Blue Cat Cafe & Wine Bar

While driving up to Ottawa, my boyfriend and I needed a place to stop for dinner. Blue Cat Café had a Unilocal offer $ 40 gift certificate for $ 20. The reviews were great and it was noted as a romantic spot, so we decided to try it out. It was a Monday night, so the place was very quiet. It was dimly lit, with candles on all the tables. The tables are close to each other for a cozy feel but with there only being 2 other groups of people there we felt like we had the place to ourselves. The waitress (who was also the hostess and the bartender) was quick to greet/​seat us. She was very helpful on any questions we had and was attentive to us throughout the meal. They bring you hummus and warm, grilled pita bread to start and it was delicious. We shared the cheese board (4 different local cheeses, fig jam and more of that warm pita bread) and a Caesar salad to start. I had the flatiron steak with a mushroom sauce and my boyfriend had the NY Strip. Everything was top-​notch and if I lived nearby this would definitely be one of my regular places!

First time at Blue Cat and we couldn’t have been more pleased. The fare was excellently prepared and presented, the Filet as good as any we’ve enjoyed in the area and on par with a Capitol Grille. Service was well above average, attentive but not overwhelming. Our server was quite pleasant, even cordial. Blue Cat is a very intimate dining experience but with the bar being so close to the tables, the noise was often a bit distracting. A big benefit is free, off street parking which is nonexistent in downtown Burlington.

Our 4^th time at the Cat. I have had the duck, bistro steak and ravioli. Alway well prepared. Very good service. Small and cozy but not noisy. The parking pass allows you to park in a close lot. We are not appetizer people but we have had the anchovies and they were great.

Beautiful spot, great ambiance but…
Uninspired food. The vegetables that came with my steak had that pre-​fab waffle cut that screams fresh-​frozen and my garlic mashed potatoes reminded me of hotel room service food.
The steak was adequate but nothing to write home about.
Chain steakhouse food at high end prices…

The food was outstanding and the service was also incredible. It is small and quaint and the perfect place for a romantic dinner for two. The prices were more than fair given the quality of the food and the atmosphere. We will definitely be back.

My husband and I are still raving over our dinners here– we made a last minute decision to go here our first night in town and with a Unilocal deal offer we were sold. Didn’t have a reservation but there was one table in the corner so clearly it was meant to be. My husband raved over his rack of lamb and my steak was the best I’ve ever had. Our cocktails were delicious as well. Worth the money.

I found the place to be quite intimate (and small). The food was fabulous, service was good. We had a steak and the ravioli… wonderful. we started with a cheese plate and salad… good as well.
Other perks: Ask for a parking pass. We got one intending to park for dinner. It was good for the evening. We were going to the flynn after dinner and could remain where we were. Nice and free!
It missed that extra star for the following reasons: When I entered, I wasn’t greeted and was not sure if I was standing in the right place (because it is so small — tables right next to the entrance.) I hate starting the evening off feeling out of place!
The waitress recommended a bottle of wine that was not on the menu. We enjoyed that one quite quickly. She did not ask if we wanted more wine… but we did. She did not have another bottle of the wine she recommended… that was the last bottle. We were disappointed.

What a wonderful experience for our anniversary dinner! We arrived early for our reservation — owner was very accommodating. The restaurant has tons of ambiance — perfect for our celebration. In no time we were seated at the bar and had a drink — waited a short time and were seated quickly. We ordered the ravioli and steak. Wow! It was delicious. We throughly enjoyed the evening and will look to coming back again.

Our waitress was absolutely delightful. Downfall was that she was one of the? maybe three? staff members in the entire place. Given, it is a small area… Only about 7 tables… But still. Took an hour to get our meal. Everything is very slow. Ambience is quite nice, though, and food was excellent when we received it. Definitely recommend if you have time and are looking to spend it calmly, talking with someone else.

Sunday night dinner for 4 … One waitress FULL restaurant. I think the bartender was also the chef, as the ONE waitress was also mixing drinks. Needless to say service was really poor, had to wait for food for over an hour with no apologies. Sunday steak special was very ordinary. Very hard to say much positive. Ambience was quite nice?!

A wonderful restaurant with atmosphere great food, excellent wine list and superior service. You must go.

The food here was spectacular – I had the spinach salad to begin, and the pork filet entrée with seasoned apple slices for my entrée. The wine list includes paragraph-​long descriptions of the wines by the glass, which very much helped me with my choice.
I would have given it five stars if they hadn’t been under-​staffed tonight — they seemed to be short a hostess. It’s August and the air conditioning seemed to have some trouble as well. That said, the bartender and wait staff handled themselves gracefully and the food was excellent, so props to them. I definitely recommend it.

