29 Best Restaurants in Northern Vermont, Vermont

This restaurant and brewery in downtown Waterbury is always packed for a reason: fabulous craft beers, sandwiches, salads, and North Carolina-style barbecue served in an airy and friendly bar and dining room. The restaurant's Liquor Society offers flights of rare spirits, from local brandy to whisk(e)y from around the world. If you just want a quick bite and a draft, belly up to the tasting-room bar at the brewery in the back, or pop across the street to the Craft Beer Cellar, one of the state's best beer stores.

This celebrated taproom remains one of the state's best, thanks in large part to its ability to acquire beers few others in the region can. The vibe feels straight out of an artsy neighborhood in Brussels, but with the earthiness of Vermont.

Along with breakfast scrambles, challah french toast, homemade pastries, and lunchtime burgers made with local grass-fed beef, 3 Squares is known for that warm-and-fuzzy feeling running through the vintage-style dining room. Bright sunlight, fresh flowers, and a friendly atmosphere complement Vermont-sourced cooking that has been a Vergennes cornerstone since 2007.

The wood-fired clay dome ovens pump out delicious and amusingly named pies like "Dancing Heart" (garlic oil, Italian grana padano cheese, toasted sesame seeds) and "Power to the People" (chicken, buffalo sauce, carrots, mozzarella, and blue cheese dressing) in full view of the tables at this popular pizza spot. Fresh salads topped with locally made cheese round out the meals.

Classic and French-inflected, from the rattan bistro chairs on the stone patio to the escargot and duck confit, this longtime local favorite keeps things simple, with entrées the same price across the board—all served with mashed potatoes and fries, so you don't have to choose.

This cozy, white clapboard house with an indicative blue awning has been a community staple since 2005. Co-owner Mandy Hotchkiss and chef--owner Phoebe Bright share a decades-spanning friendship; today, their ongoing collaboration manifests in the bistro's seasonal menu and hand-written, daily changing nightly specials inspired by farm-sourced ingredients.

For craft beer and inventive pub food, head to this spacious taproom in a historic factory building where the world-renowned Lumière brothers produced films in the early 1900s. Pair your pint of Strawberry Whale Cake (strawberry cream ale) or Vaulted Blue (IPA with notes of candied citrus peel and ripe peaches) with smoked trout dip and loaded birria fries, or opt for hearty sandwiches such as shaved steak or the mushroom Philly. An arcade room provides entertainment for non-beer drinkers, too.

Pursuing a mission that "the best wines are grown, not made," this natural wine bar meticulously curates an inventory of organic, biodynamic, no-additive, unfiltered, and wild-fermented vintages, either for sale in the small retail section in the front, or complementing upscale bistro dishes and boards in the classy dining room.

The local outcry when Charles Reeves and Holly Cluse closed their longtime breakfast spot, Penny Cluse Café, in November 2022 was only matched by the widespread sigh of relief when Reeves took over the kitchen at Deep City a year and a half later. Attached to popular Foam Brewers near the Burlington Waterfront, the airy, sunny space is a brunch-lover's dream, with dishes everyone in town has come to love, including a loaded bucket of spuds and herby gravy over biscuits. If there's a wait, grab a beer next door or take a waterfront walk to kill time.

A gastropub from the folks behind the Hen of the Wood restaurant, this place has one of the best beer lists in the state, and a smash of a smashburger. The food is excellent and the ski-lodge vibe is perfect for lunch, dinner, drinks, families, or romantic two-top or solo bar seats.

The line out the door on a typical weekend night should tell you a lot about the local esteem for this farm-to-table restaurant. Serving only local beef, cheese, and produce in a classy but laid-back style, Farmhouse Tap and Grill provides one of the finest casual meals in the area.

In the original historic gristmill home of renowned Hen of the Wood, which moved onto Waterbury's Main Street in 2023, the restaurant's talented team has turned its attention to pasta, from simply perfect spaghetti and meatballs to elaborately rolled lasagna, all made from scratch.

Turkish breakfast towers, tightly wrapped shawarma, and the most sought-after donuts in town are signatures of this breakfast and lunch spot from the team behind Honey Road. Like its nighttime sister restaurant, it focuses on flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. There's usually a waitlist, but it moves quickly.

In prime position on the mountain road and the Stowe Recreation Path, this brewpub's Bavarian-style lagers and Vermont IPAs are only available on-site. A solid menu of pub food, a large outdoor patio, vegetable garden, and a rich, rustic, chic design, make it a popular stop.

The classics of Turkish cuisine are served with surprising authenticity and maximum deliciousness thanks to the culinary talents of its Istanbul-raised owners, plus locally sourced produce and meats. The open terrace upstairs offers the only rooftop dining in Burlington.

Local industry pros launched this cozy neighborhood spot—named for owner Matthew Peterson's annual tradition of throwing an all-out riverside bash on May 1—with a menu that ranges from nostalgic favorites like a beef patty melt on rye to delicately plated vegetable dishes and a full platter of steak frites. Go lowbrow for drinks with a Narragansett lager, or highbrow with a bottle of wine from trailblazing Vermont producer La Garagista.

