El Gato Cantina

While I understand that there are a lot of restaurants that are understaffed, I believe there were only two staff in the whole place on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe that is normal and a slow time but it should have been an indication of what was to come. While the young lady server/bartender was pleasant, it took quite a while to even get menus, water etc. Then drinks, then a longer than expected wait to get food that was mediocre. I mean it didn't suck but was just 'ok'.
The nachos were like what you would get at Tacobell, nothing special. Out of all the dishes, the birria Tacos were the best. The quesadillas were just average, warm, not much flavor. Overall the whole meal and experience was underwhelming.
I think someone in the kitchen decided they liked a song playing in the dining room, and turned it up to 11 because we could barely talk over the radio. Then our server turned it back down after someone said something.
The menu is very abbreviated and 'no beans or rice' either with entree dinners? What is up with that missing staple?

Probably will NOT return.

Late evening dinner with my wife. Staff was super friendly and accommodating. Food choices are varied. Grain bowl was great.

Fun drinks, great homemade food and friendly Service. Funky decor with a personal touch.

Nice spot for Mexican food in Burlington, VT. Service is friendly. Love the chips and salsa. For an added treat ask for the homemade hot sauce. Ghost peppers big time! Enjoy!

El Gato hosted a large dinner (group of 24 that turned out to be 30!) for us on Saturday, October 28th - Halloween and Champlain College parents' weekend. Working with Event Manager Amy was super easy and she was always super friendly and helpful. The night of the event, our server Olivia was INCREDIBLE! We had more guests than who had RSVP'd, but she did not hesitate or flinch in getting our drink (great tequila selection) and food orders - all correct the first time - was super friendly and joked with our crew and when it turned out we needed another table to fit the entire party, Olivia got it done in now time. We ordered the chicken, steak and pork tacos and the bean dip and all of it was delicious!! So shout out to El Gato, Olivia and the rest of the kitchen and FOH team! Everything was awesome! Thank you!!

Bad & incorrect food. Slow service. Severely reduced menu. Mine & my dad's tacos were cold & rubbery on arrival. My mom's chicken taquitos were hard as a rock and the chicken was dry. My taco had sour cream when I asked to go without and I didn't get rice & beans as requested. My dad got flour tortillas when he requested corn. 9/10 times when I've ordered a tamale (no longer available), I've gotten pork instead of veggie. Took forever to get a drink. Server almost never came by. Only atmosphere is okay. Never go here. Honestly.

Great drinks, great music, great staff.

What can I say? This is the best Mexican bar in Burlington. The line was really long because it is so popular. It took us a while to get our drinks of course, but it was worth it. The staff gave us water and an appetizer while we waited. Normally I would leave but it was worth the wait. These bartenders can really mix a drink!

My order was missing the beans, sour cream, guacamole. When I called the reason was told to me they are understaffed? 30 dollars for half of the meal was ridiculous. I am not one to be negative but maybe next time I will read the reviews and take them to heart. What a waste of time and money!

Believe the reviews!! This food was downright disgusting..... we were desperate for food, ignored any reviews and found out that this Costco/BJs bulk food was crap. First, the salsa was ok, bottled and not made in house , so we thought - hmmm ok we might have a chance here . Then enchiladas came out and they were not corn but flour ( still fine!) and my cheese one was still the shredded cheese not melted whatsoever and the sauce gross. My other chicken mole one was worse- cubed chicken with horrible mole, definitely not edible! Worse though was my refried beans- absolutely NO salt, no nothing. I took a bite and almost gagged. Rice was hard and not good. The burrito, as my guest said was if she bought a frozen burrito at a corner store and it was bad ! We didn't go in expecting much and it sure lived up to that. I almost ( and have never done this!) told the staff because it was the WORST food I have ever had sadly. Please don't go here, it's really gross and not being picky or anything.

Just went to El Gato for first time since Pandemic started. New menu which looked like an upgrade.
Ratings 1-10
Salsa: 8
Tacos: 7 (way to much liquid gushing out)
Mole Enchiladas: 4 (hot mess-tortillas hard)
Refried Beans: 6 (cold)
Taquitos: 6 (not as good as old recipe)
Overall: 6

Vermont still needs to upgrade Mexican choices!