Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in Vermont

OpenTable

Updated October 05, 2024

Looking for the best overall restaurants in Vermont? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Jessica's at Swift House

4.9

4.9 (872)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Middlebury

About the restaurant

Jessica's at Swift House Inn is located in Middlebury, Vermont, just two blocks from downtown Middlebury. Set in an 1814 stately home, surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens, Jessica's elegant atmosphere is the perfect place for a dinner for two, or a celebratory dinner for four to forty. Come experience Chef Rob Fenn's seasonal, Vermont-inspired menu for yourself!

Our Sommelier Ella Donnelly-Wright can help you choose the right bottle of wine from our extensive cellar. Jessica's is the recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for our wine list, one of only a small handful of restaurants in Vermont and fewer than 1400 restaurants world-wide which have won at this level.

Outdoor seating is weather dependent. Call to inquire.

Please note that when making a reservation online, we plan on seating your party in the dining room at that time. If you'd like to relax with a pre-dinner beverage in the bar or parlor, we invite you to arrive well before your reservation time.

Top review

Cindyvip

Dined 1 day ago

Always fabulous meal and service at Jessica’s! Gourmet food and impressively made and served !! Special spot !

The Four Chimneys Inn

4.9

4.9 (106)

$31 to $50

French

Bennington

About the restaurant

At Four Chimneys we will impress you with the finest French cuisine with a American touch and a Vermont flavor. You choose from our a-la-carte menu that changes regularly to include seasonal changes .
The menu can also be adapted to fit your dietary restrictions. just inform our waiters and we do everything we can to accommodate your request.
Combine your meal with a choice of our wine list, or go with the paired wine suggestion that we made for you.

Top review

Sam

Dined 7 days ago

Wonderfully elegant dining experience with incredible food and service.

Starry Night Cafe

4.9

4.9 (1180)

$31 to $50

American

Ferrisburgh

About the restaurant

Specializing in locally-sourced, organic and seasonal Vermont products, the Starry Night Café invites you to experience our unique and intimate historic buildings, artistan-crafted decor and our fresh, inventive menu. We invite you to enjoy a little taste of delicious cuisine within our lovely countryside setting under the stars!

Top review

Mark

Dined 1 day ago

Wonderful meal. I haven’t been in many years and was pleased with the care and detail that was put into our meal. Delicious!

The Grafton Inn

4.7

4.7 (248)

$30 and under

American

Grafton

About the restaurant

The Grafton Inn is a proud supporter of Vermont’s pioneering farm-to-table philosophy. Our historic inn and two restaurants in southern Vermont offer on-site dining year-round and feature locally-sourced ingredients prepared by food-loving professionals to create timeless, hearty dishes that will please any palate.

The Phelps Barn, originally a carriage house for guests' horses, provides a unique and rustic VT dining experience. Even the hayloft has been repurposed and renovated, providing an elevated seating area as well as our 8-tap bar. It is a fast pace restaurant with live music usually scheduled on the weekends.

If you are looking for a quieter space to have dinner or celebrate a special occasion, we would recommend our 1801 Tavern located inside the Main Inn. This historic space provides a cozy and elevated dining atmosphere. Within the 1801 Tavern you’ll find our recently renovated Pine Room Bar with a working fireplace.

Top review

vincent

Dined on Oct 3, 2024

Greeted nicely and dinner was very good. A little pricey.

The Reluctant Panther Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (1172)

$31 to $50

American

Manchester

About the restaurant

The Reluctant Panther Restaurant features locally sourced American cuisine in a relaxed yet elegantly upscale atmosphere. Menus are complemented by a multiple year Wine Spectator award winning wine list
The Reluctant Panther is happy to accommodate well behaved children but does not offer a children's menu.
Reservations Required.
Please Note: We do not allow dogs in the restaurant, inside or out, with the exception of service animals.

Top review

James

Dined 2 days ago

I love the place. And I cannot wait to return. The only negative thing at all that I can say is that the waitstaff needs to have a professional bartender, trained them on making drinks, including drinks that are on the menu? I still definitely recommend the Reluctant Panther, highly, which is why I raised five stars

CurATE at Southern Vermont Arts Center

4.8

4.8 (448)

$30 and under

American

Manchester

About the restaurant

curATE café in Vermont promises to bring a modern sensibility paired with classic and regional fare. Artfully curated small plates, salads, artisanal sandwiches, flatbreads, entrees and a full bar — all in the artful setting of SVAC’s galleries and grounds.

curATE will delight diners enjoying the museum’s art and beautiful grounds. The café will be the perfect spot for a special lunch or afternoon beverage – curate your own experience.

