Waterworks Food + Drink

The building is beautiful and the view is spectacular. The food was great and the staff was very nice and inviting.

My steak was cooked perfectly. My wife’s salmon was delicious. Very noisy due to chatter and hard surfaces. 2% automatic charge to compensate the kitchen staff… what’s up with that?
Beautiful view of the falls on the Winooski river.

Came here for a birthday dinner and was very impressed with their location, service and food selection. The price is a bit higher but very worth it for the experience. Try and sit by the room that faces the water

We had a great experience at waterworks!
Pizza, burger, salmon salad, half chicken, poutine, tar tar.
I thought it all came out of the kitchen perfect!
The beer dejection could be larger but the victim list was interesting and yummy.
Thanks!

Amazing view and amazing food! The chicken & waffles and the burger are my favorite here!

Review Update — The food and service are consistently B/​B+ however at a recent visit to Waterworks I received a small typed card with my bill that informed me 2% was added to my bill as a tip to the kitchen staff to «show them love». Um… what now. Seems to me that when cost is added to a bill that’s a fee or a tax, not a gratuity. The little card then goes on to invite customers to add gratuity as we deem appropriate. How interesting! So basically this whole mishegoss is code for «Since we can’t give 2% of your server’s tip to the kitchen staff (even though we’d like to) because of a federal law, we went ahead and billed you an extra 2% for them… so, hint hint… if you’d normally tip your server 20% just go ahead and make that 18%?» I can’t help but wonder why Waterworks is foisting this responsibility on its customers instead of paying their staff an hourly rate that would «improve industry standards» directly.

I went to waterworks and I got the Chicken and Waffles. That is quite possibly the greatest decision I have ever made for a meal. The people I was with also made great decisions with their food, and they were both pleased. The food was good and the service was exceptional. I recommend this place to anyone with a mouth and tastebuds.

Excellent dinner and specialty cocktail. I had the quinoa with roast mushrooms and veggies and «Bee’s knees cocktail».

I just experienced my second visit to Waterworks within the past 4 months. In short, in both visits, the food and service were perfectly fine. The atmosphere is friendly, the view of the Winooski falls is spectacular and the interior design of the restaurant is indeed impressive. That all said, I will likely NOT return to Waterworks in the future. Why? Because of the philosophical dishonesty associated with the restaurant owner’s imposition of a mandatory 2% «tip» — essentially a TAX — the restaurant collects on behalf of its kitchen workers.
Look, having been a kitchen worker myself in the 80’s at another restaurant in the Woolen Mill (the Prime Factor), I recognize that kitchen workers do not get rich from their efforts. If ASKED to leave a tip — via a line item on the bill that gives me the option to leave a tip for the kitchen workers — I would typically GLADLY leave a few percent. But, since the restaurant makes ZERO mention of such a policy on its website and NO MENTION when I made a telephone reservation, I believe the policy basically presents the customer with an additional unexpected MANDATORY TAX.
I am willing to buy into the argument that margins are slim and that the owners may have no room to either raise prices by 2% or pay the kitchen workers an additional 2% — despite thinking that if the owners are not competent enough to pay the kitchen staff a fair wage while offering competitive prices on the menu then perhaps they should seek a different line of work.
I consider myself to be a politically, socially and economically progressive individual. But this policy — however altruistic and well-​meaning — is either philosophically dishonest or is communicated in an ill-​conceived fashion. Customers should be given the OPTION to leave a tip for the kitchen workers on the bill itself. If this is a legal «impossibility» (e.g. can’t present a separate line item on the bill) then the problem is one of «communication». Not stating this policy on the website or when making a reservation is quite unprofessional and suggests that the owners haven’t really thought things through carefully. When the owners get this thing «right» so that customers are encouraged to tip the kitchen staff and tip an amount that is at the customer’s discretion — it will become a «win-​win» for all parties involved and I will happily return.

Fantastic food and environment!!! House made hot sauce was an extra blessing to an already delicious brunch!

We celebrated a friend’s birthday here on a recent weeknight and had a great time. Tasty cocktails and a great beer selection. All of the food was excellent: crispy fiddlehead and mushroom flatbread to start, poutine, steak tartare, lobster pasta, a ribeye with miso glaze and mashed potatoes, and mushroom quinoa. I asked for our ribeye medium and it came out medium-​rare — happy for me, not so happy for my partner.
Our sever got a bit grumpy when taking our drink orders because three of our friends had international drivers licenses (two Estonian, one Canadian) but no passports — I guess you *officially* need a passport to get liquor in VT if you’re not a Vermonter.
Pricey but very very yummy.

