–Not very busy, so you get seated immediately
–Happy Hour is nice, drink specials such as $ 1 off all draft beer. I got Newcastle for $ 2.50 a pint which is a steal.
–Appetizers such as meatball sliders and burger sliders are tasty and filling for $ 6 ea.
–Meatloaf sandwich has plenty of flavor and wrapped in bacon on some type of ciabatta bun. It also has Gouda cheese which is great.
–Service is great as far as drink refills go. The server assigned to the table seems to rarely check in with the table though with both my experiences.
The bad is the portion for the pasta. My wife ordered the shrimp pasta and it was literally like a lunch portion. I even asked the server if it was the normal size? She said yes and that the portion their pasta equally every day. There were also maybe 5 small shrimp in there for $ 14. Definitely stay away from the pasta unless you want to go away hungry. I’d say it’s a half cup, maybe a bit more.
Overall not a bad place, but not my first choice for dinner.

We finally tried this place after always driving by. It was delicious and my husband and I both cannot wait to go back.
Samantha was our waitress and she was really nice and sweet. She let my husband try a beer sample before deciding on which one to pick. Before we left she also informed us about their happy hour.
ONTO THE FOOD. I was in the mood for soup and salad so I ordered the Tomato Basil Bisque which I loved and cannot wait to go back for more. I also ordered a house salad. My husband ordered the steak fries which the mushroom sauce and that was extremely good as well. Their menu is pretty simple but everything sounds so delicious, when ordering we had a hard time deciding on what to get.
They weren’t too crowded, maybe because it was Thursday night? But they also have a whole patio outside for when it starts warming up again.
If you’re in the area and want some dinner, I recommend Vernon’s Open Door!

Holy High Roller! Where o where have you been all my life. Oh, you don’t know what a High Roller is? Well you should! It’s the perfect blend of champagne, brandy, and lemon (juice). It comes to you in a fancy champagne flute with the perfect lemon garnish. You really can’t help but lift your pinky up as you sip. Yes, you must sip because you want it to last and you don’t want the brandy to just hit you in the face! hahaha
First time I went, I enjoyed a few appetizers. All I can remember is that there was asparagus and prosciutto — poor appetizers never stood a chance! Next time I went, I enjoyed a High Roller then a Whiskey Smash. I’m a fan of both, now! A whiskey smash is just that, whiskey smashed up with a bunch of citrus. Delish! I had the prime rib sandwhich and as you may or may not know, I have a hard time with bread (gluten)…oh not this time. The cibatta bread was so light and fluffy, I was sad when it was over. The prime rib was shaved ever so perfectly and the fries had that nice crispy exterior that I love. We ended our meal with the cinnamon roll bread pudding. Beautiful blend of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sure the price is a little more than moderate but it’s worth it. I’ll definitely be back… oh yes, I’ll be back!

Delicious food and great atmosphere. I have really enjoyed this place and continue to come back. Try it out!

I’ve been here two times and Vernons should be much more than this. As someone who avidly eats at their sister restaurant Prime, I hope they can send some kitchen staff that way to rework their recipes.
As a note, though my review is 2 stars, please give this restaurant a try yourself first before making a judgment.
The menus between Prime and Vernon’s Open Door are almost identical. Therefore, you should expect the same quality, but it’s not. I ordered off their happy hour menu, got meatballs sliders, and chicken and pesto sliders. You get 3 sliders with each order for $ 6, but the proportions are small. The meatball in the slider barely took up half the bread – very small. The chicken was dry and wasn’t seasoned well in my opinion.
We also got the chicken salad sandwich and that was very dry, as if it had been made a day before and was not properly stored. I can understand needing to prep for a busy day (Saturday) but the quality needs to be retained. The truffle fries were very, very good though. I highly recommend those for sure.
The music is a biiiig problem. The ambiance of the restaurant, with 8 50″ tvs playing football games should NOT be met with «marry me» by train. There were SO many slow songs being played I even heard some other customers ask if they were at a bar or at a café. Just a tip, studies show that faster paced music make people drink more. Not necessarily drink out of control, but at a nice restaurant like yours I’m sure you wouldn’t mind people buying a drink or two to make profits. The atmosphere of music just doesn’t make sense for your type of establishment. Instrumental upbeat jazz might be better. It’s not really a restaurant to play top 40 or romantic jazz though.
So… I will be back a third time to solidify my review but I’ll give it a couple weeks. The hosts you have there are very unenthusiastic. And I really hope you do something about the kitchen. Like I said, Prime, your sister restaurant, has improved greatly and is absolutely amazing to eat at. Please consider taking on their business model, if it’s any different from your current one.

It’s part of the Vernons chain, what’s there not to like?
Well, my first visit wasn’t really a great one. Had the meatloaf, and it was chucked full Floyd Rosemary, and wasn’t throughly warm. One of the sides was spinach, which was good, except it was over salted.
Last item, the music was very loud. In a big open space like that, doesn’t need to be that loud.
Never the less, I saw other things on the menu I definitely want to try, so I’m sure this rating will go up. But this is just from my initial experience.

Not terribly impressed. Yes, the door handle was very high but the door was propped open, perhaps in response to Doug S.‘s review?
Do not waste your $ on the truffle fries ($ 4.95). I could not taste the difference between my truffle fries and my husbands regular fries. They were supposed to be coated with Parmesan cheese but I saw none prompting me to call my waiter over to debate with him about which type of fry I had. Turns out there was a pile of cheese underneath the rather small pile of fries. However, they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
I had the prime rib sandwich. The au jus was way over the top in volume, it was served in a soup bowl and I probably used about 2 tbsp. The meat was way over cooked and tough. However, it was served on a fresh ciabatta roll that was good.
My husband had the club sandwich. It was alright but it was cut weird — 3 small pieces then a large piece rather than all uniform.
Dessert? The cinnamon roll bread pudding. Tiny for the price. Someone needs to give the chef a recipe for bread pudding. Clearly the pudding part was not part of the dessert. But if you like warm, somewhat crunchy cinnamon rolls topped with ice cream and whipping cream, it’s not bad just don’t expect a gooey bread pudding.
So why 2 stars instead of 1? The beer was good. Although when I asked for a sample of the vanilla stout, the waiter told me it was strong. I said I hoped so. Our waiter was… well, couldn’t figure him out. He used phrases like «the ladies usually order…» I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted or if he was just that clueless. However he was honest about the fish and chips. They were still trying to figure out the batter.
Overall, the prices were too high for the quality of the food. But, seriously, the regular fries were really good.

I really like this place. They have great, affordable food, a classy atmosphere, and a wide selection of beers. You can see their brewing equipment from the bar area, which is really nice.

So, we couldn’t find parking for the Def Leppard concert. I thought I’d be sad– and Bill suggested we try this place. We’d not been before and I was a little skeptical after reading reviews. So— I ordered a vodka/​soda — YUM! For a light dinner I order shrimp tacos — which where on a jicama tortilla— OMG!!! Why are they not busier!!! The shrimp tacos were AMAZING, and a little spicy– not over done. husband had a strip steak sandwich w fries– creative I know– LMTO. It was juicy tender and the fries were really well done– not as in over cooked but As in really good.
PLEASE PLEASE CHECK THIS PLACE OUT. We will be back– come on and Give it a try!