We really enjoyed our dinner here while in Woodstock! Everything on the menu looked so good that we had a hard time deciding what to get- the best kind of problem to have. There are so many interesting Latin/Caribbean fusion dishes. We started with the plantain cups filled with chicken sofrito and pineapple salsa- yum. We also got the rolls, which came with a cilantro olive oil that was very tasty. They were good, but not sure I would get these again- they were a bit pricey for two rolls with olive oil. For our mains, I went with the classic arroz con pollo, which was so good, just the perfect comfort food. My companion got the guava-glazed pork shank, which was incredible- I don't think I have ever seen anything similar on another menu! The cocktail menu also had a lot of fun options- I got the guava martini, which was excellent. It is a bit difficult to make a reservation- you can only call or email- but it does seem like the type of place you could probably get a table if you walk in, and we got a response almost immediately after emailing to request a table. I'd definitely visit again if I was in town! read more

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This had to be one of the best meals we had while in VT. Everything was stellar. We started with the veggie empanadas. Then I had the salmon dish (pictured). It was the best salmon dish I have ever had. The flavors were amazing. I crave it. It was cooked perfectly. Everyone looked their meals. Our waitress was so friendly & helpful. Five star all the way! read more

Melaza Bistro - Salmon dish - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

We enjoyed friendly service at the bar. The beef tips were delicious and starting our meal with the fresh baked piping hot rolls made for a perfect dinner. I'd call this an upscale casual restaurant. They encourage reservations but we had no trouble sitting at the bar in mid Aug. I'm sure it's a different story in the fall. read more

Melaza Bistro - Entrance - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

This was a tasty dinner! Menu was interesting and the chef is good with flavor profiles. I had their chicken wing special which was really delicious! Hubby had empanadas. We shared their pork shank with guava that was super tender and tasty. Waitress was knowledgeable and helpful with suggestions. Restaurant has the feel of being in a tropical destination. Something a little different in Vermont and worth checking out! read more

Fabulous food! Guava Pork Shank and Maple Poppyseed salad were delicious! Even though wait staff was super busy they were very helpful and friendly! Be sure to make a reservation beforehand to ensure you get a table! Great food definitely worth the stop if you are in the area! read more

Melaza Bistro - Pumpkin Cheesecake - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

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Delicious, hearty meal. We had the steak tips and pork shank, with flan for dessert, all amazing and would devour again! Service was excellent. It seemed Alice was the only waitress on a busy night, but she handled it with extreme expertise I was very impressed. read more

Love this restaurant! Every time we visit this town we try to stop in. This is Latin fusion at its best. The food is always so flavorful and good. Today we started with the corn and chorizo chowder and it was so good. The chorizo gave the chowder a smoky taste, it was delicious. For our entrees I had the Cuban sandwich and my girlfriend had the jerk chicken. Both meals were excellent. I love a good Cuban sandwich and this one hit all the right spots. The rotary pork was delicious. My girlfriend loved the jerk chicken it was really good. To end or meal we had the flan which was ridiculously good. Great job, we will come back for sure. read more

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A quick jaunt to Woodstock VT for a getaway led us to this little gem located downtown. Welcomed by a friendly staff we started with the shrimp ceviche which was perfectly balanced and perfect for a hot summer evening,entrees chosen were a pan roasted salmon filet with a black bean and corn salsa and amazing sofrito rice and beans. Onto roasted pork shank with a rum and guava glaze,just WOW! Best bite of the night. A simple salad and warm roll is served with the entrees which for the price point was a great deal. Especially in the age of up charging for bread service,thank you! Can't recommend this restaurant enough. read more

Melaza Bistro - Braised lamb shank rum&guava glaze - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

I accidentally reviewed the wrong restaurant. I am sorry! This is what I get for waiting a couple of days to review! read more

Melaza Bistro - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

Unfortunately, I have to give this restaurant one star without even having been afforded an opportunity to eat there. I know that sounds terrible, but for more than a week now, my husband has been trying to contact them to make reservations for this Tuesday evening. Despite the fact their website instructs people to call after 4:30 to make a reservation, which he did numerous times without having his calls answered (apparently there is no answering machine as he was merely disconnected), or to send an email up to 4:30 of the day of your reservation request, which he also tried without receiving any responses to his emails. I can only assume that their lack of courtesy must also extend to their treatment of customers in their restaurant. As there are plenty of other excellent dining options in the area, we had no problem finding a more respectful place to spend our evening. read more

The food was flavorful yet for the menu price the portions were on the smaller side. The servers were friendly and very helpful. Although the extra sauces do cost more if you request more, which we didn't know that nor was that communicated that to us when we requested more for the sandwiches, but the manager was nice enough to help us with that communication mishap. We had a good experience at Melaza Bistro. It is a nice clean and unique atmosphere. read more

