Pauline's Cafe & Restaurant

Pros: extremely friendly server, amazing chicken wild mushroom soup and acorn squash soup, and tasty winter salad.

Everything before the entrees was pretty good and it went downhill from there.

Cons: we ordered cod special and farm burger. The burger was underwhelming but the cod special was just bizarre. The chef paired the cod with sweet cream sauce (wrong seasoning) and chorizo on toasted buns (wrong pairing). The potato should be grilled instead of boiled. Can't think of one positive thing with the cod special to be honest.

Maybe the prep cook and the Sous Chef should be promoted

Our crab cakes, olive plate, caesar salad, French onion soup, Seafood Medley, and burger were outstanding. Sauces were fantastic! I highly recommend this restaurant. Nice touch upon ordering, a plate of brioche and foccacia is delivered to your table complimentary. Service was outstanding on the cool, air conditioned, indoor porch. From the moment we arrived at the bar to our departure, service was impeccable. Great job, Pauline's staff/chef!
We've been back a few times since this post. Need I say more? Outstanding culinary sauces and wonderful attentive staff...thanks Anna!

WARNING!

Pauline's has been one of our favorite restaurants for many years. I signed up for the $30 food credit for $15 voucher advertised on Yelp (we were planning to go there anyway), and we had an excellent meal. We attempted to use the voucher, and were informed by the owner that he had was not aware of and had not authorized Yelp to offer the voucher. I am positive that he was telling the truth. He graciously honored the voucher anyway.

So... if the promotion still exists on Yelp, don't try to take advantage of it. But do go to Pauline's ... it was lovely to be able to

My partner and I ate at Pauline's, he had the burger & I had the beet salad, along with a cheese plate & the bananas foster! We also enjoyed some lovely cocktails (a honey & gin based one and a rye based one!) and a glass of wine while we ate. The service was impeccable, the food was EXTREMELY good with fresh ingredients and lovely flavors and presentation. The cheese selection was perfect, and I personally found the chicken soup with hen in the woods mushrooms the best chicken soup I've ever had! The burger was flavorful and balanced with mushrooms on top, and my beet salad was delightfully earthy

Ordered carry out at 6pm. The text said I I could pick my order up at 7pm so I got there right at 7 to get my food. The hostess walked by a few times and didn’t even greet me. I figured she was busy although the restaurant itself wasn’t crazy busy.
Finally after 7 minutes I said “excuse me I’m here to pick up a carry out order.” She said they are getting it ready right now. I waited until 7:31 for my food!!!!! I ordered a salad and tomato toast. Got in the car and the salad is tiny and it’s 3 pieces of little squares of bread. Definitely not worth what I paid and waited!! Very disappointed

They lost our 6:30 reservation for our anniversary dinner. I received reminders via text and email and confirmed we were coming both times. The service they use, Open Table, sent us a detailed confirmation with a confirmation number, but Pauline's does not have access to or does not care to deal with confirmation numbers.
We were able to get a table in the noisy entrance to the restaurant but our meal didn't come out until 8:00. The food was OK and the overworked waitress was nice but the overall experience was terrible. We won't be back and if another restaurant uses the unreliable Open Table

The dining experience as well as the flavors embedded in every dish, are absolutely unforgettable. Wish there were more stars.

Poor selection of red wine by the glass. Server failed to inform us about the specials. Shrimp risotto was below average. Crab cakes were tasteless. Not going back.

Absolutely rock solid. I don’t know what I expected a French dinner cafe in Northern Vermont would be like but this is exactly it. Reminded me a lot of what in the Wisconsin North Woods they would call a “supper club,” but without the ever present Prime Rib. Yes, the food could have been prepared faster but the service was great and if you are complaining about the wait for your freshly made crab cakes please go back to the Applebee’s you normally frequent. Speaking of the crab cakes, cannot me missed!

We had an amazing meal here the first time we went earlier this year and took the recommendation of the server to order crab cakes - then, they were the best I’d had in Vermont. Last Saturday, they were 98% cake and 2% crab. Not just the app but the entree. Super disappointing. Other food was ok, nothing special. Front of house were understaffed which is understandable these days but not sure how this negatively affects the cooking.

An awful experience. It took over an hour to get our food and it was simply horrific. Our son's sunny side up eggs were hard cooked. My husband ordered the bacon and corn chowder along with the chorizo bowl. The chowder was clearly broken and the chorizo bowl was over cooked (the sausage had the consistency of sawdust and the eggs were again poorly cooked). I ordered the Caesar salad and the onion soup. The onion soup was pretty good (although the cheese needed a little more crisping and the broth was a little too salty), the Caesar salad was a disappointment to say the least (it was

Love this restaurant. Looking forward to expanded hours. I miss eating their lunch, dinner and brunch offerings more frequently.

Hands down one of the best dining experiences we've ever had. Husband and I were looking for a nice dinner and got so much more than we were expecting. Ordered the "Dark Knight" cocktail and have to say mixologist Evan is a genius! That coupled with a spectacular filet mignon and shrimp risotto made this the perfect date. If you are looking for fantastic drinks along with equally fantastic food, look no further!

