17 Best Places To Eat And Drink In Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont, is an epicenter of culture, food, and everything groovy. It's home to the state's flagship college, the University of Vermont, and at the nexus of several outdoor destinations, including the Stowe Mountain Resort, Champlain Islands, and Camel's Hump.
The small city, located on the shores of Lake Champlain, is home to a diverse range of restaurants across a broad geographic scope. Within a couple blocks walking distance, you'll find a plethora of quick bites and sit-down meals to help you satiate any cuisines you may be craving. Whether it's a formal Italian dinner or an insatiable craving for pizza, you can find it on Burlington's main street, Church Street, or one of the adjacent streets guaranteed to be bustling with tourists and locals year-round. Here are some of our favorite places to eat and drink in Burlington, whether you're just stopping in or are a resident of Queen City.
Citizen Cider
Take a drive into the South End of Burlington to find Citizen Cider. The tasting room is owned by three friends, Justin Heilenbach, Bryan Holmes, and Kris Nelson, who went from pressing hard cider in a basement to purchasing the 9,000-square-foot property four years later in 2014. The cidery has quadrupled production to meet the demand of its consumers, which has spread past Vermont's borders to other New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern states.
Besides producing an array of hard ciders with 100% locally-sourced Vermont apples, Citizen Cider also offers an extensive cider pub menu with bar favorites like wings, pretzels, and burgers. A 2020 episode of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" featured Citizen Cider as one of its restaurants. Food personality and host Guy Fieri called Citizen Cider's all-time fiery apple wing sauce "outrageous" for its distinct apple tang and juicy bite. Most of the menu includes cider-infused ingredients, like the "Dirty Mayor" aioli made with gingery cider, or the "Pine St. Poutine" made with cider gravy.
Pingala Cafe
When you think of Vermont, you likely imagine cheese, cows, and (dairy) ice cream. But Pingala Cafe is proving that you don't need animal products to be excellent, or even to be one of the must-visit vegan restaurants in New England. The restaurant, located on the shores of the Winooski River, offers an entirely plant-based menu focused on nourishment, comfort, and flavor. Although the most famous menu item is the vegan-ized Crunchwrap Supreme made with plant-based cashew queso, pickled jalapeños, chili, and a n'acovato (not avocado) mash, you can also find wraps made with maple-sriracha tofu, smoked carrot dawgs, and french toast puffs on the menu.
In 2022, Pingala Cafe expanded its business to include a second location on North Avenue in Burlington. You might also see the cafe's other business venture, the Broccoli Bar food truck, at seasonal events in the northern Vermont region. The Broccoli Bar's menu is filled with cruciferous goodies like Tempura Broccoli and B-B Que Broccoli.
Pho Hong
If you're looking for some of the best Vietnamese cuisine in New England, your treasure chest is located on North Winooski Avenue in Burlington. Pho Hong has been serving up authentic Vietnamese dishes at the same location since 2008 and recently purchased additional square footage for its culinary venture.
On a busy Friday night in Burlington, you'll wait about an hour for a table (the restaurant only has 24 seats pre-renovation), but the plate of magic that awaits is more than worth it. It's frequented by college students, visiting families, and immigrants to Vermont alike. Pho Hong is well-known for its pho: a Vietnamese noodle soup made with rice noodles, broth, protein, Thai basil, and sprouts. But you can also find stir fries, Thai curries, and Asian-inspired appetizers on the menu. We recommend the bánh xèo: a Vietnamese crepe stuffed with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, and onions.
Hong's Dumplings
Hong's Dumplings started as a dumpling cart on Church Street in 2000 but has since blossomed into a Burlington institution with a brick-and-mortar store on Pearl Street. All of Hong's pan-fried dumplings are hand-made with an array of fillings, including chicken and cheese, pork, veggie, or crab cream cheese. You can also purchase her famous sweet-and-sour cranberry dipping sauce (Guy Fieri says he would purchase "by the gallon" if he could) and chili oil at the store. Besides the dumplings, Hong's offers giant steamed bao buns, sausage, and ham fried rice, and flaky scallion pancakes.
