Tip Top Cafe

Nice café with friendly service. I recommend the Hanger Steak, medium rare and perfect. Tender with great flavor.

Nice place for dinner in WRJ. We were there for dinner a few months ago, and the food ranged from tasty (gumbo), to «okay» (hangar steak), to bland (ricotta dumplings). A bit stuck in the 1980s (like most of the Upper Valley). Big airy space, modern but rustic, clean and comfortable. Service was friendly and competent. Good convenient parking lot (important in WRJ!), and good easy access.
Overall, a more-​than-​adequate place for dinner. Our small group of friends had a nice evening there.
One thing must be said: the crispy fries with garlic aioli were delicious, and I’d go back just for that!

Second time here. Once for supper, once for lunch. Food consistently delicious. Lunch today was butternut squash bisque with sage and brown butter and ½ sandwich, I went with the brisket reuben ~ amazing! Service was good and the atmosphere perfect for a chilly day.

This was an interesting little restaurant tucked away in a building that is home to several different artists and architects. The inside has a warm industrial feel with beautiful y’all wood ceilings. We had a reservation, which I would definitely recommend especially weekend nights. We actually showed up 30 min early, but they said hey weren’t seating people early. I suspect it was because of they had a rush of patrons, including several large groups, right before a theatre showing. So service was a little rocky and slow. Meal took about 1.5 hrs.
Appetizer, artichoke fritters served with arugula and a delicious lemon aioli… incredible. My dish, the baked haddock was ok. The fish needed a little more salt and spice. The potatoes were a little dry and also suffered from under seasoning.
My husband ordered the famed ginger meatloaf. It was good, moist. The wine sauce was a little strong and bitter for my taste. The sweet potatoes were delicate and balanced the heavy meatloaf nicely.
All in all a good meal though lacking slightly in the speed and service.

Slightly pricey but the fries with garlic aioli is amazing you can’t leave without ordering it!!!

Bread pudding
Bread pudding
Bread pudding
Tomato bisque
Tomato bisque
Tomato bisque
Say three times for the most important things
Hola~~~~
You will love this place!

Perhaps it is one of the perils of dining alone that causes the boredom to set in early, but when it takes nearly 15 minutes to deliver the water service, it seems apparent that the establishment is either under-​staffed or the staff is grossly inept. Noticing others who seemed irritated at the slowness, I expected similar treatment and maybe fine food is meant to be devoured slowly with guests, but if the meal itself was not grand, even slightly exotic, I would have given an even lower score. It must not be too troublesome to management or other guests as the place was packed on a week night. If I’m ever back this way I’ll try this one again just for the food and hope the servers have multiplied or gained more experience.

What a find… We were looking for a nice sit-​down dinner experience while staying in White River Junction. This place fit the bill. IT IS NOT A CAFE. It IS FINE dining. We were able to get a seat even without reservations but if you choose to eat after 6 pm I would suggest reservations. Very comfortable setting and the owner/​manager is there to offer you the finest dining experience.
We both had the Hanger Steak on the recommendation of the wait staff. My wife was very satisfied, I was not that thrilled with the steak but i was good, nice spices, nice accoutrements, wife had soup as appetizer and said it was fantastic.
This restaurant would give any NY restaurant a run for the money and I could eat here every evening. Take the plunge and stop in for a good dinner.

Great easy to find location. Not a bad seat in the place. Solid service. Fantastic menu that’s unique and still priced reasonably… and those fries!!!

Perfect place! Everything & everyone was really perfect. Wonderful flavor in everything we ate!

Our party of three came here for lunch today and each of us were disappointed in the food and service. Pros: the French fries were amazing and the lattes were delicious. Cons: Unfortunately, everything else. We had meals, coffee, and dessert. The service was practically non-​existent. Our food was mediocre-​two of us ordered falafels which were dry and had very little tzatziki sauce. The greens that came with the falafels were tasty, but not terribly hard to put together. The salmon brioche was pretty to look at but felt more like food you’d eat a tea party. On top of the long wait for our food, we were each overcharged a third more than our bill and the staff didn’t notice until we brought it to their attention. I doubt that we’ll be going back anytime soon. One person in our party who recommended the restaurant to us as she liked it before has declared that she will not be returning.

Came into town and found this cute little restaurant. We didn’t have reservations but we immediately seated on the patio. Service was initially great but then waned as the patio filled up. I had asked for a glass of wine with dinner, which never came. When I reminded our waitress she did bring it and comped it. We split the tomato bisque, it was delicious. My boyfriend has the sesame pork and ginger meatloaf, no complaints. I had the char grilled hangar steak and again very good. Fresh warm bread with a herb butter accompanied our dinner. Also, enjoy the Saratoga Springs sparkling water! It’s delicious.

Poor service! Waited 10 minutes for the «hostess» to finish paying out some contractor, meanwhile a bevy of waitstaff walked by and barely spoke. Once seated multiple waitstaff walked by, making eye contact with my partner but scurrying to clear other patrons tables. One either came to the table next to us and put his derrière nearly in my ladies face and promptly ignored us. After another 10 minutes of waiting we stood up and left. Not how it’s done folks!

Had dinner here after visiting Dartmouth.
Nice ambiance, good service and good food. Nothing spectacular but probably excellent considering its location.
The haddock was very good with lots of texture and nice blending of flavors.
Meat loaf was ok
Seafood Gumbo was very sausage-​y. I did not care for it, but my son liked it.
Fries were crisp and thin but could use more salt.

