Sneakers Bistro

Delicious food, amazing drinks, and awesome service. The perfect place for brunch and people/​dog-​watching on weekends

Lots of waitresses with sad faces walking around.
The crowd appeared older and larger than most of Winooki’s other eateries.
The food was pedestrian. I thought I overpaid $ 7 on my breakfast plate.
There was a baby behind me that kept crying throughout my meal. She shed the tears of regret that my wallet could not.

My niece and I called Sneakers to ask if their falafel was vegan and were told yes, it was. We have been twice in the last few months and eaten the falafel. We went back today and when I mentioned what I wanted and that I didn’t want the cheese on it because I was vegan, the waitress said, «the falafel isn’t vegan.» The owner then came out with an ingredients list and confirmed that there is egg in it. Wow! I told her I was misled and was pretty disappointed that I’d been told incorrect information. On the positive side, she was very apologetic and went through the menu with me to find something else. I ended up with a tofu, rice and bean wrap which was only ok. I doubt I’ll be going back.

Sneakers is quite the brunch gem in downtown Winooski. We were in the area to celebrate the Four Quarters 2^nd anniversary, and found out that Sneakers had a one-​off French Toast cask porter on draft, so we had to stop by. The beer itself was excellent, and the food was equally delicious. We got the french toast and corned beef hash. Both portions were massive, and really hit the spot.

Really mediocre food. Had the classic sneakers bistro eggs benedict, which was some piece of bread (not an english muffin), canned artichokes, a slab of ham (technically canadian bacon, but very boring) and a poached egg. Really boring flavors. Girlfriend got the «challah» kahlua french toast (it was two slices of white bread), with no kahlua flavoring. Service was nice though.

I’ve never had their lunch, but LOOOOVE Sneakers’ breakfast foods! It’s my go-​to place whenever I have out of town guests coming to visit. Very warm and welcoming environment, and I love that they use the no wait app to cut down on wait time.
I always get their california benedict, which is super yummy, on a fresh house made croissant. My only complaint is that the croissant sometimes gets soggy with all the benedict sauce and egg yolk. Some folks may like it, but i usually avoid that part.
Big servings too!
head next door to Monkey house for a drink while you wait! I vaguely remember being able to bring your unfinished drink from Monkey house to Sneakers, but they don’t do that anymore, which would be nice.

My wife and I have been here many, many times… it’s always delicious! This review is more for the service. On this particular trip, we brought our 2 month old daughter with us for her first restaurant experience. With scared looks, we asked to be seated as far away from other humans as possible… for fear of a blowout! Thankfully she did very well, and the whole staff was very helpful… thanks so much for a memorable first chow-​down!

I started a new job recently and went here with coworkers for lunch. I was pleased to see they serve breakfast items into the lunchtime as who doesn’t like to feel a little like being bad now and again and enjoying breakfast past an «acceptable» time?! This particular occasion, I stuck to the lunch options and got a turkey reuben which was perfectly prepared and on a nice marble rye. My co-​workers had equally delicious meals — my boss’s cobb salad looked pretty epic. I plan on getting that the next time I go. The service was friendly and prompt and the bonus? They separate every seat’s order on the check automatically (with tax!) which makes it QUITE easy to split the check. As someone who HATES the bill rigamorale at the end of the meal, this was fantastic.
We all know Sneakers is great for breakfast — I highly recommend checking out their lunch options as well!

Went a few weeks ago on a Sunday for brunch. Service and food were excellent!

I live close to Sneakers that I come pretty often. Our love affair started out so well and then it fell apart…
I used to love the eggs benedict but then they started ‘missing ingredients?’. One time I ordered a California Benedict and they forgot the veggie sausage! (How do you forget the most important part of the meal?). Plus they load it up with so many ingredients that you feel sick afterward.
After taking a break from Sneakers I went back recently to try again. I ordered the Breakfast sandwich and was so disappointed. It was a bland piece of turkey sausage and tasteless cheese on a burnt english muffin. I have always disliked their homefries as well.
I think they do a lot better with sweet (Kahlua french toast) than with the savory.

