Cafe Provence

I ordered the flat iron steak. It was not over salted. The meal was nourishing and skillfully prepared. I enjoyed the horse radish with the mashed potatoes providing an exciting change to the dish. I didn’t expect this on my road trip. Thank you to the chefs and Marci!

Seems things are slipping. Went a few weeks ago and good for lunch. Now 2 dinners down and declining. Tonight had the Cavatelli with shrimp 3 shrimp for 12$ seemed high and Cavtelli w chicken was meh and small as well. Seems high price for what you get and service w a smile would be nice. I’d recommend skipping

Dog friendly (outdoor seating) in the warmer months. Some seats are covered but we sat out in the open which was perfect on a comfortable day as the sun was getting into the shadows. They bring bowls of ice water out almost immediately for the dogs. Food was absolutely wonderful, with the exception of the cheesecake I didn't feel was as good as everything else we ate (was not bad, just nothing special nor my preferred type of cheesecake, YMMV). We had a few apps including the escargot salad. For an entrée I had the salmon wrapped scallops. Scallops are always a dicey order and often aren't cooked properly but everything was put together and cooked perfectly. The beer list was nice with a lot of local craft brews. Very relaxing meal with great service and food.

We were looking forward to our visit, but. We visited on a Thursday evening and it was not particularly busy. We asked and found that the chef was in. Our order was one of menu items and one daily offering. Wife ordered the hearth baked chicken with ratatoiulle, green beans and mashed potatoes with red wine sauce. No red wine sauce, instead it was some sort of gravy and served with cold mashed potatoes. In fact, the entire plate was not even room temperature. I ordered duck breast that was cooked adequately and was complemented with green beans, fingerling potatoes and a peppercorn cream sauce. Yikes. Everything was literaly cold except the duck. Not a peppercorn cream sauce but some sort of gravy. All cold. Not a pleasant experience. Server was nice and brought us desserts of her choice to go, we were not consulted so left pretty much with a negative view. I recommend to skip this. I assume the chef was informed but he was non existent.

Simply the best dinner that I have had up in Vermont! Service was A+, the atmosphere was great, however we were loud. New York & New Jersey Folk🤣😂No complaints made against us, awesome folks up in Vermont 👍🏾👌🏾 I highly recommend stopping by this restaurant and 👀 for yourself. I'm definitely going back whenever I'm in Vermont.

Delicious lunch of gazpacho, mussels, and chocolate bombe. Food was fresh and well seasoned. Staff were attentive and gracious, atmosphere was casually pleasant. I enjoyed watching the chef in the open kitchen. Next time I’m in the area, this will be my first dining choice.

We had a fabulous meal on a Wednesday afternoon cooked by Chef Robert. The Salmon was cooked to perfection, served on delicious creamy polenta. We enjoyed everything from our Ceasar and Mesclun salads and the mussels. We look forward returning in the future.

The service here is exceptionally good. They have a vegan lasagna in Brandon VT that’s good enough for anyone…can you believe it? A real gem of a place, really good quality food and ambience.

Very simple, country style restaurant. The chef gave us a wonderful cooking demonstration of one of the dishes on our menu. Chicken Nicoise. It was so nice watching him prepare everything from start to finish. We also got a copy of the recipe. The chicken was perfectly tender and moist and the sauce was very flavorful with butter, garlic, lemon, onions and tomatoes, olives and spinach. It was served on beautifully prepared mashed potatoes. I really would have preferred it over pasta, so when I make it at home I will serve it with angel hair or linguine. The salad was fresh and tossed with just enough of a lemony vinaigrette. The desserts were rich and sweet and they have their own bakery just a few blocks away.

The food is good. It ends there. The hostess and waitstaff are snooty. Never learned to smile. We had reservations for a birthday celebration at a place we like to sit and we were 13 minutes late. The hostess said she had to give it away and the restaurant was half empty since it was 5:45. In New York City, restaurants have a 15 minute grace period. When I mentioned to the hostess that most restaurants give a grace period, she was very snippy and said "well we don't do that here". Not sure why the superior attitude, this is Brandon VT. Give me a break. Oh, and the restaurants was cold.

