Leunig's Bistro

The was the last restaurant I went to in Vermont. I came in here for lunch on a Monday afternoon. There was a 15 minute wait for an outdoor table, but the host was nice and offers to text customers if they're waiting.

I was seated pretty quickly. The outdoor seating is nice with fire pits. The waiter came to my table and offered me a food and drink menu. They have an extensive list of wines, beers, and cocktails. I had the hard cider.

Food options are good. I opted for the fried calamari which was cooked to perfection. It also came with a delicious aioli sauce.

It's expensive. But I think it's typical for this type of restaurant.

I would return.

My mental health was so bad that I decided to take time away from Boston, and take my 4 remaining neurones to Vermont (amongst other places). The purpose of these solo trips is to...hang out with yourself, take yourself out. I highly recommend everyone do this.

One such "date night" was at Leunig's in Burlington, and what a spectacular decision that was: 3 out of 4 remaining neurones agree.

Leunig's décor has a self-possessed art deco vibe. Here, reds, browns and yellows meld rather invitingly. She's pretty, she's knows it, and she's not snooty about it.

I had the salmon: it slipped against the fork as easily as my self-respect before my gym crush, and it was ever so flavourful besides.

The best part was the cocktail. I, as tradition dictates, ordered an Aviation. I found it ambrosial. However, my neighbours (I was sitting up at the bar) found my purple drink curious, and we began a lively conversation about cocktails, about Burlington, our lives...the bartender (handsome daddy-type alchemist) joined in, too. He also made my new friends "mini" Aviations to slake their curiosity.

There's something wonderful about strangers coming together like this. Those two ladies aren't just wine moms, they're *my* wine moms, and they feature in my prayers. So thank you, Leunig's, for providing the food, the drink and the mise-en-scène for a world-weary Bostonian to discover the conviviality seemingly inherent to Vermonters.

Food: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Ambience: 10/10

It's not often I give 5/5 stars, this place is exceptional!

Food, was immaculate. Two of us got the burger, one of us got the salmon, and the other got a pot roast. Everything was soooo delicious. Our muscles we got for an appetizer were amazing as well! We even ended the meal with a spectacular dessert and dessert cocktails, absolutely amazing!

Service, everyone was sooo friendly and happy to give a run down of the menus. Decently quick service as well, not too quick though. No complaints here at all, the host/manager was super helpful and friendly as well.

Ambience, a cute little, European authentic whole in the wall. A bit tight, not a problem though.

Cost*** This place is on the pricier side, especially if you're getting drinks, appetizers, meals, and desserts.

I highly recommend hitting this place during your stay in Burlington!

Likes and don't likes about our dinner here...
Likes - the food. The duck confi poutine was AMAZING, crispy pork ribeye with the cabbage was a perfect pairing, and the roasted chicken breast was slightly dry but excellent flavor and very tender... paired with the gnocchi was a great dish. For the price, it's a great meal

Don't like - the seating and the service. Seating, so the tables were maybe 16"-18" apart. Everyone has to turn sideways to squeeze thru the tables. Very tight and very claustrophobia inducing. Like coach seating on an airline. You get to quite clearly hear EVERYTHING the tables around you are talking about and that's no fun for this guy. Just not acceptable for me.
The service, so our order was entirely correct, our server was very nice and we did get a refill of water however the service was slow... very slow. I believe she was being over worked.

We will never go back and it's a shame because the food was good.... Unless we rented out our own space for an event or something.. not sure if that's offered tho.

Tuesday night dinner option Was Leunig's. Don't know how to pronounce it but the food was good. It looks like an upscale French themed restaurant. Most of the menu option didn't appear to be French at all though. We were told to make reservations in advance and thank Goodness we did because it was crowded. Like just about every other place in Burlington it's rather tight. The foyer had barely enough space for two people to fit through at the same time.

Noise level was moderate so you would be able to have a nice conversation without yelling. I ordered and old fashioned that was a little on the sweet side but not bad. For an appetizer my friends and I shared an order of the truffle fries. They were the best part of the meal. Seasoned to perfection, light and crisp on the outside, and not too oily.

