Black Water Bar

While this is what I would consider a dive bar and not my normal scene, the food was AWESOME! I got a traditional ‘Cheese Burger’ and my husband got ‘The Bougie’ and these were by far the BEST burgers I’ve ever had. Being vegan doesn’t mean settling for decent burger that are okay, you want that traditional grilled burger taste. What is also nice is that the music early on in the evening is not too loud and you can actually carry on a conversation. I can’t really comment on the bar aspect at we just ordered beers and weren’t really there for drinks so to say. I will be back for some more of this food and am looking forward to trying other things on the menu. Bravo Black Water on your awesomeness.

I’m really surprised how well this place is rated. I was looking forward to some great vegan food, but it was mediocre at best.
The mozzarella bites (maybe they’re different from the mozz sticks that other people mentioned) were bland and tasted more like salty flour batter than cheese. This is their most popular item?
Also had a cheese steak, which I thought was pretty ok, but according to my philadelphian friend, nothing like a cheese steak.
Mac and cheese was pretty edible, but I’ve had better.
I should mention that I’m vegan, and as much as I dislike writing a bad review for a vegan place, I wouldn’t recommend this to other veg travelers like me looking to experience Portland.

I was here on a slow afternoon. Everything is vegan. My girlfriend and I ordered Mac & Cheese that was delicious but a little pricey for the portion size.

Dingy and the bartender was rude and aggressive. The music stage is so small the bands can fit on them. Terrible service.

Was here last weekend, during the busy hours. Ordered a few appetizers, which was made freshly and came to our table pretty fast. Waiter was absolutely respectful and wasn’t trying to rush us to order.

LOVE THIS PLACE…
super good, super flavorful, super vegan !
we will be back

If you want the best made in house vegan burgers eat here immediately. My boyfriend kept asking me if I was sure that they are vegan. They are so good I wanted to go back the next day. I can’t wait to go back! Also service and servers were great!

Vegan Black Metal Bar? Sign me up! The food was great. It’s never too crowded. Decent beer selection. I just wish they opened at 5pm instead of 6pm. We would go there after work a lot more often if their hours were better. Especially on weekends. They have vegan mozzarella sticks!!!

Used postmates and blackwater charged 7 dollars in 2 different delivery fee’s plus the fee for postmates. All for something they didn’t even deliver. I will not be giving them my business ever again. The food was not bad, but certainly not anything special.

I don’t rate service, ambiance, cleanliness and wait times; they are too variable. I can put up with anything if the food is good. It is all about the food– that’s it. All of my ratings are based on vegan options only.
Update: Tots were yummy. Fries are fantastic and cooked to perfection. Chili Cheese was bland. Western Burger was flavorful and delicious. I was disappointed with the Scorpion burger, not much flavor or toppings. The patties were good, better than most vegan patties I have had out there. Unripe tomato toppings. Eek. Just don’t bother.
So. What have I learned. Anything «chicken» is not good. Most of everything else is good quality and fresh and cooked well. Is it «Yay, I’m a fan» now? Hmmm. The burgers need way more toppings stuffed in there to balance out that massive patty for that qualification, so until then, I am sticking with a solid «A-​OK!». I’ll be back now and then.
Notes: This is one of those reviews. where I am like. how. the. heck. did someone give this place 5 stars. I have to come back. I really do. I have to update when I try a burger b/​c what I had was sad.
Mozz bites were pretty good. I got the jalapeño ones.
The caesar salad is super simple. Your paying paying for a lot of lettuce and little substance, but at least it was crisp & fresh! Terrible meat. They said all of their meats are homemade, which is even more of a disappointment.
The chicken burger was unacceptable. The «bacon» was hard and overcooked. I am just lost for words.
I have to come back. I just have to give them that chance. I am going for a burger/​cheese steak next time b/​c of the reviews.

This place is amazing! I’m so happy to see more vegan places opening up. The cheese sticks are delicious (though fall apart pretty easily) and rare to Portland, the cheese steak, the burgers… ohmygod. I’ve tried everything at least twice and have never had a bad meal. Plus, the drinks are strong.
I’d love to recommend fried pickles. Hint hint.