Just got home from an amazing evening at the blue cat. Everything from the service to ambiance to delicious food was there. Kira our waitress managed our table plus 5 other tables with ease. Our food was brought out in a timely manor that gave you just enough time to digest a course before another was presented to us. We ordered the shrimp cocktail, cheese plate, Cesar salad, filet mignon, and the flourless cake with Heath bar crunch ice cream. Everything was fantastic. One of the best restaurants in burlington by far. Hard to say anything bad about it, that’s why I had to give it 5 stars.

Cozy little gem in downtown that feels like NOLA, especially the little wrought iron porch at night. A friend and I stopped in without reservations on a warm Saturday night. We’d been headed to another nearby spot recommended on Unilocal which was closed for a private function. Attracted by the empty small candlelit porch we checked the menu, found it intriguing and were told to sit wherever we’d like on the porch.
The menu options and quality of food was quite good. The service started hesitantly as if the staff wasn’t sure we were serious about eating outside but picked up once we ordered. I found the prices on par with good restaurants in Burlington and most of Vt: worth the cost for the food and ambiance. And a huge benefit to be able to walk in off the street on a busy Saturday night.

Amazing steak, one of the best I’ve ever eaten. The chocolate flourless cake was also excellent. The only thing lacking was warm and friendly service. When I first entered the restaurant the wait staff ignored me for about 3 minutes, despite a virtually empty restaurant (1 customer at the bar, 2 staff people). I asked if I should seat myself, honestly, I would have left if I hadn’t already bought the Unilocal voucher. After I was seated service improved, the waitress just wasn’t that friendly, but did her job. I didnt feel welcomed.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a romantic place to go for our one year anniversary, so we decided to check out The Blue Cat!
Walking in, the mood was set with a dimly lit room and candles on each table. It was beautiful! Our waitress greeted us kindly and was awesome through the night! When we received out food, it looked amazing and tasted even better! I got the filet minion which just melted in my mouth. For dessert we had the flourless chocolate cake with mint ice cream on top and that was super rich and tasty!
I give this place five stars and I will definitely be going back!

So my wife and I had a very nice dinner here. Let’s get the bad out of the way first. The place is pretty small, which is not necessarily bad and actually works for a steakhouse. Small, darkly lit, wood all over the place, dark red covering the windows. Not a bad set up really. We had reservations. The hostess seated us right next to the door, with a full view down the hall for everyone coming and going to watch us eat. Not only that, but the only route to the rest of the seats was a very narrow path between my wife’s seat and a pillar. I immediately asked to be reseated to something away from the door. The hostess apologized and said they were all booked up. Ok, I get it. But… not 10 minutes later a walk in came and got a two seat table in the back. We were straight up lied to about the seating. I found that pretty annoying and sort of unacceptable. Other than that the service was fairly good.
On to the food.
We started with the maple glazed ribs as an app. It was very good. Four ribs, each well sauced and very tender. Good flavor and good size as an appetizer.
We each ordered the NY strip, medium rare with mashed potatoes and the veggie of the day with a side spinach salad. She got sautéed onions and I got a balsamic reduction. The salad was meh. It was exactly what it claimed to be but it was blandly dressed. However, you don’t come to a steakhouse for the salad.
The strips were perfect. Perfectly prepared and perfectly sized. They were excellent. The mashed potatoes and veggies were also done well. The Blue Cat is far and away the best steak in downtown BTV.
For dessert we had the apple pie. Not very good. The crust was either pre-​made or terribly overworked. It was not flaky in the slightest. It was gummy and doughy. I wouldn’t order the pie again.
All in all it was very good, because the steak is why we came and it was totally worth it. If you’re looking for a good steak in downtown, this is the place to go.

