Junior’s Rustico

The food itself wasn’t bad. The location has 16 craft beers on tap plus a smaller version of their Colchester menu made the meal.
I sat at the bar and asked if they could put the Red Sox on during my visit on May 13^th 2016. The female bartender asked if they were still in their preseason or if it was the actual game. I asked where she was from, since I’ve never met a local woman who at didn’t at least know that baseball began in April. She said «Maine, and I’m sorry if that offends you» and stormed off. The other bartender turned on the game for me :)

Nice atmosphere, went for lunch and it was very good.

Neat place, far cry from the KFC that was there lol. Full bar, nice décor. Lunch on Sunday a good brunch menu. Waiter was more than accommodating. Nice experience

We thought the food here was very good. Our server was attentive and very friendly.

Nice space. Friendly staff all working together to make customers experience better. Owner there making sure everything is running smooth which I like to see. Good tasting food and fair draft beer prices. Will be back when we want to have another special night out. Will sit at the nice looking bar next time.

The food has been great every time my husband and I have gone in. The service and atmosphere has felt homey and I always feel welcomed when i walk through the door. We choose this restaurant when we want an easy romantic night out.

I love Rusticos! The food is great. Try the fresh hand made pasta or their gourmet pizza yum. Plenty of Vermont beer on tap too. The atmosphere is nice Frankie Has done it again restoring this restaurant. Just 1 mile north off exit 13 very convenient.

I love this restaurant! The hostess greets you with a smile and the staff is more than accommodating. It’s unbelievable that this used to be a KFC– what a difference!!! The décor will put you at ease and the extensive menu was built to please. My entrée (chicken parm with homemade pasta) was seriously one of the best meals I’ve eaten out. Not a bad thing to say.

This place looked promising and the food itself looked great. The chopped salads were large and has a good citrus flavor. The bruschetta appetizer was mushy and the «charred crostini» was just burnt white bread. The mussels looked appetizing at first and were tolerable at first but by the 5^th or 6^th I had to spit it out. The broth was essentially chicken stock with tomatoes and tasted as if they hadn’t really cooked the ingredients together. The wait staff was friendly and helpful and I had high hopes for this place but I won’t be going back any time soon.

Amazing place for lunch. Especially on Wednesdays as tapas are half off. The paella is as good as I’ve had pretty much anywhere on the east coast. The shrimp, muscles, and clams were served on top of the rice mixture. Perfectly steamed. The trio of sliders were great. Personally, I would have put a dollop of slaw on the pulled pork to have s bit of taste and texture contrast. Coffee was better than average. Tiramisu… Now there are two schools of tiramisu– one is heavily soggy with the dairy stuff and the other is a lighter cake style. Theirs is the second. Highly recommended with coffee. I will be going back for multiple Wednesday lunches. Sooner or later, I will try out their dinners, but when there is an abundance of tapas to choose from, why mess with it?

Really great tapas menu here. The antipasto was very well prepared, and the prosciutto wrapped scallops and beef carpaccio are high end. Minor gripes: unaware meatball had pork in it, and like most Italian places in Burlington area, not too much of a seafood menu to speak of.
Otherwise, excellent service and atmosphere, and I’ll be sure to return. There’s still a lot more for me to try.

I really wanted to like this place, but the food is mediocre at best and the service didn’t impress me either. The environment is cozy and there were only 2 other tables seated so it was very empty. That’s fine with me. Our waiter was attentive and the service went at a good pace, but she poured water into my date’s soda cup when she was refilling my water! Honest mistake, but she didn’t have many customers so she doesn’t have an excuse. She did offer a free refill, but that just made me question the service.
The reason this place doesn’t have a higher rating is due to the food. They ran out of the duck special I really wanted to try at 8 pm. The two dishes I did try are both small tapas:
#Beef Wellington — good. Crispy puff pastry crust on the outside and juicy on the inside. It wasn’t memorable for me so I can only say it was 3 stars.
#Grilled Octopus — I was impressed that the octopus actually wasn’t tough like I’ve had in some places. It’s a major faux pas for me when the octopus is tough, but it was a bit burnt and I’m not a fan of that. It didn’t taste bad, especially with the delicious sauce they had. They should’ve put some more sauce on the bed of potatoes instead of just the octopus. The potatoes tasted bland.
#Cannoli — very basic. I wish the inside was more creamy. It is very small so be mindful of that. Not as sweet as your typical desserts.
Overall, I didn’t dislike the food, but I didn’t really like it either. The preparation technique could be better. I feel that I can make the same level of food in terms of tastiness so I don’t plan on returning. I’d definitely recommend trying the specials. The sauce on the grilled octopus really redeemed it because otherwise it’d be a horrible dish. My favorite out of the two was beef wellington. Also, as a side note, my date said it reminded him of Barcelona tapas so that speaks to the atmosphere and presentation. Just make sure not to have high expectations when it comes to the taste of the food.

