Finding a cozy cafe that strikes your fancy in Vermont is as reliable as their 120” Green Mountain snowfalls in winter, and the shade of their charming covered bridges in summer. Cafes, be they vintage, country, or urban are abundant across the state and we’ve found some of the best.
3 Squares Cafe
As its name implies, this casual eatery serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The family-friendly café features made-from-scratch cooking, and is known for its generous servings. Located in Vergennes’s historic downtown area, they’re open every day. Visitors can expect a casual ambiance in their vintage dining room, or seasonally, on their sidewalk patio.
Hearty fare ranges at 3 Squares Cafe from organic burgers to homemade hummus to challah french toast. There are also several vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. The cafe prides itself on the use of local produce, organic meats, locally-roasted coffee, homemade soups, freshly baked pastries, craft beer, and regional wines.
3 Squares Cafe, 141 Main Street, Vergennes, VT, Phone: 802-877-2772
Cafe Mediterano
Cafe Mediterano is a casual café with counter service located in Essex Junction, Vermont. The café, open Tuesdays through Saturdays, has a casual ambiance with sunny yellow walls, large windows, wood flooring, and bistro-style wood tables.
Fare here is primarily Greek, featuring hearty portions of seasoned beef and lamb on gyro wraps, pitas, and platters. Guests will appreciate the cevapi – small spiced rolls of meat grilled, Balkan burgers, and Sarajevo sausages. For the less adventurous, there are also standard burgers and fries. The homemade baklava is a must at the end of a great meal. Limited Bosnian groceries are also available, and the café TV is tuned to a Sarajevo station.
Cafe Mediterano, 17 Park Street, Essex Junction, VT, Phone: 802-878-9333
Espresso Bueno
Espresso Bueno does exactly what the name implies, serves up an array of drinks that start with double ristretto (concentrated) shots of espresso. The coffee house’s signature coffee and espresso comes from local roaster, Vermont Artisan Coffee Roasters. But, since they’re independent, they feature regional specialty coffee roasters. Other beverages range from mulled cider to chai tea latte to steaming hot chocolate.
Guests will also find tap beer, craft cocktails, and wine on the menu. Guests can expect a delicious menu of pastries along with breakfast and lunch items. The coffeehouse also presents the work of local artists and regional musicians.
Espresso Bueno, 248 North Main Street, Barre, VT, Phone: 802-479-0896
Garden of Eatin’ Cafe
Garden of Eatin’ Cafe offers guests a unique dining experience. Situated inside the 6000-square-foot greenhouse of Gardener’s Supply in Williston, Vermont, the café serves a healthy lunch menu all day. Diners can expect house made soups, fresh quiche, sumptuous salads, specialty sandwiches, and an array of baked goods.
Plus, wine and craft beer are also available. The café does a brisk take-out business for local professionals and visitors, but the eat-in experience is well worth sitting down and enjoying a meal among lush floral surroundings. Diners can also take advantage of the onsite children’s playground.
Garden of Eatin’ Cafe, 472 Marshall Avenue, Williston, VT, Phone: 802-872-7687
Mojo Cafe
Mojo Cafe is a contemporary tex-mex café in Ludlow, Vermont. Their menu is dominated by from scratch food that’s created from local ingredients and rooted in Mexican and Cajun flavors. Guests can expect everything from Po Boy sandwiches to burritos to tacos.
Tacos range from Thai to Nashville, and diners who love pho will find it here, as will those looking for a good taco salad. It’s a great spot for either lunch or dinner, with food served in an edgy, urban atmosphere. Guest can complement their meals with hand-picked craft draught brews. There is also a kid-friendly menu that will satisfy the palates of the little ones.
Mojo Cafe, 106 Main Street, Ludlow, VT, Phone: 802-228-6656
Moon Dog Cafe
Moon Dog Cafe is a coffee shop located in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Known for their flavorful soups, they have rotating soup and bread of the day specials. They also serve creative breakfast options like Today’s French Toast, which is always different, and Krissy’s Kristo thick cut French toast with traditional Vermont maple syrup. Sandwiches and wraps include their own fresh roasted meats and bakery bread or gluten-free wraps. Of course, there is plenty of coffee, including organic espressos, to pair with yummy pastries. All this deliciousness is served from their cozy, Bohemian street front café where large windows let in abundant light and original artwork hangs from the walls.
