Lucky Next Door

I LOVe this place. I don’t live in Burlington but when I go it is my first stop! The avocado toast is my favorite and this time I tried the salmon plate and was not disappointed. With a side of mimosa my day was perfect!

Their hot press tacos weren’t pressed at all. Not sure how they got that name. Still pretty tasty though.
The best was the chicken tortilla soup. It has a nice complex flavor. Definitely getting this next time.

Excellent food, but over priced. For example, two bacon egg and cheese sandwiches totaled $ 21.00.

Their tortilla soup is amazing. Lovely spot to have a relaxing lunch. Hipster, meets rustic ambiance. Fresh avocado, limes, tomato and cilantro in my soup. Delicious.

This place was exactly what we were looking for at exactly the right time. Just in Burlington for the morning, looking for a quick place to grab a bite before heading out of town, but with beer. Ended up with garlicky kale nachos and a pork burrito – both received rave reviews. Their hot sauces are fantastic, beer selection is small but clearly carefully curated. Decent prices and outstanding service. Love love love.

The décor and feel of Lucky deserves 3 stars, but the dish I had today only deserves 2. This place is much smaller than Penny Cluse and you order at the counter instead of getting serviced at a table. It’s very clean and has nice, comfortable ambiance.
I had a localvore deal so I tried the brown rice and I’m not a fan. It was too tangy and had explosive ginger taste as well as pickles. I really don’t like pickles and I don’t understand why you’d add it to brown rice, but if you’re a fan of explosive taste, then this is the dish for you.
The service also isn’t the best. I asked for water at the counter and the waitress came over twice to clean up, but totally forgot our waters until I asked again. There wasn’t anyone else but my friend and I at that time. I know it’s easy to forget, but we didn’t order many things.
Overall, this place is 3 stars. I like the feel of the place but not a big fan of the food. I’m not a huge fan of Penny Cluse either so it could be that I just don’t like their food. I’m willing to go back to try the sandwiches, but I’m unlikely to go back. The menu is very limited and there was only 1 option for salad (typical ranch salad). I like that there wasn’t a wait time so this is great if you don’t want to wait for Penny Cluse, but I’d prefer Penny Cluse.

Food is good. An alternative to Penny Cluse when they have a line, which is always.
The woman working the register today was spaced out completely. She forgot my husband’s beer and messed up my cappuccino (forgot the maple syrup I asked for, had to tell her the order twice and she still got it wrong). When the food runner brought our food I told her we were waiting for a beer and what kind and what size. She proceeded to ask for my husband’s ID after he had already been ID’ed at the register and the beer was paid for! Treating a 30 year old man in that manner is unacceptable. He got very angry over her asking him for ID a second time and didn’t eat a thing. When the beer was ordered he was ID’ed. The order was forgotten. So bring it. Don’t give your customers the third degree. That would NEVER happen in New York. Clearly we were allowed to pay for the beer, so we are allowed to have the beer.
We heard at least two other customers asking for beverages that had been forgotten. The woman at the register seems to be the type of person who cannot multitask and therefore should not be working in a restaurant. And/​or they need to fix their drink ticket system.
Very disappointing experience. Bad service overshadows good food.

Forgot both of our drinks. Sat at dirty table.
The food is nice here, but the service was lacking today. Tremendously.
We ordered some food and drinks. We had to sit at a dirty table with dishes from the previous guests. When the food eventually came out, the drinks we ordered did not come out. We had to go to the counter and ask. No apology was offered. Had one been offered I would not be inclined to write this review.
This is unacceptable.
With prices like this and despite a heavy lunch rush one would expect drink orders to arrive before the food, and arrive in general!
I will not be returning, and will recommend to friends they not patronize this spot. If you do go, be sure to get there before or after the lunch rush — they clearly cannot handle orders at lunch time.
Come on Lucky Next Door. I am usually lucky when I have lunch next door, however today I was not lucky next door.

Visiting Burlington for the afternoon and stopped in for lunch. Perfect New England weather and same for the food. My wife and I both had the Plowman’s special. It was a great assortment of flavors: chorizo, farmer cheddar cheese, pickled beets, cornichons, homemade spicy Meyer lemon marmalade and rounded out with a stone ground mustard. Yum! My wife had gazpacho, a refreshing cold tomato soup. My daughter had the granola and yogurt bowl, big enough for a meal! The granola had a mild cinnamon crunch, a wonderful contrast to the fresh farm yogurt (thank goodness it wasn’t that sugary sweet stuff you get at grocery stores — what an excuse for ‘real yogurt’). Highly recommend this place for those on a paleo or vegetarian diet.

Fresh, quick, delicious plates. Really sweet staff. Just as good as it’s sister restaurant Penny Cluse (which is also incredibly delicious and spot-​on every time!). Anything you order is sure to please, I highly recommend eating here.

Small breakfast place with few but great breakfast-​dishes. They serve their iced-​coffee in beer mugs!

I’ve been a fan of Penny Cluse for a long time and love the little lunch/​satellite place next door — much smaller and not the lineups of the former but still has a nice buzz and has been pretty busy both times I’ve been there. The staff is just as friendly as next door and the place is pretty good with kids; we took our 2.5 year old there and there were good options. Mac and cheese was very tasty for kids and adults, I had an absolutely delicious grilled chicken and kale sandwich, and my wife loved the chicken and biscuits. The first time I went I also had a delicious cheesy hash browns plate. Definitely will be back again; affordable menu as well

We went here b/​c Penny Cluse had a large line, and we were SO glad it did!!! We went for breakfast, and it was so delicious, I had the chile egg dish — and couldn’t get enough! The banana bread and fruit/​yogurt bowl, egg Benedict were also hits with our groups! I highly recommend this place for breakfast — bypass the line next door.