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Good food at Melaza Bistro! They are satisfying. The vegetable paella and Caribbean dish were delicious. Nice and comfortable restaurant. The service was pleasant and helpful. read more

Melaza Bistro - Vegetable Paella - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

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The food was outstanding! My wife had the swordfish special and I had the pork shank. Soooooo good! Topped it off with an outstanding slice of Key Lime pie. My wife had a layered coconut cream cake; light, creamy. Our server was top notch, friendly and professional. The restaurant itself was comfortable and friendly with a very pleasant ambiance. read more

Melaza Bistro - Plantain crisps with fresh salsa and guacamole. - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

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It's such a cute restaurant located in Woodstock. Vt. We had no reservation, but they quickly seated us near the bar. I ordered the chicken and rice dish. It was good. The chicken was tender and fresh. I especially like the plantains, which have an excellent sweet, savory taste to the meal. The meal came with a salad and bread. The vinaigrette was so flavorful. I ordered a Pinot Noir. It made for a beautiful dinner for two. read more

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Update: owners response to my negative review is that it was disrespectful and I'd have soggy nachos... just because you get a negative review doesn't mean it's disrespectful, Also, I was planning on eating my nachos on the road in the vehicle before they had a chance to get soggy, genius. Just gonna order some next time and ask for a to go dish after a few bites. Using macho bcuz it just rhymes with nacho? Not sure where on here would indicate any hostility, only trying to enlighten the dull minded. lol you should probably hire someone to do front of the house and handle your reviews. It's obviously you're ill equipped. Come to think of it, the subject of the nachos has me believe your ill equipped for the whole business. Tried to order nachos to-go... said they don't do the nachos to go. when asked why, the reason was they can't put the to-go container in the oven. When asked why not just make the nachos like normal then put them in the container the host said the cook will not do that...so if I eat half my nachos in the restaurant am I going to be told I can't take the remaining to go? What's the difference? I almost sat down to order then immediately ask for a to-go container to prove my point. (There was one table occupied btw) cook was worried a to-go container would ruin the ambiance of the dish. read more

Pork Shank is highly recommended; so tender and excellent sauce not too strong , but lovely flavor . Hostess , also our server, was very personable ( in fact everyone was nice ) Also ordered skirt steak which was okay but overpriced at $38 . read more

2/17/25 at 7 pm. Melaza was too busy to take a To Go order by phone, but the receptionist kindly invited me down in person to be seated at a table. "Then we can put your food in takeout containers." I dutifully drove there. (It's 12 degrees out with a -9 degree wind chill.) I'm seated at the bar and I place my order successfully, and I'm about to order a drink. The server returns to tell me that the kitchen rejected my food order because they are too busy. I ask to speak with the manager, and I'm told that was the manager who rejected my business. I guess it's a great indicator of food quality that they were so busy. But I surely would never treat a customer that way, and I certainly can't recommend this restaurant. read more

Absolutely fantastic,everything we ordered tasted so good,the appts were great,2 different kinds of shrimp taste buds exploded,empanadas chicken and beef delicious everyone main course was perfect,taste were cooked to order and were delicious ,staff was so friendly and on top of everything read more

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This is pretty literally the only place open for dinner in Woodstock on Monday nights for reasons I can't explain. So they do well. Everyone is very very nice. The food is fine, but I wouldn't say more than fine. Our table was sticky and upstairs was a little uncomfortably hot with one tiny portable AC for the whole floor - there are no window coverings so the people next to us had to sit in full sunlight, which looked very unpleasant. If it's a Monday night and you have to eat here, it's not a disaster. But I'd probably pick something else on a different night read more

We had the halibut special last night and it was out of this world. The peach sauce and whipped avocado made this the best I've had at Melaza. Another wonderful meal by a great chef. We are grateful for another excellent meal! read more

We ate here tonight and it was awesome This is a tapas forward restaurant so that is exactly what we did, shared 3 tapas and a dessert. There was only one gumbo left, so we had to get it. It has great flavor and the shrimps inside were cooked perfectly. The award winning chicken nachos were good too, had a nice mesquite flavor to the chicken and the guacamole that was served with it was tasty The chicken empanadas was the star of the tapas that we got, delicious flavor with an amazing guava sauce (however i wish there was a little more of it) DO NOT COME HERE WITHOUT GETTING THE FLAN. SO good, some reviews said it was too sweet but my girlfriend and I didn't think this at all, and we usually think desserts are way too sweet. Great local IPAs, which is huge for me. A lot of street parking and I think parking is free after 6pm. read more

