Reviews of El Gato Cantina (Restaurant)

Alister Marble

Love it

Naomi Moritz

AMAZING SERVICE! I left my boxed-up leftovers at the restaurant and my waitress ran down Church St so that she could give them to me. I was really touched and I wish I'd tipped her more. I never write reviews, but this interaction really stood out. The food also was wonderful and affordable. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

John Barney

Terrible experience, never going back. Took forever for the waiter to get to us. We ordered 2 of the El Gato steak burritos for $16.50 apiece. When they came the waiter informed us that the kitchen had run out of rice, so instead of beans and rice they did us "a favor" and gave us a double portion of beans. This meant our plates were FULL of beans. This also meant that our burritos were giant bean burritos with A LITTLE BIT of steak. After complaining the manager knocked off a whole $5. Ridiculous. I took a picture of my plate afterwards. Just wish I could post it to prove my point.

Haun Burlington

Muy bueno music and authentic Mexican food.

Gail French

We were seated quickly on a Friday night around 9 and chips were dropped off. After about 20 minutes and no server we left and went elsewhere.

Shane Marchand

Outstanding drinks! Great service. Food is very good. We come here every time we come to Burlington!

Kara M.

I came in here for lunch while I was visiting Burlington. This restaurant is not located too far from the pedestrian only part of Church Street. We happened to come in on a day when there were $5 margaritas, they were good. Our waiter was GREAT, very attentive and he gets two thumbs up. As soon as we sat down, he brought us waters and chips/salsa. Food was fresh, but I'd say it's average Mexican food. Nothing that will knock your socks off, but not bad. Everything came out fairly quickly. I'd definitely come back and eat here again next time in Burlington.

Doug Hilderbrandt

Good food and amazingly wonderful staff. Will definitely go back again.

Stephen Radel

Only had beer, chips and salsa, but that was good and reasonably priced. Good service and atmosphere.

Arif Kamal Syed

I loved it

Julie Cook

Excellent margaritas!

Ben T

Tasty, but un-spicy. Margarita selection is badass though.

Charlie Wilson

Service was slow. Food was good

Dustin Charland

Its a decent Mexican place. The best one around here in my opinion. The prices are a bit high for what the food is but the food is of good quality! Just know it's probably going to be around $15 - $18 a head with one light drink. Still recommend for a good cure to your Mexican craving!

Mary Andrulot

Delicious food, great service, friendly staff

Matthew Behr

Nice Mexican cuisine, the spicy sauce was not spicy though. Everything else about the place was wonderful and the service was great!

Lan Nguyen Ullrich

Chill ambiance. Good service and menu selection.

Bayan Dawood

did not enjoy eating there. My boyfriend ordered a burrito and we asked if there were onions in it, the waitress said no, but there were. We did not get a refund and we couldn't eat it. Food was overpriced and dry. I had the tacos, but didn't eat it because the cheese tasted very weird. Won't go there again.

Sara Cook

The food was just ok, not great, but the worst part was that it was very over priced. The service was not great, we waited a loooooong time for our bills and then again to pay our bills

Matthew Giulianelli

Always a great experience at El Gato! We love bringing our kids and enjoying a fun family meal together. My favorite is the Pozole!

Brenden Bauer

Best Mexican food I've had since I came to Vermont. Still not the same as it is in the south, but still very good

arthur clark

Believe the reviews the food is very bland and freaking expensive. Ok house margarita

Chris Mazur

Was not as happy as we were after eating at the Essex location. Might have just been the night. The waiter said there was a wedding party. Servings are large, but the food was bland and service was s bit off.

Pierce Fitzpatrick

Great atmosphere, good music and food.

Connor Allan

The food here is really good, my girlfriend and I love coming here to eat. Great drinks and food, need I say more?

Dinesh Mamoria

Delicious food..

Gabriel Harwood

While the food here is a really delicious take on Mexican, the service here is horrendous. Expect a 15 minutes wait for drink orders to be taken. Over several visits we have seen the same inattentiveness from several different servers. The management obviously isn't training these servers well. Great food though...

Pineapple King

Amazing and I'm from Texas so I know Mexican food. But let the warn you that the other location taste NOTHING like this one. The other ones food is trash.

Nicholas Bernier

I really really want to like El Gato. There aren't many Mexican places around here, so it's really tough for me to leave such a negative review. The service is okay, food generally tastes okay, but can be bland depending on what you pick. If you get the right thing, it can be really good. Unfortunately, during my last visit they didn't have any chicken (which is a bit odd), which meant I had to get something else. Long story short, I got something different then normal and spent the whole night throwing up. Normally I would brush this sort of thing off but quite a number of my friends have experienced similarities and with a pregnant wife, I'm not willing to go back and take the risk.