This is a multifaceted review so please bear with me as I give this place a very detailed breakdown. You may notice I am giving it five stars, which it well deserves that rating.
First let’s talk about the venue and the staff. I’ve been here… half a dozen times now, and each time the staff was very attentive (not only to me, but to other patrons, who you can tell this is their first time coming in). The venue is nice and clean, they clean up tables or messages which are left behind and everything is very clearly and nicely labeled. (Signs like, drinks left unattended will be bussed, here is where you can get water, recycle here, Etc.)
Also the staff are just generally all around pleasant. Oh and before I forget, each time I’ve ordered food, OMFG it came out QUICK, like almost too quick, like Whaaaat is going on?!?
So that has been a very positive experience through and through, as far as timing goes, I’ve gone right when they open at 6PM and late into the night just before midnight. Experience has been consistent, even with different staff.
But this is Unilocal,so you’re probably only really caring about the food. Alright, I get it. As far as the food goes…
At this point, I’ve ordered EVERYTHING on the menu minus a few items. I’ll be going back at some point to have the last few items I haven’t ordered yet, in order to try them.
I’ve yet to actually find something which leaves me overwhelmed like OMFG I HAVE TO HAVE THAT, which may be indicative of my trying every single item on the menu. So I’ll walk through the menu and share my impressions of the foods.
Sides:
Fries; Remarkably good. These are well worth it to get, very good.
Potato Salad /​Cole Slaw; Haven’t tried yet, though I never really order those anywhere.
House Salad; Wow. This actually was really impressive and amazing. Also their Ranch Dressing? Easily in the top 2 of vegan ranch dressings I’ve had. (I’ve had dozens of Ranch Dressings, and only two making it in the list, the rest SUUUUCK! so theirs is well worth it!)
Mozarella Bites; I had the Jalapeño version which was actually just kind of ‘eh’. I’ll have to try the regular one to see if it changes my mind, but this was just rather heavy and greasy without a lot of flavor.
Nachos; OMFG You could serve a small nation with those nachos. They were massive. But they were also rather salty, like too salty which left me being only able to eat a little bit of them and sadly the rest went to waste.
Chili Cheese Fries; Also could serve a large nation with those. Not too bad, but greasy, heavy, salty. I’d probably be better served with a side of fries and just cheese as a dip.
Caesar Salad (with chicken); This seemed remarkably like a regular caesar salad. And that’s to say, very salty, very anchovy-​like and in the end I didn’t exactly feel great after eating it. I don’t think that is their fault, I’m not a big fan of fake fish-​ness so probably just my bodies reaction.
The French Dip and the Philly Cheese Steak were okay. Not the best I’ve had, and nothing to write home about per se. I’d recommend others try it, but these didn’t leave me with that feeling of OMFG I MUST HAVE THIS AGAIN AND EVERY TIME.
The Scorpion and the Cheese Burger were ‘ok’ but not the best burgers I’ve had and again left with that same kind of salty, heavy feeling.
You might be saying to yourself, «WTF IF HE DOESN’T LIKE ANYTHING WHY DOES HE COME BACK?» Because I support local and I support vegan and this has the makings of a possibly awesome and amazing place. They deserve our support to be the best they can be, and as far as what I haven’t eaten I’ll outline that. and also perhaps if they read this review, some suggestions which hopefully will make it on the menu!
I’ve yet to personally eat; Mac and Cheese, The Helper, Regular Mozarella Bites, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Western Burger, BBQ Brisket Sandwich, and the Boughie. Friends and family have ordered some of those items, but I’ll have to taste it myself to see if it sparks as an omg moment.
Some things which would be nice and interesting for their to serve after a friend heard I was at a vegan bar and said, «Do they have this, do they have that» which got me thinking…
Vegan Quesadilla
Grilled Cheese
BBQ /​Buffalo Wings
Corndogs
Those are all definitely very bar-​like food substances which might go over particularly well!
I encourage you to give this place a try and you may find some of the same food that I didn’t care for to be amazing. Good for you. Enjoy it. Support them, they’re pretty awesome!