Great value, good food, solid ambiance but it took 45 minutes to get our food (we said something after 35 mins). They share a kitchen with the restaurant upstairs

No different than their pub (Center Street Bar) downstairs, the food is "okay" depending on what you order and where you're used to dining I suppose. When it comes to level of service, here's where in my opinion it greatly lacks... I remember eating here twice, and both times it was for brunch...once fairly busy and once not at all. First time I dined solo...she wanted to seat me outside ...and I said no, I would like to sit indoors since since you have ample tables available... it wasn't busy yet I felt rushed... Eventually when I got my order which took waaay too long for eggs and for it being less than 1/2 full, the waitress asked if I was finished and or if I wanted anything else...I said "let me get through this first please". Second time I was with 2 others...this waitress was a "bit" more attentive but the trouble came when we got our check and gave her a $100 bill and after 20mins we asked what happened to the change ? After getting another involved it was apparent she never looked at the bill we handed her and just shoved it in the register and that was it ! When we brought to her attention, she checked and sure enough there was the $100 bill. Sad there are so few really good dining spots in this cute little town... There's the River Pub & Grill across the street but unless the general manager or the chef's wife is waiting on you, service also lacks...the other servers tend to get hung up chatting with the kitchen staff and forget about you...however the food is good, again depending on what you order and what you are used to.

The duck was superb, cooked to perfection over a bed of rice. The cavatelli, with shrimp, was likewise delicious. My wife thought she might be in Xanadu. Great service and a warm atmosphere. We will return the next time we're in Brandon.

The food was really good. I asked for a decaf cappucino but received a caffeinated one with a flat foam and milk that was off. But the staff forgot my daughter's orange juice. I asked twice and never received it. When I got my bill I asked that a portion of the cost of the meal that included the orange juice be removed and the waiter said: "The Juice is worth nothing because it was free." Then made a zero with his hand. "Nothing. Zero" he said. I explained that not receiving the orange juice was like only receiving 80% of my meal since it was promised to me on the menu but negotiated the orange juice to go. That interaction put me off the restaurant permanently.

Dined here while on a visit to see my grandson at UVM and had a terrific meal A cozy setting and wait staff most attentive I will return Jim at Maplelag in Minnesota

The food is still fine. The service has gotten a tad better. All of the waitstaff is very nice and it's super cute inside. I would love this spot if the food was better and in larger amounts. It can be very skimpy and not very good. Also everyone is raving about the desserts but all of the desserts come from the bakery (Morningside) down the street so if you like them you can check out their yelp page. Their pizza isn't very good once again better pizza in town and down the street. But the people are nice and a lot of the stuff is locally sourced!

Visiting Vermont on a bus trip and we had the luxury of seeing one of the entrees being made by the chef and owner. He was very friendly and funny!! He made it look so easy! He even asked someone from our group to go up and dice half an onion with him. We had 2 waitresses taking care of about 45 of us and they were excellent. We had a choice of 3 entrees: chicken, beef or vegetable quiche. I had the beef that was so tender with red wine sauce over mashed potato, it was amazing!! I heard nothing but positive comments for the other entrees as well. For desert we had a combination of little bites from their bakery and all were amazing. Lemon squares were tasty lemon curd with buttery crust, spice muffin with cream cheese, 7 layer bar and flourless chocolate cake. Our room was just an open space with the kitchen setup with a mirror for viewing. I didn't get a chance to look at the dining room or upstairs seating. I'm not a expert on French cooking but I was impressed with the flavors and would go back if in the area.

Good Service, delicious meal, rich yet rustic ambiance! Will definitely return and recommend to friends!

Great place. Highly recommend. Service was a bit slow but it was worth the wait! Delicious quiche!