Friendly staff and alcoholic breakfast drinks makes any establishment a little more tolerable, but Sneakers is so much more. From my experiences here, I would say they’ve chosen quality ingredients and good attitudes to serve some upscale food.
The Pros: Friendly staff is an understatement; I’ve only visited this establishment a few times where I got less than overly friendly servers. Although they do follow the industry standard of stopping by right after the food is delivered and consumption has begun to ask «how is everything» they do it as if it were a sincere concern for my food’s quality and not just a task; which you sometimes find at other places.
The Cons: Sometimes there’s the wait — They’ve chosen to establish their business in a somewhat small «city», 1.5 square miles, making it difficult to have much seating, so sometimes you’ll find yourself waiting for a table. The prices are a bit steep, but as I said previously, their quality makes up for some of that. I’ve gone multiple times and they’ve never messed up my order (well that’s a negative positive so I put it here).
The Recommendations: If you’re trying to keep it inexpensive then I would suggest ordering a single pancake or one of the small egg, sausage, toast breakfasts. If you’re ok spending a little more their eggs Benedict is delicious.
The Avoids: I don’t really have any suggestions on what to avoid. I’m a crispy home fries guy, I tend to veer away from the more traditional soft home fries, but if you like those order the fries when you go.

My husband and I went here for the third time last week and were extremely impressed all three times. The wait was long but we were fortunately able to have a drink next door at the Monkey House (no celery in my bloody mary but this is hardly a reflection of Sneakers).
The first two times each of us had a «Jumpstart» special. We were both very pleasantly surprised with the creative specials offerings. The third time I opted for classic brunch fare — with a twist!!! Kahlua french toast. Yum. Will be back again for the great service and delicious food.

Sneakers is the OG brunch place in the Burlington area. It used to be where Our House is now located (which is hard to imagine now). It’s always been amazing.
Everything I’ve had has been scrumptious, but the California Benedict is simply without par. Lots of tasty veggies, avocado, perfectly poached eggs and topped with the most delectable hollandaise. I like to get regular maple sausage instead of the veggie sausage.
They always have inventive specials and cocktails, and the service is friendly, fast and unobtrusive. The wait can be long BUT they now use the NoWait app so you can see what the timeframe is right from your phone. You’ll leave here with a full belly, so be sure to wear elastic waisted pants.

This place is worth the wait for breakfast. Instead of standing outside or in the hallway they send you next door to Monkey House while you wait for a table. Good place to have a coffee or Bloody Mary. Helps pass the time. They text you when your table is ready. I had the California eggs Benedict. It was the best eggs Benedict I’ve ever eaten. I will be back again. Gonna go through the menu.

I hadn’t been to this restaurant in a few years and once I caught wind that they were voted in Seven Daisies to have the best Eggs Benedict, I HAD to try them! All I can say is, the breakfast was amazing! I will mention, though, that they don’t really seem to have any waitstaff– I don’t know if this is because we went on a Wednesday, or what, but we didn’t really know who to ask for what we needed. I still recommend them, though!

The good: tasty food, rather large portions
The bad: the wait can be extremely long, the tables are close together, and if you have less than 3 in your party and wish to sit outside then chances are you’ll be sharing your table with strangers (awkward). Also the grapefruit mimosa is extremely pulpy and has an unfortunately high juice-​to-​bubbly ratio.
The great: the California benedict is fantastic, the home fries are nice and crispy, and if the wait is long you can have coffee at the bar next door and carry your mug into the restaurant with you

Had a great breakfast here. They even make their own English muffins! Coffee was good and strong. Veggie breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs was enough for two people. Hoping we come through again soon.

I used to be big fan of this place, but they have recently raised prices on many of their staples like crab-​cake benedict and I feel you can find better overall experiences elsewhere. The wait staff recently has also not been very good. I live nearby and frequent this establishment on a monthly basis because of convenience. I hope they can improve and get back to where they were previously!

You can’t go wrong with breakfast here. Had an omelette with onions, mushrooms, maple sausage and cheddar, with a side of fruit — it was delicious! They also had great thick-​sliced bacon, cooked nice and crispy, coffee and home fries.
Pro tip: try to snag a window seat on a nice day when they’re open

The price is right for a SCRUMPTIOUS breakfast. Super friendly wait staff.
I got the much lauded kahlua challah French toast with reaaaaaal Vermont maple syrup. I asked for mine with cheddar grits instead of home fries and poached instead of scrambled eggs. Well worth the $ 10+ price tag. Super filling and so much leftovers. Ooph. For the future im def going to go with the single kahlua French toast side $ 2.50 though.
Interesting law that says they can’t serve alc before 8 so no mimosa for me.