An hour and a half wait next door at Penny Cluse, walked right in and had one of the best breakfasts I’ve had. More limited selection — but very good…

Awesome little spot. This place replaced one of my favorite thrift shops but I don’t even care anymore!
The tacos are great especially the sweet potato one… make sure to add some scallion and ginger sauce. The cheesy hash browns so gooey and warm. The wings are awesome too… So much flavor. And go in and grab a cubano to go! This place is short one star because of the prices. Pretty expensive for such small portions –but the upside is that everything is fresh.
Drinks — I always walk in for an avocado smoothie… make sure it yogurt based! They also have one of the best Bloody Mary around.

Friendly staff, excelent maciado, soft music, comfortable surroundings. Great place to unwind after a long day of shopping.

God — I love penny cluse!.. so I figured that this place would be equally as amazing. Although the semi-​service, and atmosphere make this place more casual, and easier to eat right-​away; the food I ordered was no where near the quality or quantity that penny cluse offers. I ordered their basic salad and added chicken, with high hopes due to how amazing penny cluse’s side salad is. The greens and beets were great, the tomatoes were fleshy, and the chicken was absolutely disgusting. I’m assuming the chicken is Misty Knoll, or some other local purveyor, but the way it was «smoked» lead it to taste, look, and smell like a mix between tuna and salmon. After tasting one piece I pushed the rest to the side of my plate and wish I didn’t spend the extra 6 $ to add it. I have heard good things about the pressed sandwiches, so I may return, but steer clear of the meats.

Wow! I should have started to come here a LOT sooner!
I always had this idea in my head that Lucky was a clone of Penny Cluse, just smaller. I was wrong. The menu is DRAMATICALLY better than Penny Cluse, and the design of the space is equally better. I came for lunch and was amazed by the beautiful design of the place (Birsdeye Builders) and by the larger than it looks results of the renovation. The food was excellent, and both of my friends meals looked incredible as well; fresh, bright, healthy and affordable. I was very impressed and will be a regular here now. Zero wait for a table versus 1+ hours at Penny Cluse makes this an easy choice.
Food 5 stars
Design 5 stars
Staff 5 stars
The only weird issue? They don’t have waitresses, but they do. For some weird reason you are forced to order at the counter and then a waitress brings you your food. Do your customers a favor; have the waitresses serve the customers; they get tips and the customer gets service.

Lucky Next Door is a quiet little gem located next to its big sister Penny Cluse.
Penny Cluse is arguably one of Burlington’s favorite eateries, especially for breakfast and brunch. There are always waits. On the weekends waits for a table can approach a few hours. So when the space next door to Penny Cluse became available the owners decided to build another eatery next door. «Lucky Next Door». Unlike Penny Cluse, Lucky doesn’t serve breakfast, brunch and lunch. It serves lunch, dinner, coffee and drinks. The thought process, I’m sure, was that people who don’t want to wait at Penny Cluse during brunch and lunch hours will just stop in and eat at Lucky Next Door. Also, it will allow Penny Cluse fans that keep wishing that Penny Cluse would serve dinner, to be able to eat dinner… next door… to Penny Cluse.
Although this reasoning seems sound, in actuality it doesn’t seem to be working as well as some might have expected.
I have been into Lucky Next Door at least 5 or 6 times to check it out since it opened, including last week. I’ve never once been in there where there are any customers. The most I’ve seen is a table or two. That’s it. Of course, I may be missing the prime times for eating there, but I don’t think so. I’ve gone in at hours that you might expect would be popular with customers, but it’s never busy.
I’ve eaten at Lucky. Like the other reviewers say, the food is very good. They’ve even thought strategically and offer panini-​type sandwiches for lunch in a town known for serving its sandwiches on thick, home made breads that you can hardly get your mouth around. Everyone loves paninis, right?
So why is Lucky Next Door under visited?
1. Perhaps not enough people know about it. Lucky has done some marketing and a Localvore special to get people to try it out, but the location is unassuming. It’s sort of easy to walk by and not notice it. It certainly has its share of very positive Unilocal reviews, so that should help, but so far, things are still moving at a slow pace.
2. Perhaps it’s because people just like Penny Cluse more. So when going to that spot for a meal, they choose Penny Cluse and don’t particularly want to go to Lucky. The food is not the same. They have different menus with no real overlap. The view is better at Penny Cluse. The vibe is more hopping at Penny Cluse. Everyone’s favorite dishes that they’ve been eating for years are at Penny Cluse. People just like Penny Cluse. It’s a successful as it is for a reason.
3. Perhaps it’s because Burlington is a breakfast and brunch town. I don’t have the statistics but there are so many great breakfast and brunch places in town. Way more than you might expect for such a small city. Penny Cluse just does breakfast, brunch and lunch. Lucky Next Door does not do breakfast and brunch.
In retrospect, I think it would have been a better business idea, strategically, to open another Penny Cluse/​Lucky Next door-​type restaurant in a nearby town, like Winooksi. Or in some other location that wasn’t right next door to Penny Cluse. It probably would have attracted more business. Of course, they would have had to name it something different, like «Lucky One Town Over…» or «Around the Corner»…
If you haven’t yet, give this little eatery a try and decide for yourself. I think the main problem is not enough people have tried Lucky. It’s good. It’s apparent lack of popularity when compared to some other more popular eateries might also have to do with the vibe which is pretty modern and sleek for this town. And the tall metal stools that furnish most of Lucky are pretty uncomfortable, especially in the summer if you’re wearing shorts or skirts.
I guess time will tell. I’m rooting for this quiet little gem.

Visited with a friend shortly after it opened! The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was fun and quaint. Fresh flavors that were well salted, tongue teasing and left you wanting more… that was the problem, the dishes were a bit small! Hopefully this place grows up to be awesome, they’re darn close!