Fresh food and lovely bistro food. I had the quiche made fresh vegetables. My husband the Gorgonzola hamburger

Our party of ten was seated and given great service despite the restaurant being short a couple of servers the night we went. Food was great; members in our group especially loved the appetizers and the fish entrees. Two of us loved the veggie lasagna. The children on our group had great choices from the "kids' menu"; they had a great choice of items, including dessert. The cafe provided great outdoor seating (as well as indoor) and we were fortunate to have chosen a lovely warm evening. We all highly recommend this upscale restaurant in a beloved, small Vermont town!!

Had their fish and chips and a Fiddlehead IPA. Chocolate "bomb" for dessert. Looked great, tasted great. Fish was a tiny bit oily and the bomb didn't include the advertised caramel in the sauce. Otherwise this review would have been a five. Service was friendly and fast. We sat outside on a warm summer afternoon and the whole experience was wonderful. Thank you!

The food here is superb. We stopped here for lunch because we were traveling with dogs and they have dog friendly seating outdoors. The outdoor seating is very comfortable with shade provided by some large umbrellas. Our waitress happily filled the water dish for our dogs. I wanted to try everything on the menu, but settled for the lobster roll with pommel frites...best fries I've had. The lobster salad and bread it was on were perfection. My husband had the roast beef panini and enjoyed it as well. Finished with a maple creme Brulee...delish. This was a lovely lunch...would definitely go back for dinner

It was our first time there and we had the worlds BEST server and bartender, Dawn!!!! The entire menu looked divine and it was a tough decision to make! We had a chicken pasta special and their steak special with a side of scallops. We are it ALL and the portions were generous! The ambiance is very family friendly, bright and inviting. We live an hour away and can't wait to come back to see Dawn!

The food was AMAZING!!! so delicious!! 10/10 recommend! AND the homemade bread was to die for! we had Dawn as a server, and she gave wonderful service and was very friendly, along with all the other staff!

Good food, nice service and a perfect location in a nice little downtown. If you are in the neighborhood a must go!

Went in on a Sunday afternoon. Inside the restaurant smelled strongly of stinky cheese, so no one was sitting inside but the tables outside were full. They could not accommodate our party so we didnt stay, but not sure what they did to make the restaurant smell so bad, especially during what looked like a busy time. Also, the staff gave us some attitude about being walk-ins, but that was probably just because they were trying to fit a busy crowd into just the outside tables.

Excellent food. Tried and true. Great for special occasions and have to love the crime brûlée!

Disappointing $270 dollar dinner for four. Crab cakes had no flavor except the tartar-like sauce. The tuna and duck breast were not cooked to order. And who peels the crispy skin off a duck breast. The sauces were misleadingly described and more like soup than sauce. The potatoes and halibut were overcooked. The presentation was pedestrian. The service was sloppy and we were ignored for long periods. I suspect the chef was absent. Maybe the pizza and burgers are better, but they're not why I go to a French restaurant.

Excellent food and location. Waitstaff is challenged to keep up with many customers - so plan on waiting a long time but enjoying the company of friends. (Waitstaff had to be reminded multiple times to come to our table, which was in middle of patio). Delicious desserts and amazingly well-prepared entrees. Who knew this wonderful cafe was in Brandon?!

Fine service. Given with smiles Yummy croissants. Many other goodies too. Many to choose from. All my favorites so far. I'm planning on going back when I have more time to look around!! Congrats to the new owners.

Was there with wife last Thursday in bar downstairs and the bartender had no clue what she was doing, was worried bout talking to certain people and not others, was very rude , food is not what you would expect at a bar in small town , was here a yr ago and was totally different, the bartender was more attentive and very social , would not recommend this place to anyone if they don't change there staff and menu...

