Best of Central Vermont chatted with restaurant folks from the state’s capital to find out where to go to experience some of the city’s best cuisine.

Sarducci’s on a perfect summer day.

SARDUCCI’S 

According to co-owner and chef Jeff Butterfield, Sarducci’s is “a place for any occasion,” from birthdays to date nights to business meetings to get-togethers with friends. “The goal is always to make the customers happy and feel welcome, and we strive for that over everything,” Jeff says. “The staff is one big extended family, and I believe it shows in our day-to-day operation.” 

The restaurant was founded in 1994, and Jeff joined the staff in 2012. Now, he runs the place with his business partner, Connor Blouin. The front of house and kitchen have undergone major renovations, but the original brick oven, built on-site, remains, along with the bar, which was repurposed from a restaurant in Chicago.

Since it first opened, the restaurant has more than doubled its seating capacity, and its stone patio offers guests a “real riverside dining experience.” During the pandemic, the restaurant developed different to-go menus for both lunch and dinner, and both are worth checking out.

The penne alla vodka arrabbiata is a dinnertime pasta staple, and the Mediterranean chicken comes with a sherry-butter sauce. The vitello alla parmigiana is a classic, and the scampi e cape sante is served with scallops and baked in the wood-burning oven. The restaurant also offers gluten-free versions of their pasta and pizza.

Sarducci's wood-roasted salmon with creamy risotto, artichokes, roasted red peppers, capers, and a lemon buerre blanc.

At lunch, those specials are traded for a sandwich list, featuring delectable options like caprese flatbread and fried chicken Caesar wrap. Sarducci’s imports all its pasta from Italy, but they’re looking to add a commercial space in the building where they can produce it themselves – something Jeff says has always been his dream.

Oakes and Evelyn 

Owner chef Justin Dain describes Oakes and Evelyn as a spot that offers a “delicious take on American cuisine with hints of Japanese and Thai flavors.”

The menu at the farm-to-table restaurant includes flavor combinations that come together with the help of local farms and artisans and is “the culmination of decades of toil and more dreams than can be counted,” Justin says.

Tuna crudo, avocado, crispy shallots, sesame aioli, and radish.

Menu highlights include dishes like General Tso’s octopus, roasted bone marrow with bacon jam and pickled herbs, pan-roasted halibut with coconut rice, aji amarillo curry, five-spice-braised beef short rib, as well as monthly highlights from local breweries, farms, and vineyards.

Crispy General Tso’s octopus, shishito peppers, harissa aioli, peanuts, and cilantro.

Justin says he wanted to open a spot close to where he grew up, so he could bring his food home to his community. Since its opening in February 2021, Oakes and Evelyn has stayed true to its vision of keeping things simple, delicious, and from the heart, from its raw bar to its homemade pastas and more.

Oakes and Evelyn's scallop crudo, with crispy butternut squash, apple, shiso, and black garlic emulsion.

Justin plans to open a new location in Woodstock, VT, this summer. “We can’t wait to open this spot in such an amazing place with such history,” he says.

HUGO’S BAR AND GRILL 

A neighborhood bistro and music venue, Hugo’s Bar and Grill is owned by Tom Greene, a novelist and founding president emeritus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Tom says the opportunity to own a restaurant came about as a happy accident. When he left the college during the pandemic, he asked people what they wanted in their community, and the answer was a mid-priced restaurant. “And so I decided to launch Hugo’s.”

Hugo's rooftop deck features a gorgeous view and a New Orleans speakeasy vibe.

Tom says the space informs the food at his new location, which he opened after the flood destroyed the original building. The new location has a smaller capacity and smaller kitchen, but it also features a phenomenal rooftop deck with a gorgeous view and a New Orleans speakeasy vibe. “It’s kind of casual, fun, and convivial. The food is built to mirror that,” Tom says. Their menu includes steak frites, burgers, salads, and other favorites, including fresh oysters every day. Their Korean fried chicken is a best seller. They have live music Thursday through Saturday, everything from jazz to rock ’n’ roll to folk. They have a weekly salsa dancing night as well.

Grilled flatiron steak frites with compound butter at Hugo's Bar and Grill.

“The way we’re set up, it’s like a jazz club,” Tom says. “You can sit down at a table, and you can eat dinner, and the music’s right in front of you.”