Top review

Cathy

Dined 5 days ago

It was simply superb. Our waitress Leleal was outstanding. Everything was outstanding and hats off to the chef

The Inn at Burklyn

4.8

4.8 (175)

$50 and over

American

Lyndonville

About the restaurant

The Inn at Burklyn is excited to present our Restaurant serving a la carte dinners off a small, locally-focused menu each Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday evening along with daily specials. We also offer seasonal cocktails, local craft beers and our extensive wine list, featuring over 100 curated choices from around the world!

Top review

BillMcG07vip

Dined on Sep 5, 2024

Another wonderful dinner at the finest restaurant in the Northeast Kingdom. Superb! Our favorite by far!

Dorset Inn

4.8

4.8 (905)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Dorset

About the restaurant

All of us here love food and enjoy sharing that with you. The warm and welcoming ambiance of the historic dining room, and the cozy New England tavern, near Manchester VT, allows guests to relax and enjoy the food, the wine, and the friendly Southern VT hospitality. As a member of Vermont Fresh Network, we support as many local farms and businesses as possible, and our food includes the freshest ingredients. Our cuisine is uncomplicated, and bistro-style. It demonstrates classic culinary techniques and traditions, with regional Southern Vermont influences. To showcase Vermont’s four unique seasons, the menu changes frequently.

Top review

lynn

Dined 6 days ago

Very nice dining experience and very attentive staff.

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Popular dish

Grilled Pork Ribeye

Simon Pearce Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (6080)

$50 and over

American

Quechee

About the restaurant

Reservations are recommended.
LUNCH 11:30 AM – 2:45 PM Wednesday-Sunday | DINNER 5:30 -8:30PM Wednedsay + Thursday
| 5:30 – 9:00PM Friday + Saturday

The dining room at the Mill is a wonderful way to experience Simon Pearce. Using fresh local ingredients, thoughtfully prepared creative American cuisine is served with the backdrop of the Ottauquechee River waterfall and covered bridge.

Simon Pearce Retail Store- Shop before you dine! Our restaurant also features our flagship retail store, where you can explore all our Simon Pearce glass and pottery in person. All our products are handmade with love.

Top review

Roberta

Dined 2 days ago

What a wonderful lunch! We arrived earlier than our reservation and were seated promptly at a table overlooking the waterfall, perfect for our lunch with a guest from Georgia. We had a delicious meal, thoroughly enjoyed every bite. What I particularly loved is that the food was cooked without extraneous elements, just cooked perfectly, seasoned perfectly. Great variety on the menu. And, the chef was fine with cooking the salmon dish past seared at the request of our guest. Every bite, every sip, terrific. And, of course, on top of it, the glassware and tableware are exquisite. Thank you for making this visit one to remember!

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4.7

4.7 (16)

$50 and over

Farm-to-table

Woodstock

About the restaurant

Kelly Way Gardens is a farm-to-table program started from scratch, providing the Woodstock Inn & Resort with an on-site holistic food supply straight from the ground. We specialize in unique and heirloom varieties and provide culinary inspiration to our chefs.

Join our Resort Executive Chef Matthew McClure on select dates during warmer months for an evening of dinner party-style dining featuring the local artistry of Vermont’s Cheesemakers, Farmers, Beekeepers, and Dairymen while celebrating the bounty of our own Vermont Certified Organic Kelly Way Gardens. The Red Barn Dinners Series cuisine honors our local farms and artisans; similarly, we celebrate our community through our gathered-style dining arrangement with unique menus for each seating.

Top review

Austingal

Dined on Sep 26, 2024

We loved our experience at Kelly Way! The gardens were beautiful to walk around in - especially with a glass of champagne. Walk through the gourd tunnel. The chipmunks running around were very cute to watch. The food was outstanding! Except that the chicken entree was just basic. Thigh and drumstick with skin & bones made it difficult to eat. I was mostly full by then so it didn't matter. My husband just picked it up and gnaw on it. Yes this is expensive but you're paying for the experience as much as for the dinner and wine. We made great friends at our table from different parts of the world and would definitely return!

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