The Lazy Goat Tavern — Restaurant in Essex

This place isn't an abject disaster, though sometimes it seems as though it's doing its best to fulfill its destiny of murderous disappointment. I had dinner, drinks, and breakfast here within the course of a weekend.

Upon arriving for dinner, we were informed that we would have to wait an hour and a half to sit inside or half an hour outside. No problem, we'll grab a drink and wait. Much to our pleasure, we were seated inside within about 45 minutes (even though we said we'd rather sit outside so we would be seated faster). The host staff, however, were completely devoid of courtesy in each of our interactions with them. While we were waiting at the bar, the service was poor. I will say that there were three weddings staying at the hotel this weekend, but those were planned months and advance and should have been no surprise to the restaurant management. Despite this knowledge, they decided to plow forth with two bartenders (who, it should be noted, were doing a good job). Such lack of foresight and anticipation is, in my estimation, a indication of systemic problems.

Upon being seated for dinner, every interaction with our waiter was punctuated by seemingly interminable gaps. Again, I presume the restaurant was understaffed. When our food mercifully arrived, it was -fine-. Nothing to write home about—at the end of the day, the Tavern lives up to its name insofar as it serves bar food. You have to pay for bread, which is akin to kicking someone while they're down.

We unfortunately returned the next morning for breakfast. The service was marginally better. However, one member of my party elected to modify her order (changing poached eggs to fried eggs) and was served poached eggs. She declined to send the order back because she didn't want to wait another hour and a half to eat. The waitress was kind enough to give a reduced fee due to the error. After this breakfast, we decided we would not be returning.

The beer selection is on point. Sip of Sunshine, Heady Topper, Focal Banger, Cone Head, Fiddlehead...the list goes on, and you can get a...

Three words. Don't eat here. For being advertised as a "culinary resort" is a disgrace to cuisine and chefs. The hotel itself is quaint and nice - but ALL OF MY PLATE WAS COLD. I ordered a Cornish hen, but did not end up eating it due to undercooked potatoes and cold food. Patiently waited for the sever to come back, which to took awhile. Then asked for it to be taken care of, and about a minute later got what was my plate just slightly reheated. Wasn't handed my fork back, and no server in sight to ask for a new one.

The vegetables, snap peas and squash, tasted like they were frozen and reheated: mostly watery with little flavor. This was also reported to the waitstaff and the cooks simply mixed my flavorful (and undercooked) potatoes with my vegetables. Not acceptable.

Generally, the service was okay but rare. It didn't feel like the waitstaff wanted to be there, including the hostess who was awkward about us asking for a different seating. The restaurant was not set up in sections, but rather each waitress with one table here and there. This makes it harder for them to serve and treat their sections as one large table.

The worst part of this experience is the fact that I knew this was not a simple fluke. Walking into the restaurant, the tables nearby complained of waiting long times and not great tasting food. Especially for those of us expecting a "culinary resort" as a part of our stay. Just Glad we didn't pay for the private and more expensive version of this restaurant.

Overall, if we were to describe our experience in one word it would be "disappointing". It simply isn't what is advertised, and the word "culinary" should be taken out of the resort name. It wasted our time that we could've used in Burlington, and was a letdown for what we wanted to take our family to later on...

The Lazy Goat has a great menu with excellent options for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

During a recent trip to Vermont we stayed at the Essex Resort and we visited the Lazy Goat on our first evening there after checking in. We were able to get a table as this particular night the restaurant wasn't incredibly busy, but typically it is recommended to get a reservation.

We ordered the VT Wagyu burger with fries and the Mac&Cheddar. Wait times between ordering and receiving our food were standard, between 10-15 minutes. The Wagyu burger was juicy and delicious! It was wonderfully seasoned and cooked perfectly to order. The Mac and cheddar had a very smooth but bold flavor and stood out as one of the better Mac and Cheese dishes I have had.

We also visited the Lazy Goat for breakfast the following morning. For breakfast we ordered the French toast for one plate and a standard breakfast of 2 eggs, sausage, home fries and toast for the other. Wait times mimicked the previous evening and were reasonable. The French toast was fluffy and sweet, and the syrup paired with the French toast was delicious! The home fries were wonderful and probably the best part of the standard breakfast plate. Unfortunately I felt like the sausage fell short, on this visit being very tough and difficult to even put a fork and knife through. I assume they were overcooked and this wasn't the norm.

Overall, I would recommend the Lazy Goat if you are looking for a good place to eat while visiting the area. Bonus points if you are staying at the Essex as this choice doesn't require you to leave...