10/10 do NOT recommend. My friend and I traveled to Burlington for a vacation. We decided to check out Paulie’s. Had to wait at the bar as we didn’t make a reservation and was busy, fair. Yet a white couple (and mind you, we are people of color my friend and I) come in with no reservation 10 minutes after us, gets a table almost immediately. We decide to leave and that’s when we were acknowledged. Unless you still love discrimination and supporting it, don’t even bother giving them your time and money. Not even worth the one star

Our first time at Pauline's last evening, and what a lovely experience it was! This may have become our new favorite spot in town. The staff were welcoming and attentive as soon as we arrived, despite being close to full capacity. We started with some drinks, the fresh lemonade was delicious (thank you to our waitress for kindly recommending), and the bread that was served shortly after was warm and crisp. The filet mignon was incredible, well seasoned, well cooked, and beautifully plated. We will definitely be back for more soon!

I came here the other night. Our food was awesome and our waitress Isley made our night. I couldn’t have asked for a better server that kept check on us and made our experience in Vermont amazing. The food was slow, but our comical waitress kept it upbeat and lively.

We made a reservation for our anniversary. When we got there they tried to seat us in the middle of the dining room. When we asked to be moved to a more secluded space we were seated upstairs next to the party room. Fine. Our server, Hannah, was the only thing pleasant about our experience, and it was never noted that we were celebrating our anniversary. The oyster appetizer and cheese plate were the only things worth coming for. The drink specials were well done. Our entrees were inadequate. We both ordered crab... pauline's crab (which I couldn't find any in the breading) and the crab

We are having our 40th (covid made it 41st) class reunion. We flew to Vermont for the start of our vacation and after an exhausting day of travel and immense hunger pangs, we set out to find dinner. We came upon Paulines Cafe in South Burlington, Vermont. There were a couple of empty parking space, so I thought, "Great, Fast Service". They were actually quite busy. They were able to accomodate us and found us a table.

The menu is unique with a lot of different seafood, gluten free, vegetarian options and also a few for the hearty meat eaters as well. They have a great spirit and wine

Dirty, pretty run down. The food had the smell of a dirty kitchen. The air conditioning was not working. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was that the owner looks like Dr Fauci.

A real gem. We've been going here for years. The food is excellent quality made from scratch. Genuine hospitality. As a frequent fine diner , Paulines is at the top of our list. My parents love good quality food and they always are happy to eat here. You won't be disappointed!

I was pleasantly surprised by this place! Given the lackluster reviews I had low expectations but everything was delicious. If things swimming in garlic butter aren't your thing then this might not be the place for you but I am definitely a fan. Escargot was fabulous and the popovers were lovely. My husband really liked the crab cakes. We will be back!

This was one of the best dinners I've had in Chittenden County in awhile and I eat out often. The tenderloin was out of this world amazing and the sides complimented the steak to a T. Great job chef and waitstaff, Don't change a thing, keep up the awesome work and we will return very soon.

Fabulous dinner! Our server Abigail made great suggestions from appetizers to dessert. She was also above friendly. The bartender Sarah was amazing. Would absolutely suggest this establishment to anyone in the area. We both got the highly recommended shrimp risotto, and it wowed is both. Not a bite left. Banana Fosters dessert was a big portion, worth sharing, and one of the most amazing desserts I ever had. They poured the bananas foster over the dessert in front of you. Will absolutely be back!

We made reservations through the Open Table app for dinner here at Pauline's Cafe & Restaurant for our last night in Burlington,VT. Our reservations were for 5pm when they open.

The building is charming with pear trees lined up by the front entrance. I'd never seen a pear tree before so I thought that was pretty cool. Inside the decor was a tad bit dated but it added to its charm. It reminded my husband and I of the 70's and 80's which brought back childhood memories for us both. We reminisced over dinner.

The staff is very friendly and personable. The bartender was

Dave is SO talented! Amazing gem, this restaurant. HIGHLY recommend the escargot. Best I've ever had. Comes out piping hot with the perfect amount of garlic.

Ate lunch here on the 26th of January 2020. Waited an hour to receive our 3 orders of crab cake appetizers. Excellent food but service was terrible. We were then charged for Entrees on our bill for our orders.

I stopped in for lunch a recent Friday based on Yelp reviews and I'm glad I did. There were a fair number of customers, some of them regulars, and service was prompt and efficient for all. I sat at the small bar and selected a local draft beer. For lunch I had the crab cakes which were delicious, large, and filling and came in a nice sauce with veggies and cornbread muffins. It was a very nice experience from the atmosphere, to the service, to the food quality. Try it soon!

Almost every time I come back home to shelburne I visit Pauline's for a consistently good meal. This recent visit was no different except that the service was somewhat lacking. It took a very long time both to get our food and to eventually pay for it and they were out of bread. Eventually it did come but without the normal popovers. However, the server was sweet and apologetic.

Now for the good- the food: I got my favorite shelburne farms chicken dish with a deliciously rich and creamy cheddar based sauce, sautéed green beans and potatoes. Even when not on the menu, you can usually order

We came here to have brunch after my sister-in-law's college graduation and were were pretty happy with it all.

There were 10 of us and we got a private room in the upstairs part of the restaurant. When we got there there was no one else for a good part of our meal so it was very quiet and nice. It felt like we were just having a family meal.

Our waitress was kind but maybe a little frazzled? I got the feeling she had to go downstairs to do everything for us.

Everyone enjoyed their food and we also enjoyed our mimosas.

The restaurant is a little outdated but cute and cozy.

One bad