Hello fellow Adventurers! I wanted to try this place out while visiting Vermont, but the greeting was not welcome, at all. Had I known you needed a reservation I would have made one. However, upon entering the 'host' coldly asked me this and I replied no I was here from out of town. The mood entirely changed. The place was pretty empty, two patrons on the corner at most. I explained that I followed the Vermont travel restrictions and at the time they did NOT require proof of vaccinations (I was fully vaxed) so I didn't think to bring it. I was wearing a mask and have cautiously practiced social distancing. The response was that I needed to show proof (I understand each business can make that call) however the delivery and interrogation of it was uncalled for. Where was I from? Why am I here? How long have you been in isolation? Mind you my Airbnb said that I should not have had such issue. But to do this in front of other customers? Loudly? Absolutely the rudest host I've met and I was a Hostess. I felt uncomfortable and unwelcome, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to try this as I was in town for my birthday. I plan trips for quite a few friends, and this place will not be on the list of 'try here'. They offered to go but to enjoy the local eateries it's best to sit in. Thanks but no thanks. will never stop here ever. UPDATE 9/7, 9:20 PM - I was there in February(my checkin date validates this), this is NOT a fake review as the OWNER THINKS. To assume so is rude in itself and speaks for the ENTIRE establishment. UPDATE 9/7, 9:35 - emailed owner about the assumption and slander of this review. But clearly if the owner is messaging and making the aforementioned they clearly don't have bedside manner with hospitality. UPDATE 9/7, 10:12 - owner will no apologize; news flash I don't need one. I RARELY give lower than a 4 star review but clearly this location has not understood hospitality. also to be clear this was at the height of pandemic, but i read that you did not need proof of vax, so the owner stating his staff was asking questions based on vermont travel guides is untrue. Due to the fact that i went to a few other locations (including the co-op, bookstore, 2 brothers tavern) and had no interrogation. however, the owner should have contacted me directly BEFORE responding to my review. not only do they look bad for not digging a bit about when i checked in it makes them look bad for making a WRONGFUL assumption that i was lying. oof. shared this EVERYWHERE. 9/8 - to REITERATE as the owner of a business your first response shouldn't be to accuse someone of lying, it should be to reach out privately and research.

This place is fantastic. Take a day trip drive down route 7 to Brandon and treat yourself. Better than most places in the Burlington area.

First visit, tho' I've wanted to go for years. Ordered the baked haddock with lobster polenta and a glass of the house rosé. OMG, this was perhaps the best lunch entrée I've ever had, certainly among the best. If you've ever been to Provence, you know about the pervasive, soul warming sunshine. Imagine having that for an hour. In February. In Vermont. There are vegan, vegetarian and GF options on the menu, and if they don't work, the chef owner, a former NECCI professor, can accommodate special diets (as a courtesy, I'd call in advance). There were some French and some more typical American dishes on the lunch menu. I looked at the dinner menu; more of a French flavor there but there are still choices for the less adventurous. Booth and table seating indoors with a patio (but not in February, thanks!). Very friendly staff, prompt professional service. Check the website site for theme nights and cooking classes. I'll be back!

The food was really fabulous, but I cannot give my dining experience more than 3 stars because of where we had to sit and the waitstaff. The person who seated us insisted we needed to sit outside on a cold night, claiming that the empty tables inside were all reserved. An hour later it didn't look very full inside as we huddled outside. The waitstaff had to be asked repeatedly to bring us flatware. I mean, come ON this is waiting tables 101.

A really special spot in an adorable Vermont town, Brandon. You can tell the continuous effort put in here, to improve the beautiful building and excellent patio area, as well as the staffs knowledge and extensive specials options. I went with the crab cake eggs Benedict and it was truly the best benny I have ever had. Not too crabby and the hollandaise paired perfectly with it, light and delicious! Everything cooked perfectly and very reasonable prices for some a well crafted meal! Definitely worth a day trip to Brandon for!

Today was our first time to Easter brunch. Will DEFINITELY NOT be our last. We have been several Thanksgivings, a Mother's Days, and a few just "regular" suppers. Food has always been fantastic! portions are not skimpy, and the staff are just wonderful. Highly recommend

So, I just wanted to reinforce my terrible review. The erroneous charge could have been immediately credited, per my credit Union and the woman I dealt dealt with on the phone. The restaurant refused to do it. And lied in their response.