Moon Dog Cafe, 1316, 24 Rockingham Street, Bellows Falls, VT, Phone: 802-732-8453
Nest Coffee & Bakery
Nest Coffee & Bakery opened their doors in 2017 and have been serving the Essex Junction, Vermont, community ever since. This cozy coffee shop with high ceilings, pendant lighting, wood floors, and large windows overlooking Main Street has comfortable seating and counter service. Outside, the coffee shop offers outdoor seating and employs seasonal musicians that only add to the charming ambince. Their signature Good Luck Coffee Roasters are single-origin coffee beans roasted in-house The menu includes mouth-watering baked goods like lemon berry scones that are hot and fresh, a few kinds of savory quiche, cappuccinos, maple (and other) lattes, espressos, pourover coffees, and more. They’re a block from the Amtrak station – bonus!
Nest Coffee & Bakery, 17 Main Street, Essex Junction, VT, Phone: 802-857-5474
Pingala Cafe
Pingala means life force in Sanskrit, so guests to this café can expect nourishing, comforting foods prepared responsibly. The menu at Pingala Cafe is 100% plant based from juices and smoothies to salads and light bites. Those looking for comfort foods with a twist will find what they’re looking for here. Eating at Pingala is a way for diners to express their conscious environmentalism, since the café shuns animal protein that takes so much land, water and fossil fuels to produce. They’ve managed to make vegan food approachable, and yes, even fun. Their worldly menu is served in a space designed to make diners feel like they’re ordering from a food truck in the mountains with natural landscapes on large murals.
Pingala Cafe, One Mills Street, Burlington, VT, Phone: 802-540-0110
Simply Divine Cafe
Simply Divine Cafe serves residents and visitors of Williston, Vermont, breakfast and lunch, along with specialized catering services. Guests can enjoy food made from locally grown produce in one of three dining areas – the indoor dining room, the atrium, or on the outdoor patio. Diners can indulge in soups-of-the-day and other daily specials, or choose from hearty breakfasts and gourmet lunches. With a full menu of breakfast items, baked goods, salads, specialty sandwiches, and build-your-own sandwiches, diners will have some tough choices. Guests can pair their sumptuous selections with Green Mountain Coffees. Simply Divine Café also caters events.
Simply Divine Cafe, 426 Industrial Avenue, Spc 155, Williston, VT, Phone: 802-497-0336
Soulfully Good Cafe
Before even getting to the food, diners will be enthralled with the looks of this charming café in Woodstock, Vermont. It’s at the street level of a gorgeous three-story building that looks like a house with massive white paned windows the width of the café.
A gorgeous cobblestone front patio at Soulfully Good Cafe has ample seating for breakfast or lunch outdoors, and is pet-friendly. Inside, the café is bright white and homey. Shelves under a staircase house books and games for patrons and their children. The café uses local, organic ingredients in their menu items, and offers gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Favorites include Zoodles – spiralized zucchini with fresh pesto and herb roasted cherry tomatoes, The Waffler – a waffle, egg, gouda,maple sausage sandwich, and of course killer coffee.
Soulfully Good Cafe, 67 Central Street, Woodstock, VT, Phone: 802-457-7395
Speakeasy Cafe
Charming Speakeasy Cafe is located on equally charming Center Street in Rutland, Vermont. This laidback café goes the extra mile to create an oasis of calm in a hectic world. Situated on the street level of a historic building sporting massive storefront windows for watching the world pass by, customers can pull up a comfy seat to one of the artfully decorated tables. (Each table has a picture of an author “drawn” in the author’s name.) The original wood floors, subdued color palate, unique furnishings, and large windows all add to the interesting and cozy ambience. Guests will enjoy a full coffee and tea menu including lattes, cappuccinos, and espressos, plus a small menu of comfort foods, all to the tunes of Sinatra in the background.