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This place was EXCELLENT! Great spot in Woodstock and good social distancing policies and outdoor space. We made a reservation online and were seated right away. They sell alcohol so no byob :) From what I remember, we got the guacamole and plantain chips which were so worth it and not that expensive. Good for sharing but just know that there was not that guacamole in the order. Plenty of chips though. Entrees wise we got a fish special that I don't see on the menu online unfortunately but it was really good! All the flavors together. The sauce made the entree. Other entree was the skirt steak with chimichurri which was SO good. Definitely get it. Plenty of food too. Entrees came with salad and a piece of delicious bread. Overall good place. read more

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Tasty meals and pleasant dining experience. Plantain cups and salmon were especially yummy. It was a busy night and the kitchen seemed understaffed that night but the service was still friendly and positive. The dining area was spacious and we were comfortable. read more

Melaza Bistro - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

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Recently, we dined at 3 local places and this was our favorite. The pork shank and steak were excellent. We look forward to returning. read more

Very kid friendly High quality proteins - shirting appetizers were tasty Nachos were good not great Chicken and rice was great Kids pene got mixed reviews Priced appropriately Comfy inside - not fancy Would come again read more

This place is worth a try if you are in the area. Great friendly service. Casual elevated dining. It has been here for 14 years under the same ownership. Chef/ owner still in the kitchen. You don't make it 14 years in this business if you're bad. This place is built to last! read more

Melaza Bistro - Roasted Pork Shank with garlic mashed potatoes. - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Woodstock, Vermont

Came here for dinner with friends on a wedding weekend and sat outside. It was beautiful and a wonderful place to gather. We ordered tapas and the hangar steak entree. Hangar steak in particular was delicious. Tapas were good, but not your typical Spanish tapas, more like American appetizers: nachos, ceviche (don't think it was marinated in lime), garlic shrimp, Caesar salad. Service was friendly but slow--yet we were a frustrating group because we were so busy catching up we could never remember to decide what we wanted to eat or drink! read more

Really nice ambience and staff. The food was outstanding. We got pina colada, plantains with guacamole, beef empanadas, seared scallops. The entrees come with rolls which are out of this world with the cilantro alioli. The Caesar salad is very unique with the yuca croutons. Loved it read more

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YUM. I was SO impressed by the Caribbean food here. This exceeded expectations by so much and every single thing we ate here was amazing. The best meal that I had in Woodstock, VT. We ate... *Side salad with bread. I don't usually write about this by the salad dressing was tangy and fresh and the bread came in a garlic dipping oil, which was incredible. *Charbroil Skirt Steak: Cooked perfectly and topped with a delicious chimichurri *Arroz con pollo y sofrito: Just absolutely packed with flavor. It was basically a stew and we couldn't get enough of it read more

BOMB food. Helpful staff. Simple, but very well made drinks. Ambiance is pretty relaxed, but it is NOT divey. read more

Cute little restaurant in Woodstock. We had a reservation and we arrived a few minutes early and they seated us immediately. The waitress had a lot of tables but she did a great job managing her tables. Once order was placed food came out in a timely manner. We ordered the coconut shrimp, very good- the beef empanadas just ok they needed to be crispier, and the vegetable paella that neither my husband or I liked. It was not flavored well. I would go back again and try different dishes the beef steak dish looked delish. read more

My review is solely for the check-in/host service. My friend and I visited on the busiest weekend of October (unknowingly). After a long day of hiking and the drive to this town, we stopped here as it seemed to be the only restaurant open at the time (6:15pm on a Monday). When we came in, we notice several bar high top tables open, but we were told they were fully booked for the night. We asked about bar seating which we were told fist come first serve. We proceeded to wait. We saw countless people come in that got turned away due to the full bookings. We finally got a seat at the bar, which only served off the tapas menu only, no entrees. As we finished our food I look back and notice the same 3 reserved tables EMPTY. It was now 7pm, and not 1 table was filled. We were the last 2 seated at the bar. Now, I don't run or work at a restaurant but, the hostess was not accommodating to anyone! Each time a person asked for a table, it was a hard No, place is booked. No customer service to attempt to accommodate the people that came in. Apparently you have to book 2 months out to get reservations, so if you're visiting, be sure you make those reservations before deciding to just walk in. You may be turned away. Tapas were good, and Todd at the bar was great! 5 stars for Todd. read more

First stumbled into this place while walking the area on winter vacation in 2018. Remember the food being good so, upon our next trip to VT, made it a point to visit again now in 2023. The food was just as good if not better. Although the staff was stretched thin, you wouldn't have noticed as they were very attentive. We started with the pulled chicken nachos. Very flavorful and spiced perfectly. My wife and I shared the filet mignon for our entree which was great, paired it with a bottle of Padrillos Malbec to accompany the steak and finished with a phenomenal flan for desert. The pasta with Cuban creole sauce was enjoyed by parents and kids alike. This may be our go-to when in the Woodstock area. read more