In Vermont for two weeks and we tried this French restaurant for lunch twice and the bakery owned by the same people. The pastries at the bakery were fantastic. At the restaurant we had the fish stew and crab cake sandwich. Clam chowder and mushroom risotto with salmon. There's a business beneath the testy that gives French cooking lessons. All under the same business.

The food was pretty good. I had flat iron steak with mashed potatoes and it was really good. I liked the sauce a lot. Also the Cali Mari was good. The seafood stew was also very good, lots of seafood in it and the presentation was nice. We got the duck but the sweetness of the blueberries and oranges was a bit odd and didn't go well.

We were on our way from Boston to Middlebury, VT for a weekend away and it was time for lunch. The location is tucked a bit up and off the street, but certainly it turned out to be a great find. Our server, Dawn, was running the room as the restaurant was crowded for lunch on a Thursday, but she gave us a good balance of attention and space and explained lots of the delicious sounding menu options completely (making it all that more challenging to pick just one). It was one of those cold days with the promise of rain in the air so I started with New England clam chowder. It was one of the best bowls I have ever enjoyed - from the thick cream loaded with clams and potatoes to the croutons decorating the top. Next, I chose chef's beef bourguignon which definitely took me back to a bunch of little Parisian restaurants I found in the past. I correctly paired it with a glass of Chateau Toutigeac red Bordeaux. Tender beef bites enrobed in a uber rich sauce around a small island of definitely garlic mashed potatoes in the center. The serving was presented with a very light, flaky pastry that was gone well before the remainder of the dish. After two totally satisfying and over the top courses (this was just intended to be a quick stop for lunch) I was drawn to the quest through the dessert options that Dawn presented. I settled on the chef's tasting plate to give us a chance to sample several of them. This find is a gem and we will definitely look for it soon to experience more on the menu. Thanks Dawn and chef!

Had one of the best eggs benedict of my life here! Food was spectacular, good service, and cute French bistro ambiance. Very reasonable pricing as well and plenty of nearby street parking.

The service here needs to be better, since there weren't even people a lot of people there, but it took forever for someone to take our order, to get our food, to get our check and etc. I got the escargot pastry, but I thought it was too much balsamic dressing and wasn't what I expected, but it was decent. P got the duck confit, but we both thought it was way too sweet, it was more like a dessert duck. I didn't care for any of the cocktails, so I ended up just asking our waiter/bartender to make a margarita, since I thought margarita was an easy cocktail to make, but this wasn't good at all. However, this place was my favourite out of all the places that I tried in Vermont.

Favorite restaurant in North American and perhaps the world We have been lucky to dine at cafe Provence since it opened several times a year when returning to Vermont roots/family. Each time is an unique remarkable experience with Robert Barral and his team. The ingredients, local, New England and France along with fresh menu ideas are just amazing. Thanks for all the wonderful meals and being consisting just amazing ... moms day today was remarkable - Michelin rating would be double digits ... Former high pond ski area skier ...

I love this restaurant! I have been here for so many years! They have the best fish and chips!

We went forlunch today and it turned out to be a 90minute experience. The waitress was very rude. The food was not that outstanding and we would not return for another disappointment.

Having vowed never to go here again. Hungry, tired and meeting a friend how bad could a lunch be. My quiche of the day was literally burned on the bottom. No soggy crust there. The Cobb salad was a bowl of lettuce and a rather sorry hard boiled egg. The niçois salad was again a plate of lettuce and some undercooked scallops. Two stars for the service. The server brought me a slice of cake for the bad quiche. I still don't know how they let that out of the kitchen.

Food and atmosphere was outstanding. I had the seafood stew w risotto and highly recommend it.