pros:
nice atmosphere
great service
diverse menu
vegetarian friendly
local beer selection
cons:
pizza sauce
pizza dough

I dined at Junior’s recently and absolutely loved it! The food was excellent, service was amazing, and the restaurant was perfect! The menu has some pretty amazing options of both Spanish and Italian dishes. Make sure to check out the specials menu and the beautiful bar. Being from Florida, I could not help but order the Cuban and it was delicious. It’s so nice to visit Burlington VT and find a restaurant with great flavor and variety on their menu! Not to mention great service!

I live in the ‘hood, walking distance to Rustico’s. I was so excited to have a cozy place to walk to. maybe catch a game or sit at the bar with friends and have some comfort food. Not happening here… I met my 20 something sons for beer, fries and a game. what could go wrong with that? Well… the glass racks are hung directly in front of the small, mute flat screens…;-((Fries…well.it was all about the presentation? Really, I mean french fries.
OK.try again… lunch with a friend. My Cuban sandwich was so sad, I took it home and fixed it.
Here is the deal… this could be a nice, cozy space. Those of us who live and/​or work in the South End want to have a local spot. The tile floor and cold surroundings and pricey, average food, don’t make me want to go back.
That being said… with some redoing of the menu and and some tweaking perhaps the place could have some soul and friendliness. Locals? That’s who your business will be here.

Firstly this restaurant is rustic, bricks and natural wood and low lights. Last night was my first outing to Juniors Rustico. Being Friday night it was absolutely jumping, it was not full till we were ready to leave, then at 9pm there was a line at the door. The level of noise was rather intolerable, I could not hear my husband across the table because we were surrounded by literally howling people.
I don’t think there is anything a restaurant can do about that, after all people are paying good money to have a good time you can’t go and hush them.
None the less there was a smattering of two somes, a table with kids, that I am sure would have appreciated a little less noise.
The service was excellent the young lady who waited on us was very prompt and the food got to our table HOT. My husband is on this kick of linguini with clams and he declared Rustico’s superior to the one in Colchester. Indeed the clams were still in the shells and there was plenty of them.
My goodness a place that serves Tapas, just what I would love. Unfortunately this is not the Tapas presented in a Spanish restaurant, so call it small plates, appetizers whatever. We ordered the calamari which although small (squid) was excellent, lots of squid nicely breaded and fried, not a speck of oil and hot to the last bite.
I am a French Fry person so I am always tempted to try the fries at a new restaurant, these were good and plentiful. The beet salad with two kinds of beets and some goat cheese was good if over dressed, way too much dressing.
The bruchetta was not that great just alright. The breads used for the bruchetta, along side of the pasta and the salad was excellent and chargrilled.
May go back at a quieter time.

Unmemorable and unappealing food. Total Identity crisis. Is it Italian? Is it Spanish? Not sure they know themselves. Noticeably indifferent service. Some menu items listed on the menu on Facebook are not on the actual menu. Just not worth it.

I wouldn’t say this place is Italian as it has Mediterranean flavors, Tapas as appetizers, and American style dishes. It’s also fairly dark in there which is perfect for an adult night out, but there are a lot of families (with kids). Tasty dishes and big portions make for a nice night out — but a bit on the pricey side. Try the pancetta wrapped pork chop stuffed with cherries, figs, and herbs.

I have been a big fan of Juniors in Colchester for a long time, love the authentic Italian dishes!
We went to Juniors Rustico to try it out, and we’re not disappointed! There are obviously differences between this restaurant and their others, but that’s to be expected, right? Different name, different food!
The atmosphere is nice and relaxing, the food is delicious, though it is more expensive than there other restaurants. However, the quality and attention to detail is high too!
We will definitely be returning!

My wife and I had a very pleasant experience. Arrived around 6pm, plenty of tables available. Self-​seating, which I think has chance for inefficient seating, we saw a couple at a table for four.
Service was friendly, attentive and quick (very surprising for the second week after opening).
We had a beet salad, which was appropriately dressed, fresh and flavorful. But the real winner was the rigatoni, it had kale and squash and a broth that I could drink with a straw.
Will definitely come back.