Tip top was a favorite place for a very nice casual lunch when I worked in area. Presentation, quality and variety of food always much above what one expects at their very reasonable prices.
Last night tried dinner for 1^st time, w/​o reservation and on tight time line. They did a superb job getting us in, comfortably fed and out while making the whole experience relaxed. Sesame pork & ginger meatloaf is wonderfully satisfying, nicely plated. Not your father’s meatloaf and on other hand not curtsied up. Comfort, substantial, while being light in texture. Ricotta dumplings also very nice experience with sauce, roasted winter veggies and lovely oyster mushrooms. A novel pairing that worked.
A very pleasant meal on very cold night. Nice warm feeling.
I now know they do dinner and will stay more up to date.

We liked this place quite a bit. The food was good and room was nice. Good local choices. Several local beers and good ingredients. We tried three dishes and they all were very good. Meatloaf, pork chop and beef steak. All were good. The staff was very helpful and took care of us.

The atmosphere is very nice and elegant. We had a drink called the «Outrigger» and it was awesome. The food selection is somewhat limited but everything was delicious. the waitess was attentive and helpful in ordering. Highly recommed this place.

Ditto to everything Jeff M said; congrats on the 200
I don’t know who the chef is but I assure you this chef is a pure genius. The food speaks for itself and my how it speaks. Tip Top Café is not a Café but a fine dining restaurant that serves American Modern with a pleasant intrusion of southern flair. The pork belly was the best I’ve ever had and the jambalaya was flawless. The garlic fries are perfectly seasoned, crisp, and not too garlicky.
You can’t make a mistake ordering from this menu; the only potential mistake is to drive by the WRJ and not stop by the Tip Top Café.

We went to Tip Top with a large group, and everyone got something different, so we had quite the variety at our table! I got the hangar steak, and I LOVED it. I ate every last bite, it came with fabulous potatoes, the sauce was delicious… just a fantastic dish. I don’t really care about presentation per se, but it was also pretty beautiful. I split some of those awesome fries with the group as an appetizer, and they were just as good as everyone says. Nom.
Based on my food experience alone, I would for sure give Tip Top five stars. The environment is pretty casual – it’s in a multi-​use building that also houses a yoga studio, some artsy spaces, etc. I expected the food to be just as casual, so I was blown away after my meal.
My family was less impressed. They collectively got: shrimp and sausage gumbo, a burger special, cod, pork belly, and tomato bisque with the beet salad. I asked everyone what their rating would be, and it averaged around 3 – 3.5. I was seriously shocked by this, but maybe they should’ve just ordered the hangar steak.
While I didn’t pay for dinner, I did think it was maybe a bit expensive for what we got. There were no leftovers. The only other thing that is maybe worth comment is that they were playing motown during dinner, which is OK, but it just didn’t really match the space.
My last observation, as someone who is from a legitimate city, is that the area that this restaurant is in was a perfectly nice place. After reading some other reviews, I was under the impression that this area was practically in the ghetto. Words I would use to describe this area would be quaint and trendy.

What in the WHAT?! I don’t understand what I just stumbled into, I still think I was dreaming. Oh and this is a milestone review, #200…and I’m honored to be reviewing such an incredible find.
This isn’t a «café» in my eyes at all unless you count the small outdoor space I saw, which when i was there it was still 12 degrees outside. I’m sure this is a gem of a spot on a 70 degree summer night but I still felt right at home in the dimly-​lit, artfully decorated interior.
Gary was my waiter and he was one of, if not THEE best waiter I have ever had in my entire life. That isn’t an exaggeration at all. He was knowledgeable about the food, helpful at every turn and super pleasant… but not in a pushy or campy way. Kudos to whoever hired him, hold onto him for as long as you can.
I started with the soup of the day, white bean and barley. When a soup is this good to start a meal you know you are in for a treat. Perfectly balanced and topped with fresh herbs, the beans were cooked to perfection and I slurped up everything in my bowl.
Well technically I didn’t «start» with the soup, the bread and faux chimichurri dipping sauce almost outshined everything else I had. While the bread was fairly standard, the dip was divine. It reminded me of ginger/​scallion dip my wife’s Chinese father made us for dunking freshly killed chicken from Chinatown. If it didn’t sit around for at least 24 hours to have all of those yummy flavors blend together in a beautiful marriage then the Tip Top chef really fooled me with this one. Can I get a bottle of this to go… pretty please?
Some of the biggest disappointments came from the pork belly dish. About 10% of it was unedible and super fatty. To be expected with belly but I don’t like wasting meat and some of it could have been trimmed off. Also, the jicama didn’t pair as well with the pork as I think the chef was going for. Sure, it’s exotic but I’d much rather have a green apple compliment the belly, even though they aren’t really in season in the middle of winter. The onion topping was a great touch and I can’t remember ever having those two things together before, usually fried onions are with beef. Still, none of the perceived flaws pulled down the overall rating of the restaurant.
This type of food in Boston would likely cost 30 — 40% more than what I paid (I think the pork belly was $ 18). You’re spoiled at times Vermont, especially when it comes to the farm to table so many of these great joints are offering these days. I can’t wait to go back even though my time in VT is coming to an end… this is one special, classy place and the owners are doing everything right.