This will be my second review. My husband and I are regulars at Melaza's; the food is fantastic as is the staff as well as the ambiance. The owner/chef is fantastically gracious. Do not hesitate. AND, vegans can do well read more

Reviews online led us here for our last meal in Woodstock. We were so excited because the menu reminded us of our time in Puerto Rico. Empanadas, delicious pork, and delicious rum drinks? Yes!! We love sitting in the bar and didn't mind that given our lack of a reservation that was our only option. Our high top table was fine, and despite being near the entrance it was warm- no draft every time people entered. Things quickly began to disappoint us, however. It took a good fifteen minutes before a server approached us for our drink orders. It seemed there was a mix up over who was assigned our table. Then it took quite a while to get our drinks. We overheard the bartender say that they were short staffed and it really did look it. The servers were running around, genuinely trying to do the beat they could. The drinks were a mixed bag. I loved my house special rum drink, but my husband said his mojito was rather bitter. Our starters, the beef empanadas were disappointing. The beef mixture didn't taste authentic but rather like ground beef seasoned with one of those taco seasoning packets. The pastry dough taste and the texture was perfect, though. I think if they'd tweak their seasonings this could be a home run. I had two small plates as my entree: plantain cups with bbq pulled pork and saffron rice fritters. Both were delicious. The pineapple slaw on the plantain cups was incredible and the creole sauce underneath the fritters was heaven. I'd like to see more of the latter on the plate- it did a nice job cutting the heaviness of the fritter. My husband had the pork shank. It was served beautiful and seemed a big portion. It was tender and tasty. The plantains on the side were sweeter than he anticipated. I think he was hoping for a batter fried version. Considering we had essentially four small plates, one entree, two small salads, and four boozy drinks our bill of $95 seemed reasonable to us. The big plates are priced much higher than the small plates and yet there's so much food on the small plates. If we came back, we'd probably avoid the big plates. But the service was disappointing. I'm hoping this was just an off night for them. I'd recommend making a reservation so you get a dedicated spot in the dining room and maybe secure better attention from a server. read more

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My friend had been talking about this place forever so I was dying to try it. Melaza's menu is quite eclectic but has a strong Puerto Rican influence. The owner is of Puerto Rican decent. Being of Puerto Rican decent myself I really wanted to try it out. It didn't disappoint. The music overhead was on point. Our server, although he pronounced things sort of awkwardly, was so friendly and attentive. My friend tried the pork shank with a guava glaze. She liked it very much. I had the arroz con pollo con and sofrito. The rice was wetter than I am used to but the flavors were all very good. The 2 tostones and dipping sauce were fantastic. The 2 drinks we ordered were very good. The empanadas were small but full of that olive and ground beef with sofrito taste that makes Puerto Rican food stand out. Yummy. Entrees sort of range from $16-$24. It's sort of an upscale Puerto Rican fusion cuisine. I'd definitely return. read more

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The absolute rudest experience I've ever had! We had reservations from 3 weeks ago and they told us we had outside reservations. Nowhere in the reservation exchange did it say anything about outside dinning. Then for $10 they would bring us a heater. They tried to seat us outside and I said, regrettably "thank you", and she didn't even say "you're welcome." Seriously, one of the worst experiences of customer service I've ever experienced. Please DO NOT send me a $10 gift card to make it "right". Give it to the next person that you push outside for their heater. Jackasses. read more

This was one of the few places open on a Tuesday for dinner. We were shown to a private patio in back, where soft, not overdone, Caribbean-style music piped through speakers amongst flowers and open air. While we can't travel to a tropical beach right now, this was just about as good as we'd get! The service was excellent and extremely prompt - our server really struck the perfect balance, especially during this awkward COVID period of service. The drinks were creative, delicious, and fairly priced. The food was wonderful, and the portions were very generous. Highly recommend the plantain cups small plate and the pork with guava big plate. Even the salad course was tasty, and a lovely inclusion that made this meal a great value anywhere (but especially in Woodstock!). read more

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Was last here two years ago. Unlike many places that seem to be struggling post Covid only got better! Well organized greeting. Attentive and pleasant service. The BEST Cuban sandwich anywhere. Also I love their touches to the guacamole. And I could eat the yucca fries all day long. Hubby also had the pork shank. HUGE portion and so tender. And then flan....I don't think it gets better than this place. Make a reservation tho or you'll be waiting for sure! read more

I was not familiar with the menu until I stepped inside to assist in the kitchen dish room . The sampling's that were offered and the visual sightings of the nicely plated cuisine being carried out by the friendly staff was enough for me to say this is a restaurant I would venture in repeatedly and recommend it to others. Chef Dave and Chef Roberto displayed their talent off the line while prepping and on the line while serving up their delicious well prepared cuisine. read more