Trattoria Delia — Restaurant in Burlington

We had an incredible meal at this restaurant a little less than a year ago, so it became our favorite restaurant. We based an anniversary trip to Burlington on the opportunity to have dinner here again. We had a reservation for 7:45 PM on a Sunday. Dinner here was actually part of my husband’s anniversary gift. Our table was small and not in the best location, but the restaurant had an otherwise comfortable atmosphere. However, we will not be returning. This time we struggled to find dishes we wanted to order on the menu that seemed to have completely changed from our last visit. There were rabbit, beef, and seafood options, but no chicken. There was not a white sauce option for pasta, and many dishes included at least one ingredient that was off-putting or did not make sense. The antipasto selections did not include a more traditional option. We ordered the octopus, and it was just okay for $18. The menu was extremely limited, and that can be good, but not in this case. The chef did agree to make me what I ordered last year, a mushroom pasta with seared scallops. It was not nearly as good, but I appreciated the effort to make an off-menu meal, and the scallops were perfectly seared, but just on one side. My husband ordered a pasta dish with clams. It was served swimming in warmish pesto water. He would have liked Parmesan and some pepper, but was not offered them. It was too late by the time our server asked how our meals were. One of our biggest issues is that our meal was not served with the rustic bread that we enjoyed the year before, nor did any of the tables around seem to have any. I could see where the bread was usually cut, and it looked like the restaurant simply ran out, but it was never mentioned. We just assumed that bread was no longer served. That was not the case. Our server told us she was new, and did not seem to know anything about the dishes on the menu. We could tell she was trying though. We had an appetizer, 2 main dishes, and 2 drinks. The bill was $110 and would have been worth it if these issues were not present. It’s been a day and we are still disappointed and talking about how our favorite restaurant is now our least favorite. FYI: Please note that the main dishes on the “dish recommendation” section of reviews no longer are on the menu;...

Strangest dining experience of my life

We were looking to try something new in the area on our annual visit to Burlington and came across Trattoria Delia. We walked in and were told that it would be an hour and 15 minute wait for a bar seat, meanwhile there were several open tables on the floor. We decided to walk over to the restaurant next door named Sotto Enoteca and we were seated within a few minutes. We immediately recognized some of the staff from Trattoria Delia as they were seating groups in the same dining room as us and we were very confused. Later on, the waiter confirmed that they were the same restaurant.

We felt uncomfortable knowing that the hostess in the red dress at the sister restaurant told us it would be over an hour wait, but she continued to seat other guests in our dining area. We found it strange that when we were initially turned away at Trattoria Delia, she didn’t offer us the option to seat us in their second dining room at Sotto. She avoided all eye contact as she passed our table several times.That set the mood for our dining experience.

We ordered calamari, filet mignon, and lobster pasta which were all mediocre. The steak came out rare when we had asked for it to be medium well. The lobster tasted old which was disappointing considering the price.

Towards the end of our dinner, a group of 4 young women walked in asking if they had seating available and the waiter turned them away and told them the only open table had a reservation. We left 15 minutes prior to closing and nobody sat at that empty table.

It seems like young individuals are not their preferred clientele. Spend your money elsewhere for better...

We visited Trattoria Delia during our first trip to Burlington two years ago and had an incredible experience, so naturally, we made reservations to return on this year’s trip to Vermont. Unfortunately, I think this visit will be our last.

Two years ago, we ordered their meats, and everything was phenomenal. This time, we decided to try their pastas, and it was a mistake. How an Italian restaurant of this caliber can mess up pasta is beyond me, but it was bad. My husband ordered the bucatini all’amatriciana (or maybe it was spaghetti?), and it was anything but amatriciana. The pasta was drowning in a tomato sauce that tasted like Chef Boyardee, the guanciale was barely noticeable, and the whole dish had an overly watery, acidic flavor. It was awful. I ordered the mushroom fettuccine, which was better but still not my favorite. They went way overboard with the cream, throwing off the balance completely.

For dessert, we ordered affogato, but our waitress walked away so quickly we didn’t even have a chance to specify whether we wanted it with amaro or limoncello. She didn’t ask, either, and ended up bringing ice cream without any topping (which was supposed to be included) and with a lackluster presentation.

To be fair, the appetizers were excellent. The duck confit and crostini topped with sardines were both perfectly prepared and absolutely delicious. The price-to-portion ratio for the appetizers was also great, and we still loved the cozy, romantic ambiance of the restaurant. But there’s no excuse for how disappointing the entrees were. For the price and reputation, we expected so...