Weekend in Burlington: A 48-Hour Itinerary
Burlington, Vermont — updated August 21, 2026
Eight Burlington places to build a two-day weekend around, from a North Winooski Avenue pho counter with more than 1,400 reviews to a St. Paul Street cocktail lounge that stays open past midnight.
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Burlington packs a weekend's worth of eating into roughly a mile: Church Street downtown, the Old North End up North Winooski Avenue, and the South End along Pine Street. Kitchens here tend to open early by city standards, with several dining rooms starting service at 4 or 5pm and closing by 9 or 10, so a late arrival can cost you dinner. The itinerary below is built around that rhythm, with the most thoroughly reviewed places first.
1. Pho Hong
The most tested address on this list: more than 1,400 reviews at 4.8, which is about as settled as a rating gets in a city this size. Pho Hong sits at 325 N Winooski Ave in the Old North End and serves Vietnamese food alongside a short drinks menu that includes ca phe sua da, iced espresso with condensed milk, and Thai iced tea. Plan carefully around the hours: closed Sunday and Monday, open 3pm to 9pm Tuesday through Thursday, and split on Friday and Saturday into 11am to 3pm and 5pm to 9pm, with the kitchen shut in between. The 5 and 6pm hours are the busiest, with waits up to about 15 minutes.
2. Hen of the Wood - Burlington
A 4.7 across more than 1,300 reviews, which makes this the safest reservation of the weekend. The Burlington location is at 55 Cherry St, with dining 5pm to 10pm and the bar running 4pm to 11pm, every day. Menus change daily, so there is no fixed dish to chase; the restaurant posts a sample dinner menu for reference rather than a standing one. The bar's earlier start is the useful detail here, giving you an hour before dinner service opens. There is a second Hen of the Wood in Waterbury on different hours, so confirm which one you are booking.
3. Honey Road
924 reviews at 4.7 puts this Church Street restaurant in proven territory rather than promising. Honey Road runs a single service window, 4pm to 9pm, seven days a week, with reservations and the full menu both available from 4pm. Walk-ins are welcome, including at the bar. The compressed hours are the thing to plan around: a 9pm close means a 7pm table is close to the last comfortable seating, and the restaurant's own line about 4pm being the new 8pm suggests early is not a compromise here. Address is 156 Church St, in the thick of the downtown marketplace.
4. Onyx Tonics Specialty Coffee
The morning anchor for both days, and at 4.8 from 461 reviews it has enough of a record to trust. Onyx Tonics is a specialty coffee bar at 126 College St with six or more single origin coffees brewing at any time, plus tea and baked goods. Hours are 8am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and 9am to 4pm Sunday, so the Sunday start is an hour later than you might assume. The single origin rotation is the reason to go: it is a tasting-oriented bar rather than a grab-and-go window, and it works as a place to sit before walking downtown.
5. Queen City Brewery
The South End stop, at 703 Pine St, with a 4.7 from 266 reviews. The taproom pours from more than 16 taps and focuses on classic beer styles rather than the hazy IPAs that dominate much of Vermont, which is the specific reason to make the trip down Pine Street. Hours suit an afternoon rather than a late night: noon to 9pm Friday and Saturday, 1pm to 8pm Sunday through Thursday. That makes it a natural Saturday-afternoon block before a 5pm dinner reservation downtown, and a workable Sunday option when several kitchens are closed.
6. May Day
The highest rating in this guide, 4.9, though from 229 reviews, so treat it as strongly promising rather than fully settled. May Day is in the Old North End at 258 N Winooski Ave, serving seasonal food with a list of natural wines and cocktails. It is open seven nights a week, keeps part of the dining room for walk-ins and takes reservations through Resy for the rest. Monday and Tuesday service runs 5pm to 9pm. One quirk worth planning around: the $10 patty melt is a Sunday night item only.
7. Frankie's
A 4.8 from 210 reviews, a smaller sample than the downtown mainstays but consistent so far. Frankie's is at 169 Cherry St and opens at 5pm seven days a week, with the last seating always at 10pm. The menu changes daily and is posted to the restaurant's Instagram stories rather than fixed online, so check the day of. Walk-in seats are available, which makes this a reasonable fallback when Hen of the Wood and Honey Road are booked out on a Saturday. The two Cherry Street restaurants are a short walk apart.
8. Devil Takes A Holiday
The nightcap, and the one with the thinnest record here: 4.8 from 153 reviews, enough to be encouraging but not yet proven. It is an upscale cocktail lounge at 111 St Paul St with handcrafted drinks and a food menu. The hours are the reason it closes out the itinerary: 5pm to midnight Monday through Thursday, 4pm to 1am Friday and Saturday, which is later than almost anything else on this list. Sunday is different, 2pm to 10pm, so it doubles as an early Sunday drink before you leave town.