For my main I had the filet. It came with asparagus and a seafood medley. I could have done without the hollandaise sauce because the steak was delicious without it. Very good service from our waitress earned them the 5 stars. Never had to ask for refills on water and she checked on us often.

Quite liked the spot in the city center of Burlington. Definitely is one of the more historic (and probably touristy) restaurants around, but the food was exactly what I was looking for. The poutine is LARGE and delicious. I would recommend at least two people splitting. French onion soup was pretty tasty and comforting. It's a pretty big place so I would imagine it's not too difficult to walk into most days. Solid selections of local Vermont beers as well.

I had the pleasure of visiting Leunig's while in town for the weekend. After checking out the menu online, I made reservations for Saturday night and was sat immediately upon arriving.
The waitress was so incredibly welcoming. Since it was a freezing cold night in Vermont, I opted for the hot apple cider, which totally hit the spot!
For my entree, I ordered the Cranberry & Bourbon Chicken. It was stuffed chicken with cranberry and cheddar cheese served with garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing (!!) and gravy. I'm a sucker for all things cranberry, so I had to order it, and it was heavenly. The stuffing was my favorite.
My boyfriend ordered the Beef Bourguignon, which is beef tips cooked in red wine topped with bacon, carrots and onions, and mashed potatoes. It was reminiscent of beef stew but turned up a notch. It had great flavor!
Unfortunately, we were too stuffed from dinner to enjoy dessert, but they had an impressive dessert menu. I definitely plan on trying the peanut butter pie next time!

We started with L'Orangerie Bordeaux Blanc. A perfect pairing with Raw Oysters. Our friendly server, Daniel, put it together for us. The Filet Mignon entree was perfection. We finished with the Key Lime Coconut Tart. Sorry, no picture. Couldn't wait. Delicious! Looking forward to our next visit!

We showed up on a Wednesday night with no reservation. Credit to the staff they got seated us in 5 minutes and even got us a cool seat that looked out into the activities outside.

Real good food. Recommend sharing the appetizers so you can get a sense of all the good options. We had the cornbread stuffing, mac n cheese really spaetzle and cheese. The cornbread stuffing was excellent and moist. The mac n cheese was cheesy and perfectly cooked.

I had a filet for the entree. It was very good. I asked for it to be medium rare and it was cooked exactly medium rare and so tender.

We finished with crème brûlée and is was so good of course cooked with maple syrup.

The only detractor was the service during the meal was the speed of service. It took a while for everything -- drinks to appetizers to meals to come out. Other than that real good.

We had a lot of fun!

Steak frites shows why the French invented it. Quite possibly the best piece of steak I ever had. Medium rare as I asked , sexy quality meat, perfectly portion, just a huge treat. The scotch was magnificent, the french red wine was a palet pleaser. My husband ordered steak tips but they were not steak tips at all. They were rough overcooked pieces of stew meat. Came beautifully presented but was wondering if management can reach out and tell us why it was incorrect on the menu?

We also got escargot which was strange. This wasnt escargot it was muscle meat w garlic parm from a bottle. Confused why youd say this was escargot and if it was? You have a bad one.Also - we were in a tight uncomfy spot in the middle even though a gorgeous corner booth became available. The waitress was very annoying and we saw several tables get bread and we did not. Word of the wise when you notice a couple is big spenders , ordering 300 plus , serve them bread dont slap them in the face w a wet nap by deciding even though 3 tables near them get bread they do not, especially when they order entrees. It comes off cheap and classless. This attention to detail (or basics) is the difference btwn a restaurant that can charge these prices and a restaurant that is out of its own league.

But I digress , the options were lovely and we would definitely come back. We had a blast!!!!!

I was on a business trip here in Burlington. We actually had a different location picked out, but the wait was 90 minutes. We decided on this location, and the wait was only 30 minutes. It was a beautiful night to do outdoor dining. The service was exceptional.
I started with a Bloody Mary. It was solid. For my meal, I got the Watermelon Glazed Scallops. OMG... It was AMAZING! Perfectly cooked. Perfect marriage of flavors.
Overall, it was a great decision to stop here. Service and food were just perfect.