Reservations are recommended but when you get there no one will know when the dinner menu is available. Skip the inattention chef has placed on the front of house and enjoy better wait staff anywhere but here....Chris

It's been a few years since we visited Cafe Provence and I'm glad we returned. Having been here in Vermont since last Spring due to the Covid pandemic, Cafe Provence was the perfect place to return for a casual lunch in Brandon. The place was busy but not like times past. Yet, Chef Robert's Menu specials were worth trying. For soups we decided upon Clam Chowder and French Onion soup. Full disclosure; this Onion soup was superb and well beyond what often passes for "French Onion Soup" elsewhere. Really excellent. For our meal, we chose the Specials of the Day; my wife ordered a panini with fried Oysters and I decided upon a Boeuf Bourguignon. Both were good choices. The Oyster dish was fresh and garnished with spinach and frites. My Boeuf B was a nice melody of the beef in a sauce of mashed potatoes, garlic, mushrooms and bacon chips covered with very fresh green beans. Quite a large dish so had to bring some home! Our server Andrea was both pleasant and efficient and rounded out the dining experience. No room for desert but we again visited the Gourmet Provence: Bakery and Wine Shop (great pastry) just down the street. Chef Robert has a fine selection of French (but of course) wines as well as notables from Portugal, Germany and Italy, etc. As my wife exclaimed, "Good way to help beat the Covid blues."

My husband and I visited Brandon for a friend's wedding. My husband was one of the groomsmen, so we went a day earlier for the rehearsal and stuff. Since I wasnt part of the wedding (just a guest), I wandered around the town and ended up eating lunch here while my husband was at rehearsal. I went right when they opened and sat on one of their outdoor seating. It was a nice space. I ordered the half panini and half soup. I had their panini of the day (beef something...sorry about the vagueness but I dont remember what else was in it..) and I chose clam chowder for the soup (the other choice was lentils). The panini was tiny, probably half the size of my hand and I ended up getting lentil soup.. I'm hoping I just ordered the wrong item on the menu, because the panini just tasted like mayo, the portions were small, and overall was pricey for the amount of food they served. I personally had better food at the chinese spot next to the Brandon Inn than here. It was disappointing.

This restaurant is severely understaffed and, as a result, has many flaws. These flaws could easily be fixed if the owner of the restaurant would hire several bus boys, one to two additional waitresses, and perhaps a few more sous chefs. It was clear from the moment we sat down that the maitre'd (and I use this term loosely) was doing four jobs--in addition to seating guests, he was cleaning the tables and bussing plates, making sure the orders were in some semblance of order for the chefs, and serving guests. He was harried and didn't seem to know which job came first. The waitresses were similarly harried. It took at least 20 minutes after we were seated before we were even acknowledged by the waitress, and even then it was because we reached out and told her we wanted to order. She was sweating and seemed quite overworked. She and others who were asked to bring out utensils and plates or fill water were unable to do so in a reasonable period of time because they were so overworked. We selected food that would not take much time to cook--burgers. We both requested they be medium and only one was. It took 40 minutes for the burgers to be served. We were able to overlook this because of how harried everyone was, but this really should be unacceptable for a restaurant on a Saturday night at peak tourist season. This restaurant needs serious help. More staff would be a great start.

Excellent service, great food, Awesome cocktails!!!! I would suggest this great place to any traveler!!!!

We had a delicious brunch today at Cafe Provence in Brandon. easily made a reservation en route from Southern Vermont on Resy and were seated when we arrived. We had omelets, eggs Benedict with crab cakes, home fries, brioche toast with yummy jam and butter... mimosas and 1 of our table had a sandwich with a salad. It was agreed by all that it was a great meal!

Cute spot. Got takeout cheese pizza and Cesar salad. Fresh but average.

Waitress was edgy. Can deal with that. However what this establishment considers to be a crab cake is preposterous. It WAS NOT a crab cake, but rather 2 tablespoons of oil soaked panko breadcrumbs. With 2/3 specks of crab to be seen. It didn't even form a solid shape. It was DISGUSTING. I could not/would not eat that mess. When I politely mentioned it to the waitress she said ok, I'll let the kitchen know. No apologies, no offer to replace it with something else. That was it. She gave us our bill, did not adjust for the non crabcake. Clearly they don't care if we ever return. Another thing we noticed , their website photos/description is a massive mis representation of what they actually serve Like others have said in their reviews. We will not recommend or go back.