Magnolia Bistro

Banana bread was fantastic as well as the French toast. Wait times are a little slow. Fish tank table was horrible. Half table half fishtank stand. They couldn't even clean the fishtank poor fish.

Service can be really spotty, high turnover of college employees. Food can suffer from this as I have been served cold food on more than one occasion. All that said, if the food arrives on time it's usually pretty good.

Great breakfast! The crab cakes benedicts are awesome, lime waffles; ask for the maple whipped cream with it. Lacking espresso coffees...

Arrived 15 minutes before our reservation with the expectation that we would wait for ~20 minutes. They are understandably very busy on a sunday morning. We were repeatedly told the wait would be 5 to 10 minutes. 30 minutes later, the hostess pointed to a table that was being cleaned off and i was told it would be ready for us in 5 minutes she said "<my lastname> party of 7" so i know she knew who i was. 5 minutes later i watched the hostess sit another group at the table she promised us then tell me it would be another 5 to 10 minutes. 45 minutes later they sat all 7 of us at a table meant for 4 people. UPDATE: The service was rather mediocre. The waitress was nice enough but she took my aunts half empty mimosa after ask if she wanted another one. It took 15 minutes get a high chair for the baby. Brunch took over an hour to come out, meanwhile the restaurant mostly cleared out so it couldn't have been that busy in the kitchen. It took more than an hour to cook 7 people eggs, potatoes, and french toast. The food tasted OK but i was expecting more than 3 pieces of beef in my "meat hash". I will not be eating here again.

This was my second time eating at Magnolia's for breakfast. The first time was a few months ago and the food was good as was the service. The second time was honestly terrible, we decided to come because our go-to spot, Penny Cluse was closed. We came on a Saturday morning and more than half of the tables were empty, but we still waited 45 min for our food. Something was wrong with all three of our plates. My oatmeal pancake was sour and inedible, the 1 piece of sausage you get for a $14 meal was cold and dry, the hash browns were cold greasy and flavourless and the eggs were like rubber. The two other meals at the table were no better, poached eggs were hard boiled and sent back and the special coffeecake was stale. I sent my entire meal back and the waitress was very nice about it and offered me something else but I declined. She also mentioned she would tell management and see what they could do. Typically, I would expect the manager to come out if multiple people at the same table send part or all of their meal back but no one ever came out. They ended up taking money off our bill but I can't believe the meal was still over 30 dollars for such poor quality. I understand that sourcing local, sustainable food is more expensive but many other restaurants in Burlington do the same and aren't that outrageously priced for the quality. We will never eat here again.

My omelet was very small, and the eggs had no flavor. They did not taste like real eggs. The coffee, regular and decaf also lacked flavor, and were hardly drinkable. They use morning star veggie sausages, which are far from organic. We were rushed out, much like they rushed to prepare our food. The service was speedy, and the decor was kool, but if you cant make coffee and omelets, you need some new cooks. I assume all the rave reviews are based on the experience. They can't seriously be complementing the food alone.

Heard a lot about this place. Went on a Sunday morning a month or so ago expecting a wait but we were seated quickly. Wait staff excellent, serving time just right. Mimosa was good. Food was fresh and excellent! My only minor complaint was it was very cold sitting next to the brick wall under a window and the floor was not level so our table rocked and I had to move my chair to the point I was almost off the table so it wouldn't rock. I understand that this is an old building but I do believe that you should fix where the brick floor is crumbled away. But all in all I will be back.

I come here for brunch on the weekends occasionally. Expect to wait a while to be seated, and expect long waits for food. Took 45 minutes to get an omelet today. The food is usually good, today it was bad. The bread wasn't fully cooked, the omelet was meh and barely warm. My brunch partner's meal was also meh.

Good but was expecting more given the reviews. Vermont omelette was nice, toast was cold and hard despite the fact that we arrived as they opened at 8 am. Eggs Benedict were overcooked. Service was excellent. A little hard to find as the entrance is in an alley.

I'm so surprised at some of these reviews! I've eaten here many times and always had a great experience, I have never had any issue with the waitstaff- they are all very friendly/check on you/refill your drinks/etc. If you want to have a meal here during busy hours I would recommend arriving about an hour before, get on a wait list, enjoy downtown Burlington while you wait. It is not uncommon for places to have wait times during breakfast/lunch hours downtown. I believe I saw the owner and his 2 adorable frenchies last month there and he seemed very nice. Anyhow....the most important thing: the food is very yummy and they have great vegetarian and vegan options - philly seitan, western tofu scram, the incredible mr. limpett are our go-to's. I love the atmosphere here, and they have a small outside seating area which is adorable. Do not miss out on this place.