I’ve only been here for brunch. A few times. Oh. Em. Gee. Anyone I see must think I have brunch there every Sunday. I rave about it the food for that long. Everyone carnivore and vegetarian alike must try this place. My first order was salmon eggs benedict. I was a bit too salty for my tastes, but my dining mates were happy to enjoy a good portion, which was ok, because I got to try my second choice (daaaaaaang, that was a bad idea!), CHICKEN AND WAFFLES FOLKS, CHICKEN AND WAFFLES. I was in heaven. HEAVEN. A beautiful combination of sweet and spicy. The chefs hit the nail on the head with this absolutely perfect dish. Seriously. I love that the chicken was not fried and was a wonderful, moist piece of thigh meat. The waffle was ginormous. Of course it was served with a hefty side of maple syrup!
For the vegetarians out there: I also ordered home fries. Well, because, home fries. Whoa! Be prepared to leave Violet Beauragard style or carrying a take out box. I’m pretty sure they roast an entire pound of red potatoes just for this side dish. Whoa. Lastly AVOCADO TOAST. Oh. My. I’m not a tomato fan, but the stewed tomatoes on this dish left me trying to perfect this culinary masterpiece for weeks!
I made the mistake of returning here and ordering the chicken and waffles and avocado toast (to share) again. Too much food! This could easily feed 2 people and you both will leave completely satisfied.
In closing, I must add that the bartender is very talented and the drinks are top notch. I have thoroughly enjoyed the mimosas and bloody mary.
I can not forget that the hostess was professsional, polite and very accomadating as were the staff!
You can’t beat the views either!

I want to stress I really really liked the place. Great location, amazing food concepts and Friendly staff.
My issues may have been specific to the day but I felt they needed to be expressed.
We were two people in a section with a very large party. I did not mind this but it caused issues. The waitstaff seemed overrun and we were left alone for long periods without any check ins. Food concepts were really neat but I ordered a Butternut Squash soup with espresso and chipotle. The soup came 20 mins later and the taste was fascinating. Problem was it was cold. So they took it back. 15 mins later it came back and I swear they microwaved it. The flavor was all gone but it was hot!
The entrees finally came and were good but we had to find people to fill water and tea several times. So an hour dinner took 2 hours.
So sorry folks. I liked it but needs some work.

Good food with a few flaws. Ingredients were fresh and and steak and salmon were perfectly cooked. We had a beautiful buratta but it was served very cold, which diminished the taste and made it seem more like a dessert. Kale salad was delicious, but it also tasted like it had been sitting in a cooler. The croutons were cold and slightly congealed. Service at the bar was friendly and congenial. Nice experience overall. We will be back.

Fantastic interior and environment. Love the area and this type of restaurant fits well!
Food was incredible, however the appetizers were rather expensive for how little you are plated. We had the cheese plate, which was standard.
As for the entrée, I had the burger with frites. I recommend trying all the components of the burger separately, it really highlighted the quality of the burger and the rest of the ingredients. I also tried the flatbread, would deff recommend as well.
Lastly, try their old fashioned. Worth every sip!

Gorgeous views and a beautiful space with lots of history. You could spend hours in here. The bar is fantastically huge! Nice selection of craft cocktails, and a sort of lounge area to enjoy them in as well as appetizers if you have a long wait.
I enjoyed the Pan Roasted Atlantic Salmon, and my dining companion the Swordfish.
The service was attentive and thorough and although we enjoyed our meal we are not sure yet if we will return for dinner. It’s just not quite special or sophisticated enough for the price. However we would like to try brunch!

How does this place only get 3.5 stars? I’ve only been the one time I was up in Burlington last weekend. The ambiance is awesome. The views of the river was great. I can only imagine how beautiful it looks during the fall or winter with snow. The inside of the building was also amazing.
As for the food. We went for brunch. My wife got some sandwich that had a lot of veggies in it. Not sure exactly what it was but she said it was amazing. I got the burger. It was a double patty burger and tasted excellent. The fries were good and plenty. And I also ended up ordering a homemade donut. It was a chocolate donut and very good. I wanted the cinnamon role but unfortunately I was too full from the burger.
Also, they have a lot of local beers on tap. Can’t go wrong with that.

Almost perfect. Kale tomatoes mushrooms
Great spices, perfectly Cooked BUT too much oil.
Chef is Good to very good but for some reason thought or by accident ruined a 98 meal and hit low 70’s. A little more Sofiticaticon needed. This very new restaurant needs a sound engineer to advise on sound abatement.

To begin with the positive, the ambiance is excellent. We sat at a table near a window overlooking the river. The lighting is good, noise level low. The wait staff was friendly and responsive.
Unfortunately, the food was not as good as the setting. I had the steak frites, and all components of my dish (even the greens!) were extremely salty. I’m a salt fanatic, too, so it must have been an excessive amount. Another person at my table had the same dish, and complained of the same problem. For the price, I expected much better quality.
I was excited for Waterworks to return, but unfortunately the food will not bring me back.

I’m so happy that Waterworks is back again in its former space! The space is beautiful and the atmosphere is amongst the best in Burlington. The food, drinks, and service are excellent.
For drinks I had a special variation of the River Zombie, I think – I can’t remember what it was named – and tried my friend’s Old Fashioned. Both were very good – nice presentation (see photo) and taste.
For food I had the Steak Frites with garlic fries – I don’t know where to begin – it was fantastic! The steak was flavorful and tender; the garlic fries had amazing flavor and were not overpowered by the garlic – it was a perfect balance. I found myself dipping the steak and fries in the garlic aioli that came with the entrée – it was very, very good! I tried a piece of my friend’s Summer Market Flatbread – Waterworks is not a flatbread/​pizza place, but they nailed it – the crust, sauce, flavor, fresh toppings were all excellent.
I can’t say enough good things about the Waterworks – if you’re visiting the area, give it a try – you will not be disappointed!