At the base of mammoth Jay Peak sits a wood-shingled food truck cooking arguably the best ramen in the state. Owners Momoko and Jordan Antonucci met as rafting guides in Japan, and spent three winters in Hokkaido gravitating toward the steaming bowls of noodles made at après-ski ramen trucks parked mountainside. They later brought this mutual love of hearty Japanese cooking to several of Vermont's most notable ski resorts, slinging spicy miso ramen, homemade onigiri, and seasonal specials.

Sister restaurant to Laura Wade and Aaron Josinsky's beloved Misery Loves Co. (now a market and takeout sandwich counter), this casual spot up the rotary serves up fried chicken in various forms—from honey-butter wings to whole birds. Comfort-food sides include collard greens that you can add house-made bacon to, a whole grilled onion, fluffy beignets filled with cheddar, and yes, there are oysters (options change daily).

The handmade Italian brick oven is the centerpiece of this hot pizza spot, which shares a former department store building with AR Market and the curing facility for Vermont Salumi. The team cranks out perfectly blistered Neapolitan-style pizzas and thick grandma pies, with classic and weekly special toppings that range from fire-roasted mushrooms to roast pork and miso drizzle. The bar boasts a top-notch local draft list and affordable, well-made cocktails.

"The truth is in the dough" is the long-standing motto of Burlington's destination for expert Neopolitan pies. The bubbled, chewy crusts are flame-kissed by live fire, and Italian-inspired ingredients are sourced mostly from local farmers like the house-made mozzarella that graces classics like the beautifully simple Margherita. But don't overlook inventive pizzas like the popular Mais, which is an enticing combination of fire-roasted sweet corn, crème fraîche, fior di latte (fresh mozzarella), and crackly edged slices of speck.

Owners Stefano Cicirello and Susie Ely parked what was originally Dolce VT food truck in a hip space that looks straight out of Brooklyn. The menu of shared plates changes regularly but leans global, with dishes such as Kung Pao cauliflower served alongside pork Milanese and a very good burger. 

Scuffed wood floors and chunky country tables bring the "rustic" at this converted farmhouse—but not too much—and the intimate bar and maroon walls adorned with woodcrafts and art add a touch of elegance. The brunch is deservedly popular, especially for the warm house-made popovers served with herb butter.

The Santiago's team shifted the vibe in Burlington when they opened at the very bottom of Main Street in 2023; with a lake-view patio, tropical décor, and a menu of classic Cuban dishes—including what the duo of first-generation Cuban-American owners claim is the only "authentic" Cubano in Vermont—it's a departure from the city's usual farm-to-table fare. And it's open late to accommodate travelers arriving via Amtrak train, who disembark just a quick stroll away.

Montpelier's most popular restaurant draws its crowd less for the classic American Italian dishes than the conviviality, charm, and sizable portions, not to mention the picturesque Winooski River flowing directly alongside the windows. The pizza comes fresh from wood-fired ovens, while the rest of the menu features your favorite pennes, Alfredos, and raviolis, with pleasing tweaks on the old formulas.

"Gather, discover, and connect” is the slogan and theme at this intimate Chinese restaurant on the first floor of a residential row house. Traditional Cantonese- and Sichuan-style dishes are served family style, and the "mock eel" was given two chopsticks up on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

If you didn't make that trip to Umbria this year, the next best thing is this Italian country eatery around the corner from City Hall Park. The secret to the ambience goes well beyond the high-quality, handmade pasta dishes to the supercozy woody interior, a transplanted sugarhouse from New Hampshire, and a roaring fireplace when the weather's cool.

Nadia Dole brought this bakery back to its original name—it was founded in a former laundromat in 2010—and its reputation for destination-worthy pastries when she took over in 2021; the cardamom buns are a must-try, as are sourdough croissants and Basque-style cheesecake. A massive wood-fired oven churns out fluffy pita to mop up Turkish eggs for brunch; pair an order with oysters or a simple salad. In front of the coffee bar, shelves are stocked like an eclectic épicerie, with spices, oils, tinned fish, multiple mustards, linen aprons, and baskets of blooms.

In 2016, the Von Trapp family finally realized its long-held dream of opening a brewery making Austrian-style lagers on the grounds of its expansive mountainside property, and what a brewery it is. Built of thick, massive Vermont wood beams, the cavernous chalet-style space houses a rustic-chic restaurant and bar alongside the beer-making facilities serving Alpine classics, with plenty of beer to wash it down.

What's more Vermont than the name "Zenbarn," especially when it includes its own yoga studio in a former hayloft? Add to that an expansive, rustic-chic interior with local art and a stage for live music, an outdoor patio looking out to green fields and mountains, a menu of eclectic fare, and a nearby cannabis dispensary and education center from the same owners, and the local experience is complete.