Burlington has no business being this good at food. With a population of roughly 45,000 — making it Vermont’s largest city — it supports a dining scene that rivals metros three times its size. According to Eater Boston, Burlington punches well above its weight for dining quality and diversity. But that reputation has a downside: some spots coast on hype while genuinely great restaurants fly under the radar.
This guide to the best restaurants Burlington VT cuts through the noise. For each pick, you’ll find the cuisine type, price range, what to order, an honest note on waits, and a single verdict. No filler, no promotional spin — just what’s actually worth your time when you’re looking for the best restaurants in Burlington VT.
Best for a Casual Weeknight
Frankie’s ($$–$$$)
Cuisine: Seasonal American, seafood-forward
169 Cherry St.
Opened in April 2024 by Cindi Kozak and chef Jordan Ware — both veterans of long tenures at Hen of the Wood — Frankie’s took over the beloved Penny Cluse Café space and immediately became Burlington’s most talked-about table. According to Seven Daysies 2025, it won Best New Restaurant, and Eater named it one of the 14 best new restaurants in the country in 2024.
The menu changes constantly and skews seafood-heavy. Standout dishes have included scallop crudo with fermented fennel, pork croquettes with pickled rhubarb sauce, and sweet corn tortelli. Save room for the housemade creemee. The marble bar is a destination on its own.
- What to order: Whatever the crudo is that night; the housemade creemee
- Wait: Reservations recommended — this place fills up fast
- Verdict: The best new restaurant Burlington has seen in years, and it’s not close.
Tiny Thai Restaurant ($–$$)
Cuisine: Thai
Locals have spoken. According to Seven Daysies 2025, Tiny Thai took home both Best Thai Restaurant and Best Takeout — a rare double. The name is literal; the space is small and the menu is focused. That focus pays off.
- What to order: Pad see ew, green curry
- Wait: Expect a short wait at peak dinner hours; takeout is seamless
- Verdict: The most reliable weeknight Thai in the city, and a steal on takeout.
Pho Hong ($–$$)
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Added to Eater Boston’s 2025 best Burlington restaurants list and winner of the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Vietnamese Restaurant, Pho Hong has earned its reputation the old-fashioned way: consistently good broth, generous portions, fair prices.
- What to order: The pho (obviously); bún bò Huế if available
- Wait: Minimal most evenings
- Verdict: Unpretentious, reliable, and genuinely excellent — exactly what a neighborhood Vietnamese spot should be.
Best for a Special Occasion
Honey Road ($$$)
Cuisine: Eastern Mediterranean small plates
Honey Road has been Burlington’s benchmark for fine dining for years. According to Seven Daysies 2025, it won Best Restaurant (tied with Starry Night Café), Best Restaurant for Dessert, and chef-owner Cara Chigazola Tobin took home Best Chef. It also won Best Restaurant outright in 2024. Per Hello Burlington, Tobin has been a five-time semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur — more recognition than almost any other Vermont restaurant.
The menu centers on small plates: hummus and dolma are constants, but the seasonal plates are where Honey Road earns its reputation. The dessert program is exceptional.
- What to order: The mezze spread to start; whatever the seasonal lamb dish is; any dessert
- Wait: Book well in advance, especially on weekends
- Verdict: Burlington’s most decorated restaurant for good reason — this is the table to book for a milestone dinner.
Hen of the Wood Burlington ($$$–$$$$)
Cuisine: Vermont farm-to-table, wood-fired
Located inside Hotel Vermont on Cherry Street, Hen of the Wood has been the standard-bearer for Vermont fine dining since it opened in 2013. According to Seven Days, chef-owner Eric Warnstedt has received seven James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef: Northeast since 2009 — more than any other Vermont restaurant. The kitchen uses a wood-fired oven, and the results show: locally farmed trout in a cast-iron skillet with butter, garlic, rosemary, and thyme over wood coals is the kind of dish that defines a place. The fresh-baked rolls alone are worth the trip. In 2025, it won the Seven Daysies Award for Best Restaurant Service.
