Pulcinella's — Restaurant in South Burlington

My boyfriend and I came here for a romantic kind of meal. A couple waiters awkwardly made eye contact but ignored us before a host stopped. He said they were full but we could sit at the bar “if you want”, obviously hoping we wouldn’t “want”. That was fine with us. We could see empty tables around us but assumed they had a reason. As we would later overhear, they were apparently short staffed that night.

The actual decor is kind of haphazard and chaotic. You can see some random boxes and jars and cans of various food items sitting around. There doesn’t seem to be a theme or aesthetic that they’re going for. You’ll see country thrift store trinkets mixed up with fancy sculpture and paintings… No deal breaker but odd for a higher end authentic Italian restaurant.

I wanted a cocktail and got a Bellini. Served without any frills in a wine glass, it tasted like sparkling white wine. No hint of peach flavor or sweetness which was disappointing. The bartender was very friendly and sweet. I ordered a pasta dish, boyfriend got burger and fries. The food came out fast which might have been a sign it wasn’t altogether freshly prepared. Burger and fries was fine, but my pasta dish was unreasonably salty. It was a kind of thick, slippery mass of undercooked pasta, unidentifiable vegetables, and little cubes of a salty cured meat that I forget the name of. It was actually repulsive and I take no pleasure in saying that. I sent it back and explained it was way too salty. The bartender/waitress apologized and asked if I wanted anything else and I ended up just getting the ricotta cake for dinner. I was excited to try it based on a very positive review here.

It had a nice flavor, but the cake was cold. I don’t know if that’s intentional but warming it would have resulted in a much better texture.

We didn’t let it bother us and had a nice time but this place has tons of room for...

Really enjoyed our experience here. Atmosphere is casual but cozy and there seem to be sections of the restaurant with different lighting. We shared the fried mozzarella stuffed olives and a salad to start and that could have been a meal in itself. The olives came over a salad so the actual salad was unnecessary. They were interesting, but i'd probably never order them again. The entrees were also large and absolutely delicious. Server was right on. Highly recommend this restaurant.

Update 2022-03-07: The restaurant has changed locations. The new place has a very warm, comfortable, elegance with many separate small rooms to dine in. Our server was attentive enough without being intrusive. Drinks were very large and I've cocktail each lasted the whole meal - which was sad because we had planned to get a bottle of wine with dinner - but that was at least partly the fault of poor timing in the kitchen.

Our server took out drink order anyway immediately. They came out in a reasonable time. We ordered our whole meal at once, and i assumed the kitchen would time the dishes, but perhaps it wasn't busy enough and the needed something to do. Our soup and salad came out together, and while we did not dawdle, our entrees came out while we were still working on the salad.

Had the pea soup and the insalata caprese, both very good. Then the gnocchi and a chicken parmigiana. Both good and very large portions.

Would come back, but put our orders in one course at a time, or at the very least, inform the server that we are...

Went for the first time for my friend's birthday. Never heard of this place, but my brother gave me gift certificates as Christmas. (He may have gotten them for a bargain at Costco...)

Looked at the Italian menu online, but had no expectations. Totally thrilled & surprised with our lunch! Eggplant Panini was fresh and juicy. Had to ask for extra napkins. Which is a good thing! ☺️ Very generous portion and saved half to bring home. It came with salad. My friend had the classic spaghetti and tomato sauce. It was a bright sauce with herbs.

The dessert menu looked enticing. We had discussed going to Al' French Fry's for creemees, but the birthday boy was happy to get house gelato. Vanilla for him and Pistachio for me. Again generous servings.

Hallie was our friendly and knowledgeable server. She was very attentive and helpful in describing the menu. Kyla, the manager, stopped by several times,also, to fill our water glasses and ask how everything was.

We went on a sunny Tuesday noontime. The crowd was a mix of seniors and business people on their lunch hour. There was a lot of light by the windows. Enjoyed the old school Italian posters and artwork. Next time I love to sit outside and try the pizza and...