Our favorite thing to order from Hong's Dumplings is the crab cream cheese dumplings. You get the impression that you're eating a crab rangoon but with a bit more depth of flavor and thickness from the homemade dumpling wrapper. Although you can also purchase meals from a short list of noodles and rice dishes, we recommend always starting and filling up on the dumplings.
Bluebird Barbecue
This joint serves all the classic barbecue cuts like brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and spare ribs, along with some unconventional favorites. For example, check out Bluebird's Pitmaster Ramen made with pulled pork, burnt ends, or brisket served with a soft egg, ramen noodles, and pickled veggies. You can also find some plant-based options at Bluebird, including a smoked mushroom and seitan tossed in a classic red sauce and served with artisan bread.
The classic barbecue is served with sides including collard greens, mac & cheese, black-eyed peas salad, or maple baked beans. Servings are plentiful, flavorful, and guaranteed to keep you returning for more. If you don't have time to sit down for a meal at Bluebird, you can order to-go from their website and inquire about catering opportunities for your next event.
Myer's Bagel Bakery
Myers' Bagels are Montreal-style, meaning they are wood-fired, thinner, crispier, and denser than their New York-style bagel cousins. This bagel store offers wholesale Montreal-style bagels, individual bagels, and breakfast sandwiches out of the Pine Street location. The regular bagel options include plain, sesame, everything, salt, and more creative flavors like rosemary salt, beer, cranberry orange, cinnamon raisin, and rainbow. Myer's also offers a Montreal seasoning blend of onion, garlic, poppy seeds, white sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds.
Equally as important as Myers' Bagels are the breakfast sandwiches. The McMyer was featured on a 2017 episode of "Man vs. Food" and includes decadent layers of house-made brisket, coleslaw, melted Swiss, roasted fingerling potatoes, pickles, and a Green Day sauce in between a beer bagel. More conservative eaters can opt for a 921: made with roasted local turkey, onions, cheddar, fresh apple, sprouts, and a pesto sauce.
Harmony's Kitchen
Harmony Edosomwan describes her cooking as Afro-fusion soul food, and we'll add the word delicious to that description. The young entrepreneur and UVM alum started her pick-up and delivery food business in 2020 (as a college junior, no less) and offers food inspired by the roots of Nigerian, Southern American, and Latinx culinary traditions. At Harmony's Kitchen, you can find traditional favorites like fried chicken sandwiches, jerk chicken, and mac & cheese — but also new twists like a vegan fried chicken sandwich made with fried oyster mushrooms and a vegan bun. She's expanded her menu to include empanadas and Cajun green beans, too.
Harmony's food has also taken advantage of Vermont's growing cannabis-infused food industry. Her 4/20 menu featured honey-infused cornbread and "baked" mac and cheese. While Harmony doesn't currently have a brick-and-mortar location, for now, you can pre-order her meals and check out local supper clubs on her website.
Trattoria Delia
Trattoria Delia is located on Saint Paul Street in Burlington and offers a classic Italian dining experience. The restaurant menu features a plethora of house-made pasta, seafood, and meat dishes. In addition, you'll find Italian classics like house-made tagliatelle with local mushrooms, cream, and Parmigiano Reggiano and locally-influenced entrées like Quaglia alla Griglia made with sage butter and stuffed Vermont quail. Oh, and don't forget to get an antipasto for the table.
Trattoria Delia's sister restaurant, Pizzeria Verità, offers a similar elegant flair to its food. The Neapolitan pizzeria makes a very distinct thin crust by pushing the air to the edge and baking it in a hot wood oven. The resulting crust has a lot of crisp air pockets and textures that complement the pizza's toppings. We recommend the Cherry Amore made with tomatoes, fresh fior de latte, Parmigiano Reggiano, dried cherries, arugula, and fresh basil, all finished with a decadent hot honey drizzle.