First off, I’m a carnivore. However, there were too many good reviews to pass this place up. Also, this area of Portland doesn’t have much of a nightlife. I got the blue cheese «burger», which I found out was black beans and a saton? Sorry, my vegan friends, feel free to correct me. Anyway, the burger was very good. You can tell it’s not meat, but it is still tasty. The fries were meh. Nothing to write home about despite the fact I’m writing about them now.
The ambiance was interesting. The music was a CD by Evokus (thanks, Shazam). Everything is black inside with posters from 80s horror films. The best is there are 2 Classic pinball machines! I played «Elvira and the Party Monsters» until my food arrived. Service was prompt and very laid back. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

I tend to stick with the same order at Black Water. I think I’ve had the Western Burger every time I’ve been because I don’t want to be disappointed by switching it up. The house made black bean patty is really flavorful and tasty. I think the burger would be made better by grilling/​toasting the bun. The fries are really good too. I’ve also had the house made vegan mozzarella sticks, which are tasty but really heavy. They have cashew cheese inside so they aren’t stretchy like dairy cheese, but they are good anyway. I usually just have a couple if somebody wants to share an order. Two is plenty for me. It can get kind of loud in the bar with the overhead music, so it’s definitely not a place for deep conversation. It’s nice to have another vegan bar in town!

Affordable drinks, cheap happy hour, lots of seating. I love the western burger, fries, cheese sauce, and overall vegan goodness. Minus one star as the food seems to be really inconsistent. I’ve had food straight from vegan heaven and I’ve also had a few burnt burgers. Definitely go as early as you can as the crowd and music turns more metal as the night goes on.

On a scale from 1 to Fucking-​Awesome, this bar gets a 9.8. Two-​tenths of a point deducted because it doesn’t include literal real life dinosaurs that have saddles and let you ride them (the only thing that could make it any better).
It has good drinks at reasonable prices. Sure, yeah, yeah. But the vegan bar menu is beyond any rational expectation of spectacular. And you don’t even have to be vegan to order from it! Talk about innovation.

I like this venue. its small, and too the point. They seem to always have good shows if you like metal or punk music.
i had a vegan bbq burger with fries and it was delicious.
good place to go listen to some music and drink a talk can or 5.

I am super excited that I found this place. The food was amazing and the staff was very friendly. I went around 7pm on a Tuesday and it wasn’t too crowded. The music was audible and at a level where you can still have a conversation with somebody.
I got the mozzarella sticks and the cheesesteak. Everything is vegan. They were awesome! There are a lot of other items on the menu that I still want to try. I will definitely be coming back soon.

Get all your greasy bar comfort food here, it’s all vegan and a lot of it can be gluten free if you need that. I’m not GF, but I went with a friend who is and one of the cooks said that they use Happy Campers buns. I haven’t tried that, but my friend ordered a burger with the bun and she said it was delicious and she coudn’t believe how huge the burger was. I got the chicken sandwich and it was even better than I’d imagined. I got it with the side salad, and I recommend getting the ranch with that as you can dip your sandwich in the ranch for maximum yummosity. The mozz sticks were great too, though others have commented on that.
We got there at 6 and were pleased with the noise level. The music is audible but not loud enough to disrupt conversation, and the place wasn’t crowded. We left around 10 PM, and while it was filling up by then, it still wasn’t too loud or too crowded to be annoying or even noticeable really. This was a Friday night.
We weren’t there for a show though, so I can’t comment on how loud it is when a band is playing. I’d definitely go there for a show. They had a lot of tables and chairs set up in front of the stage, so I imagine that if standing for long periods of time is a problem for you, you’d be able to find a seat either in front of the stage or anywhere around the bar in one of the booths. Overall, I’d go there for shows (or to hang out) just because the venue has plenty of space, seating, and excellent food.

Vegan. Mozzarella. Sticks. Need I say more??? They were awesome. They didn’t pull and get stringy like your classic mozz stick — but they were creamy inside and the outside was perfectly fried and crispy. So good. I’ve never seen vegan mozz sticks before!
I can’t wait to try more of their food. I saw a lot of it coming out of the kitchen as I waited for my sticks and it looked delicious and fattening :)
I had to wait a little while for my sticks but I had two people apologize to me for the wait — which I really appreciated. One server explained that the kitchen got hit with a ton of sandwiches right before my order. Totally no biggie. I didn’t wait that long anyway.
Cool place. Chill atmosphere. Nice people. Great VEGAN (!) food.