- What to order: The wood-fired trout; whatever the seasonal mushroom preparation is; the rolls
- Wait: Reservations essential; the 300-seat capacity means you can usually get in with planning
- Verdict: Seven James Beard nominations don’t lie — this is Vermont cooking at its most refined.
Trattoria Delia ($$$)
Cuisine: Italian
Winner of the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Italian Restaurant, Trattoria Delia is the kind of Italian restaurant that doesn’t need to announce itself. The room is warm, the pasta is housemade, and the wine list is thoughtful.
- What to order: Any housemade pasta; the osso buco when available
- Wait: Moderate; reservations recommended on weekends
- Verdict: Burlington’s most consistent Italian — a reliable choice for a proper dinner out.
Best for Brunch
August First ($–$$)
Cuisine: Bakery, café, brunch
August First tied for the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Bread Bakery, and its brunch program matches the baking pedigree. The pastry case alone justifies the visit. Expect a line on weekend mornings — it moves.
- What to order: Whatever seasonal pastry is in the case; the egg sandwiches
- Wait: Weekend waits are real but manageable; arrive early or go on a weekday
- Verdict: The best baked goods in Burlington, full stop — brunch here is a treat.
Sneakers Bistro ($$) (Winooski — 10 min from downtown Burlington)
Cuisine: American brunch and breakfast
Technically in Winooski, just across the Winooski River from Burlington, Sneakers Bistro won the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Breakfast/Brunch. The menu is creative without being precious — expect inventive egg dishes and strong coffee. Worth the short drive.
- What to order: The breakfast sandwiches; specials board
- Wait: Weekend waits are common; go early or expect a short hold
- Verdict: The best brunch in the greater Burlington area, according to the people who eat here every week.
Best Cheap Eats Under $15
Al’s French Frys ($)
Cuisine: American diner, fries
A Burlington institution since 1948, Al’s French Frys won the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Place to Get Late-Night Food. The fries are hand-cut, cooked in beef tallow, and served in paper bags. There is no more honest meal in Burlington.
- What to order: The fries (obviously); a burger
- Wait: Minimal — this place runs efficiently
- Verdict: A genuine Burlington institution that earns every bit of its cult status.
Martone’s Market & Café ($–$$)
Cuisine: Deli, café, Italian market
Winner of the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Lunch, Martone’s is the kind of neighborhood spot that locals fiercely protect. Sandwiches are built with care, portions are generous, and the price-to-quality ratio is hard to beat.
- What to order: The Italian sub; daily sandwich specials
- Wait: Lunch rush can be busy; worth it
- Verdict: The best lunch value in Burlington — locals know it, and now you do too.
Taco Gordo ($–$$)
Cuisine: Mexican
Despite being dropped from Eater’s 2025 Burlington list, Taco Gordo won the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Mexican Restaurant — a reminder that local readers often know better than national editors. Tacos are the move.
- What to order: Al pastor tacos; the quesabirria when available
- Wait: Short
- Verdict: Trust the locals on this one over the national lists.
Best for Vegetarians and Vegans
Burlington skews progressive, and the restaurant scene reflects it. According to Seven Daysies 2025, City Market / Onion River Co-op won Best Locally Owned Grocery Store — a reflection of the city’s deep commitment to plant-based eating. That ethos filters into the restaurant scene.
Honey Road
Already listed above, but worth repeating: the Eastern Mediterranean format is naturally vegetable-forward. The mezze spreads, grain dishes, and seasonal vegetable plates make this one of the best veg-friendly fine dining options in New England.
Restaurant Poco ($$–$$$)
Cuisine: Global small plates
Grown from a Vermont food truck, Restaurant Poco operates on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Hello Burlington. The menu changes seasonally and draws heavily on global vegetable preparations. The no-reservations policy is a minor inconvenience for food this interesting.