Unilocal’s $ 20 for $ 40 deal was the primary reason we went to Blue Cat. We arrived late, at around 10:15p, to discover that they also have a late night menu — any non steak entrée with salad (spinach or caesar) and dessert (two options) for $ 29. Now, I assumed that this couldn’t be combined with the Unilocal deal, but sometimes I’m more than happy to be proven wrong. So do that math. .you’re getting two three-​course meals for $ 38 pre-​tax and tip and cocktail (2×29−40+20). Not bad!
The Blue Cat has an odd feel to it, though. Dark with local art on the walls and quiet jazz on the speakers, we sat at a table furthest from the door and from that position, I imagined that it must have once been a seedy dive, perhaps with a jazzy vibe. The space between the bar and tables is so narrow that you cannot help but bump into people sitting at tables. I don’t enjoy being on either end of that exchange unless I’m in a bar with a jukebox. .and I didn’t hear any Don’t Stop Believin’.
Also like the bar it apparently used to be, there are five beers to choose from. I went with the Harpoon IPA, which tasted nothing like the Harpoon IPA I have come to know well (I did not complain). On the plus, the Malbec my girlfriend ordered was one of the smoothest reds my mouth has had the pleasure of quaffing. I wish I got its number.
I went with the duck breast and my girlfriend the salmon, which was my original choice, but I felt compelled to change it after she made her order. We determined that this is a «guy thing.» Neither plate was well presented. The dishware was old-​fashioned and the food, simply, looked boring. .like it was embarrassed to be on the plate. So, I did it a favor and ate quicker than usual which was easy because it was excellent. Both meals came with sweet potatoes that were some of the best I’ve ever had outside of a Thanksgiving meal. I also tried the salmon, and it, too, was quite good.
The dessert options were scarce, just an apple pie and a chocolate truffle cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream (my favorite). We got one of each and took them to go. Both were tasty, but nothing special, nothing signature here.
Service was accommodating and friendly and the price (full price, our entrees alone would have been $ 56) could not be beat. If you’re looking for a place that will provide a unique atmosphere or experience, this is not it. There’s just not a lot of character to bring me back. But, if you’re looking for a solid no-​frills meal, the Blue Cat is for you.

Sure, it’s off the beaten path. And yes, if you’re visiting for the first time, you might be a little «WTF» about its location. But its one of the many idiosyncrasies of the place that make it charming, special and one of Burlington’s little gems that I’m glad is never too busy where I can’t get a table at all on Saturday, but is busy enough that I never get the impression that they’re on the brink of closing or that they’re skimping on the food and cutting corners.
Great little restaurant with a perfect atmosphere, great food, friendly staff, good bar, and fair prices. It’s not a steakhouse and if you go here expecting to eat at one, you’ll be disappointed. They do serve steaks, but it’s not necessarily their forte. The menu changes a bit and while the steaks are good, they’re not the absolute best in town, and they’re priced accordingly. There are a lot of other items that are worth ordering. The chefs are talented and it’s always worth going beyond the purview of meat and starch — you’ll be glad you did.
It’s constantly garnering new regular, loyal customers and while there are a number of people who don’t like this place, are turned off from it after their first visit, they’re in the minority. It seems to be one of these love/​hate restaurants and if you get the sense that you’ll fall into the latter, don’t even waste your time going here because your sour mood and negative vibe will be hard to miss and will ruin mine (and everyone else’s) dining experience because the lovers will always love this place. This is not a plain restaurant for plain people.
Overall the food is very well cooked, not bland, not overly seasoned, not too complex, but not too simple. They use a lot of locally sourced ingredients that are fresh and they don’t rely on much to bring out the flavor since they don’t need to.
The wine list is well sorted. I’ve always found the staff to be very educated about the list, what’s new, what’s not, what makes a good pairing, and what I might like if I describe what I’m looking for. It is extensive, and sometimes they’re out of some of the better bottles, but it’s not so long that it’s unmanageable and I’ve never been disappointed with anything on there (nor anything that I’ve ordered as a recommendation after being given a taste.)
If you’re uptight, don’t have a sense of humor, don’t like to laugh, and want a stick-​up-​your-​bum pretentious dining experience, go somewhere else. The restaurant is a little small, so it’s easy, and fun, to get drawn into conversation with other diners. The main chef, who is also a bartender, server, de facto manager it seems, and the person a lot of reviewers here THINK is the owner, is a character through and through with a unique and fun personality. One of the reasons why I go here a lot is because he fosters a fun ambience and makes it an enjoyable place to hang out whether I’m eating at the bar alone, just grabbing some drinks, or having a date night with my girlfriend. Because of him, the rest of the staff are loosened up and fun to talk to, good conversationalists, and great people to laugh with.
A lot of people have said some not-​so-​nice things about my main man, who shall remain nameless here to protect the innocent, and how their dining experience was poor because of him. To them, I say don’t come back, we don’t like you either.

GREAT service. Nicely presented cheese plate. Food is ok, I enjoyed my salmon. They validate the parking at the Magnolia resident lot. I just found the place the type of «French Bistro» of the past, dark and a bit musty. There are many many options in town, but I’m glad we stopped by.