Wood-fired pizza$$shelburne
Sourdough wood-fired pizza on Route 7 in Shelburne, sharing a building with Fiddlehead Brewing. BYO Fiddlehead; voted Vermont's Best Pizza since 2023.
Signature: Sourdough pizza, BYOB Fiddlehead beer
Order: A naturally leavened Margherita pizza plus a Fiddlehead Mastermind IPA from next door.
Tip: Fiddlehead is the BYOB source; Folino's provides frosty glasses. Walk-in only.
Contemporary American$$$church-street-marketplace
Hotel Vermont's lobby-level bar and restaurant from Executive Chef Doug Paine. Wood-burning hearth, ingredient-driven cocktails, terrace overlooking the lake.
Signature: Hearth-cooked plates, Vermont-spirit cocktails
Order: Whatever is off the hearth, plus a Vermont-gin cocktail.
Tip: Open all day; breakfast from 07:00, bar to 22:00 most nights.
Fried chicken and oysters$$winooski
Sister room to Misery Loves Co.; opened August 2022 at the top of the Winooski rotary in the historic Block Building. Fried chicken and East Coast oysters.
Signature: Fried chicken, Vermont oysters, Hot-honey biscuit
Order: Half-bird fried chicken, half-dozen Vermont oysters and a biscuit.
Tip: Bar walk-in; book the dining room on Resy. Dinner only, and the half-bird fried chicken sells through by 21:00 on weekends.
Wood-fired pizza$$church-street-marketplace
The Burlington Hearth location of Vermont's wood-fired flatbread chain. Big upper-deck patio, in-house brewery (Zero Gravity's original home),
Signature: Punctuated Equilibrium flatbread, Big salads
Order: The New Vermont Sampler with Vermont cheddar and house maple-fennel sausage.
Tip: Weeknight walk-in only; weekends take a Resy waitlist. Upper deck opens late spring through fall.
Italian, fresh pasta$$$church-street-marketplace
Subterranean Church Street Italian; fresh pastas made in-house, Wood Mountain Fish seafood and a wine bar with craft cocktails. Open from 16:00.
Signature: Daily pasta, Antipasti, Cannoli
Order: Whatever the pasta of the day is, plus an antipasto plate.
Tip: Wine bar pours by the glass with no minimum. Open from 16:00.
American barbecue$$old-north-end
Vermont's best-known barbecue room out of an early-1900s Riverside Avenue farmhouse on the Winooski River. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Signature: Smoked brisket, BBQ ramen, Smoked wings
Order: The brisket by the pound, smoked wings and a side of cornbread.
Tip: Closed Mon-Wed; open Thu-Sun from 16:30 onwards. The brisket runs out by 19:30 on a busy Saturday; arrive at open.