Tilley's Cafe

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161 Church St
Burlington, VT 05401

Phone: (802) 658-4553

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Neighborhood: Burlington

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  3.6 stars - Based on 12 votes

5 star				3 votes	25%
4 star				3 votes	25%
3 star				4 votes	33%
2 star				2 votes	17%
1 star				0 votes	0%

Top Reviews of Tilley's Cafe

12/25/2014 - newcomb munt
Its too bad ,very sad ,iam no longer affiliated with this restaurant,the dismantling occured when my ex wife ,blew it by meddling in the business and having outside sources tell her things were not right. ......i bid farewell to burlington which will always have a fond pleace in my heart,look for tilleys h2o in the grand caymans ,were your old tilleys t shirt and get half off your meal.....aloha

02/05/2010 - Suzan St. JOhn
REVIEW
Tilley’s Café – Uncharted Cuisine
161 Church Street, Burlington
802-658-4553

The Hawaiians have an event called the Hukilau. This is when a group of people go out and fish together, after which they celebrate with a feast. Those who have worked can share in the bounty and the celebration afterwards.

I invite you to a Hukilau, right here in Burlington, minus the wade in the water and pulling of the fish nets. Just come to Tilly’s Café, where a catch of fish is flown in daily from Hawaii, just for your enjoyment.

Tilly’s Café, named for the till of a sailboat, is a unique experience.
The theme of which is Hawaiian/Caribbean. The first thing that struck me as
I sat down was they were playing my favorite Jazz radio station via Satellite radio WBGO, not some cliché tape of Hula music.

I know that the first thing that comes to mind when the word Hawaiian is mentioned is pineapple being predominant on the menu. Yes, there is a Sandwich of Hawaiian ham with grilled pineapple, with caramelized onions, ginger soy mayo, melted cheese on a French role. A Luau salad with grilled pineapple, baby greens, mango, crispy noodles and a guava ginger vinaigrette, and Maui pork tenderloin with sweet potato pineapple hash and both pleasing selections. However, I do not remember ever having pineapple corn bread before, clearly a modern innovation.

Included on the menu are an excellent selection of sushi rolls to choose from, such as, the Hanalei Roll with ahi tuna, crab, avocado, cucumber and tempura. There are a significant number of salads, soups, and sandwiches to please the vegiterians in your group as well as a great juicy burger and Hawaiian cowboy steaks for the carnivores.

I would call this menu either Pacific Rim or World Class; however, there are things other than food that make Tilly’s stand out. They will be offering Valet Parking from Wed. – Sat in the evening and they will be open for continuous service during the “dead zone” hours of 2-5 in the after noon and will be open until 1 AM. This will give people going to the nearby Flynn and Roxy, or any one out late, some place to dine after the show.

Considering that the restaurant has just opened, they are remarkably organized and the
service impeccable and friendly. That goes for the bartender (Bob) who poured out a mean Hurricane from fresh juices not mixes. The ambiance is simple, yet well thought out. Tilly’s has the feel of many small family owned Caribbean restaurants with a powder blue ceiling, a tropical fish tank and a hand painted mural of a waterfall in the main dining room.
I sat near the bar area facing in to the restaurant and by the time I left I imagined that when I opened the door to leave, there would be palm trees and a beach outside. But, alas, it was only downtown Burlington. So come and enjoy your short trip and a taste of tropical island fare; join the Hukilau at Tilly’s Café! Aloha nui nui!

Suzan St. John 2007 a.k.a. Sue Real

05/25/2009 - Alice Mayhew
slow, tense.

10/21/2008 - friends of tilleys
Its too bad this restaurant seems to be losing its p-zaz.We have visited the cafe several times in the last months. The owners seem to never be around anymore,they added such life the restaurant is in a real blank zone.the service has gone from good to bad in a hurry,the drinks at the bar took forever.tThe food is less than a bargain now ,the tastes of the food has also gone down hill, differrent ingredients maybe,who knows.Its a real shame this restaurant has gone from our favorite ,to we will not be back.I dont get it this was once a real gem,the owners really blew it letting this restaurant go downhill.I have no idea what is in store for this once beautiful restaurant.The owners should go back to the basics when they opened.It wouid be a shame to see another restaurant close---wake up suzanne,and newcomb -- make tilleys fun and up beat again.

02/27/2008 - drea1
This was our frist visit, on recommendation from a freind. Located right next to manhattan's pizza.We got a great evening for 2 with all the extras and the bill was less than $50. The hostess was gracious, not snooty.Our sincerely freindly server Haley was excellent, right on the ball, when we were done with app or bread she came with salad and meal. Another server cleared dishes and filled water. Such good service. The valet warmed up our car and removed the snow and took good care of it, and we didnt have to pay for parking while we were at the flynn show. then they discounted the meal since we were going to a show afterward. The atmosphere was beautiful, tastefully artistic and the fish tank was an amazing lot of work to behold, even for adults. Our food was delicious, starting with toasty warm breads ( 2 kinds), with room temp butter (i hate cold butter!) , followed by a delicious sushi tuna special, then house salads (arugula with homemade extra thick raspberry dressing & toasted walnuts on top), then my fiancee's mouth watering homemade cheesy steak fries with flank steak (no visible fat!) which was plated as well as gourmet dishes featured on the top chef show, and my juicy hali hali chicken entree with vegetable hawaiin stuffing and perfectly seasoned and cooked asparagus (not easy to do). We cannot wait to go back, and maybe this will be the site of our rehearsal dinner, our family will def be impressed. The food was priced in tune with the gourmet healthy meals we were served and well worth it.

02/11/2008 - MenuPix User
A bunch of my friends and i went to Tilley's and it might be one of the most annoying places to eat, while the food is good, it has gone down significantly in creativity and quality of the meal. My lobster mac and cheese was bland, the pasta was mushy and there was WAY too much cheese sauce, the filet was SMALL!!! the risotto was oily, our crab cake appetizer was significantly smaler than the last time i was there, 13 bucks for two small canned crab cakes? the tofu pot stickers were pasty and gross.. a salad was made wrong and the server had to go back into the kitchen to get the rest of it. What is going on with the place? the service was great, the food was slow and the worst part was that we had to stop eating in the middle of our dinners so that the owner could talk about herself for twenty minutes.. next time ill pass on tilley's...