23 Best Restaurants in Southern Vermont, Vermont
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Southern Vermont - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Green Mountain Sugar House
Moonwink
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Willoughby's Depot Eatery
Home of the World Famous Mrs. Murphy's Donuts, this beloved shop turns out fresh doughnuts daily from its small, white-clapboard storefront. Old-fashioned doughnuts come hot from the fryer in the wee hours of the morning, so arrive early for the best selection of flavors like cinnamon, maple cream, and cakey cider doughnuts loaded with warming spices.
1a Coffee Roasters
Arlington Dairy Bar
The big red barn with a sprawling lawn and walk-up ice cream window is a quintessential summer snack shack. It's where paper boats holding cheeseburgers, loaded hot dogs, and lobster rolls make way for soft-serve sundaes, stacked ice-cream cones, and root beer floats.
Butter Mountain Bakery
Chewy homemade bagels, craggy loaves of sourdough, and brown butter maple cookies are just a handful of the offerings waiting at this tucked-away hidden gem, but remember to preorder as walk-ins aren't usually accommodated. Keep an eye out for seasonal specials like fresh fruit galettes and walnut-studded chocolate brownies—the menu is always changing.
Cai's Dim Sum Catering
The sourcing and gathering of local ingredients at the heart of chef-owner Cai Xi Silver's cooking is inspired by the food memories of her childhood in Chongqing, China. Her family's Sichuan and Shanghai influences come to life in a to-go menu that includes delicate steamed buns, perfect dumplings, and abundance boxes highlighting regional home cooking backed by Vermont ingredients. Cai's offers take-out and delivery only from her Brattleboro art gallery, with options for private in-home cooking and catering.
Dot's Restaurant
Under the classic red neon sign at the main corner in downtown Wilmington, Dot's remains a local landmark and a reminder of diners of yore. Residents and skiers pack the tables and counter for American comfort food classics, starting at 5:30 am with the Berry-Berry pancake breakfast, with four kinds of berries.
Goodman's American Pie
This place has the best wood-fired pizza in town. It also has character to spare: sit in chairs from old ski lifts and step up to the counter fashioned from a vintage VW bus to design your pie from 29 ingredients.
Harvest Brewing
This nanobrewery in the heart of downtown Bennington is a haven of craft beers with English-style porters and inventive brews like Melon Grab fruited IPA. All of these beers become the perfect palate cleansers for good pub fare like loaded nachos and deep fried chimichangas.
J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery
La Casita Taqueria y Mas
MKT: Grafton
Mocha Joe's Cafe
The team at this spot for coffee and conversation takes great pride in sourcing direct-trade beans from places like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. Ground zero for Brattleboro's bohemian contingent and fellow travelers, the café is open until 9 on Friday and Saturday, closing at 8 the rest of the week.
Mocha Joe's Cafe
The team at this spot for coffee and conversation takes great pride in sourcing direct-trade beans from places like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Guatemala, and pairs them with an assortment of cookies, cakes, and muffins. This is ground zero for Brattleboro's bohemian contingent and fellow travelers.
Mojo Cafe
The Crooked Ram
Originally a tiny bottle shop when it opened doors in 2017, the Crooked Ram has since transformed into a cozy beer-and-wine bar with an excellent restaurant and spacious summertime backyard serving wood-fired pizzas. It's now a destination for hyperlocal drafts, seasonal small plates, and brimming Vermont cheese boards, plus a thoughtful stock of unique ciders and natural wines to-go.
The Village Roost
Top of the Hill Grill
Don't let the diminutive size of this roadside smokehouse deceive you. The place produces big flavors locals line up for: hickory-smoked ribs, apple-smoked turkey, beef brisket, and pulled pork, to name a few.
Village Garage Distillery
An old highway equipment garage is now filled with a shiny copper still and barrels of aging spirits, visible through big windows from the attached tasting room; cocktails made with the distillery's gin, vodka, rye, and bourbon are twists on the classics, detailed in blueprint-like sketches on the menu. The food is surprisingly inventive for tasting room fare, including chicken and waffles, bowls of ramen, and a burger made from cattle fed the distillery's spent grain, served on a spent grain bun.
Wayside Country Store
The motto of Arlington's one-stop-shop says it all: "If we don't have it, you don't need it!" This charming country store is known for carrying anything from toilet paper to boxed cocoa mix and boasts a popular deli complete with build-your-own sandwiches, prepared foods, and house-made specials like freshly baked biscuits.