Pascolo Ristorante — Restaurant in Burlington

My husband and I wanted to eat here last Wednesday night (Jan. 5th) and had one of the weirdest experiences ever. Long story short, I'm not here to review the food since we never got seated.

The indifferent greeter asked if had a reservation - we didn't - and then said they were only taking reservations that night and that we could sit at the bar at some point. She didn't offer us a seat or menus while we waited, although there were some seats at the front. I asked for menus, she gave us some. I noticed two empty seats at the end of the bar that weren't cleaned yet and asked about those. She said that since they'd recently been used she was waiting a while "in order to be nice to the bartender." (!) I thought she was going to say that she was waiting for that section of the bar to air out a bit for Covid precautions - that would have made more sense even though it would have been kind of bonkers. It also would have made sense if there were social distancing measures being taken at the bar, but there weren't. It was packed all along the long side. And everyone at the bar was eating and chatting. It wasn't a frantic bar situation.

In the end, it was as though she just didn't want our business and hoped that we'd go away, which we did. It was SO WEIRD. Maybe we didn't measure up to their standard for clientele. We'd just been shopping and had some bags with us... was that it? Or were we not dressed well enough? We had on winter gear like everyone else does in VT in January. Just not cool enough? We are always unfailingly polite to people. I just don't get it. It's a week later and this experience still doesn't sit right with me. Snobbishness is the worst.

UPDATE: I read the response from the proprietor. Thank you for your apology. The bottom line is, your hostess was unwelcoming. She didn't offer us a seat while we waited - I had to ask if we could sit down. The wait time wasn't short. There were many empty tables; I understand that supposedly they were reserved, but then at least offer us a seat while we wait. I also understand being short-staffed at this time, but I don't think that was the issue. Her explanation for the bar situation also didn't offer any hope that we'd be seated soon. I think she just wanted us to leave. And we did. :) We had uninspiring food down the street, but at least they were polite. I'm reminded of that Maya Angelou quote: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." We just felt bad there, bad enough that I decided I needed to say something a week later. And no, I'm not interested in giving this place a second chance even though the food looks amazing. I will...

Such amazing food and great service. I unfortunately had a bad experience at the Von Trap Family Lodge Resteraunt and the owners and management should read this review because it's clear example of how people should be served!

We were instantly greeted by the host with a smile and a warm welcome even were there more than likely one of there last reservations of the night. Yes we came to this resteraunt close to closing time again but because of the demand of me and my partners schedule we can only enjoy a meal at a resteraunt later in the evening.

Cat M. our server new her menu very well and tour guided us expertly and helped us choose a Cesar, and the arugula salads as our starters. And the parparadelle Al fungi and the lamb ragu with gluten free pasta as our main entree' (note I do have a small gluten allergy and minor issues with dairy Cat made some excellent suggestions and made sure the parn was put on the side).

The salads were properly dressed with the right amount of dressing and once the pasta dishes came into site you can instantly smell the delisciosness that was about to hit our pallets. Each bite was better than the last. We decided to end our meal with flourless chocolate torte. Again phenomenal. Overall the food had great flavor points and even though it was the end of the night our dishes tasted fresh unlike the horrible obviously bottom of the pot lentils I had at The Von Trap Familly lodge Dining room with what they called duck confi.

The whole dining service was simply phenomenal. Cat checked in with us at the appropriate times and found time to make pleasant conversation. She paid attention to detail and was on top of everything. Thank you to Cat. For the excellent service and thank you to the excellency kitchen staff that fed us an amazing meal that tasted probably as good as the first dish out of the night. von trap family lodge please eat here and take notes because this how you're supposed to serve and make a meal for...

No dining available inside on a Thursday at 5pm and the indoor glass room was too hot even though the windows were open. Dined outside on sidewalk. Pedestrian traffic was moderate and several people begging were near by but not approaching the tables but one very vocal gentleman using swear words loudly as he stood by the outer tables was a bit alarming for a few moments. The Strawberry Na-garita was refreshing but the lime garnish overpowered the strawberry flavor. Ordered a small Caesar salad and mussels. Salad plentiful as well as the Parma cheese just wished the anchovies were a bit more present. The mussels were served in a pleasant red sauce but cooled down quickly with half the dish going cold before consumed. It still tasted good and the crusty bread was a nice touch on the side. Also ordered the garlic Parma bread appetizer which came out in warm thick slabs of crusty bread. This is no fault of the restaurant but when the slight breeze died down the flies took over and hovered over and on the plates. Try to get reservations for indoors to avoid this. The entrees were gnocchi in a marinara sauce with tiny mozzarella balls tucked in. Fresh basil and Parma nice addition. Gnocchi very tender, maybe a bit too tender as some became mushy. Red sauce very fresh tasting and not bitter or tasting like a tin can. Other entree was rigatoni bolognese and the sauce was a healthy balance of tomato and meat mixture of beef and pork. Service slowed down as it began to fill up. Waiter appeared to get frustrated at times but remained civil. The wrong bill was given to table and took a bit to get correct and get...