Glick Francisco

I don't think I've ever actually had dinner here but the grilled corn is really really good. Nice selection of drinks, friendly staff. Great place for drinks and a quick bite and i bet dinner's really good too

Blair Wolston

After a few visits I am confident to say that this place has the best pescado taco platter within a day's ride. House margarita's are on point and their revolving drink and food specials keeps the experience new each time. Great music, outdoor seating, and authentic fair priced food. A+

J Mac

As a visitor from CA, I have high standards for Mexican food. This was ok. Nothing was outstanding but if you are craving tacos, this should hit the spot.

Kristina Love

Oh my goodness. They're known for their tequila drinks and boy are they good!

Joseph S

Very good and authentic Mexican food. I grew up in the south in an area with a strong Mexican community and a lot of great Mexican restaurants. Really glad to have discovered El Gato Cantina!

Brian George

Refreshing, tasty food. Variety of options for many price ranges. Great spot for drinks and a snack or something much more substantial. Much more than typical Tex-Mex.

Ashley Fisk

Always amazing food, staff is friendly and their “Birthday Boy” margarita is my favorite!

Stephen Coyne

Good food, good service, great atmosphere!

Tim Barritt

Decent Mexican food. Good local beers on tap. Nice staff. Good location. Enjoy

George Nash

Great Mexican restaurant. Good service and good food at a fair price

Morgan Marshall

Delicious, heavy queso and generous combination platters. Salsa is fresh and chips are crisp. Good Mexican selection for Vermont area. Cute window-front atmosphere with beers on tap!

Lilly Baker

Very good food, service was a tiny bit slow, but worth the wait.

joseph poulin

Excellent tequila selection, the Agave wings are the best in town, bar none! The rest of the food is pretty good. Not outstanding but good. The Burlington el gato is much better than the other one in Essex.

Sabrina Milano

A bit pricey. Was hoping for a lunch menu. Food was pretty good.

michael feeney

Get the mole! Great margaritas.

Carrie Rigoli

Best chips and salsa

Maranda Nielson

Good food for a good price! We went on Taco Tuesday and enjoyed $3 tacos. They were a really good size and they were delicious! Service was okay. We did not have to wait long and got our food quicky!

Jack Waldbewohner

A really neat venue with wonderful atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent Margaritas, and great food.

Rick Valenta

Great food and location. Restaurant was freezing cold. I was shivering until i got my food. Otherwise solid. House margaritas are delicious.

Pax The Ocean

Our food was amazing! Service was outstanding and very quick. The shredded beef was perfect.

Joshua O'Floinn

This place has the best Tex-Mex style food in the Burlington area, as far as I've been able to find. Excellent salsa and queso. My favorite entree is the taco combo with the hongos e epazote taco. Several good vegetarian items. Extensive tequila menu. House-made infused liquors. If you like it spicy, ask for the Dead Cat sauce, which is not on the menu. At the Burlington location, parking can be difficult. No lot, street parking only.

chris k

Amazing margarita selection

Robin Holden

The food is good, but the service has been miserable the last several trips. It's so bad I likely won't go again.

El Bee

LOVE the food! Awesome flavor on the carnitas taco. Great house margarita. The staff is amazing as well!!

Colin Wyler

Fantastic food, delicious tacos, amazing tequila and margarita selection. Would be 5 stars but the service is just not there at all. Sometimes its okay, usually it's not. Its shame because with a little more detail this place could be off the charts. The dirty menus, tables and long waits makes it 4 stars and not 5. That being said , this place is fantastic and has great food.

Nate Palm

Even on a night that had only one wait staff working they were able to stay on top of things. The food was good, the drinks were great, It might've taken longer than I would've liked but as I said only one waiter was there. I still had a great night, I had a great meal, and I had a great night. What more do you want?

Elizabeth Rodriguez

It was nice. Food was good. They need to make better coconut mojitos..more staff also.

Mackenzie Ellor

I have never had a bad meal at el gato. I don’t eat meat but their vegan tacos are incredible!! My only issue with this place is the service/wait time. I work in the service industry myself and always tend to be more on the patient side when it comes to restaurants but there was no reason to not be seated after 10 mins of arriving at the restaurant. There was not a hostess to be found or anyone to help seat me (as I had reservations for a fairly large party). It’s so disappointing but i love the food so much that I always end up coming back!

Tim Townsend

OUTSTANDING! Who knew you could get really great Mexican food in Vermont? El Gato is terrific. Excellent service and great food.

Alissa Matthews

Food and drink are amazing but service is a little unreasonably slow.

Jacque Bazelow

This was our last meal in Burlington before heading back down state. It did not disappoint. We skipped busy church street and managed to get a table here. It was busy but a bit quieter, which was great because we had a baby with us. Tamales were fantastic and my husband loved his tacos. Best tamales I've had in a long time. Complimentary chips with salsa (all amazing) was wonderful. Staff was great if a little slow at the time for the bill (but it was a very busy weekend). Would definitely go again when we're in town.