Hen of the Wood
Hen of Wood is easily one of the top restaurants in Burlington. The company owns several other area restaurants, including the Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, Doc Ponds Eat & Drink in Stowe, and the original Hen of the Wood in Waterbury. The Burlington restaurant, located adjacent to Hotel Vermont, focuses on local flavors and culinary elegance. Although the menu is seasonal and shifting with ingredients available in the Champlain Valley, Hen of the Wood offers some consistent offerings, like Hen of the Wood mushroom toast with grilled bread, house bacon, and a poached egg. In addition, you will find a fine selection of meats on the menu, including ribeye steak for two served with grilled asparagus, pac choi, buttered potatoes, and striped bass with a charred cucumber vinaigrette.
Diners with more explorative tastebuds can reserve The Butcher Room: a private dining space for six and 12 guests. The Butcher Room offers a chef-crafted dining experience starting at $120 and can include an optional wine pairing at the guest's request.
Honey Road
Honey Road is at the helm of chef-owner Cara Chigazola Tobin, a 2018 and 2019 semi-finalist for the James Beard award for best chef in the Northeast. Cara and her team craft Mediterranean mezze (small dishes) at the modern restaurant, located on downtown Church Street. The flavors of Turkey, Lebanon, and North Africa inspire the tone of the dishes at Honey Road.
The menu at Honey Road is broad yet traditional. You'll find grape dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) with locally-raised lamb and yogurt and a kale salad with tahini, cucumber, feta, and crunchy quinoa. You can also find inventive dishes like sweet harissa chicken wings with dry lime labneh or a soft shell crab with buttermilk vinaigrette and mango pickle. There is no wrong order at Honey Road — especially when it comes to desserts. You'll find the usual walnut baklava and a decadent gingerbread cake with labneh ice cream, pears, turmeric honey, and hazelnuts.
Lenuig's Bistro
College students often describe Leunig's as the restaurant you take your parents to eat when Dad offers to pay for dinner. The food is inspired by the flavors of Paris, and everything is purely extravagant. You'll find house-made kettle chips fried in duck fat, duck confit poutine with local Maplebrook Farm cheese curds, escargot in garlic-walnut herb butter, and oysters on the menu.
Unlike many other Burlington restaurants, Leunig's has stood the test of time and years of change on Church Street. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1980 as a coffee shop and evolved to serve more sit-down meals inspired by classic French cooking techniques. Leunig's has also continued to support local non-profits with special promotional events throughout the year.
Leunig's eventually opened the Petit Bijou on the corner of Church Street and College Street to offer Parisian pastries, coffee, beignets, poutine, and creemees for customers on the go. As a result, the counter is almost always bustling during the hot Burlington summers and farmers' market mornings.
Sherpa Kitchen
It's not often that you get to experience Nepalese and Himalayan cuisine in a state like Vermont. But at Sherpa Kitchen, you'll find a whole host of authentic regional dishes. The menu features momos: a Tibetan and Nepalese steamed dumpling stuffed with chicken, beef, or vegetables with a side of tomato dipping sauce. You'll also find a noodle soup (Sherpa Thukpa) customizable with your choice of protein.
While Sherpa Kitchen focuses on the flavors of Nepal, some of the entrées are also adapted from Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines. For example, you can order daal or a thali platter with rice, chicken tikka masala, papadam, daal, house-made pickles, and a mango lassi drink. Sherpa Kitchen's platters are a great way to try several of the kitchen's offerings without committing to one particular order. Diners love Sherpa Kitchen's quaint yet comforting atmosphere, food, and people. Oh, and the leftovers? We like those, too.
Willow's Bagels
While there may be a ton of rivalry over Burlington's bagel scene, we can't help but show our love and appreciation for the most vegan-friendly of them all: Willow's Bagels. You will find a delicious array of bagels, including our favorite fennel seed or everything (including fennel seeds) flavors, delicious pup-tarts, muffins, and confections made for both vegan and non-vegan variations. We recommend pairing everything on the menu with a Fair Trade, locally roasted, and organic iced coffee. How Vermont.
