Windjammer Restaurant & Upper Deck Pub — Restaurant in South Burlington

I usually don't post reviews but I really wanted the management at Windjammer Restaurant to hear what I have to say.

My mother and I are traveling through and have been in the area for a week. I work in the restaurant industry and am a foodie but keep an open mind while dining out. Out of all the places I've been to this has been my most disappointing experience yet.

First off, I was hesitant to try because the prices are on the high side but we decided to stay and eat and have a good meal. What we got was anything but. My mother got the crab cake off the appetizer menu and I went mid level and chose the Statler Chicken, a bacon wrapped chicken with glaze and I chose the baked potato as a side with an additional side of brussels sprouts. My water at the table stayed empty for 5 minutes and we weren't checked on but once in the 25 minutes it took us to get our food where the lovely server filled it back up for me.

When the food came I was a little shocked. BORING presentation and even more boring and sad to eat. Something was off with each dish. My mothers crab cakes were cold, the chicken was dry, my bacon over cooked, the brussels spouts were sad and not very well seasoned, and my baked potato was SUPER disappointing. Just a whole potato slapped on my plate, no butter, no toppings, no seasoning- Even the outside hadn't been oiled or buttered before baking so it was dry. Nothing. What a travesty.

For a $30 chicken plate I think you need to up the quality of ingredients and care in the kitchen while compiling your plates and presentation. Caring is the key and I didn't feel like any feeling went into making this dish AT ALL. And I care A LOT when I have to spend $30 on a boring AF plate of food from a fancy restaurant that should care about it's quality and presentation. I've had better food at a hospital cafeteria. Not sorry.

When our server asked how it was going I told her all of this, she listened astutely and made me feel heard, apologized, and offered dessert but at that time we just wanted to be done. It was taken off of my bill but that won't change anything if that's the standard you are producing on a regular basis. So please management- If you're charging that much for food, make it something somebody wants to eat and come back for. I unfortunately, will not be, even when I come back to this area next time. Thank you...

I was never a big fan of the Windjammer. Given the commercials, and the overwhelmingly complex descriptions of food that are always "finished with" something, combined with the medium to high pricing, and the relatively small portions, one would expect this would be fine dining.

And to be honest, I don't necessarily need fine dining. But I feel like the pricing needs to be in line with what's provided.

First, for those people that know of Windjammer, it should be known that the salad bar is no longer a thing. To me, that was what it draw was. I understand that covid combined with the wastefulness of people in general who fill a plate and eat half, a salad bar for the price they were offering at was not super sustainable unless it was just an add-on to dinner.

That leaves the prepared stuff.

I'm not going to get super deep into it but I will reiterate that the ratio of price to quality and portion size is out of whack.

The food is okay. To be honest, I would say that the taste of the food is on par with something from Texas roadhouse. Though at Texas roadhouse, you generally get larger portions. The portions here are not super fulfilling. I ordered the raviolis. There were like four or five of them if I recall. My 12 yr old son also got them and he asked me if that's all they were giving him. No, he's not an overfed kid by any stretch of the imagination.

The taste of the raviolis was again, okay. They were inadequately covered with whatever sauce they were using which left an inconsistency in the flavor of the meal.

For the price, they could have added a little extra sauce and maybe two or three more raviolis which would have left the meal more fulfilling. That, or drop the price a little bit and call it a small and offer a large at the current price with more raviolis.

Everyone else's meals looked super basic and with the exception of people saying how good the calamari was, no one was really proclaiming how delicious their food was.

I'm guessing that if you don't have much experience with other restaurants, you might consider this worth it, but I really feel like you're not getting what you pay for here which is a shame because it really does have a pretty nice atmosphere with the exception of the area near the old salad bar.

I'll go to this place for family functions, but would not make the choice to go...

OVERRATED RESTAURANT — RACIST VIBES & MEDIOCRE FOOD

This place is extremely overrated—largely because too many people follow hype instead of forming their own opinions. Here’s the real experience:

• Racist undertones from staff • Unhelpful and reluctant service • Uncomfortably loud upper deck • Staff indifferent to seating preferences • Overpriced food for mediocre quality • Surprise “kitchen service fee” added to the bill

Upon entering, we were greeted with cold, dismissive energy. There were three staff members at the host stand, laughing and smiling among themselves, but their demeanor immediately shifted the moment my partner and I—both people of color—approached. We asked to sit upstairs and were told to “find whatever seat.” Once we got up there, the noise level was overwhelming, so we returned downstairs and asked to be seated in the quieter area. One staff member shrugged it off to a colleague and walked away with a subtle attitude. The hostess who eventually seated us clearly didn’t want to be bothered. She made no effort to offer seating options and initially tried to place us in a dark corner. When we asked for more light, she simply placed us in another corner—still far from ideal.

The only highlight of our visit was our waitress. She was friendly, professional, and clearly trying her best. She is the only reason I’m giving this place 2 stars instead of 1.

As for the food:

The fried calamari was smothered in flour—overly heavy for a starter, especially for someone trying to enjoy a cheat day without feeling stuffed before the main.

The steak was decent, but the fries tasted like they came out of a freezer bag.

And most upsetting of all: The racial bias was hard to ignore. We watched as other guests—clearly not people of color—received warm, attentive service, while we were barely acknowledged. Even an Army veteran dining near us received no appreciation or special service, despite his partner politely asking. That says a lot about the values here.

I will never return. The atmosphere is empty when basic human decency is missing. Avoid this place if you care about genuine hospitality and...