Jay Furr

Probably the best Mexican food in Burlington. It's hard for a Mexican restaurant to do well in Vermont because, well, Vermonters kinda prefer their food bland. I've seen numerous Mexican restaurants come in, trying to be somewhat authentic, and over time either dumb down their flavors to "New England Mexican" levels or just close altogether. El Gato Cantina, so far, has managed to avoid that. I strongly recommend the pozole soup, a pork and hominy soup that is a staple of Mexican and Latin American cuisine. I'd go there just for the pozole alone.

AL Manager extension

Deff made some good Mexican food

Jacob Dorsey

Best margarita around.

Andrew Christie

Great place for dinner, amazing staff, great food, El Gatto is an awesome night out, always interesting a good place to eat

Geovanny L.

After walking around this fantastic city, we found El Gato Cantina. Nicely located on the heart of the city. Food was great, our waitress was also the best. Very busy Friday night!

michael mutty

Wonderful staff and fabulous margaritas. The food we ordered came out quick and hot. I love this place for the food is authentic and filling. Best Mexican in the area!

Carl Sedon

Excellent food and atmosphere

Aura Doak

Great atmosphere, fantastic food and drinks. Great for kids, families, groups or anyone looking for Mexican food in town. Highly recommend!

Patrick Woods

The wait staff are very nice, but the food wasn't great and the drinks took forever.

Keely Sir-Potato

House margaritas are delicious.

Mark Jackson

Always a great time here! Love the margaritas!

M Kerr

Based on our meal (too much salt & too much vinegar), I'd say stick to seafood in this town. Too far from Mexico, Calif or New Mexico I guess. Waiter wad great & comped us the food portion of the bill.

Edward Pricer

Fresh, warm chips with in house salsa. The Enchiladas de Camaron Verde were very good. And the house margarita is more than serviceable. Good vegetarian taco options too. Fair prices.

Antonia Hazen

Best Mexican food we've had!!!!

Misty Williams

Food was salted too generously. The kitchen crew played music that unfortunately competing with the music playing overhead. The seating by the beautiful window seemed to lack air conditioning so I asked to sit further back in the restaurant. We were then seated by the door the employees use to step out to smoke, which was left ajar so I could smoke too? Overall disappointing. Though my husband said his margarita was fantastic!

Chamwitch

El Gato Cantina is affordable, delicious, and has very nice staff. Be sure to come here if you want to have a great experience with delicious Mexican food!

Andrew Wallace

Great atmosphere. Wonderful tequila cocktails. Food I'd very good. Service can be a bit slow.

Jeffrey Riehle

The bar tender at night is awesome and works her but off, the food is good and well portioned plates. They do have a decent drink list also.

Kathryn Lemay

Amazing real food, especially the salsa!

Lisa Kapoor

Yummy margaritas

Mandy McCoy

The fajita for two was ridiculously good, we chose the coffee seared steak and shrimp with both corn and flour tortillas!! Yum!!

A C

Excellent food and the staff was very kind

Adam Huff

Food was pretty good, leaning toward authentic...no jalapeño poppers. Service at lunchtime was surprisingly slow, considering how empty the place was. Entrees weren't very hot (temperature). Staff was friendly.

Salvatore Boone

I had a burrito, and it was really good. The only thing I didn't like, was that they slathered it with salsa on top, making it really soggy, and impossible to eat with your hands. I had to use a fork and knife, which was unusual for me, being used to picking up burritos to eat them. Do not get enchiladas though, those are bad.

Guy Meredith

The service was terrible and the food very mediocre. We won't be back

Caroline Negron

Food and service was great. A little on the expensive side, but I expected that for this area. I would definitely go again.

Jeoffrey Hubisz

Scratch kitchen food with good drinks service was a little slow

BrieAnna Fleury

Always friendly staff and good comfort food! Try the Meximosas; they are never a bad idea!! Great location, reasonably priced.

Erika Couture

Serious lack of wait staff. Told 20 minute wait. We waited 1 hr 15 min before a table. Then no waitress. Ordered after 20 minutes but no orders not even drinks. Would have moved on but we were a group of 6 multi-age. Too hard to move everyone. Might be an anomaly but all tables around me calling in staff to complain. Good food but not worth the lack of staff with ridiculous wait time.

Greg Anderson

Kitchen fixed one person yet missed other person same table. Almost one hour simple food items. No excuse. Not server, kitchen manager terrible.