Our favorite sandwich from Willow's Bagels is Rusko's Lox made vegan — it has miso-marinated carrots, vegan scallion chive cream cheese (the best vegan cream cheese we've ever had), juicy sliced tomatoes, red onions, and capers. Meat lovers will fall head-over-heels for the Rufus' steak and egg sandwich made with roast beef, local eggs, Swiss cheese, banana peppers, caramelized onions, spinach, and a squirt of garlic mayonnaise.
Istanbul Kebab House
The Istanbul Kebab House is bringing the flavors of the Middle East to Vermont. You'll find the lively Turkish restaurant on the south end of Church Street serving up namesake kebabs, lamb stuffed eggplant, and refreshing salads like our favorite Shepherd Salad, made with tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion, parsley, Turkish extra virgin olive oil, and topped with a pomegranate dressing.
Another Istanbul Kebab House menu staple is its guvec — Turkish stew served in earthenware pots. These stews come in several flavors, including shrimp, chicken, lamb, lamb meatballs, vegetables, and swordfish. Finally, check out the mezze plates if you're looking for some light bites for your party before hitting the slopes or walking around town. We recommend trying out the hummus, babaganoush, lavash bread, and stuffed grape leaves. The portions at Istanbul Kebab House are relatively large, but you should always save room for a baklava or two.
Juniper
Juniper is a slightly upscale bar and restaurant located inside Hotel Vermont. The restaurant serves brunch and dinner daily and a fun cocktail menu at its bar. You'll find locally-inspired light bites like short rib poutine with red wine gravy, a noodle soup with shaved seitan, kimchi, sprouts, and mushroom broth, and hush puppies with black garlic honey. If you're feeling like a casual dinner, we recommend trying any of the sandwich options, like the upgraded chicken sandwich with miso kimchi, gochujang glaze, and house-made aioli.
Many of the meals on Jupiter's menu are designed to share. You can split a whole-cooked rabbit, half-stuffed chicken, or 24-ounce beef loin steak served with all the fixings. And don't forget dessert — like Juniper's chai crème brûlée, flourless chocolate ganache cake, or mulled red wine poached apples with mascarpone and chocolate toffee. There's no wrong choice on the menu — especially if you get to enjoy the luxurious accommodation at Hotel Vermont at the same time.
Foam Brewers
Foam Brewers on the Burlington waterfront was ranked one of the best breweries in Vermont for its wide selection of brews and the ambiance of its outdoor seating. Foam Brewers' menu features a menagerie of alcoholic beverages, including dark, light, or tart IPAs, imperial stouts, rice lager, and even Brandywine. If you're not a beer drinker, try one of its rosés, hard ciders, or a Vermont-y kombucha. If you're just stopping in, check out some of the cans and growlers to take home.
Foam Brewers also offers a small food menu for snacking while enjoying your beer and the Burlington sunset. You'll find numerous local businesses in its food selection, including bread from the nearby August First Bakery and curtido from the fermenting masterminds at Pitchfork Farm. We recommend trying the black bean salsa with curtido and chips or the smoked fish dip seasoned with capers, dill, and scallions.
Burlington Bay
The best way to finish off a day in Burlington is with the sweet frozen treat — the creemee! Creemees are Vermont versions of soft-serve ice cream, and you can get the best ones from the Burlington Bay Market and Cafe on Battery Street. This hillside spot has unmatched views overlooking the Echo Center and Burlington waterfront, which makes it one of the most Instagram-worthy spots on our tour of Burlington's food scene.
Our favorite type of creemee is undoubtedly a maple one covered in rainbow sprinkles. But you can also find vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry flavors at Burlington Bay, too. We also recommend combining any of your favorite creemee flavors into a milkshake on days when it's just too hot to lick up a creemee on a cone. So as you're sitting on the patio at Burlington Bay, or walking your creemee down to the grassy patch at the waterfront, remember to think about where you're going to stop for your next meal.