French toast was bomb. Fresh fruit was bomb. Bacon was bomb.
My friend got the fluffiest pancakes with blueberries and bananas. The bananas were in every bite and the color was incredible. This was the perfect last stop on our burlington trip.

I have such mixed feelings for Sneakers. The food is extremely consistent but I can’t say it’s worth the hour-​long wait to be seated despite the expansion. I really want to love this place but I’d much rather head to Libby’s or get a bagel sandwich elsewhere for half the price and no wait. Sorry, sneakers… you’re that really hot guy that all the girls love but lacks any personality… no, scratch that – you’re fun when alcohol is involved.
One piece of good news – they actually have a computer system where they text you (like most city restaurants now) when your table is ready. You can also get drinks at the Monkey House next door and, if you wait long enough, sometimes a waiter will bring you samples of treats, most likely to avoid hangry riots at their door. Yes, all of the above are good additions, but it’s confusing to me that they have to go to such extreme lengths for mediocre food.
Overall: good if you love waiting… and waiting… and waiting.

TLDR: if you enjoy the smoked turkey benedict get it now while its on the menu. Still awesome just like it was years ago.
My now fiancé and I went in on a Friday morning around 9:30 and seated quickly. Waitress welcomed us nicely with water. She brought out coffee that was good and the Sneakers Sidecar adult drink was tasty but a bit expensive for the size. They had the smoked turkey benedict which wont stay on the menu forever as the waitress advised us. It was very good just what my fiancé remembered getting from Sneakers years ago. The egg was well done as the waitress noticed but my fiancé didn’t mind and said it still tasted good. My corn beef hash and egg was good as well. Really enjoy the homefries here. Some more corn beef hash would have been nice. The meal was hot unlike the last visit. Overall even with the eggs being cooked a little too long everything tasted great and the waitress was very nice.

This is one of my go-​to brunch places. It can be up to a 1 hour wait on weekends so I would suggest coming here early on weekends or on a weekday if you can squeeze it in. I love the weekend atmosphere, but the wait time really prevents me from going there at that time.
On to the food. I’ve had the California Eggs Benedict and the Sneakers Classic Eggs Benedict. The California benie is my favorite out of the two and I don’t think I’ll find another thing on the menu that can top that one. It’s beautiful and super tasty. Sneakers definitely makes one of the best hollandaise sauces I’ve tasted in all the brunch places around. It has some citrusy tang, but not an uncomfortable amount.
Currently, they have some cool drinks. There’s a brandy egg nog, St. Germain + champagne, and earl grey latte. The wait staff are amazing. The service is unparalleled. The atmosphere is very nice. I wish they had an advanced waitlist so that you can reserve or put your name down before you get there so you won’t be stuck waiting next door for an hour on weekends. Currently, you can only put your name on the list once you’re physically there. However, I like the service and food enough to keep coming back.

I am in heaven. As we were driving south from Canada on a wintery day, my wife and I decided to stop for a warm lunch. Coming into Sneakers was like coming into a warm, cozy nook. The friendliness and aromas were wonderful.
Amy greeted us and was a delightful, helpful server. I was already smiling when we ordered.
I had the vegetarian hash and poached eggs. I actually never knew that kale could taste this good. The hash had kale, beets, carrots and more. I loved every bite. I asked for gluten free bread, which Amy said was from a nearby bakery. She then offered to get some homemade strawberry jam. Yum.
My wife said the vegetarian burger was enough to forget about eating meat. Her purple cole slaw was amazing.
I was even impressed enough with the delicious Earl Grey blend to stop by the nearby shop that sells the custom tea blend to get more for home.
As you can tell, I like this place a lot. I recommend it without any hesitation. And say hi to Amy for me.

I’ve been coming here for breakfast for several years now and have always had a pleasant experience — Sneakers is a great staple in the brunch scene in Burlington/​Winooski. My favorite here is the California eggs Bennie (veggie sausage, avocados, tomato, wilted spinach, portobello, and eggs Benedict on a croissant with an insanely delicious (and slightly addictive) hollandaise sauce. Expect to wait at least 20+ minutes for a table. There is outdoor seating in the nicer seasons and the Monkey Bar (in conjunction with Sneakers) is right next door and serves coffee & drinks for those who are waiting for a table. Drink favorites here are the Bloody Mary and the Cyprus.