David Waag

Good authentic Mexican food

Tim White

Great margaritas, great wait staff. The food is good, as long as you remember that you're eating Mexican food in Vermont. Nice atmosphere and a good view of the people out on the street. I'm a middle-aged White guy, so I'm not a good judge of trendiness. I just enjoy the quiet-ish atmosphere that lets me converse with my companions.

Dan Gomez

Great atmosphere but the food was not good and the service was worse.

katherine savary

Love this place. Normally I would give 5 stars. Buy tonight for the first time ever they served me a un drinkable margarita. No harm no foul. Well worth the visit.

Gary Elekes

So disappointed in El Gato. The food is mediocre at best. Service is literally awful. The bar server is focused on the phone and we waited forever to get a beer. The lights hang over the TVs obscuring the TV viewing. And to make matters worse we walked in at 8:26 PM with party of 7 and the closing time was 9 as noted on the website and they asked us to leave because the kitchen closes at 8:30 PM. The hostesses were rude. We were inconveniencing them. This is a avoid because of lousy service and food that is average or below.

Eric Elkind

Excellent Tacos selection. Great margaritas. We had a good time for sure

Zoe Portlas

It was alright. It's not the worst Mexican food I've ever had, but it definitely is the blandest.

Sebastian Fuentes

Drinks are good...food tastes good, rice not so good

Mary Cain

Been here before and enjoyed it. Sat at the bar, it was a good 20!minutes before anyone showed up at all! Another female customer was at the bar and she had a terrible time getting anyone to come out of the kitchen to take her order. I got my own menu from the hostess stand. No one was there. Finally a female bartender showed up but never even asked if I wanted ANYTHING to drink! Kitchen staff delivered my lunch. The food is good here but the service needs improvement!

Martin Gold

Fair food, pleasant servers, great Tequila selection.

N C

Great place to enjoy a few margaritas, great homemade salsa, would definitely stop again.

Nate Williams

Great food with great service. Spanish music with cute waitresses

Megan Stowe

Took over an hour to get our food. It was delicious, but I wish it wouldn't have taken so long.

William O'Brien

Our go to place for Mexican food in Burlington. For the value, they give you great drinks, free chips and salsa, and outstanding main dishes. We've been many times and always enjoy coming back!

Albert Orbinati

Below average Mexican food and atmosphere. There are better Mexican options in Burlington, in our opinion.

Timothy Olver

My wife and I went to dinner at El Gato and she ordered the veggie burrito, as one vegetarian does. Upon arrival of our dishes, my wife bit into her burrito to find ground beef. We called over the waitress, she apologized, and took my wife's meat and veggie burrito back to the kitchen to correct the misunderstanding. Another burrito was brought out, this time with chicken in it. On a positive note, we very much enjoy the El Gato location in Essex.

Komal

Had great experience! Food portions are great. Ordered Nachos and Chimichangas...both were Yum!

Janice Dawley

Food, atmosphere, and jalapeno margaritas are all great!

Jon Prendergast

Best tacos in Vermont!

Simon Turner

Very good authentic mexican joint with all the traditional dishes you would expect. Tey the elote !!

Amanda Poms

Can get very busy but overall great food and drinks!

Fiona Lowry

This place is wonderful. Great food and drink. A wonderful burlinBurl find!

Sara Gallipo-Sammis

Amazing food and atmosphere

Jacqueline Nichols

Delicious Mexican food!

Stan Payne

El Gato Cantina is a pretty decent Mexican restaurant on Church Street in downtown Burlington, Vermont. They serve tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc. any how you want. Most of the food are spicy, but do have mild sauces at your request. They do serve both, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Their tap system has some decent local beers on as well as domestic beers and Mexican beers. The staff are super friendly. They will do their best to serve you in a timely manner. The place is pretty small and when it's busy, they will put you on a waiting list. Overall, the food, beverages and services are exceptional and you wouldn't be disappointed.

Mark Otte

College watering hole with mass quantities of booze and dangerously attractive U of V attendees. Noisy crowd and a wait to be seated this evening. Food is pretty good and generous portions.. we had the nachos and we were almost unable to eat them all between us two. Enchiladas were only okay, the rice and beans were oddly seasoned? Loved the chips and salsa, however!

Anoob Prakash

I am not a picky eater and just about likes everything. But I felt the food was bland and does not do justice to its price. The wait time was really long, which was okay for me since I just wanted to spend some time with friends. But I might not go here alone or for a quick bite. Most of my friends did not like it. They might probably give a very harsh review too. I would not recommend it to a friend. However, I only visited the place once so not sure if my experience is a perfect example. But I must add that a friend of mine had a slightly worse experience and was really reluctant to go here. Hope you guys have a better time. And don't worry about the tip, they sort of include that in the bill and gives the option to give more tips as well.. haha...

Phil Jones

Food was delicious, great draft beer selection. Staff are friendly and attentive.