Speakeasy Cafe , 67 Center Street, Rutland, VT, Phone: 802-747-3325
Starry Night Cafe
Starry Night Cafe is an upscale dinner restaurant in a rural setting providing guests with an elegant and wholesome dining experience. They use local, seasonal, and when possible organic, ingredients in their dishes, plus naturally raised fish and meat. The creative menu is served in a historic building in a beautiful countryside setting. Handcrafted details like an antique bar with hand-carved leaves, hand-made bar stools and tables, hand-blown glass table accessories and candelabras. Large windows overlook exquisite countryside scenery. Additional details include attentive staff, hand-picked flowers, fresh-shaken cocktails, and the works of Vermont artists.
Starry Night Cafe , 5371 Route 7, Ferrisburg, VT, Phone: 802-877-6316
Stowe Street Cafe
Stowe Street Cafe is like going to Grandma’s for coffee or lunch; there are just so many interesting things to look at while lingering over a cup of joe it’s pleasantly distracting. The eclectic décor isn’t the only heartwarming thing about this Waterbury café. They also host an array of hometown events like a holiday Gingerbread Family Workshop, regular Paint & Sip painting classes, and karaoke backed by live jazz. The café serves Vermont inspired breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch. Diners can expect baked goods made from scratch, and soups, sandwiches, and salads. There is a full espresso, coffee, and tea menu, plus smoothies, juices, and local ice cream.
Stowe Street Cafe, 29 Stowe Street, Suite #1, Waterbury, VT, Phone: 802-882-8229
The North Branch Cafe
Since opening in 2012, The North Branch Cafe has evolved from the vision of a tea house to the eclectic mix it is today. Tea house. Wine bar. Tech services and consulting. Visitors will find an array of teas – nearly 85 choices of loose tea leaf, and a wine bar with eight wines that change regularly, so it will always be a new experience. The connected North Branch Technical Services and Consulting business offers both tech support and classes. Three siblings; three distinctly different passions coming together for the benefit of their customers. The food menu includes meats and cheeses, and creative light fare like Olive Tapenade and Flatbread Wraps.
The North Branch Cafe, 41 State Street, Montpelier, VT, Phone: 802-552-105
The Sweet Spot
The Sweet Spot is a country-chic café with an alluring, minimalist décor and a signature pink door. Seasonally, guests can dine on the back patio surrounded by gardens. This charming café in Waitsfield, Vermont, sources products from nine local Vermont farms, plus their very own chickens, herbs, and berries. Their maple syrup comes from a neighbor, chocolate is from France, and vanilla beans are from Tahiti. The café uses these fresh products in creative bowls, signature sandwiches, coffees, teas, and other drinks. Many of the menu selections are vegan, vegetarian, and/or gluten-free. There is even a Scout Plate for young diners.
The Sweet Spot, 40 Bridge Street, Waitsfield, VT, Phone: 802-496-9199
Three Mountain Cafe
Three Mountain Cafe, located in the Mad River Shopping Center, has been serving loyal customers for 35 years. They were the first local café to serve coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. The rustic-chic café sports a vintage interior and a wide outdoor veranda for a casual and comfortable ambience. Glass cases are filled with tempting fresh-baked goods, fresh bagels line the wall, and the aromatic scents of fresh-brewed coffee fill the air. Lunches include paninis, wraps, salads, and an array of beverages both hot and cold. The café is packed with antiques, Americana treasures, and local artwork that are all for sale. From beaded bracelets to inspirational coffee mugs, there’s always something to see.
Three Mountain Cafe, Mad River Shopping Center, Waitsfield, VT, Phone: 802-496-5470
Williston Coffee Shop
Williston Coffee Shop is located in the heart of Williston, Vermont. Coffees are sourced from local micro-roasters like Uncommon Grounds and Vivid Coffee. Guests can expect delightful breakfast selections like their Loaded Breakfast Wrap with fresh eggs, ham, sautéed peppers, bacon, cheddar, chili mayo, and roasted onions. Lunch specialties include tantalizing favorites like Beet Salad with beets, oranges, goat cheese, and candied walnuts served on fresh spinach. There is an array of breakfast sandwiches on their home-made Kaiser rolls. Salads come with buttermilk ranch, maple balsamic, and red wine vinaigrette house-made dressings, and signature sandwiches range from turkey apple to a Portobello melt.
Williston Coffee Shop, 400 Cornerstone Drive, Williston, VT, Phone: 802-857-5173
