Pauline’s Cafe & Restaurant & Patio

Consistently fabulous food and a local favorite for decades! The north porch is a little loud when full (my father has hearing aids and the din makes it hard for him to hear), but the atmosphere is fun and happy. (Upstairs dining is a bit more subdued.) Be sure to make a reservation, especially when the colleges are holding major events.

This is a unique fine dining experience in town. It's worth dressing up a bit when you come here, the food is excellent, the service is well above and beyond what you typically find around town, and the wine list is deep. If you want to wear a t-shirt and jeans to dinner, the olive garden is right down the street. This is a really nice place and does it right.

Really great start - nice ambiance, good/attentive server; but food took almost an hour to come out. Presentation was excellent . SCHNITZEL good as was accompaniments, salmon good, steak Good, bread delicious
BUT ..Fries were overcooked, nearing burnt. Burger dry and server near non existent for long periods of time.
Great potential but needs better management of kitchen on front

Tonight at Pauline's was an experience that was not so great. From the get-go, we walked into the restaurant and waited a few minutes before a hostess greeted us to bring us to our table. They seemed focused on cashing out other tables at their POS system before turning their attention to us to be seated. This set the theme for the evening, that everything seemed slow, yet rushed at the same time. Once seated, we ordered drinks, and our waitress warned us that the bar was backed up. I appreciated her letting us know that - the service industry is hectic and I am perfectly okay with waiting for a good drink. Appetizers were decent, but what really threw me to make this review was what happened when I got my entree. I ordered lamb, medium rare, which came with potatoes, pureed root vegetables, leafy greens, and bok choy. It took about 30 or so minutes for the lamb to come out. When it did come out, I cut into it and noticed that the inside of the lamb was extremely rare, so much so that I touched the center of the meat and felt no heat emanating from it. I did something I honestly don't think I have ever done before, and sent the dish back so it could be cooked to a safe level of heat.

At this point the meal was still salvageable, but this is where it gets weird - when I received the plate back the lamb had been cut off the original piece of bone it had been on and sliced for me into individual pieces. Also, when I received it back the bok choy was completely gone from my plate and there were no more leafy greens, but sliced pieces of squash. A completely different thing than what was initially presented to me and what I was expected to get a second try of. I told the waitress this, and she came back with the single piece of bok choy on a side place. This kind of killed my appetite - there was no explanation from the chef of the switching of vegetables, so for all I knew I got someone else's plate of food, or they took the bok choy out of the trash to put on my plate when I expressed my displeasure that it wasn't there when I got the re-cooked lamb. And to top it all off, the portion of lamb for the amount of money the dish cost ($36! Not even the most expensive dish at Hen of the Wood costs that much) was minuscule. I'm talking about 6 bites, if that (and if I finished). The reason I give two stars as opposed to one is because they comped us the price of the dish without asking.

It's too bad because I had eaten at Pauline's a couple of years ago and enjoyed the food, and was excited to go back for dinner. However, after tonight, I will certainly never eat there again. There are other things that went wrong during the service in terms of timing but I have already spent way too much time writing this review, so I will leave it at that. I usually only feel tempted to write a review after a good, or as expected service, if something is mediocre I won't bother to say anything. But this is one of the worst experiences I've ever had dining out and felt I had to say something and hopefully will be the first and last time I ever have to write a review like this.

My husband enjoyed his dinner but my crab cakes were not fully cooked. Very crusty on the outside but soggy in the middle. Nice server but I also think it is weird they charge you $1 for four very small pieces of bread.

open letter to the owners, manager, chef,

Last Saturday, I spent 193.71 on a meal with a friend whom was visiting from Paris, and each of us found the quality, once again ( after going to your restaurant for many years, loving the delicacy and former light touch of your chef ) really terrible. When I took my wife and mom here about 2 months ago, our food was barely mediocre, much food remained on the plate. Both times the service was very good. The booth was incredibly tight and uncomfortable, even after moving the center portion. I have built restaurants for years, and I have idea's on how you can fix this.

our 2 salads, the lettuce was turning brown, tired, dressing dull

my friends risotto was mealy and undercooked. she politely left her portion on the plate

My crab cake was way dry and overcooked, like a hockey puck not made fresh..I could not finish this or the vegetables ( carrots were mush )

My wife's steak was well cooked, too much salt, and really tough. She did not finish it.

I would appreciate some response to this, or we will never go to your restaurant again. Many of our friends have had similar experiences in your restaurant of late. We go out maybe twice a year, and apparently may need to find another place.

I hope this is a contribution.. Paul

Absolutely wonderful! Superb drinks, excellent menu, and great service! Everything tastes delicious and the vibe is perfect.

The different versions of eggs Benedict were very tasty! I had the crab 🦀 cake Benedict, and my other half had the sausage Benedict. The sausage was homemade and both I would certainly recommend. Pricing was reasonable as well. Our brunch came up to $30.

The food was good. Nothing really spectacular. We were seated right away. The restaurant was empty when we arrived but slowly filled up over the next hour. It did seem like a very popular place. There are many more restaurants in Burlington I would like to eat at first before coming back.

David and his team could not be more accommodating during this time of COVID-19. I wanted to order a meal for my mom for Mother's Day and have it delivered, since I am out of state and could not pick up myself. They arranged the whole thing and were fantastic. Can't wait to go to the Restaurant next time I am in VT and thank them in person.