- What to order: Whatever the seasonal vegetable small plates are; ask the server
- Wait: First-come, first-served — arrive early or be prepared to wait
- Verdict: One of Burlington’s most creative menus, and vegetarians eat exceptionally well here.
August First
The bakery’s café menu offers strong vegetarian and vegan options alongside its baked goods. A reliable default for plant-based eaters who want quality without compromise.
Tip: The Burlington Farmers Market — winner of the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Farmers Market — is the upstream source for much of what ends up on Burlington’s best menus. Many restaurants source directly from market vendors, which is why the seasonal dishes at places like Frankie’s and Honey Road taste the way they do.
Skip the Hype
Not every Burlington restaurant lives up to its reputation. Here are a few honest assessments.
American Flatbread
American Flatbread won the 2025 Seven Daysies Award for Best Family Restaurant, and it’s a perfectly fine place to take kids. But it was removed from Eater’s 2025 best Burlington restaurants list, and the food — while solid — doesn’t match the enthusiasm some visitors bring to it. The flatbreads are good, not transcendent. Go if you have kids or want something casual; don’t go expecting a revelatory meal.
Leunig’s Bistro & Café
Located at the corner of Church and College Streets on the Church Street Marketplace, Leunig’s has the best real estate in Burlington. The French bistro atmosphere is pleasant, the location is unbeatable, and it’s a perfectly reasonable choice for a glass of wine and a light meal. But the kitchen rarely matches the setting’s promise. It’s a tourist-friendly spot that locals tend to walk past on the way to somewhere better.
Any Restaurant With a Prime Church Street Patio in July
The outdoor patios along Church Street fill up fast in summer, and the temptation to sit at the first place with an open table is understandable. Resist it. Prime location does not equal prime food. Walk one block in any direction and you’ll find better cooking at lower prices.
Church Street vs. the South End: Where to Eat
Burlington’s dining scene divides roughly into two geographic clusters, each with a distinct character.
Church Street Marketplace is the pedestrian hub of downtown Burlington, with more than 30 local restaurants within four blocks, according to Church Street Marketplace. You’ll find everything from Leunig’s French bistro to Pizzeria Verità’s Neapolitan pies (one block off the south end of Church Street, with a dedicated gluten-free oven) to Farmhouse Tap & Grill’s farm-to-table burgers and raw bar — plus a subterranean speakeasy called The Parlor. This is where visitors naturally gravitate, and there’s good reason: the concentration of options is unmatched.
The South End and Old North End reward the extra walk. Honey Road, Hen of the Wood (in Hotel Vermont on Cherry Street), and newer arrivals like The Wise Fool — opened in 2025 by a former Honey Road chef, named one of Seven Days’ best bites of the year — anchor a more neighborhood-oriented dining culture. These are the spots where Burlington residents actually eat on a regular basis.
The 2025 wine bar surge is worth noting: according to Seven Days, Bar Renée, Wilder Wines, and La Reprise all opened in spring 2025, each with a distinct personality. Burlington’s after-dinner scene has never been stronger.
Burlington’s Dining Scene in Context
The farm-to-table ethos here isn’t marketing language — it’s structural. The Burlington Farmers Market supplies ingredients to many of the city’s best kitchens, and the seasonal menu changes at places like Frankie’s and Honey Road reflect what’s actually growing in Vermont at any given moment. That’s why the scallop crudo at Frankie’s tastes different in June than it does in October.
For a broader picture of what to do while you’re eating your way through the city, the things to do in Burlington VT guide covers the full picture. And if you’re planning a dinner that starts with a brewery visit, the Burlington VT breweries guide is the logical companion — Farmhouse Tap & Grill’s locally sourced craft beer list is a good bridge between the two.
Burlington’s dining scene earns its reputation. The key is knowing which spots built that reputation and which ones are just benefiting from it.